However, there is only one VanGuard going on the Radio 1 playlist this week, and that's the VanGuard that is James Thomas and Tom Morgan from West Wales. You only have to skip through their selection of their tracks and remixes to see that these boys are here to get the party started, with uplifting disco and house infused beats that conjour up images of multi-coloured light up dancefloors, white flair jumpsuits and hairy chests.
This week's tip, Loving Someone Else, is a classic example of their sound, and they've even decided to create their own genre 'welsh house' to accomodate the track. I was surprised to find "there aren't any hot 'welsh house' tracks at the moment" on Soundcloud, but who knows, maybe welsh house is sweeping through the New York undergorund as we speak.
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With the likes of Daft Punk, Justice, SebastiAn, and Mr Oizo on their 'artists we like' list, you can assume that a) they're into French music and b) you're in for a bit of a dance when you see them play. In fact, you can see them play! Here they are performing a funky little set at Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, as part of Radio 1's United Nations event in October 2010.
On this week's show I spoke to Olly from Memphis to find more about the label... here's our chat if you missed it:
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Allow us to introduce Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson. JP is a UK-based music journalist who focuses on the underground music scene. He joins BBC Introducing in Scotland on Radio 1 every third Sunday of each month with Ally McCrae, profiling his favourite three tracks from underground urban acts.
You can listen to JP's feature on Ally's latest show on BBC iPlayer until midnight on Monday 31 January.
Take it away, JP...
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3. Rewd Adams feat. Black The Ripper – Drift Away
My first runner-up for Underground Track of the Month comes from London-based rapper/singer, Rewd Adams. He’s teamed up with north London’s Black The Ripper to create this laid-back number called Drift Away. Although I love the hype tracks, it’s always cool to hear those tunes that you can really zone out to, this one has a real chilled out vibe to it.
My second runner-up comes from a guy name Tre Mission. He’s an MC from Canada who is making a lot of noise within the UK grime scene at the moment. Tre partnered with Essex-based producer, Exo Remedy on this potential club banger. It has a bit of a bassline feel to it as well, which is always a hit in my books!
1. TRACK OF THE MONTH: Kozzie, Marger, Merky Ace, Rival, Ego & Scrufizzer - Spartan Remix
Something really exciting has been taking place in the grime scene recently, which we critics have been calling, "the new wave.” This is basically a group of up-and-coming MCs who are really bringing back what it means to be grime, with their gritty bars and flow. It has kind of re-energised the grime scene. Introducing MCs Kozzie, Marger, Merky Ace, Rival, Ego & Scrufizzer, who have all jumped on the remix of Spooky-produced underground hit of 2010.
And finally... my SCOTTISH STREET TRACK OF THE MONTH: Simba and Profisee - Rubicon Don
I’ve chosen Simba and Profisee’s Rubicon Don as my favourite Scottish street track this month. The lyrical content is comical; it’s basically about drinking the soft drink in the title! I’m also feeling the production on this one - it's got quite a Major Lazer feel to it, which each MC manages to flow over effortlessly.
[And you can re-live Profisee's performance on our stage T in The Park 2010 here.]
Millions Like Us are a D&B/dubstep trio from Brighton. The tag 'dubstep trio' might have had people scratching their heads a couple years back, but after the explosive success of Magnetic Man, dubstep trios have become almost as mainstream as talent-contest-manufactured-well-oiled-boy bands.
So can Tom, Ian, and Chris of Millions Like Us follow in the footsteps of Skream, Benga and Artwork? Obviously they've got a lonnnnnng way to go, but it's not a bad start, getting one of your first tracks on the Radio 1 playlist!
Which reminds me, did anyone catch Skream and Benga's new show on Radio 1? They've joined the infamous In New Music We Trust roster, on rotation once every four weeks. It pleased me to read "Skream and Benga on Radio 1 tonight...Worth the licence fee alone" on one of my mate's status updates. Perhaps now he'll stop venting his anger at me and the BBC because West Ham are never the main game on Match of The Day. Well, every four weeks at least. Anyway, decide for yourself, Tune in Thursday 10 Feb for their next show on Radio 1.
