Another week means another trawl through the murky and often worrying music that is shoved up on MySpace, where bands and artists think that thousands of record executives are going to rush towards them based on a scrappy bit of audio or two.

We don’t want to be the bearers of bad news, but we guess we need some role in life. Listen, just because you think you have a few decent tracks and showcase them on MySpace, it doesn’t mean you're going to get anywhere. You have 4,658 friends, you say? Bollocks, most of them are people you’ve probably spammed repeatedly or are mates of mates. Numbers of friends don’t count; we want to see some real effort and belief in what you’re doing. This is why we’ve picked Helios as our new favourite artist.

Unlike a lot of unsigned artists, Helios does not seem to do the usual trick of friend-requesting everyone possible to try and gain some interest. Sometimes we get excited when we open our MySpace accounts and see that some poor soul out there thinks we’re cool and wants our friendship – something only bestowed on a few lucky individuals. However, these requests aren’t from real people. They are either from a) bands who think they are good (but are actually shit) and want you to listen to their stuff, or b) attractive-looking women. While this never seems a bad thing, nine times out of ten they're porn bots wanting you to click a dodgy website address that will in turn give Albanian gangsters all your online banking material so they can bleed you dry. 

For example, this lovely lady named Kaila told us the following in a message she sent us: 

“I'm always horny, it sucks Myspace doesn’t allow naughty pics on here. I have a webcam hooked up to my computer and I love to show off, I joined this site just like myspace but they allow naked pics and a webcam that I can show off for totally free. You only have to sign up to watch me, but I promise it’s totally free to sign up to watch me.” 

Shame isn’t it? No matter, we can live without having another bint throw themselves at us.

Helios, however, has no urgent plea for people to come and be his friend. All that is written about him is this simple message: 

“I would please ask that if you want to add me as a friend you introduce yourself via a message. I find that I do not ever know a significant amount of people who seek me as a friend, and a community of people who never actually meet is a strange concept. So please just let me know a little about yourself. And PLEASE do not post advertisements in the comments section. If you would like me to listen to something just send a message to me. Thanks.” 

This sums up the perils and ultimate downfalls of nearly every band on MySpace. Helios obviously has a passion about his music and is only interested in providing a page for fans of his work and for people who stumble across it. Combining ambient electronics with a tiny hint of indie, Helios is responsible for creating music that is delicate and beautifully fragile to the ear. With the downtempo melodies slowly creeping around and building as the tracks progress, they really are a tremendous thing and have been skilled by a master craftsman. 

While it's not the sound of music to fit in around your day-to-day life, it is however calming, soothing and perfect for those insomniac moments often experienced in the dead of the night. Throw any of his releases onto the stereo and soon you’ll be back into the land of nod before you can begin to count those sheep jumping over the fence. 

Our favourite track showcased on the Helios MySpace page is the stunning Soft Collared Neck taken from a forthcoming EP entitled Ayres which is due for release in July on the excellent Type Records label. A woozy and blissed-out piano is the main focus of the piece. Basic is how some of you would probably describe it, but simplicity rules on this occasion. Add to the mix some sultry-sounding vocals and it’s the perfect mixture for an after-hours listen. This track shows a deep progression in the sound of Helios.

Other tracks featured show a set of songs that indicate how well he has evolved as a talented musician. Dragonfly Across An Ancient Sky still shows soothing and swirling tones. After the plucking of guitar strings melts into a crunchy bed of electronics, distorted guitar playing comes back in to the swing of things combining the two beautifully. 

Read more: 

Helios MySpace Page