Top tunes from SEAN TAYLOR, OLIVER FOX, MARINA FLORANCE, RUINZ ASON, SOUL SABOTEUR, WE DIED AT SEA, GIVE BLOOD, BEN SEE, KHAMSINA, I’M NO CHESSMAN, 100 ROBOTS, OLYMPIAN, WINTERFALLE, OLD TRAMP, JOSEPHINE & THE ARTIZANS and ELSPETH

The BBC Introducing Mixtape is a 60 minute radio show and podcast broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music from 2-3am every Sunday night/Monday morning. Each show is available as a podcast for 30 days at the BBC 6 Music downloads page. The full tracklists and start times are published here at Fresh On The Net with biog information supplied by the artists. Previous tracklists can be found via the MIXTAPE tab above or on the BBC website.

All tracks on the mixtape come from the BBC Introducing Uploader: some are recommended by BBC friends and colleagues – the rest are tunes I’ve discovered here while listening to our Fresh On The Net inbox. For more about how the process works see this post.

These are the listings for the episode broadcast at 2am on Monday, 18th November 2013:

SEAN TAYLOR – River [starts: 0.13]
http://www.seantaylorsongs.com
River – by London songwriter and guitarist Sean Taylor – is easily my favourite track of the last week. Or indeed the last month. Colm McCarthy’s video matches it for sheer creative quality and whirling, kaleisescopic imagery and you can view it at the bottom of this page. “River is a spoken word piece dedicated to my home” says Sean. “It took five years to write in cafes, pubs, buses and tubes around the capital – and references Camden, Brixton and the Thames. It’s from my new album Chase The Night, which was recorded in Austin, TX with producer Mark Hallman and features features legendary double bass player Danny Thompson, Danny’s also been touring with me since recording the album.”

OLIVER FOX – Fifty Frames [starts: 6:18]
http://oliver-fox.tumblr.com
A wonderfully fresh, energetic and adventurous sounding track to follow. So refreshing to hear music that’s simultaneously so innovative and yet accessible. Tons of wide open space, tiny events and suprises and no concession whatever to radio friendliness or the commercial market. “I am based in Shadwell, East London” says Oliver Fox “Broadly speaking my music is abstract melodic funk: for me, dissonance and syncopation are two of the most powerful musical tools. I plan to release a cassette tape of eight tracks in February 2014 with live shows to follow in the Summer. In the meantime, there will be more tracks going up on my soundcloud and I am also on Twitter https://twitter.com/OliverFoxMusic purveying good music, interesting thoughts and whimsical distractions. You can also catch the video for Fifty Frames on YouTube.

MARINA FLORANCE – The Moon [starts: 11:13]
http://www.marinaflorance.com
“Had a great year so far!” beams Marina Florence “Highlight was being invited to play the Brian McNeill Saturday Session at Cambridge Folk Festival by the man himself.” Last year was pretty good too: her song Cry was recorded by the actor Anthony Head and won the Oldie Composers songwriting competition last year, judged by Radio 2 DJs. Her latest project My Own Little Piece Of The Sky was recorded live at the Puppet Theatre in Norwich – and takes its name from the lyrics to the opening track: this atmospheric Hammond-textured gem The Moon. MOLPOTS is a five-track EP and art project – which can either be bought as a standalone CD and digital download – or in a deluxe handmade Artists Book version featuring the art of Jules Allen.

RUINZ ASON – Wake Up! [starts: 14:10]
http://www.ruinzason.com
It had been a marathon listening session working my way through a particularly lifeless bunch of snooze-inducing singer-songwriters a few weeks ago. “Wake up!” shouted rapper, vocalist, producer and musician Ruinz Ason as this track jumped out of the speakers at me with the machinegun flow of his declaiming vocals and the brilliantly bonkers production flair of his brother J- Flames. The sum total of my knowledge about urban music could be written on the back of a postage stamp but I know what I like; Wake Up! tickled my fancy very much indeed. Ruinz tells us he and his brother come from “the sunny side of South London” and that this is the first single from their experimental genre-fusing project The Dubtrap Experience which is available for free download now. Their musical concept of Dubtrap brings together influences from Dub, Hip-Hop, Dubstep, Trap & Reggae. There’s an excellent bank-heist-style video for this track by Nameless Vision that references elements from Bonnie & Clyde, Prison Break and X-Files.

SOUL SABOTEUR – Therapy For The Damned [starts: 16:51]
http://www.soulsaboteur.com
SOUL SABOTEUR are an Anglo-Welsh soul/blues/rock band based in Tywyn, Preston (where they record) and Manchester (where they rehearse). To date they’ve gigged mainly around NorthWest England while maintaining their hallmark Welsh connection via their founder and main songwriter James Stone who began the project in late 2012 – the final lineup having come together in May 2013. This sweeping, majestic 6/8 epic Therapy For The Damned is the title track from band’s debut album which was produced by Alan Gregson and will be released on November 30th – with an album launch in Preston at The Ferret the day before (Nov 29).

