Rustie: Slasherr

The Scottish basshead one returns with a double A side. This is the visuals for the party hearty Slasherr (watch out for the tempo twist about a third of the way through. Ouch!) with Triadzz on the way.

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G-Shock Sessions: Friday 8 March

Join us this Friday at the G-Shock store on Dray Walk for an almighty line-up to end all line-up's.

Entrance is free but you might want to arrive early if you want to see people perform as it can get pretty packed at the Sessions. And rightly so!

This Friday, everyone from Scrufizzer to Mic Righteous, Kozzie, Dru Blu, McClean and Micall Parkinson will be taking to the temporary stage, plus Swerve and Marco Del Horno will be taking care of the 1's and 2's.

The night will also be a celebration of the super-hot collab with Medicom Toy, The super-cute collab comes with multi-coloured star patterns in primary colours all over the strap, and a custom clear plastic container shaped as Be@rbrick head.

You need to be incredibly quick to cop one of these very limited watches. Again, get down to G-Shock East early on Friday to be in with a chance....

Time For: Amplify Dot

Like the proverbial bus, you wait ages for one to come along....

But it is true. After the era of Eve, Kim, Trina and Missy, there was a dearth of female rap. And if it was bad in the US, it was even worse in this country. Post Ms. Dynamite and Lady Sov, we had to make do with the fantastic but commercially challenged No Lay, Lady Fury and Shystie. Great female rappers they may have been, but no one was tying to sign chicks that spit back then.

Following the breakthrough of the almighty Minaj though, not only do we have Brooke Candy, Katie Got Bandz, Azealia and Angel repping for the new wave of US rhymers, but over here Lady Leshurr, Paigey Cakey, RoxXxann, Ms. Bratt, Baby Blue and Lioness are at the forefront of British rhyme.

Having worked with Kano and Ms. Dynamite and having recently signed to Virgin/ EMI, we caught up with Ashley Charles to talk Peter Andre, wearing dresses and shocking her Granny.

How did you finally get that EMI/ Virgin deal? You've been independent for a long time, right?

I’ve been doing my independent grind for quite a while and then I did an EP last year called Short, Back & Sides and it shows the power of supporters cos they got it into the Top 20 Hip Hop on iTunes. For someone at the time who had 9000 Twitter followers, it felt very early to be able to do something significant through people supporting it. The guy who’s now my A&R heard the EP. He was randomly in Sweden and it was on a Swedish website. He contacted me saying he was in Sweden and that he wanted to hear some more of my stuff. I’ve been into labels before, and it’s always ‘Yeah you’re good but go and build up your underground, core fanbase and develop yourself a bit more’ so I didn’t really think anything of it. I had no expectations. And three weeks later, I signed a record deal.

Who do you count as influential figures when you're in the studio?

My influences include Timbaland in terms of sound, also Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Salt N Pepa, TLC…

Who would be your dream collab?

If I could work with anybody in the world it would be Kanye West. He’s just that guy.

After a host of mixtapes, what can we expect from your album?

The album for me is a body of work and I want to have that kind of synergy. I don’t think any studio session is time wasted, even if it’s not a song that makes it because you’ve developed new ideas or you’ve taken your brain somewhere. Every thing I’ve done so far, because we’re quite far along, feels like I've gone somewhere. A mixtape doesn’t need to have that coherence. It’s a collection of songs that you hope people will enjoy. Your debut album needs to be a story almost. It needs to feel like you’ve gone somewhere from beginning to end so only certain songs that are going to fit into that sequence. So far I've worked with Ishi, Fraser, Chris Loco, Show N Prove, who’s killing it. It’s a real broad spectrum. I'm also working with people I was working with before I signed. I was glad that the label were like ‘We liked what you did before we’re not going to pluck you away and make you work with strangers’. So far it’s been an amazing experience.

How do you describe your style?

Tomboy chick. Trademarked! I don’t think I’ve worn a dress since my First Holy Communion. I was asked to be a bridesmaid recenly. I still haven’t given my answer to that request. You can’t rock down the aisle with a trackie on, can you? I guess if someone put a gun to my head, I wouldn’t die. I’d just be #awks in a dress.

