Friday 27 April 2012, 12:48 | By CMU Editorial

Will Young autobiography

Artist News

Having committed his life’s memoirs to paper, popular recording artist Will Young has announced he’s to release an autobiography in October.

Set for publication via Little, Brown Book Group, the tome will span standout moments from Young’s ten varied years in the media glare; from his 2002 ‘Pop Idol’ victory, to his role as co-producer of Ralph Fiennes’ acclaimed ‘Coriolanus’, to a cameo in an episode of ‘Skins’. A varied career, indeed.

Says Young: “Writing this book has been surprisingly more fun and emotional for me than I would ever have thought. It often isn’t until you look back on situations in life that you can see the real humanity, humour and madness of what was occurring… In equal measures!”

Kerrang! books Skindred, Architects, Arcane Roots for awards shows

Gigs & Festivals

Kerrang! is to host a trio of shows in recognition of its namesake awards ceremony, which takes place on 7 Jun.

Skindred and Surrey trio Arcane Roots will headline respectively at London’s The Garage and Barfly on 5 Jun, while Architects play at The Garage the following night.

Tickets for all dates go on sale today.

Cyprus Hill confirm London show

Gigs & Festivals

As the above headline all but reveals, Cypress Hill are destined to play a standalone date at The Forum.

The hip hop group, who will visit the London venue on 5 Jun, are at the moment promoting ‘Cypress x Rusko’, their collaborative racket with the dubstep producer.

Cypress rapper Sen Dog says this of the EP (which, despite being billed for release this month, doesn’t seem to be out yet): “I think dubstep is a natural progression of hip hop. Especially the way that we formulated it with Rusko, there’s definitely some roughness to it”.

Festival line-up update – 27 Apr 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BEERMAGEDDON, South Winfield, Derbyshire, 24-25 Aug: Organisers make that three more for the Beermageddon road, as Fury, Fell On Black Days and A Fable For The Curious top up an apocalyptic rock line-up featuring Bloodshot Dawn, Imperial Vengeance, Evil Scarecrow, Fallen Fate, The Furious Horde, Sanguine and Diementia. www.beermageddon.co.uk

BELLADRUM TARTAN HEART, Belladrum Estate, Inverness-shire, Scotland, 3-4 Aug: Buzzcocks, Vintage Trouble, Lianne La Havas, Willy Mason and Lanterns On The Lake further bolster a bustling Belladrum bill, joining such previous confirmations as Travis, Slow Club, Beverley Knight, We Are Scientists and Bastille. www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk

GLADE FESTIVAL, Houghton Hall, Norfolk, 14-17 Jun: Glade organisers have just confirmed that Marcel Dettmann, Levon Vincent, Blawan, Function and Prosumer will appear at the festival’s electronic epicentre, the Pyromid Stage, thus joining Andy C, Rusko, Vitalic, Pretty Lights and more on the main Glade programme. www.gladefestival.com

GOLDEN DOWN, Black Bush Valley, Matterley Estate, Hampshire, 15-17 Jun: Gilles Peterson, The Correspondents, When Saints Go Machine, Simian Ghost and Being There go to crown a glittering Golden Down billing, thus aligning with Four Tet, Roots Manuva, Lee Scratch Perry, Thundercat, Mount Kimbie, Apparat, and the rest of the festival’s guest cast. www.goldendownfestival.co.uk

HEVY, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, Kent, 3-6 Aug: Rawk fest Hevy pulls no punches with its latest line-up declaration, booking party-hardy cult rocker Andrew WK, Glassjaw, Meshuggah, Madball and Norma Jean in a line of UK exclusives. Further add-ons including Lemuria, Bleed From Within, Feed The Rhino and The James Cleaver Quintet also now join the already announced Descendents, Converge, Will Haven, Deaf Havana, Set Your Goals and Rolo Tomassi. www.hevy.co.uk

LAKEFEST, Croft Farm Waterpark, Tewkesbury, 18-19 May: With Athlete replacing Levellers as Lakefest headliners, this independent West Country fest is also to host EMF, 3 Daft Monkeys, Toploader, The Roving Crows and Dodgy. www.lakesfest.co.uk

ONE LOVE FESTIVAL, Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent, 10-12 Aug: Fun Lovin Criminals and Fast & Frank Benbini note high amongst dub/reggae fest One Love’s latest 2012 sign-ups, past examples of which include Don Letts, Aba Shanti, Dub Pistols Sound System, Freddie McGregor, Frankie Paul and Kevin Isaacs. www.onelovefestival.co.uk

OUTLOOK, Fort Punta Christo, Pula, Croatia, 30 Aug – 3 Sep: Lee Scratch Perry, Prince Fatty, Rudimental and Plastician are recent entrants to Outlook’s dance-centric line-up, sharing space with the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Skream, Andy C, Zinc and Gold Panda. www.outlookfestival.com

ROCKNESS, Loch Ness, Scotland, 8-10 Jun: Jeff Mills, Ash, Rob Da Bank, The Pigeon Detectives and Theophilus London represent a segment of RockNess’s most recent enlistees, previous ones of which have included Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, Friendly Fires, Biffy Clyro, Justice, Deadmau5 and The Rapture. www.rockness.co.uk

