Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:06 | By

Sufjan Stevens to tour UK

Gigs & Festivals

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is to perform live in the UK for the first time in five years. Riding high on the commercial and critical success of recent album ‘The Age Of Adz’, he will make a handful UK stops in the midst of a European tour, which includes his previously reported appearance in Brighton as part of The Great Escape.

Tour dates:

12 May: London, Royal Festival Hall
13 May: London, Royal Festival Hall
14 May: Brighton, The Dome (The Great Escape)
16 May: Gateshead, The Sage
17 May: Dublin, Olympia
18 May: Dublin, Olympia
19 May: Manchester, Apollo

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:05 | By

The Luminaire bows out with Wake Week shows

Gigs & Festivals

The Luminaire

As much-loved Kilburn venue The Luminaire nears its closing date, the management team have announced details of a run of Wake Week parties to send the old gal off in style.

Speaking to CMU, Luminaire co-founder and director Andy Inglis said: “We asked some of our favourite promoters to put together shows, and so we have Club AC30, Platforms: Live, Transgressive Records, Upset The Rhythm and The Fence Collective. Two have already sold out and we expect the others to do so, before we bring in the wrecking ball”.

Well, this is all very sad. But to cheer you up, here are details of the shows:

2 Mar: The Fence Collective (sold out)
4 Mar: The Mariner’s Children
5 Mar: Upset The Rhythm All-Dayer
6 Mar: Johnny Flynn (sold out)
7 Mar: Piano Magic, Ringo Deathstarr, SPC ECO, Club AC30 DJs

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:04 | By

Festival line-up update – 24 Feb 2011

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

Download

DEER SHED, Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, 22-24 Jul: Joining headliners I Am Kloot will be The Go! Team and The Leisure Society, it has just been confirmed. Thoughtful folk-rockers Erland And The Carnival will also appear, with Caitlin Rose, Admiral Fallow, Matthew And The Atlas, Lanterns On The Lake and Laki Mera all set to perform on the Dock Stage. www.deershedfestival.com

DOWNLOAD, Donington Park, 10-12 June: New to the Download bill are Disturbed, Frank Turner, Bring Me The Horizon and Bowling For Soup. Madina Lake and The King Blues are also amongst the most recently-announced acts set to rock out at the Donington racket, which is to be headlined by Def Leppard, System Of A Down and Linkin Park. www.downloadfestival.co.uk/2011/

EXIT, Novi Sad, Serbia, 7-10 Jul: Pulp have joined in with the EXIT merriment, with the announcement that they will flounce their way through hits and classics spanning seven albums at the Serbian bash. Already set to play are Arcade Fire, Portishead, Underworld and Grinderman. www.exitfest.org

LARMER TREE, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, 13-17 Jul: Veteran washboard-scraper Seasick Steve will be joined at this year’s family-friendly festival by Irish rockabilly siren Imelda May. Steve’s pal Jools Holland has already been confirmed to headline the first night of the four-day event with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. www.larmertreefestival.co.uk

SOUTH WEST FOUR, Clapham Common, London 27-28 Aug: Underworld are newly introduced to the line-up of the dance and electro bash, headlining with a homecoming Saturday set. Pendulum are already confirmed to top the bill on Sunday. www.southwestfour.com

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:01 | By

Album review: Wagon Christ – Toomorrow (Ninja Tune)

Album Reviews

Wagon Christ

The rather talented Luke Vibert first hit us with his Wagon Christ moniker back in 1994 with the seminal ‘Throbbing Pouch’ EP on cult techno imprint Rising High. Since then the West Countryman has given us ‘London bass’ as Plug and fabulous techy-disco under his Kerrier District pseudonym on Rephlex, amongst many others.

It has been a while since his last outing as WC though, but the musical theme of this particular alter ego essentially remains the same: Leftfield beatsy electronica with a curious edge – tripped out samples and bleeps, but with a massive dose of electronic soul and funk. It doesn’t seem quite as experimental as earlier Wagon Christ releases, and at times extends into territories more usually trodden by his other projects. Nevertheless, it’s a welcome new peek into this producer’s creative mind.

And with some ‘Speak And Spell’ synthesised speech at the start, we are led straight in to Vibert’s cerebrum with little ado. The title track is great – warped synths, sweeping strings and a beat made for head nodders – while the chilled out ‘Ain’t He Heavy’ works well and ‘Accordian McShane’ takes you to a Nightmares On Wax ‘Smokers Delight’ type scenario, this theme being then furthered by the funky soul beats of ‘Respectrum’ and ‘Harmoney’.

There are no real nadirs here, though ‘Wake Up’ is not overly exciting, and ‘Sentimental Hardcore’ is fairly bizarre, the samples lifted from straight from his ‘Drum And Bass For Papa’ project. Meanwhile highlights include the old school rave-esque polyrhythms of ‘Manalyse This!’, and better still ‘Lazer Dick’, a more dance orientated track with funky flavours, actually much akin to his work as Kerrier.

