This week’s free downloadable BBC Introducing Mixtape features handpicked tunes from the BBC Introducing Uploader by KEV LA KAT, JOSEPHINE & THE ARTIZANS, THE MINERALS, ADY JOHNSON, WEIRD SHAPES, LAURENCE MADE ME CRY, OSP, KONE, LO-Fi FUN FACTORY, SAMH, ANGHARAD DRAKE, THE RAMISCO MAKI MAKI ROCKING HORSE, POLLEN, HERCULES MORSE, ECHOIC, SLEEP WELL and BEYOND THE CLONES.

The BBC Introducing Mixtape is a 60 minute radio show broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music from 2-3am every Sunday night/Monday morning. Each programme is downloadable in podcast form at the BBC 6 Music downloads page for the next 30 days. Full tracklists and track start times are published here at Fresh On The Net – together with info about the music provided by the artists.

All tracks are sourced from the BBC Introducing Uploader – some recommended to me by BBC colleagues while the rest are chosen from submissions to our Fresh On The Net inbox. Click here for more info – artists please also see the request at the bottom of this page. These are the listings for the episode broadcast in the early morning of Monday, 11th January at 2am.

KEV LA KAT – Uno, Duo, Tres [starts 00:17]
https://www.facebook.com/KevLaKat
Recommended via BBC Introducing by Katy Noone who produces BBC Introducing on Radio Humberside. Kev La Kat‘s ‘Love Our Records’ record label releases free downloads weekly. Featured as the Label Of Love by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1 and love from Pigeons & Planes, Vivianne Westwoond, BBC Introducing, Welikeitindie, SB.Tv, Repeat Button, The Sound Of Confusion and The Get Downnn. He’s a contributor for Grammy blogger Kick Kick Snare. On Uno, Duo, Tres the drum loop is by James Coggin, all other instruments and production are by Kev La Kat.

JOSEPHINE & THE ARTIZANS – Habanera (She Holds the Key) [starts 03:24]
http://www.josephineandtheartizans.com
Recommended via by Danny Fulbrook from BBC Introducing in Beds, Herts and Bucks, Josephine & The Artizans are a Hip-Hopera band consisting of classical strings, operatic vocals, heavy beats and energetic rap. Classically trained Josephine was growing increasingly tired of the cultural gap between the pop-scene and classical world so she decided to create something which is neither classical or commercial, but a blend of both. Josephine & The Artizans have played the same stages as Tom Jones, Paloma Faith, Buzzcocks, Maximo Park, The Fratellis and Tom Odell at some of the UK’s biggest festivals. The band have also received widespread airplay and many positive reviews from online and printed press. Their hometown live shows in London – at at the O2 in Islington, Bush Hall, Brixton’s Hootananny and Camden’s Jazz Cafe – have added to the buzz. On the 22nd of January 2016 Josephine & The Artizans release their new single The Point of no Return, alongside an official music video.

THE MINERALS – Ball Of String [starts 06:51]
https://www.facebook.com/themineralsband
Based in the South Wales Valleys, The Minerals are Colenso Jones and Jodie Gibson and formed in the Summer of 2014. Merging elements of Country, Electro and Psychedelia, the duo’s influences range from The Vaselines to Leadbelly, and from Mogwai to Nick Drake. Their first single Ball Of String is released on January 16th, taken from their eponymous debut album The Minerals.

ADY JOHNSON – New Year’s Day [starts 09:22]
http://www.adyjohnson.co.uk
London based, part-time antique furniture restorer and musician Ady Johnson severed two tendons in his barre finger with a chisel. Thankfully he fully recovered and continued to play guitar and make music! An 8/10 AmericanaUK review of Ady’s 2011 debut LP Tell the worry Dolls, summed up his style as “kitchen-sink romanticism worthy of Ray Davies and a bluesy sound filtered through the uniquely English lens of skiffle.” 2015’s Thank You for the Good Things EP, produced by award-winning producer Gerry Diver (Tom Robinson (!), Lisa Knapp, Sam Lee), Thank You… is a heartfelt tribute to Ady’s late grandfather, from whom he received his antique restoration apprenticeship. The use of sousaphone and Steptoe & Son style percussion on the title track inspired Ady to employ drummer/ percussionist Pete Flood (Bellowhead) and a sousaphonist to complete the line up for his current full band shows. Ady discovered a voice memo demo in the depths of his phone, just two weeks before the New Year. Produced again by Gerry Diver, the upbeat Knickerbocker Glory Nonsense Song New Year’s Day was released on 1st January 2016. Ady’s next show is on 14th January at The Harrison, Kings Cross London. This will be Ady’s first London show featuring the new band line-up.

