主播大秀

The music industry鈥檚 summertime release schedule is rarely graced by excellence 鈥� but the 10 albums below are well worth spending a little time with.

Album of the Month鈥�

Jessie Ware 鈥� Devotion

(Island/PMR; released 20 August)

Recommended by: 6 Music Album of the Day, MistaJam, Annie Mac

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鈥淲are never stretches for an out-of-reach note; she never gives her songs over to hyperbole or bombast. Throughout, there is a well-measured, well-mannered elegance that engages with more efficiency than many an artist dressing their material up as The Next Big Thing. There's nothing 鈥榥ext鈥� about Ware: she鈥檚 here, now, and superb.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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The best of the rest鈥�

Matthew Dear 鈥� Beams

(Ghostly International; released 27 August)

Recommended by: Lauren Laverne, Nemone

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鈥淒ear鈥檚 years as a dance producer have given him the facility to take one riff or bassline on a four- or five-minute journey which, due to clever dynamics and Dear鈥檚 gift for melodic vocal chants, ends up sounding like a pop song. He鈥檚 a hipster with immaculate taste and enormous talent, who always seems to be quietly laughing at himself in the corner of some artfully sleazy New York nightclub.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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JJ DOOM 鈥� Key to the Kuffs

(Lex Records; released 20 August)

Recommended by: Huey Morgan, Loose Ends

鈥淜ey to the Kuffs may in fact be JJ鈥檚 finest hour. He sources an array of samples from TV shows featuring stereotypically-accented cockneys; he unleashes creepily creaky beats that could have graced the first Wu-Tang album, while DOOM drops Anglophilia on tracks called Guv鈥檔or and Rhymin鈥� Slang.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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Holy Other 鈥� Held

(Tri Angle; released 27 August)

Recommended by: Rob da Bank

鈥淗eld is uniformly sorrowful. These are bass ballads for clubs where everyone sits around wearing headphones luxuriating in their own private misery. The tracks are instrumental but there are voices everywhere, cut up and tweaked or stretched out, leaving echoes of silence. It sounds like Michael Jackson slowed down to 18bpm, or R. Kelly in Hell.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On SoundCloud: (external link)

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Bloc Party 鈥� Four

(French Kiss; released 20 August)

Recommended by: Zane Lowe, 6 Music Album of the Day, Rob da Bank

鈥淔rom the moment So He Begins to Lie tears out of the speakers, it鈥檚 obvious that Bloc Party have dodged expectations again. Lissack鈥檚 fantastically crunchy riff, Okereke鈥檚 echoing vocal and Matthew Tong鈥檚 feverish drum rolls forcefully prove that Bloc Party are a real band again, and a rock band at that. Four may be 2012鈥檚 most exciting guitar album, and who would have predicted that?鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link; contains strobe-like effects)

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OMBRE 鈥� Believe You Me

(Asthmatic Kitty Records; released 27 August)

Recommended by: Tom Ravenscroft

鈥淛ulianna Barwick鈥檚 vocals are weightless, near-indiscernible things that colour the acoustic strums of Helado Negro. They slow-dance their way around the light percussion of the divine Cara Falsa and Dawning鈥檚 sun-dappled drones. Sultry summer nights following somnolent summer days, you鈥檝e just found your new soundtrack.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On SoundCloud: (external link)

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Bill Fay 鈥� Life Is People

(Dead Oceans; released 20 August)

Recommended by: Freak Zone, Ralph McLean

鈥淪ome careers are hard-fought; some are just hard. And some are as lonely as the long-distance runner. Bill Fay鈥檚 happens to be all three. His first album for 41 years, Life Is People is hugely moving. Sad, too, but a comforting Nick Drake-style sad, so you wouldn鈥檛 want it any other way. It represents the return of a prodigal son you never knew existed.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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Roller Trio 鈥� Roller Trio

(F-IRE; released 6 August)

