Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:24 | By Aly Barchi

Festival line-up additions – 28 Nov 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BY:LARM, various venues, Oslow, Norway, 13-16 Feb: Turbonegro, Taken By Trees, John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen, Kråkesølv, Highasakite, Kaveh, Nils Bech, Mariam The Believer, Bombus, CTM, Tim Christensen, Tako Lako, Black Twig, French Films. www.bylarm.no

HOVE FESTIVAL, Tromøya, Arendal, Norway, 2-5 Jul: Crystal Castles, Bullet For My Valentine, Enter Shikari, Asking Alexandria, Chvrches, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. www.hovefestivalen.no

HULTSFRED FESTIVAL, Folkets Park, Hultsfred, Sweden, 13-15 Jun: Arctic Monkeys. www.hultsfredsfestivalen.se

HURRICANE FESTIVAL, Scheeßel, Lower Saxony, Germany, 21-23 Jun: Arctic Monkeys, Sigur Rós, Deichkind, The Gaslight Anthem, The Hives, Of Monsters And Men, Belle & Sebastian, SKA-P, Marteria, Left Boy, City And Colour, Prinz Pi, Boysetsfire, Danko Jones, Callejon, Friska Viljor, Every Time I Die, The Devil Wears Prada, Turbostaat, The Bouncing Souls. www.hurricane.de

SOUTHSIDE FESTIVAL, Take Off Park, Munich, Germany, 21-23 Jun: Arctic Monkeys, Sigur Rós, Deichkind, The Gaslight Anthem, The Hives, Of Monsters And Men, Belle & Sebastian, SKA-P, Marteria, Left Boy, City And Colour, Prinz Pi, Boysetsfire, Danko Jones, Callejon, Friska Viljor, Every Time I Die, The Devil Wears Prada, Turbostaat, The Bouncing Souls. www.southside.de/en

SUNRISE CELEBRATION, secret location, Bath & Frome, 30 May – 2 Jun: Dub Pistols, The Beat, Daddy G, Dreadzone, The Correspondents, Ghetto Funk All Stars, Andy Smith. www.sunrisecelebration.com

Deadmau5 to do something for Nokia launch

Brands & Merch

In a sequel to that multimedia gig on a tower block that Deadmau5 did for Nokia in London last year, the producer will today play at a “must-see mystery event” to mark the launch of a new phone (yes, Nokia does still make phones, it doesn’t just stage animated DJ gigs).

While thousands amassed on the banks of the Thames to watch last year’s Tower-block bash, this one will take place in a mystery location where only 250 people will be granted admission. That’s all I know, except that there is this little YouTube trailer to consume:

Deezer goes appy

Digital

Deezer will today unveil an App Studio aimed at furthering partnerships between the streaming music service and app developers.

Part of the Open Deezer initiative, the new exchange aims to both assist developers interested in integrating the music service into their own apps, but also to enable tech firms to create apps for use within the Deezer platform.

The latter moves Deezer more into Spotify territory, which opened up its platform for third-party apps just under a year ago. In the main Spotify has relied on third parties, through apps, to add editorial and discovery tools to the streaming service, while Deezer has its own editorial content. However, that’s not stopping Deezer from encouraging others to editorialise as well.

For punters an App Centre will launch providing access to Deezer integrated apps available, including at launch apps from [PIAS], Shuffer.fm, Deezer staff and recent Hack Day events.

Commenting on the apps initiative, Deezer founder Daniel Marhely told CMU: “Deezer’s music service is built around discovery so we need it to be continuously fresh and engaging for music fans. That is why we developed our Open Deezer programme as an invitation to the boldest and most innovative developers to take music discovery to the next level. Similarly we’re building smart partnerships to better integrate music into apps and the web – with an eye to making it easy to share music with friends when you’re on the go, wherever you may be”.

The appy developments accompany some other bits of new music discovery functionality that has been added to Deezer this week. The upgrades precede a press conference to be staged by Spotify next week where it too is expected to announce some new developments and revamps.

Tumblr now amongst ten biggest sites in US

Digital

The company behind social-network-come-blogging-platform Tumblr announced yesterday that its website was now one of the ten biggest in the US according to Quantcast, and that it has a worldwide audience of 170 million people.

Tumblr has been around for a few years now, but has seen its most rapid growth in the last eighteen months, becoming popular in the artist community too, especially amongst pop and urban artists targeting a young demographic.

Although users can ‘create’ on Tumblr, it’s particular good for people wanting to ‘curate’ (“look at this video, this photo’s good, oh LOL at that quote”), and it’s transpiring, perhaps unsurprisingly, that curation-based social networking tools are becoming the most popular, it being much easier to curate than create. If that makes sense.

Tumblr is also very good for visuals, which increasingly dominate in the shared content domain; though on the sharing photos front Tumblr faces competition for up-start Pinterest and increasingly, if slightly differently, Instagram.

Kelly Clarkson disputes Mirror interview quotes

Media

Kelly Clarkson has disputed quotes attributed to her in The Mirror’s Celebs On Sunday magazine. The singer appeared on the cover of the supplement alongside the quote, “No one on the planet should be as famous as me”. The article also claimed that the singer had admitted to suffering from anorexia.

But in a statement published on WhoSay.com and posted to her official Twitter feed, Clarkson said: “Um… wow, so a UK Magazine called the Mirror, Sunday Celebs edition, just put out an article on me and just to clear up the absolutely wrong so called quotes from me, I have never had anorexia nor did I ever say ‘no one should be as famous as me'”.

