By Daniela Capistrano

We caught up with Ebony Bones yesterday, and in addition to giving us the details behind her upcoming video for "The Musik," Ebony let us know that she'll be in town next week to do a few DJ sets at yet-to-be-announced NYC hot spots. For fans who won't be in town, we've got some exciting news for you: Her MySpace blog is offering fans the chance to a trip for two to see her perform at South by Southwest 2009 in March.

To enter the contest, you have to guess how many times Bones says the word "warrior" in her soon-to-be-released track "WA.R.R.I.O.R.," and post your answer on her blog by January 12.

Actually, you don't have to guess at all. You'll have an edge in this contest if you check out what we have after the jump ... the entire song!
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By Daniela Capistrano

U.K. television star, fashionista and Afro-Punk-embracing songstress Ebony Thomas, a.k.a. Ebony Bones, is no stranger to the movement's DIY aesthetic, having crafted all the songs on her upcoming Spring '09 debut album — tentatively titled Bone Idle — in her bedroom.

"Different people wanted to be involved," Ebony explained. "Major labels were excited and driven by all the positive press, but the only way I could keep to my set ideas for sound and inspiration was to be the main producer myself."

Influenced by the punk credo of "Do It Yourself," Bones described the album as "schizo-sounding" and "like me, a collection of contradictions and subjects close to my heart."

During our phone interview, Ebony was working on the album art herself and described her creative process.

"The one thing about taking my time and not rushing into anything is I've been able to have so much more control creatively of the whole project, and that's the real magic for me. I love bands like Funkadelic who made their costumes in their own van and put them on the same night — very DIY."

(You can watch Ebony in our Afro-Punk news brief below.)

(More from Ebony Bones PLUS exclusive video from her recent shoot, after the jump!)
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By Daniela Capistrano

The Noisettes want Afro-Punk to come to England.

"We'll look after the lot," frontwoman Shingai winked when we last spoke to the band in October, backstage at the Afro-Punk showcase at the CMJ Festival in New York.

"[Afro-Punks] are such an amazing group of people who are doing something unbelievable," Shingai gushed. "I mean, the standard's good, man. All the events that we've been involved with have had great bands. They put on really interesting, eclectic, amazing events. It's like Earl Greyhound, Santogold, it's great. [Afro-Punk] knows how to show kids a good time. There's nothing like it in England. Nothing."

Guitarist Dan Smith sees the festival as a catalyst, helping to eradicate some old notions. "The [punk] music movement in America has always been perceived as being a white thing, and [Afro-Punk] is making it more inclusive," he said. "It's about people getting a wider understanding of rock and roll and its history and its roots, where it comes from and that anyone can do it. And it can be loads of fun, yeah?"

The CMJ crowd loved the Noisettes' live show (see some of it in the Afro-Punk video below), so we got on the phone with them Wednesday to talk about their new video for "Wild Young Hearts," their spring '09 album of the same name and their list of the artists they fell for in 2008.

We've got the goods on the Noisettes after the jump!
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