Avenue61 is a leading indie music site that specialises in album and gig reviews, breaking new bands, publicising events, and exclusive interviews with the leading cutting edge acts in the alternative music scene. Avenue61 covers a wide range of artists – some you would have heard of, some you won’t. Artists the site has reviewed recently include the Fleet Foxes, MGMT, Noisettes and Ladyhawke. The site is updated regularly so come back to catch up the latest news and reviews from the bleeding edge of the alternative music scene.

Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

The beginning of a new year in the music industry always leads to endless predictions of ‘next big things’ for the year ahead, some with more backing than others... such as Ellie Goulding with constant airplay and The Brits Critics’ Choice award. And here is another who should be taken just as much notice of – Tinashé a singer-songwriter from Zimbabwe who grew up in Hackney, where he said he was supposed to “become a doctor/lawyer and wire money back home via Western Union, that didn't go so well... I blame/thank MJ”.

He quickly transformed his Zimbabwe accent into one more ‘Eastenders’-esque in order to “avoid bullying over my African accent”, leading to him now being able to slip between the two, a talent which luckily hasn’t translated over onto his music. Tinashé’s genre has been described as Urban Pop but its more specialised than that, he uses sweet melodies and childlike bells to create a sound which leads the listener to visualise peace and tropical images – in other words, paradise. His sound is pop, but also acoustic and there are clear African influences on the vocals: “a-woo-a-yea-eh” on the track “Zambezi”.

Tinashé has been around in the music industry for a good while, firstly signing with Sony, and now Virgin, where his new single “Mayday” is out March 1st, ahead of his album. The single includes the song “Miss You”, an upbeat tingling tune reliant on the glorious bells and standard background beats. The melody is simple and the same the whole way through yet ever present as the backbone of the song and immediately catches the attention of the listener. A straightforward love song, with naive values about such strong emotions “losing my mind and losing my brain/really doesn’t matter it’ll be alright/but tonight just hold my hand”. He sings about desperation to see his loved one and loyalty to them, “in my head I’m going crazy in my heart I know I’ll wait for you/all I’m really trying to say/is boy I miss you” all making for a sugary yet less commercial and more unique sound, perhaps because of the African influence. To realise the extent of Tinashé’s talents the ‘Mbira’ version of “Zambezi” is a must to listen too, it is captivating while being so simple at the same time.

The twenty-five year old has already been picked up by HMV as their “Next Big Thing” alongside Ellie Goulding and Erik Hassle, where they will all be performing on February 10th at Relentless Garage in London. He also was also part of Q Magazine’s sessions, supporting fellow one-to-watch Marina and the Diamonds in January. Clearly part of the new cool crowd for 2010, get there before the mainstream does.