An impromptu visit to Manchester over the bank holiday ended with me leaving a gig by one of the best male vocalist to come out of the UK this year.
Jamie Woon (or Wooney as he is known by the locals) was as beautifully dark, subtly intimate as a show can come.

Void of a extravagant light show or alternatively a  gang of dancers, the night started with the welcomed surprise in supporting act Jono McCleery.  Unaware of the young crooner, I was taken by his mixture of acoustic guitar, layered bass line and jazzy fractured drum patterns that just about kept in enough time for McCleery to sweep through the gaps with his haunting tone. McCleery’s soft melodic structures are far from the frequently cliched folk tunes often churned out, ‘Tomorrow’  (single out on Ninja Tunes) being the standout track. A passionate dreamy prelude that provided a great transition into Woon’s set.

The same authenticity embedded in Woon’s debut LP oozed out in the live show without any comprise. He built each song with a enthralling amount of human beatboxing, looping and finger clicking in front of the audience, as if he was doing it for the first time in the studio. ‘ Shoulda’ and swinging gospel soaked ‘Spirits’  were layered meticulously using his trusty loop machine, plethora of guitars and the threeman band. A crowd familiar with Woon’s transferability allowed him to ease through a rockier version of ‘TMRW’ to fluently perform ‘Middle’ that is laden with Michael Jackson echoes and then flip to an electronic commercial gem such as ‘Lady Luck’. All with the same dose of substance carved in each track.  In a time where every artist has at least 10 dancers on each side of them or a hypeman, it was a pleasure to witness an artist possess equal measures of soul, complexity and originality in their live show, as their debut album boasts.

DELS. Definitly on the scene and one to watch. The hype machine is slowly, too slowly if you ask me, getting into gear over the young man from Ipswich. Some have called him a cross between Dizzee and Bjork, personally, I didn’t hear that on his debut album GOB. To me he seems a, very worthy, pretender to Roots Manuva’s throne as the UK’s number one MC. Unsurprising as they share the same label, Big Dada, home too of Mercury Prize winner, Speech Dabelle. Read the review after the jump…

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Wiz Khalifa, one of the new class of hip hop hopefuls for 2011 was in London town this week for his first headline set of shows. Like fellow graduate, J Cole, the sold out shows were with much anticipation and fans bought tickets based off the success and love for the mixtapes.

Unlike J Cole, by the time the concert came around, a lukewarm album dropped, a mainstream anthem has become of ‘Black and Yellow’ and off the back of this, new fans have assembled themselves onto the Wiz wagon. All these ingredients led to a show of mixed emotions, not to mention the mixed smells in the air. Heading to the Kentish town Forum on Wednesday night, the queue was a blend of loyal hip hop alumni, seperated distinctively by exciteable young girls chanting the infamous colourways and matching their garments accordingly too.

Semtex warmed up the crowd with some grizzly bangers from Jay-Z to Rick Ross and definitely got the audience hyped. Wretch 32 came on as the support act and seemed to have a hard time convincing the crowd of his talents. I like Wretch and have seen him kill it with a live band before, but this time, most seemed uninterested. It’s a shame.

By the time, Wiz came on stage, expectations were hovering high, build up had been delivered, yet the result was mediocre. Considering I was among die hard followers, often times, they appeared well…bored. Yes there was a noticable wave of elation when he performed ‘Taylor Gang’, ‘Phone Numbers’ and ‘Roll Up’. Those moments had hands in the air and singalong crew in full effect. Wiz played along and the showman inside pranced, gyrated and worked the stage as much as possible. Even removed his top for added brownie points for those (pre-legal) girls who ignored their curfew, but a glistening torso made it all the more worthwhile.

Then there were a few lulls. Silences almost. Mostly when Wiz performed the three minute, something radio friendly album tracks such as ‘No Sleeping’ and ‘Fly Solo’. The reality of such average fillers in a venue that a moment before were charged with chants of ‘Money and Hoes’ courtesy of ‘Gangbang’, along with sporadic mysterious..ahem…clouds forming in the atmosphere only made for the most disjointed concert and ergo rapper I have seen in a while.

The short set was redeemed with the obvious ending of ‘Black and Yellow‘, where the crowd reconciled and found common ground, but the dichotomy of Wiz Khalifa and his fans remains present for now.

