RWD MAG - SEPTEMBER 2011

Dappy is on the cover of this months RWD mag as you can see below. You can read it online here.

INTRODUCING GIVERS

Givers are a five piece indie band out of Louisiana. They have got that Vampire Weekend Afro-Pop vibe to their music and as Vampire Weekend are one of my favourite bands they are definitely onto a winner, the band described their sound as "Afro-beat, dancey pants, indie pop love music." They released their debut album 'In Light' this year which you can buy here, below you can listen to a track taken from that album titled 'Up Up Up.'

INTRODUCING OVER 21

Earmilk put me on two Over 21 and from what I can tell these two are a Hip-Hop duo out of Virginia. There doesn't seem to be much information floating around the net about them. You can visit their soundcloud here and two of their joints are listed below for you to listen to, those are 'Hold Me Down' and 'All Alone' respectively.

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB - READING FESTIVAL

My favourite band Two Door Cinema Club played the main stage at the Leeds / Reading festivals this weekend. Seen the guys live twice before and they put on a really good show. The videos below show them performing their songs 'I Can Talk' and an acoustic performance of 'Something Good Can Work' respectively.

DJ SHADOW FT AFRIKAN BOY - I'M EXCITED

New track from producer DJ Shadow featuring Afrikan Boy on vocals. This one is titled 'I'm Excited.'

INTRODUCING ABANDOMAN LIVE AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

Abandoman are a comedy duo / freestyle rap act from Ireland. The duo use audience participation to create freestyle songs on the fly and they are absolute hilarious. The video below shows them performing at this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

ANGELOS EPITHEMIOU - MOVING ON

Angelous Epithemiou is a character created by British actor and comedy writer Renton Skinner. He appeared in the sixth series of 'Shooting Stars.' This new series (starring Bob Mortimer) 'Moving On' features Angelos trying out new careers since the tragic loss of his beloved Burger Van. The character that Renton has created is absolutely hilarious, real laugh a minute stuff. I have posted episodes one (Dancing) and two (France) below. To watch the others go to his Youtube channel here.

CHIPMUNK - F64 (SEASON 3)

SB.TV brings another episode of their F64 series. This ones sees Chipmunk spitting in series 3 of the ever popular series. Check it out below.

INTRODUCING ZOMBOY

So I was put onto Zomboy by a post over at Sonic Sunshine blog. He is a UK Dubstep producer in the mould of Skrillex. He released his debut the 'Game Time EP' a few weeks ago which is available to purchase here. You can listen to his tracks 'Pirate Hooker' and 'Dirty Disco' below and head over to his Soundcloud here for more.

SUNDAY CLASSIC - COMMON

Week two of the Sunday classics series. This week I bring you Common's 'Come Close' featuring Mary J Blige and Pharrell taken from his 'Electric Circus' album. This is one of my favourite Common songs so chilled. Enjoy.

ELAQUENT - TEDDY BEAR

New Instrumental from Hip-Hop producer / beatmaker Elaquent. Titled 'Teddy Bear' this one is a very laid-back cut. Sit back relax and enjoy the track.

TYLER THE CREATOR, BIG SEAN & KREAYSHAWN - WHEN I WAS 17

The latest installment of the MTV series 'When I was 17.' Watch the video to discover the antics of Tyler The Creator, Big Sean and Kreayshawn when they were 17.

PHARRELL - TOKYO RISING

Palladium Boots documentary about Tokyo hosted by Pharrell. Global Grind had this to say of the documentary;


"The film is set to debut on September 1st and shows the artist and designer walking around his favorite city and talking to Japanese people about their lives after the earthquake and tsunami that hit in March."


Watch The trailer below.

JOSH OSHO - REDEMPTION DAYS (TERROR DANJAH REMIX)

Terror Danjah flips Josh Osho's soulful debut single 'Redemption Days.' The original is pretty special and this remix definitely lives up to it.

MAC MILLER - COLD FEET

So another 100,000 fans for Mac Miller on Twitter and another song release. This one is titled 'Cold Feet.' Mac is in the UK next week on a short tour, was anyone lucky enough to get a ticket?

