Mele - "Ambience"

I first came across this tune while listening to Annie Mac's Friday night Radio 1 show last week. I subsequently discovered this was being released on Lobster Boy, which is run by Redlight, who is an artist that I am a huge fan of. When I first heard this tune I had no idea that it was a UK producer, as I was a bit behind the curve with Mele, as he has been releasing tracks for a few years. He was born in Wirral and is now based in London.

The track itself is a track that owes a lot to the funk carioca sound of Brazil, combined with what you could identify as a female vocal that you could find in house music as it is particularly powerful, but in this case it is utilised in a way that reminds me of a lady leading the carnival procession right at the front. She alternates between moments of encouragement, screams and sung phrases, which is so effective. The beat has the type of drums you would expect to find in Brazilian music. I love the way the beat moves along with the main bass drum sound (which I think is played by a surdo drum in Brazilian music featuring prominently.

This is definitely a tune that should be big in the summer. It is a brilliant piece of music! I think people would be surprised to know it comes from a Wirral based producer, but that is the beauty of the eclecticism that is found in British music. "Ambience" is available for pre-order now.

Jesse James Solomon - "We Do"

Jesse James Solomon is a young MC who came out with an EP last year called "Jesse From SE". The best thing about it was the old-school sensibilities that could be found within the work, whether it is Jesse's laconic flow or chilled out production. He has returned with a track called "We Do", which feels like he has continued a progression that will one day see him crowned as one of the premier rappers in UK hip-hop. On the track Jesse is reminiscing about the days of his childhood and some of the antics that he used to get up to. But there is nothing sinister involved; it's just a laid-back reminiscing over getting bagels, playing football and having his Mum told that he needed to do better in school by teachers whom he thought were fine. In this era of what I call "council-estate rap" where various London youths make cheap YouTube videos around the council estates of London with wordplay intimating that they are eager to dish out some kind of violence, it's a refreshing outlook. The production work suits the vibe that Jesse is going for in an amazing way. There is a vocal sample that has been treated and sounds almost tribal in origin. Backed by a beat that begins with a ticking sound, that reminds me of the sands of time ticking away. The beat never rushes; it is almost like the beat is in no rush to arrive at it's destination, with a lilting feel tracking it all the way. For me personally it is interesting to hear Jesse reminisce about his adventures in school, as I was actually working in the school that he is remembering in his rhymes. He certainly was a talented footballer and the stoned flavour to his raps is no exaggeration! I remember there was a match in year 11, where I was managing and he was my most talented player. Then he got excluded from school a few days before a cup quarter-final for getting caught smoking weed in the toilets, throwing my tactical plans into chaos! However this is no misguided youth. He is an extremely positive person who I am glad to say I know and have been following his musical progress with interest. "We Do" is another example of the growth in this future hip-hop hero.

Fake Blood - "Hornets/Hornets EP"

Fake Blood, whose real name is Theo Keating, yesterday (18th May) released an EP entitled "Hornets", which was released by the Food Music label. The EP features the title track, 2 remixes and another track entitled "Music Box". My favourite Fake Blood tune is "Mars", which came out in 2008. And in the drum beat for "Hornets" I can hear some of the qualities which grabbed me from the first time I heard "Mars". It goes along at 128bpm, but has more similarities to fidget house, with a funky shuffling drumbeat propelling the beat along rather than a straight-up four to the floor house beat. The true aspect of innovation in the track is how the sound of hornets is appropriated, firstly through the evil sounding laugh that is sampled through the piece. Also when the bass drops there is a certain amount of venom within it that reminds me of some of the sounds that were prominently featured in UK grime music at one time, as the bass makes minimal pitch movement and it feels it is there more as an effect for feel.

When the piece moves into it's second section after the intro there is also this really cool buzzing sound, that could well be real hornets sampled. There are also a few other sounds that give you the feeling of a bunch of hornets flying. Also on the EP are remixes by Benton & Pluto.

"Music Box" is another really enjoyable track, coming in at around the same tempo, but with a gentler feel in what I would call the music box section. There is a great bit with a real heavy bassline that starts around 2:12, which then combines with the music box element. There is still a heavy dose of something funky going with the drums, with a kind of jazzy sound then making way for a more straight-ahead rhythm. This is definitely an EP worth checking out; the remixes are really good, but I really love Fake Blood's original creations!

