Category: BPreviews

Starting off 2014 in generous style, Birmingham’s long running House club Habit are back for a free party at The Bull’s Head (Moseley) tonight – Sat 18^th Jan.

Headlining will be Paul Thomas, the Birmingham DJ/Producer who cut his teeth at Godskitchen and Global Gathering.

Now a regular bill at events worldwide, including continued involvement with the international Global Gathering behemoth, Thomas is one of the city’s more prominent DJ success stories (and a thoroughly decent chap).

But recent years have seen Paul Thomas’ productions stand high on their own too, releasing through a barrage of reputable labels including SIZE, Doorn, Toolroom, Funk Farm & UltraViolet – Thomas’ own home grown imprint.

Hear more Paul Thomas here: https://soundcloud.com/djpaulthomas

Playing alongside Paul Thomas in the Habit main room (upstairs) will be Deano Ferrino. Part of the ferociously popular Magic Door club, Ferrino has been stacking up gigs across Birmingham & beyond, including The Garden Festival in Croatia.

Habit resident, Jack2Front, will also be DJing upstairs – with downstairs taken care of by Steve Thornton, Tiger Collective & Process.

Habit runs from 8pm to 2am at The Bull’s Head (Moseley) tonight – Sat 18^th Jan. Entry is free. For more event info, visit  http://bullsheadmoseley.co.uk/event-listings/event/?eventID=10029504

For more on Habit, visit http://habitclub.co.uk

For more on Paul Thomas, visit http://www.djpaulthomas.com

For more on Deano Ferrino, visit https://www.facebook.com/DeanoFerrino

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                                                                                          Ed’s note…

This is one party definitely worth a look. Paul Thomas rose up through some tough ranks to establish a well earned place in today’s EDM scene, alongside the likes of Funkagenda and Kim Fai – a local-boy-done-good if ever one deserved to be.

His progressive yet ‘big room’ sound has come into force; buildups, breaks, strong melodies and some proper hands in the air moments (or maybe that’s just me… it has been known to get a little ‘euphoric’ when I go out) I can see him dominating The Bull’s Head upstairs in a way you might not hear again for a while.

I think they’ll be a fair amount of home town love in the room too. And it’s FREE. Are you mad??? Get yourself to this event; no excuses.

Ed King is editor of Birmingham Review. Follow him @EdKing2210

Midlands music promoters, Manifest, return to the O2 Academy with another showcase of regional acts on Sat 11^th Jan.

Performing in Academy 3, headliners are Lipzkin – the eclectic three piece from Staffordshire, who combine acoustic melodies with beatboxing, rap and soulful vocals. Support comes from The Synth, Quarry and a Birmingham Review favourite, Call Me Unique.

Manifest Live present Lipskin + Call Me Unique, Quarry, The Synth, at the O2 Academy 3 on Sat 11^th Jan.

Tickets are £6.05 + booking fee. Doors open at 7:30pm

For more info & tickets, visit: http://www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk/event/62316/manifest-live-ft-lipzkin-tickets

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Lipzkin

A partnership between beatboxer Matty Mullaney, rapper/singer Arron Erskine, and singer/songwriter Arran Page, Lipzkin have delivered some unusual goods.

But with a backbone of varied talent, including strong vocals from both Erskine and Page, Lipzkin have a refreshing cross genre approach; with acoustic melodies taking equal prominence to rapped verse and beats.

Apparently formed after an accidental jam, when Mullaney and Erskine saw Page busking and decided to join in, http://youtu.be/4n3R4NDvTP4, Lipzkin have now been picked up by Molaman Records – the New York imprint know primarily for grass roots House productions. Lipzkin’s first release on Molaman, ‘Break What You Break’, was released this month, with an album scheduled for Feb ’14.

For more on Lipzkin’s releases through Molaman Records, visit http://molamanrecords.com/shop/

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Call Me Unique

And that she is… Call Me Unique is steadily cementing her place as one of Birmingham’s more refreshing artists.

Rising above the city’s rank and file with six strings, pertinent lyrics and softly strong vocals, Call Me Unique has been respectfully grafting away for some time now. No stranger to Birmingham’s (and beyond) live music circuit, Call Me Unique has earned her stripes with engaging central/solo performances – delivered with equal vigour from the back of a bus to the LG Arena.

Now sharing stages with some serious A-Listers, regularly touring abroad, receiving the odd award nomination and a having just released a very generous 7 track EP, 2014 is already looking bright for this Birmingham artist. One to watch, and watch, and watch again.

Birmingham Review last saw Call Me Unique at The Bull’s Head, supporting Keziasoul at Sam Redmore’s Freesytle promotion – click here.

For more on Call Me Unique, visit http://www.callmeunique.co.uk/

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Ed’s Note…

I can’t remember where I heard about Lipzkin, but it was this video that I saw: http://youtu.be/C_FKWSaXr6M

I spent the first 11 seconds being irritated by the wind against the microphone, and casually wondering why there were all standing in a field. Then Arron Erskine started singing, “…I pray to a God I don’t believe in”, and by the time Arran Page finds his vocals I’m searching Google for a tour date or album.  I haven’t seen Lipzkin live, but I’m guessing with busking, beat boxing and rap battles behind them this could be where they excel.

Call Me Unique has been firmly on my radar since I heard her perform, alongside Jenna Varndell, on Radio WM a few years ago. Having met her whilst working on Soweto Kinch’s 2010 Flyover Show, I’ve watched the ebbs and flows of her musical path for a while – finding it hard not to get garrulously excited about nearly everything she does. And whilst I can make references and comparisons, she is, truly, Unique. A rare gift to the city.

N.B. is with sincere disappointment that we couldn’t include Quarry and/or The Synth in this BPreview. Manifest weren’t answering their phones, and we couldn’t find anything online to research either acts. Not good, especially for a showcase.