Mongrel To Give Away Album For Free
A first for The Independent! A first for Mongrel! A first for the music industry!
Indie rock/hip-hop crossover collective Mongrel to release debut album 'Better Than Heavy' exclusively with The Independent on 7 March 2009.
For the first time in the UK a band will be giving away copies of its début album free with a national newspaper. This historic partnership means readers of The Independent will receive Mongrel's 'Better Than Heavy' exclusively at no cost with every copy of the newspaper on Saturday 7 March 2009.
Mongrel, who consist of rapper Lowkey, original Arctic Monkey's bassist Andy Nicholson and Babyshambles guitarist Drew McConnell was brought together in 2008 by Reverend and the Makers vocalist Jon McClure, who also brought along his colleague Joe Moskow. Matt Helder from the Arctic Monkeys also appears alongside many artists from different genres and different parts of the world. Some of the finest names in the UK hip hop scene perform on 'Better Than Heavy' – including 16 rappers on one track alone. The album has been previewed by download only single 'The Menace' and current club smash 'Hit From The Morning Sun'.
McClure was determined to get the music that he believes in with such passion out to the widest possible audience, and is delighted to be releasing it with The Independent, a paper that he admires for its stance on issues such as Iraq, the environment, race and immigration. “This move gives the widest possible platform to artists whose voices could otherwise be ignored and gets the music onto CD players across the land. It also calls into question the values of the recorded music industry,” said McClure. 'It is a pleasure to do this with The Independent, we are a truly independent band rather than one that just adopts indie values, so it is fitting we are doing this with this newspaper.'
The project was welcomed by Ian Birrell, The Independent's deputy editor. 'We are delighted to promote such a fine record by such an original, bold and passionate band, one that clearly shares our commitment to innovation.'
To get your hands on a copy of the debut album by Mongrel, purchase a copy of The Independent, Saturday 7 March 2009 from any UK distributor.