29/4/08 - Spotlight: Mark Mathews

Bonjourno and welcome to The RedFan Spotlight! This is basically a little article that I'm going to put up every now and then on an independent artist who really catches my ear. So without further a do, let's commence The Spotlight!

So today it's all about Mark Mathews, an ex-porn industry worker who decided to pick up a guitar and write some darn good pop songs which is a great improvement over any of the "bom-chicka-wah-wah" music you'd find in his average film.

He's done a whole load of great stuff musically, such as playing on the same bill as Babyshambles, Luke Toms and Frank Turner, being nominated for an Indy Music Award and came second in XND Radio's 'Artist of the Year' competition.

This is all great stuff and as soon as you listen to his songs you can see why he's done so well for himself. 'It All Goes Out The Window' is an amazing, fluid acoustic anthem which is just so emotive and such an easy listen that you could just listen to it all day. 'London Lives' is a bright and jiggy song for the Summer which I know will be as integral to one of my garden parties as Pimms and lemonade.

If you need to contact Mark then all you need do is drop him an email at markmathews81@yahoo.co.uk

So that was the first Spotlight and I enjoyed it, how was it for you? Here are three tracks which are rocking my jukebox this week. I suggest you buy them post-haste:

Organ Donor - DJ Shadow

Trash - The Whip

L.E.S Artistes - Santogold

3/4/08 - The Blip, RedFan Design and Kitsuné Maison

Hello again. Thanks for stopping by. There are three very cool things I have to talk about today (the clues are in the title).

Number 1 is The Blip. If you've listened to The GoShows then you may already know that the intro music is actually an excerpt from The Blip's tune, 'Church Of Bongos'. The reason why The Blip is being mentioned this week in particular is that he now has a website (BlipMusicOnline.co.uk) where you can go and find out all about him, listen to his tunes and even have a gander at his blog. If you have a look at the site you might think to yourself "Wow, what an amazing site! I wonder who made it.".Well I'll tell you where he got it...

Number 2 is RedFan Design. That's right, RedFan has now spread into Web Design. Check out the site at RedFanDesign.co.uk and see what we have to offer. Make sure you check out the small but impressive portfolio and if you need any additional info then feel free to drop me an email at fred@redfandesign.co.uk and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Number 3 is Kitsuné Maison. If you're into electronic music, these are the people to check out. They release a huge amount of music from cutting edge artists and this means they provide some of the best electronica out there right now. To learn more about these wonderful people, go to Kitsune.fr.

So there are three fun things go and have a look at on the internet this week so make sure you do. That's your lot for now, peace out y'all!

22/3/08 - Red:Line:Ratio - Out And About

Red:Line:Ratio (of RedFan Records fame) have commenced gigging for 2008 and have already been out and about around the Midlands. Here's one to put in your diary:

2nd May 2008, 8pm


Katie Fitzgeralds, Wollaston, Nr Stourbridge, Midlands
 

It promises to be a good 'un so if you haven't seen them live yet, then it's definitely one to be making your way to. If you have no clue who the band are or even what they sound like then have a listen to their music on the iTunes store by clicking here.

3/3/08 - A Few Choice Bits

I use this space of the website to let you know what's really very cool in music at the moment. Today I felt that I had to let everyone know about Van She (pictured on the right). There are really two great things about this gang:

1 - Their remix of the already cracking song '1234' by Feist. If you're into remixes then this is one you just have to check out.

2 - Something Good '08 (originally by the Utah Saints) which is hitting online download stores on March 10th and retail shops on March 17th. I'm so keen on this track that I had the release date marked on my calendar last month. The video is already on YouTube and I've posted it below.

They are also an electro techno band (so they're not just amazing remix artists) and so I recommend a search for them on iTunes or whichever download store you're particulary fond of.

You can check out all of their stuff at www.vanshe.com. Enjoy the video, it's an instant classic!