Recommended by: Jazz on 3, Gilles Peterson

鈥淭he trio plays sharp, taut lines, unleashing a sizeable energy rush through volleys of needling four-, six- and three-note phrases that relentlessly and seamlessly shift position as pieces unfold. Roller Trio feels like a group that could evolve into a significant force in contemporary jazz 鈥� the grooves have hip hop, funk and rock resonances that suggest an interest in what鈥檚 happening outside of improvised music.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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Chilly Gonzales 鈥� Solo Piano II

(Gentle Threat; released 27 August)

Recommended by: Cerys Matthews

鈥淥ften compared to Erik Satie, Gonzales鈥� compositions provide a welcome respite from everyday noise, showing a sophisticated ear for melody despite their initial emergence from improvisation. A welcome throwback to simpler, gentler times, Solo Piano II breaks no rules; but these days, coming from a star of so-called 鈥榓lternative鈥� music, this is arguably as revolutionary as it gets.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

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Karine Polwart 鈥� Traces

(Hegri Music; released 13 August)

Recommended by: Mike Harding, Bob Harris

鈥淭races reveals Polwart's talents as a writer, above all. Rather than sounding like a simple collection of songs, it plays like a book of short stories set to music. The musical landscape behind her is also broader and more inventive than before, with wheezing Indian harmonium, floor percussion and field recordings adding new levels of atmosphere. It all adds up to an album that will live long, an album to live with, and live in.鈥�

Read the full 主播大秀 review
On YouTube: (external link)

Artist: Rita Ora
Album: ORA
Recommended by: Fearne Cotton

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After a spotlight-stealing set at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, Ora's debut album, ORA, was released on 27 August through Jay-Z's Roc Nation label. Featuring contributions from the likes of The-Dream, Diplo, Drake, Chase & Status, will.i.am and J Cole, it's the sort of star-studded affair that can't fail to translate into even more success for the London-based artist.

主播大秀 Music spoke to Ora just ahead of her album's release.

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The album's been about two years in the making - is it a relief to have it finally out there?
Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. If it was up to me I'd have been working on this stuff forever - but I'm relieved now that everyone can hear it. I'm going to love hearing what people think about it - I'm really excited about that.

You've spoken before about your love of Gwen Stefani and No Doubt - but these are hardly cool, contemporary touchstones for a new pop artist to have.
All I can do is take influences from where I was raised. And I was raised in west London, so things like the Notting Hill Carnival was always around me, and I'd listen to all the music I could from London. But also I listened to a lot of American pop - and I think that does come through in my music. There's soul in there, and some carnival flavour too. I'm influenced by music that my dad used to play, too, like Sade.

You've got a mezzo-soprano vocal range - is it fair to say that people haven't heard everything you're capable of yet, on the singles?
I think you're going to definitely hear more sides to my voice on the album - and that it's going to seem more distinctive after this album comes out. I don't think I'll get compared to so many other artists, vocally, once people hear how I am singing on the album.

Amongst the more interesting collaborators on the album is The-Dream. He's huge in the US, and world-renowned as a great writer and producer; but not so well known as an artist in his own right in the UK. What was it like to work with him?
It's true that he's not really made it in the UK as an artist, but he's written Baby for Justin Bieber, Beyonc茅's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), and Umbrella for Rihanna, so he's written some really defining moments in the careers of some of pop's biggest artists. So he knows what he's doing. In terms of him connecting here... I guess you have to build from the ground up as an artist, whereas it might be easier as a songwriter as the artist you're writing for may have already done that groundwork. We worked together out in Orange County. He listened to me sing, and then he wrote from there. He listens to a voice and writes a song to suit that voice. I don't really take a breath in the song I've done with him, Roc the Life - it's not rapping, but it has a similar flow.

That must have been refreshing, as many a producer/writer will amass a stock of songs to then use with particular artists, rather than tailor one so exactly.
Yeah, like you say, that happens a lot - and it's hard for a singer to adapt to certain tracks. But you have to work this out for yourself - and a lot of singers do after their first albums. But The-Dream really took the time to get to know me as a person, and I think that really helped the song. That relationship made a big difference.

