The Refines

A indie band from Wigan, The Refines prove there is still potential for great guitar bands to emerge from the UK despite the rise of electro and urban productions in the charts.

I was lucky enough for the band to send me two masters of their tracks, Why, a frequent set opener or closer and Best Day, a short, sharp raucous number that has much of the everyman quality that has for so long served British guitar bands so well. Listeners need to be able to relate to the band and that’s something The Refines seem to be well on the way to mastering.  Aslo available to hear are Last Monday, my personal favourite, and Only Let You Down, a raw powerful number, through their Facebook page, with a link below. They also appear to have the knack of hitting on the perfect melody to carry through songs, but there is a risk they will be considered an old fashioned band or a copy of earlier bands but I think there is something distinctly unique about The Refines. As more songs are released it will be interesting to see how diverse they go with their sound, as their handful of songs currently available all follow similar models and patterns and some variance would certainly be needed. However the signs are promising…

Check out their latest music at their Facebook page where you can stream 4 of their songs and follow them on Twitter @TheRefines

Cyrus Da Virus

Cyrus da Virus,  a  UK MC from London with a long history in the game and the battle scene, has just released his latest album The Spliff Tapes, with often dark beats and deep lyricism. Produced alongside fellow MC Ichelmee, it is a product of the time it was produced as People Are Scared and the media soundbites of Media Feed reflects upon the riots, and the fear people felt, the anarachy that spread and disillusionment people felt and manages to seem genuine and proves the lyrical capabilities of the MC’s over a contemporary sparse handclap production.

As the album title suggests some of the album is about smoking weed but there is much more to the album than that and if smoking tracks are your thing dont be put off as this album carries a range of deep lyricism and clever production that provides such a nice change from the europop infused trance that has taken over much of the work of once underground UK acts.

The duo sound most at home on oldschool productions like the Fugees Ready Or Not, on the album standout Made This Way, but they are equally compfortable on more modern productions such as They Dont Know  or softer beats such as Flying High, proving their versatility. My personal favourite however is the album closer My Life,  a chronicle of the struggle of the two musicians and their rise through the music scene and seems so real and unforced, which makes a great change from much of latest modern hip hop releases in this genre and it has a strong hook too.

The softer Girl Is Mine is a weaker track on the release and doesnt frame their flows as well but as a whole the album is testament to the talent that is spread throughout the UK underground hip hop scene that so many people have no opportunity to hear.

Download this album at  the link below and check out the rest of Cyrus Da Virus’s back catalogue and support real UK hip hop.

The Spliff Tapes

I Love College

With the recent release of Chiddy Bangs first proper album Breakfast and the return of Asher Roth with his new single Party Girls, college rap seems to be a sub genre going from strength to strength. From the moment I Love College was released in early 2009 and Chiddy Bangs Opposite of Adults spread like wildfire, there seemed the potential for artists who hadn’t grown up in the ghettoes of New York or LA to make credible hip hop covering what was relevant to them. Granted, much of the work talks simply about girls, smoking and drinking but there is still room for creativity, both musically and lyrically and with the wealth of unofficial and mixtape releases out there, it is a fast evolving and interesting genre to keep up to date with. The frequency of release is a testament to the work rate and ethic of these artists and whilst this may not always guarantee every song is amazing its proves the wealth of talent there is.

Below is a selection of some of the strongest artists putting music out at the moment and those you’d expect to become household names sooner rather than later….

 

Futuristic- just released his debut album, Dream Big, Futuristic, who has already opened for Afroman, MGK, E-40 and Sean Kingston isn’t a college student but is of the same age and stylistically very similar. Hit up his bandcamp to stream the album from the link below and get some of his earlier work at www.onlyfuturistic.com/category/mixtapes/

Dream Big – Album stream

 

Chris Webby- Already featured in XXL, Webby has a rapid fire flow and whilst he may be a little repatative in content, he clearly has talent in abundance and even reworks a college classic, Opposite of Adults on his latest tape Websters Laboratory.

Websters Laboratory

 

Logic- Not a college rapper exactly but at the age of 22 Logic is of the same age and samples some classic beats in his work, placing him in the same category as many of the artists on this list and ultimately he was too good not to put on the list. numerous mixtapes but his two Young Sinatra releases prove the superb flow and lyricism that makes Logic as real talent. Only put one video below but there are too many to put a few so just download the tapes.

Young Sinatra: Undeniable

Young Sinatra

 

Aer- Musically varied, using instrumental production Aer have opened for Mac Miller and fuse reggae, indie and hip hop. A couple of mixtapes and new EP What You Need show great potential and a musical variety that may be missing from much of this genres work.

