xxyyzz transmission episode 5 (may 2017)

Back once again, the May edition of xxyyzz transmission is ready for your ears, presented by Glen Byford with a hand-picked selection of the best new and recent music around

To help keep up with all the artists featured in xxyyzz transmission episode 5, a full track listing features below, including relevant links to music streaming sites or social media accounts where possible.

1. Gorillaz feat. Jehnny Beth - We Got The Power
2. Soul Link feat. Stephanie Smart - Steer Me
3. !!! - The One 2
4. Costa - Pagheranno ( Anche i Click)
5. Flo - Mirrors
6. Pigeon Pit - Peach
7. Chest of Drawers - Ode To My Cool Disorder
10. Ryan Adams - This Is It
11. Pulp - Sunrise
12. Ceremony For Luna - Televisions
13. Nate - More Me
14. Teje - I Never
15.  Feist feat. Jarvis Cocker - Century

Flo - Spiritual, single review

Musical reinvention is certainly nothing new within the industry.

However having the opportunity to see homegrown musicians change and shape their own destinies over the years brings out a pride in me that I cherish, and so it goes with Flo...

My first encounters of Flo was when she was fronting an indie-synth-pop band in the midst of the heady MySpace era (two mentions of MySpace in a week? I must be feeling nostalgic...), and even dedicated column inches to her when she became 'just another' bedroom musician, but more than just changing her sound over the intervening years, Flo is now releasing her own take on laid-back neo-soul music that carries a sobering sense of maturity.

This first release from True Unity Records follows the path laid out with her hip-hop inspired 2014 Mixtape, the 90’s evoking boom-bap beat is the musical playground for the gentle reflection delivered through the lyrics, lyrics that speak loud and clear of self-worth, trust and growth, the quiet-storm of Flo's vocals drift dreamily across the track and weaves itself wistfully with a tasteful Minnie Riperton sample.

And Flo's involvement with True Unity Records marks them out as a new label to watch, as hot on the heels of the solo single comes this collaborative track with Dotz and Max Runham, fixing to raise funds and awareness for the plight of homelessness in the UK.

Out now via True Unity Records

Live review: Mike Joyce presents... featuring Flo and Emily Capell @ Proud Camden

It is a strange crowd that Camden attracts these days.

In fact, the strangest thing about this crowd is that they don't seem so strange at all... the musical tribes that were once disparate now mingle, and the spotting of Indie Cindys that were commonplace are now much rarer due to the migration of Leicester Square partygoers.

Much like these observations on the streets, the line-up at Proud for it's Friday night blow-out is just as diverse. I first stick my head into the main room to catch something loud, grungy and uninspiring and instead choose to resume people watching below the warmth of the outdoor heaters on the terrace bar where lads and ladies neck beers, tourists order pizza and the entertainment is provided by an acoustic performer running through Ed Sheeran's back catalogue.

An hour or so later I head back inside as one of the few bands influenced by Jet's antipodean retro-rock wind up their set and Emily Capell picks up the baton with a bluesy spin on rockabilly which mixes up Amy Winehouse with Paloma Faith, delivering truth inflected foot-tappers that finally gets the room into full swing.

As the live selections draw to a close, Flo steps up to the stage, a UK hip-hop and soul songstress that leans on laid back beats with echoes of Erykah Badu, she traverses the stage with grace as her vocals lift and fill the room, between just herself and a turntablist she easily holds her own with an onstage personality that flits from humbled and shy to sultry and completely in control at the drop of a beat.

And with the live acts clear of the stage at not far off midnight the beats do drop, with 90s hip-hop classics amassing great reactions on the dancefloor I cut the rug for a while before filing out into the night to beat the streets of Camden's cultural melting pot once again.