Sounds like a dream come true...
(Laughs) I'm going to tell him you said that.

What about in the future? Any dream collaborations? No pun intended...
Diplo's a good friend of mine so I'd like to work more with him. And I'd love to work with a producer who nobody really knows yet.

We saw you at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend. What's it been like, taking these songs from the studio to the stage?
I think I've always been fine on stage - though I get nervous beforehand. But once I'm on stage, all of that goes out of the window. It's such an amazing rush... it's a really good feeling.

Finally, do you have any favourite albums, other than your own of course, from 2012 so far?
Frank Ocean's album, I love that. Chris Brown had an album out this year too, didn't he? That was good. I can't think who's had an album out! Netsky's album was great, and Lana Del Rey's album was really good. It was all about heartbreak, and every song was about the same thing really. But she managed to sing each song differently, and really put her own identity on it.

ORA is out now on Roc Nation and reviewed on 主播大秀 Music.

Last week...

On Monday we told you that Jessie Ware was in Maida Vale studios to record live versions of some of the standout tracks on her new record, Devotion, for Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank, including 110% and Wildest Moments. The show expires on Saturday but that will be up for the next three weeks.

We also told you about Andy Williams' remarkable collection of duets from his 1960s variety show, where he sang with the likes of Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and more. If you're a particular fan of Andy Williams himself (hey, it happens; Nelson Muntz couldn't get enough) then you'll likely want to see the solo programme, too. Moon River, stuff like that. And those eyes.

On Tuesday we told you about Tim Garland and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra doing as part of the Proms season. As above, the programme's expiring as you read this but there is a short clip which gives you the flavour of it.

Wednesday we gave you a little nudge to not forget about , which aims to bring you two hours of the best up-and-coming bands from every corner of the United Kingdom every week.

On Thursday we pointed you toward Radio 2's highlights of the in Nashville, the biggest, oldest country music fest in the world, filling an American football stadium with fans of Kenny Rogers, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Kip Moore, and of course, plenty more. This is a 4-part series, so dig in.

We also let you know that Green Day played songs from their unreleased album on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show... right off their own iPod. Their management was not pleased, to put it mildly. You've got less than a week to hear it before it vanishes from the servers. After that you'll have to wait for the actual release.

Today we let you know that kicks off today (yes, that's the way you spell it now, with a plus, like Florence + the Machine, even though when speaking it you say "and", not "plus"). The Cure are headlining. The last time they played the Reading festival stage was 33 years ago, when they were touring to promote their very first record.

Coming up...

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In addition to Reading + Leeds there's the Notting Hill Carnival, of course. Robbo Ranx's dancehall show last night was just ridiculously good. Things keep warming up over the weekend and kick into full-blown heavy vibes on the bank holiday Monday, especially on 1Xtra, which will be broadcasting live from Carnival all afternoon and airing a two-hour set from Norman Jay in the evening, recorded live on the Good Times bus.

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If your tastes run more to opera, the cast of the English National Opera's 2009 production of Britten's Peter Grimes reunites for one night only to perform it again. It's considered one of Britten's best works; in the words of conductor Edward Gardner, "It's a piece that, at its best, feels unshackled and dangerous, and very un-English."

New albums

We have reviews of Aiden Grimshaw, Bill Fay, Bloc Party, Cate Le Bon, Dylan LeBlanc, Evan Caminiti, Goat, Jessie Ware, JJ DOOM, Owl City, Ry Cooder, Stealing Sheep, The Darkness, The Heavy, Tom Bancroft: Trio Red, Trey Songz and Yeasayer.

During the week, about programmes across the 主播大秀 we'd like to draw your attention to. But not everyone's on Twitter of course, and those who are won't necessarily see every tweet that comes in.

