Goodbye 2015 My Best Year Yet!

Well what an amazing year 2015 has been for me! So many new experiences and fun times and I'm loving my work more than ever!

I began the year with a Rock'n'Roll bang by recording bass for The Witches and then performing with Sister Witch which was so cool. I released my solo acoustic songs as free downloads throughout May and then made my first official video with the very talented Jordan Kaye. Lilygun's September album sale was a huge success and I was thrilled that new people were discovering Lilygun and enjoying our songs.

This year was Music Audio Stories most successful year! As well as producing new stories, I became a businesswoman and that meant doors opening to many other things for me. I went to Entrepreneurs Networking Nights, Seminars and was invited to The Toy Show and The Business Show 2015 which was great! Please read my Music Audio Stories Year Round-Up here: http://www.musicaudiostories.com/blog/year-round-up. I have new and exciting things happening so watch this space...

Apart from working extremely hard, I had some amazing personal adventures too. I went to the opening of London Fashion Week, British Summer Time in Hyde Park, an amazing Safari adventure for my birthday, a wonderful August mini break in the country and Film & Networking Nights were I got to meet directors, producers and other composers. I've been lucky to have attended Ennio Morricone's concert - My Life in Music and listened to Danny Elfman's score synced to Tim Burton's movie Alice in Wonderland live at The Royal Albert Hall. I've made new friends in other industries and learned a hell of a lot! I also started Aerial Hoop training and Boxercise! I got my own boxing gloves for Christmas! :-)

I'm on the most extraordinary journey and even though it often means I have to juggle all of my various projects at once, I love the challenges and wouldn't have it any other way! I've had to learn a lot of new skills, do a hell of a lot of research and learning about running a business and work on my own mindset.

I ended the year back in the field of Rock'n'Roll when Lilygun began to record our second album. All that was missing from my year was a Lilygun show but I've got that to look forward to next year and of course we'll be releasing our new album which I'm super excited about!

The support I've had this year has been AWESOME and I'm so grateful to my friends (old and new), my family and all of my followers for their massive support. I've had one of the best years of my life this year but I can't wait for next year because life is just getting better and better for me.

I wish you all a Happy New Year 2016!

♥ Anna-Christina

Disney in Concert: Alice in Wonderland

Last Saturday evening I went to see Tim Burton’s Academy Award-winning 2010 fantasy film Alice in Wonderland on the big screen in the glorious surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall, with Danny Elfman’s magical score being performed simultaneously by a live orchestra and choir.

The high-definition screening with live orchestral and choral accompaniment from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers and the Cardinal Vaughan School Schola Cantorum, all conducted by John Mauceri, was an incredible feast for the eyes, ears and heart, captivating the whole audience.

The screening was also the World Premiere performance of a newly scored piece for the film’s finale. Danny Elfman wrote a new ending to play from the end of Alice’s Theme to the very end of the credits. We were the first people to hear it!

It was a wonderful evening and once again, I got to see the great man himself Mr Danny Elfman on stage at the end which made the whole evening even more special. I have posted some photos below for you. Next year they're showing ET and Raiders of the Lost Ark so I highly recommend getting tickets!

♥ Anna-Christina

The Business Show 2015!

This week I was invited to two events...

On Wednesday evening, I went to a Business Seminar in Victoria. It was great to have a chance to learn something new about running a company and business as well as networking with other business owners. I have started to bump into the same people I've met from other networking nights now which is nice!






And yesterday I attended The Business Show 2015!

It's the UK's biggest business show with 25,000 visiting businesses, 350 exhibitors, 250 free seminars and Masterclasses. Held at Olympia, it was a great day out for us!

I've never been to anything like this before although I have been attending quite a few business seminars lately. Still I couldn't believe I was at The Business Show representing my own company!!! If you had told me two years ago I would be networking and socializing with other company and business owners in 2015 as a business owner myself, I would have laughed! I'm so proud of what I have been able to achieve in such a short space of time. I feel so lucky. Lucky that I have made something I love and I'm passionate about doing. Lucky that I get to work with amazingly talented actors and musicians on it. And lucky that I have the best team of people around me to help me make it all happen. I've had my share of ups and downs over the years but I have to say, I'm really loving my life right now and I can't wait to see where Music Audio Stories takes me...