The three members of Millions Like Us all come from a live music background, but decided to ditch the instruments for the studio in an attempt to create "captivating melodies with heavy dance floor bass lines". I'd say our Tip of the Week track - Put Your Shoes On - does a pretty decent job of that, and definitely won't sound too out of place alongside the likes of Katy B, Chase & Status, Magnetic Man and Nero, on the ever expanding list of bass heavy Radio 1 playlist artists.
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I hope you enjoyed hearing Fixers played on Radio 1 all last week, culminating in their performance in the Live Lounge for Jo Whiley on Saturday. I hope you're hungry for more, for in the jungle, the mighty Bristol jungle, Out Like a Lion go on the playlist tonight.
After having to take a bit of an onslaught from Mr. Moyles and his team on Monday last week, they were up against other contenders Vinyl Jacket, Jake Hart, and The Kill Van Kulls for the BBC Introducing playlist slot.
The four acts were put to the vote in Friday's Chris Moyles show, with Out Like A Lion beating off the competition to become the second act added to Radio 1's daytime playlist with their track, Little Bit of Love.
Here's how it all sounded if you missed it (you can hear the track itself in full from about 11'30")
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Huw Stephens|17:06 UK time, Thursday, 13 January 2011
Ooh we've changed the name from DIY label of the Week to Label of Love! So, this weeks, ahem, Label of Love, is hemlock! The label that brought us James Blake's first EP (before he made it to number 2 in the Sound of 2011 list obviously), Fantastic Mr Fox and now their tenth EP a brilliant record by future sesison band on the show, Breton.
I spoke to Andy from Hemlock about why they started the label, the ideas behind releasing music and its dubstep foundations.
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All this week on Radio 1, it's BBC Introducing Week! All week, DJs will be playing tracks from some great acts that have we've supported, plus we've teamed up with NME, Mixmag and Rock Sound magazines to offer six brilliant new artists recording sessions at Maida Vale studios and airplay on Radio 1.
What's more, we've announced a huge event which will take place on February 3 2011 - the BBC Introducing Musicians' Masterclass. It's an opportunity for aspiring artists to learn from established acts and music industry professionals, with talks and hands-on sessions taking place in Abbey Road and Maida Vale studios.
We've got some big names lined up, and we want you to join us! Working with local BBC Introducing show teams, we've invited musicians from all over the UK, but we've got 40 more passes to this unmissable event to give away. Registration opens at 7pm on Monday 10 January on our Masterclass page.
And as if all that wasn't enough... ladies and gentlemen, our Tip of The Week is about to go massive! Starting from today, a new act will be put forward by BBC Introducing every week to go on the Radio 1 playlist. Yes, that's right, the official, real deal, seven-daytime-plays-a-week-on-national-Radio 1 playlist.
This is a huge moment for BBC Introducing, as Radio 1's Head of Music George Ergatoudis knows all too well:
Guaranteed exposure on daytime Radio 1 is an amazing opportunity for aspiring musicians, with millions of listeners set to hear their music. But it’s not just the plays that will make a difference: the Radio 1 playlist is influential on a global basis, with music industry executives and radio programmers around the world keeping close tabs on the tracks we add each week.
So - how are we going to decide who gets added? Well it all begins with artists uploading their tracks right here on the BBC Introducing website. Any UK artist or band can upload their music, which is then listened to by presenters and producers of their local BBC Introducing radio show. Local teams make recommendations to a panel inside Radio 1 that consists of DJs like Huw Stephens, producers of In New Music We Trust shows and members of the Radio 1 playlist team. It’s an efficient filtering system with the very best tracks from a wide range of genres ultimately earning a place on the playlist.
It has never been cheaper or easier to make and record music and there are literally thousands of artists around the UK who are striving to be heard. It’s a very competitive business, and the biggest difficulty is actually being discovered. While there’s no guarantee of success for anyone in the music business this opportunity will definitely provide a brilliant first step on the ladder, and listeners hungry for new music will discover some great new artists.
