By Geoffrey Rowlands
 

A childhood interest in listening to east London pirate radio stations and some sage advice from his mum set English rapper Devlin on the road to stardom.
His love of rap stemmed from hearing tracks by grime artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder and Wiley on pirate radio. But after finding his own way on London’s underground rap scene, it was a suggestion from Devlin’s mother which saw him secure a major label recording contract.
“Every track I made seemed to be dark and intense. I rapped about the kind of things I saw around me, exactly like the grime MCs I listened to when I was a kid. The lyrics in their songs were relevant to me so I felt my lyrics should be equally representative of what was happening to other local people of my age and background.
“The problem was that my stuff was just too serious. I didn’t have lighter songs to change the mood and provide a contrast to place greater emphasis on my dark material. I didn’t realise this but my mother did. She said I should make a happy song. My first attempt with London City was really the track which got me my record deal.”
Devlin, who never uses his given name of James, was not always a solo rapper. His introduction to the business was in 2004 when, aged just 15, he joined the Dagenham grime collective Outakers.
“I did my own stuff and worked with Outakers. We put out some mixtapes which were well received. I also got noticed as an individual and released my own mixtape, Tales from the Crypt, which drew some positive attention. My online following grew and a lot more people came to my gigs.”
He joined a crew of other London MCs such as Ghetts, Scorcher and Wretch 32 in The Movement.
“We released a mixtape called Tempo Specialists. The Movement was never intended to be a permanent thing. We were all solo artists who knew each other and could work happily together. But our individual careers would always take precedence.”
More mixtapes and a deal with independent label 360 Records saw Devlin’s profile raised dramatically by three hugely successful videos. London City remained atop the Channel AKA play chart for 10 successive weeks. Bosses at Island Records were suitably impressed.
“The day I signed with Island was probably the most significant of my life. I was enjoying the rooftop view from their office building in west London and suddenly realised my career was getting pretty serious.”
His debut album, Bud, Sweat and Beers, reached second spot on the UK R&B chart and No. 21 on the mainstream listing. It spawned three hit singles with Runaway peaking at No. 15.
“I had a great time promoting the album. Seeing new places on tours, performing, making videos, it was fabulous. But the time came when all this ended and I had to create the songs for my newly released second album, A Moving Picture.
“It was fine when I finally found the inspiration to write but I was at a pretty low ebb for quite a while. The friends I rapped with as a teenager had moved on to other things. I didn’t get the buzz from being with them and felt like I was alone. I ended up channelling a lot of my loneliness, frustration and anger into the new songs.”
Lead single, Watchtower, gave Devlin his first mainstream top ten hit. The follow-up, Off With Their Heads, was not so successful but he is now back in the UK Top 10 with Rewind.
“I’ve borrowed the chorus from another song called Rewind by Diane Birch. She has re-recorded the words to fit the tempo of my song so it’s a true partnership.”
The heartfelt lyrics reveal Devlin at his best.
“I’m very critical of my work and can no longer listen to some of my old stuff. But I’m very proud of Rewind, I think the lyrics will strike a chord with almost everyone.”


IN BRIEF

How To Destroy Angels debut
 
A March 5 release date has been set for Welcome Oblivion, the eagerly awaited debut album from How To Destroy Angels.
The video for lead single, How Long? can now be seen on YouTube. Videos for three more tracks, Ice Age, Keep It Together and The Loop Closes, have also been made. Links to these are all available from the How Long? video webpage. They can also be found by clicking on ‘video’ at howtodestroyangels.com.
The band’s first live performance will be at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California, on April 12. An extensive tour should follow later this year.
 
Rhye man mistaken for girl
 
Seeking anonymity is not always the wisest move. At least, not when you are a guy whose singing voice is mistaken for that of a girl. This is what happened to Mike Milosh, one half of Canadian/Danish soul duo Rhye.
Singer/producer Mike and multi-instrumentalist/producer Robin Hannibal teamed up in 2010. Their brand of sultry soul attracted critical acclaim and distinct interest in the unknown Sade-like vocalist who was universally assumed to be female.
Many critics were left with egg on their faces when Mike and Robin eventually decided to reveal their identity as Rhye. Unless a girl is among their touring musicians, no female will be on stage when Rhye hit the road in March to promote their debut album, Woman.
As might be expected, Mike and Robin do not appear in Rhye’s videos. The promo for their new single, Open, can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng_CdAAw8M. A link to their video for The Fall is also on this webpage.
 
The Removalists release tracks
 
Australian lo-fi indie quartet The Removalists recently released their latest four-track offering, Semi-Professional EP.
Each song can be heard and downloaded for free at (no www.) theremovalists.bandcamp.com. Links to the band’s other five releases are also posted on this webpage. All can be heard and downloaded for free apart from Cat Scan, a joint album with fellow Melbourne natives Turvey Park. Of The Removalists’ songs on the album, only Weasel is not freely available elsewhere.
 
Third album from
My Bloody Valentine
 
Irish alternative rock quartet My Bloody Valentine have just issued their third album, m b v. It is their first album of new material since Loveless was released on November 4, 1991, although a two-disc album of EP tracks recorded between 1988 and 1991 was issued last May.
The new record can only be purchased from mybloodyvalentine.org/. So eagerly was it anticipated that fans crashed the website almost as soon as m v b became available. One disgruntled American fan even petitioned the White House expecting President Obama to make the website work again.
For those who may be wondering what all the fuss is about, the band have posted the entire album on YouTube. All nine songs can be heard at www.youtube.com/user/theofficialmvb.
Unfortunately, the track listing is completely reversed. If you would like to hear the songs as they appear on m v b, work your way up from the foot of the webpage by listening first to She Found Now.