TRUCK, Hill Farm, Steventon, 20-21 Jun: Emmy The Great, This Town Needs Guns, Lucy Rose, Michele Stodart and Kill It Kid represent last minute updates to Truck’s now finalised roster, which has hitherto hosted co-headliners Mystery Jets and The Temper Trap, plus Tim Minchin, British Sea Power, The Low Anthem, Guillemots, Three Trapped Tigers, 65daysofstatic and Villagers. www.truckfestival.com

WAY OUT WEST, Gothenburg, Sweden, 9-11 Aug: WOW present the splendid John Maus, Purity Ring, Ane Brun, Mark Lanegan and Frida Hyvönen as the most recent supplement to the Swedish fest’s existing roster, as stars Blur, Bon Iver, OFWGKTA, Florence And The Machine, King Krule, The War On Drugs and St Vincent. www.wayoutwest.se/en

Ingenious invests in Sound City

Business News Deals Education & Events Live Business

Entertainment investment firm Ingenious has announced a deal with the organisers of showcase festival and music convention Liverpool Sound City, the latest edition of which will take place from 17-19 May.

The move follows a successful exit for the finance firm from another Merseyside-based music business, the promoter of Creamfields. The new investment will be used to fund the growth of the Sound City brand, both in the UK and abroad. As previously reported, the Sound City team recently staged an event under the name in New York, and has in the past run a convention in Dubai.

Confirming the new alliance, Ingenious Investment Director Paul Bedford told CMU: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Sound City, who have a deep understanding of how the worlds of music and digital can complement each other. The events they develop have a relevance that too many others lack in this day and age. The success of the first New York Sound City also shows that this relevance is not just limited to the UK and we truly believe that Sound City can develop a worldwide brand over the next few years”.

Meanwhile Sound City chief David Pichilingi added: “Both the team and I are very excited about the strategic alliance with Ingenious. We have developed a new, exciting and innovative customer experience for music lovers and those in the business of music and digital. Paul and his team share our vision and we will work closely together to develop the Sound City brand in overseas territories as well as strengthen our UK position”.

The Bug launches Acid Ragga label

Business News Labels & Publishers Releases

Kevin Martin, aka dubstep producer The Bug and one half of King Midas Sound, has announced the launch of his own record label, Acid Ragga, which will operate as an imprint of Ninja Tune.

The label is set to release a series of seven-inches from Martin as The Bug. The first will feature two new tracks, ‘Can’t Take This No More’ featuring Daddy Freddy and ‘Rise Up’ featuring Inga Copeland of Hype Williams. It will be followed by ‘Ganja Baby’, another track with vocals from Daddy Freddy.

Other artists Martin is working with on future releases include Death Grips, Gonjasufi, Grouper, Justin Broadrick, The Spaceape, Flowdan and Warrior Queen.

Speaking about the new project, Martin said: “After [2008 The Bug album] ‘London Zoo’ I wanted to come with something intense and fresh, and the Acid Ragga label is it”.

Listen to a clip of ‘Can’t Take This No More’ here:

MPA hires Sarah Osborn from Schott

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

The Music Publishers Association has announced Sarah Osborn as its new General Manager. Osborn has spent the last eight years working at Schott Music, originally as Composer Manager and more recently as Head Of Contemporary Music. During that time, she has also been working with the MPA as chair of its Education And Training Group.

Confirming the appointment, MPA chief exec Stephen Navin told CMU: “Sarah is already a friend of the MPA and we are very much looking forward to her taking up her new role here. Her work as a publisher means that she can immediately start to take up the opportunities and challenges with which we are all currently engaged”.

Sarah Osborn herself added: “The work of the MPA remains vital to music publishers and I am delighted to be taking on this role. I look forward to working on behalf of the best interests of the membership in a continually evolving landscape”.

AIM and UKTI announce US digital trade mission

Business News Labels & Publishers

AIM and UKTI Digital Music Mission will be rolling into New York in June, offering UK independent music businesses the chance to gain knowledge and meet with key figures in the US digital market. Delegates will also get access to AIM’s US counterpart A2IM’s Indie Week conference.

Delegates will need to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses, as well as a mission registration fee. The deadline for applications is 30 Apr, and can be submitted via this online form.

CMU Beef Of The Week #108: Aerosmith v Breasts

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

You may remember that Aerosmith appeared in an edition of US documentary series ’60 Minutes’ back in March. It made the headlines not only because the band were very candid in their interviews, but because frontman Steven Tyler said after it went out that the band felt like they’d said too much.

A section of the programme focussed on tensions between Tyler and the rest of the band, in particular guitarist Joe Perry, which, while never a secret, were laid out in front of viewers very clearly. Asked if these tensions had ever led to a full on fight, Perry said: “That would damage the relationship too much; besides he needs his jaw to sing”.

When the filmmakers showed Tyler this, along with other footage of his bandmates badmouthing him, in a separate interview, he responded: “I always sleep with one eye open with him”, adding: “I think my busting everyone’s chops is what got this band to where it is. I get the hits. Yeah, I’m that good”.

After the programme was aired, Tyler told Access Hollywood that he and his bandmates regretted being so open about their relationships in the interviews, saying: “We all realise we might have said a little too much. Being Italian, you know, there’s some things you don’t say. There was stuff we were going through”.

