Friday 27 October 2017, 12:14 | By

Fever Ray releases surprise new album, Plunge

Artist News Releases

Fever Ray

Fever Ray, aka The Knife’s Karin Dreijer, has announced her second album, the follow-up to her 2009 debut. When’s it out? Right now, mate. Right now. No, really. I know. I know! You wait eight years for an album and suddenly it’s just there. It’s all very exciting.

Dreijer released new single ‘To The Moon And Back’ earlier this week, which was quite enough excitement to be getting on with. But then, yesterday, came the news out of the blue that a whole album was now available. I think we should all have a sit down. And once you are sitting down, the new album announcement comes accompanied by a fairly long statement, so you can read that too…

“The decision to fall is harder than the fall itself. It is a joy to meet you. I don’t know how to feel about that. But already my repetitions are beginning. Do I confuse itch and ache? Here’s this helpful quiz to discover which it is, dedicated to a global team of heartbroken self-diagnosers that stretches from the threadbare social democracies in the north to the liberated markets in the west”.

“The object of the song is love and the subject of the song is loss, or object and subject are genetically alike. This is how it sounds, the excavated voice, the archaeological dig one thousand or eight years into the future, when the bodies preserved in this auditory mud have become exemplary of their time and can no longer hurt or help each other. Then I will know how to love you and be loved by you”.

“The song, the lover, is interested in objectifying itself, herself. The lover objectifies herself as music. The song is a prosthesis that extends like a limb into the gut and pulls out the half-digested heart, it’s kind of gothic and kind of a shame. I learn gratefully in music that the decision to fall is harder than the fall itself, the anticipation of falling; I’m embarrassed by gravity is what I mean by ‘I put on weight'”.

“The parent and the lover momentarily blurring, then some kind of travel sickness, and later I am home without remembering what happened. It used to bother me that violence is as intimate as love, but I see that you have resolved that problem by dissolving the two each into the other. Whatever is important to hide must be important. Whatever is important to forget”.

“Listen! I’m looking for a girl who stands ten feet tall and has teeth like razors; I’m looking for a girl who could play the bored receptionist in the lobby of the afterlife, crossing the river of forgetting every morning and evening and back into the world of the living, where I will wait with flowers and an assortment of adult toys. Could this be you?”

“I’m looking for a girl to affirm my reality, or cancel it. Me: I am beautifully dressed. I am a reflective surface. I am the president. Welcome to my body, my building, the border. The escalators only go up. You get down again by throwing yourself off the roof. And the song’s refrain there to catch you if you’re lucky”.

“Listen! Sex is work, love is work, work is sex, work is love, the magical conversion of ‘is’ given impossible power by its delivery in music. We have travelled together these minutes and years now and I am hopeful that we have finally solved this complicated problem of how to become… Even now at my age, preserved as an example in this perfect slab of ice, can you believe I am still waiting to become real? I had a plan for how sex or at least some kind of heartfelt physical intensity could save us but I threw it off the roof along with the body and it fell into the silence that limns the edge of the song”.

“Inside the architecture of repetition that constitutes both a song and a life, taken objectively and not subjectively, there are resonances, assurances, bonds and securities. Sex and music stand guard over a shared silence under the noise, either because there is nothing or too much to say. It is still possible to negotiate between pain and pleasure, on the vanishing edges of pain and of pleasure, as if cutting a deal, the best deal, a beautiful deal. There are no simple binaries, and I don’t only mean gender, that’s old news; I mean that I am radiating and obsessed with the daydream hurt that I imagine your voice alone could cause me, now that I live in its zone, and I am too far gone to distinguish between sharpness and softness”.

“Baby, I hope one of us will hypnotise the other. Then the one less hypnotised will kill the other. The after everyone is dead and we establish the scene, the next beginning, ending, beginning, ending. A pattern can only last its own forever and the song on repeat follows me around the city. The heart is the bloodiest organ and its rhythmic pacing and growling troubles the perception like movement at the edge of the vision mistaken for a creature. It is too early to fall in love, but all of history has happened and now there seems to be only the remainder to be arranged and rearranged. ‘We waited far too long’. It’s OK, everyone is here now”.

I think that should have cleared up any questions you might have had. There’s going to be a tour in 2018 too.

In the unlikely event you aren’t already listening to the new album, titled ‘Plunge’, here’s the video for ‘To The Moon And Back’;

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Friday 27 October 2017, 12:11 | By

MØ releases surprise new EP, When I Was Young

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

MØ

Well, it’s just a surprise release bonanza today, isn’t it? First Fever Ray, now MØ has released a new EP out of nowhere. So that’s two. How many would constitute a bonanza? Let’s just say that’s enough.

MØ announced new EP ‘When I Was Young’, alongside a track of the same name as her new single, last night. The release is her first new collection of songs since 2014 debut album ‘No Mythologies To Follow’.

Speaking about the new EP, MØ says: “Making the EP has been such a nice flashback experience because I forgot about the little things; how you put the songs together, the lyrics, the song titles and the artwork. Just being in the bubble of that energy is so fucking awesome. It’s so amazing to be able to create a universe”.

She goes on: “These years have been a learning process about what’s important, and that’s what this EP reflects. These songs were chosen instinctively, and by a gut feeling really, but they’re all about both looking back and forward”.

Here’s the title track, ‘When I Was Young’:

MØ has also announced UK and Ireland tour dates for next year, tickets for which are on sale now:

26 Mar: Dublin, Olympia Theatre
27 Mar: Belfast, Mandela Hall
28 Mar: Manchester, Ritz
30 Mar: Birmingham, Institute
31 Mar: Glasgow, ABC
4 Apr: London, Brixton Academy
5 Apr: Norwich, UEA
7 Apr: Bristol, Academy

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Friday 27 October 2017, 12:09 | By

Dream Wife announce debut album

Artist News Releases

Dream Wife

Dream Wife have announced that they will release their eponymous debut album on 26 Jan through Lucky Number.

