One World: Live In Cardiff

ME ONE
Me One is West Indian patois for "on my own" and the adopted name of Eric Martin, a 28 year old British musician and emcee in a class of his own. Born in Cardiff, Wales, he moved Stateside to New York for his formative teen years. Finally relocating to London Me One absorbed the hip hop ethic of the times, emceeing at shows with the likes of Demon Boyz and racking up Rakim, The Jungle Brothers, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest as his hip hop preferences.

Two and a half years in the writing 'As Far As I'm Concerned' is a trenchant, beautifully judged, lovingly crafted real soul debut album. It's a testament to his abilities as an empathic musician that he easily pulls off versions of both the 1959 Dave Brubeck Quartet jaunty jazz classic 'Take Five' ('People Shine') and The Beach Boys ballad of introversion 'In My Room', the latter complete with subliminal ragga 'n' gospel inflexions

BENCH
Krissy Jenkins and Rachel Thomas are Bench. The duo have been working and writing together in the Tiger Bay based studio 'Wings for Jesus' for five years. Krissy's production and sampling skills and Rachel's vocals have melded and evolved. Bench's first ever release 'Time Changes' was a drum & bass track on the Open records label - a branch of the Ministry of Sound. Though deleted by the label the track was picked up by Curtis Mantronix in the USA and made it into the top 15 in the Herb magazine alongside the likes of Roni Size. Kris is also in demand as a live percussionist with the likes of the Super Furry Animals. But now with a more down-tempo, smoking album 'Bliss', Bench look set for continued success.

ROUNDA RECORDS
Less than a year old, this Cardiff collective has been building a solid reputation as a creative backer and distributor for unsigned artists. Mainly pioneering hip hop & dance music, Rounda aim to raise their talents' profiles and get them the recognition and air-play they deserve.

Breaking it down...

ERBAN POETS
Hailing from Cardiff , DJ Jaffa and Nayton da Watcha have grown up together and have been developing creatively for over a decade. Working together and on solo projects, Jaffa cuts up the samples and Nay'ton provides the rhymes.

A recent female addition to the Erban Poets is Ka'ri. Discovered at a Kool Herc gig in Newport, Ka'ri's input has added a new soulful element to the Erban Poets work. Having already worked with Smith & Mighty, Ka'ri will also be appearing on Flynn & Flora's LP out later this year.

Currently working on his debut solo LP, Cuz joins the E.P. to thicken the plot and supply extra scratching skills to live and recorded releases.

Nayton & Jaffa also lend their talents to Manchild, Cardiff's up & coming breaks collective. They've been on the road this summer, touring hard with the band at all the major festivals including Glastonbury and V2000.

Distinct individual talents meld together in Erban Poets to create a unique experience... one for all the heads to look out for.

LITTLE MISS
Sophie Barras aka Little Miss has been writing lyrics since she was 13 but has only been emceeing for the last 5 with various bands and DJ's around Cardiff. As the founder of Rounda Records, Sophie is the driving force behind the business. Having moved to Cardiff from Birmingham 7 years ago, Sophie has carved an indispensable niche for herself and her ever increasing crew on the Welsh music scene. She has worked with the Erban Poets, Welsh language rappers Tystion, MC Mabon and live instrumentalists Pollen project.

MC MABON
MC Mabon is North Walian Gruff Meredith, a founder member of hip-hop collective Tystion turned solo artist. 'Mr Blaidd' is his debut solo album release. The work of an eclectic artist, pushing the boundaries to encompass all musical styles - melodic punk, rock, hip hop, folk, blues and ambient sounds. Mabon touches upon the apocalyptic to the everyday mundane, fantasy and reality sit side by side on a symphonic succession of melodies. All the tracks are from different worlds but weave together to make a coherent whole, guest artists collaborate to make the album a stunning bi-lingual record with a collection of English language songs sandwiched between two slabs of Welsh language material. High points include the apocalyptic 'Waterways', the inspirational 'Anifail Gwyllt', the insane duet set in outer space with Cardiff rapper Little Miss - 'Space Serial Killa', the futurespeak of 'Neith y Byd Ddim Para'm Byth', and the 'Bala v Patagonia' raps on 'XR3i'.

For further information on the Erban Poets, visit the Rounda Records website, and for more on MC Mabon check out his website.