Introducing Mixtape 4 June 2012

The BBC Introducing Mixtape: click for downloads page

The tracklistings for this week’s Introducing Mixtape failed to publish through some internal error on the BBCserver – so here they are meantime.

In the small hours of a Monday morning from 2-3am you can hear a selection of my favourite new tunes compiled into an hour-long mixtape of nonstop music. All the audio is sourced from the BBC Introducing Uploader – some of it recommended by BBC colleagues across the Introducing network, and some discovered via Twitter and my own Fresh On The Net blog.

From 3am each Monday the latest mixtape is then available free via the 6 Music Downloads Page – where you’ll also find archived episodes from the previous 4 weeks. All the tracklists and start times for each track are published here – together with a link to each artist’s website.  Below are are the listings for Monday, June 4th.

THE WINTER OLYMPICS – I Prefer The Early Stuff [Starts 0:14]
http://www.thewinterolympicsband.com
The Winter Olympics describe themselves as “a dance-punk, indie rock and roll band from London who are not like the other bands. Inspired by the DIY dignity of Dischord records, the deft funk of DFA and the no-nonsense globe-shagging radio rock of the 1980s, the band tries to marry literate lyrics to dance rock party beats and positive punk jams. Their unmissably messy stadium-friendly live show mixes hands-aloft house piano, an earnest punk intensity and a boozy barroom bonhomie reminiscent of The Hold Steady.”

TENI AND THE AFRO-RENAISSANCE – Lionheart
[Starts 4:01]
http://tenimusic.org
Teni was born in London, spent her early years in Lagos and after studying History at the University College London and African Studies at SOAS, she moved back home to Lagos, home of Fela Kuti – and the birthplace of Afrobeat – where she founded a 12 piece band performing her own brand of feminine Afrosoul. She’s currently putting the finishing touches to a selfproduced album to be called “Afrodisiac” – due out later this year. This is the latest taste of the new record to be released as a single and you can hear it on her website.

FIN – Stone Dead and Rising [Starts 8:21]
http://www.finonline.co.uk
“I’m often at odds with the intention of writing a song” says FIN. “It’s impossible to hold up a mirror to the world and expect everyone to see the same thing. Words, like dreams, flow in strange, vivid and sometimes elusive ways. My songs are about the small moments, the cracks in time around big events, a look from a lover, the feeling of an empty room. A lot of it boils down to perhaps the strongest emotion of all – nostalgia – which can hold lives to ransom, or offer hope that can push you on. His debut album These Words Aren’t Meant For Me is available via his website.

GEM_DOS – Sand Hands [Starts 11:04]
http://soundcloud.com/gem-dos
“I grew up listening to Drum and Bass and Electronica in South East London,” says GEM_DOS “but am half Irish and have been living in Dublin for the last 5 years – where I’ve done music courses at The Sound Training Centre and The Academy of Sound. I’ve no idea what you’d call my music other than electronic – maybe you can have a listen for me and let me know… He regularly posts a fasciating selection of favourite tunes, poems, mixes and videos at http://gem-dos.tumblr.com

SONS BETWEEN GUNS – Galatea [Starts 15:48]
http://www.sonsbetweenguns.com
“We are” say Sons Between Guns in South East London “Paul Trivett and Thomas Whitelaw. We are both into a ridiculous amount of different types of music but we manage to fuze this all together to make a fresh and original sound… We write produce and mix all of our material, perform live and are signed To R-Lo Records.” Featuring early-80s Heaven 17-style synthdrum percussion, spooky tremelo guitar and sepulchral vocals this track comes from the label’s debut release, EP Red 1. A followup EP of remixes came out at the end of last month.

SOFTWHERE – Edge Of The Road (with HANNAH RICKARD)
[Starts 19:56]
http://www.softwhere.org.uk
Softwhere are the Northern boy/girl electronic audio/visual artists – and friends of 6 Music Introducing – Jonny and Sarah. Here they’ve hooked up with local Tyneside singer Hannah Rickard
for a single they released digitally last month. They describe it as “a political and personal anti-war response to seeing documentaries, news items, and hearing stories about victims of roadside bombs – and the cynical way young people are coaxed into joining up.” It’s from a forthcoming album titled A Few Weird Little Songs and Softwhere are currently making one of their trademark music videos for the song.

THE ADELINES – Little Games
[Starts 24:18]
http://facebook.com/theadelines
A big favourite with our old friend Ruth Barnes from The Other Woman Music. She says: “this Swansea foursome are headed up by Jennie Morris on lead vocal and guitar – and Little Games is a neat tune. There’s a distinct lack of melody-driven indie rock at the moment and to hear Jennie’s vocal take off in the chorus of this song – followed by a lovely jangly guitar riff – is a welcome relief.” Jennie formed the band in 2011 with Anton Dodwell on guitar, Eddie Russell on bass and drummer Ray Thomas they and named themselves after their next door neighbour’s cat.
They play Cardiff’s Surface Festival later today (Monday June 4th).