Speaking about their name, and the name of the album, the band say: “It’s a commentary on the objectification of women; the 1950s American Dream stereotype package. Having the dream house, the dream car and the dream wife. We want to flip the script on that. Women aren’t objects; we don’t just fit into one mould”.

They go on: “At the start, we joked around calling each other our wives, but by supporting one another, celebrating achievements together and finding strength in female solidarity we’re reclaiming the concept of a ‘wife’. Being in a band is a marriage in itself”.

Along with the announcement, the trio have released new single, ‘Let’s Make Out’. Have a listen to that here:

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Friday 27 October 2017, 12:02 | By

One Liners: Kerrang, Noel Gallagher, Taylor Swift, more

Artist News Business News Gigs & Festivals Media One Liners Releases

Kerrang!

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Sam Coare has been named the new editor of Kerrang. Having had various roles at the magazine over the last five years, Coare has been acting editor since the departure of James McMahon at the end of August.

• Noel Gallagher and those High Flying Birds of his have released a new single, ‘Fort Knox’. The track is the opener of upcoming new album, ‘Who Built The Moon?’

• Taylor Swift is just releasing new videos all over the place at the moment. Here’s the video for ‘…Ready For It?’

• Sam Smith has released new single ‘Burning’, which is apparently his favourite song on new album ‘The Thrill Of It All’.

• First Aid Kit have announced that they will release new album, ‘Ruins’, on 19 Jan. They’ve also released a new song, it’s a shame. I mean they’ve also released a new song, ‘It’s A Shame’.

• Teleman have released another track off their upcoming ‘Fünf’ EP. Produced by Oli Bayston of Boxed In, this is ‘Repeater’.

• Shopping have announced that they will release their new album, ‘The Official Body, on 19 Jan. Here’s new single, ‘The Hype’.

• Back on the solo trail, Gary Barlow has announced now that he will play the Eden Sessions at the Eden Project in Cornwall next year. His show will take place on 6 Jun.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

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Friday 27 October 2017, 11:58 | By

Beef Of The Week #378: You v Oasis puns

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Noel Gallagher

I think one of the top ten worst things about social media – possibly even higher up than birthdays on Facebook and the existence of Twitter – is the trend for law enforcers to attempt to engage humorously with the public online.

The only time I ever want to engage with the police on social media is when I need to know why a helicopter is hovering over my house in the middle of the night and how long it might take to go the fuck away. But every local police HQ in the country now has to have its own Twitter and Facebook accounts where they attempt to make the public feel safer through the medium of jokes and chit chat.

This is how, last Sunday, Swindon North Police came to post on Facebook: “You know it’s going to be one of those shifts when you get a report of ‘a Noel Gallagher lookalike swigging from a bottle of White Lightning and licking windows!'”

Does the public at large really need to know this? Why are our tax quids not being spent on ensuring that the windows of Swindon are cheap cider-soaked spit free, rather than on maintaining a social media presence? The Swindon cops didn’t even follow their post up to say whether or not the man had been apprehended. This is no public service, it’s just fear mongering about Noel Gallagher lookalikes.

How, though, do we know that it was a lookalike and not the actual Noel Gallagher? Might he have been drunkenly stalking the streets of Swindon? He’s got a new album to promote, after all. No, I know that it wasn’t the real Noel Gallagher, of course, because he said so on social fucking media.

After word got to him about the all-important Swindon police Facebook update via a local media report, Gallagher posted on Instagram: “Nowt to do with me mate. I’m still away on holiday”.

By “holiday”, he means he’s on tour in South America. That’s not a holiday, it’s work. He’ll get nowhere with that lax attitude.

Still, in treating the jaunt like a holiday, it does mean we get some holiday snaps from Noel, proving that he’s definitely not in Swindon. Here he is in Colombia doing… look, I don’t know what’s happening in this picture, but it’s in Colombia and that’s what’s important. And here he is flying a plane over Sao Paolo.

“But Andrew”, I here you say. “This column is supposed to focus on music-based disputes. What exactly is the beef here? Is it Noel versus the lookalike? Or the police versus Noel? Or is there, in fact, no real beef to report on, which is why you contrived one between yourself and the police right at the beginning?”

Well, first of all, don’t call me Andrew. You’re not my mum. Unless you happen to be the one avid reader of this column who is my mum. In which case, Mother, please stop interrupting me when I’m trying to work.

Second of all, yes, I did open this article with an argumentative tone in order to distract you from the fact that I just saw a thing that made me laugh that I wanted to write about, even though it doesn’t really fit with the remit of Beef Of The Week. Whatever, you try writing nearly 400 of these things and see how stringently you end up holding to the rules.

Anyway, I haven’t even got to the end yet. You haven’t had the big reveal. I’m about to throw in a major plot twist. There is a beef after all, you see. And that beef is: All Of You versus Wiltshire Police.

That’s right, Swindon North Police apparently now too busy attempting to track down the window licker – possibly following a lead that the offender was actually an Aphex Twin fan – it fell to someone at the main Wiltshire Police office to come up with a statement when Metro came knocking.

“We received reports of a man resembling Noel Gallagher in Swindon at around 5.30pm yesterday who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and was licking windows – not a Wonderwall and he may have been Half The World Away”, they sniggered.

“It’s believed he was with another person causing a general nuisance”, they went on. “The incident was nowhere near the Oasis, but in the town centre, near the Wyvern Theatre. If anyone heard or saw anything suspicious in the area, please Don’t Look Back In Anger but contact us on 101”.

I mean, the state of that. There’s an Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, by the way. Jokes are always better when they require local knowledge, don’t you think?