A welcome and overdue return. And while the boundaries between Vibert’s different projects may be blurring, he is still delivering the goods. PV

Physical release: 14 Mar

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:00 | By

AIM to stage another MusicConnected

Business News Education & Events

AIM

The Association Of Independent Music will host another edition of its digitally focused Music Connected event on 5 May at Glaziers Hall in London.

Spotify’s GM for Europe, Jonathan Forster, is among the speakers set to take part in a programme of panels and presentations. Once again the formal part of the proceedings will be backed up with a ‘digital market place’ where music and digital companies can network, chatter and do business.

Music Connected usually sells out pretty quick, with 400 delegates from 130 labels attending last year. For more info go to www.musicindie.com/musicconnected

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:56 | By

Daft Punk design Coke bottles

Brands & Merch

Daft Punk

Following similar collaborations with Justice and Mika, as part of the ‘Club Coke’ initiative, Daft Punk are to get their own Coca-Cola bottle designs, according to HypeBeast.

Coming in gold and silver, to mimic the French electro duo’s trademark helmets, the limited edition bottles will go on sale next month. The bottles will be sold in clubs, and also in a limited edition collectors case, like that’s something anyone would want. The box will be available exclusively through swanky Paris shop, Colette.

The promotion is handled by the Magic Garden Agency in Paris. More information will be available on www.daftcoke.com as soon as it goes live.

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:55 | By

BMG announces new UK structure

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

BMG Rights Management

BMG has announced a revamp of its UK operations that follows its acquisition last year of independent music publisher Chrysalis. Moving forward BMG Chrysalis UK will bring together all of the German music rights company’s British assets into one business.

Recent recruit Alexi Cory-Smith, a music business lawyer by trade, will become Senior Vice President of the combined BMG Chrysalis, overseeing creative, marketing and business affairs. Meanwhile BMG’s COO of Europe will directly managed UK operations. Top A&R execs Ben Bodie of Chrysalis and Alan Pell of previous BMG acquisition Stage Three will also be involved in the creative development of the new company.

Confirming the new appointments, BMG top man Hartwig Masuch told CMU: “Alexi is a keen and innovative dealmaker who is focused on driving growth for our artists and our business. Her skills, combined with John’s expertise and vast experience in running operations, will serve BMG Chrysalis UK well as a rights management business leader with a unique approach to today’s music market”.

Cory-Smith herself added: “One of my top priorities is to preserve and build on the creativity and independent spirit that are inherent in the BMG Chrysalis family of companies and their people so that we can best serve the artists we work with. Ben Bodie, head of A&R for Chrysalis, and Alan Pell, director of A&R for BMG/Stage Three, will be key to developing the creative direction of the company and I look forward to working closely with them and their teams as we continue to build our roster of writers and producers”.

The new appointments mean that the former MD of Chrysalis, Alison Donald, is leaving the company. Masuch added: “Alison helped grow Chrysalis Publishing UK into the country’s leading independent music publisher. She has built a formidable A&R team who have signed some of the world’s most talented songwriters. We thank her for her many contributions and we wish her every success in her future career”.

The new company will be based out of Chrysalis’s West London base, which will be refurbished as part of the revamp. BMG remains one of the most interesting new companies in the music space, and we hope to get an insight into how it will be working with artists moving forward when the aforementioned Pell joins us on the ‘Future Music Company’ panel at The Great Escape in May. More info on that at www.escapegreat.com.

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:54 | By

Gary reflects on EMI

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers

EMI

Unless rumours that Gary ‘The Guy’ Hands is considering making a bid for Warner Music, or even to buy back EMI from Citigroup, turn out to be true, this could prove to be the last word from the infamous financier about his billion-dollar losing musical adventure, ie Terra Firma’s doomed acquisition of EMI.

In a letter to his investors, published by the Wall Street Journal, Hands expresses regret that Citigroup chose to repossess EMI rather than work with him to restructure the flagging music firm’s debts.

He writes: “As you will be aware, on 1 Feb 2011, Citigroup assumed ownership of EMI having completed a debt for equity swap. We are disappointed that we could not reach an agreement with Citigroup (despite great efforts from our side) that would have involved us putting in more equity simultaneously with Citigroup writing down their debt”.

He continues: “However, as we could not reach agreement with Citigroup on the valuation of EMI, they felt that it was in their interests to take over the business in order that it could be sold as and when they feel appropriate. Our direct involvement in EMI is therefore over”.

The legal dispute with Citi, though, continues, with Hands confirming the equity group will continue to appeal the US court ruling from last year which ruled against his claim that the bank misled him into bidding too soon and too high for EMI back in 2007.

On that he wrote: “We continue to be indirectly involved through the appeal of the legal rulings made by the court in relation to the litigation against Citigroup. Our lawyers will continue to progress this and we do not expect any rulings in this matter until sometime next year”.

