Turn on the selector

It is worth starting from the very beginning. What is The Selector ? This is Radishw, launched by the British Council almost 20 years ago, in 2001, in order to popularize new music from the United Kingdom. Now more than 40 million people in the world are listening to him. The Selector is focused on young artists and underground trends-you will not hear the new hit of Ed Shiran in this show, spreading around the light with supersonic speed, but you can get acquainted with the new heroes of the rock underground from Manchester or the rising star of the London Grains. The creators of the radio show do not know genre restrictions: in the program there are pop, folk, rock, soul, jazz, hip-hop, gram, IDM , techno, house, dubstep and everything that occurs at the junction of these and other musical stylistics. No wonder The Guardian wrote that The Selector program policy is bolder than all the British radio stations combined. However, there is one very important unifying principle: the music that sounds on the waves of The Selector carries a pronounced British gene. She is even more British than a pinta of ale and a piece of shepherd cake.

A few years ago, I led a regular blog in which I commented on The Selector issues every week - I talked about the most groups and their tracks I liked. It was a dream work because I really love music with a British genome. In the Year of Music of Great Britain and Russia 2019, I decided to return to this activity - and every week to talk about new artists from the British islands, whom I opened using the new issue of The Selector . Over time, I hope these notes will develop into a small encyclopedia of modern music from Great Britain.

So, let's start-we turn on the 928th (!) Release of the radioshow The Selector , released at the end of last week:

As already mentioned, The Selector is mostly devoted to the music of artists who are still looking for their audience, so the creators of the radio show could not ignore The Great Escape , the largest talent fair in the UK. (About what this festival is, how it is arranged and what Russian groups did on it, read more in this article .)

Like many professionals of the British market, the production team of The Selector went to The Great Escape to look for future stars, and this issue of the show is compiled and recorded right in the beach brayton - there are live records of festival performances of selected newcomers. Simply speaking, this is a fresh from fresh people.

One of these beginners is JNR Williams , a singer and author of the songs from Hakni, who recently released the debut mini-album “ Whee We Start ” . He can safely prophesy a great future, and the point is not that his debut supports Sony Music's record-giant. He has the main thing-a voice that is cutting into memory, which is distinguished by a suede timbre and smoothly pouring vibrato, like classic Soul-singers. In the songs with “ Were We Start ” , his voice is not even immediately revealed, but in the concert entry with The Great Escape , where JNR Williams concentratively and confidently performs the ballad “ What A Difference ” , immortalized by the great Dina Washington , he doesn’t bother him. So far, JNR Williams does not even have thousands of fans on Facebook; Let's see how many of them will be in a year.

So that you do not suspect the producers of The Selector (and me) in conspiracy with a large record-business record, here is an example of an absolutely independent artist, whom the radio show supports all this time systematically. The saxophonist, singer and producer Laura Misch ( Laura Misch ) in May independently recorded and released the Lonely City album and first came to speak at The Great Escape .

Laura Micha makes music, which puts in the easy confusion of journalists: it is not clear which regiment to place it on - because the genre of “midnight music” (thank God) was not invented. Melancholy melodies and a insinuating electronic bit are connected to fragile vocals or meditative saxophone loops, projecting the mood when you want to stare into the darkness thickening behind the glass and think about your own.

Nevertheless, Britain is primarily associated with rock. And despite the fact that in the year of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, talking about fatigue and even death of the genre does not subside, in every issue of The Selector you can hear several excellent young teams, which continue with dignity and some brilliance continue the glorious tradition of British rock. By the way, in the sense of the continuity of Squid is an atypical and uncharacteristic example.

On their explosive and witty postpank, American groups - Devo and Talking Heads had a greater influence than compatriots. Squid from Brighton, and therefore they could not pass The Great Escape : this year they performed on it for the second time - and in the rank of not newcomers, but groups in which tour was tightly painted until the end of summer.

Squid - "The Dial"

And finally-the new heroes of the rock underground from Manchester promised at the beginning of this column. Working Men 'S Club also play a postpank, but, unlike Squid , this is a trio of 20-year-olds holy British canon.

Listen to their debut single “ Bad Blood ” , which is already spinning on the BBC broadcast: it will remind you of many island classics - primarily the Mancherters The Smiths , New Order and a little Mark Edward Smith . But at the same time, Working Men 'S Club updates the paternal postpank-traction of refreshing youth energy and fervor, which cannot be faked.

If Working Men ' S. Club appeared in the 1980s, they would certainly be published on the Factory Manchester label. Records . So, whoever says what, and rock is alive. At least in the UK.

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