True, but this band are always going through something. Two years ago they got through a particularly rough patch by sitting down together with their respective managers and lawyers to argue it out. Although the really big issues were seemingly resolved after that meeting, tensions still emerge from time to time.

But how did ’60 Minutes’ manage to get the band to speak so candidly about their problems with each other? Was it that everyone was in a bad mood that day and needed to vent? Was if the strain of years of battling to make things work showing through? Was it hard-hitting journalism? No, none of these things. According to bassist Tom Hamilton it boiled down to clever editing and devious clothing choices.

He accused the producers of ’60 Minutes’ of editing together the worst of everything the band had said about Tyler in order to provoke a strong reaction from the frontman when shown the footage. “It was tough to watch”, Hamilton told US radio station 97.5 K-Rock this week. “They took comments we made during very deep conversations and sort of barraged Steven with them. I thought it was a little brutal”.

Despite this, he admitted that everything they’d said was true: “It was the truth. It was everybody speaking what they were feeling. We talked about a lot of things involving anger – yet a lot of other things involving brotherhood. So Steven got pissed off and said a couple of things that were demeaning to the rest of us. I cringed a little bit, yet the second it was over I texted him and said, ‘You did a great job'”.

But the question remains, even if the editing magnified what they’d said, if it was all true, how did ’60 Minutes’ manage to get them to say things they new would be likely to upset Tyler in the first place? How did the show push them to risk destroying the already tense relationship between five men who have otherwise managed to stick together (for the most part) for more than 40 years? How could Aerosmith have been brought to the very brink of imploding like this?

“Lara Logan, the correspondent, had a very low-cut top on”, explained Hamilton.

Oh, right. He adds that it was clear what Logan was up to right from the start, but he was powerless to resist her journalistic, er, clothes. He recalled: “I’m like, ‘Okay, this is sort of, get the band nervous with your cleavage and make them say stuff’. And if you watch the interview you won’t see that. That’s how they do it: they show their boobs and get you to talk about stuff. It works every time”.

Now, this is award-winning war correspondent Lara Logan we are talking about, who has reported from warzones and other areas of conflict around the world for the last fifteen years. In February 2011, while covering the Egyptian Revolution, she was attacked, stripped naked and assaulted by a mob in Tahir Square. In May last year she was interviewed on ’60 Minutes’ herself, speaking about the prevalence of sexual violence against female reporters in Egypt during the revolution.

This explains why, six months later, she was back in US and being embedded with Aerosmith, rather than the US Army as she was more used to, as they toured South America. Having taken a break from war and violence, I’d say getting a bunch of aging rock stars to say some stupid things just by asking them questions wasn’t beyond her capabilities. Though being able to do so without having them try to stare down her (actually fairly conservative) top throughout would presumably have been preferable for the reporter, even if their efforts to catch a glimpse did deliver the more controversial admissions.

Playlist: Fixers

CMU Playlists

Formed in 2009, Oxford quintet Fixers came to prominence as part of the Blessing Force collective, which also counts Jonquil, Trophy Wife, Chad Valley and Rhosyn amongst its number. Sporting a sound that reconciles Beach Boys-style group harmonies with kaleidoscopic drifts of retro electronica they caused a bit of a stir with their debut EP, ‘Here Comes 2001 So Let’s All Head For The Sun’, in 2011.

Signing to Vertigo shortly after the release of that EP, they got to work on their, ‘We’ll Be The Moon’, which is due out on 27 May. Ahead of that they will set out on a UK tour, beginning on 11 May, which will see them all the way through to the beginning of June and festival season.

We caught up with frontman Jack Goldstein just after he returned from a trip to New York, which influenced the playlist we asked him to put together somewhat. He explains: “This playlist is basically me, sat in a conservatory looking at rain. I haven’t left my house in three days and I miss New York. A lot of the music is either what I listened to on the plane journey or what I actually saw whilst I was out there. Hope you enjoy”.

JACK GOLDSTEIN’S TEN
Click here to listen to Jack’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about his choices.

01 Maggotrom Crushing Crew – Miami’s Rockin Baby
I was lucky enough to attend a presentation in New York by David Tompkins on cultural, geological and political history of 80s Miami, propagating from bass music. Now I’m hooked.

02 Boy Friend – Lovedropper
I love this track. We’re both playing at Camden Crawl next month but they are playing a different day, which is a shame.

03 Santigold – Disparate Youth
Just got the new Santigold album and haven’t really had a chance to fully listen to it yet, but I’ve had this track for a while and it’s great.

04 Nicki Minaj – Roman Holiday
The new Nicki Minaj record is nuts, I keep saying it sounds like a hip hop Meredith Monk. At times I think it could be an opera.

05 Hype Williams – Farthing Wood Dub
This is just a plane journey classic.

06 Rainbow Arabia – Haunted Hall (Happy Ghost – We Are The World Remix)
I first heard about Rainbow Arabia last year when we played Manchester’s Sounds From The Other City Festival with them. Their show was so rammed I couldn’t see anything, so I left and went and watched D/R/U/G/S instead.