Everything Everything - Regret

Everything Everything will release their third album "Get to Heaven" on 15 June, through Sony RCA. Earlier last week (6th May) the video for the second release of the album, "Regret", was released. The genre that Everything Everything have been placed in is art-rock. I just think their material is very danceable, with some obscure references and smarter lyrics than some run-of-the-mill rock. Which is probably some of the key features of art-rock.

"Regret" is the second offering to be heard from the album, after the excellent "Distant Past". It has a really effective start, with a direct sounding drum part, accompanied by Jonathan Higgs vocals in conjunction with strong backing vocals singing the words "regret, regret" at the end of each line. It's really effective, giving it a call and response feel, until the chorus, with the words "But did you imagine it
In a different way?
Did you imagine it
(But did you imagine it)
In a different way?"

I think regret is one of the foremost human emotions, that comes to the fore on such a regular basis, whether it is for small or large things. In this song it is sung in a wistful way, appropriating the sentiment of the song, doing so in a way that feels more flowy than the verses, which have a stop-start quality to them, due to the lines kind of stopping everytime the words regret are repeated.

The video is interesting. The protagonists seem to be members of a cult, being indoctrinated deeper into the cult, in some sort of baptismal ritual. It is strikingly effective. When you think about it, who has more to regret than those individuals who have fallen prey to the charms of a cult? There's a great bit at the end where the leader is engulfed in flames and seems to be dancing in a shamanic sort of ritual. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing what will come next from this band; third albums are often where their confidence has been established and chances can be taken, with a loyal fanbase established.

Nero - The Thrill

Something that has invaded my mind periodically over the past few months has been, "When will Nero's new album be coming out?" They released "Satisfy, claimed that a new album would be released before the end of the year, then went mysteriously silent. Now nearly a year later they have returned with "The Thrill".

When Nero first came out I was instantly reminded of Chase & Status, with one of the main reasons being that Nero were signed to Chase & Status' label. But there is a divergence in their sound and "The Thrill" is a clear indication of this. The main factor that gives them a difference is the consistent presence of lead singer Alana Watson's vocals. I've always thought they floated above the track in a beautiful way and on their best tracks her floaty vocals were accompanied by a robust anthemic sounding dance/dubstep beat behind it. The visuals for the song were released last week and they are quite intense. They are really dark, so that you really don't really ever get to see any of the band members properly. I'll have to believe they are the ones in the video! It feels like the visuals they may undertake in their forthcoming live shows, Already announced is the album title "Between II Worlds", which will be released on August 28th. The visuals for the video seem to inhabit a nether region in between the worlds. Well in my eyes anyway. It will be interesting to see exactly what world Nero will choose to exhibit on the forthcoming album.

Lil Silva - "Drumatic"

I am excited, super-excited about the new 3 track EP, "Drumatic", which was released yesterday (May 10th) on iTunes. The three tunes on the EP are "606", "New Squeeze" and my personal favourite "Drumatic". I think when I truly 100% get excited by a tune is when I hear it and I think to myself that is the exact sound that I would like to make and "Drumatic" is a precise example of that. Lil Silva has ventured to many different places sonically, with last years EP "Mabel" being the first one to prominently feature his vocals and be more of a slight sidestep into ambient EP territory. This is not the case on the new EP. All the tracks are really uptempo, do not feature vocals and are definitely more club-orientated get-up and dance tunes. On "Drumatic" it starts with this tribal sounding high-pitched call, followed by a synth-part that sounds more like something you'd find in a rave track. And that is where this tune is particularly interesting because there are elements of this track that incorporate that sound. The bpm of the tune is around 134bpm, which is on the slower side of the breakbeat hardcore. There is also a fierce sounding bass line which has a really strong impact by having a syncopated feel, with a pretty African-tinge to it. I love the way that it has those African and European elements to it.

When I think of Lil Silva's career so far, it is amazing that he can come up with music that touches on so many genres, but maintains a sound that is uniquely his. I'd love to see an album and what element he would focus on, but until then these snapshots are such a great snapshot every few months or so.