"Playing in the Shadows" sets the Example for UK talent

With his new album "Playing in the Shadows" topping the UK album chart, it must be reckoned that Example is on top of the world at the moment.

His rise and rise again from a mediocre rapper to the peak of the electro house genre emphasises not just the change in the 29-year-old's talents, but the pure shift of modern popular British music.

The days of pop and indie are slowly dying, and a new age is being born and bred, the age of electro and trance and house. The first two singles from the new album, released on 4 September 2011, have already reached the highest heights. "Changed The Way You Kissed Me" and "Stay Awake" both debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, and, with another single on the way, "Natural Disaster" produced by Dutch house DJ Laidback Luke, another chart topper is surely in the sights of Fulham-born Example.

"Natural Disaster" has already entered the UK Indie Chart at number 27 (a month before its official UK release!), so big things are expected from the next musical number from the shadows.

Without rambling on too much about every single track on his new album, I'll let you make your own judgements on Elliot Gleave's 12-song production. However, one I personally recommend is not straight out of the expected house and trance repetoire. Gleave admits that song seven, "Microphone" to be the only song he has co-written with somebody else on this new record. Guy Chambers, long-term partner of Take That member Robbie Williams, is revealed as the co-writer for the tune.

Have a listen. Whether the album tickles the fancy of many (which it will) or it infact turns out to be a mediocre product of the time, it will make you stay awake. British talent is changing. British talent is growing. For the best. An era has just finished. A new beginning is now in full flow.

Ed Sheeran: The Up and Coming Talent

At the age of just 19, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran already has a wealth of experience in the music world, and is a highly talented prophecy. With already an EP and two albums out as well as 100 written and recorded songs by the age of 18, Sheeran surely has a future in the music business.

His unusual combination of a folk-funk-indie genre has earnt him supporters across the land and his popularity is forever growing as his collaborations with mainstream artists and production of more and more songs continues to increase. It certainly is a major outlook on British music today, and the improvement it is slowly making in the rcent years with big breakthrough acts like Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J hitting the spotlight with devastating force. Sheeran will be next.

His support acts on the tour of Just Jack in 2009, and another breakthrough act in Example in 2010 saw the youngster lavished with praise as well as being given the opportunitiy to perform more regularly in front of crowds he should expect to be in front of in the coming years. His reputation is forever growing and despite originating from Suffolk, Sheeran spends most of his time living in London recording, writing and performing gigs in front of present and future fans.
He played his first gig in his home county in 2005, and in 2008, Ed really began entering big-time territory, being named as the "Next Big Thing" in the music world at the East Anglian band contest.

He has become so popular among other artists he has even supported big name acts like Jay Sean and Gabriella Climi on their tours as well as being highly associated with Nizlopi and Scorcher.

What makes Sheeran different is that his songs offer something unexpected and unoriginal, but that's what makes his work something to admire. His songs are mainly personal, relating to his fans or his girlfriend in which he has revealed he writes a lot of songs for. His combination of indie-funk shows the amount of creativity and initiative he has. He is an exceptionally clever musician for such a young age, and this is why many other artists appreciate his talents. In fact, if Sheeran were a footballer, he would be considered a "hot prospect".

The potential of Sheeran can only put him in better stead for the future, and infact, his newly released album "No 5 Collaborations Project" hit top spot in the iTunes album chart, beating Grammy award winner Rihanna. His album has been an instant hit, and despite being rejected by many recording companies, Ed still decided to sell the album himself before agreeing to a major music contract with Atlantic labelling. Yet another album in his growing list, joining "The Orange Room EP" (2005) and his first two albums, "Ed Sheeran" (2006) and "Want Some?" (2007).

When rejected by record labels, they suggested he sell his latest EP for free in order to raise his profile, but Sheeran is so eager for his latest work to succeed he is selling his album for £5 on his official website. Labelling companies will be sure doubting their lack of faith now in Sheeran following his success in the recent iTunes album chart.

His new album sees duets and supports with some well-known grime artists including Wiley and Devlin. His talents with a guitar are exceptional for a 19-year-old starting to learn in just 2002, and for sure, Sheeran's future in the music world will be one to be highly noticed in the coming years.

Many artists he has collaborated and supported with have sung the praises of Sheeran and the impulse he will create on the music industry. Keep an eye on this young man. He will be huge, and to be honest, I went to see Example at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth in October 2010 as a fan of one artist. I walked out, a supporter of two. Since then, Sheeran has been a very popular number in my household. He is unique, and a naturally gifted musician.