WE DIED AT SEA – Wolves [starts: 19:54]
https://www.facebook.com/WeDiedAtSea
Rag, Mama Rag is the newly released EP by Leeds outfit We Died At Sea, and no relation to Robbie Robertson’s classic tune The Band’s second album in 1970. However the phrase itself (a pre-war euphemism for sexual congress) dates back to the the ragtime, hot jazz, hokum and swing of the 1920’s and 1930’s from which WDAS take their influences, alongside blues, klezmer, and traditional Balkan and European folk. They recently supported John Parish (guitarist and producer with PJ Harvey, Eels and Sparklehorse) at The Hyde Park Picture House and are due to support TG Elias in December and US band The Stray Birds in Liverpool in February during their UK tour. They’ve recently contributed a track to the Leeds based roots label Gin House Records’ compilation album. Wolves is perhaps less representative of the band’s trademark style than the other two tracks on Rag, Mama Rag which I’d recommend checking out on their Bandcamp.

GIVE BLOOD – Pearls [starts: 22:56]
http://gogiveblood.com
Jonny and William from Give Blood describe themselves as a DIY Glum Rock duo from London, while a nameless third party described their music as “a wash of minimal techno wizardry packed with hooks”. Their debut EP Cuboid was released in September for free via their website – with every person getting a unique copy of the ever-changing artwork depending on when they click the download link. They will be releasing a single from the EP called Sliding Doors on a split 7″ in mid December 2013 – depending on when the pressing arrives! Whenever that happens, the launch party will be at The Royal Sovereign in Clapton, but until then, Londoners can catch them in Hoxton on Saturday November 30th.

BEN SEE – Balloon Tree (BEN SEE remix) [starts: 26:44]
https://www.facebook.com/BenSeeMusic
Ben See is a bedroom musician from South London who writes and performs music with his voice and nothing else. He has a background in choral music, and his influences range from Radiohead through to Benjamin Britten. He also has a weak spot for the velvet vocal chords of some of the early vocal groups – The Four Freshmen, The Inkspots, The Platters, The Meltones, The Swingle Singers etc. Ben is currently working on his debut album. The record will be a collection of his own songs, all performed a cappella – which he hopes will explore the potential of the human voice with an inventive and imaginative edge. He frankly wouldn’t mind giving the world of choral music a little bit of a shake-up. More recently Ben has been working under the moniker Moment.Sound.Blur (for some slightly more electronic based collaborations). He has contributed a vocal electronica track for the album Night Bus put together by South London producer Jamie Isaac and Melodica Records. And he is also curating an acappella remix project – lots of different vocal based acts and artists (and interesting acappella collaborators) remix and rework each other’s tracks.

KHAMSINA – In Love [starts: 29:48]
http://www.khamsina.com
Khamsina is the artist name of UK singer-songwriter Stevie Fitchett who writes, records and produces all her own work. At present, Khamsina is working towards writing her new project KORE and her award winning show Odyssey The Musical will be staged in Maidenhead in April 2014. We emailed Stevie to ask for a little more information about herself and her music but got no reply. Perhaps she could get some ideas from our advice page about How To Write An Artist Biog.

I’M NO CHESSMAN – Blank Page [starts: 34:11]
https://www.facebook.com/Imnochessman
Immaculately recorded and crackling with energy, Blank Page is strong introduction to the work of I’m No Chessman. Formed in 2012, they describe themselves as “a 4 piece alternative rock band from Bournemouth, Dorset”. The band members are Michael Rockett (vocals, guitar), Jason Wheeler (piano, Guitar), Lewis Salter (Bass) and Jonny Browning (drums). The band has been gigging around the Dorset Hampshire area over the past two years and have been working on their first EP This Medicine. It was released earlier this year and can be found on their Bandcamp page. https://imnochessman.bandcamp.com The band is now planning a small tour either this Winter or next Summer. No venues have been confiirmed yet, but information will be posted on their Facebook page.

100 ROBOTS – Spaceteam [starts: 37:23]
http://100robots.com
Tight, sharp and huge fun, Spaceteam is a musical tribute to the smartphone party game of the same name by our Brighton friends 100 Robots. Together with its video, the song was composed, recorded, arranged, produced, filmed and edited in a week after recording some samples of friends playing Spaceteam on the grounds that “they sounded silly”. It’s clear from everything they do that Max Williams and Jim Purbrick are motivated my high spirits and sheer enjoyment rather than being part of some overhyped record industry masterplan to conquer the pop universe. The duo formed when Jim and Max decided they were having so much fun playing Rock Band they ought to go back to being in “a real band” again. Their work may be fuelled by a lighthearted antic spirit and their love of daft electronic games, but the pair have serious musical chops and a keen ear for production. And that’s what lifts Spaceteam way above the level of a mere lo-fi novelty record and makes the whole project so irresistible. Check out the video here.

