Top tunes from FORESTEARS, CRESPO & THE REMARKABLE 1, TALK IN COLOUR, WES FINCH, THE WOOD BURNING SAVAGES, MY GREY HORSE, SOUND OF THE SIRENS, THE BAND OF LIFE, DIDDLY BO, YOUTH CLUB, SHOOT THE DUKE, GRACESARAH, K A MORTON, SUNTRAPP, THE BALKAN WANDERERS, THE GRAVITY DRIVE, CASI WYN and FORTHAVEN

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 together together 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 overnight on Sunday 6th April (technically 2am on Monday, 7th April 2014…

FORESTEARS – Beached Whale [starts 0:17]
http://www.facebook.com/forestears
“Hailing from Brighton, this alternative indie pop outfit creatively craft sounds that are truly genre defying. Born from the ashes of an acoustic double act, the now thumping six-piece are masters of fusion seamlessly blending elements of afro-beat, Latin and Jazz with indie pop, rock and folk in their melting pot of musical goodness. New releases Beached Whale and Forces are available to download from the Bandcamp. Forestears are playing at Mr Wolfs, Bristol, on the 29th and the Louisiana, Bristol, on the 30th April. ”

CRESPO & THE REMARKABLE 1 – It Changes [starts 04:26]
https://crespoandtheremarkable1.bandcamp.com
“Producer Crespo & vocalist Remark were both members of the Brighton based Indie Hip Hop band Monkey Sons. Now after utilising their creative forces in the Black Wookie Studio, they offer the world… A New Beginning. It Changes is a free download single & promotional song for our EP The Journey Is To Last, due to be released digitally this summer via our Bandcamp page.

TALK IN COLOUR – The Cell [starts 06:42]
http://www.talkincolour.com
“By turns dark then uplifting, slipping effortlessly between pure instrumentals and vocal driven tracks, London based five piece Talk In Colour defy easy categorisation. It’s no surprise that the band cite influences as far ranging as Lamb, Battles, The XX and Berlin-era Bowie, with a nod to Afrobeat and Alice Coltrane along the way. Together, the band blends electronic and organic instrumentation into a blistering aesthetic.” I’ve commented before that frontwoman Mary Erskine has a voice so beautiful that she could sing the telephone directory and still make it sound good. The band have put this proposition to the test here on YouTube: http://youtu.be/S1f9z2uPEGE

WES FINCH – Ring On The Riverbed [starts 11:06]
http://www.wesfinch.co.uk
“I am a musician and songwriter who lives by and for music” says Wes Finch. “I came into contact with producer Gerry Diver in 2013 through his work with British folk artists such as Sam Lee, Lisa Knapp and O’Hooley and Tidow and was delighted when he agreed to work on a few tracks with me. The results were fantastic and straight away lifted my songs in a new and powerful direction. This inspired me to write more songs with the idea of making a full album with Gerry. Record labels expressed keen interest in hearing a full album but being a full-time working musician I can’t afford to have these recordings made anytime soon. Kickstarter enabled me to raise the money to record the album with a producer of Gerry’s calibre in a way that involves fans without me ending up bankrupt. I have a great opportunity to make an amazing album and I’m going to seize it!”

By March 9th, a total of 164 backers had raised and exceeded the £7000 goal for Wes’s album, and Ring On The Riverbed gives a wonderful foretaste of what we can expect when it’s completed. Don’t believe all the doom and gloom about how tough the current climate is for music artists, compared to the “The Good Old Days”. That’ll be the Good Old Days when recording artists were entitled to less than a tenth of the selling price of each album. Out of which they had to repay the entire cost of recording and promoting the record: which would then belong to the record company for the life of copyright. Wes will finish and release his record completely out of debt, he’ll own the master recordings outright – and every copy sold from then on will be pure profit. The Good Old Days, my friends, are here and now.

