City Shuffle is the second EP by Warren Brown, better known as Wbeeza, to proudly declare “THIS IS THE HOUSE SOUND OF LONDON” on its sleeve. Oh, that it were true. London’s clubs are currently soundtracked by Phonica-approved, nutrient-deprived, pseudo-deep house, but anyhow, let’s leave the negativity (or truthspeak) to Dope Jams, and accentuate the positive. This is the third EP for Third Ear by the young, Bermondsey, South London resident, and shows his sound maturing from the rough style of the New Skank or Heavy Stuff EPs. “Maturing” in music critic language usually translates to some variant on “dull,” “bland” or “smoother,” but while Wbeeza’s new stuff is certainly more polished, there’s enough bite here to avoid it being lumped in with the aforementioned dross.
wbeeza
LWE 2Q Reports: Top 5 Breakout Acts
July 8, 2009 – 11:06 AM
One of the great joys of going to your local record shop (or, er, scrolling through menus of WhatPeoplePlay) is the anticipation, nay, expectation of discovering something or someone you had never hear of before. As Innervisions boss Dixon says of their bright young hope, Culoe de Song, “Sometimes tracks appear from somewhere you would never expect.” So far, 2009 has been no different, with a host of fresh and (more often than not) astonishingly young talent breaking through. Narrowing it down was a tough job, but here are five artists that have sent our radar haywire in the last six months.