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TIME FOR PLAN B… Time Out “Astonishing. The best British debut of the year”. ***** Plan B is certainly not your average MC. Granted he can spit rhymes and hold his own against any rapper or MC but as fast as the words can roll from his tongue he can switch his vocals from the street-wise, no-nonsense grime-like story telling street crier into a stunningly sweet and soulful serenade whilst softly strumming on his acoustic guitar. It’s because of this contradictorily musical spectrum that is Plan B that put him on the map in the first place and is the reason he's as likely to be playing indie venues or folk clubs as he is hip hop jams, raves, or R&B gigs and equally as likely to pull crowds and fans from each genre and sensibility. “I taught myself a few chords and tried to write rock songs. I grew up listening to stuff like Radiohead and Prodigy and Nirvana and drum and bass, and I tried to do stuff like that on the guitar…” His bleak, cinematic, X-rated urban poetry is laced with a mordant wit and a strong dose of pathos and truly highlights the strength, insight and understanding he has towards today’s society, its youth and the urban culture in which they exist. His songs delve equally as deep into each of his characters psyche as much as he picks away at the social environments for which they are part of and either contribute or fall victim within its decline. Plan B, is a modern day town crier; a street-wise social commentator with soul and lyrics as his ammunition. Off stage, Plan B is Ben Drew, born in 1983 in Forest Gate, East London, where he still lives. His mother single handedly raised and supported him after his father left the both of them when he was very young. His mother bought Ben his first guitar when he was 14 and that’s when he started writing songs as a form of expressing the pain and confusion he felt as a young lad. “I wasn't this Justin Timberlake-style sweet-boy. After a couple of years of that I thought, fuck this sweet-boy shit, it's time for plan B. I gonna do things on my own terms. Now I'm going to be whoever I want. I'm going to be a cunt if I want.” On stage, you have Plan B, a young East London MC who performs alone, armored only with his powerfully menacing story telling driven by an acoustic guitar, played in a curiously folksy, finger picking style. It's a sound that leaves music fans grasping at references. Nick Cave's murder ballads? Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues'? Shut Up And Dance's 'Autobiography Of A Crackhead'? Eminem's sordid white-trash doggerel? Quentin Tarantino? There's even a sequence which recounts a murder in reverse that recalls not so much Nas's 'Rewind' but Martin Amis's 'Time's Arrow'. “I don’t want anything I do to be pigeonholed... Some people are scared by that. It confuses them. But you can’t put me in a box.” Hip Hop Connection 4/5 “Debuts don’t come much better than this….Plan B has a diverse vocal style and an uncompromising view of society. Brilliant” Then to rock things up a little along came acclaimed punkfuck producer Paul Epworth (Futureheads, Bloc Party, The Rakes, Maximo Park) to produce most of Bens rampantly raw material, some tracks also feature one of his good mates and fellow musician who also grew up in East London, Cassell The Beatmaker who skillfully lays the beats down with the Plan. The Times “ In a musical climate established by pop diarists such as Mike Skinner and Arctic Monkeys, the 22nd year-old’s articulate soliloquis-ing shouldn’t struggle to find a loving home” Cd Of The Week, The Times 4/5 “…'I couldn't afford to go in a studio and record any backing tracks, so having a guitar was great. I could just play gigs on my own. I'd fucking shit myself every time I went on stage. I'd be playing these urban gigs where everyone was using backing tracks. I'd come on with my acoustic guitar…” Plan B’s first exposure on US soil will be the digital EP coming out January 23rd 2007 on Cordless called the Time 4 Plan B EP. The EP displays Plan B’s unlimited range as an artist. From solo acoustic tracks to full band tracks to club bangers, it’s all represented on this exclusive introductory set of songs, track listing is below: Time 4 Plan B - 4 track digital EP - released 1/23/07 Plan B’s debut full length ‘Who Needs Actions When You Got Word’ is set for an April 17th 2007 release on Cordless in the US. Released late last year on 679 Recordings in the UK, ‘Who Needs Actions When You Got Words’ received an incredible amount of accolades in the UK and propelled Plan B to the forefront of the UK’s underground music scene. Almost as controversial as the album name ‘Who Needs Actions When You Got Words’ are the brutally raw lyrics to the first single ‘No Good.’ Raising the bar for ‘No Good’ is the award winning ‘Sledgehammer’-esque video that ingeniously transformed a mind-numbing three-day shoot into a true work of stop-start animation art and heralded the arrival of a new lyrical genius, is released properly with a clutch of suitably remarkable remixes. Plan B’s latest stint in the US, included a sold-out show at Joe’s Pub in NYC. Taking the stage with only his guitar and a microphone to accompany him for the solo acoustic set, he became the roles related to each of his songs; the fury behind ‘Kidz’ was felt intensely by the audience, and the sadness that is Mama (Loves A Crackhead) mesmerized the people in attendance. He traveled to LA to do the same set, and ended up at SXSW. It was in Austin that the full band joined Ben Drew to take to the stage for one final show. In hip hop it is unusual to have more then a DJ as your musician, but with the additions of bass and guitar players, drummer and DJ, the show took on an entirely new life. With ferocity at times, Ben focused his energy on the crowd, taking them through his songs with fervor, standing at the very edge of the stage to bring them in to his world. It was a powerful performance that left a lasting impression and firm grip on all whom saw it. We cannot wait to have them back – expect tour dates to be announced soon! About Cordless Street Recordings: To stream the entire Plan B EP, Full length album, watch the videos and download press photos/artwork visit the Cordless/Plan B asset page here: http://www.cordlessstreet.com/PlanB.html Evening Standard “a massive talent” **** For Media Inquiries, Please Contact Magnum PR (212)532-4650
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For more info contact: Sioux Zimmerman © 2006 Magnum PR & Management
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