THE WOOD BURNING SAVAGES – Living Hell [starts 14:20]
https://www.facebook.com/TheWoodBurningSavages
“The Wood Burning Savages are a supercharged alternative rock outfit from Derry with the music, energy, and vigour to set any venue ablaze. Young, witty, and full of confidence, their impassioned honesty and sonic alchemy make them a band you need to hear….” And for once all those tired old PR clichés are actually true. The WBSavages are a quite astoundingly powerful live band. Two weeks ago I witnessed a short set they played at the Nerve Centre and when I’d sufficiently recovered from the experienced I tweeted: “DERRY, N.I. OMFG: just had my head blown off by the awesome @wbsavages. Recordings to date don’t even BEGIN to convey their live firepower.”

This does present the band with the age-old headache of how to capture their sledgehammer live impact on record; they have a new neatly manicured and radio-friendly single out at the moment callled America that I’m sorry to report sounds like a different band altogether. This year-old recording of Living Hell was the most lifelike representation I could find on the BBC Uploader. But even this bears about as much relation to their live sonic assault as an Instagram of the Grand Canyon does to the experience of actually being there. Their drummer and six-string bassist alone could have held me spellbound with the effortless power and authority of their playing. Combined with the extraordinary front-of-stage performances of their lead guitarist and frontman, the WBSavages were an unmissable live experience I would recommend to anyone. Anyone got Rick Rubin’s phone number?

MY GREY HORSE – All Those Mornings [starts 18:20]
http://www.mygreyhorse.co.uk
“With their layered four-part harmonies, swirling guitars and sweeping melodies, My Grey Horse are not easily slotted into conventional music categories. Hailing from Stratford-Upon-Avon, they are a band of brothers or, more accurately, a band with brothers – three to be exact. Peter, John, and Oobah Butler are joined by friends Tom Mott and Joe Nicklin to complete the band’s line-up. In spring 2013, My Grey Horse swapped their homes for a log-cabin in the wilderness of the Forest of Dean, and began writing new material. The band contains an illustrator, an animator, a writer, and a film-maker – a fact that helps broaden their creative horizons and produce interesting material. My Grey Horse spent the long beautiful summer of 2013 embracing the studio and trying to finish a debut record which has been included in Artrocker, The Blue Walrus’ and Shaun Keaveny’s most exciting releases to come.”

SOUND OF THE SIRENS – In This Time [starts 21:21]
http://www.soundofthesirens.net
“We first got started singing together” say Hannah Wood and Abbe Martin of Sound Of The Sirens “when we both worked at the same night club and found ourselves harmonising on the way home. We learned our instruments and have worked hard together for six years – grafting, writing and performing – and this seems to be the year we are starting to get recognition. We are playing some very cool festivals (LFest, Purbeck, Looe and Eastbourne Steampunk) and Cornwall’s biggest festival Boardmasters and hope add many more. Our brand new 4-track EP is being released in May and we are currently making videos, growing our fan base and performing and collaboration as much as we can. In This Time is from our 9-track album A Long Way To Fall recorded live at Terry Britton’s State Of The Ark studios. Terry’s wife Jan let us free in this amazing studio as we won her charity for a chemotherapy outreach project competition. This song is all about how when life is tough, it will all be okay if we pull together with hope, love and company! It’s our most positive least angsty song!”

THE BAND OF LIFE – Lady Of The Moon [starts 23:54]
http://www.bandoflife.net
“The Band of Life is the latest musical incarnation of UK Singer/Songwriter/Performer JAYL (aka Jayl De Lara). They have just released a new album called ROMA on the Harmony Label. The album showcases an eclectic fusion of styles and genres that Jayl calls PURISM. Jayl has been a musical pioneer and underground cult artist for many years and is also known for his powerful and passionate stage performances, some of which can be seen on his http://www.youtube.com/englishjayl For his next show he will be performing with The Band of Life at Cinderford Music Festival on May 4th. For further information visit their website.”