FRANK OCEAN - TRY

New frank Ocean, this one sounds like a reference track to me (a little cheesy.) It's titled 'Try.' Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

ASHER ROTH - AMPERSAND

New music from Asher, this ones titled 'Ampersand.' Not sure whats happening with his album but if he keeps providing us with these treats I'm not that bothered!

EXAMPLE VS LAIDBACK LUKE - NATURAL DISASTER (SKREAMIX)

Skream's remix of Example and Laidback Luke's 'Natural Disaster.' Check it out below.

INTRODUCING CASEY VEGGIES

Casey Veggies is an American Singer-Rapper out of LA. He is a member of the OFWGKTA collective and has been heavily backed by Tyler The Future. He released his first mixtape in 2007 as a 16 year old titled 'Customized Greatly Vol.1' and this was followed by 'Customized Greatly Vol.2' to following year. His most popular mixtape release to date was 'Sleeping in Class' which earned him incredible coverage as well as promo spots on MTV. Check out the visuals for his latest track 'Riding Round Town' below.

LIL WAYNE - PRESIDENT CARTER

New Lil Wayne taken off the upcoming 'Tha Carter IV' which is due out August 29th. This one is titled 'President Carter.' Enjoy.

FOO FIGHTERS - BACK AND FORTH (DOCUMENTARY)

Below you can watch the accompanying DVD to the Foo Fighters latest album 'Wasting Light,' which is an amazing album as you would expect from Grohl and the Foo's. Amazon DVD description below;

"Following the number one album Wasting Light, Foo Fighters release Back And Forth. A true chronicling of the triumphs and tragedies of the band’s 16-year history, Back And Forth chronicles Foo Fighters’ entire existence: from Dave Grohl’s cassette demos to the band forming to play those songs to their ascent to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world. Back And Forth features Foo Fighters recalling every stage of the band’s existence more candidly and intimately than ever before, culminating in a behind the scenes look at direct-to-analog tape sessions in Grohl’s garage that produced the new album Wasting Light."

JAMES BLAKE & BON IVER - FALL CREEK BOYS CHOIR

New track from James Blake and Bon Iver titled 'Fall Creek Boys Choir.' Blake on production duties and Iver singing. This has got that My Dark Twisted Fantasy sound to it. Check it out below.

INTRODUCING JOSH KUMRA

Currently sitting pretty at the top of the UK singles charts with his Wretch 32 collaboration 'Don't Go,' Josh Kumra is a singer/songwriter from Swindon. Josh started teaching himself guitar at the tender age of three and since then never looked back. He is currently writing for his debut album as well as gigging all over the country. Check out two tracks he released earlier today, the first track is titled 'Need' and the second one is 'Oak Tree.'

SKYLAR GREY - MEDLEY

Skylar Grey is a very talented song writer, she has penned hits for Dr Dre, Eminem, Dirty Money and Lupe Fiasco (alongside Brit Alex Da Kid). Below is a video of her performing a medley of these songs in her first live show in England. Enjoy.

EL.TRAIN - PLAY THE GAME

Thought i'd share with you a new track that I have produced titled 'Play The Game.' It's a Dubstep track and I'd love to hear your feedback.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - WHAT THE WATER GAVE ME

First song to appear from Florence's as yet untitled second album (due out in November.) The track is titled 'What The Water Gave Me.' Florence had this to say of the track;

"A lot of the time when I'm writing, things will just appear. I was writing the song and this book on symbolism was lying around, and it had the painting in it. It's nice to mix the ordinary with extraordinary." 


Have a listen below and let me know what you think.

16 BIT - DINOSAURS

Newest signings to Chase and Status' MTA Records label 16 Bit release the visuals to their track 'Dinosaurs.' Different but great video.

PHARRELLS 25 BEST HOOKS

Truly a legend in my eyes and the reason I started producing. Complex have released what they believe to be Pharrell's 25 best song hooks. For me the best has to be the hook for his debut solo single 'Frontin.' You can view the full article here.

