INTRODUCING: VALENTINA

Introducing Valentina, a young London singer of Italian and English heritage with a voice so endearing and captivating it makes a 5 minute track seem like 5 seconds.

Now chances are you have heard this voice before, in fact I reckon I could make a pretty safe bet that you have actually danced to her voice at some point in the last 2 years. She is the girl that provides the stunning vocals to Joe Goddard's near perfect, dance floor smashing monster Gabrielle. She has also lent her vocals to Two Door Cinema Club on their latest album Beacon on the track The World Is Watching.

Wolves is her first official outing by herself. A beautiful, blissful song in which Valentina's voice seems to climb through layers of down-tempo production which soothes and excites at the same time. The production is taken care of by the highly respected and critically acclaimed Kwes and the two are said to be working together on future releases. I get a feeling we'll be hearing much more of Valentina in the years to come.

A MUCH WELCOMED RETURN: YYYs - SACRILEGE

And they're back! It's been 4 whole years since the colourful Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their last album, the incredible It's Blitz! and since January's announcement of the new album Mosquito there has been an exciting anticipation with as to which direction the 4th record is going to go.

Up until this week the only insight to the Mosquito has been a release date and a rather bizzare album cover. The image resembles something from a graphic novel nightmare. A twisted version Nirvana's Nevermind album art. It does however fit in to the eccentric style the YYYs have been delivering since 2000. But on Monday, on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, the YYYs premiered Sacrilege.

Anyone who has listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs before will feel immediately comfortable with Karen O's distinguished mix of seductive vocals and soft shrieks that work terrifically with Nick Zimmer's flawless guitar work. The whole song seems to build up and up until it explodes with a huge gospel choir finish, which, while surprising at first, adds a new element to the track and showcases the YYYs in a different style altogether.

So good to have these guys back and sounding so good! All the anticipation look towards the 15th of April, when Mosquito drops.

    

ALUNAGEORGE - ATTRACTING FLIES

The AlunaGeorge train cannot be stopped right now. 

Fresh from a recent number 2 appearance on the UK charts with the stomping Disclosure track White Noise to go with their number 2 position in the BBC's Sound of 2013 the house/R&B/pop duo add another pulsating single to their catalogue of catchy bass-led releases.

 

With Attracting Flies, AlunaGeorge seemed to have upped the tempo to a level which almost forces you to dance or tap a foot at the very least. If the combination Aluna's vocals and George's crisp production can continue receiving the exposure it deserves then it will surely be a hell of a year for the young duo.

Attracting Flies is released on March 10th with their debut album Body Music set for July 1st. I can already sense a summer anthem is on its way.