See, you’re enraged now, aren’t you? Not only do we get jokey chit chat on the socials, the police pile on the pop puns even when talking to proper old school media. That’s really got your goat. And I totally manipulated you into that situation.

This is like the end of ‘Seven’, isn’t it? Except, instead of a head in a box, I gave you a load of bad Oasis puns on a screen. I am Keyser Söze. No wait, wrong film. It doesn’t matter, the main thing is that I am now recognised as a master of mind control. Good, I’m glad we’re all agreed on that.

Speaking of Aphex Twin and ‘Windowlicker’ – which you were – that track soundtracks a new road safety advert that came out this week. That doesn’t really fit in with any of this either, but it’s nice to finish with a video:

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Friday 27 October 2017, 10:46 | By

Vigsy’s Halloween Tips

Club Tip CMU Approved

Pumpkins

There seems to be more choice of Halloween themed clubbing events this weekend than I’ve seen before, and three have caught my eye for Saturday.

Halloween Funk & Soul Extravaganza at Brixton Jamm
Just about sold out – but you could try your luck online with the forums for exchanges – Norman Jay heads down to Brixton for a Halloween bash at this venue which really has seen some great names on its decks recently. He’ll be there with Riot Jazz for some funk and soul grooves.

Saturday 28 Oct, Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, Brixton, London, SW9 6LH, 10pm-5am, £17.50. More info here.

The Official Garage Halloween Rave at Building Six
Not sure what makes this ‘official’ but it’s a bit of a monster (appropriately) down at the O2’s Building Six. Lots of big names, including DJ Luck & MC Neat, The Artful Dodger, DJ Pied Piper & MC DT and MC Creed. Probably enough said. Get there in time before the Witching Hour ends – last entries at 1am!

Saturday 28 Oct, Building Six, The O2, Greenwich, London, SE10 0AX, 10pm-4am, £22. More info here.

Hollywood Forever Halloween Part 2 at Egg London
As well as Christian Smith headlining the main room, Egg also has the rather good Spen and Karizma taking control of the ones and twos on the Terrace. Also on the bill are Tokyo’s Drunken Kong and Matt Sassari at this venue that’s still on the rise after all these years. The Egg London staff will be leading the charge dressing up in ghoulish style for the event, and advise you to do the same!

Saturday 28 Oct, Egg London, 200 York Way, Kings Cross, London, N7 9AP, 11pm-8am, £25. More info here.

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Friday 27 October 2017, 09:00 | By

CMU Digest 27.10.17: WINTEL, NMPA, YouTube, The Pirate Bay, EFF

CMU Digest

World Independent Network (WIN)

The key stories from the last seven days in the music business…

The global market share of indie labels rose by just under one per cent last year to 38.4%, according to the second edition of the WINTEL report from the Worldwide Independent Network published this week. The WIN research calculates market share based on copyright ownership rather than distribution. The latter approach allows the majors to boost their market share figures by claiming recordings they distribute on behalf of indies. This results in $1.2 billion extra revenue being allocated to the majors, says WIN. [READ MORE]

The American National Music Publishers Association has been proposing the introduction of a blanket licence for mechanical rights in the US administered by a new collecting society. This would make it much easier for streaming services to pay the so called ‘mechanical royalties’ on the songs they stream, and would mean they should stop getting sued by unpaid writers and publishers. Achieving this would require reforming the compulsory licence that covers mechanicals Stateside. The NMPA also wants the way the compulsory licence rates are set to be changed as well, so to be fairer to the music community. It’s hoped legislative proposals backed by both music owners and music users could be taken to Congress next month. [READ MORE]

An artist rights group in the US published two videos critical of YouTube on YouTube. It’s part of the latest promotional campaign by the Content Creators Coalition which wants US Congress to reform the safe harbour contained in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act so to increase the liabilities of websites like YouTube. One of the videos focuses on the so called ‘value gap’ while the other considers the problems with DMCA takedowns. [READ MORE]

The Pirate Bay’s .se domain started working again. The piracy site’s Swedish domain has been subject to long-drawn out legal action, with the authorities in Sweden trying to seize it. With that legal wrangling ongoing the domain has been frozen by the courts, meaning that TPB was unable to renew the domain when it was due to expire, so that it stopped working earlier this month. But now a renewal has occurred and the domain is active again. It’s not entirely clear how that happened. [READ MORE]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that stream-ripping sites had legitimate uses so were not, by definition, liable for copyright infringement. The EFF was criticising comments made about stream-ripping by the US record industry in its recent submission to the American government’s annual ‘notorious markets’ report. The digital rights lobby group said that the record companies had misrepresented what copyright law says about streaming ripping sites. [READ MORE]

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Sony Music signed on as a supporter of the Music Venue Trust [INFO]
• T-Boy Records signed Vimic [INFO]

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 10:07 | By

Artist group piles pressure on YouTube with ads on YouTube

Artist News Business News Digital Top Stories

YouTube

While most of the music industry’s value gap ranting has, of late, been focused on Europe – where the European Union is actively considering a new law increasing the liabilities of user-upload platforms like YouTube – the American music community still has ambitions to reform safe harbour laws there too. And to that end lobbying group the Content Creators Coalition – aka C3 – has launched two new ads laying into the YouTubes.

As much previously reported, the music industry argues that websites like YouTube are exploiting the copyright safe harbour in order to secure much more preferential deals from the music industry than the audio streaming services, with which they directly compete.

But, say the music companies, the safe harbour – which reduces the liabilities of internet companies whose users infringe copyright – was never intended for services like YouTube, which basically build streaming platforms out of the content their users upload.

In Europe, proposals to increase the liabilities of user-upload sites are contained within the draft copyright directive that is slowly going through the motions in Brussels. Reforming the safe harbour Stateside would require amending the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

C3 is one of various organisations attempting to get DMCA reform onto the agenda in US Congress, which means both behind-the-scenes lobbying in Washington and more above-the-line activity to try and rally public support for increasing YouTube’s obligations.