WEIRD SHAPES – Sing Myself to Sleep [starts 12:34]
http://weirdshapes.co.uk
Recommended by Bob Fischer from BBC Introducing on Teesside, Weird Shapes have released two well received singles produced by Radiohead engineer Graeme Stewart. The band have had numerous plays on Radio 1, 6 Music and Amazing Radio leading them to open the first ever 6 Music festival in Manchester. Other notable gigs include slots at T in the Park, Stockton Weekender and Evolution Festival. Their next single is due out in 2015 with tours to follow. All aboard the Weird Shapes train of thought.

LAURENCE MADE ME CRY – Melete [starts 16:40]
http://laurencemademecry.com
Laurence Made Me Cry is musician and artist Jo Whitby, currently based in the Highlands of Scotland. Melete is the first single to be taken from Laurence Made Me Cry’s forthcoming EP Titans’ Daughters. Produced by Swansea based musician Simon Parton, Melete is a gentle and brooding exploration of heartbreak. The track sees Whitby delve further into the world of electronica, swapping her folk guitar style for minimalist piano paired together with the ambient lushness of Parton’s beats and synths. Following on from her 2013 Welsh Music Prize nominated debut The Diary Of Me, the EP will be part of a series released across 2016.

OSP – Blacklisted [starts 20:44]
https://facebook.com/ospmusicuk
We are a Hip Hop collective called OSP (Only Speak Positive) and one of our main aims is to bring the positivity back to Hip Hop. Collectively OSP have well over 20 years of experience in writing, producing, recording and performing. We love to tell stories and give the people a positive message with every song that we do. Our sound brings together the message of Bob Marley and the energy of the civil rights activists of the 1960s. Our members include Esa Kwame, Silqe, J Blackz and Dj Subject. This song highlights all of the negative words that black is commonly associated with e.g. “Black mark” “blackmail” or “blacklisted” to name a few. Instead we emphasise the term “black is beautiful”. We touch on the black history which people may not know about and reveal hidden truths which they will not teach you in school or college. All in all we hope to empower anyone who listens to the message in this song.

KONE – Bauhaus Table [starts 25:45]
http://www.interkone.com
Recommended via BBC Introducing by Elizabeth Green from BBC Introducing in Oxford, Kone is a new three piece band that plays art music for guitars. Bauhaus Table is a track from their first release, the 2015 double A-side No Colour World/Bauhaus Table. The song is “a call to memory and a protest against the violence of that memory”. Kone is a project which enables the band’s members to express ideas within a sparse pop framework. They call what they make art music as it helps them to think about the songs in the right way. Like most people out there, they think that pop should be good for the ears. But it has the potential to poke the brain too. They will be recording their debut EP in Spring 2016. Kone has bandmates split across Oxford, Bedfordshire and London; they are Alice Ream, music therapist, Jonny Mundey, indie composer, and Graeme Murray, previously drummer for Youthmovies and founding member of ODC drumline. They were delighted to work with Henry Dartnall of Young Knives who produced and engineered this recording in his studio in rural Oxfordshire. Download ‘No Colour World/Bauhaus Table’ from their Bandcamp page.

LO-Fi FUN FACTORY – Crazies [starts 28:58]
http://lo-fifunfactory.com
Dan Tindall and Alan Thompson formed Lo-Fi Fun Factory in 2010. Dan plays guitar and sings, Alan plays the bass. They sometimes play other things too, like the ukulele. Drums on most of their recordings to date played by Paul Pierce, who suddenly left one day, between a sound check and a gig, so now they have part time drummers and a new acoustic outlook…they took part in the 2015 We Shall Overcome Weekend, having organised the Belfast representation (upstairs at the Sunflower Pub), as well as playing a round of gigs all over the city. They are currently working on some acoustic tunes for a new EP full of folk punk riffs and lyrical loveliness…

SAMH – Nomad [starts 31:21]
https://www.facebook.com/samh.song
Recommended by Darren Williams at BBC Introducing in West Yorkshire, the performances and recordings of Samh span from completely solo to huge electric band via digital creations and acoustic combinations. Elements that glue the whole thing together dribble in folk, funk and alt rock as well as prog and math. In 2015 Samh’s most notable performances included multiple shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as a couple of support slots on the most recent Jon Gomm and The Little Unsaid tour. The new EP Migration Patterns was released 12.12.15 at an old, converted church in Huddersfield and is available however you want it. 2016 is the year of Samh with bookings already set for a UK tour and new songs that excel any that have come before.

