In a unique retail initiative, Furniture Village has conducted a nationwide search for talented unsigned musicians whose tracks will be played in their 39 stores across the UK, with particular priority within stores near an act’s performance base. Over 120 exceptional artists submitted their tracks for consideration, and the following six artists have been selected: Blackheart (Bolton) James Robinson (Brighton), Serenity Zest (Ipswich), Sertari (Southampton), Sophie Morgan (Chester), and Zemmy Momoh (Greater London ).

Furniture Village hopes to support and expand these individuals’ local and national following, and are delighted to be showcasing local talent in regional stores across the country.

During January 2011 alone over 400,000 people visited the Furniture Village website (over twice as many as attended the Glastonbury Festival in the same year), and over 30,000 visited a UK Furniture Village branch for their living room, bedroom and dining room needs, therefore offering these unsigned acts an unusual opportunity to be heard by a significant audience that might otherwise not have been reached.

Charlie Harrison, Director of Marketing at Furniture Village comments, “Following the festive period when the nation had had its fill of Christmas musical classics, this initiative seemed an excellent opportunity to revolutionise the traditional role of in-store music, and offer audio exposure for emerging talents to a new and significant market. The standard of submissions has been outstanding, and we hope that these chosen artists are able to make their big break and become the next Adele, JLS or Bacharach!”

As Stewart Anderson, creator of Unsigned Bands Online, a digital platform designed to promote such bands explained, “Nowadays unsigned bands and businesses alike need to network and find ways in which to benefit each other, in this market publicity for a band is a real currency and I’m happy to see such creative collaborations beginning to flourish.”

Blackheart

In just three years, pioneering Bolton-based arthouse folk duo Blackheart have achieved much after a great deal of hard work and over 400 live gigs across the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Their rise began when the track ‘Unlike Water’ was used for a television commercial, and have since been championed by Radio 2’s Aled Jones amongst others. Blackheart’s music combines the lemon and honey voice of Chrissy Mostyn with spellbinding acoustic instrumentation creating a unique blend of intelligent acoustic rock. Their highly personal songs are laced with piercingly sharp observations, beautifully crafted lyrics and powerfully driven melodies.

Blackheart’s tracks, ‘Everything You Are’ and ‘Waiting for Light’, will be given particular priority at their local Furniture Village branch at Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton.

To hear more of Blackheart’s music visit www.blackheartmusic.co.uk or follow them on Facebook or Twitter @blackhearttweet you can also listen to their tracks on Soundcloud

James Robinson

Hailing from coastal Devon, James Robinson is a Brighton based singer-songwriter who has been favorably compared to vocalists such as Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jamie Cullum. The son of a writer and a music journalist, James established himself as the charismatic front man of alt-pop band Two Spot Gobi, who were spotted by Jason Mraz and supported him on several UK, US and European tours. James’ solo efforts, including ‘Use Me’ and ‘Make it Rain’ provide the listener with strong melodies accompanied by raw and honest lyrics.

James Robinson’s tracks will be given particular priority at the Brighton branch of Furniture Village on Old Shoreham Road

To hear more of James Robinson’s music visit www.jamesrobinson-music.com or follow him on Facebook or Twitter @J_Robinsonmusic you can also listen to his tracks on Soundcloud

Serenity Zest

Serenity Zest are an East Anglian based six-piece acoustic groove group, who love to perform their self-penned, old school pop songs. The group is a particularly strong live act, and recent months have seen them play at many festivals including the prestigious Secret Garden Party, and one of London’s most famous live music venues, The Bedford in Balham.

Serenity Zest’s songs ‘Italian Skies’ and ‘Keeping the Faith’ will be given particular priority in their nearest stores in Norwich (Sprowston Retail Park) and Cambridge (Cambridge Retail Park).

To hear more of Serenity Zest’s music visit www.serenityzest.com or follow them on Facebook you can also listen to their tracks on Soundcloud

Sertari

Although as yet unsigned, Sertari has turned many heads within the music industry and achieved much self-propelled success, being nominated for several international awards including ‘Best Live Act’ and ‘Best Song’ at the 2010 Exposure Music Awards. Last year, she even released a charity single online, and donated all proceeds to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Born in the UK into a Cypriot family, Sertari has been performing all of her life, and is now following in the footsteps of her father, who was also a professional singer.

Sertari’s songs ‘Teardrops’ and ‘Beautiful Day’ will be given particular priority in her nearest Furniture Village branch in Southampton at West Quay Retail Park.

To hear more of Sertari’s music visit www.sertari.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter @sertari you can also listen to her tracks on Soundcloud

Sophie Morgan

Sophie is a 16 year old Cheshire based artist who, along with her band, has caught the attention of several significant musicians in recent months, including Simon Jones, the Bass player from iconic British band The Verve who acts as Sophie’s mentor, and US group Counting Crows, who selected her cover version of ‘Holiday in Spain’ as the winning entry of a competition they judged in 2012. Sophie is also working on her next tracks with Davide Rossi, the Grammy award winning string arranger for Coldplay, Goldfrapp, and Alicia Keys.

Sophie Morgan’s songs ‘The Monsters’ and ‘Not the One to Blame’ will be given particular priority in her nearest Furniture Village store in Chester at Deva Retail Park.

To hear more of Sophie Morgan’s music visit www.sophiemorganmusic.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter @sophiemorgan13 you can also listen to her tracks on Soundcloud

Zemmy

Nigerian-born Zemmy puts her own unique twist on the pop genre, writing songs filled with rich, instantly memorable melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Influenced by artists such as Sade, Lauryn Hill, Sia, Dido, and Imogen Heap, she creates intelligent pop songs which span across the wide spectrum of the genre. Having had her songs placed on the CBS network and within several independent films, this London-based soulful artist is definitely one to watch.

Zemmy’s songs ‘Somebody Sure’ and ‘Everything’s OK’ will be given particular priority at the Friern Barnet branch at Friern Bridge Retail Park.

To hear more of Zemmy’s music visit www.zemmymusic.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter @zemmyofficial you can also listen to her tracks on Soundcloud

For more information please contact Benjamin Webb / Emma Sundin / Caitlin Collins at Deliberate PR