This week’s free downloadable BBC Introducing Mixtape features handpicked tunes from the BBC Introducing Uploader by WHITE APE, BOO, SCAREDYCATS, BEST BOY GRIP, MISHAPED PEARLS, THEE DEADTIME PHILHARMONIC, KITTYMACFARLANE, FINE PRINT, FOGGY CITY ORPHAN, GEORGE ED, THE BOOKSHOP BAND, COLOUR, ODINA, ZIEGLER CO, SILENT CITIES and DEAD MELODIES.

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, 25th July at 2am.

WHITE APE – Courtney Love Will Tear Us Apart [starts 00:17]
http://whiteapeband.com/
“Inventive and irascible garage/post-punk band White Ape from London signed to London indie start-up Since Records Began Records and Sotones publishing. Described by John Robb as ‘the artful sneer of the best post-punk rushed with the infernal garage band beat. APE! EP out 5/8/16 Forthcoming gigs: Mon 8th Aug, The Victoria in Dalston w Cross Wires and Subrosa Thu 29th Sept Some Weird Sin @ Nambucca, Holloway; Sat 30th Oct Halloween all dayer @ The Dublin Castle, Camden”

BOO – Diamond Feelings [starts 05:03]
http://batteryoperatedorchestra.com/
“Irony-free DIY synth-pop duo BOO (Battery Operated Orchestra) return this Summer with a hard, dark and shiny second album titled ‘Radiation’ (out August 1st 2016 on Bandcamp). Via Tasmania and Scotland, Brigitte Rose and Chris Black have been crafting their music, videos and handmade CDs in Brighton since 2010. A poltergeist experience after a gig in Hamburg set off this latest album’s recording sessions (true story). Radiation darkens and sharpens BOO’s journey into their synthetic universe, as they hurtle through themes of broadcasting, ESP, sex, mind control and aliens to an infectiously wonky electro pulse.”

SCAREDYCATS – Only Human [starts 09:14]
https://www.facebook.com/scaredycatsmusic
“Scaredycats were formed at the beginning of 2015 around the songwriting dexterity of Jim Pearson. In just a few gigs, this four-piece band have established themselves as a formidable live act. Jim’s songwriting is starting to attract attention, selected three times this year for 6 Music’s Fresh on the Net – Fresh Faves. Scaredycats are writing and recording new material as we speak…”

BEST BOY GRIP – Fukushima [starts 12:49]
http://www.bestboygrip.co.uk
“Eoin O’Callaghan is the man and the voice behind Best Boy Grip. He is a talented songwriter who hails from Derry, N.Ireland. Best Boy Grip enjoys airplay across the BBC including Radio 1, Radio 6Music and Radio Ulster. Best Boy Grip’s music has featured on various BBC TV shows and he has performed for BBC Arts Show and RTE’s Other Voices. Best Boy Grip has performed with The Ulster Orchestra on two occasions, in BBC live broadcasts. Orchestral arrangements of his songs were played by the symphony while he sang at the piano. Described by critics as ‘fearlessly original’ and ‘intelligent, literate pop’, Best Boy Grip’s debut album was released via Amelia Records on 7th Sept 2015, with the first single Sharks being awarded single of The week on BBC 6Music. His new single Fukushima will be his first release since his debut album and will be available in August 2016.”

MISHAPED PEARLS – The Hawk Moth [starts 15:26]
http://www.mishapedpearls.org
“Mishaped Pearls are: Manu, lead vocal; Ged, tenor guitar, reed organ, BVs; Andrew, piano, BVs; Calie, congas, ankle bells, tambourine; Tom, saz baglama, BVs; Massi, bass, BVs; Laurel, violin/fiddle. The Hawk Moth is about Ged’s time many years ago busking and grape picking and also meeting amazing people from all over the world. He and a group of friends travelled in an old converted Scout bus from England ending up in South West France. Many nights were spent jamming till the early hours whilst sampling the previous years wine, and consequently not always waking up in time for the harvest!! A hawk moth is a kind of small bee like humming bird. They are quite beautiful creatures that hover usually around buddleia bushes darting their long tongues into sweet nectar! The Hawk Moth is available as a download here. We are playing Kennaway House Cellar Bar on Friday 29th July as part of Sidmouth Folk Week. Then we head to France to the Lot region and play Capdenac Le Haut on Saturday 13th August followed by Tapon in the Auvergne region on the 15th. All gigs on website.”

