Top tunes from THE OCTOBER GAME, XYKOGEN, FORTHAVEN, ROBOT//ALIEN, TAMARA WOESTENBURG, BENJAMIN MASON, SEATTLE YACHT CLUB, SHE MAKES WAR, COURTS, THE POCKET GODS, CLOUD, KATE DOUBLEDAY, RODEO TERRORISTS, BENJAMIN FOLKE THOMAS, GLENN MALTMAN and OLD TRAMP

Every Sunday night (technically Monday morning) from 2-3am on BBC Radio 6 Music you can hear a selection of my favourite new tunes from the BBC Introducing Uploader in an hour-long music mixtape. Some of the tunes are recommended by BBC friends and colleagues, others are handpicked by me from our inbox here at Fresh On The Net. For more about how that particular process works see this post.

Each of these mixtapes is available free when the radio show ends at 3am via the 6 Music Downloads Page. You’ll also find archived episodes there from the previous 4 weeks. As of this week, the full tracklists and start times are now published here at Fresh On The Net with a link to each artist’s website. These are the listings for Bank Holiday Monday, 2nd September 2013 – recent mixtape tracklistings can be found via the MIXTAPE tab above – earlier listings are on the BBC website.

THE OCTOBER GAME – Beg Cycle [Starts: 0.13]
http://facebook.com/theoctobergame
The October Game are a 5 piece alt.rock band originally from Hertfordshire and now based in London. The darker and more expansive sound of Beg Cycle is a first taster from their long anticipated third album Balancing – due to be released by Scylla Records on Monday 7th October – and recorded with producer Jake Robbins. Beg Cycle is available as as an immediate free download for anyone who pre-orders the LP via scyllarecords.bigcartel.com where you can also buy tickets for their album launch gig backin their old stomping ground of Hitchin’s Club 85 on October 4th. These advance tickets also include a digital copy of the album’s first official single We Built This Wall To Destroy which is released a fortnight today, September 16th.

XYKOGEN – Xembala [Starts: 05:54]
http://www.xykogen.com
Xykogen have listened to far too much Public Enemy, Sisters of Mercy, Throbbing Gristle and any amount of Techno, Dub and Drum and Bass whilst doing their paper rounds for it to be healthy. It has left them with a very blurred distinction of where pop music ends and terrifying noise begins. In many ways this seems like a perfect soundtrack for the disjointed and failing times in which we live. Xykogen are also founders of the Zero State techno-political movement but one shouldn’t hold that against them. They will be releasing an album titled, ‘When Comes The Hour?’ in the Autumn.

FORTHAVEN – Sequence 78 [Starts: 10:14]
featuring ANNE MARIE HOWARD
http://soundcloud.com/forthaven/forthaven-sequence-78-feat
the forthaven as a name was born on a road trip in the USA with my friend Tim, down highway one, in late 2010. we both agreed at the time that this was perfect for a band name” since then, Forthaven has evolved into an eclectic mix of styles, yet maintaining the solid roots that its built on. now in its fifth year, a band is being generated, and gigs will be coming up in the winter. many thanks to our supporters!

ROBOT//ALIEN – Should’ve [Starts: 13:11]
http://soundcloud.com/robotalienuk
RoBoT//aLiEn is from Manchester and plays noisy songs with lots of melody. His 17 track debut album ‘You’re The Problem That Will Not Go Away’ was released in June on Birmingham’s Dead London Records, garnering some very lovely critical acclaim along the way. The song ‘Should’ve’ breaks the noisy mould in the regions of the last part of the album, instead opting for piano and hushed brushed drums. It is the moment you stop and think and have an inkling of regret about things, but then realise you wouldn’t have done it any other way anyway;) RoBoT//aLiEn played a BBC Introducing session in July which can be heard here. Live dates:
8th September Manchester: Band On The Wall
3rd October London: Tipsy Bar, Dalston with Francobollo
20th October Manchester: Carefully Planned Festival

TAMARA WOESTENBURG – Bang Bang [Starts: 14:31]
http://www.tamarawoestenburg.com
“De tofste. Sowieso. Dus volgen met je donder.” Tamara Woestenburg sings and writes songs. She’s expressive, original and raw, which is reflected in her songs. Both solo and supported by a band, the singer/songwriter presents different spheres and genres; from small and intimate, till ambitiously big; From folk through jazz to raw rock. Tamara’s moving and exciting voice, her intense performance and personal songs, are supported by imaginative instrumentation and arrangements. February 26 2012 her ep (simply titled EP) has been released. EP also contains the song How I Miss You, with dazzling Benjamin Herman. Hometown – Rotterdam

BENJAMIN MASON – Natalist [Starts: 18:19]
https://www.facebook.com/benjaminmasonsounds
Music ian / Songist / guitarist / big haired / recordist / Welsh / and a bit of a hermit / from Pembrokeshire. Pretty obsessive about making music: I do it pretty much every day. Also made music as Bagpipe Whiskey, Benfro, Sven Monsoon. Recently I’ve been reacquainted with my first love – guitar.

SEATTLE YACHT CLUB – Feeling The Sunshine [Starts: 21:14]
https://www.facebook.com/seattleyachtclubband
Ah well, it was one of those moments of pure synchronicity when this popped up in our inbox last week on the hottest day of the year so far. Tight, smooth harmonies, poppy scat vocal hooks, glistening electric piano chords, muted guitar picking reminiscent of steel pans – a light uptempo groove and Seattle Yacht Club‘s signature slick production values. Oh and a memorable chorus. Tom Dale and Denis Brice seem to be just going from strength to strength. I approved this track for the Listening Post less than 30 seconds into the song, and our readers voted it into the Fresh Faves here with the same alacrity….if the Men In Suits can help this duo achieve even half the recognition they deserve over the coming months, I predict we’ll see them on the Radio 1 playlist and playing major festival slots within a year.