Which meant that, when the US Copyright Office was inviting submissions for its review of safe harbour, C3 produced this video message from singer-songwriter and record producer T Bone Burnett, intended as both a formal submission and a public facing rally call…

The lobbying group is now planning more videos in a bid to increase public support for its cause, and has just put live two new digital ads that it will be pushing around the internet in the coming months. Somewhat ironically, the videos will appear on YouTube itself, though official communications from C3 point to the videos on Vimeo, a rival platform that had its own run-ins with the music industry back in the day.

One of the videos is focused on the disparity between the royalties paid by audio streaming platforms and by YouTube – ie what the music industry has dubbed the ‘value gap’.

While the monies paid to the artist in the video by the character representing Spotify et al aren’t massive, at least they are in paper money, while the suited corporate type meant to represent the Google video site only has a few coins to share. “See, it’s just that she’s paid seven times as much”, the artist character moans to the unapologetic YouTube character.

The second video considers the more general issue many copyright owners have with the safe harbour, beyond the value gap it arguably creates in the streaming market. And that’s the fact that, under the principle, it is the copyright owner’s responsibility to monitor safe harbour dwelling platforms for users uploading their content without permission.

Though YouTube is sure to immediately counter that that video makes no mention of its Content ID system, which does help with the monitoring process. Even if Content ID isn’t as effective as many in the music industry would like it to be – and it still constitutes an opt-out rather than opt-in system – Google will likely argue that the C3 video’s suggestion that artists need to hire a lawyer to keep their content off the video site is somewhat misleading.

Nevertheless, the lobbying group hopes its upcoming ad campaign will have an impact, with lawmakers, the public and maybe even Google itself.

Referencing the location of the web giant’s Californian HQ, C3 President Melvin Gibbs says: “Our ads send a message to the executives in Mountain View that artists are fighting back and mobilising fans to push Congress to update the DMCA and end the legal neglect that has given big tech too much power over our work and society”.

He adds: “YouTube has short-changed artists while earning billions of dollars off our music. Artists know YouTube can do better. So, rather than hiding behind outdated laws, YouTube and Google should work to give artists more control over our music and pay music creators fairly when our songs are played on their platform”.

You can watch the value gap video here…

…and the takedowns video here:

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 10:01 | By

Eric Mackay promoted at Warner/Chappell

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Eric Mackay

Yet more appointments news from Warner? Yes, yet more appointments news from Warner. Though this is on the publishing side, so we’ll let it slip through despite the mini-major definitely being at appointments news capacity for this week.

Eric Mackay has been promoted to the role of EVP Global Digital Strategy at Warner/Chappell. He joined Warner’s music publisher in 2015 and became its VP of all things digital for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific just over a year ago. He will continue to report into Warner/Chappell CEO Jon Platt in his new gig.

Says Platt: “Our mission is to grow, reward and sustain a thriving creative community of songwriters, whose songs power an entire global entertainment ecosystem. That’s what makes this such an important appointment; Eric’s strong relationships in the digital world and deep understanding of technology will help us open new opportunities that properly recognise the value of songwriting and music”.

Adds Mackay: “I’m delighted to be working with Jon Platt and the fantastic digital team at Warner/Chappell and I’m incredibly excited about developing our truly global digital strategy. There are a vast number of innovative services who are inventing different ways for fans to enjoy music and our goal is to partner with them to help drive more revenues and exposure for our stellar roster of songwriters”.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:58 | By

RAJAR Round Up: Good quarter for 6 Music and Virgin Radio, not Radio 1

Business News Media

RAJAR

Roll up, roll up, here are some top stats from the latest batch of RAJAR radio listening figures, which were pushed out into the world this morning.

1. It was Radio 1’s 50th birthday last month, of course, so that was exciting. To celebrate the station’s breakfast show scored its lowest listening figures since RAJAR began in 1992, with Nicky Grimmy Shaw talking to about 4.9 million listeners a week. “Oh, but the kids are all big Radio 1 fans online, big fans!” counters the BBC, or thereabouts.

2. Elsewhere at the Beeb, 6 Music continues to grow, rising 3.8% in the last quarter and reaching another audience high, 2.34 million listeners.

3. Capital FM retained its position as the biggest commercial station in London for the summer quarter in terms of reach. While its sister station Radio X now has 1.5 million listeners across the UK, a record high.

4. In terms of commercial radio breakfast shows in London, Capital leads there too with its Roman Kemp-fronted programme increasing its audience size. Kiss has the second biggest breakfast show, while the prime time shows on both Heart and Magic lost listeners year-on-year this time round.

5. The newish incarnation of Virgin Radio, launched on the digital radio platform in March last year, is starting to gain momentum, with a 61% year-on-year rise for the summer quarter meaning it now reaches over half a million listeners (556,000 in case you wondered).

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:30 | By

Fats Domino dies

Artist News Obituaries

Fats Domino

Rock n roll pioneer Fats Domino died on Tuesday, aged 89, it was announced by the Louisiana Medical Examiner’s Office yesterday.

Born in 1928, real name Antoine Dominique Domino Jr, Fats began his career as a teenager, performing in New Orleans bars. He signed his first record deal with Imperial Records in 1949. By 1951 his debut single ‘The Fat Man’ had sold over a million copies, firmly establishing him as one of the biggest names in the then burgeoning rock n roll genre.

Over his career, he sold over 65 million albums. Although stopped recording in the early 80s, after it was falsely reported that he had been killed when Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home in 2005, he returned to the studio to record his final album, ‘Alive And Kickin’. Released in 2006, he donated proceeds from the record to local charity the Tipitina’s Foundation.

