We don’t do end of year lists at Bonafide but if we did Dimlite’s Grimm Reality would we be well up there alongside Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up, Thundercat’s The Golden Age of Apocalypse and Stepkids self-titled debut as some of the strongest releases of 2011.
Andy Spragg described Grimm Realityas “Ducking the cliché of ‘being taken on a musical journey’, Grimm Reality is more akin to going from ‘in here’ to ‘out there’, a sudden collapse of constraint into dazzling inventiveness.”

We have three copies of the album up for grabs, to stand a chance of winning one just answer this question: Which country is Dimlite from? Send your answers into the usual address, mailbox@bonafidezine.com including your full name and postal address details.
Competition closes February 25th.

To tie in with this years Record Store Day on 21 April 2012, Talenthouse are holding the Secret 7 Competition.

This, not-to-be-sniffed at opportunity, requires those with creative minds and fingers to submit artwork for a 7″ piece of vinyl housing music by the likes of DJ Shadow, CSS or Bombay Bicycle Club. The created artwork needs to be based on an intrepretation of a selected track by one of these artists. If your design is chosen it will be produced in a limited run, displayed and sold – with profits going to the Teenage Cancer Trust - at Idea Generation Gallery, London.  Winners will also receive a signed copy of their artwork and, of course, the kind of kudos money can’t buy.

The competition closes 15 January 2012, check the Talenthouse website for full deets.

This summer saw the 10 year anniversary of Lewis Recordings. Founded by former Hip-Hop Connection writer/photographer Mike Lewis, the small North London based imprint has quietly gone about the business of releasing quality hip-hop, electronic and pop records in highly desirable packaging by a diverse roster of artists including Andrew Thompson, Stig of the Dump, Cinnamon and most notably, Edan, whose unique brand of psychedelic hip-hop has received critical and commercial acclaim upon his all too infrequent releases.

We have all of Edan’s singles, albums and indeed a sack full of pretty much every Lewis Recordings release in both vinyl and CD format to give away to one lucky reader. To stand a chance of winning just email in at mailbox@bonafidezine.com. with your name, age and address details. Winners will be notified by the 20th November.

This competition is now closed.

Random Axe – the ‘underground rap super group’ consisting of Black Milk, Guilty Simpson and Sean Price – are drawing fans from all corners, including a blunted Chewbacca, fresh (kind of) from the Millenium Falcon and New Era, who have collaborated with the group on a limited edition cap.

As mentioned back in August Bonafide are proud media partners for the group’s first live show in the UK, taking place next Thursday at London’s Scala, tickets are available here.

We have a pair of tickets and a copy of Random Axe’s tough as nails self-titled debut LP up for grabs. To stand a chance of winning just email in at mailbox@bonafidezine.com with your name and address details.

Sony Ericsson are on the look out for ‘two new creative ambassadors for our newest smartphone, the Xperia ray’, the handsome beast pictured above. They want to know how you use your phone and any creative ideas and suggestions that can improve the experience, in exchange for them Sony will give the two successful ambassadors their latest smartphones and accessories to test out.

In tech terms this gig must be up there with the dude (or dudet) who gets to measure bra-cups in marks & sparks and interning for Wu Tang Clan.

To enter the competition visit the Sony Ericsson Test Lab Facebook page, where they want ‘someone who adds more of a creative dimension to the Test Lab…we want to see your blogs, songs, photos, videos, ideas: whatever it is that makes you tick. Email us at SETestlab@gmail.com by Friday 14th October and we’ll select the chosen 2 by Friday 21st October 2011.’

Very few living musicians can claim to have both invented and still be undisputed champion of a genre quite like Wiley.

Prolific, enigmatic and at times completely contrary; Wiley rarely seems bothered by the grime sound he gave birth to in the early-mid noughties, the unfortunate fruits of which have more recently served the nation’s airwaves in Tinchy bite size pieces, until recently where he released 100% Publishing on Big Dada reminding everyone how he grimey he still is.

