Archives for July 2011

On this morning's show we met Ben and John from Gaoler's Daughter - who dropped by the studio earlier in the week before rushing off to Camden for a gig. They graced us not only with their presence, but also by their presents - in the form of a couple of band t-shirts.

We also unveiled a couple of tracks we've been saving up from two of the best sessions we've heard all year. A killer version of Illiterate - the debut single by the captivating and outrageously talented Tanya Auclair - and another mini masterpiece of economy from the new EP by Sheffield's Low Duo.

The keen ears of regular tipsters Bethan and Target brought their usual weekly infusion of excellent taste, and friend of the show Arun Sethi recommended a track from Jeeks that's so funky it should come with a health warning. And our guest bloggers courtesy of NowPlaying@6Music were Alex and Moz from the excellent WeAreSME.co.uk.

Here are all the tracks we played on the show - along with those ever-helpful links to the artists' very own websites. Enjoy!

VASCO DA GAMA - Best Disguises
https://soundcloud.com/vascodagama

EMIKA - Pretend
https://soundcloud.com/paris-pngpng/emika-double-edge

ELLIOTT MORRIS - Scars
https://facebook.com/elliottmorrisguitar

VIRGIN ISLANDS - No Doctor
https://myspace.com/thevirginislands

INTRODUCING ROULETTE
KICKSTARTER - The Construct City
https://facebook.com/kickstarteruk

JEEKS - Wonderfunk
https://jeeks.bandcamp.com

YOUNG RUNAWAYS - Closer
https://youngrunaways.bandcamp.com

THE RECUSANTS - 1943
https://soundcloud.com/therecusants

INTERVIEW GUESTS
GAOLER’S DAUGHTER - St Peter
https://gaolersdaughter.com

THE NEON GRAVEYARD - Nevergreen
https://facebook.com/theneongraveyard

BETHAN ELFYN TIP: TRACK/SESSION
SNOW IN JUNE - Silvertongue
https://www.snowinjune.org

THE PERYLS - Black Waltz
https://soundcloud.com/theperyls

SESSION TRACK
TANYA AUCLAIR - Illiterate
https://tanyaauclair.com

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD - Ginkgo Biloba
https://facebook.com/pages/Underground-Railroad/14055737647

JACK PEACHEY/GALLERY 47 - Otherwise
https://www.myspace.com/gallery47

DJ TARGET TIP
ZEO ZEONARDO feat. ZOE - Back In Time
https://facebook.com/ZeoZeonardoOfficial

THESE FURROWS - Duke
https://thesefurrows.co.uk

MY GOLD MASK - Violet Eyes
https://soundcloud.com/shane-3-2/sets/my-gold-mask

BRONZE MEDALLISTS - Mathematics
https://www.myspace.com/bronzemedallists

WEARESME.CO.UK GUEST BLOGGERS FROM NOWPLAYING@6MUSIC
LIL’ B - Based For Your Face
RUN JACK RUN - Howl
https://soundcloud.com/runjackrun
https://wearesme.co.uk

CATGUT - Black Seas & Belly Aches
https://catgut.bandcamp.com

ZERVAS AND PEPPER - Cigar Store Indian
https://facebook.com/zervasandpepper

INTRODUCING SESSION TRACK
LOW DUO - Of All the Girls
https://lowduo.co.uk

GRASS HOUSE - A Cradle, A Short Breath
https://facebook.com/GrassHouseuk

KIN - Four Years
https://fouryears.bandcamp.com

This weekend we had no show on the Saturday night (alright then, Sunday morning) because of 6 Music's five-hour Legends Of The Dancefloor Special: The Weekend - Thank Larry It's Friday... highlights from the second birthday of the Paradise Garage club.

However we made up for it with this morning's jam-packed show. We marked today's release of GRANDAD GALAXY - the new album from The Voluntary Butler Scheme (aka Rob Jones) - with session versions of two of the tracks recorded live on the Marc Riley show last April.

We also invited this week's guest blogger Tom Williams to drop by and talk about the ins and outs of unsigned bands getting themselves booked at festivals. Tom also explained some of the possibilities for financing the recording his band's next album through a fan-funding site such as Sellaband or Pledge Music.

And Bobby Friction sent us a track by Sali that he described as "the most bonkers thing that I've ever played on air". It's a claim we should take with a pinch of salt, bearing in mind that other contenders include Caravan Crookz, Last Mango In Paris and The Psychedelic Singh. Decide for yourself by downloading the track for free from the Sali website.

