Joy Orbison

I can't begin to praise this man enough.

Since I came across his music towards the end of 2009 I literally haven't stopped listening to him, he is undoubtedly my favourite artist at present.

22 year old Joy Orbison (Peter O'Grady) is one of the most talked about artists of the year, having released the underground hit 'Hyph Mngo' backed with 'Wet Look' in September 2009. This has led to greater things for a man who has been highly praised by the like of Giles Peterson and Mary Anne Hobbs, with another release following soon after ('Brkln Clln'/'J.Doe'), and also a few remixes released (Jose James' 'Blackmagic' and Four Tet's 'Love Cry'). At the end of 2009 he set up his own record label with his partner Impey, which is named Doldrums records. The first release on the label was Orbison's 'Brkln Clln' and 'J.Doe' which was only released on vinyl (which I can't find anywhere!), and the label has recently signed the promising George Fitzgerald, who's music is similar in many ways to that of Orbison (check out Fitzgerald's 'Don't You' at his myspace page www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic).

His sound is very unique, with a combined sound of house, dubstep and funky. His signature is his use of looped vocal samples, which evoke a euphoric atmosphere within his songs (these include Boys II Men and Chris Brown, and when you can make a good song with Chris Brown's vocals you know you've got a decent artist on your hands). This sound has been recognised in also relatively mainstream areas, with NME and the BBC featuring Orbison on their lists of who to look out for in 2010.

On the 22nd February, Orbison released his latest singles, 'The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow' and 'So Derobe'. These tracks build upon his earlier success, and his new releases seem to get better and better. There are a few tracks on the Internet that haven't been released that are also brilliant, most notably 'GR Ettiquete' and 'Tentative Bidding'. As well as his own music, Orbison has released a number of mixes, with his 'DLDRMS001' and 'BSRkR01' (Downtempo Without Being Downbeat) mixes being standouts. He has also done a mini mix for Mary Anne Hobbs which is well worth listening too, with a few of Orbison's exciting unreleased material featuring. These mixes are widely available for free download on the Internet, and they can be accessed at Orbison's myspace page which is www.myspace.com/joyorbison.

This man is definitely one for the future, make sure you look out for him in the rest of 2010 and I'll keep you posted on his new releases and live performances coming up.