♥ Anna-Christina

Anna-Christina's First Official Solo Acoustic Video Out Now

Greetings weird & wonderfuls ;-)
 
I am so exciting to be releasing my first solo acoustic music video for the song Little Boy Blue today for Halloween! As some of you may know, Lilygun has never made an official music video. This is because I have never met a director I felt inspired to work with until now...
And so I made a video to one of my solo acoustic songs which was released earlier this year and was very popular. It's not pretty. It's not meant to be but I know you guys will love it as much as I do! 

♥ Anna-Christina

Halloween Special

Audio Book 9. Weird & Wonderful

 

This is a sweet tale about a centipede and his friends, a snail, a slug and a spider. The centipede explains how we have to be careful not to step on any of the little bugs and he sings a cute song about this. They make their way through the trees and the grass. They crawl through a tunnel under the ground. They climb up a vine to the top of a hill and then they slide down the hill and head off to the centipede’s house for tea. The story includes an original soundtrack with a sweet little sing-along song. Accompanied by unique sound effects throughout.

 

Payloadz: https://www.payloadz.com/cart/default.aspx

Hope you enjoy listening...

♥ Anna-Christina

Coming This Halloween...

Coming this Halloween... Anna-Christina's Official Solo Acoustic Video!

The Phoenix

My 10 Year Anniversary!

Life has a very funny way of evolving. One minute you're flying high basking in your glory, and the next you're in hell. But somehow it's only when we've reached the depths of despair that we then learn some of life's greatest secrets. Because after that moment, you have things that you didn't have before. Knowledge. Compassion. A deeper understanding of life. And so out of your greatest tragedy, comes the greatest lessons you'll ever learn. We seem to learn more from the bad stuff than the good. It can take time to see how this works because at first, you feel like, why is this happening to me???  We've all been there right! ;-) But have you ever experienced something so terrible and then looked back on it years later and thought to yourself, how did I get through that?  It's because we have a lot more power in us than we realise. After some time has passed, and you've worked through all the anger and the pain, you get to a new place within yourself. Without even realising it, you've become a stronger, better human being because of what happened to you.

We have a natural survival instinct and we are a lot stronger than we realise. If we choose, we can be like the Phoenix rising out of the ashes and soaring higher than we've ever been before. When life kicks you down, YOU KICK BACK! Show the world and yourself what you're made of, the great stuff. It's so easy to give up and lose yourself. We all fall down. But the real test for us is not how we fell down, but how we rise up to any challenge that we meet and face it head on. That's great character.

10 years ago today, I suffered a Subarachnoid Brain Haemorrhage. At the time it was so messed up and years later I suffered with terrible health problems which I kept secret. I was very ill at many Lilygun shows, even though no one had any idea about this. At Gotham Festival at 02 Islington Academy, I had a nose bleed 10 minutes before we went on stage and all sorts of other crap was going on with me but I absolutely refused to let the crap beat me. I was very resentful about this whole thing happening to me until one day, years later, "I saw the light" so to speak lol! I realised I'm the luckiest person in the world! Yes, something terrible happened but also an absolute miracle happened! Not only did I survive, I could still speak and move and function normally. I had another chance to live and continue as a musician! And to think, it was another human being that saved my life with their own bare hands! To this day I marvel at medical technology and how it can fix us!

One of the most beautiful moments in life, is when you're with someone, and they tell you about a painful experience that has happened to them and you can say, I know how you feel. We are not alone in our pain. I'm not saying our pain is the same, it's a very personal thing but I am saying that you're not the only one who has been there. Try to live every day to the full because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. And thank your body for being healthy every day because we can't do anything without our health. Good health is a precious gift and in order to be healthy, we must be happy, and happiness is an inside job.

Trust in the Universe, it has a plan for us all. Be like the Phoenix.