DIMBLEBY & CAPPER - Black Smoke/Burning House
https://soundcloud.com/dimblebyandcapper
https://dimblebyandcapper.co.uk

LEROY LEE - Drawing Smoke
https://facebook.com/LeroyLeemusic

VASCO DA GAMA - Best Disguises
https://soundcloud.com/vascodagama

BACKBEAT SOUND SYSTEM - Navigate The Motivator
https://backbeatsoundsystem.bandcamp.com

THE CELLOPHANE FLOWERS - Freeze Me
https://thecellophaneflowers.co.uk

SKETCHES - Your Name Upon It
https://sketchesmusic.co.uk

LIKE WILD - Rapture Love
https:///likewild.bandcamp.com

INTERVIEW: TOM WILLIAMS
TOM WILLIAMS & THE BOAT - See My Evil
https://tomwilliamsandtheboat.co.uk

YOUNG RUNAWAYS - Closer
https://youngrunaways.bandcamp.com

HUW STEPHENS TIP
BWANI JUNCTION - Today's Crusades (Live At T In The Park)
https://myspace.com/theband411

OF ARROWE HILL - Damned
https://www.myspace.com/ofarrowehill

SESSION TRACK
VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME - Shake Me By The Shoulders
https://facebook.com/thevoluntarybutlerscheme

CATS AND CATS AND CATS - Celebration
https://catsandcatsandcats.com

MANDORLA - Victim Of The Sun
https://soundcloud.com/playgroundmusic/mandorla-victim-of-the-sun

BOBBY FRICTION TIP
SALI - Oxygen
https://salimusic.com

A HOME. A HEART. WHATEVER. - Beside Ourselves
https://ahomeaheartwhatever.com

THE MOUNTAINEERING CLUB - Nansen
https://themountaineeringclub.bandcamp.com

CITIZENS - Turns Gold
https://soundcloud.com/citizenstheband

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
ITCH - Do You Know What Fear Is
https://thebanditch.bandcamp.com

BELLA SPINKS - Words
https://soundcloud.com/sublime-music

HOT BEAT REPEAT - Ease It Up
https://hotbeatrepeat.co.uk

SAM COFFEY AND THE IRON LUNGS - Have A 100
https://samcoffeyandtheironlungs.bandcamp.com

SESSION TRACK
VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME - Don't Rely On It, Don’t Count On It
https://facebook.com/thevoluntarybutlerscheme

THE SAVAGE NOMADS - A Statement
https://soundcloud.com/alaska-sounds

GHOSTING SEASON - Far End of the Graveyard
https://soundcloud.com/ghostingseason

Tom Williams & The Boat offer their Guide To Summer Festival Joy
Success in the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition resulted in Tom Williams And The Boat getting booked to perform at last year’s festival. They ended up playing five separate slots over the weekend thanks to the band’s enterprising, can-do attitude. Most importantly of all, however, they had a “bone-shakingly good” demo, as Tom Williams explains.

Summer - or 'The Festival Season' - is the best time of year to be in a band. Festivals offer new bands the opportunity to reach numbers of people they might never otherwise manage while gigging in pubs and clubs. With new festivals popping up in nearly every village and hamlet of the UK, it’s now easier than ever for new bands to get their diaries nice and full by the time the evenings become long and the days cider-ey.

In Kent, where we're from, many if the festival line ups compete on a national level each year. Hop Farm, Hevy, Sellindge, and Lounge On The Farm have gone from strength to strength over the last 4 years. The latter - having taken on extra funding and massively expanded – can now book some of the biggest acts in the country. This year The Streets, Vaccines and Echo & The Bunnymen hit Merton Farm, not to mention shiny pop things Ellie Goulding and Example. In Tunbridge Wells the festivals Local & Live and Unfest are also growing, with record numbers year on year and featuring local talent alone.

This fertile environment is fantastic for Kent music. With the sole exception of Hop Farm (nudge nudge Hop Farm!) all the county’s festivals encourage local artists to apply for some kind of 'You Say, They Play' competition. By letting bands upload their music to a page where fans can vote their favourites onto the bill, an otherwise faceless festival can really connect with the local music community. The Folkestone band Chutes came third in Lounge On The Farm's competition and found themselves opening the massive main stage this year.

Festivals such as Lounge continue to support Kent bands long after their first appearance there. As The Boat rolled into Merton Farm this year, we realised it was our fourth consecutive appearance there - which shows incredible good will towards an unsigned band from such a fast-growing festival.

BBC Introducing has a massive part to play in all this. With stages at Glastonbury, Radio One's Big Weekend, T In The Park, Reading & Leeds and the London Mela, BBC Introducing offers new bands a chance to share bills with the biggest and baddest in the business - and experience performing at a massive, professionally-run festival. With regional shows passing on tips to Huw Stephens on Radio 1 and Tom Robinson on 6 Music, any new band has the potential to find themselves on the bill at their dream festival.

Tom Williams & The Boat were lucky enough to play the BBC Introducing stage when Radio One's Big Weekend came to Maidstone back in 2008 - which saw us share the stage with similarly unknown acts as (ahem) White Lies, Golden Silvers, Chipmunk and Natty. The following summer - after continued airplay from BBC Kent Introducing, 6 Music and Huw Stephens on Radio One - we ended up playing two major festivals thanks to Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent competition and Huw himself - who was curating the beautiful Lake Stage at Latitude.