I leave you now with my favourite song that Sheeran has produced to date. In my opinion, one of my favourite songs of the past year.

T4 on the Beach 2010 leading by Example

Many top acts took to the stage in Weston-Super-Mare on Sunday 4th July to celebrate another year of T4 magic along the coastline, and being one of the 47,000 person audience, I feel it's my duty to use my blog to describe the day and who I thought flourished and who quite frankly failed to perform in front of the record crowd.

The weekend began brightly, firstly making a three hour journey from Winchester to Kent early Saturday morning only to then make a further four-and-a-half hour journey from my home county to Somerset. Upon arrival into the West Country, I was eagerly anticipating meeting with my close friends Jake Gable and Karen Purnell for some pre-T4 fun. As the train came into Weston station I was stunned to see at the end of my carriage the appearance of British music act and probably my second most favourite artist at this current time Elliot Gleave, more commonly known as Example. My first reaction was to excitedly text Karen and inform her of this acquisition the train had accomplished. Gleave, in his bright yellow t-shirt was making quirky conversation with his crew whilst I looked on with admiration. Talking of admiration, upon exiting the station, nothing could match that of Jake's as Example strolled past to be met by a driver, Mr Gable just stood and stared, whilst uttering the words "Oh wow". Jake later claimed to have met and talked to the 28-year-old rapper with a number of facebook statuses and text messages to friends, however being left in a trance and saying two words is hardly what I like to call a deep meaningful conversation.

The event itself was again highly anticipated in Weston-Super-Mare, and for us to be beaten to the front of the queue by at least 200 to 300 people at 4am shows how obsessive and popular T4 is across the land. We amde the wise decision to abandon ship at this early time and head back for some extra sleep and warmth before making the journey to the coast again at half past 8 in the morning.

We entered the beach just before 11am, and the atmopshere was electric. Excitement filled the air and at 12am the 47,000 capacity crowd was treated to the first lyrics of the day, "I wake up every day is a daydream". That's right, last year's headlinder Dizzee Rascal was back and was this time the opener and what an opener he was. There were six main acts in particular which I had dreamt of seeing at T4 and Dizzee was one of them, so in the space of 20 minutes he had been and gone and the crowd were treated to what we thought was the unbeatable performance of the day. Oh how we were wrong! Dizzee opened up with a great rendition of "Bonkers" which was soon followed by popular summer tunes "Dance With Me" and "Holiday" however, the King of Electropop himself Calvin Harris disappointingly was not there this year to support the London-born singer. Dizzee finished in typical impressive fashion with his new single "Dirtee Disco" and the crowd loved him, from children to adults, he was a hit and I said to both Jake and Karen that that performance would be hard to beat, even though we had another five hours of acts.

Ellie Goulding followed shortly after however I was not really into her appearance with her two songs, but this was a combination of awe for Dizzee's previous performances and the fact that after Goulding were two of my six to see in Tinie Tempah and Professor Green (left). Having previously seen Tinie Tempah at The University of Winchester's summer ball, I was expectant of what songs he was to sing and my estimations soon revealed I was correct when he played "Frisky" and popular club tune "Pass Out" - two songs which have been very very popular in my household over the past couple of months. Professor Green came on after and impressed many with "Just be Good to Green" and "I Need You Tonight". He particularly has become a favourite in my musical books in recent months, and a special mention goes to The Streets' lead singer Mike Skinner for finding this 26-year-old East London talent.

Chipmunk then followed with Esmée Denters in tail, as well as The Saturdays, however they looked very lost with the absence of the ill Mollie King. Swedish singer-song writer Jonas Altberg, also known as Basshunter performed his new single "Saturday" which I would recommend to any music lovers reading this, as well his classic songs "All I ever Wanted" and of course "Now you're Gone". Roy Stride and the rest of his 2005 formed band, Scouting For Girls started badly with a bit of keyboard trouble throughout "This Ain't a Love Song" however recovered the crowd brilliantly with superb showings of "Famous" and "Heartbeat" which livened the crowd up ready for upcoming acts the beautiful Pixie Lott, Jason Derulo and N-Dubz. These three produced classic performances, however Jason Derulo was definitely performance of the day for the main stage. His combination of singing, dancing, and all round entertaining wow'ed the Weston crowd with his three top singles "Whatcha Say", "Ridin' Solo" and "In My Head", and at the time not only were the girls amazed after Derulo ripped his shirt off, but even I was in awe at the quality of his performance and now he had replaced Dizzee Rascal as performance of the day.

