Introducing... Etta Bond

Etta Bond - You'll definitely have heard her; she's the guest vocalist on Wretch 32's brilliant new single Forgiveness. We reckon she's one of the most exciting up and coming singers in the UK right now and having just signed a deal with Labrinth's record label Odd Child, you can count on her making waves in the urban scene in 2012.

For those lured in by the haunting purity and ethereal clarity of Bond's vocals on the Wretch 32 collab, her own material offers more of the same - dark, industrial, pumping constructions of quasi-gothic proportions. It's a heady mix of dance influences and slick, soulful vocals.

Every Dream strikes down to the core of what Etta Bond is all about, her at her very darkest. The beats pierce malevolently into the conscience, all metallic and glistening with the prospect of danger. Every Dream is built on the tantalising counterpoint between the softness of Bond's vocals and the harshness of the music itself. The contrast works a treat.

Ask Me To Stay launches up from shadowy lair on dub-step springs, slapping a flithy bassline across the song's foundations - it's a floorfiller of a scale easily comparable to the stuff currently doing the rounds on the UK club circuit.

And therein lies Bond's real charm, she can do it all: catchy but innovative pop tune, she's on it. Commercial club banger, she's got it sorted. For the girl of many talents, any sound is a new adventure, a new avenue to explore.

Ask Me To Stay and third track - Katy B-esque Come Over - were produced alongside DaVinChe, who Bond is working with on her forthcoming debut album. Going by the sounds of these tracks, it looks set to be one of the most adventurous, engaging urban-pop debuts of 2012. We can't wait to hear more! And if you can't wait, there's a great interview with her on MTV's website to get stuck into in the meantime.

Latest tracks by Etta Bond

Wretch 32 - Forgiveness (Junior Brat V Rednek Remix)

When it comes to remixing a hit chart track, sometimes the boldest, most engaging treatment is to just go: All Out.

It's certainly the idea Junior Brat and Rednek seemed to have in mind here when they set about crafting this apocalyptically evil sounding rework of Wretch 32's Forgiveness. Plunging up and down like an untamed stallion let loose on a stormy-wracked night, the mix blends pile-driving dub-step synths with a far more malevolent backing.

Moody, introspective, but all the while shatteringly extrovert, the mix paints a brutal, distopian picture; one echoed by the video: terrifying white contact lenses, uncontrollable emotions barely held in check, and finally... death.

A follow-up single and mix-tape are due from Junior Brat in the new year.

Wretch 32 - Forgiveness (feat. Etta Bond)

These days, it's something of a mandatory rule that every hip London rapper has to have a 'rock' single - or rather, a Written In The Stars style epic-athon. Tinie kicked it all off, Professor Green followed with his brilliant Read All About It, now it's Wretch 32's turn.

Don't Go left me feeling a little underwhelmed after the undeniable charms of Unorthodox, which remains one of my favourite tracks of the year - it's nice then to see Wretch back on top form with Forgiveness.

Expect big, smashing guitar riffs, a great guest vocal from Etta Bond and an undercurrent of synths and high-pinched piano tinkling. There's both energy and swag here in equal measures, a feel of Wretch coiled like a wild tiger, ready to pounce. The rapper is at his best with kinetic-heavy tracks like this and Forgiveness is as good a reason as any to go buy Wretch's album if you haven't already.

Forgiveness is released on the 12th December.