This week’s free downloadable BBC Introducing Mixtape features handpicked tunes from the BBC Introducing Uploader by CULTURAL STUDIES, TEN FÉ, ESTRONS, PADDY GARRIGAN+THE STROLLER PRIESTS, GOLD SPECTACLES, FALSE ADVERTISING, SURGERY WITHOUT KNIVES, ZEETEAH MASSIAH, ARMS & HEARTS, THE RPMs, STEREO KELA, THE SELF HELP GROUP, JAMES HOLT, STRAY DOG, ANNEXE THE MOON, NEVERLND and BROOKE BENTHAM.
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, 2nd May at 2am.
CULTURAL STUDIES – The Automaton [starts 00:17]
http://www.theculturalstudies.com/
“The Cultural Studies is the meeting of East & West: Oskar Pompa meets Eric aka ‘The Stereo Vampire’ in the EU capital city. The prior spent his childhood in Slovakia under communism, the latter, comes from St. Louis, Missouri in the middle of the USA. Chance led them on the road to an underground recording studio lying in the Brussels hills. It’s at Spector Studio that they met D&D who would help them to make their songs sound solid, as music-producers as well as musicians.
In their debut album Recycled Press, Eric provides a ruthless in-your-face prose over Oskar’s electronic magma alternated with new-wave catchy melodies sung by the Slovakian rocker over a driving beat. The result is a pure reflect of our time, exploring themes such as corruption, police violence, banking system abuse and tabletization of society, down an unexpected gonzo inspired path. The 1st single The Automaton explores the feeling of being considered daily as products. The music video shows a crazy jungle situationist dancefloor with K. Marx sharing the stage with J Wayne and Raspoutine and dancing girls around in an imaginary dictatorship.”
TEN FÉ – Elodie [starts 04:36]
https://www.facebook.com/
“Ben and Leo aka Ten Fé are playing The Pickle Factory on 5 May, supported by London bands Tweaks and Honey Moon. They’re playing again at the end of May when they hit the road with their band Rob and Luca to play The Great Escape on 20th and Lost Village festival in Lincolnshire on 27th. As well as a load of European and late summer UK festival dates, they’re gearing up for the release of their debut album late 2016. Elodie the music video is premiering on The Independent this week. The single went no.2 in Hype Machine’s most popular chart.”
ESTRONS – Drop [starts 08:30]
https://www.facebook.com/estrons
“Estrons are an Alternative Rock band based in Cardiff. Fronted by Canadian-Swede Taliesyn Kallström, they bring punchy melodic songs, combined with powerful vocals, loud guitars and busy beats that vary with the drummer’s rum intake… Meaning ‘Strangers’ in their native Welsh, the main premise was to gather a band of general misfits and outcasts that never quite belonged to any country or nationality, being of mixed and international ancestry.”
PADDY GARRIGAN+THE STROLLER PRIESTS – Sea Monsters [starts 11:49]
http://www.facebook.com/Paddy.Garrigan.Band
“Paddy Garrigan and The Stroller Priests are a three piece band from Ulverston and Lancaster, featuring songwriter Paddy on guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonium and piano; Ben McCabe on drums, french horn and backing vocals: and Darren Leadsom on bass and backing vocals. The band’s music is best described as alt-folk/rock. Story songs with great melodies, occasional wig outs and pleasant squawks. Sea monsters, James Joyce, the afterlife, Dad’s Army, the stoned freaks in the town centre and the universe blues are just some of what awaits the listener, set to a deftly musical soundtrack of runaway grunge, barreling (or barrelhousing) rock’n’roll, mandolin dub, melodious folk and epic guitar heroics. The band’s self-produced first album I Jumped Ship is released on 29 April.”
GOLD SPECTACLES – Even [starts 14:42]
http://www.goldspectaclesmusic.com/
“With the debut EP, entitled Flaws and Visions, set for release May 27th, Even is the latest offering from baroque-pop duo, Gold Spectacles. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences from Paul Simon to Bombay Bicycle Club to Phoenix, and inspired by the production values of EDM, Gold Spectacles create sample-based alternative pop music. Plinky-plonky guitar lines accompanied by driving basslines and angular semi-synthetic beats make up the Gold Spectacles sound. The duo incorporate arpeggiated flutes and a glockenspiel lead in Even and explore sampling and resynthesizing vocal hooks. Even deals with the idea of escaping the faces of your past and walking into the unknown. Even was released 15th April on Specky Records.”