Sean Kingston's prodigé Iyaz performed "Replay" and "Solo" to the T4 audience and he was also joined by X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke and Taio Cruz with the latter releasing his new single "Dynamite", a song which has already made it's way on to my Ipod playlist! I have left a lot of acts out, for example Kelis and Kids in Glass Houses however there is a reason. It is simply because I did not see them. Around these times I was parading around the rest of the T4 world and enjoying the sweet sounds of the T4 sessions stage which was taking place on the other side of the beach, oh and what sweet sounds they were. I thought Dizzee Rascal and Jason Derulo made my day with their combined seven songs however the crowd was in for a much further treat with two more acts which quite frankly rocked the place and sent the T4 radar through the roof.

Plan B and Example were pure brilliance. Plan B's recent shift from instant rap to a soul, mo-town, hip-hip combination type of music has seen him earn rave reviews across the land and his new album "Defamation of Strickland Banks" has recently been named number 1 album for this time.
Plan B rocked the show on the sessions stage with four songs, including the extremely popular "She Said" and "Stay Too Long" as well as new single "Prayin'" and myself and Jake especially were left stunned by the quality of the performance Ben Drew left upon the viewers. It was a sensational performance. I hate to reveal this but I am a very critical person and usually always find something to complain about regarding a performance or a football match or anything like that, but with this there was nothing. It was perfect. Just pure class and I will be very surprised if we do not see Plan B at next year's T4 on the beach, but on the main stage, and it was a statement in his performance that next year he wants main stage as opposed to the smaller sessions stage.

The last two acts of the day were the highly rated JLS on the main stage and Example on the smaller stage. We had took the decision to abandon the X-Factor runners up, and see my good friend from the train the day before, Mr Gleave. What a choice we made. In a display which can only be described as the perfect replacement for the absent Calvin Harris, Example got the place buzzing. He even admitted himself that even though he was at same time as JLS he knew he would get a lot of people to se ehim perform and boy it showed. Everybody present was bouncing, they were raving and fantastic demonstrations of "Watch the Sun Come Up", his new single "Last Ones Standing", his debut single "Won't Go Quietly" and one of the biggest club tunes to hit the country over the last month "Kickstarts" showed why Example is one of the most talked about people in the country at the moment. He was the perfect Calvin replacement, and he showed such a passion in his work. He linked with crowd before, during and after songs. I have to thank my flatmate George Anderson for introducing me to the world of Example and before T4 told myself and Jake that he was the best live gig he had ever been to, and how Mr Gleave didn't disappoint us. It was superb, and his last words in "I'll see you next year T4!" was a sign on intent of how big he wants to make himself. There's a reason why Example is mentioned in my title. I believe he was the best act of the day, and it was an amazing end to a extraordinary day.


My six acts I wanted to see all performed brilliantly, however who made it in to the Gareth Messenger top 10 acts of the day?

1. Example - Just absolutely brilliant. Got the crowd going and really looked like he enjoyed his time there, even throughout the rain.
2. Plan B - On fire at the moment. New album, new single. Plan B is enjoying the time of his life in the music industry.
3. Jason Derulo - Typical performance from a typical big name. Flashy moves, great backing dancers and crew. Superb special effects. Great vocals.
4. Dizzee Rascal - What a way to open the show. UK's biggest artist currently, and making his name bigger and bigger everywhere he goes.
5. Professor Green - Big performance from the relatively inexperienced Professor Green. Took advantage of a good opportunity and got the large sections of the crowd singing.
6. Scouting For Girls - Struggled with the keyboard during "This Ain't a Love Song" but stormed their way back with "Famous" and "Heartbeat". Big credit to Roy Stride.
7. Tinie Tempah - He brought the stars out. He brought the women, and the cars and the cards out. Classic Tinie performance, short but very impressive.
8. JLS - Didn't see them live as too preoccupied with Example but have watched the highlights and cannot deny the talent. Not their best display but very good nonetheless and a top way to end off the show.
9. Pixie Lott - The beautiful Miss Lott looked great, she sang great, she bonded with the crowd well and looked like she loved her time there.
10. N-Dubz - I'm a fan of N-Dubz. Dappy, Fazer and Tulisa have really impressed me the last year and a half so to not have them in my top 10 would be a mistake.

Well taht's my top 10 for T4 on the Beach 2010. It was a top day out and even though it took me nearly 6 hours to get back to Kent that night, it didn't bother me so the day itself was long but definitely one of the days I wont be forgetting for a while.

Many Thanks for Reading

G-Man