Water On The Moon

 

The Deans List- This Boston duo have released three mixtapes  now and are a talented group who met at music college and have just released their debut abum Generation X. Well worth investigating and a download link  for the strongest mixtape is below

The Drive In

 

Upper West- they may have a softer sound but this duo are putting out some interesting R&B/ Hip Hop productions. The duo dont have the most natural flows but they are experimental and create some good stuff as the track below suggests.

West Side Stories

 

Hi Rez- an 18 year old from Florida has got pop and indie sampling production, a nice flow and an undeniable love for rap and has a new album coming out on the 14 May. However he has already recorded three mixtapes and each has been an improvement on the last, with his beat selection in particular making him stand out as he seems to have an ear for current sounding beats much like early Chiddy Bang work.

Walk To Remember

 

Huey Mack- With his recent reworking of Carly Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe and his new mixtape, A Boy Called Huey, Huey is maturing artistically at a quick pace and has a natural flow matched by a sense of humour and culutral relevance that makes this genre so interesting.

A Boy Called Huey

 

Mike Stud- A standout artist as it seems his musical style makes him most likely to go big on the back of a hit song soon with his music and own take on I Love College, College Humour a standout track he is a proper frat rapper. However much of the album is class so download it now.

A Toast to Tommy

 

Sam Adams- His recent Party Records mixtape proves his versatility over a range of hit records and his latest release Summertime reaffirms this whilst proving there is artistic depth. To already have a mixtape hosted by DJ Whoo Kid under his belt  is impressive enough and reason enough to give him a chance so hit  up the link below.

Party Records

 

OCD: Mosh & Twist- High school seniors from Philadelphia these two already have 3 releases under their belt, and despite sampling Journey’s Dont Stop Believing (video below) and being one of the rawer and more unrefined artists on this list, there is undeniable potential. Visit http://ocdmooshandtwist.com/music/ for the mixtapes.

 

Tayyib Ali- another Philadelphia native, who has opened for Super Smash Bros and Sammy Adams, Ali is a reported frat party favourite and has a nimble flow and his Keystone State of Mind mixtape proved he is already capable of putting together a strong full length release.

Keystone State of Mind

 

Hoodie Allen- The man who should inspire all college rappers, the man who gave up his job at Google to pursue a career in music and the man whose just released his first proper EP, Hoodie Allen is proving it is possible to take this subgenre to the masses. Developing artisitically the new EP All American moves forward largely from  the previous sample based productions, that Chiddy Bang rose to prominence based upon, for more Hoodie helmed beats but maintains the humour and musical creativity and catchiness that made him one to watch. Highlights off the EP include..

This is by no means an exhaustive list and new artists are emerging every week, alongside new material from these artists, so keep up to date with website such as and keep supporting emerging artists.

http://freshnewtracks.com/

http://thissongissick.com/blog/

http://www.goodmusicallday.com/

http://www.college-of-music.com/

A Quick Update…

Firstly, a new release from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Previewed on Annie Mac’s show yesterday, a three minute soundcloud edit is available currently. The official release date isn’t until the 2nd April but this track continues to prove the strength and versatility of Higginbottoms production.

Here’s a reminder of some of his other work, the fantastic Household Goods.

Also putting new music out recently was Mac Miller, who released Dig That featuring Camron via twitter. Not the most obvious pairing, and not a classic Miller track, but this ode to girls with a smooth beat is a decent track and suggests, if the rumours that these two were working on several songs together in the studio, theres more to come.

Download available here at Earmilk.com

Belgian Drum & Bass producer, Netsky, is back with Give and Take. A classic liquid D&B track with a nice piano riff, it reasserts Netsky’s position as one of the genre’s leading lights, and Hospitality as its central label, as he builds up to the release of his second album later this year.

Finally, WZRD, the collobrative project between Kid Cudi and producer Dot Da Genius, released two songs of their album on Jan 31, Brake and Teleport 2 Me, Jamie. The album is due February 28 having been pushed back. Of the two tracks released I think Teleport 2 Me is a the better track, with its very current R&B sound suiting Cudi’s voice better,  but Brake offers a more distinct alt sound as the project promised. Make your own mind up- videos for both below. It will be interesting to see what the album offers too and how different the sound is across the course of an album.

Pretty Lights

Pretty Lights is back with another slice of brilliant production. A soulful hip hop influenced track with a self produced video to match, We Must Go On is up there as a contender for one of the best tracks yet from the prolific producer.

Download HERE 

 

Also available as of the 31st January is a new release from the Pretty Lights music label, Break Science with their second EP Monolith Code.  The duo from Brooklyn who have produced for the likes of The Fugees, Wu Tang Clan and Talib Kweli have released an electronica record that fuses so many styles and yet sounds very cohesive. The label, much like the man behind it, just cant seem to fail.