Those festivals have not only been career highlights for our band, but also some of our fondest memories shared with great friends. It's important to emphasise that most festivals are not a closed book, and don't just lazily rely big booking agencies to supply their acts. Admittedly we had a lot of luck, but TWATB coped for many years without a booking agent. With a bit of initiative and a good demo there's no reason why you couldn't work your way up the BBC Introducing tree and have the summer of your life, playing one of the best festivals in the world.

Obviously the first step for any band is to record a kick-ass demo - three or four bone-shakingly good tracks - after which the sky’s the limit. Nearly every festival in the land has an application process for new bands and I say, what's to lose? Apply for them all! You never know eh?!

And if you see me at a festival, come and say hi!
Tom Williams
x
tomwilliamsandtheboat.co.uk

With the onus of the show being playing the freshest tunes from new and emerging acts, our interview this week focussed on the issue of artist royalties and representation.

In some ways the world remains unchanged for songwriters from the one I started out in forty years ago – insofar as there’s still no substitute for quality and commitment. Anything slipshod or halfhearted is unlikely to win itself much of an audience. But by the same token, if you actually are the next Radiohead, it’s far easier to get yourselves heard these days thanks to a huge range of low-cost resources available that we could only dream of back in the seventies.

Think Tunecore, AWAL, Bandcamp, PledgeMusic, Soundcloud, Sentric, Sellaband, SliceThePie... Some entities such as Generator and BBC Introducing itself support musicians absolutely free of charge with no strings attached. But only The Performing Right Society has been plugging away for a hundred years to help songwriters get paid for their work. Membership Development officer Jules Parker dropped by to explain why every songwriter, the moment their work is released into the wild, should head along to prsformusic.com and sign up at once.

On the musical front Jules introduced us to the work of fiN, and over both shows this weekend we played out some live performances recorded on the BBC Introducing stage at Glasgow’s T In The Park last weekend by WRONGNOTE, CRUSHING BLOWS, THE NARROWS and JONQUIL frontman Hugo Manuel in his celebrated solo electronic guise as CHAD VALLEY. You can watch live video of most of the performances from that stage over on the main BBC Introducing website…

UNSEEN & DEEFLUX - I Know (ft GENESIS ELIJAH & GADGET)
https://deeflux.bandcamp.com/

JACOB YATES & THE PEARLY GATE LOCK PICKERS - Mary Hell
https://www.myspace.com/jacobyatesandthepearlygatelockpickers

SPOTLIGHT KID - Haunting Me
https://spotlightkidsound.co.uk

MANDORLA - Victim Of The Sun
https://soundcloud.com/playgroundmusic/mandorla-victim-of-the-sun

TANYA AUCLAIR - Origami
https://tanyaauclair.com

PANDAS AND PEOPLE - I Am The Floor
https://soundcloud.com/pandas-and-people

INTERVIEW: JULES PARKER, PRS FOR MUSIC
fiN - It Changes Everything
https://lifeiswastedontheliving.com
https://prsformusic.com

SAM AIREY - The Blackout
https://soundcloud.com/samairey

HUW STEPHENS TIP
ROSIE TAYLOR PROJECT - Sleep
https://therosietaylorproject.bandcamp.com

THREE TRAPPED TIGERS - Cramm
https://soundcloud.com/threetrappedtigers

LIVE TRACK FROM T IN THE PARK
THE NARROWS - Able Danger (Live At T in The Park)
https://facebook.com/thenarrows

TWO BIT DEZPERADOS - Pretty Girl
https://soundcloud.com/smfsp/pretty-girl

EXCELLENT BIRDS - Schemtata Humdrum
https://soundcloud.com/attackmagazine/schemata-humdrum

BOBBY FRICTION TIP
Goldkartz Feat. Vibe – Tu Nachdi
https://goldkartz.com

MORE THAN CONQUERORS - Go On Go On Get Out
https://morethanconquerors.bandcamp.com

BLACK FRAME - Dark or Blue
https://blackframe.gr

HOT LIGHT FIESTA - We Tried
https://hotlightfiesta.bandcamp.com

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT:
TIP FROM CATS AND CATS AND CATS
THE SIEGFRIED SASSOON - Muscle Beach
https://myspace.com/thesiegfriedsassoon

ZERVAS AND PEPPER - Cigar Store Indian
https://facebook.com/zervasandpepper

LOOK STRANGER! - Dance Away
https://lookstranger.bandcamp.com

LIVE TRACK FROM T IN THE PARK
CHAD VALLEY - Portuguese Solid Summer
https://www.facebook.com/chadvalleymusic

MARIA & THE MIRRORS - Travel Sex
https://soundcloud.com/mariamirrors

DIMBLEBY & CAPPER - Black Smoke/Burning House
https://soundcloud.com/dimblebyandcapper
https://dimblebyandcapper.co.uk

Hertfordshire’s very own boutique festival STANDON CALLING takes place near Bishops Stortford next month. Booking manager Tam McLarty dropped by to tell us about their ROAD TO STANDON initiative to give six of the best new artists a performance slot on one of their stages. The one they like best gets to play the main stage itself alongside acts like BATTLES, SPIRITUALIZED and WASHED OUT.