Whatever happens with that legal squabble – Hands, of course, is seeking damages to cover some of the nearly two billion he lost on EMI – the equity chief told his investors that he was confident that other investments made by the Terra Firma funds that enabled the EMI acquisition would be profitable, and slowly but surely ensure the funds, overall, come good.

Despite rumours that many of Terra Firma’s investors were highly concerned about Hands’ continued support for EMI last year as it became clear the music firm would need further cash injections to avoid repossession, Hands says in his letter that his backers remained supportive. He adds that when he asked investors to back a potential further 622 million euro investment into EMI late last year (an investment that would have been linked to Citigroup restructuring debts, which never happened in the end) “you [ie his investors] supported us with a vote of over 80% of the partnerships”.

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:51 | By

Labels, ISPs and ministers meet

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

Houses Of Parliament

The government’s main culture monkeys – Jeremy ‘don’t say cunt’ Hunt and Ed ‘Tory cool dude’ Vaizey – have met with representatives of the music industry, including trade bodies UK Music, AIM and BPI and labels Universal, Warner, Sony and Beggars, and key internet firms, including BT, Talk Talk and BSkyB, for some good time talking.

The ministers want the music companies and net firms to collaborate on new digital content services.

I wasn’t there but assume it went something like this:

Music industry person: “Well thanks for totally screwing up our graduated response anti-piracy system with your tedious judicial review, you money-grabbing philistines”.

Internet industry person: “Don’t mention it you deluded luddites, how’s it hanging back there in the Stone Age, worked out how to use email yet?”

Tory: “Guys, guys, let’s be friends, can’t you music dudes work with these techie guys to create some really exciting new digital music service they can sell to their customers – you’ve got the content, they’ve got consumers, it’s a match made in heaven surely?”

Shit stirrer: “What, like Sky Songs – that worked really well didn’t it?”

BSkyB person: “Watch it, or I’ll get my mates at the News Of The World to hack your phone and publish all your secrets”.

Tory: “Is there nothing we can agree on?”

Peace maker: “That Nick Clegg’s a bit of a two-faced cunt, isn’t he?”

All: “Too right”.

So that’s fun. Apparently they’ll all meet again in three months to repeat the exercise. Here’s what the boy Vaizey told Music Week: “We have brought the industries together so they can discuss the issues facing the digital industries and I am delighted that progress is being made. Consumers demand choice. It is essential that new, legal methods to access films, music and other content online are developed, whilst enabling creators’ copyright to be properly protected”.

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:49 | By

US pop stars played for the Gaddafi clan

And Finally

Mariah Carey

With Libya and the collapsing regime of Muammar Gaddafi very much in the news at the moment, the New York Times has noticed that among those American diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks recently is the revelation that Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Usher have all played at the Gaddafi family’s annual New Years party on the island of St Barts in recent years.

Carey was reportedly paid $1 million to sing four songs at the 2009 party. Still, how were they to know that Gaddafi – once considered by some to be the biggest supporter of anti-Western terrorist groups in the world – would turn out to be a bit of a controversial figure one day?

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Thursday 24 February 2011, 10:46 | By

Script frontman thinks Jarvis Cocker is brilliant

And Finally

The Script

OK, that headline isn’t true at all, but we went with it anyway just to piss off The Script frontman Danny O’Donoghue, who, it seems, has no time at all for the Pulp frontman.

He has attacked Jarvis Cocker for his decision to reform his former band (he seems to presume the rest of the band were not involved). The Script and Cocker’s reformed ensemble both appear on the bill at this year’s T In The Park, though it seems safe to assume O’Donoghue won’t be watching Pulp’s set.

O’Donoghue told The Daily Record: “I am not a big Pulp fan. Jarvis Cocky. I’m not into him at all. I don’t like his style. I don’t like his music. I won’t be steering clear of him, but he should be steering clear of me”.

He added that he was pretty sure the whole reunion is a cynical money-grab, saying: “I have watched his career. I’d like to think Pulp are coming out with a new album or that he wants to really do a job in the music industry, but I am sure they will release a single, do a tour, make their money and go home”.

As for his opinion of Jarvis Cocker personally, he added without irony: “The audacity of Jarvis Cocker to think he is important enough for people to give a damn what he thinks”.

Now, CMU is not usually a great place to go to find support for reunions, but for the frontman of The Script to complain about Pulp reforming when his band refuses to split up doesn’t seem right at all.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:17 | By

Q&A: Paris Suit Yourself

Artist Interviews

Paris Suit Yourself

Radical French-US collective Paris Suit Yourself was born in 2007, in the city from which it takes its name. The first ‘rock’ act to be signed to the otherwise hip hop-dominated Big Dada label, the band is made up of three core members; singer Luvinsky Atche, bassist Marie Boye and axe-man Victor Tricard.

Having relocated to Berlin, the trio enlisted frenetic percussionist Joe Heffernan, whose background is in metal, and proceeded to wreak havoc on the city’s warehouse and squat party scene with a string of infamous live shows.

