Month: August 2008

“Natural” seems the perfect title for the new album from one of the UK’s most gifted and enduring urban music talents Don-E, for whom writing, producing and performing comes naturally. Already DJs at 1Xtra, Choice, Kiss and Radio 1 are jumping on upfront tracks like ‘Addictive Love’ and ‘Stay A While’.

Birmingham’s Steve Camden a.k.a. Polar Bear has made a name for himself as one of the top spoken word poets in this artic zone. His style is one that is yet to be challenged, an approachable, straight forward yet insanely thought provoking, break down of real life, real people, and real caves.

This year’s Vodafone Live Music Awards shortlist announcement sees Duffy go head to head with Kate Nash, Estelle and last year’s winner, Amy Winehouse, in the coveted Best Live Female category. Elsewhere, Mark Ronson, Dizzee Rascal, Paul Weller and Morrissey will battle it out for Best Live Male whilst Arctic Monkeys will have to hand over their crown of Best Live Act to one of this year’s nominees; Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, The Verve and Primal Scream.

Bomb the Bass is back, but put away that smiley face: this is no nostalgia trip. With ‘Future Chaos’, Tim Simenon revamps his long-running project to produce a record that's fresher than anyone might have expected from an outfit that got its start in the '80s. Tickling tweeters and pushing the limits of low-end, the album hovers confidently on the cusp between futurism and vintage, boasting the sort of confident song writing that's a rarity anywhere, much less in electronic music.

Luton-based Reuben Abraham was a mere 17 years old when he tore into the UK’s Grime scene with instant-anthem debut, ‘Straight Flush’. This trail-blazing debut began life as eight bars of beats that Reuben made for a production ‘challenge’ instigated on the popular RWD Magazine online forum. A group of forum members, including producers like Mr Slash, came up with eight bars each to form one track – and Reuben’s contribution was the genesis of ‘Straight Flush’.

One of the most original and versatile producers to emerge from the UK’s Grime scene, the Luton lad behind 2005’s ground-breaking ‘Straight Flush’ is ready to drop his debut producer-as-artist album, ‘Unsung’. Featuring some of the most respected names in the UK grime / hip hop scenes such as Ghetto, Ruff Squad, Asher D, Narstie, No Lay and Gappy Ranx, ‘Unsung’ reveals a producer just as comfortable weaving soulful R&B melodies as he is grinding out whip-sharp beats.