Forward Thinking

Before we get into end of the year lists, i want to cast half an eye into the future and think a little bit about what's coming in 2009 and a couple of acts i'm pretty excited about hearing more from.
Up first is Empire of the Sun, one half Sleepy Jackson and one half PNAU this is sheer genius in an electro-Fleetwood Mac way. Combine that with great costumes (see below) and the promise of "theatrical extravaganza" live shows and it's pretty exciting. Bound to invite lots of MGMT comparisons but in our book that's a good thing.

Empire of the Sun - We Are The People

The next is Alessi's Ark, the newest addition to the London nu-folk scene. She plays psychadelic, rustic songs with an innocent, child-like wonder and with rich, expansive production from Bright Eyes producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis. Think, Alela Diane, Joanna Newsom and Conor Oberst but with a very English slant.

Alessi's Ark - Magic Weather

Alessi's Ark Myspace

The last is South East London band The Invisible. They play intricate songs that feel both raw and complex, somewhere between TV On The Radio, Battles and Plantlife. This is a band that has sprung out of the experimental jazz scene but brought to their skills a punk-funk sound that creates delights like 'London Girl' below. Watch this sub-genre-bending space.

The Invisible - London Girl

Blowin' Up

Things are pretty exciting at Beat Poetry at the moment as our next club night is beginning to take shape and looks like being quite a special night. We've got DJ Wrongtom doing a headline slot for us; made famous by his work with Hard-Fi, he's fresh from remixing Roots Manuva's new album and his DJ sets have impressed everyone from XFM's Eddy Temple-Morris to rap royalty Pharrell Williams.

This post is dedicated to two tracks i've been playing out for years and still can't get enough of. The first is US69's 'Yesterday's Folks' - big drums, big dirty vocals and a slightly psychadelic edge. This is a crate digger favourite and original pressings of the lp are worth a lot. The second is an understated Northern Soul gem that makes up for is slightly plodding instrumentation with a killer vocal from The Exciters' lead singer Brenda Reid. "Dynamiiiiite, and nitroglycerine..."

US69 - Yesterday's Folks Download Here
The Exciters - Blowin' Up My Mind Download Here