Artist: Nancy Ajram
Release: Nancy 8
Label: In2Musica
Genre: Arabic – World
Nancy Nabil Ajram is a multi-platinum recording artist. With the support of her father, Nancy began performing as a child and released her first studio album by the age of 15. Her breakthrough occurred with the start of her collaboration with well-known producer Jiji Lamara, when she released her smash hit “Akhasmak Ah” and 3rd studio album, Ya Salam. In 2004, she released her second international best-seller “Ah w Noss”, which spawned several smash-hits, “Ah w Noss”, “Lawn Ouyounak”, and “Inta Eih” at which point Nancy had established pop icon status in the Middle East.
Artist: Fred V & Grafix
Release: Recognise
Label: Hospital Records
Genre: Dance – Breakbeat / Drum & Bass – Jungle
The first single to be taken from Fred V & Grafix forthcoming debut LP, “Recognise” showcases these two young producers at the peak of their game. Combining prodigious song-writing, epic musicality and dancefloor sensibility, ‘Recognise’ eschews the predictable structure of today’s identikit D+B and opens with intricate arpeggios and skittering beats. Evolving into an ambitious and complex composition featuring lead vocals from Fred V himself. Simultaneously intellectual and effortless, it’s a breath of fresh air that builds on the success of Fred V & Grafix previous successes ‘Major Happy’, ‘Games People Play’ and the current ‘Catch My Breath’. Receiving its debut airplay on Annie Mac’s Friday night Radio One show, Fred V & Grafix count Subfocus, Netsky, Mistajam and B Traits as fans. Young gun Emperor applies his twisted neurofunk genius to the remix for this package, choosing to frontload the song and harmonic structure before descending with a Spartan bassline workout and rugged tick-tock drums which will have every 21st century junglist grinning from ear to ear.
Fellow South-Western young guns “Panda” drop the tempo and flip the genre with their own sublime take on the original to round off the package.
Artist: Coasts
Release: A Rush Of Blood
Label: Tidal Recordings
Genre: Alternative – Indie Pop
“Coasts have mastered the art of the catchy indie-pop song.” – Pigeons & Planes
“Entwined with contagious guitar melodies and strong vocals… Get this on repeat.” – The Line of Best Fit
Bristol’s Coasts unveil new single ‘A Rush of Blood’, due for release via Tidal Recordings on March 31.
Following on from the blissful, hypnotic ‘Stay’, which built to countless heady crescendos of mesmerising shoegaze-pop, ‘A Rush of Blood’, which was produced by Eliot James (Two Door Cinema Club, Noah and the Whale), is an entirely different beast altogether. It sees the five-piece filled with a newly heightened sense of urgency: driven by tropical rhythms and topped off with swirling guitar lines. It’s a tantalising glimpse at a forthcoming full-length due this summer.
First forming at Bath Uni in 2011, the past three years have seen the quintet have seen already seen their tribal-infused tropi-pop picked up by the likes of Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe, selling out their debut London show in the process.
Artist: Judge Jules
Release: Monte Carlo
Label: Vandit Records
Genre: Dance – Trance
Trance Legend Judge Jules releases ‘Monte Carlo’ on Paul van Dyk’s label ‘Vandit’. ‘Monte Carlo’ roars to life with echoing vocal harmonic loops, super-loud claps, toughened drums, stretched delayed FX and chords & padsladen highs. Quick drops, with just as fast kick-drum bring- backs, the track walks the cooler line between melodic bliss and uprocking euphoric.