OLYMPIAN – Kill The Lights Suzanne [starts: 40:23]
http://facebook.com/olympianmanchester
After growing up in both Manchester and Canada, Aron Robinson has been involved in various musical projects in and around his hometown in recent years, culminating in his current project Olympian – whose first recordings emerged in early last year. By the autumn the landmark debut EP Back to the Great Lakes had been released – and we featured the title track on the BBC Introducing Mixtape in August this year. High profile local fans include John Bramwell and Damon Gough – as well as the team at BBC Introducing In Manchester – and Aron’s own neatly poetic strapline for the band sums up their musical philiosophy in just five words: “an introspective kind of grandeur”. Enough said.

WINTERFALLE – I Know [starts: 44:12]
https://www.facebook.com/Winterfallemusic
“Winterfalle is Jersey-born songwriter Sam Falle who deals in dark, folk-flecked storytelling. This debut single echoes 90’s lo-fi indie a? la Elliott Smith, the airy breadth of Grizzly Bear, John Grant’s haunting baritone and the lyrical wit of Brand New. Winterfalle is gigging regularly in the London area where upcoming gigs include Vibe Bar tonight (Monday Nov 18), Ryan’s Bar this Sunday (Nov 24), and at The Redchurch Brewery on Saturday Nov 30.”

OLD TRAMP – The Loneliest Fool In This Town [starts: 47:51]
http://www.facebook.com/oldtramp
Old Tramp – putting the finishing touches to a debut EP for spring 2014 – is one of the many musical aliases of Fresh On The Net stalwart Johnno “Snippet” Casson – offering “dirty beats, crunchy synths and songs choc full of lyrical mischief”. As is the way with these things, this project started with the writing of one song and no expectations at all. Kiss My Arse was a playful two-fingers-up to people who said “no” to Johnno about something or other to do with music. Within a week of producing it Old Tramp had been played by BBC Introducing, 6 Music, Amazing Radio – and had been invited to play (with “his 5 piece indie dance backing band” apparently) at the opening of a couple of new nightclubs in London & Hertfordshire. Invite an Old Tramp into your home today & let your inner tramp run wild & free.

JOSEPHINE & THE ARTIZANS – Lacrymosa [starts: 51:43]
http://www.josephineandtheartizans.co.uk
“Josephine & The Artizans are a London based Classical-Crossover band. The group blend Classical music with Hip-Hop and Rock to create a unique, fresh and innovative sound. Classically trained Josephine was growing increasingly tired of the cultural gap between the pop-scene and classical world. They are both, of course, based on the same thing. For years people have been becoming more and more catholic in their tastes, so she decided to create something which is neither classical or commercial, but a blend of both. Each member of the band comes from a very different musical background, bringing something unique to the mix and adapting and merging their skills. Since forming, the band have performed on the mainstage at Galtres Parklands and Brownstock festivals as well as Ronnie Scott’s, Cargo and the O2 Islington. They have appeared live on BBC 3CR and Cardiff FM and had coverage on BBC 6 Music. Upcoming London shows are The Roof Gardens, Westfields, Hootananny, Barfly and O2 Islington. This debut single is available now for free download from their Bandcamp page.”

ELSPETH – Mob Journals [starts: 56:15]
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elspeth/147392439895
Elspeth are a 5-piece indie-rock band hailing from Newry, Ireland and are part of the ‘Third Bar Artist Development’ roster. Their sound is an atmospheric, gritty guitar-filled arrangement combined with prominent basslines and rhythmic, solid beats. They have achieved a considerable amount of airtime including Tom Robinson and Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music, Phantom FM, Cool FM and BBC Radio 1 Introducing which featured a live session with the band in 2011. They have played live shows supporting ‘Wintersleep’, ‘Sea of Bees’, ‘Cashier No.9’, ‘Dog is Dead’, and ‘Spector”. Festival appearances include a storming debut performance at ‘Glasgowbury’ 2011, ‘Indiependance’ and ‘Sunflowerfest’. Their debut album ‘Coax’ which features the track ’24 Hr Paramedics’ was released on No Dancing Records on May 13 2012.

ARTISTS: A Word Of Warning…
After appearing on The BBC Introducing Mixtape you may well receive unsolicited email from at least one plugger saying they heard your track on the show, thought it “sounded fantastic”, and are wondering if you’re looking for promotion for your releases. Please check out The Pros And Cons Of Pluggers before responding to any unsolicited emails from anyone suggesting that YOU should pay THEM for services of any kind.