Unsigned Music

On all the other music blogs on the internet there seems to be a lack of British unsigned (i.e. not signed to a major label) artists getting recognition and blog space so I though at POYDS I would attempt to change this trend. Most of the bands on this site I will have probably heard through the Radio 1's Best Of Unsigned podcast and that is I heard the two bands I am going to write about and both of them are cat themed.

First is the bigger of the two as they actually have an album out and that is Autokat. Their debut album Late Night Shopping was released on February of this year and they recently played one of the fringe gigs at Radio 1's Big Weekend In Preston. The band are from Manchester and are signed to independent label Akoustik Anarky. You can listen to their album here and check out their myspace page for all the latest news on the band. Here is the video for their newest single Dish Out.

The second great unsigned and cat themed band is Whiskycats. Another link between the two bands is that they are both from Manchester but the similarities end there as the Whiskycats sound like nothing you have heard before and have been described as being like, "Bagpuss on tequila". The band themselves admit that they are difficult to categorise. Saxophones and trumpets make regular appearances in their songs and they certainly seem to have jazz influences. They are currently working on their debut album in the Charlatans studio and a special package is currently available with your name inside the album booklet,

a copy of the album, a framed, personalised album artwork print singed by the band and the CD and the artwork recorded delivery to your door a week before the release to help pay for production costs. This package costs £16.99 and to get this deal you can buy it here. Four mp3's are available at the bands website here and I would recommend checking them out. Here they are themselves performing Yes at the 3 Student Music Awards.