♥ Anna-Christina

London Fashion Week Party & Catwalk Show

Well this was a rather awesome week!
First I was on radio on two different stations at the same time! My children's audio book made the Funky Kids Playlist and then one of my solo acoustic songs was featured on a rock Podcast.
Living a double life is so much fun lol!

My Band Lilygun has sold loads of albums in our Sale which we launched this month \m/ I'm very pleased.
Amazing things are happening for my business which I can't speak of on here but it's bloody fantastic! Then to end the week, I was invited by my Film & TV Professionals in London group to go to London Fashion Week Party & Catwalk Show!

I went with my beautiful friend Natalya and we enjoyed lounging on velvet sofas, sipping very expensive red wine and live DJs at the gorgeous No.41 Club in Mayfair. The cream of London designers were there to show us their delightful designs. The Catwalk Shows were really great especially the corset section. Then guests were invited to party the night away with models and fashionistas. The most Fabulously dressed Fashionista won a bottle of Champagne. We were robbed hahaha! It was also a good evening for networking and we met some very nice people including the creator of Lisser Moi and a cool photographer. Photos of the event were taken by top photographer Adam Tiernan Thomas (Chanel).

It was a fantastic night and a great way to celebrate the opening night of London Fashion Week.

This is the life...

♥ Anna-Christina

 

 

 

 

 

Lilygun Album Sale Now On

Get Lilygun's debut album on sale now! 

This album has sold out in shops so this is the only place where Cds are available.
Visit the Shop here: http://www.lilygun.com/shop and get your copy while it's on sale now!

Here's what they said about it...

“There have been many debut albums that bring you that "wow" factor and Lilygun is right up there with the best. The songs are atmospheric, played brilliantly but above all sung to perfection by front woman Anna-Christina. Lilygun are getting the attention and recognition from the music industry for all their qualities and hard work. About bloody time too”.
Neil Richardson. Roomthirteen.com


"Escaping the genre trap with consummate ease, Lilygun's self-titled debut deals in freedom of expression and a feast of guitar-driven emotion dredged from the depths of London's underground live music scene. Impossible to pigeon-hole and yet easy to admire, Lilygun could be the shot in the arm British rock is searching for".
Gun-Ho. Rush On Rock


"What’s most striking about the album from Lilygun is how they’ve combined a real sense of catchiness with their technical approach to things, combining their signature sound with an almost mainstream like quality, something which will stand them out as more than a simple rock band. This ability, and the resulting sound is what makes this such a stand out album, and one which I have a feeling is going to do remarkably well once it’s in the public domain from the 10th of September. If you only ever listen to one album we review, then make it this one – believe me when I say it’s worth your while!"
Dave Nicholls. Loud-Stuff


“Few bands in recent memory have grabbed my attention like London rockers Lilygun. There is so much depth to this record. It’s dark and cerebral, it’s moody and pensive, it’s operatic and it rocks balls. Musically, there is an evident solid chemistry with gorgeous bass lines by Aaron John and David Ryder Prangley and drummer Belle Star laying down the foundation for massive orchestral highs and magnificently simple lows. Add to this a deliciously balanced mix of guitar sounds, ranging from haunting background growls to full bore wall-o’-sound solos. Then there is the tour-de-force that IS Anna-Christina. With song writing chops that, for me, rival those of the great Tori Amos, she is certain to be a force to be reckoned with. This is not to mention the fact that she is one of the most gorgeous bad-ass rocker women I’ve ever seen”.
Kevin. Nanobot Rock Reviews


“This is a set of songs written by the band’s dynamic and charismatic singer, Anna-Christina, demonstrating such variety that it’s difficult to pin the sound down to 1 genre. The arrangements squeeze every last drop out of a fairly traditional line-up and create a huge dynamic range across the album. This is a great first album from an original and inventive band and I haven’t heard anything else this year to surpass this in terms of raw power and dynamic range; they’ve been on the horizon for a while now and this should be the breakthrough. This is a great album”.
Allan McKay. Music Riot