She continued: “I said in the interview, when asked about fame, that I have no desire to be as famous as Britney or Madonna. I said that kind of fame was too much for any person and that I have experienced a portion of what they deal with and that I didn’t handle that well and I’m happy where I’m at in my career. Side note, I love when people take what you say and twist it to make you sound obnoxious and arrogant… nice job, Mirror”.

Shirley Manson Twitter-squabbles with fans

And Finally

Garbage’s Shirley Manson had a little run in with some her fans on Twitter this week after she reported on the micro-blogging platform that an audience in Cologne had been somewhat “cold”.

Following the gig, Manson tweeted: “Koln you were so strangely subdued! Sold out show but so cold? Funny. I know you love us but why couldn’t you show it? We still love you”.

But not every fan took kindly to the critique (despite the continued declaration of love), with one responding “maybe they won’t bother buying tickets to see you next time around, so you won’t have to put up with their coldness”, before adding: “Do you really think it’s alright to publicly criticise your fans, who’ve paid to go to your gig, for not worshiping you enough?”

Manson duly responded with “fuck you” and “oh PULEASe BLOW ME”, which surprised several of her tweeting fans. Though when one said “my estimation of you has hit the floor” the Shirlster responded “you can blow me too”.

As the singer threw out a few more insults at those fans taking issue with her comments, a debate then ensued between said fans as to whether Manson’s Twitter feed had been hacked again, as it was last month. Though, given no retractions or deletions have since occurred, presumably it really was Manson this time round.

Assuming so, it seems the Garbage lady just felt fans were misinterpreting her original statement regarding the gig goers of Cologne, asking towards the end of the spat: “Why can’t people read what I actually SAID?!?” Though given the general tetchiness, we can probably also assume it wasn’t raining in the German city this week.

Read the full Twitter showdown below:

Q&A: Mono

Artist Interviews

Formed in Tokyo in 1999 by guitarist Takaakira Goto, instrumental rock band Mono released their debut album ‘Under The Pipal Tree’ in 2001.

Although the band had always used classical instruments in their music, it was on their 2006 collaboration with World’s End Girlfriend, aka Japanese multi-instrumentalist Katsuhiko Maeda, that they began to embrace classical music more. Three years after this they returned with ‘Hymn To The Immortal Wind’, which saw them performing with a 27 piece orchestra.

In September this year the band released their sixth studio album ‘For My Parents’. Having worked with Steve Albini on their most recent long players, this one was recorded with producer Henry Hirsch, who set them up in a converted cathedral overlooking the Hudson River. The resulting album saw the band further blur the line between post-rock and classical music.

The band kick off a tour of the British Isles this Friday with a performance at the Shellac-curated ATP Nightmare Before Christmas event and winding up at London’s Village Underground on 8 Dec. Ahead of that CMU’s Andy Malt spoke to Taka Goto about the album and the work that went into making it.

AM: There were three years between ‘Hymn To The Immortal Wind’ and ‘For My Parents’. When did you start working on the new album?
TG: I started writing songs between the tours for ‘Hymn To The Immortal Wind’, but it became difficult to stop and start all the time, so we took an extended break from touring and I spent a solitary time back home in Tokyo writing.

Sometimes we go into an album knowing exactly what it is that we want to do, but for this album, while we had a sense of the kind of melody and emotion we wanted to create, it took longer to shape our vision. I found myself asking if I’d been truthful enough, if the music was actually close to the way I heard it inside my head. I imagine it’s like this when any writer composes a piece of poetry or a story.

I had all these pieces floating around and wanted to understand the emotion behind them. I hoped the first song (‘Legend’) would eventually begin to write itself and take a life of its own. It was a way of learning how to think less and feel more. To conclude, making this album challenged us, but in a positive way! It was an unforgettable experience.

AM: What are the themes addressed on this album? Who are the parents alluded to in the title?
TG: We try to leave enough room for our listeners to interpret the music however they choose. But the story behind ‘For My Parents’ came from the understanding that we all eventually lose the ones that made us. It’s the way of nature. How do you stand by the one that created you? How do you stand next to your home, the place that created you? For this album, we went back to our roots. It’s something that we wanted to do while we still had the chance.

AM: You worked with producer Henry Hirsch on ‘For My Parents’. Why did you choose him and what did he bring to the process?
TG: We developed a great respect for and trust with Steve Albini over the years, but we thought it was important for us to try something unfamiliar, to get out of our comfort zone. So this time we recorded with Henry Hirsch in his gorgeous studio and we are happy with what the album became. Henry has a lot of experience with rare, vintage tape machines and speakers, and we were very curious about this kind of recording process, though eventually we realised that these didn’t work with our songs. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to work with Henry and his team.

AM: How did recording in a cathedral compare to being in a studio?
TG: There was such a rich inspiration, history, and spiritual energy in the cathedral that it was impossible not to soak it in. Recording in a studio is something we’re used to, but recording in a cathedral became one of our most memorable experiences. There was definitely something special about playing our new songs there.

AM: The orchestral parts of your music are obviously key to the finished recordings, but as a band you have a typical ‘rock’ set up. When you’re writing your music, at what point do the orchestral instruments come in? Do you always have the orchestral parts in mind throughout the process?
TG: Yes, I usually have the orchestral instruments in mind when I first imagine a song. Then, once we’ve fleshed out a track with our instruments, we weave in the classical elements. Though I have to be conscious, as I write the classical scores, that we will still have to play the songs live as just a band, without any orchestral accompaniment.