Domino ceased touring in the mid-90s, following an illness while in the UK. He still occasionally performed live over the next decade though, with his final performance taking place at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2007.

In a statement, the musician’s children said: “We are all touched by the outpouring of love and tribute for our father. He passed away peacefully at home surrounded by those he loved and those who loved him. His music reached across all boundaries and carried him to all corners of the world”.

Speaking to Billboard, one of Domino’s contemporaries, Little Richard, said: “He’s the greatest entertainer that I ever known. Black, white, red, brown or yellow, he’s a just good guy and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to know him. I love him”.

Domino is survived by thirteen children. His wife Rosemary died in 2008.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:27 | By

One Little Indian boss backs up Björk’s harassment claims against Lars Von Trier

Artist News Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Björk

One Little Indian founder Derek Birkett has issued a statement supporting Björk, after she recently detailed claims of sexual harassment by film director Lars Von Trier.

As previously reported, Björk worked with Von Trier on 2000 film ‘Dancer In The Dark’, but fell out so badly with the filmmaker that she vowed never to make another movie. Stories were then circulated about her being “difficult” on set, which she says were the result of her rejecting the director’s advances.

However, speaking to Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, Von Trier and his producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen both denied the claims made against the director. Jensen went so far as to say that he and Von Trier “were the victims”, claiming that “she dictated everything” and put the whole production in jeopardy with her demands.

In a new statement, the founder of Björk’s record label, One Little Indian, Derek Birkett says: “I have worked with Björk for over 30 years and have never made a single statement or interview regarding our work together. This time is different. I have read the lies written by Lars and his producer Peter about Björk – and feel compelled to speak out and put the record straight. Over the last 30 years the ‘Dancer In The Dark’ project is the one and only time she has fallen out with a collaborator”.

He continues: “This was a result of the director’s on going, disrespectful verbal and physical abuse which continued after both Björk and myself demanded that he stop behaving this way. Björk completed the film out of respect for the cast and everyone involved. I feel compelled to publicly speak out in fierce support of Björk in regards to her terrible experiences working with Lars Von Trier, and I back what she has said 110%”.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:25 | By

Marilyn Manson “parts ways” with bassist Twiggy Ramirez following rape allegation

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson has announced that he has “decided to part ways” with bassist Jeordie White, better known as Twiggy Ramirez, following accusations of rape made by former Jack Off Jill vocalist Jessicka Addams.

Last week, Addams published a long statement on her Facebook page, detailing the abusive relationship she had with White in the early 90s. That relationship ended, she says, after White raped her following an argument.

Responding to those comments in a statement to Highsnobiety, Manson said: “I knew Jessicka and Jeordie had a romantic relationship many years ago and I considered and still consider Jessicka to be a friend. I knew nothing about these allegations until very recently and am saddened by Jessicka’s obvious distress”.

On Twitter yesterday, he added: “I have decided to part ways with Jeordie White as a member of Marilyn Manson. He will be replaced for the upcoming tour. I wish him well”.

Addams responded to Manson, saying: “Thank you. I am truly at a loss for words”. Quizzed further, she added: “Discussions were had [with Manson]. Apologies made. That’s all the fans need to know!”

In his own statement this morning, White said: “I have only recently been made aware of these allegations from over 20 years ago. I do not condone non-consensual sex of any kind. I will be taking some time to spend with my family and focus on maintaining my several years of sobriety. If I have caused anyone pain I apologise and truly regret it”.

As for why Addams did not speak out about her relationship with White until now, she had some sobering words for the music industry in her initial Facebook post.

“In 1997, I was warned by my band’s record company that if I revealed my story publically, there would be a very good chance that my band Jack Off Jill would be blackballed by concert promoters, radio programmers, and other bands and their managers”, she said.

“Jack Off Jill was also warned of running the risk of losing our coveted record deal (which they gave us!) as they were certain no one would ever take a rape victim in this male dominated music business seriously, never mind a ferocious, disenfranchised, outspoken, overweight frontwoman such as myself!”

She continued: “The label blatantly feared the big machine behind Marilyn Manson would use their power to destroy not only Jack Off Jill, but my name, Jessicka, as well. The pressure and guilt of the inevitable repercussions of my rape story affecting my band’s livelihood, happiness and success kept me silent for years”.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:23 | By

Julia Holter speaks out about “emotionally abusive” Matt Mondanile

Artist News

Julia Holter

Julia Holter has issued a statement on her experiences with former Real Estate member Matt Mondanile, with whom she was in a relationship for a time. This follows accusations of assault and sexual misconduct made against him by a number of women.

As previously reported, following an exposé by Spin earlier this month, Real Estate revealed that Mondanile was fired from the band last year when they became aware of “allegations of unacceptable treatment of women”. Following a second article by Spin, detailing further accusations, Mondanile, now working on his solo project Ducktails, last week issued a statement acknowledging that he had engaged in “inappropriate behaviour” and had been an “insensitive creep”.

Commenting on the allegations that have now come to light, Holter said yesterday: “Their allegations are in line with each other and they are in line with what I have come to know about Matt in the past, which is that he does not have boundaries. In my experience, he was emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life”.

“This subject has been complicated for me to address because I’ve spent over two years now alone [and] confused about his behaviour in my experience, and wondering if there was missing information”, she concluded. “So these other accounts have helped me understand. When you’re in it, you question your own reality and you wonder if you are making things up or are you making a big deal out of nothing. It helps when others come forward to validate the fact that you weren’t wrong”.

Read Holter’s full statement here.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:22 | By

Franz Ferdinand announce new album and tour dates

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand have announced their return with new album ‘Always Ascending’, which will be released through Domino on 9 Feb.

With the band’s Alex Kapranos describing the record as “simultaneously futuristic and naturalistic”, they’ve released the first taste of that in the form of the album’s title track.