While we still hope in vein for an interview with the illusive one here’s an exclusive opportunity to win a signed copy of the flawed, but at times fantastic 100% Publishing.
Just follow and tweet us @bonafidezine with your favourite Wiley 12″ for a chance to win, entry closes August 31st.

Listing the Beacons Festival (August 11-14) line-up makes you sit up and notice (and whistle in awe if you can). A quick taster to wet your appetite goes: DELS, Jamie XX, Mr Scruff, Toddla T, Hudson Mohawke, Andy Votel, Mount Kimbie, Ghostpoet and Jamie Woon (a number of whom can be found right here in Bonafide).

Basically it’s a Who’s Who of the bright young (and old) things of the UK beat/future beat/dubstep/hip-hop/whateverit’strendytocallitthisweek scene. In other words this is some real headz sh!t!

The festival is being held in the delightful environs of Heslaker Farm, Skipton, on the cusp of that hot-bed of beatmaking the Yorkshire Dales. NB. handy tips for visitors check out Bizzie Lizzies Fish and Chip shop and the Agraah Indian restaurant if you get chance.

We’ve got a pair of tickets up for grabs for the festival. Just send the answer to the following question to mailbox@bonafidezine.com. Jamie XX is pretty fond of his hats. What’s your favourite hat and why? The competition closes 7 August when the lucky winner will be pulled from the digital hat. The winner will be sent their tickets in the post and as part of the prize will get to review the festival and post up their report on these very pages (!).

For the full Beacons Festival line-up and for ticket details visit the greetingsfrombeacons website.

Underhill Festival is fast approaching and if you are feeling the tug of your purse strings then fear not – there is an exclusive chance to win tickets plus drinks to the two day electronic festival in Wiltshire. With acts across six different stages ranging from Erol Alkan and Martyn to Julio Bashmore and Lone (plus around 50 more), there is more than enough for your ears to get stuck into.

To stand a chance of winning tickets just write in at the usual mailbox@bonafidezine.com telling us why you deserve them.

Hold up a second, before you rush out to catch Team Bonafide down at today’s Street Fest, take a minute to consider whether you’d like to own a super-rare piece of modern music history.

Prize:
No.1 of a 500 Limited Edition 12? ‘Customtone’ b/w ‘Brain Freeze’ in hand printed sleeves by Emilski. (‘Brain Freeze’ will be a vinyl release ONLY)

How to enter?
Simply follow this link to the Astrophonica facebook page and get your name on the wall! A winner will be drawn at random on the 20th June 2011.

To celebrate the release of ‘Retrospect – A Decade Of Fracture & Neptune’ our good friends at Astrophonica records have a very special limited vinyl release featuring two brand new tracks: ‘Customtone ft. Martin Fieber’ and ‘Brain Freeze ft. Chewie’. It’s a straight up nod to the vinyl heads with this one, as the latter will not see any digital release and the sleeve will be hand printed and individually numbered by Emilski. We covered the sleeve art for test presses of Fracture & Neptune’s killer The Limit a while back, so anyone that caught that ish will know they’re in for some more goodness here.

Fracture says, ‘The vinyl release has been limited to a run of 500 with each of the sleeves lovingly printed by our very own hands and I can tell you now it took a whole weekend to do – Emilski still has ink under his fingernails! They look amazing, like nothing you’ve seen before and we are giving you the chance to win number 001 out of 500! A unique collectors item to say the least…’

We have two pairs of VIP tickets to the inaugural We, The People festival in Bristol up for grabs. The festival plays host to what promises to be the stand-out urban music line-up of any UK festival this summer, with performances by headline acts The Streets, Chase & Status, legends like Lee Scratch Perry and Roots Manuva, bright young things DELS, The Gaslamp Killer and an underground deity in the shape of DOOM.

To stand a chance of winning get in touch at the usual address mailbox@bonafidezine.com telling us who you are most excited about seeing at the festival. The competition closes on Thursday 2nd June and winners will be notified on the same day.