AM: Particularly since ‘Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain’, your music has seemed more classical than rock (or at least a more balanced combination of the two). Is that a direction you were always interested in going?
TG: I think it was a natural evolution for us. The classical sound was always something we wanted to explore, so we just kind of dove into it. But in our early albums we only experimented with classical strings on certain songs; we weren’t really ready to compose larger scores until ‘Hymn To The Immortal Wind’. By then I had spent more time learning orchestration.

I think classical music was just part of our childhoods in Japan, which is why it appealed to us. There were always pianos and classical records at home, and some of that influence has surfaced in our songwriting. But each album has been a new chapter, so I cannot say for certain whether or not we’ll always make the music of a modern symphony. I think our sound will continue to evolve as we are inspired by different stories and emotions.

AM: There are marked differences between Japanese and European classical composition – both of which are apparent in your writing. Is that a conscious combination?
TG: Not really. We are definitely inspired by both European and Japanese classical music, but we unconsciously combine the two while writing.

AM: The number of orchestral instruments has increased with each of your albums. Do you ever see yourself performing with a full orchestra? How would that affect the dynamics of your music?
TG: At this point, I would say that it’s too early to tell. We are actually still just as interested in the rawer, rougher sounds of songs like ‘Com’ and ‘Kidnapper Bell’. But the possibilities are endless. The classical sound was right for this particular album, but I can’t say where we’ll go in the future.

AM: Your music is very cinematic, is scoring films something you hope to do?
TG: Yes, we hope to collaborate with filmmakers who share a similar vision as us. We enjoy films that are poetic, epic, but still somehow subtle. A film with powerful storytelling would be amazing to contribute to.

AM: You start a UK tour at the end of this month with a performance at the ATP festival. For people who haven’t seen you play live before, what can they expect from your shows?
TG: I hope the show creates a frequency of reaching for joy through a moment of darkness. It may trigger a dream you had, something you regret, a moment of sadness that you overcame, or something spiritual that cannot be explained. For me, instrumental music creates the energy that helps me confront these emotions.

AM: How important is live performance to you as a band?
TG: Even though long tours can be a bit difficult, our live show is very important to us. There is an exchange of energies in the room that just cannot be replicated on a recorded album. Perhaps it’s a combination of the volume, crowd, and being present in the moment, but all I know is that we feel a rush of euphoria during our shows. This is why we love to play live.

Approved: Hype Williams – Galice

CMU Approved

The usually secretive Hype Williams made a rare (and non-ticketed) live appearance at London’s Tufnell Park Dome this past Saturday, sharing prior to that a new track titled ‘Galice’.

Like past HW moments-in-time ‘The Throning’, ‘The Narcissist’ or ‘2’ (a half-lit slant on Donnie & Joe Emerson’s ‘Baby’), the new track sees the London/Moscow-based Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland at their least niche in that you don’t have to sift a silt of noises, loops and reverb in order to define its real shape.

Granted, ‘Galice’ is still quite opaque, a thing of monotonic bass, spacy effects and Copeland’s inward-winding vox, but it’s the most she and Blunt will ever deign to tape anything ‘listenable’ – in the Hype Williams sense of the word.

Hear ‘Galice’ twice, once on its own and again as part of HW’s just-premiered ‘London 2012 LP’, via SoundCloud:

Universal appoints Sony man to run EMI USA

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Universal Music yesterday announced the appointment of a Sony man to run the EMI business in America. The Capitol Music Group, which incorporates Capitol Records, Virgin Records US, Blue Note, Astralwerks, Harvest, Capitol Christian Music, Caroline and the Capitol Studios, became part of the mega-major’s empire, of course, as a result of its acquisition of the EMI record company, completed back in September.

Steve Barnett has been with Universal’s rival Sony Music since 1996, most recently as Co-Chairman and COO of its Columbia Records division in the US. In his new LA-based role at Universal he will oversee most of the frontline label operations that previously belonged to EMI, which between them have artists like Norah Jones, Katy Perry, 30 Seconds To Mars, Rosanne Cash, Van Morrison and The Beach Boys on their rosters.

The American exploitation of The Beatles catalogue will also be handled by Barnett’s Capitol division, Universal having held on to EMI’s most valuable asset, despite agreeing to sell the UK-based Parlophone catalogue, in which the Fab Four’s music sat, on a worldwide basis.

While spending much of the year convincing competition regulators that they should green light a deal that would make the world’s biggest music rights company even bigger, Universal, of course, crafted a story in which the EMI of 2012 was a baron wasteland of a place, where once great catalogues and label icons gathered dust, having long since ceased to function thanks to five years of under-investment and draconian rule from the bean counters at equity group Terra Firma and subsequently the bankers of Citigroup.

The only solution, the story went, was to wash the whole place down with Universal’s cash, and to pump some much needed mega-major oil into the system. That story sort of ignores the fact that, out of the chaos that Terra Firma undoubtedly created in 2007, a leaner more efficient EMI had emerged, arguably better positioned for the music industry of the future. But hey, whatever, if Universal wants to pump in lots of money, who’s going to complain about that? And it’s true that if you have a bit of fat around the edges, you don’t feel the rough and tumble of a shifting industry so badly.