Listen to ‘Always Ascending’ here:

There will be touring too. Oh, there will be touring. And tickets for the touring. Tickets that will go on sale on 3 Nov. And the dates? Oh, I’ll give you the dates:

10 Feb: Galway, Leisureland
11 Feb: Dublin, Olympia
13 Feb: Manchester, Albert Hall
14 Feb: Nottingham, Rock City
16 Feb: Newcastle, Academy
17 Feb: Glasgow, Academy
19 Feb: Leeds, Academy
20 Feb: Birmingham, Academy
21 Feb: Bristol, Academy
23 Feb: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
24 Feb: London, Brixton Academy
25 Feb: Brighton, Dome

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:16 | By

One Liners: XXXTentacion, Auddly, Selena Gomez, more

Artist News Awards Business News Deals Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases

Selena Gomez

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• XXXTentacion has said that he is terminating his reported $6 million deal with Universal’s Capitol, which was only signed last week. “I am not a signed artist, and I will not be releasing music for a very long time, I’m tired of this shit”, he wrote in an Instagram story. The mega-bucks deal proved controversial, as the rapper is currently awaiting trial on charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness tampering. He denies the charges.

• Auddly, the project management platform for music makers that also aims to ensure artists and songwriters pump good music rights data into the industry whenever they create new material, has added new tools for artist managers. The aim is to ensure artists, songwriters, publishers and now managers are all in sync on music data matters.

• Radio station and podcast aggregator TuneIn has nabbed SoundCloud’s CFO Holly Lim to head up its finance, legal and HR functions. The ex-Google exec joined SoundCloud last year, CFOing the company through its near-oblivion stage. As previously reported, there was a revamp of senior management at SoundCloud in August after it was rescued by a new $169.5 million investment.

• Liam Gallagher has recorded one of those Spotify Singles things. As is tradition, he has performed a cover as the b-side. Reaching out deep into his influences, he’s chosen to record a version of ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis.

• Selena Gomez and Marshmello have released a new track together, ‘Wolves’.

• Steve Angello has released the video for recent single ‘Freedom’, featuring Pusha T.

• Morrissey’s gone and released himself a new single, ‘I Wish You Lonely’.

• Chloe Howl has released new single, ‘Do It Alone’. “Knowingly being the other woman is the ultimate crime against girl code for me”, she says of the song. “So when I could see things were getting closer between me and a man who was taken I wrote ‘Do It Alone’ as an ode to all the reasons why I would never ever take that role, even if I wanted to”.

• The Body and Full Of Hell have recorded another album together, ‘Ascending A Mountain Of Heavy Light’, out on 17 Nov. From it, this is ‘Farewell, Man’.

• Crystal Castles’ US and Canadian tour dates, due to begin this week, have been cancelled following abuse claims made against the duo’s Ethan Kath by former bandmate Alice Glass.

• Marmozets has postponed the remainder of their UK tour, after vocalist Becca MacIntyre developed bronchitis and a respiratory infection. Shows will recommence next month.

• GRM Daily’s (mainly) fan-voted Rated Awards took place earlier this week, with J HUS winning both best album and best track, while Stormzy also got two gongs, best video for ‘Big For Your Boots’ and Artist Of The Year.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 09:10 | By

Buzzfeed claims Kate Nash doesn’t exist, Kate Nash puts them straight

And Finally Artist News Media

Kate Nash

Kate Nash has hit back at a Buzzfeed article suggesting that she no longer exists, thus disproving the website’s claim.

Nash was featured on a list titled ’33 Singers That Only Exist In The Memories Of British Millennials’. The work involved in thinking up such a long list apparently left no time for the Buzzfeeders to google the likes of Estelle, Little Boots and Ms Dynamite to find out if they’re up to much these days.

Listed at number seven, Nash, who released a new EP in April and recently starred in Netflix hit ‘GLOW’, was described thus: “She was the cute vintage-dress-wearing girl we all wanted to be back in 2007. Presumably these days she’s wearing baggy jumpers and DMs but who knows?”

Hitting back, Nash wrote in a lengthy string of tweets: “The media have talked about me this way my entire career, since I was 20 years old. I think this media tone needs to end. It says a lot about what people are being told to value. But it’s very old fashioned. Plus it is not a real reflection of how millennials think. Nor my career. I just think this media tone is actually very dangerous. The media keep telling us what the facts are. Not only is it rude, it doesn’t reflect the truth and seems irrelevant and out of touch. The media really need to get a grip”.

She continues: “Even if I was just wearing baggy jumpers and DMs, what is wrong with that? What do these people value? I have no idea. With all the talk of mental health recently and the amount of mental health issues within the artist community I don’t think this contribution from BuzzFeed or from any other media outlet is helpful or interesting. It could hurt unstable people and with what is going on in the world – politically and environmentally – you should really get a grip and hold yourselves accountable for the positive change we all want to see”.

“Also I have huge problems with how the [music] industry disposes of artists. It’s a difficult career to maintain so this is actually a discussion I think is important. But not to just take the piss out of artists that got dropped or aren’t in the charts anymore. Most artists I know are struggling to be able to continue and many do have to give up and ‘wear baggy jumpers and DMs’ and that is sad because art fucking matters. So fuck you for making fun of independent artists BuzzFeed. Sorry but it’s not a joke to me. I still exist you twat, alongside all the other artists in this list”.

“The reason I can’t let this slide is because I happen to be in a great, happy place in my life. Which is difficult for anyone to achieve but I am and there have been many times over the past ten years when I haven’t been OK. Mentally, financially, emotionally, physically. And during a shitty time something like this could have seriously crushed me. And maybe someone else on that list is having a shitty time”.

