Barnsley band Hands Off Gretel has been invited to present a live music video showcase at Música Mundo 2017 (September 6 to 10th) an international music conference in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
“It’s amazing that a group of students over 5,000 miles away have been working on our game and listening to our music. We have a fantastic international fan base and we are so proud that they chose Hands Off Gretel out of all the bands they could have chosen around the world.” Lauren Tate (Singer/songwriter Hands Off Gretel)
The bands video performance at the conference on September 9th will mark the launch of a free web browser game, developed by a group of Brazilian students, The Mad Freaks Studio at the University of Fumec in Brazil. The gaming students, who are avid fans of the band, were inspired by the music video “One Eyed Girl”, a colorful carnival video that the band produced themselves. The students were inspired by characters from the video to create the online game, which includes music from Hands Off Gretel and has a string of anti-bullying messages.
The students and the band have worked collaboratively over the last few months to tweak the game and will now work together to promote each other through a dedicated Facebook page for the game and a showcase presentation at Music Mundo. Episodes 1 and 2 will be released at Música Mundo 2017, which is promoting interaction between music and games, fostering business innovation and entrepreneurship. The game will be available to play online on September 15th with further episodes planned for October and December. The game is designed to entertain, but also warn about bullying and its dangerous consequences.
“The sound we make is raw, influenced strongly by 90s female fronted grunge bands, we get loud and shouty and soft and pretty, it’s frustration music from a girl in her room shouting out at the real world. “
Hands Off Gretel are making a name for themselves in their brief two-year history as a band. They have fast secured a promising live reputation with their visually stunning and compelling live performances, including; 2 full UK tours, Download, Isle of Wight, Rebellion and a capacity crowd at the Underground, as part of this years Camden Rocks Festival.
The South Yorkshire based band, described by some, as new wave grunge, bring a welcome dose of originality to the UK music scene. Louder than War describe them as “One of the most exciting bands in the UK’. Following release of their debut album Burn The Beauty Queen in Sept 2016, they secured airplay on Team Rock Radio, Kerrang radio and BBC Sheffield introducing and a video premiere with Alternative Press.
Epitomising what a DIY band can achieve Hands Off Gretel are arguably one of the most creative artists around, building on an impressive online following from around the world. Lead singer Lauren Tate produces the bands music videos, designs the website,and creates all the bands merchandise and tour posters. Original artwork, clay models, jewellery and a self produced demo album were just some of the things created by Lauren and sold via the bands website to crowd fund the album.
2017 see them touring the UK and heading to Germany on their first European tour, before heading back into the studio at the end of the year for album number 2.