Meet our #PLAYATBRIX Winners: Introducing Gabriel & Lola
We’re thrilled to announce the winners of our #PLAYATBRIX competition.
At last! Our search for the next generation of gifted guitarists has come to a conclusion.
The competition was called #PLAYATBRIX and the prize was to play live with our band, an awesome group of of 24 musicians, when we perform POLITICAL MOTHER: THE CHOREOGRAPHER’S CUT at O2 Academy Brixton - a part of the upcoming #HOFEST.
We launched the competition on social media, daring young players to learn one of our riffs and throw in something creative of their own.
We were blown away by the entries and, frankly, a little worried. How on earth we were going to pick from all this talent?
Here’s how it went down. Six finalists aged between 18 – 25 joined us for a workshop at Pop Brixton.
They learnt a variety of riffs from Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut and also had a chance to showcase their own style during a jam session.
Hofesh Shechter and Joe Ashwin, a musician in our band, worked with the young players and selected two winners.
Those winners are Gabriel Levy and Lola Frichet-Perrignon, both just twenty. Huge congratulations to them both!
Gabriel Levy
Gabriel Levy is a 20-year-old guitarist and songwriter from Southgate, North London. After picking up the guitar at the age of 7, he’s covered many genres with various teachers over the years including: Classical, Folk, Rock/Metal, Heavy Metal, Blues and Jazz. He also writes, performs and produces original music with his band Cellars, who gig regularly, and often collaborate with artists and other musicians.
“I am looking forward to being part of such an amazing production, and through that to meeting loads of talented musicians and dancers. There's nothing more inspiring than watching someone who is great at what they do, let alone being able to stand on the same stage as them. I've also seen a lot of my favourite bands at O2 Academy Brixton, and to play at a venue with such a rich musical history is an opportunity I couldn't miss.”
Lola Frichet-Perrignon
Lola is 20 and lives in Paris. She began to study classical guitar aged 7 and started playing the electric guitar at the age of 15. She has played in different bands and has gigged all over Europe including France, Germany and Spain. She has worked in studios as a bassist on varied projects from Hip Hop to Rock music. She graduated from the Music Conservatoire Paris and has a degree in History from La Sorbonne. She created Cacofonix, an events collective, who organize concerts and festivals.
She has practised Judo for many years and is almost black belt.
“I entered the competition because I saw Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut in Paris. I felt really involved in the show and I liked the intensity of the music. I am looking forward to feeling the same but this time from the stage!“
Hofesh worked with the guitarists and chose Gabriel and Lola because of the particular qualities they could bring to the show’s sound:
“All of the finalists were skilled musicians. I was drawn to Lola and Gabriel, as I knew their sounds would blend really well with our band's sounds. Lola has a very quirky, bluesy style and gives a lot of energy to her performances. Gabriel is a very cool, fluid and relaxed guitarist and that mood works well for me too.
I am always excited about working with young people who don’t fully understand their potential, but are extremely talented. This is a crazy opportunity - they’re going to be playing with our band at the legendary O2 Academy Brixton. It’s a pretty special gig for a young musician and I hope they'll get lots from the experience.”
For details of the show they’ll be playing in click here.