Features and collaborations are great ways for up and coming artists to get some attention and keen eared listeners to spot  burgeoning talents. Something Py has clearly taken on board, seeking out producers including Raffertie, Throwing Snow and IO to collaborate with before now.

Py first appeared on my radar however by way of her tender offering on Lapalux’s ‘Moments’ a track form his brilliant Brainfeeder released When Your Gone EP. Here the London based Brightonian releases the visuals Directed by Simone Pellegrini, for a track of her own ‘Lungs’ produced by George Fitzgerald. The track itself a combination of bouncy yet mellow house beats and vocals that echo turn of the century garage hooks makes for sultry listening.

‘Lungs’ is taken from her Tripping on Wisdom Mixtape, which will be available for free download from her Facebook page from May 21st.

If you like what you here be sure to catch her performing live this Thursday at YoYo… I will.

May in the city brings the goliaths also known as  The Throne for a full 4 day takeover of the O2. It will also see the return of the reclusive band The XX who will play a string of exclusive dates. And if towering soul is more your thing, ears should be pricked for the sounds of Robert Glasper’s Experiment which is coming to town too. It’s a mammoth month. Get into it over the jump.

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After the hiatus of what has felt like a lifetime, Lauryn Hill returns to British shores this Saturday to an highly expectant and packed Indigo2 audience. Later in the month, the venue also welcomes Young Jeezy too.

Seattle duo, THEESatisfaction come over to storm through with their first set of solo shows, Dwele returns for his yearly pilgrimage at Jazz Cafe and radio station NTS celebrate their first birthday in all day style. Jump over for all and much more.

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February is here, time to explore some new sounds we say. Check out Soul sonics provided by Natalie Duncan, Ren Harvieu and Zara McFarlane, or perhaps a dose of quality Indie from the likes of Tennis or Ghostpoet. Or maybe something a bit in between like Willis Earl Beal, Portico Quartet and Azealia Banks…

London is offering it all this month. Click the jump and go explore.

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January blues?

No need for such things if you’re lucky enough to live, work or visit London this month. There is a little something for everyone. Despite a bit of a slow start in the live scene, mid month things are starting to kick off with the likes of Ledisi, Lana Del Rey and Childish Gambino in town. Also Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards 2012 holds a stellar line up this weekend. Can expect Thundercat, SBTRKT, Julio Bashmore, BADBADNOTGOOD et al.

Get into that and more after the jump.

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Ninja Tune’s Fink covers the classic ‘In Bloom’ by Nirvana for Germany’s Musikexpress magazine. This was part of the 20th year anniversary of the seminal Nevermind release. I adore Fink’s trademark gravely vocal tone and he doesn’t play with the classic too much which will please fans of the original. It is not long now until Fink’s Perfect Darkness tour reaches the big smoke. Playing KOKO on the 17th Feb. Pick up tickets and a free acoustic track over on his site here.

This past week saw the second annual Buma Rotterdam Beats Festival, an event organised to celebrate and emphasise the importance of Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, Reggae & Electronic music. Through various workshops, seminars and live performances, the festival brought together a wealth of international delegates, including top European and American managers, bookers, industry pioneers, bloggers and several widely respected innovators.

PinBoard was invited to take part in one of the panel discussions, alongside respected co-commentators like Okayplayer (U.S), Juice Magazine (DE), Puma (NL) and Splash Magazine (DE). The discussion was about the emergence and subsequent dominance of the blogopshere and dissected what it is, as online moderators, we do to ensure our outlets represent the best of spheres. These seminars were a vital ingredient for what made the Beats Festival such a vibrant success. Bringing together creative minds from across the continent and the U.S not only allowed for stimulating debate, but also a chance to exchange insights.

Of course it was ultimately the music that brought everything together and with some incredible shows on offer, we were literally spoilt for choice. James Brown incarnate Charles Bradley was undoubtedly the most electrifying, awe-inspiring act on the bill – his performance at Rotown, supported by London homegirl and Plug Research signing Szjerdene, had the entire city doing the electric slide. An artist and performer birthed from an entirely different world – they really don’t make them like that any more. Most impressively however was Buma’s foresight to invite the UK’s cult rising Hip-Hop collective Piff Gang- a genuine salute to Buma for having ears to the ground and recognising the movement. Very proud to see the boys representing the LDN.

Having taken a significantly large step forward this year with festival programming and increasing their profile in doing so, we give a shout-out to Buma Rotterdam Beats for putting on such an incredibly positive and forward thinking event. The beauty of bringing together an international community and sharing ideas on this scale is how the music communities represented, will thrive in future.

Looking forward to next year…