This week’s free downloadable BBC Introducing Mixtape features tunes from the BBC Introducing Uploader by BIKINI FASO, LAURENCE MADE ME CRY, NIGHT HOUSE, THE TRUTH SOUNDS DIFFERENT, KING HARVEST & THE WEIGHT, NAZ & ELLA, TOM FORBES, LOW ISLAND, JITTERZ, E’SPANIEL, SUMOCHIEF ft ThisisDA, THE VAN T’S, RUSSELL SWALLOW, NINE TONS, SHE MAKES WAR, THE SHIPBUILDERS, CHARLIE CUNNINGHAM, JEBEL and DREW MILLER handpicked by Tom Robinson.
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, 14th November at 2am.
BIKINI FASO – Fluff [starts 00:26]
https://www.facebook.com/bikinifaso
“English/Chilean dudes Bikini Faso like to rock your balls off. It’s not that they intend any specific harm to your balls – far from it – they just like the rocking part, and if a room full of people should find themselves inadvertently neutered then frankly that’s a small price to pay for having witnessed their quite breathtaking tunes. That’s right, Bikini Faso also like to take your breath. You can have it back at the end of the show. Wielding such power-psych-pop singalong classics as Fluff, Wastedly and Gravy, Bikini Faso play precisely none of your favourite songs – because you don’t know them yet. But my, how you will. Que Faso!”
LAURENCE MADE ME CRY – Song For The Birds [starts 03:44]
http://laurencemademecry.com/
“Laurence Made Me Cry is songstress Jo Whitby, currently splitting her time between the Highlands of Scotland and Glasgow. Her music is an electronic wave with an undercurrent of folk. Song For The Birds was penned one cold winter night in the Highlands. A reflection on time spent exploring the banks of the River Ness. Alone in my thoughts. The birds a constant companion. Continuing along the river and into the woods…. And We Shall Count To Nine delves a little deeper. A little darker. One for sorrow. Two for joy.”
NIGHT HOUSE – New Year’s Prayer [starts 06:31]
https://www.facebook.com/nighthouseuk
“Electronic folk act Night House is the main project of Brighton based songwriter Nick Williams. Night House have supported various touring acts including Ben Howard, Willy Mason, Krystle Warren and The Magic Numbers. Live, they build textures of acoustic/electric drums and guitars, sweeping vocal harmonies, double bass, Fender Rhodes piano and mandolin, with band members swapping instruments throughout. Holed up in their Brighton studio they started work on demo material, drawing influences from the vocal harmony work of Crosby, Stills & Nash, the song writing of Tom Waits, Iron and Wine and Rufus Wainwright as well as the atmospheric/electronic work of Radiohead, James Blake and Mew. These early demos caught the attention of producer Jamie Bell (Metronomy’s The English Riveria Assistant Producer) and recording started soon after at Metropolis Studios London. Jamie and Night House worked through 2014 aiming to combine the warmth of early seventies Laurel Canyon records with a modern electronic edge. The Night House EP was released in 2015 resulting in three european tours and several festival appearances. The band are currently recording their full length follow up which is due out in 2017.
THE TRUTH SOUNDS DIFFERENT – Back, Back Into Time [starts 10:42]
https://www.facebook.com/The.Truth.Sounds.Different/
“The Truth Sounds Different brings together a disparate group of friends, influences and characters from the midlands electronica, acoustica and Hip-Hop scenes to create a fusion of new sounds and songs with a retro ’80s vibe. The melodic songs draw on classic pop structures and combines vintage synth arrangements with a personal and social lyricism influenced by the conscious rap scene. The experimental project released a first taster track for Refugee week in June 2016. The electro mash up of Exodus versus the Benjamin Zephaniah poem We Refugees quickly gained considerable interest. Benjamin has since recorded a new version with The Truth Sounds Different for release in 2017. The latest track – Back, Back Into Time is an original track featuring West Midlands Grime artist Zeo Zeonardo. Lyrics based on childhood games and growing up are complimented by a retro electro soundscape that takes the listener on a warped time trip. These early taster tracks are precursors to much more original material that is already recorded and will be released later in the year.”
KING HARVEST & THE WEIGHT – Unstuck [starts 14:15]
http://www.kingharvestandtheweight.co.uk/
“With sensibilities hailing from a pre-punk era where songwriting reigned supreme, King Harvest & The Weight take seemingly disparate elements of ’60s pop and ’70s rock and neatly package them into concise, brawny morsels of garage-rock fire. The mission statement for KH&TW from the get-go was to un-ashamedly echo those beautiful, bygone days, when young people would lie back and breathe-in albums like Jailbreak, Physical Graffiti and A Day at the Races. But what they do is no cloying exercise in classic rock nostalgia. KH&TW’s infectious melodies, sun-dappled hooks and uplifting choruses channel a freewheeling spirit that has never gone out of style.”
NAZ & ELLA – Love Is Love [starts 17:02]
http://www.nazandella.com/
“Naz & Ella are an acoustic duo who combine harmonies and intricate fingerstyle riffs. Based in North London; Nasreen ‘Naz’ Toorabally sings lead vocals and Ella Patenall plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals.”