“There’s all this stigma that we’re not allowed to talk about struggling or failure because it’s so embarrassing. But fuck that. I don’t know why this really affected me this morning because I see shit like this all the time and genuinely don’t care. But it needs to be addressed how unsupported and screwed over so many musicians are. I’ve seen people’s careers destroyed by shady business. I’m very lucky and I don’t take this subject lightly as I’ve come so close to giving up on art before, which would have destroyed me”.

A spokesperson for Buzzfeed told NME: “We love Kate Nash and really did want to be her! Many BuzzFeed posts reference nostalgia for things we love and this list is one of those, definitely not intended to be taken literally. We wish nothing but the best for Kate”.

So that’s alright then.

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Thursday 26 October 2017, 08:07 | By

Approved: Better Lost Than Stupid

CMU Approved

Better Lost Than Stupid

Better Lost Than Stupid’s beginnings date back a few years, when the group’s members – Davide Squillace, Matthias Tanzmann and Martin Buttrich – found themselves booked to DJ at several of the same club nights. Although billed as individuals, they gradually began DJing together as a trio. Wanting to make more of this partnership, they formed Better Lost Than Stupid and headed out on tour.

As they travelled around the world, they also started working on original music together, the results of which will be fully revealed on their debut album next year through BMG/Skint. To date, there are two tracks out in the world, ‘Dynamite’, which was released in April, and new single ‘Alto’, which is the first to be taken from the album.

What’s notable in both tracks is the driving energy that runs through them – something the trio put down to writing together on tour, rather than emailing parts back and forth. There’s certainly an unusually live feel to their wholly electronic music that is incredibly infectious.

Launched at Amsterdam Dance Event last week, ‘Alto’ is officially released this Friday. Listen to the track here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:26 | By

Eminem wins NZ$600,000 damages in sound-a-like infringement case

Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

Eminem

So, it turns out that the piece of library music called ‘Eminem-esque’ used by New Zealand’s ruling National Party in a 2014 campaign ad was a little too Eminem-esque. So much so, a court has ordered the political party to pay Eminem’s publishing company NZ$600,000 in damages for copyright infringement. Which is sure to make some palms sweaty.

As previously reported, Eminem’s music publishing company sued the National Party over the soundtrack to its 2014 election campaign commercial which sounded really rather like the rapper’s hit song ‘Lose Yourself’.

The politicians insisted that they had properly licensed the Eminem-esque ‘Eminem-esque’ track that featured in their ad from a production music company called Beatbox. Though legal reps for Slim Shady pointed to emails between people working for the National Party which discussed the similarities between their ad track and ‘Lose Yourself’, and which acknowledged that they risked being accused of ripping off the rapper’s music.

When the case got to court back in May, a legal rep for the National Party argued that there wasn’t all that much originality in the core composition of ‘Lose Yourself’. The politicians’ lawyers also claimed that the creation and use of ‘sound-alike’ tracks that sound very similar to hit records, but not so similar as to a constitute copyright breach, was common practice in the production music business. Which it probably is.

Either way, the judge overseeing the case in New Zealand’s high court has sided with Eminem, stating that “‘Eminem-esque’ has substantially copied ‘Lose Yourself'”, which, by the way, is actually “a highly original work”.

The ruling goes on: “The differences between the two works are minimal; the close similarities and the indiscernible differences in drum beat, the ‘melodic line’ and the piano figures make ‘Eminem-esque’ strikingly similar to ‘Lose Yourself'”.

Needless to say, reps for the rapper have welcomed the ruling. Speaking for Eminem’s music publishing business, Joel Martin said: “We find it incredible that the National Party went to such great lengths to avoid responsibility for using a weak rip-off of ‘Lose Yourself’. They knew we would not have permitted the use of the song in their political advertisement; however, they proceeded at their own risk and blamed others for their infringement”.

As the National Party considers its options, any production music companies with sound-a-like tracks in their catalogues might want to review their repertoires.

Adam Simpson, one of the lawyers working for Eminem’s side, noted: “This decision is a warning to sound-a-like music producers and their clients everywhere. The ruling clarifies and confirms the rights of artists and songwriters”.

Simpson added that the ruling “sets a major precedent in New Zealand and will be influential in Australia, the UK and elsewhere”. So, sort out your sound-a-likes, music libraries, otherwise you too might experience the stress of legal action from a superstar rapper. And that’s no fun. There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:24 | By

Decapitated formally plead not guilty to rape charges

Artist News Legal

Decapitated

All four members of death metal band Decapitated were back in court in America yesterday to formally plead not guilty to charges of kidnapping and rape.

As previously reported, the Polish band were arrested in LA last month, accused of raping a woman on their tour bus following a performance in Spokane, Washington on 31 Aug.

Two women allege that they were invited back to the band’s bus after the show, but that once on board the “vibe” changed. One woman managed to get off the bus, while the other says that she was raped by all four members of the metal outfit.

The band were extradited back to Washington state earlier this month and were formally charged with varying degrees of rape as well as first-degree kidnapping.

Not much happened during yesterday’s court session, except for all four band members officially entering their not guilty pleas. A trial has now been set for 18 Dec. Though the judge overseeing the proceedings stated that it was very likely said trial would actually be pushed back into the new year.

According to the Associated Press, lawyers working for the band say they have witnesses who will dispute the two women’s account of what happened after the Spokane show. Meanwhile a lawyer working for vocalist Rafal Piotrowski has stressed that his client has no criminal record in Poland or the US, where the band have toured on a number of occasions.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:23 | By

Warner appointments: Magnus Ribbeklint, Mark Mitchell, Helen McLaughlin

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Warner Music

OK everybody, you all need to set aside a few minutes later today to update the Warner Music corporate hierarchy charts you all have on your kitchen walls. It’s the blue one, remember. That’s going to make the Tippex use a bit obvious, but there’s not time to create a new one from scratch. Maybe use blue post-it notes to make the amendments?