Not to mention Introducing favourites THREE TRAPPED TIGERS whose gobsmacking track “Cramm” got the studio bopping on Monday’s show. While she was with us, Tam recommended a fine new track by the London outfit CITIZENS, who we first played in 2009 and will also be performing at the festival.

We also played the reclusive IFAN DAFYDD - mate of James Blake and fellow graduate from Goldsmiths Uni - thanks to a repeat recommendation from Bethan Elfyn. He’s unusual, not only for his dubstep workout “No Good” with its transcendent manipulation of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m Not Good”, but also for the fact that his only web presence appears to be on Twitter. And from the flourishing North East we gave the new single from Jon Melvin’s UNION CHOIR a repeat spin by way of a taster from this week’s album-length podcast.

And remember folks, there’s no need to send us music for this show on CD or email us mp3s or anything. The best - indeed only - way to tell us about any favourite tunes (including your own) is via our dedicated Recommend Music link at bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing. We guarantee to listen, and if we like it, we play it. Simple as that.

TAPE THE RADIO - Save A Life
https://facebook.com/tapetheradio

SKETCHES - Your Name Upon It
https://sketchesmusic.co.uk

MESITA - Somewhere Else
https://soundcloud.com/mesita

PROJECT CARAMEL - Sizzle
https://soundcloud.com/projectcaramel

SWIM INTO SCARLET - Trophy
https://www.myspace.com/swimintoscarlet

THE UNION CHOIR - Eleanor
https://cottageindustries.bandcamp.com

VERSE METRICS - Modern Sleep
https://versemetrics.com

ROAD TO STANDON INTERVIEW
CITIZENS - Turns Gold
https://soundcloud.com/citizenstheband
https://www.standon-calling.com/2010/04/19/road-to-standon

DAN MANGAN - Sold
https://facebook.com/danmanganmusic

BETHAN ELFYN TIP
IFAN DAFYDD - No Good
https://twitter.com/IfanDafydd

LIVE TRACK FROM T IN THE PARK
WRONGNOTE - Snake Snake Snake
https://wrongnote.co.uk

OF ARROWE HILL - Damned
https://www.myspace.com/ofarrowehill

APPLE EYES - Wild Beasts
https://soundcloud.com/apple_eyes

1XTRA HOMEGROWN DOWNLOAD
MR FAIZER - Won't Back Down
https://facebook.com/pages/MR-FAIZER-music/108653569153205

TALK LESS, SAY MORE - The Death Of Air
https://recordsonribs.com/artists/talklesssaymore

SAM COFFEY AND THE IRON LUNGS - Have A 100
https://samcoffeyandtheironlungs.bandcamp.com

GARDENS AND VILLA - Orange Blossom
https://youngandhighclub.bandcamp.com

BLOG TIP FROM FOR FOLK’S SAKE
LAURA HOCKING - Talented Tailor
https://laurahocking.bandcamp.com
https://forfolkssake.com

A BAND CALLED QUINN - Mrs Traipse Song
https://soundcloud/balcooke

JO PERSONA - Classish
https://soundcloud.com/jopersona

HONG KONG IN THE 60S - You Can Take A Heart But You Cannot Make It Beat
https://hongkonginthe60s.com

THE NEON GRAVEYARD - Nevergreen
https://myspace.com/theneongraveyard

DANIEL CARLSON - The Innocents
https://danielcarlson.com

LIVE TRACK FROM T IN THE PARK
CRUSHING BLOWS - I Dream Of Becoming A Girl
https://crushingblows.bandcamp.com

FENNEL SEEDS - Strike Me Down
https://soundcloud.com/fennelseeds

THE TRUTH ABOUT FRANK - Shadow Sex
https://soundcloud.com/thetruthaboutfrank

DENNIS HOPPER CHOPPERS - Good To Me
https://dennishopperchoppers.com

UNSEEN & DEEFLUX - I Know ft Genesis Elijah & Gadget
https://deeflux.bandcamp.com/

KING SINGH - Close Your Eyes
https://soundcloud.com/kingsingh

GLASS DIAMOND - Girls and boys Come Out To Play
https://soundcloud.com/glassdiamond