So each Friday we'll aim to recap what's caught our ears (and sometimes eyes) over the last five days. Most programmes will still be available for catch-up listening, so we hope this will be a useful way of reminding you about your last chance to see or hear these shows. And we'll give you a couple of ideas about what the 主播大秀 is planning for the weekend. If you have your own suggestions, let us know in the comments!

We also review loads of records every week, so we'll round up our reviews of the new releases at the bottom.

This week...

On Monday we told you about Ronnie Spector's 4-part series on the rise and fall of doo-wop, originally broadcast in 2007 on Radio 2. The current episode is Part 2, when doo-wop starts hitting the charts with groups like the Ravens and the Orioles.

You've got until Sunday night at 20:00 to listen to it. Then Part 3 comes online, covering groups with evocatively naive names like the Moonglows, the Penguins, the Cadillacs and the Five Satins, when doo-wop began moving fully into the mainstream of American popular culture.

On Tuesday we pointed out that DOOM - the rapper sometimes known as MF Doom - was on Loose Ends over the weekend on Radio 4, doing a rare appearance with a live band and chatting a bit with Clive Anderson. Clive's uncertainty over how to handle a studio guest wearing a large metal mask is frankly adorable, and DOOM shows he's no joke with a terrific performance over a languid, smoky jazz backing.

Wednesday we steered you to Radio 1's Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter, which played Andrew W.K.'s live session tracks from 主播大秀's Maida Vale studios amongst the usual heavy riffage. Mr W.K. himself was in contact with the studio via, what else, Twitter, answering listener questions on proper party techniques.

Thursday we let you know about 1Xtra's 10th birthday, punctuated by Trevor Nelson doing a special two-hour show on both Radio 1 and 1Xtra. There were live performances from Professor Green and Jessie J, as well as an impressive 8-minute vocal medley of classic RnB from Cleo Sol and Angel.

Today we'd like to point you toward a fascinating documentary about whether musical tastes evolve according to Darwin's theories of natural selection. Darwin's Tunes talks with composers and evolutionary biologists, as well as a bioinformatician who's created a computer programme that creates a menu of beats and loops that users can rate in order to produce the "fittest" music.

Coming up...

Saturday night at 10pm on Dave Pearce's Dance Years, the legendary Jocelyn Brown joins Dave in the studio to talk about her favourite songs and some of the highlights from a career that includes diva duties for everyone from Chic to Cerrone.

Proms 2012 continues its stately march toward the end of summer. There is an unbelievable variety of music on tap, so check out the radio schedule and the TV schedule to find out what's happening when.

New albums

This week we reviewed new albums by Cheek Mountain Thief; James%20Yorkston; Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band; Karima Francis; Karine Polwart; Oris Jay Darqwan; Ride; Sidsel Endresen & Stian Westerhus; Spector; The Brilliant Things; The Kinks; bands doing a Fleetwood Mac tribute; artists from WOMAD; While She Sleeps and WHY?

The shortlist of the 12 albums that will contest this year's Mercury Prize (for Album of the Year) will be announced in roughly a month's time, on 12 September. For this year's prize, the eligibility period runs from 12 July 2011 to 10 September 2012 - which means last year's SBTRKT album can't make the cut, but this year's comeback by The xx might. The prize is open to all albums by British and Irish artists. The winner will be confirmed at the Awards Show on 1 November.

Just for fun, I picked through a selection of the best albums released during the aforementioned eligibility period, cutting an initial tranche of over 50 excellent LPs down to 12 that just might feature in the official shortlist when it's announced. What have I missed out? Who's your favourite to win on 1 November? Let me know in the comments section below.

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Rustie - Glass Swords
Warp, released 10 October 2011
主播大秀 review

Young Scottish producer Rustie, born Russell Whyte, has been active on the domestic EDM scene for some time, having released his debut single in 2007. Glass Swords is his first album, and serves as a fantastic summarisation of his exploits to date while also throwing forwards to a potentially remarkable future. Awarding the album 8.0, Pitchfork's Jess Harvell called this collection an "up-to-the-minute rush... an instant hit of what electronic pop felt like in 2011", while 主播大秀 reviewer Rory Gibb called it a "coherent and involving listen". Glass Swords was ranked as the ninth best album of 2011 by The Guardian - could it be best in show come November?

