It's been a while since I gave you guys some musical goodies free of charge to get involved with so here you go...





KINS - It feels like an age since I've heard a new Kins song. I actually wrote about their debut EP in my first ever FMF post here and now, after a spectacular album, here we are with the first track from their upcoming second EP Cyclical. Have a listen to the new single "Young" here and pre-order the EP on iTunes here. It comes out on the 6th of July.






EGO ELLA MAY - So the songstress has released another EP and of course, being the generous artist that she is, we also get to receive the Zero EP for free. Some neo-soulful, easy listening vibes to get your hands on before the hectic summer tunes season comes out in full force. Download the new EP for free here.








TAMARA RENEE - Speaking of neo-soul, we have another free EP to download, laden with neo-soul and touched with influences from jazz, hip hop and electronica. Ultra Violet is a very interesting and diverse listen, definitely check it out if you're feeling the Ego Ella May EP above. New discovery for me too so join me and download the EP for free here.






MAJOR LAZER & DJ SNAKE - I wrote about "Lean On (feat. MØ)" a while ago here and ‪Tiësto and MOTi have gone and given us a sweet, summer, clubbing remix of it to sink our teeth into. Here comes the season of EDM and indie pop. Get your fix of the prior with this awesome remix here.







RATBOYS - This band was a very pleasant surprise for me. I didn't realise how much I judged a band by their name until I heard this band. When I heard the name Ratboys I figured possibly a male punk rock group along the lines of Iceage. I was shocked to hear a female lead over a post-country beat. Awesome band, and probably my favourite discovery of the week. Have a listen to "Collected" here and download it for free.




Have a look at what free downloads I was listening to the last time I posted a FMF here... You might find something you like.

It happened again. So much has happened in the music world these past few days that I've had to split it into TWO POSTS. Well, I'm not complaining - more music for your ears. Here are the first bits of news...

RIHANNA NEW SINGLE "AS REAL AS YOU AND ME"
Rihanna has recently been talking about the release of her new album and how it will be "worth the wait" but she couldn't let us wait without giving us something to whet our appetites. This single won't actually be on her album but it appears on the soundtrack for new movie Home. Great ballad. Have a listen here.


BLUR NEW MUSIC VIDEO "THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US"
A second single from Blur's upcoming album The Magic Whip and now we can get more of a taste of what the overall album might sound like. However, this is quite a bit different from the first single that they put out here so I couldn't make any accurate predictions at this time. Currently, I'm not enjoying this single as much as their last but it's definitely not a bad song. Check it out here.


MALLORY KNOX NEW MUSIC VIDEO "GETAWAY"
I really, really liked this sophomore album from Mallory Knox and each of the singles that they've chosen to date from it have been great. However, I honestly thought that this would have been a single sooner - huge belter. Watch the cool new video here.


TAME IMPALA NEW SINGLE "LET IT HAPPEN"
I've loved each of Tame Impala's records before this upcoming one, but when I heard that this latest album would be a little bit more "rock-influenced", I was actually more interested. As such, I had no idea what to expect from the first single here. Still the classic psychedelic Tame but I see what they meant - this is a bit of a new leaf.


CURB NEW SINGLE "OUTSIDE"
Since seeing Curb at last year's One Beat Weekender here I didn't actually expect to hear much more from them any time soon if I'm honest but I'm glad that I did - this single here is great. I feel like they've had better songs but this is still a cool summer tune and it would be awesome live.


RAE SREMMURD NEW MUSIC VIDEO "THROW SUM MO"
I've been listening to this single since before the album - Sremm Life - even came out in February so I wasn't too fussed about having Rae Sremmurd put out a video for it or anything but just checked it out because I like the song so much. The video is cool, but I don't think that I'll make much of an effort to watch it again though. Have a watch here.


DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "LITTLE WANDERER" 
I'm excited to listen to this full record when it drops on the 31st of March. This music video is surprisingly pretty basic and uninteresting for DCFC in my opinion but the song is brilliant! Definitely a track I'll be listening to long after I've overplayed the record. However, again, I doubt I'd make an effort to re-watch the video here.


LIGHT YOU UP NEW MUSIC VIDEO "ALL WE'VE EVER KNOWN"
Another new album that boasts great instrumentals and vocals, if you haven't already - give Light You Up a listen. This is the lead single from it, so it's been out for quite a while but this music video actually made me like it a little bit more. So simple, but entertaining. Check it out here.


EGO ELLA MAY NEW SINGLE "HOW FAR"
Even though Ego Ella May has reassured us that she's working on putting out something big, there's only so many tantalising single releases that a fan can endure! I hope that this is the last before she releases her masterpiece. Have a listen to the tune here.


WHILE SHE SLEEPS NEW MUSIC VIDEO "OUR LEGACY"
The full album is actually streaming now over at wssofficial.com but this is the latest single from WSS's incredible (8/10) album. I whole-heartedly suggest checking out both. The lads are sounding better than ever! This is right now one of my favourite albums out this year. Check out the music video here.


