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Mark Ronson & Theophilus London Form New Group - Chauffeur

via BBC Radio

Brooklyn rapper Theophilus London and has teamed up with Black and Gold singer Sam Sparro and Mark Ronson on a new side-project, recording under the alias of Chauffeur.

The supergroup have been laying down tracks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the latest edition to their repertoire is a cover of Glamorous Life by Sheila E.

Before Christmas, they premiered their first offering online, an original song called Soles of Fire, in which Theophilus said they are singing about "women and the west-side highway, and the beach".

He seems to be a man of many collaborations, claiming studio time with the likes of Damon Albarn, Solange Knowles and Jack Penate.

Theopilus also hopes to work with BBC Sound of 2010 winner Ellie Goulding this year.

This is all while he's been working on a new solo record called Days Before You Left, which should be done by the Summer.

'We just clicked'

As for how he met Mr Ronson, Theophilus said: "I met Mark a year ago. He asked me to come down to his radio show in New York city and we just clicked. He invited me to his house and we just listened to music for like six hours.

"We became friends and started making music together. His new stuff is sounding really amazing, and it’s just been a great, creative friendship."

He told us what it was like being in the studio with the producer, who's worked with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs and Lily Allen.

"He works a lot in his mind," he explained. "He doesn’t really say much but you can tell what he did. He knows when he hears something off and right.

"It’s just a click, it’s a mutual thing in the studio with Mark. He’s easy to work with and he knows what he wants to hear, so it was great."

As for seeing Chauffeur live, he said they've played two shows in New York and are planning a gig in London, late March or April.

Theophilus London - 'Humdrum Town' Video Play Widget + Free Download Now Available

from press release

Brooklyn rapper, songwriter and producer Theophilus London today releases the new video for his debut single "Humdrum Town." Available as a free download exclusively on Green Label Sound, "Humdrum Town" showcases London's signature blend of electro, hip-hop, soul and pop.

"I was watching and listening to a lot of melancholy Marvin Gaye songs and videos," commented Theophilus London about the video concept. "A lot of inspiration came from there. I always thought of what my first video would be like when I got started into music and I feel really good about this one."

Directed by Ben Fries, who also directed the "I Will Come Back" video for fellow Brooklynites Holy Ghost!, "Humdrum Town" is a unique story split between two parallel narratives. Shot in various locations throughout New York City, narrative one is a traditional story that follows the journey of our main character Theophilus through cityscapes to an unknown bar and narrative two is a traditional "videoke" film also set to "Humdrum Town". Over the course of the video, both stories merge to bring the two moments in time together.

"We based the look of the karaoke bar on the bar from Scorsese's Mean Streets and lit it hard red," said director Ben Fries about the shoot. "Most of the karaoke extras in the video where people that we met while scouting karaoke bar locations. We had a really early call for the karaoke shoot and we got the sloppy late night karaoke vibe going at 5am. There was a really good vibe on set."

The FREE download of 'Humdrum Town' here:
Theophilus London - 'Humdrum Town'