INTRODUCING ETTA BOND

There is not to much information about Etta Bond floating around the web apart from she was the first signing to Labrinth's (who she met on Myspace years ago) label Odd Child Recordings. All I know is she has got a hell of a voice on her. Below are two tracks taken from her Soundcloud, they are; 'Ask Me To Stay' and 'Every Dream.'

WRETCH 32 & EMELI SANDE - UNDERDOG LAW

The UK's current top two single artists come together for 'Underdog Law.' I can honestly say this is one of the most soulful UK song I have heard for a long time, Emeli's vocals are amazing and as usual Wretch is on point.

Also Wretch's album 'Black & White' is out to buy now and I highly recommend it. Will be reviewing it within the next few days.

NERO WELCOME REALITY INTERVIEW

Nero sit down to talk about their debut album 'Welcome Reality.' Nice and insightful short video.

MAXSTA - OTIS (FREESTYLE)

Although these 'Otis' freestyles are getting a bit old, I thought I'd post this Maxsta one as I think he's one to watch. If you don't know about Maxsta check out his track 'East London Is Back' here.

SUNDAY CLASSICS

New feature, going to post a classic track of any genre up on Sunday to let you guys reminisce. This weeks track is Lauryn Hill's 'I Used To Love Him' ft Mary J Blige. Enjoy!

THE WEEKND - THURSDAY

The Weeknd hit the internet by storm when they released their first mixtape 'House of Baloons.' This is the second mixtape in a series of three to be taken from him. You can download it from here and I will be reviewing both this and Wale's mixtape in the next few days.

MAC MILLER - FRICK PARK MARKET

Latest single to be taken from Mac Millers upcoming album 'Blue Slide Park.' This one is titled 'Frick Park Market' and it's sounding pretty good.

KATY B - LET ME GO (COVER0

Katy B was recently in the Live Lounge and decided to do a cover of Maverick Sabre's recent single 'Let Me Go,' amazing vocals.

CASIO WATCHES

I love these retro watches, they are a must have accessory.

Bought myself the one below the other day from Urban Outfitters.

Others Watches I like;

Also make sure to check out the 'Retro To Go' blog here for all you watch needs.

WALE - THE ELEVEN ONE ELEVEN THEORY MIXTAPE

To celebrate reaching 1 million followers on Twitter Wale has released his new mixtape titled 'The Eleven One Eleven Theory.' Although I haven't really been feeling Wale's newest tracks since signing for Mayback Music Group, I am excited to hear this as Wale's previous mixtape releases have provided some great tracks. I might do a review of this in the next few days so keep posted. Download link is available below.

DOWNLOAD HERE

LENNY KRAVITZ FT DRAKE - SUNFLOWER

New single to be taken from Lenny Kravitz upcoming album 'Black and White America' which also features a collaboration with Jay-Z. This is unbelievably funky! Listen to it below.

ED SHEERAN FT SCRUFIZZER & DOT ROTTEN - YOU NEED ME, I DON'T NEED YOU (TRUE TIGER REMIX)

Another remix of Ed Sheeran's upcoming single 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You.' This one features True Tiger on production and features Dot Rotten and Scrufizzer. Definitely my favourite so far.

Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You (True Tiger Remix ft. Dot Rotten & Scrufizzer) by Ed Sheeran

NERO - WELCOME REALITY REVIEW

The wait is finally over for all Nero fans, they dropped their debut album 'Welcome Reality' yesterday and I'm here to bring you my review of the duo's (Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray's) release. Off the back of their four highly successful single releases they have released this 19 track concept album (set in the year 2808.) Nero like their label mates Chase and Status know exactly how to create dubstep/DnB with catchy pop hooks (as their singles have showed) and this album is more of the same from them.

Read more after the jump.

PARIS JONES - THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC

So I discovered Paris Jones music the other day from a post on Earmilk. Paris is basically a 21 year old producer/rapper out of LA. Most of the production on his tracks is just so mellow and laid back and this is optimized by the track 'Winter' featuring April Kelly(the accompanying visuals are pretty nice too.)

Paris Jones feat. April Kelly, "Winter" from Clement & Co. on Vimeo.

Paris has released three mixtapes available to download from his website here.

