Iconic fashion brand Original Penguin continues its mission to celebrate the very best in musical trailblazers with its much-lauded Plugged In campaign, which gives these visionaries a platform to showcase exactly why they are considered to be original and pioneering.
Original Penguin is entrenched in music, a love affair that goes back through the decades. Plugged In kicked off with an exclusive session from Jake Bugg, who has inspired legions of youngsters to ditch the laptop and pick up a guitar, play to 100 lucky guests. In 2013 Miles Kane, who is admired as much for his sharp dress sense as his music and lyrics played an intimate and acoustic show to just 50 people. Avant-garde dubstep don Benga got Concrete bouncing, drum & bass overlord Friction blew the roof off (ok there wasn’t a roof but you get the idea) at the Dalston Rooftop Bar, and boundary-pushing rock act Deaf Havana packed into the tiny Tipsy underground bar in Dalston where they enthralled just 50 of their most dedicated fans.
The first Original Penguin Plugged In show of 2014 is headlined by Gorgon City. The most hotly-tipped duo in house music are dominating dance floors globally after their enormous successes with collaborations, ‘Real’ ft Yasmin, ‘Ready for Your Love’ with MNEK, and ‘Intentions’ with Clean Bandit. ‘Ready for Your Love’ smashed the top 5 in the singles chart and is one of the biggest dance records of the year so far. Their debut album is incoming at the end of the summer 2014, backed with a full headline tour. Playing fully live, expect to hear new single ‘Here For You’ featuring Laura Walsh due out June 16th.
Wilkinson – You don’t get a sound more original than Wilkinson. His love for D&B drove him to turn his bedroom into a recording studio where he jacked the bass so loud that the brickwork in his house loosened! Fast-forward to signing for the hugely influential RAM Records, the monstrously huge hit ‘Afterglow’ taken from the formidable debut album ‘Lazers Not Included’ and you can see how he’s very much on the ascent. Showcasing his pioneering D&B crossover sound with heavy basslines and polished vocals this album really raised the bar. He shows no signs of slowing down and is soon to be releasing new track ‘Half Light’ featuring Tom Cane, which is sure to be a festival anthem of the summer. Wilkinson will be closing the night with a DJ set hosted by his MC Ad Apt and guest vocals from Tom Cane on new single ‘Half Light’ ahead of its release on June 2nd.
We The Wild – The epitome of original music. They complete the whole production process from their home studio, and the debut single ‘You Lost My Mind’ gained support at BBC Radio 1 and XFM, and saw them likened to the unique alt pop of bands Death Cab for Cutie, Everything Everything, Black Keys and Alt-J. With another EP due in May it’s time to catch these White Lies, Bipolar Sunshine, and Bear Hands remixers who are currently on tour supporting Dan Croll.
In 2014 Plugged In will take the most ground-breaking, genre defying artists and place them in London’s Hospital Club. It’s not only the acts that are original, it’s the venue. Being the undisputed hub for the UK’s creative industries, and with a newly opened state-of-the-art audio/visual venue, the Hospital Club is the place to see the best acts in exclusive surroundings.
Catch an intimate glimpse of these true originals before they soar into the UK’s arenas:
Tickets will be available to members of the public via a competition mechanic allowing them access to this private members club for these up close and personal shows. Go to http://www.originalpenguin.co.
The Original Penguin Plugged In shows will really get under the skin of the artists it champions, conducting in depth, candid interviews that focus on precisely what it is that has shaped them and provided the foundations to Be An Original.
Since the birth of Original Penguin in the 1950’s when Rock & Roll dominated youth culture, the brand has always had strong links with music. Original Penguin continue to grow and evolve alongside the cultural landscape, embracing all musical genres from indie and rock to urban and electronica, inspired by the way music and fashion continue to influence each other as new waves of fans discover the brand.