“Anna-Christina's voice is both unique and unexpected. The album only hints at the intensity this band could create live; it's a tease, a promise of better things, an album that will leave you on the hunt for tickets to see them play live. Lilygun know how to lead their listeners, drawing them intimately close before hitting them hard with a punk riff or two. Lilygun's debut album is an insight into just what they can do, varied and exciting, it clearly sets them up as one to watch.”
Keller. EGL Magazine


"This band is going places, no doubt about it and I strongly suggest that radio stations and festival organisers start checking them out now! The band deliver 8 tracks of Rock music that brims with attitude and melody."
Dave. Ravenheart Music

A World of Forgiveness

Some people will never forgive. They are so loyal to their anger and hatred that they will stress and hurt themselves physically and psychologically for the rest of their lives because they think that forgiveness is some kind of weakness. But that’s not true. It takes a very strong and wise person to forgive, to choose to be better instead of bitter.

To forgive, you have to put yourself in their shoes. When you do this, you realise what Eckhart Tolle said. If their past was your past, if their pain was your pain, if their level of consciousness was your level of consciousness, than you would think and act exactly as they do.

There’s only one earth but there are billions of worlds on this planet and every person is living in their own world. Believing their own thoughts about the world which were born out of their own upbringing and experiences. We suffer when we project our own expectations and world views on to people living in totally different worlds from us. As if we knew or could ever know the depth, the motives that took place in that world that caused that person to act in the way that they did. We don’t need to know, just know that hurt people, hurt people. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve been given.

When we look deeper, we see that all people have one thing in common. We all want to be happy. For some, it has been their thoughts about getting to that happiness that have been severely deluded through their journey of life that now, they create more suffering in the world than actual happiness.

This does not mean we condone the actions of wrong doers or continue to have relationships with them. Forgiveness can result in you having nothing to do with them again. This strategy is for your mental peace. Clearing your heart, getting yourself out of that negative world. Because forgiveness is about YOU, not them.

Last year someone behaved appallingly towards me. I was so confused because all I did was shower them with love, time and my money! But soon I saw that we were not living in the same world. My path was meant to go somewhere else. I turned my life around and now I have a hundred times more happiness, joy, love, passion and excitement in my life and I am so grateful every day for it.

If you are reading this and have lost hope that you can turn your life around because of the pain someone else has caused you, I’m here to tell you that you can.

Forgive, let go, work on loving yourself and you will soon see that something so much better is waiting for you just around the corner.

♥ Anna-Christina  

Invasion of the Box Tree Caterpillars

I hadn't seen a caterpillar in over 10 years and a few days ago, I suddenly saw about 10 in my garden. I thought wow, this is amazing.

But then, I posted a photo on my Facebook and someone informed me that it could be a Box Tree Caterpillar. Apparently they are very bad news for your garden! I did some research into this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34054321 and I realised the ones I saw in my garden look very similar to the ones they are talking about in this report. "An invasive caterpillar that feeds on hedges is starting to spread from its established base in London across the UK, experts warn." That explains why I saw so many all at once then!

And so I'd better enjoy my beautiful garden while I have it as Box Tree Caterpillars have begun to invade it!

 

♥ Anna-Christina

August Mini Break

Some major things have happened to me this month with Music Audio Stories and I'm sooooo excited! I will definitely post a news update about it all soon but I just wanted to write a quick post about my August Mini Break.

I was taken away on a super camping trip and it was so lovely to escape to the country and have a complete change of scenery. It wasn't all fun and games for me though, I still ended up working but I also took the time to really enjoy the beautiful surroundings I found myself in.

We began at Leicestershire and drove through Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and ended up in Darbyshire. The weather was mostly great which is a blessing when you're camping and we enjoyed long walks in the countryside and along a beautiful river.

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer too!

Here are some photos I took...
Enjoy!

♥ Anna-Christina

 

I love this little kettle! :-D

 How beautiful is this!

I wanted to go Quad Bike Racing but we didn't go! 

We followed this grass path to a lovely river.