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Producer Freshnerd of 100 Akres put together some more ear candy I want to bring to you even though this one was supposed to be just for the fans, not so much the blogs. Don’t be fooled by the photo or the title Freshnerd means loosies, not your favourite redheaded comedienne. This is a collection of very different loose tracks- unreleased beats, songs and parts of projects.

Freshnerd’s presentation is always well done. This time he’s got comments and backstory to go along with every track at loosies.100akres.com so you can read along as you listen, then comment when you’re done. I thought that alone was clever, innovative and impressive.

My only critique is that though this beat tape is innovatively presented, the songs should’ve been labelled, ordered and tighter-matching with their corresponding posts on the website. Yes, that is a small thing and no, it’s not music related, so here’s what stood out for me on I Love Loosies.

‘Fools’ has a sample of one of my favourite parts of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love”. Comments/Backstory

For ‘RubyJewel BeatMix’ read the backstory while you listen so you can understand why this headnodder will be jumped on by somebody soon. Comments/Backstory

‘slumBOP’, with its retro, jazzy soup groove and drums, made me put it on repeat. Comments/Backstory

There were other dope tracks on I Love Loosies too, like ‘I’m So Hi…Hello’ where the backstory makes the song more impressive (shouts to Jillz). You’ll be glad Freshnerd made that info available for all of them…you know, if you’re a music nerd like me.

Producer Shade Cobain’s latest release, Them Fighting Words Presents: Cobainish Theory is an instrumental project that’s all about him.  In the past he’s given us two other “theories”, Cassette Theory: Beat EP and Anti-Love Theory, but now we get to peek into the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native’s brain through some cool Hip Hop, snythy, jazzy, soulful beats.

It opens with Charlie Sheen talking about how his brain works followed by an instrumental with a sample saying “Step Up”.  Indeed the rest of the album challenges the listener to get into producer Shade Cobain’s brain.  Don’t worry, the album doesn’t decent into what some are calling “Sheenery” these days, nor is it an exercise in self indulgence.  Instead Cobain cherry picked samples to illustrate his thoughts and feelings on Hip hop marketing, his motivations and a major theme for him- love.  He’s a smart guy so listen close. 

There’s lots to dig through here and none of it is as dark as the cover might portray.

Standouts for me include: ‘The Chase (Drum Snobs)’ with it’s warbled horns, ‘Black Friday (The Price)’ a clever take on the popular game show ‘The Price Is Right’ theme song, the head-nod track ‘S.O.U.L. (Reference)’ and throwback feel of the bonus track Get Down.

Check out all of Shade Cobain’s ‘theories’, download them all. Listen to this one in full via the bandcamp player below…

Dark and obscure, ‘Night Air’ serves as a brilliant encapsulation of the type of artist Jamie Woon is. That somber post meridiem ode is systematic of what can be found on mirrorwriting, Woon’s debut set. Painted over the course of three years mirrorwriting is stocked with enigmatic lyrics, reverberating vocals and exceptional productions.

Crafting what can only be described as futurist Rhythm & Blues, Woon delves deep into his influences spanning Folk, Gospel, Prog and 2-step. These sophisticated compositions are bound together by mournfully beautiful lyricism carried by a quivering, introverted voice that steers clear of ad-lib excess. Woon’s ability to write poetics – often drawing on symbolic, nocturnal imagery and the elements – enable him to create emotive worlds of fear, anxiety and longing that can be as consuming on the listener, as they evidently are on the singing sufferer.

Darkened 808′s, off-beat kicks, ghostly percussives/handclaps, heartbreaking guitars, soul stirring synth chords and vintage bass riptides create the unique atmosphere that Woon has delicately carved around himself. Yet unlike his contemporaries (and/or any trendy journo perpetuated contingents), Woon is proud to inject the one thing that will set him apart from the other 3am inspired poe-faced breed: his channelling the power of Funk. Yet clearly inspired by ‘Night Air’ co-producer Burial, he has somehow merged Funk with the gothicism of Untrue-era 2-step and developed a new breed of R&B. So, all low frequency oscillation aside guys, real basslines are back. And even then, if William Bevan was a singer, this is probably the album he could have produced. But that’s not to insinuate Woon has carbon copied, far from it – in fact, he has (maybe inadvertently) created something distinctly original, something that couldn’t have existed without that which had come before it – but something that until now, hadn’t been propagated.