SHE MAKES WAR – Butterflies [Starts: 25:07]
http://www.shemakeswar.com
She Makes War is the solo “dramatic gloom-pop” project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and digital polymath Laura Kidd, whose independent albums “Disarm” and “Little Battles” have gained her an international following over the last three years. Butterflies is the title track of her 6 track audiovisual EP out on 26th August – six songs and six videos! Fun fact – three of the live tracks on the EP feature The Hysterical Injury as the rhythm section.

COURTS – The Game Is Long [Starts: 28:06]
http://courts.bandcamp.com
We’re a five-piece band from Basildon, Essex consisting of Chris Moody (vocals and guitar), Dan Baker (bass), Joe Choppen (drums), Luke Baker (guitar and keyboard) and Reece Baker (guitar). Since meeting through college we’ve been influenced by a beneficially diverse spectrum that ranges from funk to hip-hop. We describe what we do as ‘guitar based hip-hop influenced music’. Our latest EP ‘The Game Is Long’ is out now and available to buy from courts.bandcamp.com as well as being available on iTunes, Deezer, Spotify, Amazon Music etc. We’ve nearly finished recording our 3rd EP – of which some tracks people will be able to hear really soon. Influences: ANVIL, BFK, The Yard, Basildon Town, working towards not working, The Warriors, Breaking Bad, pretty much ALL music.

THE POCKET GODS – Jombal Party 2013 [Starts: 32:17]
https://www.facebook.com/thepocketgods
The Pocket Gods are a strange pop combo from St Albans who mix punk, pop and a love of the surreal writing songs about anything from Jumble Sales, UFOS and fine Asian cuisine. We have our 24th album out in September called 2nd Biggest Band In The Village (the biggest being 60’s psyche legends The Zombies) and it is being released on Academy Recordings – the label run by BASCA.

CLOUD – Cars & It’s Autumn [Starts: 34:51]
http://cloudmusic.bandcamp.com
This is the opening track of the album Comfort Songs, released on Audio Antihero records last month. “After what felt like a really long time,” says Jamie from the label. “our first international signing was Cloud, a 21 year old songwriter/bandleader called Tyler Taormira from Los Angeles via Boston via New York. His/their debut LP was Comfort Songs. picked up an 8/10 review on Drowned In Sound and scored a slew of good reviews across the blogosphere, all of which pleased me. This was a very rewarding album for me…partly because it was so good to be back, partly because Tyler is such a lovely lovely person…and lastly because finding an LP that excels in both exquisite pop sounds and innovates in sonic experiments, well, I couldn’t believe my luck. This record means a lot to me and I believe it could mean a lot to you too.”

KATE DOUBLEDAY – Wild Poppies [Starts: 40:15]
http://www.katedoubleday.com
I wrote this song in celebration of the beautiful Poppy. As a gardener I am passionate about bringing the wildflower’s back to our land – 98% of our Wildflower hay meadows have been lost in the last sixty years. The song comes from my second album Belonging – produced by Joe Broughton from the Urban Folk Quartet. It features Dan Wilkins on Guitar, Trevor Lines on Dulcimer, Pamela Pinnock and Tina Barnes on vocals. I am hoping to do a series of events next year around the UK Flower shows and a new album is on its way.

RODEO TERRORISTS – Big Metal Bird [Starts: 45:07]
https://www.facebook.com/RodeoIceStation
You’ll find a bio at soundcloud.com/rodeoterrorists/ – we are currently working on our fourth album ‘Big Metal Bird’ which includes this track (obv) Super Massive Robot Dancer (currently on iTunes as a single) and Drum Beats For Sunday plus many more. I’d also like to say an amazing thank you for all your support at the BBC, its very humbling.

BENJAMIN FOLKE THOMAS – Postcard From Cazal
http://www.benjaminfolkethomas.com
It is five years since Folke Thomas left the southern Swedish archipelagos to make his name on the London live circuit. He quickly found his feet; and his sound: An astonishing, explosive brand of Americana, delivered through supersonic guitar picking offsetting moody baritone vocals, like a cross between Robert Johnson and Warren Zevon.

GLENN MALTMAN – Catbells [Starts: 52:07]
http://www.glennmaltman.co.uk
Glenn has been playing keyboards for over 20 years and composing his own material for 10 years. Inspiration for his music is taken from the landscape surrounding Glenn’s home in the North East and a fascination with the unknowns and knowns of space. Glenn hopes that his instrumental music may be of interest to any labels, big or small.

OLD TRAMP – Kokshaw [Starts: 55:17]
http://soundcloud.com/oldtramp
This is the new project of Snippet aka Team freshnet’s Johnno Casson. As is the way with these things, this project started with the writing of one song and no expectation at all. Kiss My Arse was a playful two fingers up to people who said no to him about something or other to do with music. Within a week of producing it Old Tramp had been played by BBC Introducing, BBC 6 Music and Amazing Radio, and had been invited to play (with his 5 piece indie dance backing band??) at the opening of a couple of new nightclubs. Fresh from being thought of as a 5 piece, this one-piece-band has been busy building his arsenal of new (and very much original) Old Tramp songs. Yet to release a record – and about to sign with a fine label – Old Tramp is currently in the throes of putting together a debut EP – with an album to follow.