MATTHEW DEAR is a man of many different guises, whether creating and remixing under his own name, or one of his alter-egos – Jabberjaw, False, and Audion. Depending on who you ask, Matthew Dear is a DJ, a dance-music producer, an experimental pop artist, a bandleader.

He co-founded both Ghostly International and its dancefloor offshoot, Spectral Sound. He’s had remixes commissioned by The XX, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Spoon, Hot Chip, The Postal Service, and Chemical Brothers; he’s made mixes for the Fabric mix series and Get Physical’s Body Language.

Matthew Dear’s new album, ‘Black City’, is an album centred around the Black City that Matthew Dear has created. The Black City can’t be found on any map. It’s a composite, an imaginary metropolis peopled by desperate cases, lovelorn souls, and amoral motives. Like most literary Gothams, Black City is a place to love and hate, as seedy as a nightclub’s back room and as seductive as the promise of power. Matthew Dear, the musician, may live in New York City, but the Matthew Dear of Black City inhabits a sound-world unlike any other: a monument to the shadowy side of urban life that bumps and creaks, shudders and wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Black City is Matthew Dear’s third album on Ghostly International, and it’s his darkest and most engrossing work to date. He straddles multiple musical worlds and belongs to none—and he’s just hitting his stride.

DARKSTAR in 2010 are an upgraded model of the Darkstar which released the much loved single ‘Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer’ at the end of 2009. That song, and previous singles ‘Need You’ and ‘Squeeze My Lime’ hinted at a nascent songwriting talent and mastery of oozing synth drones that has burst into life on their debut album, ‘North’, out October 18th. The band have adjusted their focus, adding lead singer James Buttery to the production and writing team of James Young and Aiden Whalley. With the beauty of subtle distortion, their sound blends crunchy, citric synths, baroque strings, piano and tender guitar with vocal harmonies, gently laced with glitches and noise.

Fresh off the back of a Gold Panda tour, GHOST EYES is a farmboy who didn’t take over his father’s business and an autosalesman’s son who didn’t take over his fathers business making hip-hop influenced alternative music creating layered textures of instruments, electronics and gathered sound samples, singing confessions of the joyous blues.

NB: Matthew Dear will not be performing at the aftershow

Casper C’s night exploring all forms of new music and delving into the archives for influences. BLOGGER’S DELIGHT is also the proud residency of some of the UK’s best young DJs, Skull Juice, Casper C and NikNikNik. They usually reside at the Lock Tavern where they defined the art of daytime clubbing in Camden (who’d have thought it?).

They have managed to catch debut or very early shows from the likes of Brodinski, Noob, Yuksek, Duke Dumont, DOP, Crookers and many more, as well as presenting more of their established heroes over the years, from Chloe, Joakim, Optimo and Len Faki to Justice, Simian Mobile Disco and James Murphy.

Bloggers also curate a stage at London’s fantastic Field Day, with previous live guests including The XX, Heartbreak and Telepathe, with DJ sets from Benga and Rusko.

The DEADLY RHYTHM SOUNDSYSTEM are a DJ and Promoting crew from South London. Their roadblock New Cross and Brixton based parties have featured artists ranging from Dam Funk to Skream. As DJ’s, their bass heavy sound mixes house, hip hop, garage and grime from brand new cuts to underground classics.

Lyle & Scott is excited to announce the launch of ‘Curated by Lyle & Scott’ – a series of four gigs taking place at XOYO, the UK’s most exciting new music venue. Focusing on showcasing new talent, Lyle & Scott will be presenting the very best in emerging talent and further strengthening this iconic brand’s association with new music. The first show will take place on 8th December with the following shows taking place in early 2011. The fourth slot at each of the 2011 gigs will be decided by the public through a fan competition taking place via www.facebook.com/lyleandscott

‘We are hugely excited about ‘Curated by Lyle & Scott’ which demonstrates our desire to support emerging talent within the music industry in the UK and provide a showcase for young bands’, said Jess Pugh, Lyle & Scott’s Marketing Manager.