07 The Cure – Lullaby
I accidentally wiped my iTunes library a few months ago and have been rebuilding it ever since. I stumbled upon this on Spotify and realised I used to listen to it so much when I had it!

08 Lustmord – Ash
I saw Geir Jenssen and Lustmord collaborate on a project called Trinity in a small Presbyterian church in Manhattan. It was totally badass and has kind of rubbed off on me. I’ve always been a Geir Jenssen fan but have only heard the Lustmord/Melvins stuff, so I have been getting into this stuff a lot more.

09 Robert Rich – Glint In Her Eyes
The beauty of Spotify – I just linked through to this from Lustmord’s related artists list. Another of his collaborators.

10 Genius/GZA – 4th Chamber
Also saw GZA in Williamsburg last week with Bad Brains. Yet again, I haven’t been able to shake our NYC trip off. Go away horrible UK weather…

Approved: The Leg

CMU Approved

“There are no stitches cos there was no operation”, when written down, doesn’t seem particularly unnerving. I mean, basically all it’s saying is “nothing happened”. But when that line emerges from The Leg’s frontman Daniel Mutch’s mouth, it sounds utterly terrifying. This, I feel we need to establish before we move on any further, is a good thing.

The line forms the centrepiece of ‘Bake Yourself Silly’, the second track to escape onto the internet from The Leg’s third album, ‘An Eagle To Saturn’, which is due for release via Song, By Toad Records on 30 Apr. The album veers wildly between brooding, folky snarls of songs like ‘Bake Yourself Silly’ to crazed punk romps like ‘Twitching Stick’ (which appeared earlier this year on Song, By Toad’s 2012 sampler.

Over in under 30 minutes, ‘An Eagle To Saturn’ rushes in and out of you earline quickly and leaves you wondering quite what just happened. It’ll claw you back soon enough though.

Listen to Bake Your Silly here:

Vivendi denies split rumours

Girls Aloud to reform this year

Artist News

Cheryl Cole has confirmed that Girls Aloud will reform later this year for some sort of activity around their tenth anniversary. What that activity might be isn’t clear – it could be a new album, it could be a tour, it could be an angry shove in a corridor. Who knows?

Cole told Chris Moyles on Radio 1: “It’s coming up to our tenth birthday in November this year… and we all want to do something to celebrate that”. Asked why they went on hiatus back in 2009, she said: “What happened was it had been seven years of consistently non-stop touring, album after album. As women we needed this space to grow”.

Deftones frontman and former Isis members form new band

Artist News Releases

Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and former Isis members Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide have formed a new band called Palms and recently completed work on their debut album together, it has been announced.

Harris explains: “Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after Isis ended [in 2010]. Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there. We’ve worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It’s nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this line-up”.

Moreno added: “Being a huge Isis fan I’ve always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound. I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so”.

The album is slated for release later this year via Ipecac.

The Beach Boys to release new album

Releases

This time last year, Brian Wilson was still undecided about rejoining The Beach Boys for the band’s 50th anniversary on the grounds that “they’re crazy”. Now he’s only gone and written and recorded a new album with them. The group are also preparing for a world tour.

Wilson joins the surviving founding members of the band – Mike Love and Al Jardine – along with guitarist David Marks, who joined shortly after the band originally formed, and keyboard player Bruce Johnston, who replaced Brian Wilson in the band’s touring line-up in 1965.

The band recently completed work on the new album, ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’, which is due for release via EMI/Capitol on 5 Jun. The band’s 29th album, it was recorded at Ocean Way Studios in LA and also produced by Wilson.

Listen to the album’s title track here:

Paije Richardson releasing debut single

Releases

In the second episode in an unofficial series that began yesterday with ex ‘X-Factor’ warbler Aiden Grimshaw’s (poorly punctuated) new track ‘Is This Love’, here arrives ‘Bang Bang’, the debut single from another ‘X’ graduate, soul man Paije Richardson.

Recorded in a converted water tower in a remote part of the Isle Of Wight, it’s one of several original songs featuring on Paije’s PledgeMusic-funded first album, which will also include new versions of a number of R&B and Northern Soul standards, plus “rarely heard music from the 1950s”.

Paije, who sounds a thoroughly nice chap, says this of choosing the album’s covered content: “Some I had heard before, others I hadn’t. Those that hit me on a certain level or had the right vibe I listened to again and again until I knew which ones I wanted to interpret”.

Listen to ‘Bang Bang’, as is released on 9 Jul, here:

DJ Shadow readies rarities collection

Releases

DJ Shadow has compiled a new rarities album from his vintage archives, and he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to release it. Those purchasing the LP will gain a horde of demos, rough edits and rarely-heard exclusives from the years Shadow spent working on an Akai MPC sampling system, plus several instrumentals taken from a cancelled 1995 collaboration with Blackalicious rapper The Gift Of Gab. Bonus tracks, the first of which, ‘Affectations’, is free to download via the widget below.

Says Shadow: “I like to follow up new material with a tastefully-done archival project. As long as the old stuff is given a context and doesn’t overshadow the new, I think it’s a healthy exercise for me, and one that re-calibrates me for whatever new musical path lies ahead. I think it’s important to revisit where you’ve been occasionally so that you can determine where to go”.