WRETCH 32 - F64 SEASON 3

Wretch 32 is back with the first installment of the third series of SB.TV's F64 series. Wretch goes in hard on this one.

BBC PHILHARMONIC PRESENTS...NERO DUBSTEP SYMPHONY

How I have only just come across this I do not know, it is genius. Nero have teamed up with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra to produce what I can only describe as 'Epic' soundtrack music (Dubstep with a full orchestra.) Nero's debut album is released tomorrow, I will be reviewing it as soon as I get the chance to listen to it.

1XTRA DUBSTEP DOWNLOAD

Mistajam has released free DJ mixes from Samuel Wire and DJ Gemmy which you can download here from the BBC website. The mixes feature some new and classic tunes and the track list is available on the site.

A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS

I didn't even know they were making a third Harold and Kumar and add to that Neil Patrick Harris is back, I can not wait.

ARCTIC MONKEYS - LITTLE ILLUSION MACHINE

New Arctic Monkey's B-Side featuring Miles Kane. I am a huge fan of the Monkey's latest album and am also a huge fan of The Last Shadow Puppets album, Alex Turner and Miles Kane is a match made in heaven! Listen to the track below.

BLUEY ROBINSON - SHOWGIRL (LABRINTH REMIX)

Labrinth has 'reemixed' Bluey Robinson's latest single 'Showgirl' for Reebok. As usual Labrinth does the business on what was already a great track.

FRANK OCEAN -THINKING ABOUT YOU (5KINANDBONE5 & VIN SOL REMIX)

Old school garage remix of Frank Ocean's 'Thinking About You.' I really like this, like the old school vibe and absolutely love Frank Ocean.

BASHY - ANGELS CAN'T FLY

New music from Bashy, he goes in over the True Tiger remix of Ed Sheeran's 'A-Team.' Bashy has stated he plans to release new music every Wednesday for the foreseeable future.

SWAY - YOU NEED ME, I DON'T NEED YOU REMIX

Sway goes in over Ed Sheeran's 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You.'

ED SHEERAN FEAT WRETCH 32 AND DEVLIN - YOU NEED ME, I DONT NEED YOU

Another Wretch 32 post, this ones the remix to Ed Sheeran's 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' featuring Wretch and Devlin. I have a feeling Ed's album is gonna do big things.

GNYSUS BEAT MAKING

Very creative video showing producer Gnysus making a beat sampling Kesha.

CHIPMUNK AND WRETCH 32 - OTIS FREESTYLE

Chipmunk and Wretch go in on Jay-Z and Kanye's 'Otis.' Check it out below.

J. COLE - ANY GIVEN SUNDAY

J. Cole has promised to give away freebies every Sunday leading up to the release of his album.

You can download #1 here and #2 here

WRETCH 32 - ALBUM SNIPPETS

Following on from the release of label mate Example's album snippets last week, Wretch 32 releases the snippets from his own album. Featuring the likes of Chipmunk, Example and Ed Sheeran.



Track listing after the jump.

JAY-Z & KANYE WEST - WATCH THE THRONE REVIEW

Jay-Z and Kanye released their much anticipated collaboration album today. You can read my track-by-track review after the jump.

WATCH THE THRONE IS HERE!

Review coming this evening.

NARDWUAR VS TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB

Two Door Cinema Club (probably my favourite band of the moment) are interviewed by the infamous Nardwuar (The Human serviette) in British Columbia, Canada. Nardwuar is known for his strange interview techniques and his outrageous knowledge of the artists he is interviewing. Check out the interview below and be sure to check Nardwuar's other interviews on his Youtube page here.

MAESTRO KNOWS FT MIGUEL

New episode of Maestro Knows featuring R&B singer Miguel. Heres what Maestro had to say about the episode:

"Miguel & I have been working on getting this episode together for months! This episode of MK feels and looks very different. I wanted to show you what Miguel’s life really looks like, instead of trying to explain it to you. We shot in LA, we shot in NY, we shot in the studio, we shot at the shows, we shot at the casting, we shot at the shoot….we got it all! Enjoy watching the beginning of someone you are going to see have an extremely successful career full of making real music"

Maestro Knows - Special Edition (Miguel) from Maestro Knows on Vimeo.

