Benjamin Francis Leftwich taking Pictures

English, acoustic, singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich is quite the talent. Still lurking largely in the underground, his raw folk sound with his highly distinctive voice has the potential of following in the footsteps of similar artists, such as Ed Sheeran and Joshua Radin.

Pictures from his debut studio album: Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm is a stirring piece of music. Combining repetitively melodic acoustic-guitar chords with Leftwich's effortless vocals the sound created is alluring.

Both the song and video use a considerable amount of imagery, with a snake and a flame-spinner as two of the features, with the video set in an unconventional, resplendent house. It has Leftwich playing the guitar surrounded by these bizarre elements that paint a picture. The song, tells the tale of the unexpectedness of life, and through all the pandemonium that occurs daily, we are still no closer to finding answers and meaning behind it, "You/ve been around and you've seen the way things work, but you need a compass to get around your house." Depicting how no matter how well you think you know what goes on, the pure chaos of life will catch up with you, and nothing is certain and dependable apart from friends and family, with Leftwich singing as the chorus, "Take a picture of them, take a picture of them..."

A unique, chilling sound, check it out!

RH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6N3jUDKzq0

Plan B with some ill Manors

Guitar-playing, singing, award-winning ex-prisoner Plan B has had a turbulent life to say the least. Following a stint in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Plan B worked on and produced the 'Defamation of Strickland Banks', the singers debut, mainstream album, which with huge singles like 'She Said' and 'Prayin' saw him win countless awards and universal praise from the likes of Elton John and, well, pretty much everyone. It was a canny, fresh foretelling of his life surrounding his prison sentence, which saw Plan B dressed smartly in a suit, something listeners of his earlier album, 'Who needs actions when you have words?' would have never predicted give the gritty-rap and near-the-knuckle themes. 

Never allowing himself to be the slightest bit foreseeable, Plan B's latest release 'ill Manors' is without a doubt a controversial one. Self-created, self-directed, self-produced, Plan B really has crafted his vision from every angle and it really is the stunning raucous video that makes this song It's a complete u-turn from 'The Defamation...' he' back to being a bad-boy lad from East-London. The video is set in a London Estate that sees Plan B surrounded by vivacious residents of the area or Chav's as some people would describe them, with a casually-dressed Plan B. Packed with footage of the London Riots and starring an moving-image of David Cameron, with Plan B rapping "I've had it with you politicians, you bloody rich kids never listen." As well as featuring the footage of John Prescott fighting a member of the public who threw an egg at him. As well as 

The song itself serves as the perfect accompaniment to the gritty video, it's a cacophonous tune that's just as jagged and hard-hitting as the video. It opens with menacing-sounding strings, with the video miming playing them at the start of the video, with Plan B's sharp rapping to the strings with a beat that gets heavier for the chorus. The lyrics don't promote violence, they just criticise the system and demonstrate the result of its failings. "Give us free money and we don’t pay any tax, NHS healthcare, yes please many thanks, People get stabbed round here there’s many shanks..." The chorus has echoes of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall", it's an anthemic hook, "Oi! I said Oi! What you looking at you little rich boy!" It's not particularly catchy, but it's undoubtedly memorable. 

With two brilliant remixes by The Prodigy and Funtcase, give the 'ill Manors' project some views...it's a rough masterpiece. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8GvLKTsTuI&ob=av3n

Let Me Go, cries a Maverick

Tenaciously intertwining the unorthodox combination of folk with R&B, Hackney Born Irish/English singer-songwriter Maverick Sabre has had some year! Initially, grabbing our attention with the magnificent tunes, Sometimes and Look What I've Done, Maverick's first-single from his Lonely Are the Brave album is really something special.

With his dinstinctive, eerie vocals, accompanied by a stand-out beat the tune managed to reach number 16 in the UK download charts. It starts off slow with a gentle beat, and seems an almost typical break-up song, until it takes a sudden u-turn with a spell-binding drop and use of trumpets, a trend re-entering chart-music as is also used by Rizzle Kicks. "Let Me Go, you let me down, when I'm with you, I'm broken now." It is a heartfelt tune, but the chorus gives a positive edge backed by the melodic, pitchy vocals of a female singer. It's seems his message is as if the break-up will set him free, "With you, I won't be a better man."

