Having previously worked in radio and as an artist herself, Loretta Andrews has been a music manager since 2015. She was a part of the MMF’s first ever accelerator program in 2019.  She manages Jake Isaac, Guvna B, Bianca Rose and Joshua Luke Smith. She also co-founded I AM INDEPENDENT with Bianca Rose to support and resource independent artists.

Here's our recent chat with Loretta to discuss her favourite campaigns in 2020 and talk about the overlaps between visual creativity and music.

All of my artists have new projects on the way: Jake Isaac has a new single out Eyes for You, released 27 November, ahead of his new album Honesty which releases early next year. Joshua Luke Smith also has an album out early next year and an amazing video to his new single Shine On, released on 27th November, check it out it’s amazing! Guvna B has a new really uplifting single out on December 4th featuring U.S artist Madison Ryann Ward and Bianca Rose has a really beautiful project called The Process that Jake Isaac is producing due early next year. She wrote it this Summer while processing 2020 as a black woman and I’m really excited for the world to hear it.

CHECK OUT

Creatively at the moment I’m loving Kyra. Her whole journey and campaign for her debut EP Xanadu is just beautiful. I love a project with a strong narrative and the stories in her inspiration for the whole project are so well thought out, the attention to detail and consistency with the themes from the colours to the references to the film that first inspired her are just amazing. For an independent artist doing all aspects largely on her own, it’s really inspiring. She’s a true artist.

FAVOURITE VIDEO

My all-time favourite music video is a bit controversial to say now (because of the artist) but I have always loved the video to Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. I was a huge fan as a kid and also really into dance so I remember waiting by the TV and we watched it for the first time as a family and I was just wowed by his creativity, the production, the dancing, the cinematography – everything!

BEST ARTWORK

I’ve always loved the album art for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This is such an iconic album and was a big part of my childhood and I always loved the carving on the school desk and the concept of the whole album of her missing school the day they taught them about love. That picture of Lauryn is so iconic and I love that it’s etched into an old school desk – literally old school!

CAMPAIGN OF 2020

The best creative campaign this year has been Lianne la Havas’ comeback. 2020 has been a difficult year for any artist releasing music but to make a comeback album when you’ve been away a while and to adapt to promoting it during a pandemic is pretty impressive. I also love the way that she pulled in her musician friends to do all aspects of it from production to photography.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

For me the most creative and original music video of the year is These Are The Days by Guvna B feat. Ezra Collective directed by Joshua Stocker. The video has so much energy and is shot so creatively taking you through an imaginary (sped up) day in his life. It’s such a vibe and the colours and lighting are amazing.

LOGO LOVE

I wish I’d designed the artist logo for Average White Band. My dad was a musician in the 70’s and I grew up listening to a lot of his soul records on vinyl. As a kid I thought the logo was a bit cheeky but also very cool and I still do.

COLLABORATION

The most recent brand collab that caught my eye was Jake Isaac, who did a collab with Clarkes Shoes. What I love about this is the story: Jake’s first job was at Clarkes shoes in Croydon and now he’s an amazing worldwide singer-songwriter. I love that they went back to his humble beginnings and did a photoshoot in Croydon with a brand he used to serve.

GO FOLLOW

The artists you should follow on Instagram are my artists! Jake Isaac, Guvna B, Bianca Rose and Joshua Luke Smith

ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHY

The most iconic music photograph is the cover art for a song called Brother by Jake Isaac, Bianca Rose, Joshua Luke Smith and Guvna B that they wrote in response to the Black Lives Matter movement over the Summer. The photograph was taken by musician and photographer Charlie Thornton who regularly works with Jake while he was attending one of the London protests. It features a black guy reaching down from on top of a London bus stop to help a white guy up. He just caught a beautiful moment at an important moment in history and it captures the sentiment of the song perfectly and that’s what makes it iconic to me.

Creative Corner, in association with The MMF