ALBUMS ALBUMS ALBUMS
Speaking of albums, a lot of awesome records have dropped in the past few days. Of course the first mention has to go to Kendrick's masterpiece - To Pimp A Butterfly - pure gold. As well as that, Tinashe has also released a new mixtape Amethyst. Finally, Earl Sweatshirt, Tonight Alive and Bloc Party have all announced new albums on the horizon. Stoked.


FOREVER CULT NEW SINGLE "WINTER'S GLOW"
Clue Records keep spoiling us. Between Allusondrugs, NARCS and of course Forever Cult I'm smiling at least once a week at something awesome they've done. Now this song here has me smiling again AND it'll be available for free download on the 30th of March... like I said - spoilt.


MUSE NEW SINGLE "PSYCHO"
In time for their killer tour that they're embarking on with Marmozets in tow, comes this gem of a Muse single. Definitely a band that I would love to see before I kick the bucket and with singles like this on their back I can vouch that when I do see them, it'll definitely be one to remember.

After my recent interview with Little Dragon's bassist Fred here, I was really looking forward to this show. I was intrigued to see what they would bring to the table. They're so versatile and skilled that they could have taken it in literally any direction they wanted. All I knew was that it was going to be great...

Their support act Nao (pronounced Nay-Oh) stepped on stage with this fiery energy, I was just blown away from the start. She reminded me a little of a slightly sassier Ego Ella May. But oh my goodness what a performance! I'd go and watch a whole headline show with just her to be honest. Because her songs were so feisty and powerful, I was shocked when she started speaking and her voice was so soft spoken and sweet. Either way, her songs were awesome, particularly lyrically and she is a performer! I felt like she really had an alter ego stage presence when she was performing. I look forward to hearing more from her very soon. Get your hands on her EP So Good here - you will not regret it.

Then, Little Dragon. I just have to start by saying that their setlist was absolutely perfect. Beginning to end it just flowed so beautifully. Yukimi is a fireball! Girl can dance! Her voice actually might have sounded even better live than on record. Also, she is one of the only (if not the only) artists I've seen that can and will hit every note that she does on record, live. Even Beyoncé, will sometimes switch up a tough note on the record for a slightly more 'comfortable to hit' note live. So the fact that Yukimi was hitting all these tough notes was not a small thing. There were notes that I was literally waiting for her to alter or maybe give to the crowd to sing but she never did. Brilliant. As a band, they play so comfortably together. There were a few points where it just seemed like they forgot that the crowd was even there, they were just doing their own thing. Everything and everyone just seemed to click. Cohesive. Their talent was enhanced by the fact that they made things seem so effortless. As much as I hate focusing solely on the lead singer, Yukimi genuinely took the whole show to the next level. She found a way to harness everyone's awesomeness and present it to the audience in a neat package. Brava! One of the best musical performances I've seen all year, hands down. Little Dragon are a blessing to watch.

Ending their set with "Twice" made my night. That song is genius. Some stand out tracks were "Shuffle A Dream", "Underbart", "Please Turn" and of course "Klapp Klapp" but if I'm honest, everything was fantastic. I'd happily go and see them 3, 4 or 10 more times.

Overall Rating - 9/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

A few days ago (01/08/14) I went to The Elgin pub in Notting Hill to see Retrospective For Love support Ego Ella May at a free gig. I had never heard of Ego Ella May before this gig but after seeing her live, I'll do my best to make sure that everyone else knows who she is.

First on the stage was the act that I actually came to see - Retrospective For Love. It's definitely tough being a support act in a place like The Elgin especially doing an acoustic set, because being a pub, most people came there to eat and chat and so the noise and chatter was often drowning out the music. So much so, that at times when the music would get louder, so would the voices. However, despite the noise, the performance was really, really good. Performing tracks from their brilliant self-titled debut EP and also an extremely nice cover of Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc.". They finished up by bringing on a friend - Otty - featuring on a new track of theirs, "Water And Dust". This seemed to really catch the crowd's attention; the noise dampening and heads turning towards the stage. Great end to a great opening set.

Ego Ella May stepped on stage, band in tow, the crowd quiet and expectant for what the headliner was about to do. There were also a few known artists in the crowd, Kemi Ade and Denai Moore amongst them - Ego Ella May was going to have to make an impression. She did. What made it even better was that she did the first song solo - just her and her guitar. However, the addition of her band for the rest of the set took it into overdrive. Singing songs from her two EPs - The Tree and Breathing Underwater and including some beautiful covers of Common's "Come Close" and Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman". Although the room was obscenely hot and packed she had the crowd bopping, clicking, clapping and singing along the entire time. It's a nice change to watch an actual artist instead of another musician. Awesome set.

Best way to start off any month in my opinion. This woman will do great things in the near future - keep an eye out.

Overall Rating - 7.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night...