Headlining the first show will be James Yuill whose combination of acoustic ballads with a dancefloor pulse won him many plaudits when he emerged in 2008, quickly making him an influential part of London’s folktronica scene. A laptop troubadour and a superb exponent of moody electronica, his live performances are a truly unique experience: one minute you’re drawn in to the tender simplicity of his voice and acoustic guitar, the next minute your head’s spinning and your feet are moving to the dazzling array of beats and effects pumped out by James’s laptop and boxes of tricks – not bad for a one man show that fits neatly into a reconditioned guitar case.

Dreamy indie-pop duo Babe Shadow have been making waves of late with recent sessions on Rob da Bank’s Radio 1 show and gaining the accolade of NME Breakthrough Band of the Week. Their laidback, buoyant, clean-picked love songs mark them out as a band to keep an eye on next year and if you don’t believe us then here’s Florence Welch admitting that the band are her current crush. “Babe Shadow have been brightening up my pre tour rituals with their open hearted calypso-style beautiful pop songs”. Having played a number of festivals over the summer their Curated By Lyle & Scott show marks a welcome return to more intimate surroundings.

With sparse melodies, melancholic beats and lush echoing vocals, Oxford trio, Trophy Wife describe their music as ambitiousless office disco / commuter pop. Don’t be fooled though, their unabrasive sound has quickly found them many admirers and recent Moshi Moshi single, ‘Microlite’ is a track so perfectly formed you can hardly believe it’s their debut. With sparse rhythms, a gentle electronic pulse and fragile vocals their sound has seen them compared to Vampire Weekend and The XX and the band have recently toured with Foals, Bombay Bicycle Club and Crystal Castles.

Tickets for the first event are free and music lovers can obtain tickets by going to www.lyleandscott.com/CBLS
Band competiton entries via www.facebook.com/lyleandscott Terms and Conditions Apply

Born in Hackney, East London, to Ghanian parents, COCKNBULLKID aka Anita Blay is not the most conventional of pop stars. Fortunately this does little to slow how rapidly she established herself as one our brightest pop hopes. She has spent the past 4 years exploring all manner of influences (from Moz to Madonna, M.I.A to Little Richard), forging a wholly distinctive sound, and marked an official career ‘kick off’ with her debut single on Metronomy’s 7” label last year as a collaboration between Anita and Metronomy founding member Joe Mount.

CocknBullKid’s style, it should be said, resides firmly on the dark side of pop. There’s an almost Trojan quality to it – Anita’s ever-expanding repertoire is a subversive, sometimes sinister, and always sublime mix of sex, death, ugliness, wit and depravity, found amidst The Everyday and pegged onto supremely inventive pop melodies. “I’ve always thought pop should never just be saccharine” she says, “It should be black and tortured too. There’s no point otherwise.”

Having played all the major UK festivals in the summer of 2008 and headlined the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury, thecocknbullkid played live on Later With Jools Holland whilst still unsigned. A rare but deserved occurrence. Anita and her three piece band then went on to support Santogold before touring with CSS, Metronomy and Late of the Pier.

PLUS

19-year-old Tampa Bay rapper DOMINIQUE YOUNG UNIQUE, the self-styled “Robles Park princess,” mixes model good looks with potty-mouthed lyrics delivered in a hyperactive double-time flow. Although constantly being compared to M.I.A. spawn Rye Rye, Dominique is assuredly exemplifying that she is incomparable. Although constantly being compared to M.I.A. spawn Rye Rye, Dominique is assuredly exemplifying that she is incomparable.

VISIONS OF TREES are Joni and Sarah, a brilliant two-piece from London who make hazy tropical pop music that shares a similar woozy electronic mood to Teengirl Fantasy, only swamped in Liz Fraser-esque vocals

PLUS Primary 1 DJ set + Summer Camp DJs + Little Boots DJs + Rowdy Superstar DJs

ERLAND AND THE CARNIVAL were formed by singer/guitarist and Orkney islander Erland Cooper with ex-The Verve/The Good, The Bad & The Queen guitarist Simon Tong and drummer David Nock. Together, they produce a sound described by Tong as “Pentangle meets Ennio Morricone meets Love meets 13th Floor Elevators meets Joe Meek.” In other words: folk-tinged, psyched up, fuzzed-out brilliance.