And hungry we certainly are, George. So hungry, in fact, that we're going to skip the starters, the pre-drinks and the girlfriend's pretty outfit compliments, and get stuck right into the main course. Sharpen your knives and forks people, as we're about to tuck into (ahem) "a gorgeous summer salad of west coast psychedelia and spaced out, lysergic sunshine pop".
Ladies and Gentleman, the first band to be added to the Radio 1 playlist in 2011, introducing... Fixers.
Fixers are an experimental surf dance quintet from Oxford. Now it's not everyday you can listen to experimental surf dance on Radio 1 (not during the day, anyhow) but this week you can, and that's exactly what this is all about!
The band draw influences from the likes of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, and although I'm sure The Beach Boys sound way better on a hot sunny West Coast beach surrounded by long blonde haired beauties catching the surf. Let's just close our eyes and pretend it isn't freezing, wet and dark...
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They've been picked up by former DIY label of the week Young and Lost Club, and if you want to hear what the label liked about the band, check out BBC Introducing in Oxford's unsigned music guide for an interview with the label owner, Sara Jade. There's a lot of great advice on there, too.
Fixers are going to be busy boys in February, as they embark on a tour of Sheffield, Brighton, Southampton, Manchester, London, Cardiff, and Bristol. Of course, if you can't catch them live in person, you can still enjoy their performance at T in the Park last year right here:
You can hear Majesties Ranch on Radio 1 all this week.
Yesterday, we introduced you to Ally McCrae, new presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland. Today it's the turn of Jen Long, new host of BBC Introducing in Wales...
Hello, I’m Jen Long. I look a bit like a mini Joey Ramone and am currently trying to recover from a crushing addiction to sandwiches.
From Sunday I will be presenting BBC Introducing in Wales, taking over from the brilliant Bethan Elfyn who you can now find on your wireless if you turn the dial towards Radio Wales. It feels strange, to say the least. I’ve been working on Bethan’s show for the last three years making notes, tea, and suggesting hilarious features - Beth From Above, Beth Becomes Her - that strangely never made it to fruition. I was pretty chuffed when I first got that job; I used to listen to Bethan and Huw back in the old days, dancing around my tiny student bedroom.
I went to University in Cardiff where I forged a frontline in the science of teleportation, once managing to transport a teaspoon from Newport to New York. Not really. I studied Journalism.
I managed the student radio station, Xpress Radio and graduated in 2006. Thereafter I had a run of both awful and amazing jobs including HMV sales assistant, managing rehearsal rooms, and driving a band across Europe.
Nowadays you can usually find me in the corner of Clwb Ifor Bach necking an orange squash. I write for a few different websites and magazines; I have an MP3 blog at waitfortheclick.co.uk, I promote gigs under the name FLUX=RAD, and I DJ here and there too.
Over Christmas I’ve been down the pub exercising phenomenal bicep curls and pounding my ears with some of the freshest, most exciting music around. I am ready and excited for Sunday. Bring it on.
1. Demolished Thoughts; Ecstatic Peace Showcase, SXSW. I am a massive Sonic Youth fan so just the chance to spend five hours in a venue with Thurston Moore was mind-blowing enough. Demolished Thoughts are a hardcore covers band comprised of Thurston on vocals, J Mascis and Don Fleming on guitar, Alison Awesome on drums, and Andrew WK on bass (although Andrew never showed up so Jonah from F***ed Up took the call). They were so vicious and violent, it was immense and I was in complete awe for most of the set. So much so, I didn’t notice the stage-diver flying fist first at my face. Spent the next day nursing a right shiner of a black eye. I looked badass.
2. HEALTH; Primavera, Barcelona. Everything about this band is exciting. Live they’re so threatening, in a purely audio sense, you just never know where the set is going to take you. Health played at 4am on the Saturday at Primavera last year. Any gig that starts with you telling your friend, "Hold my bag, I’m going for a mosh" has to be a good one.
4. Pavement; Primavera/All Tomorrows Parties. This was a bit special. At Primavera, I was in a line for the toilet when Stereo dropped and I just remember grabbing my friend and us running through the crowd right as the chorus kicked in. I know everyone’s doing reunions now but last summer was so great. I can’t wait for Pulp this year.
