There is Only Love for Ben Howard

It's already started that the UK is producing a new breed of young, singer-songwriters with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Maverick Sabre already charting phenomenal success. Someone you may not be so familiar with is the Devon born 25 year old Ben Howard, the name Ben seemingly having good luck in this genre with the very talented Benjamin Francis Leftwich already making himself known.

However Howard's rising popularity has nothing to do with luck, his passionate, distinctive vocals always manage to convey the heartfelt message that are within his lyrics, all of which shown in his latest single "Only Love". It's a beautifully, natural, unspoiled tune, with an acoustic instrumental that gets more emphatic as the song progresses. It's natural essence is perfect for it's simple message, a girl who he is deeply, deeply in love with to the extent that she is like a part of him, he is incapable to function without her as he sings, "Give me Shelter, or Show me heart". The video is of a deep in thought Ben, riding through an American City on a bike, perhaps showing the natural but sublime relationship he is a part of. 

It's easy-listening at it's finest, I predict a big future for this guy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWlKZ6C7cDY&ob=av2e

R.I.P. to the girl you used to see...

21 year old Albanian-British blonde-bombshell Rita Ora needs little introduction for some, having already conquered the UK charts with DJ Fresh in the form of the feel-good anthem Hot Right Now, as well as video cameo's such as in Drake's collosal hit Over she simply cannot stop rising in popularity. After being signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation, ironic really given her uncanny resemblance to Rihanna, who Jay of course managed for many years. 

Her electrifying debut-single, R.I.P. features grime legend, Tinie Tempah, with lyrics written by Drake and production by Drum and Bass kings Chase and Status, the track has hit written all over it. While these contributions have  helped in making this energetic tune the ground-breaking, floor-shaking hit  it is, it's Rita's seductive vocals and her contemporary yet unorthodox style that truly sets this track apart. With lyrics like "Nothing on, I strut around, I do it big, I shut it down, I wonder if you'll be able to handle me" the tune screams attitude. The drum and bass production by Chase and Status is however undoudbtedly a stand  out feature of the track and they incorporate a cut of their remixed hit Heartbeat, which elevates the track to it's dazzling hook. 

The video is equally expressively explosive as the song, but seems to act more as an introduction to Rita and her style. Set in a hangar-type building, with a break-dancer and a car half-incarcrated in the ground, with Rita strutting around looking undeniably gorgeous in her various outfits. 

Go and check it out! I predict big things for this young talent...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1l9WST5lXM

Why I Love You...

Sampling a sample which in itself is a sample, Jay Z's and Kanye West's trackl Why I Love You, featuring the scintilating vocals of Mr Hudson is a ground-breaking tune. With the smash-hit Otis, released last year, which has almost become a cult-classic, it would seem hard to top that but Why I Love You, arguably  manages just that.

It has an immensely powerful chorus, with Hudson singing the first line, with it then repeated in autotune, high-pitch giving it a stronger, compelling sound, it is undoubtedly very catchy. West raps no more than a few words, on this track, with his production the verses are left to Jay who pours limitless emotion into them. Describing the betrayals he has been subjected to, but then his strength in overcoming them, "So the love is gone, Til blood is drawn, So we no longer wear the same uniform." The production is stirring and powerful, acting as the perfect accompaniment for the full-blooded passion of the track.

The track is certainly lacking in Kanye as this sort of track would suit him probably more than Jay, still an almighty-anthem, be sure to check it out...

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

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