YOUNG REBEL SET - Lion's Mouth
https://myspace.com/youngrebelset

BIRD - Phantoms
https://soundcloud.com/birdofficial

TWO BIT DEZPERADOS - Pretty Girl
https://soundcloud.com/smfsp/pretty-girl

INTERVIEW GUESTS
CATSANDCATSANDCATS - O' Science
https://catsandcatsandcats.com

THE MUEL - All Kinds of Love
https://www.myspace.com/samwalkers

TOM CULLEN - Pay the Price for Living
https://soundcloud.com/tom-cullen

HUW STEPHENS TIP
VINYL JACKET - Koala (Live at Glastonbury 2011)
https://vinyljacket.co.uk

THE 7.20s - J'Adore L'Amour
https://myspace.com/720s

EXCLUSIVE TRACK
APPLE EYES - Wild Beasts
https://soundcloud.com/apple_eyes

TANYA AUCLAIR - Origami
https://tanyaauclair.com

HOT LIGHT FIESTA - We Tried
https://hotlightfiesta.bandcamp.com

BOBBY FRICTION TIP
BADESHI - BassInvaders
https://soundcloud.com/badeshi

LULU & THE LAMPSHADES - Cold Water
https://myspace.com/helouisamusic
https://soundcloud.com/tickles/cold-water-lulu-the-lampshades

POLICE SQUAD - Cleopatra
https://www.myspace.com/policesquadband

TAPE THE RADIO - Save A Life
https://facebook.com/tapetheradio

BONUS SESSION FROM BOB FISCHER AT BBC TEES
BLUEBUDS - Julie
https://soundcloud.com/bluebuds

THE MIDDLE EAST - Blood - 5:27
https://themiddleeastmusic.com

DIMBLEBY & CAPPER - Black Smoke/Burning House
https://soundcloud.com/dimblebyandcapper

SESSION TRACK
APPLE EYES - Lost Between the Lines
https://soundcloud.com/apple_eyes

EPIC45 - With Our Backs To The City
https://epic45.com/

PHASE - Bad Man
https://soundcloud.com/ascenzion

FENNEL SEEDS - Strike Me Down
https://oundcloud.com/fennelseeds

SPARROW - Secret (live at Glasto)
https://sparrowband.com

RAMS' POCKET RADIO - Dieter Rams Has Got the Pocket Radio
https://ramspocketradio.bandcamp.com

METAMUSIC - World To Come
https://soundcloud.com/metamusic

DANICA HUNTER - Breathe
https://danicahunter.com

CULT OF DOM KELLER - Eyes
https://thecultofdomkeller.bandcamp.com

FROM OUR CURRENT FREE MIXTAPE
CURXES - Jaws
https://curxes.com

TOODAR - Ten Paces
https://facebook.com/pages/toodar/132735062811

INTERVIEW GUESTS
ALBERTEEN - A Girl And A Gun
https://alberteen.com

HOODLUMS - Landmarks
https://hoodlumsband.com

THE UNION CHOIR - Eleanor
https://www.myspace.com/theunionchoir

BETHAN ELFYN TIP: BBC WALES
SAM AIREY - The Blackout
https://soundcloud.com/samairey

SESSION TRACK
YES CADETS - Le Mans
https://yescadets.com

ATHLETES IN PARIS - Just Decline
https://athletesinparis.bandcamp.com

MILK KAN - Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Tunes
https://milkkan.co.uk
https://soundcloud.com/rocketpr/milk-kan-why-should-the-devil

DJ TARGET 100% HOMEGROWN DOWNLOAD
XECATION - Moshpit
https://soundcloud.com/xecation

ARBITORS - Influx
https://arbitors.co.uk

GAOLER’S DAUGHTER - St Peter
https://gaolersdaughter.com

SHOWSTAR - Monkey See Monkey Do
https://showstar-thinkringo.bandcamp.com

GUEST BLOGGER FROM NOWPLAYING@6MUSIC:
TIPS FROM TOM AYLOTT, EDITOR AT PUNKTASTIC.COM
1) MARMOZETS - Collisions (CLIP)
https://www.facebook.com/marmozets

2) ROB LYNCH - My Friends and I (CLIP)
https://www.myspace.com/lostoncampus

3) BLITZ KIDS - Story
https://facebook.com/blitzkidsuk

LAST VINYL GENERATION - Revolution
https://soundcloud.com/deli-records

SGT BUZFUZ - Molly's Bar
https://soundcloud.com/rocketpr/sets/sergeant-buzfuz-dannys-room
https://soundcloud.com/sergeantbuzfuz

SESSION TRACK
YES CADETS - Seconds In A Minute
https://yescadets.com

THE TAMBORINES - Black And Blue
https://www.myspace.com/thetamborines

DA-10 - Conversion
https://soundcloud.com/wotnotmusic

Our whole programme team had a get-together over lunch on Friday where we discussed - among other things - the finer points of Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter books - a job so enjoyable he himself likens it to "swimming in chocolate". Our intern Tom Alvarez was just seven when JK Rowling's first book in the series came out - imagine that!

