Although offered a record deal within minutes of leaving the show, she declined and took the unusual route of deciding to release her album through Pledge Music (a way that fans pay for the album to be made by pre-ordering and accessing a range of exclusives including signed posters, Skype chats, private gigs in your living room and even a chance to appear on the album!).
Janet Devlin - Janet Devlin (Pledge Music)
Anyhow, here we are two years later, 155 per cent of the required pledge has been met and the album is set to be released as you hold this magazine in your hands. Now, having failed to prise a copy of this album from the hands of her management for this review, unfortunately I’m unable to give you the complete lowdown on this but the tracks I have heard ‘Wonderful’ and ‘Crown of thorns’ certainly give me the same goosebumps I hadtwo years back. She has an incredibly distinctive, beautiful and original voice and one listen to that original audition, I’m sure, will have you rushing to grab a copy of this - get in the queue.
Various Artists - Specialized II Beat Teenage Cancer
Another album worthy of a mention this month is the follow up to last year’s ‘Specialized’ (a charity album featuring up to date cover versions of The Specials) This time around its Birmingham’s The Beat that get a good seeing to! There are 40 tracks on this double album including new bits from original members Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, great covers from Dub Pistols, The Talks, Nick Welsh and Swagga. All the classics are there with new versions of ‘Mirror in the bathroom’, ‘Can’t get used to losing you’, ‘Ranking full stop’ and ‘Too nice to talk to’. I’ve always had a soft spot for this band and seeing them being brought bang up to date, especially for such a good cause, makes this a perfect summer purchase!
Just time then, to run you through some of the tracks you may have heard me playing down by the pool at Coral Bay this month.
Maribou State’s remix of ‘Praise you’ by Fatboy Slim has been going down a storm, as has Reset Safari’s Lost in 97 remix of ‘One in a million’ by Drumsound & Bassline Smith with its retro speed garage vibes. Another from that era, Double 99’s ‘Ripgroove’gets brought into the ‘00s with a fantastic tech house remix from Paolo Mojo. You can find all these tracks in a fresh mix posted on my Facebook page along with my opening set from last month’s Incredible Ministry of Sound gig! Enjoy the quiet month and I’ll see you back with the beats in August!
http://www.janetdevlin.com/home/
http://www.specializedproject.co.uk/
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