BBC - Introducing

On the playlist: Arthur Walwin - All For You

Tom Young — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:08:00 +0000

Finding himself on the Radio 1 playlist this week is Arthur Walwin. His track All For You slots in alongside the likes of Muse, Frank Ocean and Jake Bugg and will be played by Radio 1's Fearne Cotton, Greg James and Dev.

Hear All For You below and spend a little time getting to know Arthur while you listen.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash Installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

Hometown: Arthur is an Essex based singer-songwriter who spends his time crafting pop and RnB tracks in his home recording studio where he self-produces the majority of his work.

Style: All For You, which features on his EP For One More Night, is unashamedly a pop ballad with Arthur's heart firmly on his sleeve throughout. It has a similar feel to the slower work of bands like Coldplay, You Me At Six and Paramore but Arthur's strong, passionate vocal is what sets it apart.

You need to know: Alongside numerous local gigs in the South, Arthur has supported Marcus Collins and Parade.

Supported by: All For You was played by BBC Introducing in Beds, Herts and Bucks at the start of November.

Find out more: Head to his official site for information on current releases and upcoming gigs.

Changes to the BBC Introducing Uploader in 2013

Tom Young — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:00:16 +0000

In January 2013 we are making a change to the way the BBC Introducing Uploader works that we’d like you to know about. We now have over 80,000 artists registered on the system we launched in February 2009 and we are constantly looking at how we best serve them and get their music heard. Towards the end of January we will be putting a limit on the number of unlistened-to tracks registered artists will be allowed to have on their profile. The limit will be three tracks.

We’re putting the change in place so we can be really honest about our commitment to music makers. The reality is it only takes a small number of tracks for a producer to appreciate what an artist is about, and we want uploaders to give us only their best work. With fewer tracks to listen to, producers can listen to more artists and hopefully therefore play more tracks on their shows, put forward more artists for festival stages, Maida Vale sessions and other opportunities that arise on the national networks.

We also think that the process of being selective is a good exercise for music makers. The Uploader is your window of opportunity to really impress our producers and it shouldn't be wasted. Before the Uploader existed one of the most common routes for unsigned artists to get their music heard was by posting a demo CD to a DJ. While the technology has changed, the importance of making a great first impression hasn’t, so it’s vital you put forward your best work, like you would on a demo CD.

• What does it mean for you? If you have three or more unlistened-to tracks on your profile, you will not be able to upload any more. The only solution will be to delete tracks that haven't been listened to and make room for your newest and best material.

You do not need to delete tracks that have been listened to or previously broadcast. These can be left on the system.

• What if I don't delete tracks? You won't be able to add more new tracks and may face a point in the future where your older unlistened-to material is removed from the system.

• Will all my tracks be listened to? In some cases, no. A producer, just like any listener, can normally tell if an artist is right for their show after listening to one or two tracks. Even more reason to make sure your best tracks are included in your selection of three. Due to the number of track submissions, we aren’t in a position to offer individual feedback.

• How long will it take to listen to my music? We aim to listen to an artist within six months of their tracks being uploaded. In some of the bigger cities there are cases where it takes longer, and some tracks are still unlistened-to. If this is you, feel free to contact us and let us know.

• Is there still a limit on the number of tracks I can upload? Yes, that limit stays the same. You are able to upload three tracks in a 30 day period.

• Can profiles be deleted? Yes, this is possible. If the artist you have registered as no longer exists for any reason please just request this through our contact pages. Please include your artist name and where possible, email from the email address registered to the account.

• Any other questions? Please feel free to leave a question below or contact us via the contact pages.

This will be the first in a series of changes we are looking to make to continue to improve the service we offer to unsigned and undiscovered artists. We will keep you updated on our progress through this blog through 2013 and beyond.

BBC Introducing highlights: Tall Ships, Billy Bragg and Annie Nightingale

Lyndsey Boggis — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:54:31 +0000

It's December everyone so keep warm drink lots of warm tea (or mulled wine) and check out what's been going on with BBC Introducing across the radio networks in the last few weeks.