THE SMARTEEZ - FASHION DESIGNERS

I was reading 'Red Bulletin' magazine today an come across a group of four young South African fashion designers (Sibu Sithole, Floyd Manotana, Kepi Mngomezulu and Lethabo Tsatsinyane) who go under the moniker of 'The Smarteez'. The four decided to enter the wolrd of fashion and create their own designs due to the lack of affordable brand names available in South Africa.

Read more and see some of their designs after the jump.

FAM-LAY - BEACH CRUISER

New Fam-Lay producers by one half of 'The Neptunes' Chad Hugo. Titled beach cruiser.

THINGS I LIKE - TRAINERS

NIKE BLAZER HI VINTAGE SUEDE
I love these 'Nike Blazer Hi Vintage Suede' trainers. I've wanted a pair of Hi-tops for a while and these most definitely fit the bill, however at £65 I'm gonna have to start working a bit harder!

More after the jump

P.L.O REMAKING MICHAEL JACKSONS BEAT IT

A video tribute of producer P.L.O. remaking the Michael Jackson classic 'Beat It.' Check it out below.

MAC MILLER - THE MILLER FAMILY REUNION

Mac Miller released this one to celebrate reaching 700k fans on Twitter, its titled 'The Miller Family Reunion.'

ELLE VARNER FT J.COLE - ONLY WANNA GIVE IT TO YOU

Okay so I didn't know much about Elle Varner before hearing this song, but after doing a bit of research found out a bit more about her. Her parents were both published songwriters and she is now signed to MBK/J Records as a songwriter. This track 'Only Wanna Give It To You' is her first single. Check it out below.

ELLIE GOULDING TOUR VIDEO

Fan made video showing clips of Ellie's recent tour of the US. I saw her live last year and I must say It was a great gig. The video is set to the Bassnectar remix of Ellie's single 'Lights.'

THE BULLITTS - CLOSE YOUR EYES LIVE

The Bullitts dropped into Radio 1 to speak and record a session for Zane Lowe. Below you can watch the video of 'Close Your Eyes' featuring Luci Liu and Jay Electronica taken from their session.



You can also listen to Landspeeder here.

UPCOMING MOVIES - IN TIME AND INBETWEENERS

Here are the trailers to two films that are due to be released later this year.

The first is 'In Time' starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy and Olivia Wilde. The film is a sci-fi movie about people living in a world where poor people aren’t allowed to live beyond the age of 25. This could either be brilliant or a massive flop. Check out the trailer below.









Read more after the jump.

TORO Y MOI - HOW I KNOW

New video for Toro Y Moi's 'How I Know.' Really feeling a few chillwave bands at the moments, the likes of Toro Y Moi and Washed out.

Toro y Moi - How I Know from Jordan Kim on Vimeo.

EXAMPLE ALBUM PREVIEW MINI-MIX

Example has decided to release a Mini-Mix featuring minute long previews of his upcoming album 'Playing In The Shadows' due out on the 4th September.

YASMIN FT SHY FX - LIGHT UP (THE WORLD)

New track from Yasmin, follow up to 'On My Own' and 'Finish Line.' This one is titled 'Light Up' and is both produced by and featuring Shy FX.

RYAN LESLIE IN STUDIO

Video of Ryan Leslie in the studio producing Red Cafe's new single 'Fly Together' featuring Himself and Rick Ross.

TINIE TEMPAH - OTIS

New freestyle from Tinie Tempah over Kanye and Jay-Z's 'Otis.'

DIGGY - COPY, PASTE

Debut single from Diggy titled 'Copy, Paste.' Check it out below.

MITCHIE BRUSCO 900

Wow this kid is talented! Only 14 years old landing a 900 on the mega ramp in practice for the X-Games.

LACK OF POSTS

Sorry for my lack of posts in the last few days. Firstly I was ill for the a couple of days and have just moved to a new workplace so was unable to get the internet to work properly. Regular blogging will commence again tomorrow!