Though minus a release date, ‘Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996′ does have the following tracklist to its credit:

Intropy (Original Version)
Vee In Detroit
Dreams Of A Piece
The Not-So-Quiet Storm
Fast Rap Fanfare
Intensely Hitting
Mystical With Solo
Alright
Don’t Try It
From The Old School
Freddi’s Popcorn
Quickstep
Movin’ On (Gab Demo 1)
Falling Up
Mellow But Chunky
Total Breakdown (Gab Demo 2)
Heavy Mood
Affectations
Perilous Journey (Gab Demo 3)
Aye
Brittle But Magic
Atmospheric Disturbances
Swimming Upstream (Gab Demo 4)

Gaz Coombes confirms solo debut

Releases

Gaz Coombes, once of Britpop lot Supergrass, has shared notes on his full-length solo debut, ‘Gaz Coombes Presents… Here Come The Bombs’.

Released on 21 May by Coombes’ label, Hot Fruit Recordings, in conjunction with EMI Label Services, the LP is preceded by a week by lead single ‘Hot Fruit’, the video for which is screening via the link below.

A generous Gaz, who’s also giving away album track ‘Sub-Divider’ as a free download, compares solo status to his time in Supergrass: “In a band, when you get a group of people who are walking the same path, it can be the most beautiful thing. But with this I felt it was really focused on just what I wanted to get across, and on my inspirations – whether it’s film, film soundtrack, or past artists that we didn’t really look at much in Supergrass. This is a completely blank page in a blank book, ready to be written on”.

In terms of live activity, Gaz is down to play The Camden Crawl, Apple Cart and Great Escape festivals, with a headline slot also booked at London’s Bush Hall on 25 May.

White Manna announce debut album

Releases

Californian psych-rock troupe White Manna have announced that they will release their eponymous debut album on 2 Jul via Holy Mountain. Featuring just five tracks, it nonetheless clocks in at almost 40 minutes during which time it knocks you senseless with looping riffs and frantic drums.

Check out the tracklist and stream ‘Mirror Sky’ below:

Acid Head
Keep Your Lantern Burning
Mirror Sky
Don’t Gun Us Down
Sweet Jesus

Beatles’ first US gig to be screened in cinemas

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Full footage of The Beatles’ first gig in the US is to be screened as part of a new documentary about the show, ‘The Beatles: The Lost Concert’.

Filmed at The Washington Coliseum in 1964, the twelve song, 30 minute set was originally recorded to be shown in cinemas, viewed by around two million Americans in March the same year. The footage was then lost, but was recently rediscovered and remastered by Screenvision, the company which has produced the new documentary.

The film will be premiered at the Ziegfield Theater in New York on 6 May, and will be screened in cinemas across America from 17-22 May. No word yet on a UK release.

Maximo Park announce single, tour dates

Gigs & Festivals

Maximo Park have made a two-part declaration regarding their forthcoming album, ‘The National Health’, confirming the release of its first single, ‘Hips And Lips’, and also setting the dates for a trio of promotional shows.

Preview ‘Hips And Lips’, the issue date for which is the same as the album’s own (11 Jun), after these live dates:

6 Jun: Birmingham, Glee Club
7 Jun: Manchester Sound Control
8 Jun: London Heaven

Eddy TM’s Losers make live return this week

Gigs & Festivals

Losers, the band formed by XFM presenter and CMU columnist Eddy Temple-Morris and former Cooper Temple Clause guitarist Tom Bellamy, returned with a new line-up and new songs this week.

Now bolstered by former yourcodenameis:milo vocalist Paul Mullen and ex-Oceansize drummer Mark Heron, they supported Sunshine Underground at London’s XOYO last night and join the band again at The Haunt in Brighton tonight. Londoners kicking themselves for missing out need not worry though, they’ll be back in the capital on Friday night to play Club NME at Koko in Camden.

If the Koko show takes your fancy, the band have an unlimited £4 guestlist – just get in touch with Eddy via Twitter or Facebook to add your name to the list.

Now, this seems like the perfect opportunity to dig out the fantastic video for ‘Flush’ from Losers’ debut album, ‘Beautiful Losers’:

Festival line-up update – 26 Apr 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BEARDED THEORY, Kedleston Hall Park, Derbyshire, 18-20 May: With Adam Ant’s The Good, The Mad And The Lovely Posse just confirmed to replace former headliners The Levellers – who cancelled their Bearded Theory appearance due to injury – this year’s festival will also feature Wheatus, Terrorvision, The Travelling Band, Dreadzone and Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs. www.beardedtheory.co.uk

HULTSFRED FESTIVAL, Sweden, 14-16 Jun: Hulstfred’s latest supplements, who include Chase & Status, Spector and Willie Moon, unite with the likes of The Cure, Mumford & Sons, Noel Gallagher, Kasabian and Noah & The Whale in – for the most part of the festival’s roster – bringing a distinctly British sense to proceedings at this Swedish three-dayer. www.hultsfredsfestivalen.se

