Raw like sushi

Ben Urdang writes: It’s amazing what you can stumble across in the back streets of London. With pop up bars and restaurants appearing and then disappearing with frenzied frequency it might now be the turn of pop up gigs and DJ sets.

While we had the heads up on a set by hip-hop DJ Jaguar Skills, most of the people who closed off a back street just behind Oxford Circus had no clue and were simply shoppers wandering around the hell that is Thursday’s late night shopping on Oxford Street.

This in fact turned out to be a joint enterprise with Jaguar Skills, priming himself for his September/October “Smash Up! Tour” and the hosting Yo! Sushi celebrating the opening of their Market Place branch. Two brands borrowing from each other to market themselves.

So on a makeshift stand out of the front of the new restaurant and facing a row of shops, bars and restaurants, the ninja DJ himself turned up for an hour of mashing up singles from every genre he could get his hands up – pop, hip hop, drum’n’bass and reggae all featured. His tunes weren’t particularly cool or leftfield, but then this wasn’t a trendy corner of London. It was all about having an impromptu street party without exclusivity.

Every now and then we’d be warned that this was an illegal party and that it could be terminated by the police at any second – whether or not that was true remained moot – but the story at least gave Mr Skills the opportunity to bring out Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do by Goldie Lookin’ Chain. La Roux and Michael Jackson were mixed in with TV theme tunes and old school anthems from Josh Wink, before a final flourish finished things off with One Step Beyond. As waiters weaved within the growing crowd offering free sushi, people found whatever vantage point they could to get snaps of the mysterious man dressed as he usually does - mask over his face so that all you could see of him were his eyes and his forearms.

There’s inevitably a discomfort felt when a musician gets in bed with big business, perhaps reaching something of a nadir with Example’s recent tour of Nando’s outlets. But frankly if people are going to get their downloads for free, then the business model of artists being able to take advantage of their associations to make money and promote themselves becomes more acceptable. Gigs, tours and festivals are becoming increasingly bannered with sponsorship and while the issue can be analysed and intellectualised, the fact is that, having compromised a small part of their integrity for a tummy full of fishy goodness, those who were here this evening loved it. It was a moment for those who happened to be walking past, and it made central London feel a little bit more special.

Musicians and business sponsorship have gone hand in hand for years. It’s just that usually it’s the corporations and their workers who get the benefits of party hospitality. It was nice for it to be brought to the streets, literally, for a change.

More of this please.

Mercury Music Prize 2010: the nominees

UPDATE: The nominations have been announced. We got seven right; picked the wrong jazz entry and really didn't see three of these coming at all (and still don't); a gold star to you if you guessed more right than we did. Let us know what you make of the list below.

So before we head off to the bookies, the Mercury albums of 2010 are:

Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea
Dizzee Rascal – Tongue N' Cheek
Kit Downes Trio – Golden
Foals – Total Life Forever
I Am Kloot – Sky At Night
Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Mumford And Sons – Sigh No More
Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation
Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
The xx – xx

Björk and Dirty Projectors release Mount Wittenberg Orca

Talking of international and Icelandic artists, that Björk and those Dirty Projectors have got together to wail about a whale. Or, they've made an album together. Which, given the reverie both inspire, should make more than just whales wet. 

"Mount Wittenberg Orca is called Mount Wittenberg Orca because it is about whales," says David Longstreth about their work together. This seven-song, 21-minute collection is the first original music the band has recorded since 2009's Bitte Orca. 

You can listen to track VII, All We Are, here. 

The whole album can be bought now, too, for a minimum donation of US$7. Head over to www.mountwittenbergorca.com and part with your cash. In keeping with the spirit of the release, all proceeds from Mount Wittenberg Orca will be donated to the National Geographic Society's Ocean Initiative. 

Track listing:

I Ocean
II On and Ever Onward
III When the World Comes to an End
IV Beautiful Mother
V Sharing Orb
VI No Embrace
VII All We Are

In other Björk news, she teams up again with Antony And The Johnsons for a duet on their track Flétta, from their new album Swanlights. It's due out through Rough Trade in October and returns a favour; Antony Hegarty appeared on Björk's album Volta and joined her on its promotional tour.

Spiritualized headline Inspired By Iceland gig

Picture the scene: Eyjafjallajökull, aka "that bloody volcano", ceased its rumblings and coughings in May and now lies dormant beneath near-constant daylit sky. 

Already those resourceful spirits in charge of Iceland have organised volcano tours and now, just a month after the ash cloud passed into the realm of historical curiosities, there would be a concert of international and Icelandic artists right by it, showing off the famously stunning Icelandic landscape. 

In the event a weather front put paid to the concert's original plans, forcing it to be relocated to Reykjavik's Hljómskálagarðurinn, but the show still went on. 

Check out these three out-takes for a spot of wish-you-were-here, starting with musicOMH favourite Hafdis Huld:

   

 Here's Seabear doing their thing:

   

 And finally, headliners Spiritualized:

   

 You can watch the entire concert here or check out more out-takes at Inspired By Iceland.