Monthly Archives: June 2010

K-OS, born Kevin Brereton, is a genuine neo-crossover rap n’ roller who’s music, much like your Ipod, might speak to hipster club kids, pop chart gazers, Canadian indie rockers, dirty south electronic rap renegades, or reggae rude boys simultaneously. As it should – his rhyme and crooning skills took root in arguably the most polyglot and multi-cultural city on the planet, Toronto. And he’s quite vocal about his not belonging to any one genre – he belongs to them all. Says K-OS: “I’m a historical opportunist who’s grown up on everything from Dylan to Marley to KRS-One… I’ve never seen myself as just a hip hop artist”.

K-OS’ uniquely subversive hip hoppy twist on popular music and culture is not surprising considering that over the past decade, he’s regularly synthesized a stunningly progressive musical gumbo of hits. Having to his credit two certified platinum-selling albums (“Joyful Rebellion”, “Atlantis”) and one gold one (“Exit”), he’s also won multiple Juno Awards (2003, 2005), MMVA’s (Much Music Video Awards, 2004), Canadian Urban Music Awards (2003, 2004), a Source Award for Best International Hip Hop Artist (2003), and even garnered a Grammy nomination in 2005 for his collaboration with the Chemical Brothers on “Get Yourself High”.

Rush is one of rock’s most influential bands, ranking third for most consecutive gold and platinum albums behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. As a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. The band has engaged legions of devoted fans over the decades and is revered by generations of musicians.

Since the release of the band’s debut album, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

Tommy Dash and Nicky ‘Inch’ D’Silva, met through the Community Music Program in London. The pairing up of these two DJs by their tutor was to be the start of something special and Ctrl Z‘s first production was unleashed. Snapped up by Funkatech Recordings, ‘Disko’ and ‘Pain’ blasted their way straight into the boxes of the elite and paved the way for the duos illustrious career thus far.

They have over 40 releases and remixes under their belts on respected labels such as Against the Grain, Lot49, Botchit & Scarper, Passenger, Functional, Rat Records and Hardcore Beats. It is no surprise that after only a year in the business, Ctrl Z had the honor of receiving two nominations for Best Breakthrough Act and Best Breakthrough Producer at the 2005 Breakspoll Awards. Dash & Inch continued to receive praise and support from some of the biggest players in the scene, remixing and working alongside stalwarts such as The Freestylers, Tayo, Atomic Hooligan, Dreadzone and Dylan Rhymes amongst others.

Always looking to take things to the next level, Ctrl Z have started their own label as an Ray Ban Outlet for their ever changing and uncompromising sound: ‘Never Say Die Records’. Launching the imprint with their much sought after collaboration with the Freestylers ‘Ruffneck 09’, the label is already making waves, with releases and remixes from artists such as Foreign Beggars, Reso, Excision & Datsik and of course the boys themselves.

In the last couple of years, Dan Stephens and Joe Ray (with vocalist Alana) AKA Nero’s reputation has grown massively. They followed their ‘Requiem EP’ for Formation Records with a massive single on Breakbeat Kaos – first home of Pendulum – ‘Act Like You Know’. Their first venture in Dubstep, ‘This Way (featuring Alana)’, released in 2008 is still hailed as a classic of the genre and their recent remix of The Streets ‘Blinded By The Light’ still features in the sets of DJs as diverse as Chase & Status, Diplo, Skream and Tiesto. They have recently supported Chase & Status, Deadmau5 and Zane Lowe on tour.

It is quite obvious why they have signed to Chase & Status’ new label MTA Records: they share with them the same love of all things bass, dabbling with equal ease with dubstep and drum and bass and, alongside luminaries such as Sub Focus, Skream, Jackbeats and others Redlight, they break style boundaries in their search of a perfect groove.

Tweak Bird is a brother duo consisting of Caleb and Ashton Bird. On the simplistic face of it you hear their special brand of heavy, riff laden badassedness, but there is so much more including the thwack of Kyuss, a psych-pop nous, with the drip-drip Dana Colley-like (Morphine) sax squall. Tweak Bird really are out on their own, or as they like to alternatively phrase it, “Our influences don’t exist. They are made up.”

With a phenomenal live show including theremin, gong, sax and flute Tweak Bird have been described  as “a sprawling, sweating behemoth of brotherly baritone metal”. But don’t expect any eternal jam-fests with these guys, as they make quick and furious work of their arrangements and leave surprises around every corner. They are both pummeling yet subtle.

Orphan Boy are a rock/pop trio that formed in Cleethorpes in February 2005.  They soon got the fuck out of there and moved to Manchester where they signed to Concrete Recordings. (Though two of them are now back in their beloved Cleethorpes)

They began by making a kind of post-post punk music in which choruses were forbidden and lots of guitar strings got snapped.  This became known as Two-Chord Council Pop, the culmination of which was their (classic) debut album, ‘Shop Local’, released in 2008.

The orphans have a loyal fanbase, known formally as the Bebop Council Pop Orphanite Anti-Social Brigade, informally as the Orphanites and a record label that claims to be guided by the ghost of John Peel.  As a band they have learnt to buy bananas from service stations to gain best value for money and, once, nearly froze to death sleeping in Soho Square in the middle of winter.