Dionne Reid is a singer with SOUL. Her sweet sounding, laid back vocals recall those of Corinne Bailey Rae, and her music is certainly capable of making people smile the way Corinne's often does.

Mixing real lyrics, raw energy and simple melodies, her aim is to bring the realness & freeness of music back into the scene.. without the airbrush.

So with the airbrush traded for a poncho, wellies and a wooly jumper, she was invited to play the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury. Playing Friday afternoon, her music was always going to bring a ray of sunshine into the tent, whatever was happening with the weather outside! As it turned out, it was grey, rainy and miserable outside, but Dionne ensured that the spirits of everyone inside the packed tent weren't dampened (even though their clothes certainly were). This performance of Good Morning showcases Dionnes stunning voice, her stylish, talented band, and her t-shirt/bow tie combo that is surely enough to make you smile.

Click here for more videos and photos from Dionne's Glasto debut.

Her soothing voice led to her being featured on a track with UK rapper Sway and earned her gigs at Jazz Cafe, Lyric Theatre, and The National Theatre, as well as a slot at Lovebox Festival. Supporting various charitable causes and maintaining an amazing energy and positive approach to life along the way, Dionne Reid is ready to showcase her sensational vocals on a larger scale, and that's where Radio 1 comes in...

This track, Daddy Dear, is a sunny little reggae tune that you'll hear on the Radio 1 playlist all this week. The perfect way to start the summer.

If you like the track, the official music video has also just been released, which I have to say, looks very pro (and was filmed on a far sunnier day than the Friday at Glastonbury!) Nice work Dionne

Links

https://dionnereid.com/

https://www.myspace.com/dionnereid

https://www.youtube.com/dionnereidtv

It's that time of year again, the time of year when hundreds of thousands of hippies, music lovers, artists, and everybody in between make the holy musical pilgrimage down to Pilton Farm for the mother of all festivals. And with bucket loads of rain thundering down from the dark grey skies as we speak... I hope you've packed your wellies!

For those of you not going, and for those that don't fancy getting caked in mud and rain, we have plenty of new music to keep you entertained over the weekend from the comfort of your own home. So put your feet up, and take note of all the things BBC Introducing has going down at Glasto 2011.

Introducing Glastonbury

To kick things off, on Thursday 23 June between 8-10pm, 6 Music unites with Radio 1 AND Radio 2 to deliver an historic triple-cast across all three networks. This special live show, called Introducing Glastonbury, will be hosted by Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe, and will be celebrating the very best of BBC Introducing as well as previewing the forthcoming diverse delights of Glastonbury 2011. Noah & The Whale and BBC Introducing stage alumni Dry The River will both be taking part in this wonderful backstage event.

Listen live on 6 Music, Radio 1 or Radio 2, and check out the programme page here.

BBC Introducing Stage

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, tucked inside the Dance Village our glorious stage will host some of the most talented musicans across the UK. We have acts like Ed Sheeran (currently number 3 in the Top 40!) headlining Friday, the beautiful Newcastle 7-piece Sharks Took The Rest playing Saturday, and Leeds rockers Vessels closing the stage in style on Sunday.

To see the full line-up and find out about all the bands playing our stage, click here. We'll be photographing and filming most of the acts, so check back online for photos and videos after the weekend.

Live streaming & Red Button

Some of the BBC Introducing stage performances will be streamed live on the BBC Glastonbury website, so be sure to check there if you want to join us getting down and dirty with the crowd in our tent. 

There will also be some highlights appearing on the Red Button, so if you have a TV, knock Wimbledon on the head and check out the next big thing.

Hello Glastonbury!

If you're just itching to hear the roar of the festival crowd and couldn't possibly wait until Thursday, then why not wet your Introducing appetite with the BBC Four documentary Hello Glastonbury, which followed three of our bands on their first Glastonbury adventure last year. You'll see exactly how it feels to perform on our stage, and you can watch the entire film right here.

Hopefully thats enough new music to keep you happy (and dry). Remember everything you need to know about our stage is on our Glastonbury Introducing page, and if you reckon you're making music that's good enough to earn you a slot on our festival stage, then upload it now.

Hope to see you on the farm!

Aaron Delahunty from Gipsy Hill, South London, is a rather unique chap. Dressed in swanky attire that makes him look like he's walked out of the Victorian age, but with piercings, sharp hair and a swagger that would've made the Victorians spit out their afternoon tea, I really didn't know what to expect from this boy.

Then, as soon as he starts strumming and drumming his acoustic guitar, you realise it's not just fashion that he's mashing up from different eras. Here he is, recorded live in session at our very own Maida Vale studios:

Watch more videos of Aaron Delahunty in session at Maida Vale

Fusing vintage styles like honky-tonk, classic swing and gypsy jazz with bold lyrics and a feisty delivery, you need an enthusiastic, talented band that can keep up, and Aaron has chosen his live act very wisely. I watched them record this Maida Vale session together, and saw their performance on our stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend, and noticed both times how genuinely happy they all looked playing together.

The drummer constantly had a cheeky smile, the guitarist and bass players were sinking effortlessly into their grooves, and the lovely pianist added all the delicate touches at the right moments. At the end of the day, if the band are up there having a party then the crowd have no excuses to sit out!

Aaron's music definitely has that happy-go-lucky get up and dance vibe, and having been influenced by everything from acid house to nu-metal you can see why. It's the hip-hop core of Mr Delahunty however, that really makes him stand out from the crowd. He spits lyrics that reflect where he comes from, what he believes in, and real honest observations of his London suroundings. Intertwined with all the fun and games of his music are words with meaning and substance.