LAND OF KINGS, various venues, Dalston, London, 4-5 May: O Children, Male Bonding, Is Tropical, and the one-time Lulu & The Lampshades line-up, now renamed Land Shapes, are new introductions to the impending Land Of Kings roster, as are DJs Kwes and Micachu aka Kwescachu. The list of those acts already confirmed includes Speech Debelle, Trophy Wife, Slow Club, Connan Mockasin, Bos Angeles, Bullion, NCZA/Lines and Stay+. www.landofkings.co.uk

LEEFEST, Highams Hill Farm, Warlingham, Surrey, 29-30 Jun: Friction & Linguistics, Jakwob, Raf Daddy, Urban Nerds and Dismantle are amongst those acts appearing on the just announced LeeFest dance line-up, and thus join the already mentioned Mystery Jets, Summer Camp, Slow Club, Ghostpoet, Bastille, The Skints, Man Like Me, Casiokids, Sound of Guns and FOE. www.leefest.org.uk

MYSTERYLAND, Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands, 24 Aug: Avicii, Fedde Le Grand, A-Trak, Simian Mobile Disco, Goldie, Tiga, Fake Blood and Seth Troxler, feature on the first and last announcement regarding this one-day Dutch dance-athon, which celebrates its nineteenth anniversary in 2012. www.mysteryland.com

NOZSTOCK, Bromyard, Herefordshire, 27-29 Jul: Organisers confirm that The Futureheads, DJ Zinc and Imperial Leisure are new inserts to Nozstock’s 2012 roster, which includes The Proclaimers, Andy C, Dreadzone, The Correspondents and Camo & Krooked. www.nozstock.com

PLAY FEST, New Eccles Hall, Quendenham, Norwich, 1-3 Jun: Sub Focus, DJ EZ and Gypsy Hill prove fitting final amendments to a broad Play Fest programme, sealing a line in submissions that has hitherto included Ash, The Pigeon Detectives, Feeder, Roots Manuva, Reverend & The Makers and The Big Pink. www.playfest.co.uk

TRAMLINES, various venues, Sheffield, 20-22 Jul: Eugene McGuinness, Crushed Beaks, Keep Shelly In Athens and Theme Park are the most recent additions to this free-to-enter Sheffield fest’s current live programme, which also counts amongst its ranks Roots Manuva, Ms Dynamite, Charli XCX, We Are Scientists, Esben & The Witch, Mazes, Frankie Rose, 65daysofstatic and Rolo Tomassi. www.tramlines.org.uk

WESTPORT FESTIVAL OF MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, 23-24 Jun: This family-focused Westport arts and music fest will mark its first ever edition with performances from Ray Davies, Seasick Steve, The Waterboys, Alison Moyet, Beth Orton and Marc Almond, also hosting an array of less established local artists. www.westportfestival.com

Chris Brown launches toy range

Brands & Merch

Chris Brown is to launch his own line in collectable toys, if you can imagine such a thing.

He’s teaming up with artist Ron English to launch the collection of limited edition figures and sculptures, which is a spin off of his Mechnical Dummy brand, an arty venture based around the MechanicalDummy.com website. The new enterprise will officially launch in LA next week.

Says Brown: “Ron has to be the most creative, out there artist. His work is so precise but at the same time so unorthodox”.

No word if the toys will be modelled on this 80s classic.

Universal shuts Verve UK

Business News Labels & Publishers

Universal Music is shutting the UK office of its Verve imprint, with those artists signed to the division working with sister label Decca moving forward. The legendary jazz label will continue to operate in the US. The move will see Verve UK execs Simon Gavin and Sarah Levy leave the major.

The former confirmed his departure from Universal after nearly two decades to Music Week, saying: “I’ve had an amazing eighteen years working for Universal and have been privileged to have been Managing Director for two legendary labels, A&M and Verve. I’m proud to have signed and A&R-ed some of Universal’s most successful global acts including the multi-million, Grammy Award winning Duffy. These are exciting and interesting times in the music industry. I am very much looking forward to my next adventure and to spending some time at Lord’s this summer!”

Meanwhile, after also confirming the close of Verve UK, Jazzwise quotes Decca Records’ Mike Bartlett as follows: “Verve will continue as a US-based label. We will be announcing some exciting new releases from them very soon. Decca will continue to work with the artists that were brought to the company under the Verve UK imprint”.

Sony appoints new Columbia UK chiefs

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Sony Music yesterday announced that Alison Donald and Mark Terry had both been appointed to the role of Co-President of the major’s Columbia Records UK division, following the somewhat sudden departure of the unit’s MD Mike Smith earlier this week. They will report straight into Sony UK boss Nick Gatfield.

Says Gatfield: “Alison & Mark are exceptional executives with a wealth of experience between them. Their complementary skills will drive Columbia to new creative and commercial heights”.

Says Donald: “I’m looking forward to the new challenges ahead at Columbia, and I am delighted to be working alongside Mark as we take Columbia from strength to strength”.

Says Terry: “I’m really excited to be joining Nick at Sony and be working alongside Alison. Columbia is an iconic label with an incredible heritage and I can’t wait to join the team, and with Alison help take it to new successes”.

Tupac-style ‘hologram’ might enable TLC reunion

And Finally

Oh Tupac, what have you started? Now TLC are reportedly considering using that not-really-a-hologram technology to bring their late bandmate Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes back to the stage as part of a reunion tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the R&B trio’s debut album. Beethoven will be playing the Royal Albert Hall next.