And “investment” to “revitalise” EMI remained the mantra yesterday as Universal big cheese Lucian Grainge announced Barnett’s appointment. He told reporters: “As we begin to invest in and revitalise EMI globally, the Capitol Music Group, including Virgin, will play a central role in our creative and commercial initiatives. And there is no one better to spearhead this than Steve. His entrepreneurial approach and intuitive ability to build, strengthen and transform artists into powerful global brands has resulted in remarkable success. I’m confident that under his leadership, a new and reinvigorated Capitol will provide the kind of environment needed for artists to develop, resulting in more opportunity than ever before”.

Barnett himself added: “Throughout my career in music, I’ve always been keenly aware of EMI’s impact on the world’s culture, so I could not be more excited and grateful for the opportunity Lucian has given me to build the Capitol Music Group into an exceptional record company. I greatly appreciate his confidence in me, and I will work tirelessly to create a welcoming and supportive home for great artists while carefully tending the hugely important catalogue that defines the Capitol legacy”.

He continued: “It was not an easy decision to leave such a successful company as Columbia, with its incredibly talented artists and the team of people who work so hard on their behalf. However, I know that the label is in great hands and I wish them all the best in the future as I move on to my new company home”.

Andrew WK no longer a cultural ambassador

Artist News

Ah, for 24 hours we lived in a world where Andrew WK was going to spread the message of peace and partying on behalf of the American people, but then some square at the top got wind of the project, gave WK’s greatest hits a quick spin, and now the whole thing’s off.

As previously reported, WK announced this weekend that he was heading for Bahrain where he’d deliver some of his famous motivational speeches at schools, music venues and a university, all at the invitation of the US State Department and America’s Bahraini embassy. The rocker told reporters: “I feel very privileged and humbled by the chance to represent the United States Of America and show the good people of Bahrain the power of positive partying”.

But then yesterday, just as the world braced itself for an end to all conflict in the Middle East at the hands of the ‘Party Hard’ geezer, the big JPEG promoting the mission on WK’s own website was altered so to include a bit fat ‘CANCELLED BY THE US STATE DEPT’ line on it.

An accompanying statement read: “After a year of planning and development, the US State Department has unexpectedly cancelled their plans for Andrew’s trip to the Middle East this week, after changing their minds and deciding that it was ‘a mistake and not appropriate’. More information and a statement from Andrew coming soon”.

Reports suggest that the original idea for WK’s trip came from someone living in Bahrain who approached the local US embassy about it co-sponsoring the initiative. The embassy, which routinely backs cultural trips to the country, initially agreed to support WK’s talks, but backed out after more senior staff reviewed the rocker’s songs, including ‘Party Til You Puke’ and ‘Girls Own Juice’.

A spokesman for the State Department told Reuters: “[The trip] was initially approved and then when more senior management at the embassy took a look at this, the conclusion was that this was not an appropriate use of US government funds. The conclusion was, when they looked at the body of his work, that we didn’t need to be part of this invitation. There may have been some preliminary conversations with him but he is not going to be going to Bahrain on the US government’s dime”.

So there you have it. I think the world is a slightly less good place than this time yesterday.

Chris Stamp 1942-2012

Business News Obituaries

Chris Stamp, who with his business partner Kit Lambert was an original manager of The Who and co-founded the band’s label Track Records, has died aged 70 after losing a battle with cancer.

Brother of actor Terence Stamp, Chris was born and raised in East London. He met Lambert while working at the Shepperton Film Studios. In 1963 the two men decided to make a film about the rising British rock scene, and in the process met The Who, then performing as The High Numbers. Stamp and Lambert struck up a quick friendship with the band’s members, and subsequently bought out the group’s existing manager and persuaded the band to change their name to The Who.

Encouraging the band to make their live performances even more manic, The Who started to enjoy success under Stamp and Lambert’s guidance. Track Records was set up in 1966, mainly to release The Who’s recordings, although it quickly started putting out records by other acts too, including the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Arthur Brown’s hit single ‘Fire’. Stamp also produced many of the records the label released, and executive produced both ‘Tommy’ and ‘Quadrophenia’.

Relations between the band and management started to cool in the 1970s though, with the band’s Pete Townshend subsequently recalling how the managers started to live like rock stars too, which isn’t necessarily what you want from the people overseeing the business side of the operation. Stamp and Lambert stopped managing The Who in 1975 and relocated to New York where they continued to run the Track label.

Lambert died after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 1981, while Stamp faced his demons in the 1980s, ultimately entering rehab in 1987. He subsequently overcame his addictions and began a second career as a therapist and addiction counsellor. He also re-established his connections with The Who, and appeared in documentaries about the band, wrote liner notes for 1995 album ‘A Quick One’, and sat on the board of the John Entwistle Foundation, which was established after The Who bassist died in 2002.

Paying tribute to Stamp at a gig in Detroit this weekend, Who frontman Roger Daltrey, according to Billboard, told his audience that his one-time manager “flew into the universe on a pair of rainbow wings … Chris, we can never thank you enough, well, I can’t, for what you brought to my life”

Frank Barsalona 1938-2012

Business News Obituaries

Frank Barsalona, a pioneering music agent who is often credited with helping create the modern American rock touring circuit, died last week after losing a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Born in 1938, Barsalona first worked at a New York-based talent agency called GAC where he booked the first US appearances for British rock bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds. He set up his own agency, Premier Talent, in 1964, and began pushing for the acts he represented to play longer sets, rather than short fifteen minute stints alongside a number of other bands as part of a rock n roll package, as was standard at the time. He also worked hard to improve the pay and conditions of rock acts playing live, in an era where most of the money was in the record industry, and in the live entertainment space rock music was not especially respected.

