Native Music Presents A History of Lounge Sessions

When Native was formed in 2013, Dan Neale (Managing Director) wanted to continue the tradition of putting on showcases from his time at RKCR/Y&R. For 6.5 years he had run showcases that were stripped back and intimate performances, within an exclusive setting in the agency. They became well known throughout the industry, much copied by other agencies, and they welcomed amazing artists ranging from Michael Kiwanuka to Bastille to Gregory Porter to perform.

As Native is a sister company to Jungle, the natural home for the new sessions was at the sound studios themselves, but this hadn’t been done before, and the logistics of not interfering with sessions and the everyday business of Jungle had to be considered and worked around. Luckily and uniquely for a sound studio, they have a dedicated space called the Lounge, which they have developed over time into a brilliant performance space. It was very much a first - a Soho sound studio hosting showcases run by a music supervision company.

When Native created The Lounge Sessions in November 2013, the first band to perform were the amazing Lucius. With no landlord / other tenant issues Native were able to do it with a PA, and with a more bespoke set up than before. Essentially they had retained the intimacy of the earlier RKCR/Y&R sessions, but with a more professional sheen.

The Native Lounge Sessions continue to attract a wide range of acts, and over the short time have featured many incredible artists including Billy Bragg, Lianne La Havas, Labrinth, Tiggs Da Author, Whilk & Misky, Ann Marie, Aquilo, Clean Cut Kid and George Ezra to name just a few.

As each session happened you could sense that the audience knew that they were experiencing something very special, unique and exclusive. These sessions have now become widely known as must attend events, with great acts performing each time.

In 2015 Jungle developed their roof terrace into an amazing events space, which meant the Lounge Sessions could expand and when the weather was good they host DJs and drinks after the showcases. This led to new opportunities and fresh new ways of hosting their events. 

That same year Native took things up another level when they brought their now well known and regarded Lounge Sessions to Cannes Lions (Festival of Creativity). They flew a number of high profile artists out to the South of France to perform on a private beach as part of their ‘Hanging Gardens’ sponsorship.

If that wasn’t enough later on that year Native hosted their first “Takeover”. Island Records’ logo was in every studio and around the building throughout the day - they had two acts and a DJ perform and it was an incredible, unprecedented event. They did this again with Atlantic Records shortly after. This was another ground breaking first at a Soho sound studio, with Native leading the charge when it comes to these kind of showcases.

The events help Native stay in touch with new talent and see them perform first hand in a very different environment, and the experiences that their clients and friends have are absolutely unique.  They have led to conversations of the artist’s music being used in campaigns, and also artists creating bespoke music for campaigns - so as well as being fun they are a real business opportunity for the artist’s themselves.

To register your interest in attending the next Lounge session please contact Native on hello@nativemusicsoho.co.uk

The full list of artists to have played at The Lounge Sessions so far:

Lucius, Kit Trigg, Hudson Taylor, George Ezra, Nothing But Thieves, Laura Doggett, The Pierces, Chasing Grace, Kimberly Ann, We Are Evergreen, Billy Bragg, Abdominal and the Obliques, Great Good Fine OK, The Shires, Lianne La Havas, Labrinth, D/C, Ann Marie, Whilk & Misky, Aquilo, JONES, Tiggs Da Author, Luke Sital-Singh, Seafret, ALX, Clean Cut Kid, Kiko Bun.