Who's the most randomly famous person in your phone?

Peter Andre. That's random. Do you know why? I was out, and he was out, and he came up and said ‘Mate, I really like your hair, can you text me your hairdressers details’. I don’t think I ever texted him. I was so in awe, the excitement was too much. How do you phrase that text? Do you put a kiss on the end? Two?

What's the toughest part of your job?

Probably separating friendship with business and knowing just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean you’re the best person for the job. It’s tough but it’s better to do those things and keep your friendship.

What's the most shocking thing you've seen or done on tour?

What happens on tour, stays on tour. I’ve seen some things that would make my Granny cry!

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Time For: Jacob Banks

We're a little bit obsessed with Jacob Banks and his brilliant voice. Check out i-D's amazing footage, above, of Jacob, singing in the streets of South London.

After picking up the guitar just over a year ago, the Birmingham musician has become the hottest name in UK R&B.

His plaintive songwriting and understated vocal is really quite extraordinary. As part of 'Renowned' with Wretch and George The Poet, we think Mr Banks has a brilliant career in front of him.

We had a chat with him recently. Here's what he had to say.

Why did you only pick up the guitar a year ago?

Well, I do music because it makes me happy, not because I like to sing. I love singing, but I love being happy more. Music makes me happy now. If writing a book makes me happy, I’ll do that. I’ve been searching for happiness for a long time, so I’m living my dream every day knowing I’m happy. Being able to go studio or do a show means a whole lot to me.

In what way?

Cos I’ve always being doing what was expected of me, as opposed to doing what I thought was good for me. So it took me 20 years to do it. I started doing music a year ago and it’s been amazing. It all happened quick. This time last year I was deciding to take music seriously and now I’m here, so it’s a drastic change for me. It’s almost been word of mouth: ‘Oh you should check Jacob out’, and then emails from managers came in. I chose a manager and it all happened.

Who are you main influences?

Westlife (laughs). No one ever agrees with me, but I don't care. Tonight, Queen Of My Heart. Unbreakable, Coast To Coast... The first time I ever heard music was the Westlife album. (laughs). So, Weestlife, John Mayer, Justin Nozuka, Anita Baker, Al Green, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Pharcyde, Rev Run, KRS-1, Fela Kuti. When you hear my music, you can tell there’s all sorts of different genres and input into my music.

Comparisons are...

Fine. I don’t think I’m like everybody. I know everybody says that, but my EP is out now so you can judge for yourself. I think what I’ve done is I’ve taken what soul music is supposed to be, but I can sing it over a dubstep beat. I’m making soul music relevant to now. Being compared to Michael Kinuwaku, I can understand that, I can see that, but I think I’m different in the sense that it’s old-skool but I’m new-skool. I’m finding new ways to tell old stories.

What are your hopes for this year?

Musically, I want to the person that pops straight into your mind if someone says ’What’s soul music like in the UK?’ I want to show people that it can be done. In life, I want to remain happy. Being happy is cool. Being able to keep it and not allowing people to take it away is key. I want to protect my happiness.

What's the toughest part of your job?

Taking pictures. I hate pictures so much. I have to come to terms with the way people’s perceptions of me change. I’m still me but people that listen to my music see me as some guy that they look up to. It’s weird. I’m only 10% of where I want to be. It’s weird. I have a lot to live up to. I can’t let them down, these people. It’s been funny and a blessing.

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AlunaGeorge: Attracting Flies

We love this duo as much as we love their mates, duo Disclosure. 2013. It's all about a duo.

This track is out in March with remixes from man like Bauur, with the album FINALLY dropping in July.

If You Love Me (Remix)

Remixing a cover? Well, who'd a thought.

Taking the exquisite BenZel and Jessie Ware's Brownstone cover, the noisy Xaphoon Jones and Gravy Goods add in a little dancefloor magic.

We're totally obsessed by the reclusive BenZel boys. We'd like to know more.

Keep and eye on them here.

Need You (100%): Skream Remix

Taking a brilliant tune and making it a bit more brilliant in a different way, Croydon's finest disco's up Duke DuMont and A*M*E's Need You (100%).

Can't wait to hear Skream's forthcoming disco album, if this is anything to go by.