Tall Ships Maida Vale session

The magnificent Tall Ships joined BBC Introducing in session at Maida Vale Studios. Tall Ships have had a fantastic year playing our BBC Introducing stage at Reading & Leeds and rounding the year off with a tour and a trip to the legendary Maida Vale Studios, recording four tracks including Gallop.

The John Peel Lecture 2012

Billy Bragg took to the stage to deliver this year's John Peel session at the Radio Academy in Manchester. Billy talks in detail about his journey as an unsigned artist and getting his first break on Radio 1. He talks about the fantastic work local radio is doing with new music talks in detail about BBC Introducing... Including Jake Bugg's own story (watch the clip on YouTube) from uploading his music to BBC Radio Nottingham in 2010 to securing a record deal with Mercury records.

You can watch the whole session here.

Annie Nightingale's advice

Over the last few weeks Annie Nightingale has been working with BBC Introducing to find three new bass music artists that show great promise for the future! We wanted to work with Annie so she could pass on her advice and wealth of experience in the industry. Check out how she became a mentor to these brand new artists; English from London, Kamos and Tripbuk from Hereford & Worcester, and Kent's Elliot Berger.

Gabrielle Aplin

Did you know that long before 'that Christmas John Lewis advert' hit our TV screens and the track stormed the charts, Gabrielle Aplin recorded in Maida Vale Studios for BBC Introducing back in April 2011. She recorded three Amazing Tracks Including a beautiful cover Of Coldplay's Fix You.

Gabrielle Aplin is from Wiltshire, and has been supported by BBC Introducing in Wiltshire for the last three years.

Daley

Daley is making big waves at the moment with his new single ‘Remember Me’ which features Jessie J. BBC Introducing in Manchester have supported Daley since 2009. Check out his very first session for BBC Introducing at the Electric Proms.

Daley was shortlisted for the BBC Sound Of Poll in 2011, featured on Radio 1’s Live Lounge and toured with Emeli Sande, Maverick Sabre & Jessie J to name a few so it’s great to see him back with such a huge track. Keep a look out for him on your TV over Christmas!

Huw's BBC Introducing Discovery: Natasha Haws - Stranger

Huw Stephens — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:55:48 +0000

The Introducing discovery this week is something rather thundery & tribal out of the north-east from a 17 year old singer-songwriter called Natasha Haws.

She has gained support from Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing in Newcastle for her elegant & forbidding track Stranger, so let it sweep you away & enjoy!

Pick up the track without spending a penny as part of Huw's free Radio 1 download and follow Natasha on Twitter.

What can a manager do for you? BBC Introducing in Kent finds out

Tom Young — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:18:24 +0000

What does it take to be a music industry manager? Incredible passion for new music, ridiculously detailed planning skills, or just a big fat book of contacts? The answer is probably all three and a huge amount more, as Jacob Rickard discovered on BBC Introducing in Kent last Sunday night (the programme is available on the BBC iPlayer until 8pm on Sunday 9th December).

Managers are the unsung, behind-the-scenes heroes of the musicians we hear on the radio... but for new bands looking for a break, a manager might be the essential link in the chain that helps them to progress to the next level of recognition.

Joining Jacob to find the facts was the Tunbridge Wells based major-label manager Dougie Bruce, whose roster includes the Californian soul singer Aloe Blacc and BBC Introducing-supported band Park Bench Society. Also in the studio was Gravesend's Alex Light, a singer-songwriter and electronic music producer.

In this clip from the show, Alex Light explains how his former band LightsGoBlue got together with their manager...

For more essential industry advice like this, check the Advice pages of the BBC Introducing website.

On the playlist: Picture Book - Why Are We Wasting Our Time

Tom Young — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:20:22 +0000

This week, Picture Book are the BBC Introducing artist on the Radio 1 playlist. Excellent news for them as it means their track Why Are We Wasting Our Time will get played on daytime shows including Greg James, Scott Mills and Fearne Cotton. You can hear Why Are We Wasting Our Time below and find out more about the duo too.

