This year Ray-Ban rocked the Camden Crawl with a double decker bus
hosting their favourite hot new bands. The bus hosted a series of
exclusive intimate gigs over the weekend, especially for Ray-Ban fans.
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The Agitator
Couched in the language of revolution, 24-year-old David Mein’s music as The Agitator occupies a space between New Kids on the Block and classic house
Black Cab Sessions 2011
Gruff Rhys
When we heard the news that maverick Welshman singer and solo artist Gruff Rhys, of Super Furry Animals asked if he could do a black cab session...
Electrelane
After a three year hiatus, ‘Electrelane’ have returned. The female indie group, who pluck lyrics for Siegfried Sassoon, Nietzsche and 16th century Catalan poet...
Tribes
Fable has it that ‘Tribes’ got together in the summer of 2009 after the guitarist was caught trying to steal the drummer's wallet.
Givers
Givers from Lafayette, Louisiana are a five piece band that are riding the crest of a post-punk tidal wave that's sweeping across America...
2011 Festivals
Alex Clare
Alex Clare Speaking to the Guardian about his Diplo-produced forthcoming debut album, 25-year-old Alex Clare from Golders Green told the newspaper that...
Bear's Den
Andrew Davie’s old band, Cherbourg, was one of the breakthrough acts of 2010, wowing fans with just a pair of stunning EPs.
Cate Le Bon
Last year belonged to Cardiff’s Nico-obsessed Cate le Bon, and 2011 is shaping up to follow suit. Having spent most of 2009 touring with Super Fury Animal’s frontman, Gruff Rhys...
Dog Is Dead
'We are a mess! We are failures! And we love it!' Declares Nottingham’s Dog is Dead on 'Glockenspiel Song'.
Let's Buy Happiness
The history of Let’s Buy Happiness looks like this: a younger brother and an older sister fight, bicker and scrap for most of their life. Then, the younger brother forms band.
Lulu & The Lampshades
Lu Lu & The Lampshades started life in 2009 as a funny idea between two London hipsters, Heloise and Louisa.
Spector
Nerdy 20-something frontman Fred MacPherson of Spector has pretty much done it all, now they have just been named as one of fifteen rising stars on the BBC Sound of 2012 artists list.
Spectrals
Manchester’s lo-fi psychedelic stars Spectrals are less interested in tweaking out on acid and quoting passages from The Door of Perception as they are releasing beautifully crafted...
The Agitator
Couched in the language of revolution, 24-year-old David Mein’s music as The Agitator occupies a space between New Kids on the Block and classic house
The Chapman Family Album
“People probably think that we're horrible northern monsters that are going to come down and eat their children, but there’s more to it than that,”...
Two Wounded Birds
Holding an obsession for the blissful sound of American west coast pop à la The Beach Boys but trapped in the seaside town of Margate...
Black Cab Sessions
Marques Toliver
He's classically trained but spends his time listening to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Destiny's Child.
John and Jehn
French duo John and Jehn returned this Summer with their stunning second album, ‘Time For The Devil’.
Savoir Adore
Even in a scene as vibrant as the current one in Brooklyn, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro - the principal members of Savoir Adore bring something entirely unique...
Summer Camp
Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey make the kind of music you want to hear when your skin has been sunkissed and you've got sand in your shoes.
Eliza Doolittle
On her debut album, to be released this June, Eliza marries breezily beautiful melodies and witty, erudite lyrics with a delightfully off-kilter twist and a knack for a killer hook.
Roots Manuva
We had no idea how this session would turn out! How were we going to accommodate one the UK's best rappers in the back of our damp cab?! Like this....
Lissie
Having not stopped for the last 3 days, we were warned Lissie might be a bit tired and hungry...
Steve Mason
We'd seen Steve perform at Secret Garden Party and were desperate to get him in the cab. Here he plays the beautiful 'All Come Down'...
Erland and The Carnival
Erland Cooper and his carnival of merry men clamber into the backseat of the cab to deliver a stunning stripped down rendition of 'Trouble in Mind'...
Fionn Regan
Straight outta County Wicklow, Ireland, Fionn Regan needs nothing more than his guitar, voice and harmonica to create a sound that has established him...2010 Sessions
Kurran and the Wolfnotes
British folk music has a reputation for attracting washed-up hippies and ale enthusiasts, but Kurran and Wolfnotes...