Over the years Premier represented the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Tom Petty, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Marianne Faithful, Sinead O’Connor, Suzanne Vega and U2. Barsalona ultimately merged his company with the William Morris Agency in 2002, staying on as a consultant for a time before retiring from the industry.

Paying tribute to Barsalona via Billboard, U2 manager Paul McGuiness recalled yesterday how the great agent helped his band become such a successful live act, saying: “Over many late nights sitting in his office as he told me his stories, after everyone had gone home, he gave me my education in the business. He taught U2 and myself something that has stood us in good stead ever since – that an artist has two parallel careers: one on record and one live. The fact that record success came later for U2 was compensated for by their much quicker rise to fame as one of the great live attractions.

A rep for the Barsalona family has told Billboard that a memorial show is being planned for January to
“celebrate his life and legacy in a very rock n roll way, as he would have wanted”.

Finalists announced in PRS pub competition

Awards Business News Live Business

PRS For Music has announced the finalists in its Music Makeover competition, the initiative where pubs can compete for a five grand grant to help them improve their live music facilities.

And the finalists are…
The Brunel Arms, Pontyclun, Wales
Pig & Whistle, Ladbroke Grove, London
The Burnaby Arms, Bedfordshire
The Grafton, Kentish Town, London
The Shepherds Crook, Portsmouth

Says PRS For Music Director Of Licensing Paul Clements: “We are overwhelmed by the number of impressive entries we’ve had from around the UK. The pub is one of our much loved institutions and smart establishments are diversifying their business model to attract customers. It is encouraging to see so many new licensees in our Music Makeover final, who are dedicated entrepreneurs who want to make music central to their local communities again”.

The overall winner will be announced in late December.

Pulp have no plans

Artist News

Are Pulp recording a new album? No they are not. And for that matter they might not be around much longer at all.

Asked about possible new material, Jarvis Cocker told Q: “I’ve enjoyed the fact that we haven’t been doing any new stuff [since reforming], because I felt that’s kept it quite simple… We haven’t been in the studio or anything. I don’t know what will happen in the future. It was a big enough challenge to learn how to play all the old songs and, hopefully, perform them in a convincing way”.

As for future live shows singing the hits, he continued: “We haven’t got any [shows] planned after the New Year… We’ll just be cruising off into the sunset. Seems poetic. Not wishing to make a big deal, but we’ve played for a while and it’s been really good, but you can’t keep doing that forever. Will you see Pulp again? Who knows?”

You can catch the band in their hometown of Sheffield on 8 Dec though, and if you’ve forked out for tickets to the SS Coachella cruise you can catch them on that too, so it’s not quite over yet.

Wu Lyf frontman resigns

Artist News

Wu Lyf principal Ellery James Roberts has said that he is “done” with the band, something that may mean a new track titled ‘Triumph’, as was posted to the internet over the weekend, is their last release. Or not, given that it’s since been deleted. Along with the band’s Facebook and YouTube profiles.

Apparently the first the quartet’s other members Evans Kati, Joe Manning and Tom McClung heard of Roberts’ exit from their band was via a note attached to the ‘Triumph’ video, in which he said: “I am gone. This isn’t the end. This is the beginning. We done business to be as free as we want to be; I’m exercising this freedom. Manchester and the life we maintaining is leaving me empty. It is a beautiful/incredible/insane world we live and I’m done walking round in baby step circles in a self involved bubble”.

He rambled on: “Wu Lyf isn’t that important. So go do what you want to do. If you wanna play together, Play! You’re talented musicians so don’t waste that. I am bored of the most challenging thing in Wu Lyf being deluding myself of its relevance. Dirty free, as that show ended it concreted my decision that a change has to come. ‘Be the change you want to see’, said a wise old man. I’m going to keep on doing what I do; if the time comes in the future where we all truly want to collaborate on something then that door is always going to be open; I have nothing but love for you all”.

Roberts’ apparent disenfranchisement follows Wu Lyf’s being “fucking angry” earlier this month at auto brand Toyota, after the company allegedly used the band’s 2011 track ‘Heavy Pop’ in a car advert of questionable taste without their knowledge or approval.

No new Blur album

Artist News

“Is there a new Blur album coming out?” a fan asked Graham Coxon on Twitter.

“No”, said Graham Coxon.

The end.

[PIAS] marking anniversary via Grace Jones, Crystal Castles, Sigur Rós reissues

Releases

[PIAS] is now celebrating its 30th year in the international independent label game, and as such has just named a number of back-dated LPs it’ll be re-releasing on special anniversary vinyl. Okay, so it’s normal vinyl, but still.

Records by Mogwai, Grace Jones, Soulwax, Crystal Castles, Sigur Rós and Royksopp will all be made available again – either physically or in digital format – on a tba day in December. Details via www.piasrecordings.com

Robbie Williams playing arenas in 2013

Gigs & Festivals

Robert Peter Williams of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, wants the world to know he’ll be touring its stadia in the year 2013. That’s the world’s stadiums, not Staffordshire’s. Anyway. Robbie will perform his ‘greatest hits’ and new LP ‘Take The Crown’ in big venues all over the place, and in the UK at the following:

19 Jun: Manchester Etihad Stadium
21 Jun: Manchester Etihad Stadium
25 Jun: Glasgow, Hampden Park
29 Jun: London, Wembley Stadium
30 Jun: London, Wembley Stadium

Julio Bashmore to tour anon

Gigs & Festivals

House DJ/producer and Broadwalk Records boss Julio ‘Matt Walker’ Bashmore is going to be playing several live sets soon. Well, next February. He’s just shared what are very approximate details of a four-date mini-tour, specifics of which will ensue via juliobashmore.com.