Hometown: Picture Book are brothers Dario Darnell and Lorne Ashley. The pair were born in New York but raised in Manchester.

Style: Taken from their second EP, Songs About Aimee, Why Are We Wasting Our Time fuses ambient pop with larger house melodies that motors along above an infectious sonar beat. Picture Book are an immensely creative duo as is displayed by their attention grabbing aLIve concept shows where they rework and remix tracks on the go.

You need to know: Dario and Lorne's father is August Darnell, lead singer and founder of Kid Creole and The Coconuts. The genes are strong in these two!

Supported by: Why Are We Wasting Our Time was brought to our attention by BBC Introducing in Merseyside, who first played the record in early October 2012.

Find out more: Head to the band's official website or check them out on Facebook and Soundcloud.

On the playlist: Peasant's King - Antidotes

Tom Young — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:07:39 +0000

Anitidotes by Peasant's King is the latest BBC Introducing track on the Radio 1 playlist. The South Wales band will have their track played by daytime DJs, including Greg James, Dev and Scott Mills, all this week. Listen to Anitdotes now and be sure to read up on the group below.

Hometown: The quintet formed in Church Village, a small town near Pontypridd, earlier this year. Antidotes is their debut single - not bad going at all.

Style: Peasant's King are fully charged pop rock outfit geared for the charts. Antidotes is a big, emotional rock anthem with a groove. Like the recent work of Elbow and Kings Of Leon, it's perfectly constructed to get you singing from the rooftops and yes, there is a girl choir... and yes, there are strings!

You need to know: While the majority of the band are still studying, drummer Harry is a climbing instructor. *Insert your climbing the charts gag here*

Supported by: Antidotes was first played by Bethan Elfyn on BBC Radio Wales.

Find out more: Watch the freshly shot video for Antidotes on YouTube and follow the band on Facebook and Twitter.

Huw's BBC Introducing Discovery: Peardrop - Dragon

Huw Stephens — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:28:02 +0000

The BBC Introducing Discovery this week is from Hereford's Peardrop, she's a 24 year old that's been making music since her teens, taking inspiration from Nirvana and '90s pop.

Her track Dragon has a calm electronic feel to it, drawing comparisons with Purity Ring, so if you like it, grab the track for free on my Radio 1 Download.

Follow Peardrop on Twitter.

Annie Nightingale's advice for BBC Introducing artists

Tom Young — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:53:51 +0000

In September, our BBC Introducing teams from across the country were asked to submit tracks and artists that they felt were suitable for Annie Nightingale's BBC Radio 1 show. It was a chance to show Annie and her team the vast array of talent that uses the BBC Introducing Uploader and for Annie to pass on her advice and wealth of experience in the industry.

When it started we thought Annie would choose one artist - in the end she picked three; rapper English from London, DJ and Producer Elliot Berger from Kent and Hereford and Worcester's Kamos, who regularly works with rapper Tripbuk.

A couple of weeks ago, the artists visited Annie at BBC Radio 1. Here's what happened:

The tracks featured in the video are:

Elliot Berger (feat. Fred Clark) - Fate
English - Magic
Kamos & Tripbuk - Leaving Them Dead

What do you make of Annie's advice? Perhaps you have some words of wisdom of your own for our three artists. Let us know in the comments below and feel free to get in touch by Facebook or Twitter if there's a burning question about the music industry you want answered.

On the playlist: SOAK - Fingers Crossed

Tom Young — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:38:07 +0000

A look at the Radio 1 playlist this week and you'll see the name of Soak, the singer songwriter whose song Fingers Crossed has been chosen for the weekly BBC Introducing slot on the playlist. Find out more about her below and listen to Fingers Crossed at your leisure.

Hometown: Derry-based Bridie Monds-Watson goes by the name of SOAK, a hotly tipped Northern Irish act who we saw recently perform on a very cold rooftop as part of Belfast Music Week (she's in the centre of the photo above).