FALSE ADVERTISING – You’re Too Slow [starts 17:46]
http://www.falseadvertising.co/
“False Advertising unleash their latest stab of DIY american noise-rock influenced fuzz. Driven by an equal love of sweet pop melodies, sarcasm and raw live music, the instrument-swapping trio present their gritty, energetic, pop-smarts in their new single You’re Too Slow. Self-recorded in a garage in December, the track is taken from the just released Brainless EP. The band are also embarking on a 10-date UK tour (supported by PRS after the band won their Flash Funding award), already playing headline dates at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, Liquor in Lincoln, with forthcoming dates at Keighley’s Exchange (April 29th) Santiago’s in Leeds (May 5th) and Manchester’s AATMA (May 6th) still to come. They also hit festivals this summer including Liverpool Sound City.”
SURGERY WITHOUT KNIVES – In The Shadow Of Love [starts 20:33]
https://www.facebook.com/SurgeryWithoutKnives
“Surgery Without Knives is the collective work of NoNameKid72 a songwriter, singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who hails from the South East London area. Influences that spring to mind are the gallows humour of Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker doing Jaques Brel, the torch songs of Nina Simone and the broken speaker guitar sleaze of Link Wray. A soundtrack to a Trash Cabaret Punk Cowboy B-movie that’s yet to be made… The track In the Shadow Of Love features Darrin Mooney (of Primal Scream) on drums, James Beatt on double bass, JonJon on percussion, Mike Brown and Jack Scott on brass and is mixed By Max Heyes. Rehearsals are in progress with the goal of taking this to live arena in the very very near future… Watch this Space”
ZEETEAH MASSIAH – Butterfly [starts 24:50]
http://www.zeeteah.com/
“Born in Barbados, Zeeteah Massiah was signed as a reggae artist while still in her teens. In the early 90s she had a No. 1 dance hit in the US with Slide on the Rhythm, and followed it up with two UK chart hits. Since then she has shared the stage with artists including Tom Jones, Robbie Williams, Phil Collins and Sting. For the last few years Zeeteah has been exploring classic jazz and performing to full houses around London. You may have heard Tom Robinson playing her electro-swing groove Whatever This Is last year. The more intense and contemplative Butterfly comes from Zeeteah’s new album, Maybe Tomorrow, produced by her husband Paul Caplin. Written and performed by saxophonist Rob Hughes, the track features Rick Laughlin on piano.”
ARMS & HEARTS – Lost [starts 28:22]
https://www.facebook.com/ArmsandHearts
“Sometimes it takes one song to change it all. The 59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem was that song for Steve Millar and Brian Fallon’s song connected with him in such a profound way that he was compelled to pick up his guitar and take centre stage, rather than continue his path as a backing musician. ‘Take No Prisoners. I love that the track is all acoustic; I thought it was a fantastic way to finish the EP.’
Arms & Hearts is emotive, hard-working, heart-on-sleeve acoustic folk-punk. Having been inspired, Arms & Hearts started to provide an output for his catchy, melancholic songs. This work ethic meant his first three tours were all self-booked and more often than not involved him travelling venue to venue on public transport. Now more than ever with the release of his latest EP Set In Stone featuring the anthem title track Lost. Drawing influence from acoustic and folk artists such as Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause and Northcote, he eventually had to leave behind his backing band so as to blossom into the solo front man that he’d set his sights set on becoming.”
THE RPMs – I Don’t Like It [starts 30:22]
http://www.the-rpms.co.uk/
“Hailing from Brighton, The RPMs draw on the honourable tradition of that classic combo… the power trio. With a passion for rock, but not afraid of a good pop tune, these three young men emerge with a clutch of songs for their generation. Armed with only the confidence of youth and an arsenal of killer hooks, stand back as these young guns prepare to blag their way through the gates of rock’n’roll…!”
STEREO KELA – I’m Fire [starts 33:38]
http://www.stereokela.com/
“Stereo Kela is a 2 piece female vocal-driven electronic act now based in Bristol. The duo consists of Raquel Peralta and Josh Childs. Their sound is multifaceted, with tips of the cap to House, DnB, Garage, Trance, Trip hop, Reggae and Swing, making for a roller coaster of a live experience. Stereo Kela’s lyrical content is often deeply philosophical and metaphysical in nature, more often than not documenting key evolutionary moments in their collective spiritual journey. Not restricted by genre or trend, their music is simply intended to bring you an unbounded, exciting sunrise of electronic musical eccentricity. 2016 has been rad to Stereo Kela–after playing some great venues like Colston Hall and The Lousiana and releasing a dance focused music video series for Beats in the Heart and Apocalypse, the duo are now working on fresh material to be released June. Stereo Kela aims to introduce more adventurous content with their new EP, riding the wave of the ever increasing world consciousness.
Live Shows : 9th July, Southampton Arts House, Southampton; 15th July, Bristol Harbour Festival, Bristol; 31st July, Thai Festival, Bristol; 6th August, Redfest, Bristol”
THE SELF HELP GROUP – The Box [starts 37:14]
http://www.theselfhelpgroup.com/
“The Self Help Group are Mark Bruce, Ian Bliszczak, Sarah Wood, Clara Wood, Jamie Fewings and Paddy Keeley. The Self Help Group inhabit the musical spaces between folk, americana and indie. Always at the core of their sound though, are their stunning trademark 3 part harmonies. On 6th November 2015 they released Dead Stars, their second album, displaying a more powerful, band-driven sound, born from the energy of live performances and reflected in a darker lyrical subject matter, whilst retaining the beautiful harmonies from their previous work.”