Tour dates:

8 Feb: Bristol
16 Feb: London
22 Feb: Leeds
23 Feb: Manchester

Festival line-up additions – 27 Nov 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BEARDED THEORY, Kedleston Hall Park, Derby, 17-19 May: A Guy Called Gerald, Subgiant, The Egg, Andy Faze, FOE, Sicknote, Clumsy, Major Triadz, Kickflip, Gail Something-Else & Rev Phil Dread, OCDJ, HRH The Pernickity Bint, Drum Machine, Ed Tangent (DJ), OOOD, Lorraine, Pure Mischief, High Fly, Engine-Earz, Chukkel, Sunday will be The Egg, with support from Ian Liquid Lounge, DJ Mosienko, Two Man Ting, DJ Woodzee. www.beardedtheory.co.uk

GRASPOP, Boeretang, Dessel, Belgium, 28-30 Jun 2013: In Flames, Stone Sour, Parkway Drive, Saxon, Coal Chamber, Epica, Kreator, Mayhem, The Devil Wears Prada, Dark Funeral, Absu, God Seed, Every Time I Die, Winterfylleth, Lock Up, Aura Noir, After The Burial, Dunderbeist, Between The Buried And Me, Bullet, Heavens Basement, Hacktivist. www.graspop.be

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, 13-16 Jun: Bon Jovi. www.isleofwightfestival.com

Snoop does Scrooge for Christmas

Brands & Merch

I’m no Charles Dickens expert, but I’m pretty certain that when he wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1843, what he really had in mind was Snoop Lion playing Scrooge and David Beckham cast as the Ghost Of Christmas Present, and now, thanks to Adidas, that dream has become a reality.

Yes, the sporty brand has posted a video online entitled ‘The Cautionary Tale Of Ebenezer Snoop’ in which the rapper and a mainly animated cast of other Adidas brand pushers recreate the classic Victorian festive tale. Well, there are ghosts at Christmas. You can first enjoy the Snoop monologue, animation from Beavis & Butthead artist JJ Sedelmaier and cameos from Beckham, Derrick Rose and Rita Ora, on YouTube, and then use your Facebook profile to make a personalised version of the adventure.

It’s not as terrible as it sounds. Well, it is, but hey, Snoop, Beckham and a hidden agenda to sell overpriced sportswear, I bet you’re curious, right? Let that be a cautionary tale about the dangers of reading brand partnership stories, and then go watch it all below.

But first a quote from Adidas Brand Marketing Director Christy Kilmartin: “The Adidas Ebenezer Snoop Holiday Campaign offers a digital alternative to the normal holiday card in true Adidas style. We wanted to create a legitimate solution to Holiday gift-buying – using our diverse portfolio of Adidas icons who resonate with all gift-givers, young and old. With our Adidas take on a traditional Holiday story, we have created something truly funny and relevant, and using Facebook, offered consumers a way of sharing holiday spirit in way fit for 2012”.

Eleven Seven announces new European base

Business News Labels & Publishers

US-based rock independent The Eleven Seven Music Group has announced it is opening a European office next month to be led by Wally van Middendorp, who was most recently SVP International at Warner’s metal label Roadrunner Records.

Van Middendorp will oversee A&R, marketing and brand development for the indie across the EMEA region, working closely with distributors RSK Entertainment, who will continue to provide marketing and promotion services in key European markets.

Confirming the expansion of his label’s operations in Europe and beyond, Eleven Seven Music’s CEO Allen Kovac told reporters: “We are thrilled to have Wally on our European team. He is revered by artists, managers, and his peers”.

While Van Middendorp himself added: “I am very pleased to be working with Allen and his team to further develop the Eleven Seven and Five Seven label imprints internationally”.

New equity fund to invest in clubbing

Business News Live Business Management & Funding

A new private equity fund has been set up with the intention of buying up club venues and late-licence bars across England, with a view to either revamping and rebranding the venues to make them more successful businesses, or to redevelop clubbing properties into retail and residential units.

The fund has been co-founded by 25 year old Emyr Hughes who reckons that a struggling clubbing market, which has felt the impact of the UK’s wider economic slump, provides an opportunity for those investing in property.

With a grand plan to revitalise the flagging club businesses he acquires by, erm, getting ‘X-Factor’ rejects to do PAs, Hughes told the Financial Times: “Clubbing is about escapism and people are being a lot savvier these days about how they spend their money to escape from normal life. If you want custom you need to provide something people are prepared to pay for, like getting one of the ‘X-Factor’ contestants to come and do a live act”.

Yeah, I think Hughes’ EMCO fund might be doing more of that ‘shut it down and convert to flats’ thing than the ‘relaunch this place as a mecca of late night entertainment’ thing, but who knows?

7Digital appoints SVP Of Music

Digital

London-based digital music company 7Digital has announced the appointment of Raoul Chatterjee, previously with Warner Music and before that now defunct direct-to-consumer e-commerce business Trinity Street Direct, to the newly created job of SVP of Music. He will be charged with the task of “driving relationships” with labels, publishers, managers and artists.

Confirming the appointment, 7Digital boss man Ben Drury told CMU: “Raoul is a brilliant addition to the growing 7Digital team. He possesses the crucial combination of industry experience, commercial acumen and original-thinking that we need to drive our relationships with music labels, producers, management and artists”.