The sound of genre-defying first album ‘My Main Shitstain’, released last week, has been likened by bemused critics to various artists from Ol Dirty Bastard to Fela Kuti, whilst not sounding much like any of them. As the band ready themselves for what is sure to be a scorching set at London’s Bull & Gate tomorrow evening, we approached bass lady Marie to get her response to our Same Six.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
Honestly, it began so casually that it’s hard to tell, like a conversation in the morning about the movie you saw the day before, or the urge to eat a chocolate cake… I guess a lot of people experience that phase where someday you feel like doing something that counts. Some people start to write, or get involved in politics, some others have babies, we chose music.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
Nothing, everything, each other…

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Man, that’s like asking the secret recipe of your grandmother’s amazing apple pie. I’m not sure I should give it away.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I really hope this will disappear from the list of questions asked by music journalists in the future. This is, in my opinion, a very weird thing to ask. It suggests that musicians are unable to create a fresh sound from scratch. In our case, we start with a melody we have in mind, and then build a song as it comes (oh shit, I gave away the creation process!). If there are influences from other artists, they’re unconscious.

And I’d say more, there’s something almost unhealthy in the idea of being able to point to the artists that influence your work. I guess it’s impossible to close your mind to everything you’ve stuffed into your ears during your life when you start to create a song, but at some point you have to cut the musical umbilical cord, like when you take your own decisions and stop doing things because Mummy told you they’re the right things to do.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Hear me now, feel me now, because what you’re about to hear comes from somewhere I’ve been to dig up the sound. It’s been intense, painful sometimes, and the least you could do is to let yourself be touched by the raw nudity of the material I’m willing to insert in your system… please.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
For the album, that we sell enough to be able to pay our rent again. For the future, that we’ll live long enough to see the world falling into chaos in 2012.

MORE>> www.myspace.com/parissuityourself

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:16 | By

Approved: Love Inks

CMU Approved

Love Inks

Based in Austin, Texas, lo-fi pop trio Love Inks began putting their debut album together just under a year ago, using little more than a few guitars, an old drum machine and an eight-track reel-to-reel tape recorder set up at various times in various living rooms and bedrooms. It’s a set-up that will be familiar to most people who’ve been in a band, except substantially more low-tech than most unsigned bands put up with these days.

Still, most bands don’t then come up with the cute pop gems that Love Inks have, which makes up for their possibly stubborn insistence on using aging recording technology. Their sound is shown off on their debut single, ‘Blackeye’, which is due for release via Italian indie label Hell, Yes! on 28 Mar (with the album to follow later in the year). Twinkling guitar sits on top of a basic drum machine pattern and under the warm vocals of frontwoman Sherry LeBlanc. It’s simple, but infectious.

soundcloud.com/hellyes/love-inks-blackeye/

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:14 | By

DJ Shadow confirmed for Great Escape convention and festival

Business News Education & Events Gigs & Festivals Top Stories

DJ Shadow

It wasn’t the best kept of secrets in the end, but organisers of The Great Escape have this morning confirmed that the mighty DJ Shadow will perform on the first night of the festival this year. He will be bringing his ‘Shadowsphere’ show to Brighton for one night only, an awe-inspiring high-tech multi-media musical experience.

Not only that, and this bit is particularly exciting for us, Shadow will also appear as part of the In Conversation strand at The Great Escape convention, which is being programmed by CMU this year. The day after the live show he’ll be joining us on the TGE convention stage to talk through his extraordinary career to date.

One of hip hop’s true pioneers, whose influence spreads throughout countless genres,  Shadow has always experimented in the field of music and audio-visual technology, pushing boundaries in the process. From his record-breaking debut album ‘Endtroducing…..’ via the first UNKLE record, the Quannum Projects label, the ‘Four-Track Era’ project, his involvement in the ‘DJ Hero’ franchise, to the latest ground-breaking live show, Shadow will step out of the sphere for Great Escape delegates to lift the lid on his inspirational career.

Shadow isn’t the only addition to The Great Escape festival line-up this morning. Sufjan Stevens has also been confirmed to play, in his case on the final night of the proceedings. Both the Shadow and Stevens live shows, and the DJ Shadow In Conversation event, are co-promotions between The Great Escape and the Brighton Festival, the three week cultural fest which takes over Brighton during May, the full programme for which is due out today.

Shadow and Stevens join a Great Escape festival line up that already includes the likes of Friendly Fires, Warpaint, Katy B, Brother, Twin Shadow, D/R/U/G/S, Becoming Real, PVT, Dutch Uncles, Tribes, worriedaboutsatan, Teeth, Visions Of Tree and Seams.

