Katy B - On A Mission (4 April 2011) - hype, anticipation &c

So yeah the gig was great on Tuesday, although she could probably have got away with playing for more than 45mins. It appears the new album is called Little Red and could go one way or the other.

The best song, Hot Like Fire is a Geeneus-produced banger a bit like Witches Brew/Broken Record. There's also a Joker-produced dubstep power ballad a bit like Go Away. It's pretty good. And there's a Jacques Greene collaboration called Sapphire Blue or some shit that sounds exactly like you think it's going to be. Plus a piano ballad.

I dunno, could go one way or the other.

same again then

https://soundcloud.com/katyb/i-like-you

produced by george fitzgerald. was unconvinced by this until the climax which completely won me over

Like it.

All of these are serviceable but they're also all at the level of the weaker tracks from On A Mission and I've not heard anything that approaches that record's highs yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLwSI06Mdg

correct configuration for this one imo

Lex is right, the breakdown is killer.

Would love an album of KB/MK (or indeed KB/Deckstar) jams.

do we know how much geeneus is on this?

(where "this" = the album)

Guardian interview in July

"I definitely think this is still a Rinse record," she says. "I've worked with Geeneus all along the way and it feels like it's half of his creation. It's kind of like I am in a band with Rinse. You never know, in the future, it might go somewhere else, I might get pregnant and make a country album, but right now this is Katy vs Rinse."

https://soundcloud.com/katyb/cry-for-no-reason

There's something awkwardly skingraftish about that Deckstar remix but it really does all come together for the breakdown.

My expectations for this album are lowering to such an extent that I might actually end up being pleasantly surprised.

oh this is the first stinker i've heard from her :////

and we've had three singles before this and they were all decent but decent album tracks not amazing singles

Katy B doing an emo-trance ballad should be so much better than this. I remember this from the gig, it was definitely the worst new song, I remember using it as an opportunity to go to the bar.

Fwiw the best new song from that gig, which is better than any of the new singles, hasn't made it onto the internet yet.

Tracklist:

01 Next Thing
02 5AM
03 Aaliyah feat Jessie Ware
04 Wicked Love
05 Crying For No Reason
06 I Like You
07 All My Loving
08 Tumbling Down
09 Blue Eyes
10 Sapphire Blue
11 Stay Down
12 What Love Is Made Of

ayyy

I don't see the name 'Hot Like Fire' anywhere there :( It was by miles the best of the new songs when she played live.

I might get pregnant and make a country album

Would obviously win an ILM EOY poll.

I was playing one of those DJ Q mixes in my car and at the end the Danger EP came on. It was a nice surprise, I had forgotten that I'd put it there.

album called little red with two tracks that say blue

(if I still blogged about music that would be 100 words, lucky everyone)

Piano ballad!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PV4A6N396M&feature=youtu.be&cid=nl%3A796457338&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ukcolumbia-katyb&utm_campaign=email|20131220&utm_content=nllink-2f7a5f20-4.%20Crying%20for%20No%20Reason

just got the email!

Matt, "Hot Like Fire" is on the deluxe edition (but it looks like they've removed "What Love Is Made Of"?):

1. Next Thing
2. 5 AM
3. Aaliyah (feat. Jessie Ware)
4. Crying for No Reason
5. I Like You
6. All My Lovin'
7. Tumbling Down
8. Everything
9. Play (feat. Sampha)
10. Sapphire Blue
11. Emotions
12. Still
13. Blue Eyes (deluxe only)
14. Stay Down (deluxe only)
15. Hot Like Fire (deluxe only)
16. Wicked Love (deluxe only)
17. Sky's the Limit (deluxe only)
18. Little Red (Continuous Mix) (deluxe only)

i saw her on that the bbc music show hosted by that former squeeze guy. she was good! she followed paul mccartney, and his song became instantly forgettable (not really a fair comparison at this stage of their respective lives, but still . . . )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOboa27SHDE

when i first heard this via soundcloud clip i became legitimately worried that her album might be subpar or at least patchy but now i have warmed up to it. as far as emo-trance ballads it's not quite "go away" or anything but it builds in a way that manages to be affecting to me

I really love this crying for no reason song. bewildered by the negative comments in here.

the negative comments came largely from when the only thing available was a 1:30 clip

agreed though, i love the song

It took a couple of spins, admittedly.

This could well be number 1 next week.

i'm quite surprised how much traction/buzz this song is getting. especially considering two underperforming singles leading into a sophomore album is so often a death knell

Crying For No Reason is getting Radio 2 play, which might account for its impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9oUQqkmwlI

damn

This could well be number 1 next week.

really? wow. good for her.

katy b's performance in that clip just gave me chills.

Think that MNEK track w/ Gorgon City is likelier to get to #1 but it has a top 5 chance I think. Depends on how things go during the week.

Both tracks are terrific.

i know she sings "now the pain is hitting me full force" in the chorus but i kind of prefer imagining the real lyrics to be a cricket-referencing mondegreen, namely "now the pain is hitting me for fours"

happy for her success though am still a bit irritated that of all the uk funky divas, she was the one whos been groomed and plucked out for success. *posting like its 2010*

Or, yknow, had the tunes to give her success.

right, cos fuzzy logik and egypt's In The Morning didnt have a tune... i think its pretty clear why she was considered a better bet.

Uh oh

you mean because of her looks, i assume?

(can't think of what else would be so "pretty clear" that it wouldn't need to be stated expressly. she isn't the close-relative of a media-mogul, as far as i know, and that would be the only other thing that might be "so clear").

Think that MNEK track w/ Gorgon City is likelier to get to #1 but it has a top 5 chance I think. Depends on how things go during the week.

― pearly-dewdrops' bops (monotony)

Seems like they picked a competitive week as Will.i.am has a new single out too. I can still see this being a massive hit for her.

wait, how many other uk funky tracks did katy b have? "lights on" is the only one i can think of

DJ NG's "Tell Me"
Geeneus' "As I"
Geeneus' version of "Good Life"

I think that was it

"Tell Me" was probably the scene's first homegrown vocal smash (pretty sure it was earlier than e.g. "Do You Mind" or Donae'o's "Devil In A Blue Dress") so her later success doesn't seem particularly unfair or arbitrary from that vantage point.

oh yes how could i forget "tell me"?? still my favorite track of hers

also jelly jams 'i try'

you mean because of her looks, i assume?

(can't think of what else would be so "pretty clear" that it wouldn't need to be stated expressly. she isn't the close-relative of a media-mogul, as far as i know, and that would be the only other thing that might be "so clear").

i assumed people were referring to her race tbh.

i've no idea what went on behind the scenes w/r/t katy b being the "chosen one" instead of ny or egypt or kyla or whoever - i don't doubt that ny in particular, from what we've heard of her songwriting, could have plausibly made an album on the level of on a mission. but katy was the one who DID make it, and to call her "groomed" for success downplays her own substantial talent, charisma and vision. it'd be naive not to note that of all the uk funky divas knocking around, the white girl got the commercial breakthrough - but who knows what combination of ambition, talent, work ethic or whatever went into that. ny aside, it's not like any of the others ever made anything other than one-off wondrous singles, there's no underrated uk funky diva album knocking around as an alternative to on a mission.