Rox
Soulful, brassy, barely in her twenties and signed to Rough Trade, south Londoner Roxanne Tataei is a hard act to follow...
Mumford and Sons
Mumford and Sons wear their bluegrass, folk and country influences on their homespun shirtsleeves...
Babe Shadow
Ten years ago two svelte young gentlemen from Kent got into Marc Bolan and Iggy Pop and started something they couldn’t stop: Babe Shadow.
Crowns
Back in the wiles of history, four lads from Cornwall met at the 100 Club in Soho and Lady Fortune shed a little tear.
I Blame Coco
I Blame Coco is Coco Sumner, the daughter of Sting, and the recent recipient of a six album deal with Island.
The Border Surrender
"It's a new car that you drive tonight…there's an American man inside," sings The Border Surrender's world-weary singer, Keith Austin.
Othello Woolf
Twenty-seven-year-old Othello Woolf (AKA Oliver, to his mum) is on a one-man mission to revive the spirit of Brian Ferry’s neon-clad soul.
Slow Club
Alt-indie pair, Slow Club’s Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson formed one barmy day in Sheffield, 2006...
Wolf Gang
There’s more than a shade of David Bowie about London School of Economics-dropout Max McElligot2009 Sessions
Josh Weller / Beans On Toast
Josh Weller is the best-dressed singer-songwriter in the country and he has more influences than you’ve had hot dinners.Josh Weller
Josh Weller is the best-dressed singer-songwriter in the country and he has more influences than you’ve had hot dinners.
Brakes
Brakes includes sometime members of British Sea Power and The Electric Soft Parade, but they're very much their own band...
Cherbourg
Cherbourg's unashamedly folktastic brand of folk rock might have you thinking they hail from somewhere rustic and unspoiled – deepest Somerset, perhaps.
Golden Silvers
It's been quite a year for London three-piece Golden Silvers. After winning the prestigious Glastonbury New Talent competition in 2008...
Hockey
New wavers Hockey hail from Portland, Oregon, spiritual home of arty drifers everywhere.
Laura Marling
She's the darling of the alt-folk scene with her intimate, beautifully crafted songs about heartbreak and disappointment
Musical Differences
The Musical Differences, aka Rob Skipper and the Musical Differences, are ex-Holloways member Rob's new project.
VV Brown
London-born VV Brown creates soaring, glamorous pop that shows off her amazing, take-no-prisoners voice.
Marina and the Diamonds
Sweet-voiced, sharp-tongued singer-songwriter Marina hails from Wales but claims to come from Ancient Greece...
Peggy Sue
Creating R&B-tinged anti-folk that manages to be both deadpan and soulful, Peggy Sue have been through an impressive number of names...
Wild Palms
Math rock? Post-punk-art-funk? What in heck do genre labels mean when the music has as much attitude, flair and style as Wild Palms’s goth disco?
We Have Band
We Have Band used to work desk jobs at a big grey record label in London, dreaming of becoming the sort of stars they were working for – now it’s happened them.
Remi Nicole
Twenty-seven year-old North Londoner Remi Nicole is the type of sparkling songstress that’ll steal your heart and still make you want to come back for a second helping of heart break.
Pete Lawrie
The devil probably got his woman, but husky voiced bluesman Pete Lawrie has kept his soul.
My Tiger My Timing
Taking their name straight from an Arthur Russell track, there are no prizes for guessing what sort of direction My Tiger My Timing’s music is taking.
Theoretical Girl
Southend’s Theoretical Girl (AKA Amy Turnnidge) is a female singer songwriter with more than dash of dangerous nouvelle vague spirit to her electro-folk pop.
Robots in Disguise
Right now Robots in Disguise are in a bit of bother – they haven’t got enough cash to finish their fourth album!
Erik Hassle
Growing up in what’s been voted Sweden’s “most boring town” (Katrineholm, a railway junction between Gothenburg and Stockholm) can’t be barrel of laughs...
2008 Sessions
Florence and the Machine
Soulful, complex and apparently full of secret wisdom, Florence Welch's music is already taking the music world by storm.Florence and the Machine - interview
Soulful, complex and apparently full of secret wisdom, Florence Welch's music is already taking the music world by storm.
The Holloways
This London fourpiece's sprightly indie rock has been winning them fans and acclaim since debut album So This Is Great Britain?