With the chirpy Cee-Lo Green currently attracting attention with his admittedly soulful Stax-esque tonsils, it remains to be seen if "Forget You" et al can open the gates for the inevitable stream of similar male singers from across the pond. Lo and behold, we have one such crooner right here - thing is, he's rather good and he's actually been around a while longer than Mr Green.

Aloe Blacc used to rap and perform with Emanon from the mid '90s onwards, a duo that comprised producer Exile and Blacc himself who, during which time, issued six official albums (as well as the odd cassette). However, Blacc decided to go it alone in a soul-stylee after releasing an EP in 2003, finally opting for the dead cool Stones Throw label to issue his debut set, "Shine Through" in 2006.

Now he has inked a deal with Epic and the fine album "Good Things", originally released in September, is set for another push over here, starting with the occasional promo video like the cover version of Lou Reed's "Femme Fatale" on this page. He also has a quartet of concerts coming up, including Birmingham (26th April), Manchester (27th), London's Scala (1st May) and Brighton (2nd).

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am for all the dates, except Birmingham which sees the light of day on Thursday morning. He is a name to watch out for in 2011.