Katy B has been a fixture on our radar for a while. With her singles ‘Katy On A Mission’, ‘Lights On’ and ‘Broken Record’ all featuring in the high end of our UK New Music Chart, her debut album has become one of the most anticipated debuts of the year. Growing up as a musically obsessed teenager in Peckham, South London; Katy honed her talent at the highly influential BRIT School - former students of which include Adele and Amy Winehouse.
After her early tracks found their way onto the playlist of the influential Rinse FM, the pirate radio hub that gave Dizzee Rascal his break, they quickly caught the attention of the station’s founder Geeneus. He wasn’t the only one who was taken aback by Katy’s powerful vocals; the singer quickly amassed a list of collaborators from Ms. Dynamite, Zinc and Magnetic Man; on ‘Perfect Stranger’ and ‘Crossover’.
We grabbed a few minutes with Katy to find out more about the making of her debut album, what she has in store for upcoming live shows and what new artists have been pushing her buttons. Read more…
Katy B appeared seemingly out of nowhere toward the end of 2010, crashing the UK charts with her dubstep/pop crossover track ‘Katy On A Mission’. Backed by the not inconsiderable talent of dubstep ‘supergroup’ Magnetic Man she forged a contemporary sound with its roots in the 90′s club scene; a winning combination confirmed by her next outing on Magnetic Man’s ‘Perfect Stranger’ which also made the top twenty. ‘Lights On’ is her second solo single and sees the newcomer teaming up with an artist who has been around for some time, Ms. Dynamite. Things had been quiet for Ms. Dynamite since she won the Mercury Music Prize in 2002 so it’s good to see her back in firing form, spitting out lyrics like she’d never been away. Taking its cues from classic house tunes such as Inner City’s ‘Good Life’, ‘Lights On’ is a very tidy bass heavy dancefloor mover that confirms Katy B as a talent to be taken seriously.
After three weeks at number one in the Shazam Pre-release chart it looks like Katy B’s ‘Lights Out’ is going to be a big one. It will have a hard time fighting off Simon Cowell’s X Factor behemoth to the Christmas number one; but if it did ‘Lights Out’ would probably the most credible track to ever take the festive top spot.
TW
Artist
Title
Label
1
Katy B Feat. Ms Dynamite
Lights On
Rinse
2
Nero
Me And You
MTA
3
Willow Feat. Nicki Minaj
Whip My Hair
Roc Nation
4
Michael Jackson Feat. Akon
Hold My Hand
Epic
5
The Wanted
Lose My Mind
Geffen
6
Plan B
Love Goes Down
679
7
Mark Ronson & The Business INTL Feat. Boy George & Andrew Wyatt
Katy B’s ‘On A Mission’ is the latest in a recent glut of songs to put a pop twist on the bass driven grunt of dubstep. Produced by Benga, who is currently enjoying huge success as part of the pop/dubstep super group Magnetic Man, ‘On A Mission’ blends a sweet sing-a-long R&B topline with a guttural synthesiser and steppy beats. It’s a combination that’s seen the song gain plenty of plays from daytime radio and helped the track rise to number 2 in the Shazam Pre-release Tag Chart UK.
Benga’s recent flirtations with more commercial sounds will probably stick in the throat of some dubstep purists – many of which still hold works such as ‘Bingo’ and ‘Crunked Up’ as some of the best underground examples of the genre. But in all honestly ‘On A Mission’ shouldn’t be judged as a dubstep track; it should be treated as what it is and that’s a pretty damned catchy pop tune.
‘On A Mission’ will be released by Rinse – the expanding urban music empire that now includes a record label, club night in the shape of FWD, and a newly legit radio station after years of transmitting illegally on the pirate airwaves.
For more info and to listen live to Rinse radio click here.