Having studied at the British Academy of New Music, living in Bow ('the heart and home of grime') , and taking inspiration from everything that comes his way, he summed it up nicely by saying "naturally over time my influences and tastes began to merge and... well... here I am!"

That's right, here he is, on the Radio 1 playlist with this cheeky little track, She's My Ex:

You'll also hear tracks from Aaron's Maida Vale session on Fearne Cotton's show this morning on Radio 1, and throughout the week. Enjoy!

Links

https://www.myspace.com/aarondelahunty

https://www.aarondelahunty.com/

https://twitter.com/aarondelahunty

Celebrating 15 years of putting out quality indie, Fortuna Pop records has released music by Allo, Darlin', The Pipettes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and most recently Crystal Stitls and Herman Dune.

I caught up with Sean to find out why he started the label, the releases he thinks are landmark ones for the label, and of course, most importantly - what is the top office snack at Fortuna Pop...

Tracks heard

Crystal Stilts - Shake The Shackles

Death Evans - Threads

Links

https://www.fortunapop.com/

Listen again to Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1or download the podcast

Joseph JP Patterson was back on BBC Introducing in Scotland with Ally McCrae on Sunday, giving the lowdown on his favourite underground tracks this month...

3. Russo Feat. Dot Rotten – Bad Tonight

Third choice pick this month is Russo

I first came across Among Brothers when Barely Regal Records popped up as our Label of Love one week. You see, Barely Regal is a Cardiff-based record label run by Matt Fidler and Isaac Jones, who are two parts of Among Brothers, and they release their records on their own label. Pretty sweet setup if you ask me! No label pressure to sound more commercial or accessible. No label pressure to change your appearance or style, or play gigs and meet the people the label want you to.. they ARE the label!

A few months after discovering them, I was delighted to see them pop up on our Radio 1 Big Weekend lineup for Sunday. It is here, my friends, where Among Brothers were really able to shine. Appearing on stage with at least seven people, they came clutching drumsticks, guitars, violins, laptops, microphones, keyboards, glockenspiels and more, creating an air of anticipation around themselves as the songs slowly and meticulously came to life. Their performance of Great Famine Family, combined with some stunning pole-cam shots and the hazy smokey orange lighting, really does seem to satisfy all the senses.

See more videos and photos of Among Brothers performing at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011.

Every note, every beat, every sound that oozed from every instrument was played with such delicacy, such precision, you couldn't help but get sucked into the musical world being created before your very eyes. 

I love that it's seven minutes long. I love how the direction and mood of the song changes as different instruments are invited in and out. I love the shorts the girl playing the violin is wearing. It's just the kind of song and performance that comes from a band that have the freedom to do what they believe in. They're doing it for themselves, for the love of performing and making meaningful, beautiful music, and not for somebody in a suit telling them what they should be. I guess that's why more and more bands are starting their own labels (we've got some advice on this topic here, and more in our The Right Deal for You section).

My Head Is A Vessel is the track that will grace the Radio 1 playlist this week, another track full of emotion, slow building moments, and breathtaking vocals and melodies. The introduction alone is worth pressing play for. Take a deep breath. Enjoy...

Links

https://amongbrothers.tumblr.com/

https://amongbrothers.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/amongbrothersuk

The name stands out a mile. The music is out of this world. Olde English Spelling Bee is represented by the mysterious Sir Charles Berlitz. They're the label which brought the world the session band on my show this week, the wonderful Ducktails, also a member of Real Estate. I had to find out more, so I got Sir Charles on the phone...

Music played:

Monopoly Child Star Searchers - Excerpts from Bamboo For Two LP

James Ferraro - Dollhouse Frotteur

Links

https://oesbee.blogspot.com/

https://soundcloud.com/oesb

I was supposed to be in the pit taking photos of Saturday Night Gym Club when they performed at Radio 1's Big Weekend, but when they played this track Lituya Bay, I seemed to slip into a tribal trance-like state of awe, where for an entire 4 minutes I was transfixed by the sounds and the atmosphere of that moment, and forgot that I actually had a job to do (don't worry boys, I paid much more attention to the photography during the rest of the set).

Once I snapped out of it and landed back on the soft Carlisle earth, I felt that same sense of admiration around the whole tent. Four young lads describing themselves as a 'grouping of Anglo-irish dancefloor storytellers' had just created a feeling of warmth that's difficult to achieve at a cold rainy festival. The intimacy of the tent, the co-ordinated sounds, the soft orange lighting peering through the smoke filled stage, it all seem to work together effortlessly.

Arranged in a straight line like some kind of militant musical group, they came armed with a host of electronic instruments, synths, keyboards, mixers, laptops, drum machines, but the thing that really got the hairs standing up on the back of my neck was the violin. A beautifully soothing addition to the electronic lineup.

This track, I Know, is the latest addition to the Radio 1 playlist. It's a track that entices you in with an introduction that sounds like an electronic tide sweeping peacefully in and out from the coastline. As the vocals and bassline slowly build and merge together seamlessly, you feel like you're basking in the sunshine of a glorious electro beach.

Ok, maybe you don't feel like that if you're stuck at work on a rainy Monday morning after a heavy weekend. However you're feeling, have a little listen.

See photos and videos of Saturday Night Gym Club's performance at Big Weekend 2011.

Links

https://www.myspace.com/saturdaynightgymclub

https://saturdaynightgymclub.com/

https://soundcloud.com/saturdaynightgymclub