JAMES HOLT – Tears Aren’t Enough [starts 40:24]
http://www.jamesholtmusic.com/
@jamesholtmusic
James Holt, a singer/songwriter from Manchester is receiving widespread attention for his unique blend of alternative rock and folk. James has already garnered the attention of world-renowned producer Brian Eno who described his music as ‘Brisk, funny, exciting. Great drumming….fresh and exciting to listen to’. His second EP Sanguine On the Rocks, which features the song Tears Aren’t Enough, is released on 29th April 2016 and has already had features and plays across the globe from KCRW to BBC radio. Sanguine On the Rocks is a solo record in the truest sense of the phrase, with Holt having composed the songs, played all of the instruments and recorded and mixed the EP. James performs regularly, both solo and with a band, at venues and festivals in towns and cities across the UK and recently performed solo at the Royal Albert Hall for the Music for Youth Proms 2015.”
STRAY DOG – Cadence [starts 43:22]
https://www.facebook.com/straydogsongs
“Raised in the Oxford music scene but currently based in Helsinki, Stray Dog is a recording project initiated in 2012 by singer Iona Roisin who is also one third of band Verna Hark. Mainly listening to folk and hip hop and influenced by artists such as Scout Niblett, Chet Baker, Jessy Lanza and Empress Of, Stray Dog seeks to create a dark yet dreamy pop atmosphere through evocative vocals and sparse and gentle beats. The songs meander, at times almost into a trance-like rhythm, the strong lyrical element sitting at the forefront of the tracks – attempting to balance pop cliché with weirder content. Released in April 2016 Stray Dog’s debut solo EP Soap was recorded slowly and pieced together over a period of two years alongside veteran London producer Bare Beats. Almost a split EP as Soap is released in conjunction with a visual component, each of the five tracks has an artist-made film. This collaborative element exists in the space where contemporary art and pop music have some degree of symbiosis and influence each other. At heart Soap is a pop record that touches upon themes of desire, love and loss. Stray Dog will continue to write, record and collaborate.”
ANNEXE THE MOON – Sylons [starts 46:22]
http://annexethemoon.com/
“Raised and reared on the sunny northern shorelines of the Wirral Peninsula, Phil (producer/arranger) and Jamie (singer/guitarist) aka Annexe The Moon have been creating and baking their particular brand of melodic Psych-Scousepop since mid 2015, with the help of ‘cool bass riffer’ Rufus, and ‘beat man extraordinaire’ Ross. Their debut single, Ever Meaning Less (released in late April 2016), showcases the band’s various pop sensibilities… The driving riffs and frenzied paranoia of Ever Meaning Less, the powerful yet wistful Sylons and the cool breeziness and reflective lyric of Gardens. The band are currently in rehearsals for forthcoming gigs.”
NEVERLND – We Don’t Talk Like We Used To [starts 49:49]
https://www.facebook.com/neverlndband/
“NEVERLND are a five-piece pop band from Oxford, releasing one track a month for free for as long as they can… sign up if you’d like their latest song sent straight to your inbox each month. NEVERLND sing of small town heartache, young love, lust and the lack of it over glistening pop hooks, lush harmonies and smooth electro beats. Old 60s ideas combine with modern pop and RnB production. With their last big show reviewed by hometown scene mag Ocelot as ‘gig of 2015’, they have grabbed the attention of tastemakers from Ian Wallman (Ivor Novello nominated producer of their monthly singles) to Will Gompertz (BBC Arts Editor). NEVERLND have also been chosen by Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood to play his Independent Venue Week Showcase and by Rob da Bank for Bestival’s 2016 Oxford installment.
Catch them live in London on 18 May, headlining the BBC Introducing Uprising Show on 20 May at the Academy in Oxford and playing The Alternative Escape Festival on 21 May. You can also download their tracks for free and keep up to date with their shows by tracking them on Bandsintown.”
BROOKE BENTHAM – Oliver [starts 53:24]
https://www.facebook.com/brrookebentham
“Brooke Bentham is a young singer-songwriter from South Shields. Looking to the likes of Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten and Beach House for inspiration, these days she is expanding her sound with a band. Her upcoming single, Oliver, was written back in 2013 when she was seventeen. It will be released on 29th April via iTunes, Amazon & Spotify along with the B-side, I’ll See You in a While. A song also written when she was just seventeen. Bentham plans to release an EP at the end of the year and hopes to play a few London shows in the summer.”
ARTISTS…
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