Premiere: Michael Scott Dawson releases new visuals for the beautiful ambient soundscape of Campestral

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Exclusive: Lucy Kruger records ‘A Stranger’s Chest’ live in session for Backseat Mafia

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I don’t know why, but some of the best and most interesting music to come out over the last few years has been from Wales. Amongst this breed of creative people is Stephen Black a.k.a. Sweet Baboo. Under this moniker he has released some criminally undervalued records that mould indie, psych, country, Motown and plain …

One of the best releases we have heard this year on Backseat Mafia came from UK Rapper, Ty and his Kick and a Snare EP. Born Ben Chijioke, he was born and still lives in London. More importantly, he has been at the forefront of UK Hip-Hop for over ten years, starting with his album …

I blame it on my brother. I was happy with my music choices at the time. Me and Billy Bragg, The Smiths, The Housemartins, The Cure – we had this special thing going on. Then one day he (let’s not forget prior to this he had bought things by Bon Jovi and Europe) suddenly came …

I spoke about my parents record collection before. What reminded me of it was reading about 21-year-old Nottingham singer Harleighblu. This smokey voiced sultry soulstress (I’ll stop there before I get involved in some ‘s’ rated alliteration record attempt) who was deeply influenced by her mother’s collection of soul gems. Using that as a starting …

Marmite and Manchester. Be a good book title that, for someone like Stuart Maconie or something. It’s also true. I’ve had occasions to be there (hasn’t everyone in the UK) whether that be football (away days, eh?) concerts, record shopping or even seeing my sister when she lived there. And wandering round that old city …

I stumbled on The Family Cat. The record shops I frequented all had it. I picked it up so many times, mainly because it had something that appeared fantastic. The Family Cat is such a fantastic name for a band, and the artwork on debut mini-album ‘tell ’em we’re surfin’ is utterly brilliant. So I …

We have this cleaner. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not one of those rich families that mention to everyone that they’ve got a cleaner because that means we must therefore be middle class. We actually need a cleaner. I seem to have bred (and I know they’ll be some argument about this) two of the …

Odd chap that Walt Disney in many ways, but one thing he did say when he wasn’t accusing, well, just about anyone of being a communist was to say that ‘All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but …

30 years ago the world was a very different place. The brinks matt robbery took place at Heathrow Airport, wearing a seat-belt became law, cabbage patch dolls were all the rage, and Ronald Reagan was President of the United States. The charts were filled with Phil Collins, The Police and Michael Jackson. Somewhere in Oklahoma, …

Just as the generation before listened to The Beatles, Stones Animals et al do their versions of the American RnB classics, before making their own versions of them, and indeed taking the Americans on at their own game (so to speak) so in those first exciting days of hip-hop many British groups from all over …