Amazon Music and Alfie Templeman launch a virtual festival in Minecraft to celebrate the launch of Mellow Moon 19 May 2022
Featuring performances from Alfie Templeman, Everything Everything, Coach Party, Matilda Mann, The Vaccines and more
‘Mellow Moon’ festival performances live on Minecraft from Thursday 19th May
Amazon Music and Alfie Templeman have collaborated to create the world of ‘Mellow Moon’ inside the hugely popular immersive game, Minecraft. ‘Mellow Moon’ celebrates Alfie’s upcoming album of the same name and features a virtual festival on Thursday 19th May with performances from Alfie plus Everything Everything, L'objectif, Matilda Mann, SIRUP, Todd Rundgren, Coach Party, Thomas Headon, Pixey, and The Vaccines. The ‘Mellow Moon’ festival will also be livestreamed on the Amazon Music UK Twitch channel from 18:00 BST.
Alfie joined Amazon Music’s developing artist programme, Breakthrough, in 2021 and the creation of the ‘Mellow Moon’ Minecraft world is an example of how emerging artists can be supported on the programme. The world of ‘Mellow Moon’ was created alongside Varuna Builds, a Minecraft specialist agency who utilise the gaming world for education and entertainment, Chess Club and AWAL. As well as the festival, the world includes a host of other exciting things for people to do, including scavenger hunts to unlock exclusive music previews and in-game collectibles. Plus, they'll be able to pre-order Alfie’s debut album, Mellow Moon, win real world items including Amazon Echo Studio speakers, 12-month Amazon Music subscriptions and exclusive Alfie Templeman merchandise.
Alfie said of the activation;“Thanks so much to Mitch and the whole team at Amazon Music for creating a Mellow Moon universe in Minecraft. I’ve been playing Minecraft for years so it’s amazing to see my album alive and kicking in that world and incredible that some of my favourite artists are going to join me in playing this festival - I can’t wait for everyone else to see this now!”
Sam Potts, VP Promotions, Global Commercial Partnerships, AWAL added; “We’re delighted to be working with the team at Amazon Music UK and the Breakthrough programme to bring the magic of Alfie’s live show to the gaming space for the very first time. This is one of the most ambitious activations of its kind and sets the scene for the release of Alfie’s debut album ‘Mellow Moon’ on the 27th May”
Ross Watson, Head of Label Relations, Amazon Music UK said; “Working with Alfie and the AWAL team to bring Mellow Moon to life in the Minecraft universe has been brilliant. Alfie is an incredible artist and being able to bring his vision to life as part of the Amazon Music Breakthrough programme is a real honour. I’m looking forward to tuning in to the festival performances on Thursday.”
Alfie's break came aged just 14, as he self-released a trio of EPs which caught the attention of Chess Club Records. Now, with a further four EPs under his belt, plus his debut mini-album 'Forever Isn't Long Enough', the wunderkind is on the cusp of releasing his debut full length 'Mellow Moon' before heading out on a huge run of festivals in the UK and abroad this summer. His indie-pop gems are loaded with ’80s-inspired R&B hooks and synths as Alfie displays exceptional songwriting skills beyond his years. He’s been praised by DORK, NME, DIY, CLASH and The Line of Best Fit, plus hailed as “an artist who produces confident music that sticks around” by The Guardian.
Breakthrough is Amazon Music’s global programme to support up-and-coming artists, aimed at amplifying the best new talent and championing them at the most crucial moment in their careers. Amazon Music works with each Breakthrough artist and their teams to develop long-term, customised, global plans that are unique to each artist, with no two Breakthrough campaigns looking the same. In addition to Alfie Templeman, Lola Young, Priya Ragu, Olivia Dean, Arlo Parks, and JAY1 in the UK, Amazon Music’s first class of Breakthrough artists included country powerhouse Gabby Barrett, emerging R&B singer Kiana Ledé, critically acclaimed folk pop group Provinz, and rising German pop sensation Malik Harris.
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THE HEADLINES
MMF: Open the Black Box to help fund talent development (see Opinion)
Who will replace WMG CEO Stephen Cooper? (see Analysis)
Spotify, Netflix, and aggregation (see Analysis)
US Copyright Royalty Board sets new rate (see News)
Calls for PPL and Australia's PPCA to forge neighbouring rights agreement (see News)
PPL pays out to highest number of recipients ever (see News)
Future-proofing publishing services (see Comment)
Raye talks about artistic autonomy (see Features)
Reports from MuscAlly's Web3 Sandbox Summit (see Features)
The landscape of online fandom is shifting (see Analysis)
Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’ and the long tail of ‘Show Me Love’ (see Features)
AEG's Jim King on his plans to build up BST Hyde Park (see Features)
Churn in the era of dynamic retention (see Analysis)
UK celebrates biggest live music weekend ever (see Features, Reviews)
Spotify revamps its Live Events Feed (see Digital)
Music’s future is here: It’s called streaming (see Comment)
The British music industry must do better on race (see Comment)
Spotify Advertising released its annual global trend report (see Analysis)