Tag: Michael Kiwanuka

First Watch: Marcus Foster ‘‘Worn Down By Time’’

It’s as warm and lovely as all his other singles. And for American fans, Marcus Foster will be supporting Michael Kiwanuka as well as Ben Howard on their respective tours in the US.

Mercury Music Prize 2012 nominations announced

The UK’s most prestigious album award, the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize, just concluded it’s nominations ceremony. I’m not a massive fan of the prize, as it often seems a bit too snotty for my liking. That’s my opinion. Anyway, nominations this year are:

My money goes on Jessie Ware for what it’s worth. Who are you rooting for?

Win tickets to see Sam Sure & Giacomo at Koko

Are you around in London on 3rd February? Want to see these guys at Club NME at KOKO? I’m going, and the lovely people at KOKO have given me a couple of free tickets to give to you guys too.

To enter just email alfitudecomps@gmail.com with the title ‘KOKO’ on the header bar. I’ll pick a winner at random on the 24th January at 12:00 and drop the winner a line.

Visit KOKO’s website if you want to buy tickets here.

Sam Sure & Giacomo are a duo with their eyes set firmly on the top. The mixture of slamming production, hooky melodies and straight up heart felt lyrics demand you to sit up and pay attention. Immersed in music the pair consistently push the boundaries of what a hip hop act can do, to the point where their sound no longer conforms to one genre but is a melting pot of a million influences. Experimental in the studio and mad energetic live, this is a band to watch in 2011.

At High Fidelity in the Gallery: Fabio Lendrum is a 19-year-old, South-West London-raised musician who as 2010 rolled around was already celebrating his first Top 10 hit as a writer on Example’s song ‘Won’t Come Quietly’. However it’s his own catalogue of songs that demand attention. Having already performed some brilliantly received spots at Matter and Bestival and now signed in a worldwide deal with Warner Music, Fabio is busy juggling bringing his debut album to completion and DJing as much as he can.

Free Download: Lana Del Rey ‘Video Games’ (Sam Sure & Giacomo Re-Version)

I like it when remixes aren’t just speeded up versions of songs. This ‘re-version’ of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Video Games’ has a really cool twist to it, and it comes as a free download along with these other edits over on Sam Sure & Giacomo’s Facebook:

Their music draws comparisons to the likes of The Streets, Rizzle Kicks and Jamie T, and will be leading into the new year with the release of the understated debut, ‘Dark Inside’; deconstructed beats and heavy atmospherics lay the bed for an introspective and brooding vocal.

Michael Kiwanuka wins BBC Sound of 2012!

As someone pointed out yesterday, Lana Del Rey wasn’t even on the list, so I’m crazy happy that Michael Kiwanuka’s won the BBC Sound of 2012. I featured him back in April 2011 and he was one of the few artists that I managed to remember throughout the year. And you can never go wrong with a bit soul.

BBC Sound of 2012 revealed!

Not to sound sad but this is one of my favourite moments of the year- when the BBC Sound of 2012 list is revealed. If you are unaware of how important this list of musicians is, check out the same list from 2011 and see how many predictions are household names now. This list is a big, big deal- so get used to the names this year because you’ll be hearing from them a lot in the next twelve months. The list is compiled by music bigshots. The top five will be revealed in the week commencing 2 January. Here’s the full list:

I’m proud of the number of artists on that list that I featured before… Boasting over and done with now!

New Music: Michael Kiwanuka

Listening to this guy takes me back to walking around Portobello Market in Notting Hill on dusty sweaty summer days in the 90’s as a kid. It just oozes class and soul and dreamyness all together. Check out here.