5. The National; Latitude Festival, Suffolk. I would like to take this moment to apologise to anyone who was standing near my friend Annette and I during this show and had to hear us sing every line at twice the volume of the PA. I do not regret my actions.
Do you have an all-time favourite gig venue?
I grew up just outside London so a lot of my gig memories are of going to ‘sleep round a friend’s house’ and jumping on a train instead. I went to a lot of shows at The Astoria and I’m really sad that it’s gone. I love Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, The Fleece in Bristol, Union Chapel in London, Pianos in New York. But that said, sometimes it really doesn’t matter where you put on a gig; it’s the band and crowd that can make a show.
First ever gig?
Everclear at The Astoria in October 2000. The next day I pretended to be sick so I could get sent home from school and listen to them on Jo Whiley’s Live Lounge.
First ever album you bought?
I don’t remember. I remember trying to buy Take That and Party but it was £8 on cassette in Woolworths and my mum said it was too much and I wasn’t allowed. I suppose my entire career is just an effort to recover from that particular childhood atrocity.
Don't miss Jen's first show this Sunday night at midnight on Radio 1 in Wales.
Listen to advice about the music industry from established Welsh acts in Jen's series of features, cunningly titled The Long Report.
Ally McCrae|12:05 UK time, Thursday, 6 January 2011
As you might have heard, there's a changing of the guard over at BBC Introducing in Scotland and Wales on Radio 1. Our good friends and musical gurus Vic Galloway and Bethan Elfyn are leaving Radio 1 and will be sorely missed.
Picking up the baton this coming weekend are Ally McCrae and Jen Long, so I thought it would be a good idea if they introduced themselves. Today you'll hear from Ally, tomorrow, Jen.Over to you, Ally!
Hello! My name is Ally McCrae and this Sunday I will be kicking off the brand spanking, new-look BBC Introducing in Scotland show and I cannot WAIT!
Every week we will be showing off the finest new Scottish talent around, and right now, there are a whole host of musical treats to be getting excited about north of the border.
The news got announced on the 2nd of November that I would be taking over the show from Mr Vic Galloway, a hero of mine, and someone I listened to a lot in those early teenage years when you start discovering that there is music being made outside the top 40. With his excitement, passion and energy it was hard no to get enthused about the Scottish music out there. So, being asked to take over the show from the man is an honour and I salute him.
After being asked to do the show, I had a couple of weeks of thinking to myself, "Really?! Radio 1? Kidding me on aye?!" Once that passed, it was game time with rehearsals and preparation. Now I just want Sunday night to be here already. We have some incredible undiscovered acts with some real belters lined up to burst into the New Year.
So - who am I?
Well, I'm 23, 6' 6" and I graduated from Stirling Uni in 2009 where I ran the student radio station Air3 (BIG UP!) for a couple years and occasionally studied for a Film & Media degree. After graduating I moved to Glasgow, gave up on sleeping and started up an online video blog of adventures with new Scottish acts with my good pal, focusing on live music and the fun you can have with it.
I am a keen follower of the beautiful game, my team being St. Mirren (or 'a diddy mob' as some would say in Scotland). In true 'awkward-round-the-room-introduce-yourselves' fashion, here's a weird fact about me: as a child I used to spend my weekends performing children's Punch and Judy shows in public at fetes, gala days and birthday parties.
Thanks, Ally! Now for a bit of quickfire musical interrogation...
Do you have an all-time favourite gig venue? Glasgow Barrowlands. World class hot-dogs and friendly cloak-room staff.
First ever gig? Less Than Jake as part of some massive gig in the SECC, I think I was roughly 12 and I snuck out of my parents house, thinking I was the big shot.
First album you ever bought? Aqua - Aquarium. Not even ashamed. I remember my older brother abusing my tastes and saying 'you only buy pop-tastic singles…' so the only logical thing to do was to buy an Aqua album
Don't miss Ally's first show this Sunday night at midnight on Radio 1 in Scotland
|16:35 UK time, Friday, 28 January 2011