More importantly we decided to try and make more artists aware of the importance of joining PRS For Music, so as to get paid when their tunes are played on the radio. There's no conceivable downside or upfront cost to applying for membership, and you can do it here.

Anyway, on with the show and - what with our week off air during 6 Music's Glasto weekend and yesterday's show being given over to highlights from the BBC Introducing Stage - we've built up a major backlog of great tunes that have been waiting for ages to be played on air.

So we've bundled up 29 of them into a bumper free two hour mixtape that you can download here in podcast form from 3am Monday July 3rd, and are previewing the whole thing this morning from 1am.
The North East of England - that seething hotbed of musical talent which gave us Vinyl Jacket and Sharks Took The Rest at Glastonbury - tonight supplies us with our indie show openers Athletes In Paris closely followed by beardy outfit Is Shepherd administering a pumping dose of double bass driven folk.

Atlanta-based producer and tea-fancier Evan Colbert (trading as Earl Da Grey) should surely be concentrating on his schoolwork rather than making dextrous house tunes like Wireless - after all, he’s 15 and so probably wasn't even born when the first Harry Potter book came out. And Wartgore Hellsnicker's record company tweeted congratulations to Tom on being "man enough" to play Karl vs Groucho from their misguidingly-named new EP Moderate Rock. Click on the link below and hear for yourself: there are plenty of adjectives you could use to describe their rock, but we think you'll agree that "moderate" isn't one of them.

Tom Robinson and Tom Alvarez

FRESH ON THE NET SUMMER MIXTAPE: downloadableHERE

ATHLETES IN PARIS - Just Decline
https://athletesinparis.bandcamp.com

THE MACHINE ROOM -Girly
https://www.myspace.com/themachineroommusic
https://soundcloud.com/tapestudio-1

EARL DA GREY - Wireless
https://soundcloud.com/earlgreymusic

IS SHEPHERD - Pine Box
https://isshepherd.com/wordpress/

FRED’S HOUSE - TV for Sleepers
https://fredshousemusic.co.uk

AERIALS UP - Stay Awake
https://www.aerialsup.com

SUSHEELA RAMAN - Raise Up
https://www.myspace.com/susheela.raman

MIAOUX MIAOUX - Hey Sound
https://miaouxmiaoux.com

CURXES - Jaws
https://curxes.com

THE MUEL - All Kinds of Love
https://www.myspace.com/samwalkers

TWIGGY AND THE KAY MESONS - Doepfer Fantasie
https://www.myspace.com/twiggyandthekmesons

ELK - Return to Sender
https://www.thebandelk.bandcamp.com

WARTGORE HELLSNICKER - Karl vs Groucho
https://www.myspace.com/wartgorehellsnicker

ClOUD4MATIONS - Dropout
https://soundcloud.com/cloud4mations

HELLO MEXICO - Five Twenty Seven
https://www.myspace.com/hellomexico

POOR MICHAEL - Entomology
https://soundcloud.com/poor-michael

WE HUMANS - I Don’t Care
https://facebook.com/wehumans

TALLIN DAGGERS - Fresco
https://tallinndaggers.com

NGOD - Wardrobe
https://ngod.bandcamp.com

SILVER CAVES - Chasing Little Sparks
https://silvercaves.bandcamp.com

HOWARD JAMES KENNY - Digits Point
https://howardjameskenny.com

SHOWSTAR - Monkey See Monkey Do
https://showstar-thinkringo.bandcamp.com

LIFE BITTER SOUL - Rhythm Says Go
https://soundcloud.com/lifebittersoul

PHYSICS - Room In Your Heart
https://physics-music.tumblr.com

BRONZE MEDALLISTS - Mathematics
https://www.myspace.com/bronzemedallists

LAURENCE AND THE SLAB BOYS - Space Dream #2
https://facebook.com/theslabboys

KIT RICHARDSON - How to breathe Underwater
https://soundcloud.com/kit-richardson

ABEZILLA - Guide
https://facebook.com/abezillauk

OSTENDERSTRASSE - Everything Is Real
https://ostenderstrasse.com

It’s always great when an artist BBC Introducing has championed goes mainstream.

Florence, GlasVegas, LaRoux and The Ting Tings spring to mind but last Friday week it was the turn of Ed Sheeran and, like a redheaded fledgeling taking off from the proverbial nest, he tore up the Introducing stage armed only with an extremely small guitar and half a dozen catchy, well-crafted songs.

Our show's mantra is that for success nowadays "all you have to be is good" but that's not quite it. What Ed's breakthrough this summer proves is that you not only need to be good but also hardworking, singleminded, and utterly committed to your chosen career. The acclaim has been a long time coming - he released his first demos back in 2005 and has worked YouTube and the gig circuit tirelessly ever since. In former pop eras you were unlikely to 'make it' without cash backing and insider connections, which is thankfully no longer the case. But there's still no substitute for talent and hard work.