CHRISTA VI – Long Way Home [Starts 27:35]
http://www.christavi.com
Christa Vi is an Australian/German songwriter based in East London who lists her inspirations as
“life’s hard knocks, long plane journeys, walking alone in foreign cities, London’s noise pollution, the inner pain and beauty of others, overheard snippets of conversation – and a slight fear of losing that feeling.” Her debut album will be produced by George Shilling (Coldcut, Yazz, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream etc) and released next year. Meantime this is the title track of her Long Way Home EP due out at the end of July 2012. She plays a London gig at Underbelly in Hoxton a week on Tuesday (June 12th)

DECADE IN EXILE – Patti’s Town [Starts 31:45]
http://decadeinexile.bandcamp.com
Decade In Exile are from London and Liverpool. In 2010 Freya and Deal met at art school and where they formed the band with Ingle joining from Liverpool and Al who plays the bass. “We make experimental pop music” they say “and like recording on tape, old reels, cassettes and new digital stuff. We recently played the Sonic Cathedral night at The Social in London and our first self titled 6 track E.P/mini album is now available from Rough Trade Shops as a limited edition of 300 vinyl copies of Vinyl – along with new free downloads of the tracks on our Bandcamp page.” Incidentally whoever wrote The Winter Olympics’ biog could learn a lot from the above few sentences. Facts are a lot more interesting than flannel.

LUNCHBAND – Beach Song
[Starts 35:56]
http://facebook.com/lunchband
“If there is one universal fact” say Tom Cale, Josh Jackson, “Mull” Mulligan and their drummer John Innis, “it is that everybody loves Lunch.” Born in 2011 they’ve been busy “crafting the future sounds of your afternoon mealtimes that will have enough resonance to keep you hungry for more all day, no matter what course of the banquet you find yourself indulging in.” They now playn to turn up the heat with the imminent release of their debut EP Rabbits, Princes, Phantoms & Beaches this month and would like to hear from any budding remixers who would like to get their hands on the stems of this track Beach Song. And they too play London’s Underbelly this  Wednesday (June 6th).

POLLY PAULUSMA – Last Week Me
[Starts 40:42]
http://www.pollypaulusma.com
From humble musical beginnings in a garden shed, Polly Paulusma signed to One Little Indian nine years ago and released her self-produced, home-shed-recorded debut album Scissors In My Pocket in 2004. The Independent described her as “the most literate songwriter of her generation”. Her second album Fingers & Thumbs in 2007 was a difficult and intensely personal album made in the wake of a series of tragic miscarriages. Five years and two children later, Polly is about to release her joyful third album Leaves from the Family Tree which includes collaborations with Adem and Erin McKeown, As somebody said recently : “It just goes to show, all you need is talent… in this case: one woman, a guitar and a voice.” Oh hold on… that was me.

NINETAILS – Blue Bottle Flu [Starts 45:09]
http://ninetailsband.co.uk
From Liverpool, NINETAILS sold out their debut EP, GHOST RIDE THE WHIP, in under two weeks and they’re now working towards a debut album. We played their single Social Guesswork back in January and featured the followup Rawdon Fever on a previous Introducing Mixtape in April. Big thanks to Chris Chadwick from team Freshnet for turning us on to Ninetails – who’ve racked up impressive numbers of views and plays for their music with almost zero promotion. There’s no substitute for sheer online word of mouth and – by all accounts – highly memorable memorable live shows.

HURACHE – Atishoo Atishoo [Starts 48:55]
http://facebook.com/hurache
From a sleepy fishing port in the South West of England comes an Urbane Music Collective founded in 2001 by brothers Mike and Dan Hall, both born and raised in Brixham ( “…and yes” they add “we say said Urbane not Urban. It’s not a typo.”) Hurache is – they tell us – definitely a collective rather than a “group” or a “crew”. They’ve been making a name by selling limited edition copies of CDs directly to the public in their local area while diligently practising and honing their production skills. This track comes from their 19-track debut album Digital Revolution – made and marketed defiantly outside “the Record Label establishment”…

BLACK DANIEL – People Watchin’ [Starts 52:08]
http://facebook.com/blackdanielvision
“When it doesn’t have five or four members, Black Daniel has a core of just three: namely the London-born brothers L.E. May and Lamik2000 together with the singular Craig Louis Higgins Jnr – who hails from New York via Cape Cod – and rejoices in the occasional stage alias of Mulato Pintado. The trio first met on the dancefloor of a Lower East Side disco in Manhattan, and quickly discovered a mutual love of animal tranquilisers and long walks in the rain. What ensued includes a series of Japanese stage invasions, cow bell solos, bloodied microphones, blow up dolls, leather pant experiments, Uncle Warren’s trumpet, wigs, wood nymphs and general good times along the way. Black Daniel will be coming to a theatre near you soon…” Be afraid, be very afraid.

OF ARROWE HILL – The Stars Are Against Us [Starts 55:57]
http://facebook.com/pages/of-Arrowe-Hill/237350516280497
In June 2010 a New York listener recommended a song called “You, The Night & Père Lachaise” which I liked so much we ended up playing it four times that year. OF ARROWE HILL – named for an area of Woodchurch on The Wirral – were formed in London in May 1999. Fans have ranged from John Peel to Julian Cope – and with, rave reviews for their fifth album and a sixth due in Spetember, the whole project – fronted by Adam Easterbrook – has taken on a whole new lease of life. This is the radio edit of their six minute single ‘The Stars Are Against Us’ which will be released on Ouija Board Records in July 2012. Facebook.

Tom Robinson

London-based broadcaster & songwriter, born 1950. His best known songs are 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Glad To Be Gay and War Baby; he has also co-written songs with Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché. Read More...

1 Comments

  1. Thanks for playing our song it made our Bank Holiday…

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