A strange thing is happening. (mw comment).

The word is often overused, but Lewis Taylor's debut solo album was a classic, with a brooding, soulful intensity that still resonates today, six years on. But then, after his second album sunk almost as quickly as it emerged, he disappeared--until a few weeks ago when Stoned Part 1 arrived unannounced in the post.

Like most people, I had assumed he had gone for good. And while it was great to have him back, the lack of accompanying fanfare surrounding this immediately distinctive independent release suggested that it would go the same way of its predecessor. Instead, however, a rather strange thing seems to have been happening.

With 2,000 copies already sold via the internet and a tie-up with HMV in just a few weeks--and with no marketing support to speak of--word seems to be spreading. And for all the right reasons: as Lewis himself says in his guest comment (see Off The Record, p27), "The people that hear it like it--it's as simple as that."

Doing it yourself is not easy, and it is not an avenue open to every artist. Yet it is heartening to know that at a time when every label is complaining about the impossibility of gaining shelf-space in the Christmas rush, there is an alternative route. It is not a route that ...