Chatterjee added: “7Digital is a well established name in the digital music space, it’s great to be joining a team with such ambitious and exciting growth plans. Music will obviously remain at the heart of future products and international expansion, and I’m looking forward to firmly establishing 7Digital’s name as the leading open digital music platform”.

Greg James to broadcast from Afghanistan

Media

Next month DJ Greg James is being shipped off to Afghanistan, where he will broadcast his afternoon Radio 1 show for five days from British Army base Camp Bastion. Beginning on 10 Dec the broadcasts will be transmitted with the help of the British Forces Broadcasting Service.

Announcing the news, James said: “I’m excited to be bringing Radio 1 to the troops and to show them we appreciate their hard work. I love a challenge and an adventure and this will be a brilliant opportunity to see how BFBS and Camp Bastion works. Trust my luck that Daniel Craig went out there last week – it’s not the easiest gig to follow James Bond, is it?”

BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Head Of Programmes Rhys Hughes added: “Our ambition is that BBC Radio 1 with Greg James will reflect what it feels like for our armed forces personnel to live and work in Camp Bastion. We are delighted to be returning to Camp Bastion for a third year, working very closely with our friends at BFBS to connect service personnel with their families back in the UK and around the world”.

Dummy announces new editor

Media

The publisher of music website Dummy has announced that Aimee Cliff is the site’s new editor. Existing staffer Cliff took over the editor’s job on an interim basis following the departure of Charlie Jones back in October, but her tenure in that role was made permanent yesterday.

Dummy’s MD Paul Benney told CMU: “Aimee is the perfect appointment to lead Dummy through its next, very exciting, phase of development. She is young, talented, focussed and hard working and we are sure that she will make an invaluable contribution to Dummy moving forwards”.

Meanwhile Cliff herself added: “Over the past two years I’ve been immensely proud to be part of Dummy’s ascending journey and now I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to assume the role of Editor. There are some very exciting things happening here right now and I couldn’t be more thrilled about my place in Dummy’s future”.

New bands play Abbey Road with Absolute

Media

Later today four newish bands will record sessions in studio three at the Abbey Road Studios for Absolute Radio, which will then air the recordings on its ‘Sunday Night Music Club’ in December. The acts due to play are Born Blonde, Bwani Junction, Iko and Oli Wennink.

Commenting on the new music initiative, and the station’s partnership with Abbey Road, Absolute Radio Creative Director Vince Lynch told CMU: “Absolute Radio is keen to support the music industry and help foster and build artists for the future. This session offers a number of emerging acts the opportunity to play in the world-class Abbey Road Studios, as well as having their session filmed and recorded for national radio”.

Abbey Road’s Jonathan Smith added: “Abbey Road Studios is committed to continuing the incredible rock and pop legacy of our past 80 years. These live acoustic sessions with Absolute Radio do that by bringing new and emerging artists through our studios where so many landmark recordings and performances have taken place”.

Gigwise extends Viagogo partnership

Media

Music website Gigwise last week announced it was extending its partnership with secondary ticketing firm Viagogo for a third year, which will see the tickets website be the sole ticketing partner of Gigwise.com.

Confirming the partnership would continue, Andrew Day of Gigwise publishers Giant Digital told CMU: “Viagogo has given our users the chance to buy tickets where otherwise they would have missed out, with the steep organic growth of the site and other encouraging factors we saw it as an easy decision to extend our partnership with Viagogo for the third year”.

Meanwhile Viagogo’s Ed Parkinson added: “Gigwise is a first port of call for music fans, who are passionate about seeing their favourite artists perform live. We are proud to be extending our partnership and continuing to offer their readers the best access to tickets for the concerts they love”.

Shaved head got Little Mix a Rihanna response

And Finally

All those journalists who spent seven days in a metal tube on the promise of 40 seconds chatter with Rihanna will be kicking themselves, all they had to do to get some words from the pop queen was shave off half their hair. Now we say it, it all seems so obvious.

Little Mix have revealed to We Love Pop that, just like on her recent 777 promotional trip for new album ‘Unapologetic’, when Rihanna guested on ‘X-Factor’ she was similarly unkeen to mix with the little people, even the Little Mixers (unlike that lovely home-invader-feeding Lady Gaga, who was much more welcoming). But Little Mixer Leigh-Anne Pinnock managed to get some unique words out of RiRi thanks to her hair cut.

The group’s Jesy Nelson told the pop mag: ”We were on ‘X-Factor’ with Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga was amazing, but we didn’t get to speak to Rihanna”.

Pinnock added: ”Her management wouldn’t let anybody meet her, but she walked past me and said, ‘Your hair is awesome!’ This was when I had my head half-shaved, which I hated, so it cheered me up”.

I bet that naked Australian is feeling very foolish now – had he shaved all his hair off, Rihanna would have been back there in economy with the hacks like a shot.

CMU Planner – w/c 26 Nov 2012

CMU Planner

A round up of music and music business events happening in the next seven days…

Independent Label Market. It’s so nice that they are now forced to do it twice – the Independent Label Market is back at London’s Old Spitalfields Market this weekend with a two day event featuring stalls manned by the bosses of indie record companies including Bella Union, One Little Indian, Soul Jazz, Rough Trade, Infectious, !K7, No Pain In Pop, and Planet Mu.