Style: The 16 year-old singer certainly lets her tunes do the talking. Matching her dimunative figure, SOAK cuts a fragile image on stage and on record and Fingers Crossed is a tender, heartfelt track folk laid bare across a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment. Handled with care.

You need to know: She may be 16 but SOAK already has two EPs to her name. The first, Trains, was released last March and the second, Sea Creatures, which features Fingers Crossed, followed a few months later in July.

Supported by: So many of SOAK's tracks have been played by BBC Radio Ulster's Across The Line programme and their support led to plays on BBC Radio 1's Introducing show with Jen Long and Ally McCrae.

Find out more: SOAK is always updating her status on her official Facebook page.

On the Playlist: DARC - Isis

Tom Young — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:19:22 +0000

DARC are the latest BBC Introducing artist to be added to the Radio 1 playlist. Isis will be played by Fearne Cotton, Greg James, Scott Mills, Dev and Huw Stephens and you can listen to the track below along with some choice bits of information about the Scottish band.

Hometown: Edinburgh quartet DARC formed in August 2011 fired by the ambition to channel the energy of an electro dance DJ into a full live band experience.

Style: The band list their influences as, among others, The Prodigy, Modestep and Pendulum, a perfect indication of their bold and surefooted approach. Isis is stacked full of startling layers switching from trance to euphoria as well as showing off a more traditional club anthem vibe, all pulsing with one of the dirtiest basslines this blog has heard for a while.

You need to know: As DJs, the members of DARC have supported Hot Chip, Alex Metric, Foamo and B-Traits.

Supported by: DARC were first noticed by BBC Introducing's Ally McCrae in Scotland with their track Somewhere Else. They've since caught the attention of tastemaking trio Jim Gellatly, Vic Galloway and Huw Stephens.

Find out more: Keep track of DARC on Facebook and Twitter and listen to more tracks from them, including Somewhere Else, on their Soundcloud page.

Tips on how to write a band biography

Tom Robinson — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:18:06 +0000

Most normal human beings find writing about themselves excruciatingly painful - whether it's a CV, job application or a band biog. Which is why many emerging artists avoid writing anything about themselves at all. Time and time again I fall in love with particular tunes, decide to play them on the radio – and then find the artist's Facebook or Soundcloud contains no information whatsoever.

Imagine someone sending you music on a plain unmarked CD. Or emailing you an MP3 with the words "check us out" and nothing else. And now imagine a hundred people doing that. Every week. Well, luckily they don't. When record companies and pluggers send us records they understand how helpful it is to set the music in some kind of context, and even the simplest story can catch people's interest:

*Here's an early demo by David Bowie before he got famous. *This is the latest underground hit with clubgoers in Mumbai. *This was written by a Scottish 13 year old in her bedroom and has had 50,000 plays on YouTube... that sort of thing.

But since writing about ourselves is so hard, many bands type something like “four-piece indie trash from the UK" and leave it at that. After all, the thinking goes, our music's so great it can speak for itself. The trouble is, you're not the only great band out there.

Every week thousands of artists are vying for the attention of fans, managers, bookers, bloggers, journalists, record companies and radio stations. We're spolt for choice: and if you don't tell us clearly and loudly what's special / interesting / different / funny / loveable / unique about your particular group, we'll click away in seconds to some other artist who does.
Some bands fill the "about" section on their website with reviews, imagining they've then got a biog. But think about it: these quotes are just descriptions of your music. They don't tell us anything about who made it, or where, or when, or why. If you've gone to the trouble of making wonderful music, then why not take the trouble to give us some backstory to that music. The easiest way is to provide a few basic facts:

This is my first bedroom demo. This is the lead track on our forthcoming EP. This got used on a VW commercial in Latvia last year. The whole band are still at school. Three of us are retired jazz musicians. We're based in Rotherham. We formed in early 2012. This is the title track of our EP released in May. Here's the tracklist. Here's a list of our upcoming gigs. We've just released our first album in 9 years. It's on heavyweight vinyl and available from...

