in partnership with The B-Bar
ReBels Music Team
ReBels Music is designed to give young people access to role models and industry experts who would otherwise not come to Plymouth to run masterclasses, workshop and labs.
Funded funded by Youth Music, ReBels Music will support the growth of musical talent in the city. Not only those who want to perform, but those who want to record, produce, market and design tours that promote their work.
Meet our ReBels Music team
Joanna Cooke
This being Joanna’s debut working in the education sector of the music world field she’s excited to bring her knowledge and insight of the music industry as a ‘full time’ music artist herself.
Dorset born Joanna grew up in a strict but passionately artistic family, where her father’s blues records were the soundtrack to her upbringing. She had a restless desire for music, teaching herself the piano on a keyboard she found in a skip and writing songs that moved her school teachers to tears. Following school, Joanna completed a degree in Music at Plymouth and has been based in Devon ever since. Her early music work included singing in a function band and a duo plus the creation of a very successful vocal sample pack for dance music producers.
Joanna’s vocal samples have been used around the world on some very successful tracks and she continues to co- write and sing on releases with international producers.
Eager to pursue a full time career as a music artist, Joanna took the plunge to devote all her energies to her chosen field in 2014. Since then her career has continued to build and Joanna’s self sufficiency, drive and talent now see her performing with big name artists and playing her own solo shows. These successes range from festival main stage appearances, supporting Paloma Faith and Rag’n’Bone Man and shows with quality artists like Jo Harman, Beth Rowley and Martin Harley.
Alongside a busy live schedule, Joanna has enjoyed widespread radio airplay, live studio and phone-in sessions. She is known for having a voice rich in soul & the songs to match. Motown legend Martha Reeves described her as “the baby girl singing the blues” and BBC Introducing as “This is how it’s done…soulful and epic, Joanna Cooke is bursting with raw talent!” Joanna’s previous 3 EPs and a single releases of her own material all drew positive reviews and were followed by 2 more notable self-composed singles in 2021. “No Stranger To The Blues” and “Give It Up” were recorded with Redtenbachers Funkestra as part of the Masterlink sessions in Surrey. Both recordings were done entirely live in the studio, with no fixes – just Joanna and the musicians, whose credits include (amongst others) Elton John, David Bowie, Tom Jones and Van Morrison. There’s more new music coming from Joanna in 2022. Finishing touches are now being made to plans for the release of singles Joanna has worked on with producer Mark Edwards in Sussex, with a full new EP to follow.
Joanna says – ‘Sharing my experiencehttps://joannacooke.co.uk/ and helping mentor the next generation alongside my own journey has always been a dream of mine! I’m really excited to work with Rose and all of the young adults attending the ReBels sessions.’
Joanna Cooke Website
Jon Fazal
Jon Fazal is a musician and singer-songwriter who has released a number of singles and EPs across a variety of different projects and bands. As well as frequently collaborating with other musicians and producers, Jon self-produces his own music across a range of styles and instruments, but mainly guitar, piano and harmonica. He has had his music played on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music and performed at festivals and venues across the country.
Jon has released several EPs over the past few years including his latest work, Cormoran in 2021. He regularly performs at The B-Bar and other venues across the region.
Jon Fazal Website
Rose Kimberley
Originally from Cornwall, Rose started recording her own music in 2002. In 2015 she released her first solo EP with an accompanying homecoming tour of Cornwall. 2018 saw the release of the new sounding, highly acclaimed self titled album, this time with a UK tour including a packed out album launch show at the popular venue: The Boileroom in Guildford.
Rose has had great success through BBC introducing with countless air play, interviews and live studio performances as well as BBC festival stages. She was also selected as ‘Artist of the Week’ for the Georgey Spanswick show, reaching over a million listeners. She signed a song-assignment publishing agreement with Integrity Publishing in 2017 and more recently began working as a ‘topliner’ for other writers and producers.
Additionally Rose is a successful session singer with international touring experience, working alongside some big industry names. With a reputation for her bluesy tone and style, Rose has also sang for the critically acclaimed Nat Martin Band; being featured on their EP ‘Time is a Healer’ along with several live shows. Plus she was complemented in a Blues Matters Magazine review as having ‘strong and soaring’ vocals.
At 21 Rose started out her career working at the Academy of Contemporary Music in 2007 and has since worked for such establishments as Central School of Ballet and The Music Works, which has given Rose a great deal of arts education experience. Rose undertook a specialist singing teacher training course in 2012 and has been teaching singing alongside her performing work ever since. Additionally Rose has done a variety of other teaching jobs and projects including dance, live band workshops, songwriting and other music masterclasses in both private and school settings. She also recently co-founded a new music education hub called The Music Box. Rose holds a CTLLS teaching qualification.
Rose Kimberley Website
Benny Lau Crispin
Benny Lau Crispin is a Director of Milk Box Music Group Ltd.
Based at their recording studio ‘The Granary Studio’ in Callington Cornwall, the company has grown to offer a range of services from music engineering and recording, production tuition, record label management, distribution and promotion services aimed at up and coming musicians and producers from all over the South West.
He has toured Europe and many of the biggest festivals performing in acts such as Panda and Two Tribes and his music has been signed to some of the worlds leading dance music labels including Toolroom, Anjuna Deep and Love & Other.
Granary Studio Website