To be fair, the hologram element of the reunion is just rumour (via TMZ), but some sort of live activity to mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Ooooooohhh… On The TLC Tip’ (and, sadly, the tenth anniversary of Lopez’s death in a car accident) has been confirmed.

The group’s T-Boz told Essence.com: “We’re going on tour; we are in negotiations now with LA Reid, so we’ll see what happens. A lot of cool things are coming up”.

Reid, now head of Sony’s Epic division, signed TLC to his La Face label at the start of the 1990s. By moving to Sony last year the La Face catalogue is now back under his control.

While live activity, and even some possible new recordings, are currently just being discussed, work on a biopic about TLC’s rise to fame is apparently already underway. No word on whether any holograms will feature.

Approved: Purity Ring

CMU Approved

Purity Ring have to date released several tracks from their forthcoming debut album ‘Shrines’, not least the airy ‘Lofticries’ (out via Transparent last year) and the tightly-bound and malign ‘Belispeak’, both of which were much praised upon issue.

Like Claire Boucher of Grimes, Purity Ring are so called ‘pop futurists’, from Montreal and signed to 4AD. Also like Grimes, they harness star-shot synths, delicate girl-vox and mechanised beats – each one a minor ear-drum implosion – to eerie but unmistakeably pop-directed effect. Relative to Canada’s zeitgeisty electronic scene (as also includes Trust, Doldrums and/or The Weeknd), Purity Ring are the straight man to Boucher’s wayward space oddity; less flamboyant stylistically but with the same pin-point accuracy to their tiered and sound-smeared arrangements.

‘Shrines’, which is released on 23 Jul, includes all prior singles (as well as ‘Crawlersout’ and ‘Saltkin’, who I’m fairly sure are characters from ‘The Moomins’) in addition to new preview ‘Obedear’, which is free to download at www.purityringsongs.com

Alternatively, sample it here:

Q&A: The Rapture

Artist Interviews

The Rapture came back from a five year hiatus last year with their third album, ‘In The Grace Of Your Love’. Returning to DFA Records, the label which released their original singles, the record came after a period of upheaval which saw frontman Luke Jenner leave for a time, and bassist Mattie Safer depart permanently.

After two years of writing and recording, the first track from the album, ‘How Deep Is Your Love?’ (not a Bee Gees cover), was emerged via DFA’s ‘White Out’ video series last summer. Touring and the album release followed, before a special one-off show last December which saw them perform at Rowan’s Bowling Alley in Finsbury Park as part of Noisey’s Special Engagement Concert Series.

In May the band are back on British shores for two shows, playing Oxford’s Academy venue on 1 May and London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on 2 May. Ahead of that, CMU’s Andy Malt caught up with Jenner to ask a few questions.

AM: In the five years between your second and third albums, the band went through a lot of ups and downs. Was there ever a point when you thought you’d never release another record?
LJ: Not really. It seemed like things were really broken between us and we had gotten to the point where it was either grow up or die as a band. We lost Mattie, it was a hard time, but a necessary time. You can’t just be 25 for the rest of your life. I think the album reflects those changes and in a way a new approach to making music, but like all artists who put out multiple records it really sounds like it’s the same voice, just coming from a different place. Maybe getting back, in some ways, to what is important in the first place.

AM: How far back do the songs on ‘In The Grace Of Your Love’ go? Are they a collection of tracks written over those five years, or are they more recent?
LJ: Mostly the tracks are written on an album to album basis. You can’t be a songwriter for over fifteen years and not have a couple kicking around in the box so to speak, but usually the most satisfying thing is to get on paper, or record, what you are going through at the time. That feels the most authentic in process.

AM: How do you feel your sound has developed on this album?
LJ: The whole point of this record was to move things forward a bit, while still staying true to our past. I think we are a better live band now, or at least we have gotten better playing big stages. And I think with any band that moves up in the world, that is going to change the way they write songs.

There is a really good David Byrne Powerpoint thingy where he goes into how all music is written for a space, and the space we play in now is generally bigger. I think that this record was written primarily to sound good at a festival like Coachella, which we just played a couple days ago.

In the beginning we were playing on the floor of someone’s house, so you write for that. It’s way more scrappy. Plus, at 20-something, you are all kinds of pissed off, even if you don’t really understand why. I think this record was an effort to resolve some of that stuff a bit.

AM: Did you have any specific influences or points of reference when writing the album?
LJ: Sure, I got really into American classic gospel music, stuff from the Swan Silvertones and Clara Ward, as well as the Louvin Brothers and deeper stuff like Indian Bottom Association, stuff like that. I wanted to express something spiritual on this album, something that kind of resolved all the trauma of my childhood and early adult life, while still honouring it and not dumbing it down or rejecting it.

AM: This was the first time you’ve worked with one single producer on an album. How does that compare to previous experiences?
LJ: It’s always felt like whomever we have worked with, since the time of the EPs to now, it’s always been really focussed. So I’m not sure there was a big difference. Phillippe [Zdar] is one of my favourite guys in the whole world on a personal level. But everyone we have worked with has been exactly right for where we were at the time, and Phillippe is no exception. It’s always super important to pick someone you can trust, who is an artist themselves and kind of get out of the way.