Song for song Jamie shines, from the lonely call of ‘Street’, to the regretful musings of ‘Shoulda’ – illuminating a path through his visceral, psychological fog. His sense of melody on tracks like ‘Lady Luck’ and ‘Middle’ further proves the strength of his songwriting. The aphotic spirit of ‘Echoes’, with it’s crashing drums and haunting effects, sees Woon singing his most soulful falsetto. The near-Detroit swing of ‘TMRW’, the agony of ‘Gravity’ (my personal favourite) and the simplicity of ‘Waterfront’ help bring what can only be described as a completely original body of work to the light at the end of it’s tunnel.

All of us here at PinBoard strongly believe Jamie Woon has produced an album which not only innovates, but also holds important significance as to where we have been and where we have arrived. mirrorwriting is intelligent, truthful and at times even devastating; it’s a yardstick for how R&B (stagnant and regressive as it’s been these past 5 years) can evolve to a higher cerebral plain. Representing a generation who’s musical minds were forced open by the obscure sounds of Timbaland, The Neptunes, Burial, MJ Cole, Radiohead, etc. – Woon has delivered an LP which I for one have been waiting a very, very long time to hear. Here’s to hoping the world is open enough to understand what this really is and that they (you, we) give it the attention and respect it deserves.

mirrorwriting is out April 11th 18th 2011.

Queen Fatima and Floating Points will be releasing a collaborative EP entitled Follow You this May.

The 4 track extended player ditches the ‘glitchy’ Soul that we’ve come to know from Fatima, and instead focuses on a more softer, soulful-jazz-infused instrumentation. We have Floating Points to thank for that. His productions here are impeccable – warm, exciting, crisp and just simply stunning. Points was definitely channeling his inna-Dilla on a couple of these compositions.

The EP’s opening track ‘Cinnamon’ has such a spirited bump to it, when I first heard it I may have jumped out of my seat a little. Not just because the track is great and Fatima sounds great on it – but because this is exactly the type of material I have been (not-so-secretly) hoping Fatima releases. Don’t get me wrong, our homegirl has done her damn thing over the past few years – working with the likes of Shafiq Husayn, Funkineven and Dam-Funk is not be overlooked. But, as a huge fan of her vocal chops, I’ve always felt that the very best of her would be exposed while singing the more melodic side of Soul. When I heard her on he Floating Points Ensemble track ‘Post Suite’ – ask anyone around me – I was buggin’ out. In fact, I still am – that track gets played weekly on my end.

The EP continues with ‘Mind’, which some of you may have already heard as a radio-rip on YouTube when she performed it on Benji B’s show (listen below). This track has a funny history with my co-pilot and I – bottom line – I own him an apology. The swing, combined with Floating Points sensational use of atmospheric synths – yea, consider my ‘mind’ well and truly blown. And of course, Fatima’s soaring vocals sounds like buttah (yes, buttah).

‘Innervisions’ is up next. Minimalistic, acapella introductions, interjections of synth heavy basslines – here all distractions from Fatima’s multi-layed vocals are gone. This is all about the chanteuse and rightfully so, her vabrato is more soothing then a Strepsil.

An abraded sounding 808 kicks in on the extended players final number ‘Red Light’. This is definitely the funkiest track out of the 4 and a perfect way to end the dynamically enthralling experience that Follow You offers.

The blogger in me is itching to post a track, but alas, I have been sworn to an embargo but the folks over at Eglo have informed me that they’ll soon be releasing some streams – so hold tight.

I’m excited to hear Fatima doing what (I feel) she does best. I have a really great feeling about this project; We’ve all seen this lady hustle and grow over the years but I believe now is her time. And I feel Follow You will expand her reach and open more doors, especially on an international tip. It’s easy to forget that we have our own steeze here in LDN (something I love and am extremely proud of) but sometimes it can get lost in translation. That’s not to say we should stop doing what we do – but with this new direction, I think Fatima’s fan base will grow with greater ease.

Follow You is released on May 9th via Eglo Records.

Update: Listen to ‘Red Light’ here.