This happens to me all the time.

I’m not sure it’s entirely polite to refer to a grown man as adorable, but Kwes just is – perhaps in the very British way that causes well meaning Americans to yell it in my face when I visit their country.  I can’t wait to own his EP on Monday, but in the meantime I will be heading to the Southbank on Saturday for the launch of the Kwesachu Mixtape vol. 002 launch. From what I can tell our old blogspot is one of the very last places on the internet you can still download vol. 001…

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Alice Grant of the quinoa like slow-release super group Moats and Thrones‘ voice is so addictive I will even listen to the audio from a muffled recording in a barn at last years In The Woods Festival on repeat (not sure where the mic was positioned, possibly outside the barn in a small puddle, these things happen).

In The Woods is one of the very few UK music festivals I will be going to this year, partly because I am so excited about putting on a stage and party at Soundwave Croatia everything else pales in comparison, and partly because for some reason everyone seems to think having the same line up as each other is a good idea.

The Laurel Collective who run In The Woods don’t think this is a good idea however, and so far they have announced the likes of Alt J, Kwes, and Peter and Kerry (previous line ups have included The Invisible, Lianne La Havas, Micachu and various other people I heart very much). I’m crossing my fingers a few other PMOI favourites may be in contention for the line up this year, but regardless I will be heading to the secret location in the woods (that’s a real secret location, not all this “secret” east London warehouse business). I’m hoping you need a compass and orienteering skills to find it. You should come too, especially if you have said orienteering skills.

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My friend Theo Jemison, whose beautiful work I’ve featured here often, sent over this footage of Gil Scott Heron shortly before he passed away. There’s something so intimate about the way it’s shot, it makes you feel as though you were in the room, like an invented memory, or the memories of other gigs past joining up to take you a short leap in to the El Rey that night.

Whilst obviously Gil was a performer of the very best kind – honest, warm, sincere and musically very gifted – this kind of film makes me so grateful for film makers who are there to capture those moments for posterity. I don’t know how I would describe artists like Gil to my future kids with just their music to rely on; the next generation will be so much more visual than I, and I wonder how it will translate, but to have a little of the essence of the great and important voices of history preserved in cinematic moments like these gives me hope  they will continue to live on vividly.

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Tickets on sale here

I’ve wanted to book Tawiah to perform live for years now. There was a time I would be at every live gig she played to the point it may have been a bit creepy, and then all of a sudden she got a record deal and went off to write an album. From what I hear the album is very much underway, and luckily for us Tawiah is beginning to resurface to play some new material. Szjerdene is another artist I’ve been following for years, her recent EP is a thing of beauty and I cannot wait to hear it live. Morgan Zarate is a legend in my world, so bribing him in to DJing with some Ferrero Rocher is something of a coup – Spacek was my entry point to so much music I listen to today – and his more recent work is just as excellent.

*Update* Our resident DJ Eric Lau is now able to make it! Plus the wonderful crew at United 80 will return with a pop up music shop, and Mrs Mck’s Pudding Club from Relay Tea Rooms will be providing gorgeous cakes…

There are only 50 advance tickets available at £5, so I would advise you to buy them before they jump up to £8. If you follow our new Facebook page there will be a chance to win some tickets soon.

PMOI Live at the C.A.M.P., Weds 2nd May 2012 (9pm-1am)

Live: Tawiah , Szjerdene, Morgan Zarate (DJ set)

The C.A.M.P., 70-74 City Road, EC1Y 2BJ, £5 limited advance tickets/  (£8 on the door)

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.

I saw this guy live last year supporting Lianne LaHavas at Servants Jazz Quarters. It was a warm up gig for her performance on Jools Hollands’ show and subsequent world domination. Usually reading an artist bio makes you groan – they’re so often swimming with unhelpful comparisons and watery chunks of irrelevant information. L.A. Salami’s is very accurate however, in that it confirmed word for word the conversation I had with my companion at the gig “this guy sounds like he could have been a rapper but fell in love with Bob Dylan instead”. Dylan may be an influence but Salami has enough interesting stories of his own to set himself apart, and I look forward to writing about whoever ends up supporting L.A. Salami before his probable future appearances on Jools Holland and the likes’ shows.

Untitled by L.A. Salami

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.

There are few things more satisfying than watching a young artist grow and flourish over the years right in front of you. Szjerdene is such a wonderful example of someone taking her time and developing her craft, and there is a distinct vision and sense of identity that comes with each of her releases I have so much respect for. Szjerdene has exactly the kind of unique, pure, yet flexible voice producers dream of, and I imagine they constantly ask to feature her. It is so easy for singers to become a rent-a-voice before developing their own identities, yet Szjerdene seems to be particularly intent on making a clear artistic statement, even if it may take a little longer. The Patchwork EP, perhaps more so than Lead The Way, is a small yet perfectly formed jewel of a piece.

Patchwork The EP by szjerdene

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There is precious little decent footage floating around of Taylor McFerrin live. I saw him in Ireland last Autumn and was thoroughly impressed by his set – somewhere between beatboxing, vocal percussion, singing and electronica, which sounds gimmicky but it actually just seems very natural (perhaps not surprising for Bobby McFerrin’s son). Back in the day when Rahzel went through a phase of doing a live gig in Brighton every couple of weeks, after the initial “wow” moments you did find yourself standing there hoping he’d wrap it up. Taylor’s sets are much more like watching a soulful electronic live band you can dance to – only he does it all himself.

You can catch Taylor McFerrin live in London with Daedelus and Kutmah on Friday 13th April at Village Underground. We have two tickets to give away on the PMOI Facebook  page later this week.

Put Me On It >> Independent Music & Culture - London based music blog. Download, watch and listen to the best independent hip hop, soul, electronic & acoustic music.