On YouTube: (audio only; external link)

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Django Django - Django Django
Because Music, released 30 January 2012
主播大秀 review

Earning itself top marks from The Guardian, close-to-perfect scores at Q, NME and Mojo, and radio support from Tom Robinson and Lauren Laverne at 6 Music (where it was also an Album of the Day), Django Django's eponymous debut is one of the standout critical hits of the year so far. But unlike many a muso success, the London-based, Edinburgh-formed four-piece translated their in-print praise into commercial clout, with this set peaking at 33 on the UK albums chart. No mean feat for a group fusing African sounds with art-rock and neo-psychedelia, to pinch a pigeonhole or two from Wikipedia. The 主播大秀's review began with a scenario-setting standfirst: "A proposition to confound expectations of what an 'indie' band should be." This is a special album from a special band.

On YouTube: (external link)

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June Tabor & Oysterband - Ragged Kingdom
Topic Records, released 19 September 2011
主播大秀 review

Warwick-born folk artist June Tabor waited 21 years to rekindle her on-record relationship with The Oyster Band (here credited as Oysterband), but the end results were well worth the wait. The follow-up to 1990's Freedom and Rain mixed traditional songs with a spread of fine interpretations of more contemporary cuts - among them, Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart and PJ Harvey's That Was My Veil. fRoots magazine had it top the pile of their best albums of 2011, and Ragged Kingdom also attracted considerable praise from The Guardian (five stars from five, thank you very much) and the 主播大秀. Our reviewer, Colin Irwin, commented that "this is an album that constantly scores on almost every level". A folk album has never won the Mercury Prize - could 2012 be the year the genre chalks up its first success?

On YouTube: (external link)

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Kindness - World, You Need a Change of Mind
Polydor, released 19 March
主播大秀 review

One of the more divisive albums on this speculative shortlist of 12, the debut collection from Kindness (aka Adam Bainbridge) earned an exceptional reception at Uncut and The Fly, but got its marching orders straight to the do-not-press-play pile from NME and The Observer. The 主播大秀 review praised its invention, comparing its architect to such influential sorts as Kate Bush and Brian Wilson; but it also highlighted its shambolic moments, and the questionable cover of Anyone Can Fall in Love (yes, the EastEnders titles theme). So why is it here? Well, World... has grown on these ears substantially since its release, and its second half - its side B in old money - is amongst the strongest heard in pop since Purple Rain. If you dismissed it earlier this year, the time's right for reassessment.

On YouTube: (external link)

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JJ DOOM - Key to the Kuffs
Lex Records, released 20 August
主播大秀 review

Remember the controversy that surrounded Antony and the Johnson's victory with I Am a Bird Now in 2005? If JJ DOOM's debut set earns itself a shortlist place, expect a similar furore. But it's every bit as eligible as the other albums here, as rapper DOOM (aka Daniel Dumile) was born in London before relocating to New York. Hip hop's hardly a mainstay genre on the Mercury shortlists, but last year's nod for Ghostpoet was well deserved, and Key to the Kuffs is the sort of potential plaudit-magnet that could sneak into contention. Plus, two of its guests - Damon Albarn and Portishead's Beth Gibbons - are no strangers to the Mercury process. The 主播大秀's reviewer Noel Gardner stated that this album may be producer Jneiro Jarel's finest work yet (and he's no slouch in the quality stakes), labelling the end product "terrific".