Dubstep played live? By a bass guitarist and a real drummer? Well why not - and why has nobody thought of attempting it before Leeds outfit The Foot Clan? They brought some northern swag and wobble to the muddy fields of Somerset. It was only after they came offstage that we discovered their vocalist had flaked out on them at the last minute and the entire set had been performed with a stand-in MC spitting rhymes that nobody else in the band had ever heard before. You'd never have guessed, hearing them. But how DO they make that Fender Precision bass sound so exactly like a squidgy distorting bass synth?

There were more of my favourite artists performingon the Glasto Introducing Stage last weekend that we can possibly namecheck here - in fact this whole show is made up of them. You'll find a more detailed artist-by-artist commentary further down this page, which in turn links to my BBC Music showcase of videos from those performances. Meanwhile, here's the running order for this morning's programme of live interviews and highlights from last weekend:

YES CADETS - Le Mans
https://facebook.com/yescadets

SPARROW - Secret
https://sparrowband.com

THE PATRICK JAMES PEARSON BAND - American Lover
https://patrickjamespearson.co.uk

DIONNE REID - Daddy Dear
https://dionnereid.com

FEVER FEVER- Bloodless / Monster
https:// myspace.com/feverfevertheband

SPOTLIGHT KID - Forget Yourself In Me
https://myspace.com/spotlightkidsound

ED SHEERAN - The City / The A Team
https://edsheeran.com

FUTURE HISTORY - Once in A Lifetime
https://futurehistoryonline.com

VINYL JACKET - Painting Stations / Koala
https://vinyljacket.co.uk

STORNOWAY - Watching Birds / Fuel Up
https://stornoway.eu

THE TRUTH - I Make ‘Em Say
https://thetruthmusic.co.uk

SHARKS TOOK THE REST - Restaurant
sharkstooktherest.com

TRISTRAM - The Griffin And The Minor Canon
https://tristramsongs.blogspot.com

TWO WOUNDED BIRDS - My Lonesome
https://facebook.com/twowoundedbirds

THE FOOT CLAN - Ridiculous
https://soundcloud.com/footclan

SHAMMI PITHIA & FLUX (feat. ASH KING) - Until I Hit The Ground
https://shammipithia.com

VESSELS - Monoform
https://vesselsband.com

There's a new BBC Music Showcase of my favourite performances from the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2011 online here. For more details on each artist - plus links to their own websites - see the list below. You can also hear audio of these tracks in my BBC Introducing show this coming Sunday morning 3 July 2011 from 1-3am.

SPARROW – Secret
https://sparrowband.com
The freshest thing out of Brighton this year, with their gorgeous subtle brand of pop played with immense power. Highlight of their set was the title track of their debut EP Secret.

THE PATRICK JAMES PEARSON BAND – American Lover
https://patrickjamespearson.co.uk
When you think of bands based around keyboards you usually think piano botherers like Keane or electro futurists such as Depeche Mode. What you don’t think of is all-out the sledgehammer garage rock attack of Plymouth’s PJPB (as we must learn to call them) who tore up the Introducing stage with their Stooges-inspired epic “American Lover”.

DIONNE REID – Daddy Dear
https://dionnereid.com
We first encountered Dionne as a 100% Homegrown Download from DJ Target at 1Xtra, but on the Glasto introducing stage she was a natural star radiating both warmth and serious commitment – backed by a band of young, first rate musicians. “Daddy Dear” is from her EP Rock Paper Scissors

FEVER FEVER- Bloodless
https://myspace.com/feverfevertheband
Jen Long on Radio One and Steve Lamacq on 6 Music both picked tracks from the turbocharged set that Ellie, Rosie, Smit played on the BBC Introducing stage and if you watch this video you’ll see why. They’ve been supported since day one by BBC Introducing in Norfolk and play the Outside:Inside Pop-up Festival, in Reading next Saturday (July 9)

SPOTLIGHT KID – Forget Yourself In Me
https://myspace.com/spotlightkidsound
Bandleader CHRIS DAVIS was of course formerly the drummer with Nottingham legends 6×7 and though he clearly enjoyed making the first Spotlight Kid album entirely on his own, he’s now expanded to a lineup of fine players and musicians and returned to propelling the whole thing along from back behind the kit.

ED SHEERAN – The A Team
https://edsheeran.com
Ed simply smashed it. His six years of slog as an indie artist, posting videos to YouTube and playing endless, endless gigs culminated in June 2011 with a number three debut single just before he appeared on the BBC Introducing stage. His set was an object lesson in how to communicate with an audience. Not to mention, how to write songs, how to play gutar, how to use a loopstation, and how rap articulate, heartfelt lyrics at machinegun speed. Not for nothing was he the Number One Most Shared artist on the whole BBC Glastonbury site within three days. Like I say, Ed smashed it.

