Have you ever been to a gig and discovered a great new act that take you by surprise? Well Oli Rose & Jamie Wallace who form ‘I Am One’ did exactly that.
I saw these guys perform at a charity event at the 333 Motherbar on Old Street, London. I was there reviewing Pint Shot Riot for our feature story of the week, and the second band on was ‘I Am One’ and these guys totally blew me away. With Jamie’s frank lyricism and hard hitting verse combined with Oli’s powerful voice and honest musicianship, you practically get a new genre with these guys. Mixing up Grime/Hip Hop with Folk/Indie sensibilities you get what I like to call Folk-Hop.
The guys formed when put together for a music project as part of their university course at Westminster Uni. Getting together some songs as part of their module they realised how natural and how creative they were together. So much so they decided to continue as a duo and start pushing the act more with live gigs and recording sessions. ‘I Am One’ have proven to be very popular amongst their peers, they have become the most played and requested act on Uni Radio Station ‘Smoke Radio’. They are also releasing an EP early next year and working with some new and upcoming producers on the project too. Rebel Sonix, a fresh new Dub Step producer, is working with the guys at the moment, experimenting with sounds and different ways to get their songs across.
I am Blessed, I Am One
Check out their sounds here http://myspace.com/iamoneproject listen to ‘I’m Blessed‘, which gave me goosebumps when I heard it. Also their reworking of ‘Run This Town‘ is also worth a listen.
They will be headlining the Barfly, London on Jan 28th and tickets are on sale now and you will certainly see me there!
When you listen to unsigned acts, you usually expect to listen to demos or maybe even an unpolished EP that always sounds like it still needs some work. Not with ‘Archangel’, his carefully constructed Indie/Doom Pop sounds are driven by great production and creative ideas.
‘Archangel’ has this ability to create something quite majestic in sound really. He combines classic New Wave sounds with true pop riffs. Its quite dark and gloomy in places but has that positive ebb too that gives you, the listener, a sense of hope. It’s big sounding tracks like ‘Square One’ that lets you see why his tracks are popular amongst re mixers. He writes solid tunes that seem to stretch the imagination but also keep you mesmerised and listening to the end.
Do It Again , covered by Archangel
His newest single ‘Loud and Clear ‘ is a triumphant number that definitely sums up what ‘Archangel’ is all about. Melodic, powerful and above all retains a sense of belonging that warms the heart without even meaning too.
He is playing the infamous Death Disco at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London on the 16th December.
Check out other songs and information here http://myspace.com/archangelmusic
Peter Cornish-Barlow