THEE DEADTIME PHILHARMONIC – Babylon Workin [starts 19:19]
https://www.facebook.com/TheeDeadtimePhilharmonic
“Thee Deadtime Philharmonic are based in the ex-mining town of Swadlincote, South Derby – still on its knees from Thatcher’s stranglehold on the working classes. Murdoch’s songwriting reflects the carnage left behind. Their militant working class stance caught the eye of Clash legend, Mick Jones who took Deadtime out as special guests. Relentless gigs all over the UK, including all the major cities and the nowhere towns where most bands don’t bother to go has gained the band an ever growing army of dangerously devoted fans. Since the tour Murdoch has recorded a single and album with The Tribunes – containing Mick Jones’s rhythm section from Carbon/Silicon – out on Honest Jon’s records. Taken from their new Double-A single Babylon Workin/Idiot Village, out now on CD Baby.”

KITTY MACFARLANE – Wrecking Days [starts 24:18]
http://www.kittymacfarlane.com/
“Kitty Macfarlane is a Somerset-based singer and songwriter. Her lyrics combine honest snapshots of everyday humanity with the bigger questions that have connected minds and voices for centuries, driven by her own fingerpicked guitar. Kitty’s folk-infused music is charged with a sense of place – more often than not the South West of England. From flooding on the Levels to panoramic Somerset coastlines, small fishing communities to colossal nuclear power stations, worries about mortality and climate change to candid trips on her local bus – her songs reflect her interest in shared human experience. Along with the release of her debut EP Tide & Time, gaining her national radio play and widespread praise, 2016 has seen Kitty take her music around the country on her first national tour as support for BBC Best Folk Duo Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman.”

FINE PRINT – Matter [starts 28:23]
https://www.facebook.com/fineprintmusicuk
Fine Print are, we learn, a “London based duo. Bonded over a love of J Dilla and Shuggie Otis….”

FOGGY CITY ORPHAN – French Fries [starts 31:18]
https://www.facebook.com/foggycityorphan
“Foggy City Orphan is a Glasgow band with a family flavour. Martin and John McLinden are brothers while Paul McLinden is their cousin. The other member, drummer Stephen Sweeney, isn’t related to anyone else in the band, although his name is an anagram of Seen Nephews Yet, so we’re working on it. Foggy City Orphan might be the Chinese translation of the 19th century novel Oliver Twist but the band plays 21st century angular music. Foggy City Orphan proves that no one’s ever really an orphan if they have family.”

GEORGE ED – Gabriella [starts 33:39]
https://www.facebook.com/JustGeorgeEd/
“George Ed, an exciting new artist based in Bristol, brings a sound that stems from an influence of neo-soul, to the genre that is electronic dance music. Releasing his debut EP entitled Hi M.O.M earlier this year, was a collaborative effort with the newly formed, London based production duo, T2W. Gabriella off of the EP was critically acclaimed and is fast becoming a fan favourite. This summer, George ED together with T2W, will be performing at a number of events such as The Bristol Habour festival, Upfest and The Raw Noise EP Launch.”

THE BOOKSHOP BAND – We Are The Foxes [starts 37:39]
http://www.thebookshopband.co.uk
“The Bookshop Band collaborate with their local independent bookshop, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, to write songs inspired by books, which are perfumed at the shop’s author nights in front of the author and a small audience. The band released four albums in their first year, and now, almost 5 years later, they are releasing a further ten new book-inspired albums. This song is the title track of their 2nd album of 2016, called We Are The Foxes, inspired by stories of urban life through many different eyes. Their 3rd album of the year will be called Bring Me Back A Pyramid – inspired by stories of wanderlust and place, and will be launched in Blackwells, Oxford on August 3rd. The band are touring all year, playing in bookshops, libraries, music venues and festivals. A full gig listing can be found on their website.