On YouTube: (audio only; external link)

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The Invisible - Rispah
Ninja Tune, released 11 June
主播大秀 review

So often music serves as window into the soul of its maker, and The Invisible's second album is a collection that couldn't come from anywhere but the heart of frontman Dave Okumu. Touched by the pain of Okumu losing his mother, it's a set that takes sorrow as a driving force to create some truly sensational songs, which neither wallow nor mope but aim strictly for the stars, dazzling with exquisite musicianship. This is catharsis as both inspiration and execution, an exercise in articulating innermost feelings for universal audiences - and it's a tremendous success, head and shoulders above the achievements of the London band's eponymous debut, which earned a Mercury nomination in 2009. A winner in waiting? Perhaps. Certainly, there are few albums in the running that lay themselves so open as this one.

On YouTube: (external link)

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Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
Fish People, released 21 November
主播大秀 review

Already amongst the bookies' favourites to win the 2012 Mercury, Kate Bush's sublime and ridiculous winter collection is her first set of wholly new material since 2005's Aerial. Worth the wait? The critics thought so: top marks from The Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian placed it amongst last year's very best, and it ranked at 17 on 主播大秀 Music's own top 25 of 2011. Reviewing for the 主播大秀, Jude Rogers wrote that 50 Words for Snow is "classic Kate", and that the album reflects a season that "brings out the profound and absurd in equal measure". The question remains, though: would the notoriously publicity shy Bush venture in front of the cameras to collect her prize if this proves to be 2012's Mercury Prize Album of the Year?

On YouTube: (eternal link)

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TrioVD - Maze
Naim Edge, released 21 May
主播大秀 review

Jazz releases are regularly seen as make-up-the-numbers entries in the Mercury shortlist, with no album from the domestic scene ever walking away triumphantly. But Leeds-based improv outfit TrioVD offer something that's never truly featured in a shortlisted jazz LP: an incredible energy that's nearly unmatched by any release, from any genre, in 2012. Its riffs are sharper than many found in the rock world; its dynamics shift with a blindsiding power that electronica only occasionally captures. Maze both defies convention and adheres to its own rules: in so much as it sets out none initially, and makes them up as it goes along. "One of the most inventive and transgressive albums of 2012," said 主播大秀 reviewer Sid Smith, while The Guardian's John Fordham called the group "fearlessly independent". If they win, it'll be with an album of unprecedented design.

On YouTube: (external link)

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Jessie Ware - Devotion
PMR/Island, released 20 August
主播大秀 review

Just as previous Mercury Prize nominee Katy B went from guest vocalist of no little impressiveness on a series of dance cuts, so too has south London's Jessie Ware. After singing on tracks by Joker and SBTRKT, Ware's own solo material has been fantastically well received, this debut collection preceded by a spread of fine standalones. With support from Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6 Music, she's managing to cover several audiences and appeal to each with a rare effortlessness, her soulful, sophisticated pop evidently a cross-genre, perhaps cross-generational success. Vulnerable of spirit yet powerful of voice, Ware's a newcomer who already feels established - and the Mercury panel might well reward this rightly rising artist with their Album of the Year accolade.

On YouTube: (external link)

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Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
Infectious Records, released 28 May
主播大秀 review

"A deeply exciting, original and inventive debut," is how the 主播大秀's Jen Long described this introductory set from Leeds foursome Alt-J - and the band's riding high at the very top of the bookies' favourites, with odds of 6/4 at the time of writing. As last year's success for PJ Harvey proves, every so often the favourite for the Mercury does come away victorious - so perhaps the same fate awaits these purveyors of what's been widely labelled 'folk-step'. It's not quite Mumfords via Modeselektor, but the press-coined pigeonhole does convey a true-enough sense of what this lot is about: prickly beats atop strummed acoustics, semi-reminiscent of Bombay Bicycle Club fronting an instrumental from Four Tet at his most bucolic. Back to Jen for some closing words: "(this is the) perfect accompaniment to any mood, any moment, anywhere." Certainly sounds like a contender.