Some bands - and some low-budget publicists - imagine that having “a story" means loads of pretentious waffle about said band's wonderful music. See my original blog post about this at Fresh On The Net for a few outstanding examples. But what's the point? We only need to click “play" to hear for ourselves how wonderful - or otherwise - your music actually is.

As interactivity guru Steve Lawson puts it: 'Don't tell us how great you are – tell us how interesting you are.' Is one of you a bilingual Bengali bellydancer, a part-time piano tuner, or a forty-something Danish quantity surveyor? Are you collectively on a mission from God, plotting to end to capitalism as we know it – or just hoping to get rich, famous and laid as quickly as possible?

And do bear in mind that something being true isn't the same thing as it being interesting - nobody wants to read every tedious detail of how and when you all first met. In his memoir, Christopher Isherwood claimed that 'anything you choose to invent about yourself is part of your personal myth and therefore, in a sense, true'. As an artist you have full license to exaggerate or even rewrite the facts if it'll make for a more interesting story.

Personally I'd much rather read out a load of entertaining lies on the radio than a series of dull, boring facts. So long as your early Bowie demo sounds great, who cares if it later turns out to have been made by that Scottish 13 year old after all?

Needless to say this blog post is entire my own invention and no warrenty is offered as to its factual accuracy. Decide for yourself how much of it is interesting, helpful or even true.

A version of this post first appeared on Tom's Fresh On The Net blog. Click here to read the original post and see some of Tom's favourite and least favourite band bios. Don't forget to download his BBC Introducing Mixtape too.

Huw's BBC Introducing Discovery: As recommended by Everything Everything

Huw Stephens — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:46:58 +0000

This week's show was co-hosted by Everything Everything who were in session back in 2009.

They brought with them tracks by unsigned bands recommended by their fans on Twitter. The bands selected were All Too Animal and their track Apes With Rollerskates, House Reverends with Daddy's Got A Boat and Aerialist Barbette by Babe.

You can listen to Aerialist Barbette below. All of the tracks are available on Huw's free download, the gift that keeps on giving.

On the Playlist: Kappa Gamma - Just Another

Tom Young — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:20:20 +0000

A look at this week's Radio 1 playlist and you'll come across the name of Kappa Gamma and their track Just Another. They are the latest BBC Introducing artist to get a spot on the playlist which means daytime plays by Fearne Cotton, Greg James, Dev and Scott Mills. Have a listen to Just Another below, find out a little bit more about Kappa Gamma and then let us know what YOU think of the track.

Hometown: Kappa Gamma are a fourpiece Nottingham. After changing their name from Cromwell Street, they now share their moniker with an American fraternity for the deaf.

Style: It's finely engineered indie soundscapes with the dreamlike qualities of Bombay Bicycle Club, Wild Beasts and Foals. Just Another is beautifully crafted three and a half minutes of floating vocals and irresistable stop-start guitar rhythms.

You need to know: Just Another was released through Destination Moon, a label set up by Rolo Tomassi, who they are currently on tour with in Germany.

Supported by: Like Dog Is Dead, who they've also supported, Kappa Gamma have had many a play on Dean Jackson's BBC Introducing show, The Beat and last month were played on Jen Long and Ally McCrae's Sunday night Radio 1 show.

Find out more: Watch the video for Just Another and then hook up with the band on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

Huw's BBC Introducing Discovery: Dingus Khan

Huw Stephens — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:56:20 +0000

The Introducing track I've got for you this week comes courtesy of our friends at BBC Suffolk, and it's safe to say it's rock because Dingus Khan have three drummers, two just wouldn't be enough! Their track Knifey/Spoony will certainly blow away any of those Halloween cobwebs that might still be hanging around - enjoy!

Check out Dingus Khan's performance at Reading Festival and don't forget to get Huw's weekly free download too.