Chesterfield musician releases first professional single to keep people 'grounded' during pandemic

A singer-songwriter from Chesterfield has recently released her first professional single that was written pre-lockdown and aimed to help people stay positive during adversity.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Amy Jasmine Bannister or Amy J to the people that know her well is a singer-songwriter with significant music industry experience having played in smaller venues but also larger festivals.

She wrote her song “Grounded” prior to lockdown at a point when Covid-19 was rearing its head, and people were becoming increasingly nervous and worried about the ongoing situation and the politics surrounding it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A few weeks ago, Amy decided that the song was too good just to remain as it was and decided to record it at a recording studio in Newark called Monster Trax studios that is run by a multi-instrumentalist called Misha Nikolic, who is originally from Serbia.

Amy J has released her first professional singleAmy J has released her first professional single
Amy J has released her first professional single

Misha who has a wealth of experience in all areas of performance, composition, music technology and world music produced the track and he also played bass, piano and keyboard for the song as well as adding a few other special musical effects before mixing and mastering it ahead of its release.

Drums and percussion on “Grounded” were played by Tim Brown, who is currently the drummer for Martin Turner - the original founding member of rock band Wishbone Ash.

The electric guitar was played by Danny Willson who has played with many high-level bands including Showaddywaddy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In a video posted on Facebook, Amy said: “Obviously the world is experiencing a little bit of a nightmare at the minute, and it is really scary, and I’m sure that a lot of us are finding it quite hard to stay positive.

Amy Bannister from Chesterfield has recently released her first professional single.Amy Bannister from Chesterfield has recently released her first professional single.
Amy Bannister from Chesterfield has recently released her first professional single.

“Something that I have really appreciated seeing is all the people in Italy singing on their balconies or out of the windows while they’re in isolation, think that kind of shows the power of music and the good that it can do.

“I thought I’d share with you a song that I wrote quite recently about being grounded and realising that the world keeps turning no matter what is happening.”

The 20-year-old has just finished the first year of her Music Education degree at the University of Sheffield, and will soon be starting a placement year with the Sheffield Music Hub - working with children and young people as a trainee music leader as part of her degree.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The young and talented musician also presents her own radio show on Elastic FM every Thursday from 2 pm until 4 pm called “Amy J’s Allsorts”, which she started last October and ‘loves every second of it’.

On the show, she usually plays music from bands or musicians that have played at a specific venue or festival, and it also features “Amy J’s thought of the day” as well as a riddle or two.

Amy continues to perform live on her Facebook page and can be seen gigging in pubs and clubs, especially in the local area as and when allowed.

Due to the current situation, she is only playing outdoor events at the moment until deemed safe and permissible to do otherwise.