Interview with UK Rapper Jovel Walker

Hailed by listeners as "The only UK rapper I'd spend money on," Jovel Walker, also known as Random Impulse just released his newest independent album "Full Metal Alchemist".

Ucombo: We've had the pleasure listening to the tracks on your newest release "Full Metal Alchemist". I'm very much impressed by your clear sense of descriptiveness shown in the songs and your unique rapping style.

Ucombo: Could you tell us about the inspiration and story behind making this wonderful new project?

Jovel: you want the truth? anime! i'm a super nerd and i watch Japanese religously. The concept behind the album is based on a theory i took from the anime "full metal alchemist" (hence the album tittle) which is alchemy is understanding matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it as somthing else, so what i did is take all my musical influences break them down, then take all the bits that i found amazing and used it to make something completely different. Nerdy as hell right?

Ucombo: You sold an astonishing 10,000 units of independently with your first debut release "Word On The Street" in a short space of 6 months. What do you consider to be the most important factor in making that possible?

Jovel: Id have to say plain old drive and determination if im honest. theres SO many ways to get yourself out there and rather then just think about doing something, i actually DO it. Whether it be hitting the roads of oxford street selling cd's or messaging 100 people every day on myspace, i get on with it, and it all helps. theres no smoke, mirrors or miracle walk through guides im afraid peeps, just work your ass off


Ucombo: You were signed to extremely successful garage label Social Circles alongside underground superstars such as Dexplicit, Donae'o, ms dynamite and sticky as early as 2003. You must have only been around 17 years old at that time. Could you tell us more about your early musical life? How did you get started?

Jovel: I got into music really late, i spent my days studying to be a genetic engineer, then my friend showed me jay-z's blueprint two and it changed my life. next thing you know i was on stage with dizzee rascal at the 2003 peoples choice awards. I cant explained the actual trasition from science to music, it just flowed and i picked it up really quicky. I've still got loads of catching up to do though music wise: i still havent heard any of 2pacs or biggies albums, i havent even got around to hearing nas's illmatic yet!


Ucombo: Who are your most important musical influences?

Jovel: firstly id have to say alex turner from the arctic monkeys: hes my writing idol. At close second is jay-z, if it weren't for him i wouldnt even have started. there are so many more people that I look to for inspiration but i'd have to say those two are at the core.


Ucombo: Any future project plans?

Jovel: hell yeah dude! im doing my "collaboration runs" now that the albums out, ive got a song due out produced by terror danjah with me and dizzee rascal, an indie-based 7 track free mixtape/ep called indie-pendance day and of course the new album which is easily my best work to date so keep your eyes peeled!


Ucombo: It's been our pleasure listening to your songs and thank you for agreeing
to let us interview you. Look forward to hearing more music from you and best of luck to your new release.

Jovel: the pleasure was all mine dude, thanks for having me! :)

"Full Metal Alchemist" - Independent New Release by Random Impulse

Genres are specific tools that artists choose to express their feelings, views, and visions. Some artists do not confine themselves into one genre instead they use a more crossing genre style to define their style thus making their music stand out among the many. It is apparent to say the least that 22 year old UK based Random Impulse is one of the great talents who is distinctively recognized for his unique genre-crossing concepts.

Hailed by listeners as "The only UK rapper I'd spend money on," Random Impulse's newest independent release "Full Metal Alchemist" truly shows his multi-faceted persona perfectly. Unlike many other artists of the same genre, his song concepts stretch across an unusually large spectrum.

Whether he's expressing fear from his unstable workaholic life with the dramatic piano driven "Suicide," forcing you to feel a deep sense of guilt and empathy as he speaks first person as an addicted mother on the soul rendering "The Heroine" Or simply captivating all of the senses with his dynamic story-telling abilities in the form of "Time Travel" where his descriptiveness reaches levels to the point where you could almost swear you can physically see the events in his epic tale.

From Goths and skaters to street and urban, the young artist Jovel Walker, otherwise known as Random Impulse is off to a fantastic start.

He was interviewed on June 6th, 2008 on Kiss FM in the UK to promote his newest independent release "Full Metal Alchemist".

Promote your Band Well: The Secret to Get Signed!

There are many talented music artists. Unfortunately, not all of them were able to land a recording contract. That is the sad plight that many bands of different genres and from different parts of the world are facing.

A recording contract is an important factor to spell a band's success. As mentioned earlier, not all the bands in the world were lucky to enjoy such a privilege. But even then, unsigned bands should never lose hope, especially now that avenues are available to promote unrecognized talents.

The Internet indeed has opened many doors of opportunities for every body – including record hopefuls. To date, there are countless online sites in operation that offer promotion grounds for unsigned bands and artists who are looking to get closer to their dreams of becoming recording stars.

