Singer-songwriter Holly Låpsley is unusual for Momentum. She was just 17 and recently out of sixth form when, through her management, she received £5,000 through the Fund. But she was already gaining attention and building momentum as an artist with real promise, building a base from her native Merseyside.
Momentum funding enabled Holly to record and release her first EP, “Monday”, in 2013. She talks enthusiastically about the role this funding played in providing the “manic stepping stone” to being spotted and signed by XL.
“I couldn’t afford to make music in Liverpool, so Momentum helped me to create and make something,” she explains. “As well as the money, it was the belief in me – someone else who thinks you have a future. It is really key to feel you are valued in a very male dominated industry.”
Momentum funding gave Holly the opportunity to work with a professional producer and develop a record which for her made her feel like a real artist. Låpsley won the One to Watch prize at Merseyside’s GIT (Getintothis) Award in April 2014, following over half a million listens of her “Monday” EP on Soundcloud.
She played the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury Festival in June 2014 having been championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ’s Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe. Her track Painter was playlisted by BBC Radio 1 in September 2014 and received daytime airplay.
Låpsley signed with XL Recordings in October 2014. On 30 November 2014, Låpsley was revealed as one of the acts on the BBC Sound of… 2015 long list. Her “Understudy” EP was released on 5 January 2015 and her debut album “Long Way Home” followed in March 2016. She performed at Lollapalooza in July 2016 and began to generate real momentum in America. She was even featured on NBC’s Today show hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and broadcast nationally where she performed live her single “Love Is Blind”.
For Holly, this rapid and life-changing trajectory of creative and professional development was catalysed very early on by Momentum. “We had to be very direct in terms of what we wanted and where we were going,” she said. “We had a plan and were true to it. The funding helped me to present myself and it introduced me to professionals like a producer, who helped give me a sense of what I could do.”
Holly still sees a place for independent investment as part of an artist’s development. “Labels can’t spend as much as they used to,” she said. “Everything has changed from buying to streaming. I really appreciate Momentum – it’s really great to be acknowledged.”