On YouTube: (external link)

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Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky's Edge
Parlophone, released 7 May
主播大秀 review

Another favourite with the bookies, and another amongst this dozen who's previously been nominated for the Mercury - Richard Hawley's fourth album, Coles Corner, was shortlisted in 20006. The Sheffield artist's seventh studio collection has soaked up its share of critical acclaim - The Guardian's Alexis Petridis awarded it five stars, while NME and the Evening Standard had plenty of positives to say - and also represents its maker's highest-charting album yet, peaking at three in the UK. 主播大秀 reviewer Wyndham Wallace praised Hawley's "guitar hero" contributions, but also noted that never does this musician slip into overindulgence. And it's this balance, between self-satisfying artistry and existing audience appreciation, that has made Standing at the Sky's Edge such a success.

On YouTube: (audio only; external link)

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Kuedo - Severant
Planet Mu, released 17 October
主播大秀 review

Should this exemplary solo set from Vex'd's Jamie Teasdale make the Mercury shortlist, expect there to be a spread of confused faces at the announcement of his name. For while there's no doubting the exceptional qualities of this at turns warmly analogue and sci-fi-suggestive slice of retro-futuristic electronica, it's not exactly on the radar of the masses. And, as such, it would be a remarkable surprise for inclusion amongst the final 12. However, personally it's right up there with the very best albums, regardless of genre, released during the Mercury's eligibility period, and having revisited the LP in the planning for this piece, a leftfield nod would be most welcomed. After all, who expected Burial's Untrue to be nominated in 2008, really? If the panel's feeling bold, and wanted to celebrate one of the UK's finest albums of its kind (of all time), now's the moment...

On YouTube: (audio only; external link)

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Interested in the names that made up my original (massive) list of Mercury Prize contenders? Well, here they are - no doubt some of this lot will make the shortlist grade, while some of the above won't. In no particular order...

Paul Buchanan, Blood Orange, Toddla T, Bombay Bicycle Club, Laura Marling, Emika, Peggy Sue, Remember Remember, Luke Haines, The 2 Bears, The Maccabees, Portico Quartet, Gang Colours, Field Music, Errors, Pulled Apart By Horses, Paul Weller, Dry the River, Actress, Tindersticks, Beth Jeans Houghton, Orbital, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, Micachu and the Shapes, Hot Chip, Plan B, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Dexys, Graham Coxon, Cooly G, Holy Other, Roller Trio, Bill Fay, Karine Polwart, The xx, Pet Shop Boys, Mala, Echo Lake, Two Door Cinema Club, Saint Etienne.

Quite the list, there. Any of them would be a worthy nominee. The shortlist will be announced 12 September.

For such a small island, Jamaica's musical influence has been immense. In 1962, when it gained its independence and first flew the distinctive gold, green and black flag, its singers, musicians and their producers declared musical independence too.

Over the past fifty years, the island's bass-heavy sounds, its gifted vocalists and musicians and its innovative studio techniques have spread around the globe and had a profound effect on music of all sorts. Last month 主播大秀 Radio 6 Music celebrated The Rolling Stones, the month before punk and in May dance culture鈥� Jamaican music has left its mark on each.

Throughout August we celebrate 50 years of Jamaican independence with a wealth of programmes about its greatest export. Originators Jimmy Cliff and Toots Hibbert visit 主播大秀 Radio 6 Music to perform live. Don Letts, David Rodigan, Colin Grant and Gideon Coe play the tunes and explain how Jamaica changed music fundamentally with innovative sounds such as dub (the original drum 'n' bass) and toasting (a precursor to rap) absorbed around the globe,.

We have searched the 主播大秀 radio archives for documentaries, concerts and sessions (many recorded for John Peel, an early champion of reggae). We feature Bob Marley & the Wailers, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Burning Spear, Culture, Horace Andy, Mikey Dread and others, as well as UK artists inspired by Jamaican sounds.

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The origins of Jamaican music

Jamaica's declaration of musical independence came in 1962 with ska.听 Its celebratory feel was a reflection of Jamaica's new-found confidence, and its infectious beat and sound were revived both in the UK in the late seventies and in the USA in the eighties.