Promotion and marketing need to be effective for any unsigned band to be recognized. Music sites serve as a pathway for band artists to get signed by way of featuring their music in a sweet, sweet package. Undoubtedly, they provide the elusive opportunity for the music of unsigned bands to get its needed exposure. When record honchos want to come up with a fresh talent, they look through those music sites and see what are in store. If anything impressed them, they would start getting in touch with the band and soon enough, a record (and stardom!) is underway! That process, however, is not as simple as it may seem.

For unsigned bands to get the recognition enough to land them a recording contract, they need to package their music (and the band itself) well. Getting rave reviews from random site users must be their goal because...Click here to read more about the Secret to get signed.

Helping Your Band Make Its Way to the Top

You have just formed your own band but do not know how to promote your music. Having an unsigned band promoted is tough for several reasons. For starters, you do not have enough money to help you promote your music and CDs. More so, even if you have gigs, there is no way that you can receive top dollar from those gigs for that fact that your band is just starting out in the business.

Aside from those reasons, another factor that plays a major role in promoting your band is your fans. If you are in an unsigned band it is particularly hard to acquire an audience and even if you do, only a few of them are willing to pay for your CDs or watch your live performances.

The music industry is a business. Not knowing the ins and outs of it can make one drive off course and lose sight of the goal. It is hard but important to learn the inner workings of the music industry but with helpful guidelines, you can slowly make your way to the top.

You have spent hours and hours in your garage trying to get your demo sound like an actual record though it does not seem to sound like one. Even if you have sophisticated equipments to help you create top-notch music, it is difficult to make a demo if you do not know how to make the most out of those equipments...click here to read more about promoting bands.

Can't Stop the Music!

It's the 21st century and everyone's got their own personal soundtrack! Everywhere you go you see people with iPods, Creatives, or any random MP3 player stuck to their ears. Most people can't get through their mornings without a little tune to wake them up. Seems like everyone needs to listen to music, to feel a beat, to hear a melody. It gets you through the boring bits of the day. Do you have an hour long commute ahead of you? Listen to music. Just plug in your earphones and put on a little Amy Winehouse or maybe some Kanye West. If you want to relax and mellow down, listen to some Jeff Buckley. Or if you want to move your feet, just listen to Justin croon his Sexyback. Going out with your friends? If you want to dance all night, listen to the music playing in the hottest clubs and groove and grind to the beat.

Music is one of those things that can bridge any gap. Old men, young kids, Asians, Europeans; it doesn't matter! Anyone and everyone know what music is. Its a sure bet that kids living in the Amazon jungle have heard Michael Jackson and Madonna. If you go to Japan and walk into a club and they'll be playing the same songs as kids in America. Singers in England know Edith Piaf's songs even of they don't speak French. Music is universal, and if people across the world have one thing in common it's that they listen to music. And they don't have a lack of options! Music is anything but boring; it changes and grows every day. Nowadays we have pop-rock, country-pop, indie-blues and any other genre you can think of. Whatever you want, guaranteed there is an artist out there that has a tune to fit your style and your mood.

Getting music is easier than it was ten or even five years ago. We don't even have to buy CDs anymore, what with the incredible invention of MP3s and the internet. You can just download songs from the comfort of your own home. You can get songs by the dozen and have them ready in ten minutes... click here to read more

Giving away free music on the internet

Why should you give away free music on the internet? One obvious reason is that people don't need to pay. People I mean by teenagers and generation Y and beyond. Those are the audiences who don't understand life without the internet. You probably can find a free copy of any given song on the internet if you dig far enough.

The latest proof to this is that big record labels are teaming up with the social networking sites to promote and distribute music. This is the marketing niche where independent musicians have had since the beginning of the internet usage. So how much impact will the indie musicians feel? Big. The social networking communities have been independent musicians' marketing channel, the entry of big players will certainly push the small bands to the back burner. For independent musicians to achieve any form of success on the Internet, they have to take radical steps that big labels won't take such as giving away music for free. At this point we don't know how the record label/social networking music alliance will work out, but one thing for certain is that the music won’t be all for free downloading.

The beginning of an end of the traditional music distribution channels

The traditional record labels dominated music market is coming to an end. If you haven't noticed the latest MP3 download services on Amazon.com, you're missing the beginning of the end of traditional music distribution era.

The big players now are teaming with social networking sites such as myspace.com to find new ways to sell music. Why? They can't help it. People don't want to pay for CDs anymore. Plus, there's no need to buy CDs when you can download music for free somewhere on the internet. After several years of battling, the big labels finally realized the trend is irreversible.

However, this is not new for the independent/unsigned musicians. Indie musicians have long been promoting their recordings via unconventional channels. The entry of the big record labels on the internet music communities will have an impact on the indie musicians. But unsigned musicians still have one obvious advantage over the big labels – giving out music for free.