FUTURE HISTORY – Once in A Lifetime
https://futurehistoryonline.com
We fell in love with this Peckham duo’s sharp hilarious studio single Money Cash Now, but live this was the track that carried all the yearning and emotional punch. Bluzey and Swift-Lee emailed us this week: “We really appreciate the way BBC Introducing has been supporting us. Not only was it the biggest gig of our lives to date, it was the best show we have put on! The whole weekend was such a great experience and opened our eyes to so many things. Glastonbury has to be one of the best – if not THE best – moment in our lives.”

RAMS’ POCKET RADIO – Dieter Rams Has Got the Pocket Radio
https://ramspocketradio.bandcamp.com
From Lisburn in Northern Ireland this is another keyboard-led band, again fronted with great charisma and huge energy by Peter McCauley at the piano. Like Chris Davis with Spotlight Kid, Peter played everything on the Rams Pocket Radio debut album including the drums. The band is named for Dieter Rams - a 1950′s product designer whose work was exemplified – you may remember – by purity, simplicity and longevity. They’re playing the Prince Albert in Brighton this Tuesday (July 5).

VINYL JACKET – Koala
https://vinyljacket.co.uk
A band that need almost no introducing to regular listeners to my Fresh On The Net shows. Wonderful pin-sharp musicianship from Wylam, just outside Newcastle and songwriting that’s clever without ever becoming “clever-celever”. The freshness and sheer elan of their performances win me over every time. This song Koala comes out as a single on July 18th.

STORNOWAY – Watching Birds/Fuel Up
https://stornoway.eu
When my show BBC Introducing: Fresh On The Net first started in late 2007 we gave a new fivew piece band their first national radio play, following strong local support from BBC Introducing In Oxford. They dropped by our stage at Glasto last weekend as unannounced Special Guests by way of giving something back to BBC Introducing… Both these songs are on their debut album BEACHCOMBER’S WINDOWSILL.

THE TRUTH – I Make ‘Em Say
https://thetruthmusic.co.uk
The Truth who are not only sharp and hugely ambitious performers, but behind the frontmen, the backing band was perhaps the tightest and classiest I heard all weekend with a wonderful drummer. Huge thanks to Bobby Friction at Asian Network for tipping them to us.

SHARKS TOOK THE REST – Restaurant
https://sharkstooktherest.com
I’ve loved Tyneside’s SHARKS TOOK THE REST from the moment their melodic grownup pop music first came out way. This is the lead track on their debut EP “Grounds for Hearts To Swell” – heartmeltingly lovely, subtle and warm.

YES CADETS – Le Mans
https://facebook.com/yescadets
The Belfast trio of Alan, Lisa & Steve were augmented by their mate John on second guitar on their storming single “Le Mans”. Hot news: they’ve just been added to the R1 playlist.

TWO WOUNDED BIRDS – My Lonesome
https://facebook.com/twowoundedbirds
Classy surf rock from Margate, hometown to both Tracey Emin and the new Turner Contemporary Gallery. Everyone from Steve Lamacq to The Drums loves them – listen and marvel.

WORSHIP – The Midnight Run
https://worshipuk.com
The Newbury 4-piece Worship were first recommended to us by Jenny Minard from BBC Berkshire Introducing. They were founded by the bassplayer from the astoundingly great Godwits – also BBC Introducing favourites. Worship have played for Rob Da Bank on R1 and at Bestival, and they recorded their debut album in Norway then released it as a free download last Aug.

THE FOOT CLAN – Disco Stu
https://soundcloud.com/footclan
Have you ever heard dubstep played live ? Not just some DJ/producer turning up with a laptop and hitting “play” but actually performed without a backing track by a real drummer and bass player – plus a sprinling of turntable and sampler noises sprinkled over the vocals? The Foot Clan’s music isn’t an easy listen but it’s a surprising and rewarding one. Needless to say they’ve been championed by Alan Raw’s BBC Introducing show in their hometown of leeds as well as by Huw on Radio 1.

SHAMMI PITHIA & FLUX (feat. ASH KING) – Until I Hit The Ground
https://shammipithia.com
Dubbed “A Nitin Sawhney for the new century” by Bobby Friction, British Asian composer and producer Shammi Pithia is based in East London and performed for us with his 11 piece band Flux. The lineup includes Asian music legend ASH KING, who sang a rare guest vocal in English on this track . Shammi and Flux play the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank on Sunday July 26th previewing his new EP PAREDOLIA which is released the following day on Monday July 27th.

VESSELS – Ornafires
https://vesselsband.com
Our closing performance on this year’s Glastonbury Introducing Stage was by the Leeds band Vessels – with all the elemental power of a hurricane, sweeping all before it and whipping the audience into a frenzy. If there was any justice in the world they would have been the closing act on one of the main stages this year and, who knows, maybe in 2013 they will be.