Record Of The Day Awards. Winners of this year’s Record Of The Day Awards for music PR and journalism will be presented their gongs at an awards event at Shoreditch’s Victorian Vaults on Wednesday night. Three lifetime achievement prizes will also be dished out, this year to Regine Moylett (for PR), Miranda Sawyer (for journalism), and Jill Furmanovsky (for photography). The award for the best student music journalist will again be presented in conjunction with CMU (that’s us), offering the unique opportunity for a bright, fresh-faced enthusiastic music journo of the future to be recognised alongside the bitter and jaded current crop.

Artist & Manager Awards. It’s the second Artist & Manager Awards tomorrow night, put together by the Featured Artist Coalition and the Music Managers Forum. Most of the prizes are still a closely guarded secret, but it has already been revealed that Amanda Palmer, Zane Lowe and Kylie manager Terry Blamey will win this year’s Pioneer, Industry Champion and Peter Grant lifetime achievement prizes respectively.

Wall Of Sounds Conference 2. Taking over the Band On The Wall venue in Manchester this coming Sunday, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will provide up and coming musicians with an overview of the music industry in 2012, plus ten tips for getting an artist career kick-started. Also on hand to offer tips and insights will be PRS For Music Foundation’s Vanessa Reed, Tri-Tone’s Simon Duffy, Humble Sound’s Howard Mills, Fanfare Media’s Owain Kelly, Band On The Wall’s Gavin Sharp and musicians Anif Akinola and Martin Sutton. Free tickets are available in advance here.

Vice UK tenth birthday. Vice UK will mark its tenth birthday with a party at Cable in London this Thursday. Helping the celebration along, there’ll be live music from austere Canadians Crystal Castles, rap types Wiley and Danny Brown, hard partyer Andrew WK and Odd Future’s hardcore BFFs Trash Talk. Mark Ronson, Klaxons and Actress will also DJ play sets, so that’s extra special.

Ja Ja Ja third birthday. Scandiphile live night Ja Ja Ja is celebrating its third birthday in style, and has arranged a party at London’s The Lexington on Thursday to do so. Special guests playing on the night are Danish post-R&B soloist MØ (who’s the new Grimes, apparently), Finland’s Sin Cos Tan, and power-pop Norwegians HighasaKite. And there may be cake. And balloons. I don’t know, whatever Scandinavians do for birthdays.

New releases. It must be nearly Christmas, because this week’s big releases smell decidedly of stocking fodder. There’s Girls Aloud‘s tenth anniversary greatest hits collection, the 20th anniversary boxset edition of Rage Against The Machine‘s eponymous debut album (both of which look pretty good), Bryan Ferry‘s instrumental jazz reworkings of some of his biggest hits (which we’re reserving judgement on), and a new Mumford & Sons live DVD (which is a Mumford & Sons live DVD). Singles and EPs-wise, there are some treats out too, with new releases from Solange, Dels, Novella, Pandr Eyez and, er, author Ian Rankin.

Gigs. Right, one-off shows this week then. Let’s start with The Rolling Stones at the O2, which isn’t technically a one-off show, but the first one has now already occurred. Meanwhile, Evelyn Glennie and Talvin Singh will be improvising over a silent film, Neurosis and Godflesh will co-headline The Forum, Zammuto will play Birthdays, Susanne Sundfør will play St Pancras Old Church, and Pandr Eyez will play The Victoria in Dalston. As well as that, various artist will gather at the Islington Assembly Hall to pay tribute to singer-songwriter Terry Callier, who died recently. And off on tour this week are Elbow, Martha Waintwright, Beth Orton, Foals, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Rancid, Mono, Wild Nothing, Matthew Dear, White Fence, oh, and Steps.

Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:24 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: by:Larm | Hove Festival | Hultsfred Festival | Hurricane Festival | Southside Festival | Sunrise Celebration

Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:23 | By CMU Editorial

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Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:21 | By CMU Editorial

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Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:20 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Kelly Clarkson | The Mirror

Wednesday 28 November 2012, 12:19 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Garbage | Shirley Manson

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 13:02 | By Andy Malt

Formed in Tokyo in 1999 by guitarist Takaakira Goto, instrumental rock band Mono released their debut album ‘Under The Pipal Tree’ in 2001.

READ MORE ABOUT: Mono

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 13:01 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Dean Blunt | Hype Williams | Inga Copeland

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 13:00 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Capitol | EMI | Sony Music | Steve Barnett | Universal Music

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:59 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Andrew WK

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:58 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Chris Stamp | The Who | Track Records

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:57 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Frank Barsalona | Premier Talent

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:56 | By CMU Editorial

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Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:55 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Pulp

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:54 | By CMU Editorial

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Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:53 | By CMU Editorial

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Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:52 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Crystal Castles | Grace Jones | Sigur Rós | [PIAS]

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:51 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Robbie Williams

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:50 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Julio Bashmore

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:49 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Bearded Theory | Graspop | Isle Of Wight Festival

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:48 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Adidas | David Beckham | Derrick Rose | Rita Ora | Snoop Dogg | Snoop Lion

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:47 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Better Noise Music

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:46 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: EMCO Capitl Advisers | Emyr Hughes

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:45 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: 7digital | Raoul Chatterjee

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:44 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Radio 1 | Greg James

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:43 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Aimee Cliff | Dummy

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:42 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Abbey Road Studios | Absolute Radio

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:41 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Giant Digital | Gigwise | Viagogo

Tuesday 27 November 2012, 12:40 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Little Mix | Rihanna

Monday 26 November 2012, 12:49 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Artist And Manager Awards | Independent Label Market | Ja Ja Ja | Record Of The Day Awards | Vice