Recording The Upsetter - Lee Scratch Perry In His Own Words (beginning on 7^th August) was a wonderful experience - you can hear his jewellery rattling as he dances in the studio to the music he enjoyed and made. The extraordinary producer told me how much he had loved original 'yank' rhythm and blues music and Fats Domino in particular. Scratch revealed that his hit Return of Django is based on Domino's Sick and Tired.

Crucially though, Jamaican producers such as Scratch, Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid and Prince Buster and their inventive musicians put their own interpretation on rhythm and blues and jazz. They gave it a new beat and so created a brand new sound. That sound developed from ska into rocksteady then reggae, dub, dancehall and more.

The music was promoted at packed outdoors dances, where selectors played their records through improvised sound systems. Giant speaker cabinets were piled high and tannoy horns tied up in trees. Sounds systems travelled the island in large trucks and have since sprung up around the world. Sound system culture took over London's Notting Hill Carnival in the seventies.

As Don Letts points out, Jamaica's music has been a reliable social barometer, and times have sometimes been tough. Before long, the initial optimism of independence wore off as the economic and political realities began to bite and disaffected rude boys made their presence felt. The beat slowed down and the more brooding, reflective sound of rocksteady emerged. Reggae evolved from rocksteady and its lyrics often contained an element of reportage or commentary.

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Importing Jamaican sounds

The music travelled with Jamaicans who chose to make a new life in Britain and kept them and their children in touch with the island. As Don Letts explains in Tighten Up (beginning on 14^th August), entrepreneur Chris Blackwell and record labels such as Trojan started to cater for Jamaican settlers in the UK.听 To everyone's surprise, the music also appealed to other British music lovers in the 60s,. Blackwell later used this foothold in the UK to introduce Bob Marley & the Wailers to a global audience.

Meanwhile, inventive as ever, despite limited resources and rudimentary homemade or adapted domestic equipment, pioneering producers such as Lee Perry, King Tubby and Errol Thompson developed dub. In their hands, the studio mixing desk became an instrument in its own right. Existing tracks were stripped down, remixed and, with the use of echo and other effects, woven into thrilling new soundscapes. Dub techniques have been hugely influential in many other genres all around the world ever since.

Another Jamaican musical innovation that emerged with dub was toasting or deejaying. At the dances, originators such as U-Roy and King Stitt, followed by the likes of I-Roy and Big Youth, would talk over dubplates of songs from which the vocal had been mixed out. These unique, exciting performances captivated the crowds at dances and soon appeared on disc. Clearly, this was a major influence on rap and hip hop, which revolutionised music in the late 1970s.

Don Letts also explains how Jamaican music helped to empower him and others of his generation, born in Britain to parents who'd come from Jamaica. Don remembers going into the cinema in Brixton as a youth struggling for an identity, watching Jimmy Cliff starring in The Harder They Come, getting his first glimpse (other than picture postcards) of Jamaica听 and walking out a different man. He explains how black and white Britons loved the sounds of Jamaica and how empowering the music was for him and his peers.

Don Letts (4^th and 25^th August), David Rodigan (every Sunday in August), Colin Grant (5^th August) and Gideon Coe (6^th August) play all the crucial tunes. Documentaries presented by Brinsley Forde (Island Rock starting on 4^th August) and dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (From Mento to Lovers' Rock beginning 12^th August) explain Jamaican music's development. Hail the King (24^th August) explores Rastafari and the influence of Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie I, who visited Jamaica in 1966. The Record Producers (starting on 22^nd August), reveals how Jamaican music and pioneering studio techniques influenced recording the world over and how reggae crossed over into the pop market.

Since Jamaica gained independence, its music, style, food, language and culture have spread and been enjoyed around the world.听 Its motto is 'Out of Many, One People'.听 Fifty years on, Jamaica's musical heritage provides a remarkable tribute to the rich mix of creative people who have come from this unique island.