COLOUR – Kerosene [starts 39:59]
http://www.colourofficial.com
“Championed by the likes of Clash, Shortlist and The Daily Mirror, the Colour sound is at its heart Rock, but since people stopped bothering to come up with new genre sub labels for guitar music after indie, there are no labels to aptly name it – but we think it’s a new style. We love the interplay between organic playing and electronic music, lots of heavy glitch-hop influenced drops and guitar glitching, hip-hop influenced 808 drum parts and piano touches, we try and do as many different things with the guitar that we can. The song writing is influenced mostly by British musicians, and we’re definitely proud to call ourselves a British band.”

ODINA – You Loved Me, You Killed Me [starts 43:32]
http://www.odinamusic.com/
“Odina’s aesthetic is melancholic and sorrowful, yet brimming with warmth and delicacy. Influenced by Keaton Henson and Bon Iver amongst others, Odina is a project that started not only at a point of emotional vulnerability, the breaking of a relationship; but also at a point of ‘exile’ when moving to a different country, from the sunny Barcelona to the rainy streets of London. Odina is set to finally release the debut EP Broken, a project conceived in the intimate space of her small London bedroom. An experiment in auditory intimacy, each track on Broken is like a whispered diary entry, synthesising the deeply personal and emotional with the warmth of Odina’s delicate guitar accompaniment and reverb-filled production.”

ZIEGLER CO – The Righteous Few [starts 46:45]
https://www.facebook.com/ZieglerCo
“Ziegler Co. are a four-piece based in South London. They are currently in the final stages of recording two EPs. One of acoustic tracks and one of the full band (recorded with Matt Pinfield at GrandFlat Studio). The first EP will be released for FREE on the 9th September by Foof Records. The band’s back catalogue is also downloadable for free here. The videos for The Righteous Few and its flipside Waking Up At Sunset are on Youtube.”

SILENT CITIES – Gaia [starts 49:58]
http://www.silentcitiesmusic.com/
“Silent Cities is the alias of experimental recording artist, Simon Maddison. First featured on the mixtape sessions back in 2012, Silent Cities received massive praise from Tom Robinson and the team as being ‘The Real Deal’ and ‘destined for great things’. Four years on and Simon continues to charm listeners and industry figures alike with his haunting yet alluring brand of ambient, cinematic music. From securing funding and support from the voltasix incubator label and being included on the Merseyside Arts Foundation’s, Artist Development Programme, Simon has been busy recording and finalising the sonic framework, artwork and visuals for his first debut studio album, titled The Mdina Project. The latest single and visual exploration from the project is titled GAIA and is available to stream and purchase via Spotify and iTunes. Upcoming live shows: LIVERPOOL 21st August @ Jacaranda Groundfloor Sessions hosted by Thom Morecroft; 28th August @ Heebie Jeebies Bank Holiday Sessions hosted by Johnny Sands”

DEAD MELODIES – For a Wonder (ft. ONEIRA) [starts 55:22]
https://www.facebook.com/thedeadmelodies
Dead Melodies descreibe their music as “Ambient noise, atmospheric post-rock, the occasional crooked beat, field recordings, twisted guitars, unusual beats and stuff like that.”

ARTISTS…
In the music industry, as in life, it’s best to treat unsolicited emails asking for money with extreme caution. You may hear from a PR company who have “worked with some of the most original and exciting artists in the UK” who “found you online and after having a listen would be interested in working with you”. Please be aware you haven’t been sent this because you are special – it’s a form email, regularly received by artists who appear on this blog – and it’s from a company who are trying to sell you their services.

There are literally hundreds of plugging and PR companies in the UK – many of whom have equally impressive lists of clients and who would be glad to have your business. You don’t neccessarily have to choose the first company that happens to get in touch with you. See our advice on Sending CDs to Radio and The Pros And Cons Of Pluggers – it’s possible you might not even need professional radio promotion at this point.

And if you do decide to pay for a PR company, don’t take their word for how good they are – get some personal recommendations from their clients. Before parting with your hard-earned cash why not email a few of the indie labels who regularly get their own artists on the radio – and ask which PR companies they use.

… ALSO
If we’ve featured you on the BBC Introducing Mixtape recently, please do us a favour and wait 12 weeks before sending us another track. That will give us space to help a few other deserving artists in the meantime. But I’d love to hear another great new tune from you in three months’ time.

Tom Robinson