AM: Back in the early part of your career you were very much penned into the disco-punk scene. Do you look back fondly on that time, or did it feel like you were held back by that tag?
LJ: When we first started releasing records it was the end of 1998 or the beginning of 1999 and there was no disco-punk scene. That all happened in around 2002 after the big Strokes blow up. It was really fun to be around that time, there was this whole “new rock revolution” thing going on with the White Stripes and The Hives and that stuff, and it just felt like we were the antidote to that. Like the arty people on the scene. That is where I always wanted to be. It was great. It had kind of a Mods and Rockers thing to it, although everyone was friendly at the time.

AM: Are you happier now you’re back on DFA? Is it different being signed to that label second time around?
LJ: Yeah, it’s like being in a place where you are understood. I felt like everything was happening so fast back then the first time, and I just wanted more and more. I didn’t even know of what, but I wanted it. It was kind of stupid. I was basing all my decisions on this Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana dream that I had. Those people I grew up idolising. I’m glad I got to go through the whole major label thing though. It was ridiculous. Then it got even more weird when we started hanging out with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland for a while. Man, those were heady days.

AM: Last time you were in the UK you played an interactive show in a bowling alley. How did that come about and did you enjoy the experience? Would you do it again?
LJ: Sure I would do it again. It’s always interesting to play somewhere that is non traditional. Though that is really hard to do for us, because we have been around for fifteen years now and have seen and done it all. We just got an email from the people over at Vice and they asked us to be involved with them. We have been working together in one way or another since the time we moved to New York really, I used to serve them drinks when I was a bartender at Plant Bar on East 3rd St. They were always like “we are going to be millionaires and take over the world”, and I was always like, “sure dude”. They actually pulled that off.

AM: What does the future hold for The Rapture?
LJ: I don’t know. And that is the best part. Just do what comes next. I don’t have any big plans these days. I used to give all my power away and let other people decide if I was successful or not, and try to please others, and try to walk this line between being who I really am and trying to be something for whomever I thought I needed to do that for. Now I’m just happy to be kicking around and things go where they go, I never had any control anyway. It’s great. This album… people in France really loved it and they played the heck out of it on the radio. So I guess the answer to your questio is, hang in France for a bit. Could be worse.

EC sends out new questionnaire over Universal’s EMI bid

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The European Commission’s competition regulators have sent out another questionnaire regarding Universal’s bid to buy the EMI record companies, according to Reuters.

The EC previously asked all affected parties for their opinions about the proposed takeover in March, and enough concerns were raised to persuade the regulator to proceed with a full three month investigation, rather than just approving the deal after one month, as it did with Sony’s bid to buy EMI Music Publishing.

A second questionnaire seeking commercial data from labels then followed, while this new call for information goes into more detail about the power (or not) of the big music companies, and delves further into those areas where most concerns were raised in phase one of the investigation. Most of the topics covered are predictable, though interestingly it seems the EC is particularly concerned about a combined Universal/EMI’s dominance in the jazz and classical genres as well as in chart hits.

Questions also look at whether Universal dominates radio and TV’s music output (it’s official tie up with the ‘Voice’ franchise has already caused some criticism in the UK tabloids), and whether or not, as the majors clam, the dominance of a small number of digital music providers – particularly Apple and Spotify in Europe – restricts the rights owners’ control over online pricing. It also poses other questions about the relationship between the majors and the digital players, including what control they have over the positioning of artists and music within digital stores.

The EC could block or approve Universal’s EMI deal outright, or look for a compromise that would force the mega-major to sell off some of its assets to win approval. Universal has so far resisted the temptation to offer such concessions (unlike Sony, which secured approval for its publishing purchase by committing to sell off some catalogues), but many reckon some remedies will be asked for by the regulators. And interest in the questionnaire about jazz and classics might suggest what kind of catalogues Universal would have to sell on to get the green light.

Pan-European indie labels group IMPALA and Universal’s rival Warner Music continue to oppose the takeover, of course. It was thought the EC would make a decision in early August, though Reuters is now pointing to early September.

Meanwhile, legendary producer George Martin has criticised the break up and sale of EMI to its two biggest rivals, Universal and Sony, saying it will give the two mega-majors a “virtual monopoly”.

Martin, who spent a chunk of his career working for EMI of course, is widely quoted as saying: “I am saddened that great companies have been swallowed up by the giants, and the domination of the recording and music publishing industry by Sony and Universal can only lead to a virtual monopoly in the European market. Is this what the people want? I always thought that democracy ensured a level playing field for our music industry, but I am wrong”.

Universal bounced back a quick response, saying that under Universal’s stewardship EMI will be able to enjoy a renaissance after a decade of uncertainty. According to the Telegraph, a spokesman for the company said: “Sir George has not spoken to anyone at Universal Music about this. If he did, we – as a long-standing music company which invests tens of millions in great British talent – would welcome the opportunity to explain how we will enhance that creative investment in EMI and its digital future. Universal Music is the right home for the company; we are music people. EMI will fare much better with us than with non-music owners, who only asset-strip the business”.

Friday 27 April 2012, 12:48 | By CMU Editorial

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