Here you can find my published work so far — from news to features. Click the drop-down menu on the top bar to find a breakdown of the different publications I have written for.
ULEZ to expand London-wide in 2023
By Sara Valle Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) will cover whole of Greater London from 29 August 2023. Drivers will face a daily fee of £12.50 for using London’s roads from next year, as part of the mayor’s attempt to clean up the city’s toxic air and tackle the climate emergency.…
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Tumblr girl aesthetic – emo reborn?
By Sara Valle-Martínez (top image courtesy of Deva Fernández) Back in the beginning of 2010, people moved from MySpace to Tumblr, a social media platform in the form of a blog that allowed users to post and reblog photos and texts of all kinds. With the death of MySpace, emo kids were left with nowhere to showcase their music…
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Migratory grief: a split-screen life
By Sara Valle There are over nine million immigrants living in the United Kingdom according to a 2019 study by The Migration Observatory. This means 14% of the population could be experiencing what is known as “migratory grief”. The British Psychological Society says there are two types of loss: the physical one, which would refer to a…
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Music and Tattoo Culture
By Sara Valle I bet if you close your eyes and picture a rock star, some of the first things that come to mind are tussled hair, drugs, booze, fags, and worn-out jeans or leather trousers. You probably also visualised a bunch of tattoos — maybe a skull, roses, or some kind of female looking…
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The Ever-Evolving Music Festival Scene
By Sara Valle It’s a strangely sunny day in the UK and you’re queueing up under the blazing sun; ticket available with a couple thumbs on your phone. There’s litter on the floor – from colourful and silver wrappers, to cans of cheap beer, and mini glass bottles of all sorts of spirits. When you’re finally…
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Maya Hawke at Lafayette in London with opener Manu Grace
Written and captured by Sara Valle People gathered on a Monday night in indie venue Lafayette in London to see what the actor-turned-singer Maya Hawke had to offer. South African singer Manu Grace opened for a crowd of expectant fans with a set of groovy beats and unguarded lyrics. Standing on stage in her green velvet dress with her guitar and…
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Paolo Nutini: Nothing bittersweet about the singer-songwriter’s return
By Sara Valle The Scottish boy with an Italian name is back! After eight years of radio silence, Paolo Nutini announced he would be part of the line-up for different UK festivals like TRSNMT in Scotland and the legendary Knebworth, then he announced extra dates in Spain, Italy, France… And just a few days after a series of intimate shows was booked,…
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An Ode to Fangirls
By Sara Valle-Martínez Being a fan is hard. As Caitlin Moran puts it in her book, How To Be Famous, there’s something incredibly intimate about consuming someone else’s art. And the connection is even stronger when you’re a teenager exposed to any kind of stimuli. It’s especially hard if you’re a girl. Inevitably, being a teenager means feeling…
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Busking and Covid: quiet streets and unsung voices
By Sara Valle The Musicians’ Union defines busking as part of many musicians’ lives, and says that for many, it can be a lifelong career. But this type of art is threatened by those who wrongfully see it as begging. Last year, it was threatened even further by a global pandemic that required everyone to stay at home. In…
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Sara Valle 