DIDDLY BO – Extremes [starts 28:25]
https://soundcloud.com/diddly-bo
“I decided to do this music whilst at my Dad’s funeral” says Tom Carson aka Diddly Bo. “I was listening to the vicar talking about my amazing Dad’s life and realised that if I died, the vicar would have nothing to say about me other than ‘Um….er……he was a retired conker champion’. I played the trombone but its such a bad instrument as you lumber the big thing around to play literally 2 different notes in a big orchestral piece whilst the other instruments seem to zigzag all over the place! I decided to turn to rock ‘n’ roll and I’m now on a new journey playing guitar, bass, drums and singing. Extremes is the first pit stop on the journey!”

YOUTH CLUB – She’s A Dancer [starts 31:00]
https://www.facebook.com/weareyouthclub
“Inspired by summer and all things colourful, Youth Club are not confined by the boundaries of any particular genre but draw influence from many styles; soulful vocals, pop choruses, synths and warm guitars – the authentic sound of summer. We have our first called Colours out on April 28th which features four tracks and three remixes – which you can get from iTunes. Our launch party will be in London at Proud Camden on April 24th with Eddy Temple Morris (DJ set), and The View (DJ set).”

SHOOT THE DUKE – Topdog [starts 34:15]
https://www.facebook.com/shoottheduke
“Shoot The Duke is a British folk-pop band formed in Portsmouth in 2013 by Tommo Bryan and Neil Cripps. Tommo Bryan and and Neil Cripps have been playing together for many years under the name Tommo, the two decided to start a separate project together, that they named Shoot The Duke. Their debut single, “Topdog”, was voted top 5 by Tom Robinson on Fresh on the net in March 2014. Tommo Bryan, like many music lovers of his generation, has a passion for both the emotional songwriting and atmospheres of artists such as Ed Sheeran, Johnny Cash, Jamie T, Passenger and Jake Bugg.”

GRACESARAH – Generics [starts 37:14]
http://www.gracesarah.com
“Starting her musical journey in 2012, at the age of 14, GraceSarah astonished judges and audiences alike by winning the Strawberry Fair Band Competition in her home town of Cambridge – resulting in an invitation to play at The Secret Garden Party in 2013. Her unique sound has captured the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of fans across the world from Iceland to Australia, Indonesia to Brazil.  The Head of BBC Introducing is now keen to explore opportunities to show case GraceSarah’s talent in the near future. It is clear more people are indeed going to be seeing and hearing more and more from the young girl from Cambridge…”

The full biog is considerably longer and more florid than this. Yet GraceSarah herself is modest and gifted songwriter whose age has no bearing on her own (considerable) musical abilities. Here she is in her own words talking about Generics. “I worked on this track with a stadium dance band from Cambridge called Goldstar. Dave & Geoff loved my original piano-only track and what they’ve done with my song is amazing, I hope you like it too!”

K A MORTON – We’ll Be Dead [starts 40:38]
http://www.facebook.com/kamortonandthewellwishers
Few residents in the far flung communities in Fife, Scotland, serviced by a mobile library will know that, in his spare time, the mild mannered driver is a talented musician and song-writer. Kenneth A Morton, first played guitar in ‘alternative’ bands during a rebellious youth – and his knowledge and love of music were refined during a spell at art college in Dundee, Scotland. Since those youthful days, the visual training received at art college has helped KA create new song narratives. “I see songs like short films,” he says, “pictures, rather than stories. They’re like the landscapes I used to paint at college.” His eponymous band album K A Morton And The Wellwishers was produced by John Cura who also plays on the album along with K A’s son Liam. From it’s we’ve already featured You and I, while the ever-discerning Simon Raymonde has also played All the Yellow Fishes on his Amazing Radio show.