Meanwhile, on the convention side, Shadow joins BRIT Award winning producer Paul Epworth in the In Conversation programme, while discussing the future shape of the music company, the music market and the artist deal will be PRS for Music’s Will Page, Cooking Vinyl’s Martin Goldschmidt, BMG UK’s Alan Pell, Deloitte’s Paul Lee, Various Artists Management’s David Bianci and many more. This year will also see the launch of a new masterclass programme and a series of case study sessions providing practical advice on how to develop, launch and monetise new talent.

For more info on all things The Great Escape, and to book your delegates passes, get yourself over to www.escapegreat.com.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:13 | By

Buju Banton found guilty of drugs charges

Legal

Buju Banton

Buju Banton is facing up to fifteen years in jail after being found guilty of various drugs charges in the Florida courts over allegations the reggae singer conspired to set up a cocaine deal in 2009.

As previously reported, Banton was arrested after seemingly trying to buy five kilos of cocaine in 2009. Prosecutors also told the court that the singer had told a police informant that he could set up a coke deal on several occasions.

However, Banton has always maintained that he was tricked by a cocaine smuggler, and that while he may have told the informant he could set up a drugs deal such claims were actually idle boasts. The prosecution conceded that no money had ever changed hands in relation to any drugs deal Banton spoke about.

When the case first came to court last September jurors couldn’t reach a decision and a mistrial was declared. This time it took jurors two days to decide the singer was guilty of three of the four charges he faced: conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offence and using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offence. He was cleared of the charged of attempted possession with the intent to distribute.

Banton is now awaiting sentencing, but his lawyer admitted yesterday he could get up to fifteen years. He has been in a US jail since being arrested back in 2009.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:12 | By

Abi McQuater wins Basecamp Rocks

Awards

Basecamp Rocks

The final of new bands competition Basecamp Rocks took place at the Camden Barfly last night, with five bands competing for the overall prize of an all-expenses paid mini-tour of some key Alpine ski resorts in April.

As previously reported, this new bands contests, sponsored by ski company Basecamp, begins online with fans voting for their favourite acts via the competition’s website. 24 bands then performed at a mega-semi-final at the Islington Academy at the start of the year. A judging panel of four, including CMU Publisher Chris Cooke, then picked four finalists, with a fifth going through based on an audience vote.

Competing last night were folk-tinged acts Early Ghost and Dickie & The Bohemians, rock bands Cytota and Rothko (who had changed their name from Kill!TheKid since the semi-finals), and singer-songwriter Abi McQuater. All five put on impressive sets, but it was McQuater who got the most votes from the returning judging panel, making her the overall winner.

Commenting on the final, the boss of Basecamp, Fergie Miller, told CMU: “Last night showed how important a competition like Base Camp Rocks is. With our final selling out for the second year in a row, it is great to be providing such talented young artists with the opportunity to perform at some of the best London venues, the O2 Academy Islington for the semi-finals, and The Camden Barfly last night”.

He added: “Thanks must go to all of our musicians and judges who have made BCR another huge success this year, along with our partners, including The Eleven, Ticket To Ride and OnePiece. Though, of course, our main praise has to go to Abi McQuater, our incredible champion. We now look forward to heading out to The Alps with her for her prize-winning tour!”

You can check out McQuater at www.myspace.com/abimcquater

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:10 | By

Lady Gaga best for stress, poll finds

Artist News

Lady Gaga

Commuters find Lady Gaga most relieves stress at the start of the working week, according to new research by mental health charity Mind.

The organisation also found that 74% of people listen to their favourite songs on their way to work, and 52% reported feeling energised for the day as a result. A third said that listening to music cheers them up when they are down about work, while just under a quarter agreed that they found listening to music during their morning commute relaxing.

While at work, 36% of people who listen to music in their offices said it improved the workplace, 32% said it improved morale and 26% said it reduced stress and workplace disagreements. Meanwhile 18% reckoned that listening to music at their desk would make them more productive. The other 72% are presumably listening to the wrong music.

A poll found that people’s top five stress-busting acts are as follows:

1. Lady Gaga
2. Cheryl Cole
3. Rhianna
4. Mumford & Sons
5. Take That

Mind Chief Executive, Paul Farmer told CMU: “The therapeutic benefits of listening to music are well-known. A song which makes you feel good can be incredibly soothing and help to reduce anxiety. If you’re worried about your working day ahead then listening to your favourite songs on your commute can be a great way to relax and refocus”.

He continued: “When you’re tackling a heavy workload, music can be a great motivator and boost productivity. It helps to eliminate distractions around you such as noisy colleagues, machinery or phones so that you can focus on the task in hand. While listening to music may not fit in with the culture of every workplace, we urge employers to be flexible in their outlook and create dialogue with their staff about their preferences”.

Mind is now launching a Twitter campaign asking people to tweet their favourite stress-relieving songs with the hashtag #MindMusicMonday at the start of each working week. Those people who do so can not only show off their awesome taste in music, but will also help raise awareness of issues around stress and anxiety.

