Sheffield four-piece Starlings – definitely a band to keep under close watch in 2011 - launch their balaeric-indie-funk sound in December with the release of their debut single "Weight In Gold". Influenced by the songwriting and production values of 80s chart greats such as Simple Minds, Heaven 17, and more prominently Talk Talk, Starlings infuse 90s dance bass lines with tripped-out dub guitars and psychedelic choruses from charismatic frontman Justin Robson. The band have already built a loyal fan base in their home city and now look to take their carefully crafted guitars-and-synths sound as far as possible. "Weight In Gold" is Starlings first anthemic step towards etching their name firmly into Sheffield’s great legacy of electronically-informed music, proving that there is more to the city’s musical future than the more traditional rock stylings currently dominant in the slipstream of Arctic Monkeys huge success.

Starlings are much more in touch with the spirit of the city’s electronic post-punk pioneers, using that heritage as a springboard for their sound. Having been taken under the production wing of arch psychonaut and cosmic remix king Richard Norris (The Grid, Time & Space Machine, Beyond The Wizards Sleeve), Starlings’ debut single is perfectly sparse with electronics and trippy guitars creating the ideal platform for Robson’s distinctive vocals to shine. This limited 7” version is backed with a remix by hard edged “Street Bass” maverick producer Starkey – his dubstep-style reinterpretation is already gathering high praise, following his recent work including mixes for Foals, Tempa T and Kano.