Adam Deitch describes the musical process behind the record. “We understand that to bring our vision to life, we have to spend just as much time on the programmed elements as we do on the live elements. Our goal is to blend these elements seamlessly, so everything comes together in an organic way. Our music is layered with different frequencies and sonic textures so it becomes something you can listen to multiple times and STILL hear new elements you might have missed the first time. We are influenced by everything from hip-hop and glitch, to jazz, soul, vinyl drum breaks and dub. We like certain elements of dubstep and drumstep (especially that BASS) and try to incorporate that sound in a fresh, new way.”

Give it a listen- download HERE

 

Porter Robinson- The Seconds

Massive song to get the new year going and should only serve to keep builing up Robinsons reputation as a versatile and talented prducer

Best of 2011

It’s that time of year when everyone starts compiling their best of the year list… so heres another one!!

Artists of the Year- especially those who may not have had the album to match their impact

Arctic Monkeys- COnfirmed their position as Britains premier rock band

Skrillex- 5 nominations at the Grammys for an otherwise unknown entity Skrillex took electronic music forward leaps and bounds and opened up and rnage of styles to the mainstream

The Vaccines- Fullfilled their potential as the one to watch for 2011

The Weeknd- A trilogy of superb mixtapes and for many redefining R&B for the next generation

Flux Pavillion- Helping take dubstep into the popular conscience, and one of the best representatives for electronic music in 2011 along with James Blake and SBTRKT

Bon Iver- Produced a brilliant album and led something of a folk revival along with the Fleet Foxes

Ed Sheeran- was everywhere in 2011 and had the talent and songwriting to match even

 

Tracks of the year- small selection of what I’ve had on repeat al year

Childish Gambino- Freaks & Geeks

Arctic Monkeys- Library Pictures

Beastie Boys- Dont Play No Game I Cant Win MAjor Lazer Remix

Drake & Rihanna- Take Care

Hoodie Allen- #WhiteGirlProblems

Bon Iver- Towers

The Kooks- Junk of the Heart

 

Albums of the year ( In no particular order)

1. Coldplay- Myolo Xyloto- Proving just why they are so popular their ability to craft a pop anthem gets ever stronger

2. Lowkey- Soundtrack to the Struggle- Politically charged, lyrically powerful and well produced this album proves there is more to UK Hip Hop than N Dubz, Tinchy Stryder and bubblegum produced chart fodder

3. Beirut- Rip Tide- A brilliant album filled with so man

4. Drake- Take Care- Featuring the pop song of the year (Take Care) this album maintains the quality levels throughout and proves Drake is one of the best song craftsman in music at the moment, even if he does offend hip hop purists

5. Camo & Krooked- Cross the Line- Building on the rise of bass music in 2011 this is the ultimate drum & bass album for 2011 with its fusion of dubstep electro and D&B

6. Kasabian- Velociraptor- Getting better with every album this is the closest to perfection the band have got with an album

7. The Vaccines- What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?- New, exciting, short and simple … just a few of the adjectives to describe the Vaccines- Hotly tipped for 2011 and they didnt dissapoint

8. Nero- Welcome Reality- taking electronic music to the stadiums this sounded big and powerful

9. Bombay Bicycle CLub- A Diferent Kind of FIx- Every album offers something new and this offered yet more brilliant songs proving the band wont be pigeionholed

10. Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch The Throne- Proving the two egos could create a great album together this was packed with great hip hop and genre bending production

11. Bon Iver- Bon Iver- Perfection

12. Adele- 21- 2011 should go down as the year of Adele and this album proves why…

13. Big Sean- Finnally Famous- Building on the Drake formulae this had

14. Foo Fighters- Wasting Light- Return to a garage rock sound and had the Foos soundng hungry and writing as good a song as ever

15. Friendly Fires- Pala- One of the best British bands of recent years

16. Arctic Monkeys- Suck It & See- A fantastic fourth album showing why they remain the premier British rock band

17. XV – Zero Heroes- Another mixtape from XV with the quality increasng with every release

18. Talib Kweli- Gutter Rainbows- The ultimate backpack rapper proves he doesnt have to follow the crowd to make a great album

19. The Streets- Computers & Blues- A superb farewell proving why the Streets will be missed

20. James Blake- James Blake- Ambient Dubstep? Whatever it is its good

21. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs- Firmly establishing them as the premier band of the world at the start of the year their sound was becoming more accessible without losing out on any quality

22. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy- A majestic release from the current king of hip hop

23. Saigon- The Greatest Story Ever Told- A long time coming from a long tipped talent this album proves what the hype  was about and proves hip hop doesnt always have to cater to the charts either side of the Atlantic. Gritty and uncompromising