ANGHARAD DRAKE – Sword [starts 34:50]
http://www.angharaddrake.com
23 year old Brisbane-­based Angharad Drake grew up on Australia’s famed Sunshine Coast, where she began writing music during her early years of high school, and scoring gigs at small local venues. She later went on to study a Music degree at Brisbane’s QUT. Influenced by the stylings of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Laura Marling and Bon Iver, she began to develop her own individual style during her University years and recorded a self titled debut EP in 2010. Since then she has completed two more self­produced EPs (2013’s Lay Down and 2014’s Swing), all in preparation for her debut full­length album, Sword. Blending a mixture of Folk storytelling, lullaby melodies and atmospheric harmonies her album Sword infuses subtle influences from Folk virtuoso’s like Laura Marling, Jose Gonzalez Joanna Newsom, whilst managing to maintain its own distinctive sound. Angharad is now preparing for her next release, to be out early this year followed by a run of Australian shows.

THE RAMISCO MAKI MAKI ROCKING HORSE – Holy Barnacles [starts 37:44]
http://ramiscomakimaki.tumblr.com/
The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse is an alternative indie folk artist from the Scottish Highlands, described as “the bastard offspring of the Violent Femmes and Beck” (ex-member of The Kazoo Funk Orchestra). Following the release of Possessed by the Gods of Cowbell Oblongata, the Horse has plans to tour the Universe with his backing hooves.

POLLEN – You Love to Love Me [starts 39:24]
https://www.facebook.com/pollenindierockband
Pollen‘s music has had slacker tendencies: Pavement, Pixies and American college radio could all be described as touchstones to what Pollen were about. Over the years though and given the 10 year void in which not a sound was produced, that sound has become eclectic. Pavement can still be heard here and there, but Pollen sounds more contemporary and tracks to and fro between genres. This isn’t new though, Pollen have supported acts as varied as Rage Against The Machine and Buffalo Tom. Rolling Stone opined that Pollen were “…something that’s fresh, inspiring – and maybe even new”. The reawakening of Pollen as a growing concern for Cam Allen in 2016 is confirmed with news that the Confidence Will Kill You LP from which this single is taken is the start of a consistent run and the first of at least four (yes four) Pollen album releases scheduled for 2016. Cam also runs Royal Mint Records in Helsinki, a boutique vinyl producer and label that is putting the out the Pollen LPs. Live gigs kick off in February with appearances in Finland and Russia and the second LP, Scandinavian Wool is out in March.

HERCULES MORSE – All About Me [starts 42:16]
http://herculesmorse.co.uk
Hercules Morse present a combination of the energy and audacity of classic British rock, the groove-based riffs of stoner/desert rock and the melodic focus of contemporary alternative rock to create something altogether distinct. For more information see their website.

ECHOIC – Keep Me Warm [starts 46:41]
http://www.echoicofficial.co.uk
Recommended by Linda Serck at BBC Introducing in Berkshire, Echoic are “an exciting Alt-Rock quartet from Reading, Berkshire. The band formed in late 2013 have spent their time feverishly songwriting, and striving to play as many shows & festivals as possible. In doing so, they have generated a hugely supportive following in their hometown, and picked up attention and airplay from multiple BBC Introducing local stations around the country.”

SLEEP WELL – Sunday [starts 50:11]
https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsSleepWell/
Recommended by Melita Dennett from BBC Introducing: the South, Sleep Well appear to be a male duo from their profile photograph on Facebook, where they describe their work as “computer music from the Isle of Wight”. So now you know.

BEYOND THE CLONES – Zombie House (ft Louise Barry) [starts 54:06]
https://facebook.com/pages/beyond-the-clones/31164934316
Beyond the Clones is a producer from South Devon with a new EP called Orange Telescopes consisting of stripped back dark disco/edm and grime house, this will be released as a 8 bit retro game app, also remixed for clamofzero (echobelly), so BTC cant wait for the release later this year. Along side that btc has previously been featured on the BBC Introducing Mixtape and was at the BBC Introducing Masterclass at Maida Vale studios in 2013. “I’ve been producing for 6-7 years now, using mobile phones as midi joysticks and out controllers on the ipad on reason record, i would also say that i use allsorts of media and tec to get where i want, a crazy journey, this alongside remixing sessions for various artists, love music, love life and i think this comes out through in the tunes.”

ARTISTS…
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