The video echoes this, which begins in the Nevada desert, and as he drives through the alluring Las Vegas strip he is being released, and can begin to enjoy freedom once again without restraint. On the whole, it is a feel-good song and the video gives an excited-boost.

Check it out, a bright talent, with an even brighter future ahead of him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMWgmQA4Ig&ob=av2e

Ed Sheeran Drunk

No, this is not an exclusive celebrity scandal, even if Ed's latest grime tracks and remixes have introduced us to his not so angelic side, it is in fact the title of his new single, and it's another melancholic one. Don't let that put you off though, the fact is the Suffolk Strummer, Ed Sheeran is just outstanding at writing and singing songs about heartbreak!

It's a beautifully heartfelt tune, showing off Sheeran's pitch-perfect voice with just the guitar as backing. Essentially, it's about how he turns to alcohol to console himself, although the "Drunk" could also be metaphorical for his disheveled state of mind after a break-up.

The video is adversely sublime, with a talking cat as the star, yes...a cat! A depressed Ed, drowns his sorrows in beer cans joined by the cat, a loyal companion, who in a bar fights off a photographer and helps pull a couple of hotties! Faced by the wall of pictures of his ex, it is ultimately a somber video, given a humourous boost with the feature of the cat.

Give it a watch, if you haven't already, the inspiring, ginger doesn't disappoint...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2fOum_KWQU

R U Mine?

Just several months after releasing their latest album, Suck it and See, the ever innovatory, captivating Arctic Monkey's, still with unstoppable momentum are churning out more hits. Their most recent single, R U Mine? having only been released on Youtube 3 weeks ago, already attained a whopping 2.2 million views. With an introduction by the former Sex Pistols guitarist and current KROQ DJ Steve Jones, and the fact that it's in black and white, it would seem nostalgic, vintage, but it's simply just fun and zany.


It's good to know that Alex Turner hasn't forgotten his roots, and the unrefined, rough-around-the-edges feel to the music, with it's electrifying riffs and accentuated lyrics is just as prevalent as when the band started out. The video, is energetic, lively and the starring lads, Alex Turner, whom according to second-top Youtube viewers comment, "pushes the limits of my heterosexuality " and the drummer, Matt Helders don't take themselves too seriously, playing air-guitar and messing around.


Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQH8ZTgna3Q&ob=av3e

Must be the Feeling

Dubstep ambassadors Nero have had a staggeringly, successful couple of years. Their debut, concept-album entitled Welcome to Reality, which reached number one in the UK albums charts, boasts a remarkable seven massive single, including the cacophonous Me & You, the high-pitched yet highly memorable Crush on You and the infectiously catchy, Promises. Their music and visuals undoubtedly dividing opinion, with some describing it as "crass and predictable" and others as inventive, animated anthems.

Their latest single, Must be The Feeling, continues with the 80s-inspired, electro-pop feel to their album, which is a remix to Carmen's, Time to Move. In actual fact, the two songs do sound very similar, but with Nero's compelling guitar and energetic synths, they have with a doubt taken the tune to another level.

Nero's music in itself is capable of transporting the listener to another reality, but no expense has been saved with their music video's. Each abstract, inventive creations, Must be The Feeling's video is like a high-budget, modern blockbuster. It stars the members of Nero, driving through a futuristic city, pestering it along on their ride, as the signs are transformed into Nero, related associations and the CCTV cameras focus in on them. A pursuit suddenly ignites, with mysterious beings in gas-masks riding modern motorbikes chasing Nero's car. As the two verge collision they seem to fuse together, with the third member of Nero revealing himself on the bike. It features many messages and subliminal s, naturally stirring the generic "illuminati" debate.

One thing is certain about Must be The Feeling and Nero's music and visuals in it's entirity, it must be experienced at full-volume, in full-screen, with the lights down...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld50mfW-BCM