24. White Denim- D- Brilliant produced rock album with  huge vision and ambition in sound and production

25. The War on Drugs- Slave Ambient- Fantastic Second Album with layered production and smooth sounds throughout

26. SBTRKT- SBTRKT- Genre fusing masterpiece

27. Ed Sheeran- +- Dominated the British charts and youth culture like no one else

28. M83- Hurry up were dreaming- Ambient and captivating album

29. Mustard Pimp- No Title or Purpose- whilst most electronic music was slowing down to dubstep Mustard Pimp kept the energy levels up with the definitive electro album of the year

30. Pusha T- Fear of God- Best mixtape in hip hop of 2011

31. Noel Gallagher- High Flying Birds- Life after Oasis seems more productive than Oasis were for many years and proves why the band were so successful

32. Justice- Audio, Video, Disco- Great output continues from the French duo

33. The Game- RED Album- Strong return from a stalwart of the west coast despite his torrid career path

34. The Beastie Boys- Hot Sauce Committee 2- Return of the hp hop veterans proved very welcome

35. Kendrick Lamar- Section.80- One for the future for sure

 

Dissapointments-those albums that just didnt live up to expectation…

Mac Miller- Blue Slide Park- just didnt have the impact hoped for or expected

Professor Green- At Your Inconvenience- One of the best UK MC’s yet this album was so watered down for the charts

The Drums- Portamento- Didnt hit the heights of the first album

J. Cole- Cole World- Not the classic anticipated though still strong in places

Wretch 32- Black and White- Production largely udnercut the talent- too samey to succeed

Lupe Fiasco- LASERS- impact of the record label left even Lupe dissapointed

Chase & Status- No More Idols- album just wasnt as good as some of its tracks deserved

 

Nonetheless, its amazing how easy it is to forget what a brilliant year 2011 was!

Futuristic ‘Mr I Had To Do It’

Futuristic is one to watch for the future, a hip hop artist right on trend at the moment, for fans of Childish Gambino, Mac Miller, Kid Cudi and the like. A native of Illinois and now residing in Tempe, Arizona he has opened up for the likes of Willy Northpole, Sean Kingston, E-40, Afroman, Machine Gun Kelly, Yung Berg, Yelawolf and Snoop Dogg. If that isnt reason enough to check him out, hes releases 3 mixtapes and the latest is available here to download for free.

Hes recently dropped an awesome video for his track La La La with K.I.D which I think serves as the perfect introduction to him.

 

Interested? You should be- get more info at the links below:

www.facebook.com/Futuristicihadtodoit

www.onlyfuturistic.com

www.reverbnation.com/onlyfuturistic

Biggest releases of the year come all at once…

This week and next marks the release of some very long awaited albums. Leaks mean they are all available on the web now too. Childish Gambino- Camp, Mac Miller- Blue Slide Park, Statik Selektah- Population Control and Drake- Take Care all see the light of day surrounded in hype and expectation and they all largely match up too. Mac Millers album has a slightly different sound in places but he proves his talent on his debut, Gambino sounds like a more rounded artist than ever, Drake reaffirms his postion as one of the best pop artists in the world at the moment and Statik Selektah has some awesome production. Proper reviews will follow but for now heres a video of my favourite, at the moment, tracks of each album. The choices are a little obvious but Im sure more listens will open up more favourites.

Childish Gambino- Heartbeats- Justice meets Drake and its very very good

 

Statik Selektah- New York, New York- old school feel from an album of class tracks

 

Mac Miller- Up All Night- Proving his versatility

 

Drake- The Real Her- Andre 3000 sounds good on this track. Take Care with Rihanna could well be pop song of the year, but youtube have been cracked down on for leaked tracks so isnt available for me to embed

 

Portamento

The Drums – Portamento

***

The return of The Drums heralds the return of more melodies and subtle pop songs. After their fantastic debut, The Drums, it would have been very easy to stick to the same formulae. However, whilst the sound is still the similar the album reflects artistic maturation, or at least some experimentation with news sounds, styles and ideas.  Lets Go Surfing opened the band up for instant surfer band branding and yet this album seeks to explore darker subjects and areas. The album has mixed reviews, with the Guardian considering it too glum and repetative whislt the BBC sees Portamento as The Drums equivalent to the Beach Boys Pet Sounds.  However what is the reality?

Book Of Revelation starts with lyrics such as ” I believe that when we die we die, so let me love you tonight, let me love you tonight,” morbid but framed within a wonderful stripped down track. Days follows a similar line and at 4.31 drones a little towards the end.

The album drags in places and morose could become a little overwhelmingly. However each listen draws you in with the melodies and wonderfully crafted tracks that soar at times. This return has far from a classic but it does have some awesome moments and confirms The Drums position as one of the better alternaive pop bands in an era flooded with Euro Pop and David Guetta. If this and the better tracks of the debut were fused it would become one hell of an abum. Lets hope the next album captures it all.