Follow Mind on Twitter at: twitter.com/mindcharity

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:09 | By

Wild Beasts announce new album

Gigs & Festivals Releases

Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts have announced that they will release their third album, ‘Smother’, on 9 May via Domino. The band will also embark on a brief tour of the UK around the release, which will include two nights at Wilton’s Music Hall in London on 11 and 12 May.

Watch a trailer for the album here.

And here’s the tracklist:

Lion’s Share
Bed Of Nails
Deeper
Loop The Loop
Plaything
Invisible
Albatross
Reach A Bit Further
Burning
End Come Too Soon

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:07 | By

UNKLE announce new EP and album re-release

Gigs & Festivals Releases

UNKLE

UNKLE are to release a new EP entitled ‘Only The Lonely’ on 4 Apr via Surrender All. The five-track record features a collaboration with Leila Moss of The Duke Spirit, and also a star turn from Nick Cave, who lends his vocals to lead track ‘Money And Run’.

Full of praise for the duo, Cave admits: “I’ve always had a huge soft spot for UNKLE – their pop sensibilities, their hooks, big choruses, their super-treated production – so when they sent me some music to sing over I jumped at the chance. The song they sent was great too – something wonderfully dense about it, like T Rex’s ‘Metal Guru’ or something. I wrote a lyric – something desperate sounding to run counterpoint to the joyful racket of the music. It’s a fucking hit”.

The EP’s tracklisting:

Money and Run (feat Nick Cave)
The Dog Is Black (feat Leila Moss)
Only The Lonely (dub)
Wash The Love Away (feat Gavin Clark)
Sunday Song (feat Rachel Fannan)

The EP release will be followed shortly by an extended re-issue of UNKLE’s 2010 album ‘When Did The Night Fall’ on 11 Apr. The new version includes a bonus disc with all sorts of rarities and such like on it. Preceding all this release-related hoopla, UNKLE will also play a set at London’s Brixton Academy on 1 Apr.

In almost related news, UNKLE’s James Lavelle put together a brilliant Powers Of Ten playlist for us last year, featuring ten tracks from The National, Carl Craig, Queens Of The Stone Age and more. Click here to see the full tracklist and to listen in Spotify.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:06 | By

Patrick Wolf reveals album details

Releases

Patrick Wolf

An increasingly jovial Patrick Wolf has both written and produced his new album ‘Lupercalia’, and on it he plays the Appalachian dulcimer amongst other strange instruments. The rosy-cheeked pop minstrel hopes to reach a more mainstream audience with his latest full-length record, which is due for release on 31 May through Mercury/Hideout.

Get a feel for Pat’s jauntier new sound by watching the video for ‘The City’ here. The tracklisting is as follows:

The City
House
Bermondsey Street
The Future
Armistice
William
Time Of My Life
The Days
Slow Motion
Together
The Falcons

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:04 | By

Glenn Close not playing Susan Boyle

Artist News

Susan Boyle

Glenn Close isn’t going to star as Susan Boyle in a film version of the singer’s life. I’m amazed you thought she was, to be honest. Despite claims in The Sun earlier this week that Close was signed on to portray the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ runner up on the big screen, a spokesperson for the actress told Lifeline Live today that all such chatter was “complete rubbish”. Meryl Streep’s playing Margaret Thatcher in a film. That’s probably where you’ve got confused.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:03 | By

Kompakt to showcase its stars at Ether Festival

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Kompakt

Cologne-based electro label Kompakt will take up temporary residency at London’s Southbank Centre as part of the innovative multi-arts festival that is Ether, which runs from 24 Mar to 28 Apr this year. The label will stage two nights during the festival itself, and is also hosting an Ether launch party later this week.

Taking place in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the dates look something like this:

25 Feb: Juan MacLean, Matias Aguayo/Daniel Maloso’s Comeme, The Hundred In The
Hands and Stopmakingme

3 Apr: KrautPopAmbient feat Wolfgang Voigt and Jörg Burger, The Field’s Axel
Willner plus special guests

8 Apr: Pantha du Prince, Apparat and Walls (DJ Set)

Find further details on the Ether website here.

Also check out this colourful video from Kompakt artist Matias Aguayo, who will perform at this Friday’s show with a nine-piece band from Buenos Aires.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:01 | By

Twin Shadow to tour in May

Gigs & Festivals

Twin Shadow

Having released acclaimed album ‘Forget’ towards the end of last year, synth wizard George Lewis Jr, aka Twin Shadow, has announced that he is to embark on a series of European dates later this year. This kicks off with a couple of UK stops, which look like this:

11 May: London, The Scala
12 May: Brighton, Corn Exchange

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 12:00 | By

Field Day presents night at XOYO

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Field Day

The orchestrators of Victoria Park’s annual Field Day extravaganza, which this year will welcome acts including Wild Beasts, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and The Horrors, have released details of a special one-off event at London’s XOYO on 11 Mar.

Field Day Night is co-hosted by BleeD and Eat Your Own Ears, and will feature a DJ set from the talented Four Tet, as well as appearances by Floating Points, Brackles, Casper C and Chimes.