SUNTRAPP – New Morning [starts 43:30]
http://www.suntrapp.co.uk
“Described by BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne as ‘sublime’, indie-folk outfit Suntrapp began as vocalist Jake Houlsby’s response against the greyness and melancholy of his previous musical output; a positive and hopeful change of outlook from him, lyrically and melodically. Jake soon began firming up his invigorating ideas with the help of producer and former Detroit Social Club frontman, David Burn; early demo Fuel For The Fire secured him a spot at Generator’s Evolution Emerging showcase in May before debut release All The Seas helped land him the North-East’s prestigious Alan Hull Award for songwriting. This recent single New Morning – recorded at Camden’s legendary Roundhouse – picked up plaudits from BBC 6 Music as well as ample blog adoration from the likes of The 405, For Folk’s Sake and Folk Radio UK culminating in an appearance at The Roundhouse Rising Festival. A debut EP, Yannina, is scheduled for release later in 2014. Upcoming gigs: Stockton Calling Festival April 19th, London Folkfest June 8th. The next song to surface from the upcoming Yannina EP will be Silhouettes – due out in early June alongside a to-be-announced secret gig.”

THE BALKAN WANDERERS – Pride [starts 47:06]
https://www.facebook.com/TheBalkanWanderers
“The Balkan Wanderers are a 5-piece band based in Oxford, who play Balkan-inspired folk-ska-gypsy-punk. The band began with Stu (British) accompanying singer Antica (Croatian) on guitar, mainly playing traditional Balkan songs. Later they added Clare on clarinet and Marc and Rene on bass and drums, and expanded from traditional songs to include original compositions. The BWs create original East (European)-meets-West songs, often containing a mixture of English and Croatian lyrics: a demo can be found here. They take inspiration from traditional Balkan, Gypsy and Klezmer music as well as the contemporary punk-ska scene. In a live setting they play fast party songs to make audiences dance hard. They’ve gigs in Oxford 24th April (Jericho Tavern) and 16th May (Wheatsheaf) and plan some more recordings for the summer. Živjeli!”

THE GRAVITY DRIVE – Fun [starts 49:44]
http://www.thegravitydrive.com
“The Gravity Drive are Elijah and Ava Wolf an independent alt-pop him her duo who met. married and started making music together, releasing records on their own label. Fun, an infectious spring/summer single about escape, is the next offering from The Gravity Drive and will be available from all good digital retailers and thegravitydrive.com on Monday the 5th of May. The Gravity Drive’s previous single Circles garnered national radio play on Radio 2,BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing, Absoulte and Amazing Radio.”

CASI WYN – Grace [starts 52:45]
http://www.soundcloud.com/casiwyn
“Casi Wyn is a 21-year old singer and writer of songs from Snowdonia, North Wales whose track Winter was awarded with Best Song Of 2013 on Bethan Elfyn’s BBC Radio Wales show last year. Immersed in traditional Welsh music as a child, Casi began writing folk infused pop, until she gradually developed a passion for electronic music and her distinctive style began to emerge. Casi’s latest single Grace was made BBC Radio Wales’ Song Of The Week in March 2014 and has recently been championed by Jen Long and Ally McCrae on their Sunday night BBC Radio 1 show. Her notable live performances include playing at last year’s Green Man and S?n Festival where the magic that is interwoven into the tapestry of her dream-pop music was displayed in the unique fashion that only a live performance can offer.”

FORTHAVEN – Stormageddon
featuring ANNA GRACE HENNEY [starts 56:11]
http://www.forthaven.biz
“Forthaven is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Jay Roberts, who continues to produce melodic electronica with guest vocalists from all over Liverpool. Currently working hard on a new live setup which features live cello, flute and the vocals of singer-songwriter Anna Grace. Her dulcet tones are uniquely haunting, combined with her emotive lyrical style. Her writing mainly draws on the many dark times she’s experienced in her life, which makes the collaboration perfect as this is mainly the inspiration for the dark and moody vibes which Jay draws from when penning the music. The debut show was at this years Threshold Festival 2014, which is a major cultural event in Liverpool. The newly released track, Stormageddon, was written during the winter storms of this year and reflects the chaos which this country experienced as well as being a metaphor for an abusive relationship, as Anna Grace interpreted it in her lyrics. Finally now moving from production to performances which was debuted at this years Liverpool threshold festival. The double A side, Stormageddon/Dream Baby is available now on the Forthaven Bandcamp.”

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.