TOM FORBES – Alpha Male [starts 20:08]
http://tomforbes.co.uk/
“Space pop artist Tom Forbes is a 19-year-old singer songwriter from Bristol. He’ll have you on tenterhooks with his insightful lyrics…”
LOW ISLAND – Anywhere [starts 24:12]
https://www.facebook.com/lowislandmusic
“Low Island is a self-produced four-piece band from Oxford. Named after a small rock in the Atlantic, they use an old Roland keyboard and look to their local Oxford music scene and typical 20’s angst, create sounds made of shuffling melodies and emotive lyricism.”
JITTERZ – One Good Song [starts 27:34]
https://www.facebook.com/jitterzuk/
Jitterz describe themselves as purveyors of “Punky Rock ‘n’ Roll. Weird faces, great shirts, bad dancing.”
E’SPANIEL – Knots [starts 30:07]
http://www.espaniel.co.uk/
“E’spaniel is a three piece, jangly, synth pop band held together by a drum machine and defined by catchy guitar and bass lines and bittersweet girl / boy vocals. Based in the North East of England (where spaniels don’t need sombreros) the band have just finished recording their debut album, mixed and produced by Steve Whitfiled and recorded at Blank Studios by Sam Grant. Following No Common Sense, the band released their second single from the forthcoming album Just Another Day with accompanying track Knots on the 7th November 2016.”
SUMOCHIEF – Mutiny ft ThisisDA [starts 33:24]
https://www.facebook.com/SumoChief/
“SumoChief are a Jazz/ Hip Hop collective heavily inspired by the music of artists such as J Dilla, D’Angelo, The Roots and The Robert Glasper Experiment.”
THE VAN T’S – Fun Garçon [starts 36:32]
https://www.facebook.com/TheVanTs
“Dreamy-Pop grunge band from Glasgow. Fronted by twin sisters Chloe and Hannah Van Thompson who thrive on grungy riffs and right harmonies and who also love putting on a fun show. The sisters are the songwriters of the band but also work with session players aka drummers and bassists. The Van T’s have played most venues in Glasgow for over a year, are high up in the Glasgow music scene and are planning their first upcoming tour.”
RUSSELL SWALLOW – Delicate [starts 40:48]
http://www.russellswallow.com/
“Russell Swallow lives between London and Berlin, collaborating with local artists, and hosting regular live shows under the moniker of Beatnik Events. He can typically be found touring Europe, or previewing new material busking along London’s Southbank, or Berlin’s Warschauer Straße.”
Upcoming gigs: Nov 15 Die Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Nov 18 Cafetaria de Linde, Emmen, Netherlands; Dec 8 The Guildhall, Norwich, UK
NINE TONS – Point [starts 44:23]
https://www.facebook.com/ninetons
“Nine Tons are from Tyneside. One album in and working on our next batch of material. We continue to sweat our way through the North East’s live music venues and look forward to spreading our Shaütrock further afield during 2017. Our first album No Frills is available to download here or stream at Spotify, iTunes and Deezer.”
SHE MAKES WAR – Stargazing [starts 46:34]
http://www.shemakeswar.com/
“She Makes War is the gloom-pop solo project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Laura Kidd. She Makes War’s creative performances on grungey electric guitar, claustrophobic vocal loops, ukulele, marching drum, foot percussion and megaphone have been captivating audiences around the UK and Europe for the last six years, both at her Breakfast With Apollo headline shows and supporting Suede, The Levellers, tUnE-yArDs, Gruff Rhys, The Magic Numbers, Pretty Vicious, Duke Special, Shlomo, Midge Ure, New Model Army, Glen Matlock and Earl Slick, This Is The Kit, Nadine Shah, Erica Nockalls and Miles Hunt, Chris Helme and Drugstore.”
THE SHIPBUILDERS – Feeling In My Pocket [starts 50:32]
https://www.facebook.com/theshipbuilders
“The sea, the stars, socialism and much much more churn in the heart of the fire of The Shipbuilders. Combining the noise of Galaxie 500 and the wig-out of The Coral with the melodies of Mersey-yesterdays, The Shipbuilders bridge the gap between the everyday and the dreams of every night.”
CHARLIE CUNNINGHAM – An Opening [starts 52:38]
https://www.facebook.com/charliecunninghammusic/
Charlie Cunningham provides no factual information about himself whatever on any of his websites, apart from the fact that his debut album Lines will be released 27 Jan 2017 and a long list of upcoming shows at https://charliecunninghamlive.com/
JEBEL – Interlude [starts 56:20]
http://welcometomhmusic.wixsite.com/mhmusic/jebel
Jebel tells us: “Remember once there was colour
Passing has honed it to shadows in grey
Let it be over
We end it here
Tired is a word only now leaks a meaning
There’s no regretting – the shackles are now breaking
I have dreamed of escape for too long”
So now we know…
DREW MILLER – Nestrians [starts 58:16]
https://soundcloud.com/pigsywigsy
“Drew Miller is based in Scotland and both a passionate producer of electronic sounds and creator of genre defying electronica.”
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