See here for more info.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:59 | By

Festival line-up update – 23 Feb 2011

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

T In The Park

BENICASSIM, Valencia, Spain, 14-17 Jul: Sweet Scottish crooner Paulo Nutini is amongst the latest additions to the Benicassim bill, with Pendulum and The Stranglers also poised to perform. And So I Watch You From Afar, Professor Green, The Morning Benders, O Emperor and more will perform alongside Congotronic vs Rockers, a collaborative ensemble that includes members of Deerhoof, Kasai Allstars and Wildbirds & Peacedrums. www.fiberfib.com

CAMDEN CRAWL, various venues, London, 30 Apr-1 May: Amongst the horde of acts announced to play this Gaymers-backed bash are Lethal Bizzle, Hadouken!, Villagers, The King Blues, Ghostpoet, Little Comets and Cocknbullkid, who will perform at venues across the north London borough. www.thecamdencrawl.com

DOT TO DOT, various venues, 29-31 May: Taking place across venues in Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham, the bank holiday shindig will play host to avante-garde pop duo Hurts, as well as The Naked & Famous, Mona, Ed Sheeran and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Unfortunately for those in the other two cities, Darwin Deez will only appear at the Manchester leg. www.dottodotfestival.co.uk

DOWNLOAD, Donington Park, 10-12 Jun: US glam-metallers Twisted Sister are newly confirmed to appear directly beneath Alice Cooper (on the bill, that is) at Castle Donington’s heaviest of heavy rock events. Ex-GNR bassist Duff McKagen is also set to make a triumphant return with his band Loaded. Hardcore band Trash Talk of the ‘powerviolence’ genre will also put on a powerful performance, though hopefully not a violent one. Metal supergroup Down complete the recent announcements for the festival, which is co-headlined by Linkin Park and System Of A Down. www.downloadfestival.co.uk/2011/

HEINEKEN OPEN’ER, Gdynia, Poland, 30 Jun-3 Jul: MIA will bring her brilliant brand of world alt-music to Poland for this year’s Open’er festival, appearing alongside Cut Copy, Youssou N’Dour and Abraham Inc. These are added to a bill that includes Foals, Hurts, Primus and line-up supremos Coldplay. www.opener.pl/en

SONAR, Barcelona, Spain, 16-18 Jun: Making a second appearance in the Line-Up Update today is MIA, who will treat crowds to the best of her latest album and recent ‘Vicki Leekx’ mixtape at this year’s Sonar. South African rap outfit Die Antwoord further boost the festival’s cool factor, while Cut Copy and Boys Noize will also take to the stage on both legs of the dual-venue fiesta. Buraka Som Sistema, Shackleton, Nicolas Jaar, Africa Hitech, Global Communication, Paul Kalkbrenner and Steve Aoki will also play alongside such already-announced acts as Salem, Underworld and Magnetic Man. www.sonar.es/en/

T IN THE PARK, Balado, Scotland, 8-10 Jul: T organisers have launched this year’s event via Twitter with a veritable feast of announcements. Keeping things very British, headlining duties will be shared between Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay, with Pulp and Beady Eye also set to play. This theme continues with BRIT darlings Tinie Tempah, Jessie J and Plan B all on the bill, alongside Friendly Fires, Manic Street Preachers, Tom Jones, The View and White Lies. There will be some foreigners, though. My Chemical Romance, Brandon Flowers, Ke$ha, Bright Eyes and Diplo are all also set to appear. www.tinthepark.com

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:55 | By

Album review: The Death Set – Michel Poiccard (Ninja Tune/Counter Records)

Album Reviews

The Death Set

Created after the death of TDS co-founder Beau Velasco from a drug overdose, ‘Michel Poiccard’ is a somewhat befittingly messy record.

Along with Dananananaykroyd and Johnny Foreigner, you might want to think of TDS as ‘fight pop’, a slightly made up genre to be reckoned with. An energetic, raucous blip on the indie scene, this music is at once exciting and annoying, but never boring.

With that in mind, what’s messy about ‘Michel Poiccard’ doesn’t lie in its naturally given genre, but in its only partly successful attempts to escape from it. It’s a raw and emotional album, with a significant amount of depth in it for such a shallow breed of indie pop. With the help of XXXchange, Diplo and Spank Rock, the scattering, undeniably bratty sound of the band’s earlier work is reigned in and polished. Just.

Next single, ‘We Are Going Anywhere Man’ is actually a pretty lovely song, exhilarating and uplifting, not unlike the album’s counter highlight ‘Chew It Like A Gun Gum’. But, of course, a leopard will never change its spots and there are also still a load of brash, tantrumy songs about French girls who enjoy anal sex (in your dreams, gentlemen). However, some softness creeps through with ‘I Miss You Beau Velasco’, a gorgeous track, which owes a small nod to our friends The Radio Dept in its dreamy, textured layers of sound.

I don’t really like anything that’s labelled ‘uber cool’ – my nerdy little heart shrivels inside and I back away to more comfortable pastures – but I will always have a soft spot for the faux-geekiness of TDS, more so now with thanks to this fitting tribute to Velasco. TW

Physical release: 28 Feb

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:53 | By

Festival awards to stage debates around the UK

Business News Education & Events Live Business

Festival Awards

Organisers of the UK Festival Awards have announced a series of mini-conferences to be staged in cities around the UK. Called The City Sessions, each event will feature a panel discussing a different issue affected the festival sector and allow for networking between those involved in festival-type events.

The City Sessions will take place in Leeds, London, Bristol, Glasgow and Birmingham this spring, and will presumably be like mini versions of the Festival Conference which is staged alongside the Festival Awards each autumn.

Festival Awards MD James Drury told CMU: “The UK Festival Conference has proved extremely popular so we wanted to make sure the festival industry across the UK could get access to the same high quality information and expertise without the expense of coming to London. By working in tandem with regional and national music industry organisations, each Session will give delegates practical, tailored information which will help make their business stronger – which is good news for everyone who loves festivals”.

The Festival Awards have also set up a new website aimed at those working in the festivals industry at www.festivalinsights.com.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:51 | By

BMG appoints bankers to advise on possible Warner bid

Business News Labels & Publishers

Warner/Chapell

According to Sky News dude Mark Kleinman, BMG has hired the services of not one but two sets of bankers (because you can never have too many bankers) to advise it on a possible acquisition of Warner/Chappell, the music publishing business of the Warner Music Group.

BMG and its backers KKR have long been favourites to bid for some or all of Warner Music, ever since it became clear the US music major’s current owners would be taking offers.

KKR is one of the few potential bidders who commentators believe could conceivably bid for the whole of Warner, and BMG boss Hartwig Masuch has said he is interested in extending his company’s recording rights assets as well as further adding to their publishing catalogue.

Though the latest rumours seem to be that KKR/BMG will only bid for Warner/Chappell. Such a deal is believed to be preferred by Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Junior, who would hope to use the monies raised by a sale of the publishing business to fund an acquisition of some of EMI, probably the record labels, which is also up for sale.

Sky says that both Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan are now advising BMG on how to structure and finance a Warner/Chappell bid. As previously reported, they face competition from up to twenty other bidders for the Warner publishing catalogue.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:48 | By

ie forms partnership with Aussie indie down under

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Management & Funding

ie:music

The Australian office of London-based management firm ie:music, best known for managing Robbie Williams, has entered into a partnership with Inertia, a leading Australian independent record company and label services business.

Reps for the two companies say that ie:inertia will be a “full service artist management venture” providing “a locally based, experienced management team with an established worldwide support network”. The new venture will be overseen by ie:music’s Dan Medlan, who recently relocated to Sydney to manage Ladyhawke and Passenger.

Inertia’s Group MD, Colin Daniels, told The Music Network: “Inertia has built a reputation for providing artists and labels a high level service experience across industry platforms. It’s our aim to extend those services to include artist management providing full support including funding for new artists”.

Meanwhile, in a statement ie:music joint MDs Tim Clark and David Enthoven said: “As a management company, we provide the best possible services to the artists we represent. We are not a rights acquisition company but rather a company that aims to promote, exploit and protect all our artists rights. Inertia share our philosophy and we are delighted to be forming ie:inertia with them”.

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Wednesday 23 February 2011, 11:46 | By

New MP3 resale site emerges

Digital ReDigi Timeline

ReDigi

Oh, here we go again, another MP3 resale service has appeared on the horizon. Remember Bopaboo? No? Go on, it’s there somewhere deep in your memory, the website that allowed people to resell their MP3s to others providing they promised to delete their original copy once someone else had bought it off them.

It was one of those services plagued by copyright issues from the word go. I’m not quite sure what happened to it. Its owners made quite a bit of noise for a few weeks and then quietly disappeared – the company’s official blog is now turning up a lovely syntax error. I’m not sure it was around long enough for record companies to actually sue.

The new MP3 resale service has launched in the US and is called the ReDigi Marketplace. When Hypebot raised the copyright issues that surround their service, one of ReDigi’s founders Larry Rudolph was upbeat: “Being a group of computer geeks when someone tells us something can’t be done, we immediately set a course to figure out how to do it”.

He continued: “There are many layers that go into ReDigi that make it work, legal and technical being just a few. Our team figured out what could be done to legally ensure that consumers regain the freedom to manage their own personal music collections”.

Rudolph seems confident that as well as the technical framework he and his colleagues have built for ReDigi, they have also found a legal framework that will satisfy rightsholders. That includes passing a portion of any resale money back to the artist or label whose content is being resold.

I’m not convinced that will be enough to avoid a cease and desist from at least one major if and when ReDigi takes off, but it should be interesting to watch in the meantime.

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