Right, here we go. First up, the mini-major’s Atlantic Records label in the UK has a new General Manager. Or will do from next January. Magnus Ribbeklint is flying in from Warner Music Sweden to take on the task of GMing the British label. He has an “innate understanding of the streaming era”, says Warner. Can an understanding of the streaming era be “innate”? Ah, the old nature/nurture debate. But you know, Spotify is from Sweden, Ribbeklint is from Sweden, so it’s definitely in the genes. Green streaming genes.

Here’s his new boss Ben Cook, President of Atlantic Records UK, with some words: “Magnus is a brilliant creative and digital strategist. He shares our love of great music, our passion for artist development and our resolute focus on the future. Throughout the Nordic transition to streaming his foresight and expertise helped transform Warner Music Sweden into a global leader in social media, content and digital marketing”.

Sounds good. What else? “He joins us at a pivotal time for the UK industry. I’m confident he’ll help keep Atlantic at the leading edge of music’s on-going evolution – as we continue to find innovative new ways to release and campaign our amazing artists. I look forward to him being a key player in the already impressive force that makes up Atlantic UK”.

So do I Ben, so do I. Ribbeklint is taking over as GM of Atlantic UK from Mark Mitchell, who has just been promoted to the job of Co-President at another Warner label, good old Parlophone. Mitchell’s promotion to that job was announced last week as Parlophone top man Miles Leonard confirmed rumours that he was stepping down from a full time role at the company, though he’ll still be doing some of that advising shit that we all aspire to do one day. Top advising shit too, I suspect.

Confirming Mitchell’s promotion last week, Warner Music’s top dude Max Lousada, who is now busy running the mini-major’s recorded music business worldwide of course, said these very words: “I couldn’t be happier that Mitch is taking on this role”.

He went on: “He has the rare skill of understanding how to break artists as well as delivering massive moments for global superstars. He thinks like an indie while operating in a major, which means a diverse array of artists have flourished thanks to his expertise. This is a fantastic new chapter for Mitch and for Parlophone”.

I love a new chapter me. But enough of all these British Warner labels, I want more news about the company’s Nordic offshoots, where streaming is in the genes. So hurrah for the news that Helen McLaughlin has just been appointed MD of Warner Music Sweden. She is also due to take on her new role next January.

Her new boss Jonas Siljemark, President of Warner Music Nordics, says: “Helen is well-known across the Swedish music industry as someone who puts the interests of artists first and foremost. She has an incredible track record of developing artists and building long-term careers for them. I can’t wait to see what she’ll achieve heading up the Warner Music Sweden team”.

McLaughlin joins Warner from Sony Music Sweden, which means you’re going to have to update your Sony Music corporate hierarchy wall chart too. But maybe lets worry about that tomorrow. I mean, I’m all out of red post-its.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:18 | By

Ninja Tune launches production music division

Business News Labels & Publishers

Ninja Tune

Independent label Ninja Tune is today launching a new production music division which will initially make available 1000 tracks to brands and film, telly and game producers, with the new unit’s library of music available to license in the UK at the industry-standard rates set by collecting society MCPS. Music from various artists affiliated to Ninja Tune is included, with the likes of Coldcut, Mr Scruff, Amon Tobin and Kid Koala involved.

The label says: “Embodying the same spirit that the Ninja Tune label was founded on – an ambition to bring uniquely innovative sounds to the front line and give life to music that needs to be heard – the Ninja Tune production music arm is being launched with 1000 tracks arranged across 60+ albums available on a slick, user friendly and uniquely ‘Ninja’ site with a ‘record shop’ feel, dynamic search function, members area for personal playlists and every feature needed for a comprehensive and intuitive music search”.

A party in Kennington will formally launch the new production music business tomorrow with Mr Scruff on the decks.

Find more information on Ninja’s production music house here.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:16 | By

Arcade Fire part company with manager Scott Rodger

Artist News Business News Industry People Management & Funding

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire have parted company with their long-time manager Scott Rodger from the UK branch of the Maverick artist management group. But don’t worry, it all seems amicable. Not that that helps music business news bulletins with Beef Of The Week slots to fill every Friday, but I guess that’s not your problem.

“We have parted ways amicably with our long-time manager Scott Rodger”, the band wrote on Facebook. “He has been an amazing shepherd and a true friend over the last twelve years. We wish to thank him deeply for all his hard work, blood, sweat and tears, and wish him nothing but the best”.

Rodger added in a statement: “It’s been the greatest pleasure of my professional career working and collaborating with Arcade Fire and everyone on their team”.

He went on: “They are by far the most important band of their generation and have produced some of the most inspiring music of any time. It’s with the deepest love and respect that I wish the band all the very best in their future endeavours and very much look forward to seeing what they come up with next”.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:14 | By

The Pirate Bay’s .se domain is working again 

Business News Digital

The Pirate Bay

Last week saw the end of an era when one of The Pirate Bay’s flagship domains – thepiratebay.se – stopped working. But now it’s working again. So, erm, I don’t know, let’s call that the start of a new era.

As previously reported, there have been various legal efforts by the authorities in Sweden to seize the always controversial file-sharing site’s Swedish domain which – alongside thepiratebay.org – is one of the main URLs associated with the piracy hub. For a time – fearing that the .org address might also be grabbed by the US authorities – Team TPB actually made the .se domain their primary URL.

But those legal efforts in Sweden have been long drawn out, and while it does look like the domain will ultimately be seized, the whole matter is still currently stuck with the country’s Supreme Court. Though the court has frozen the domain, meaning ownership of it can’t be transferred to another party with the .se domain registry.

It’s that freezing which is thought to explain why thepiratebay.se stopped working last week. The domain was up for renewal, and it’s likely the people currently running The Pirate Bay couldn’t do any renewing.

But now – according to Torrentfreak – the domain has been renewed for another year. It’s not clear quite how that happened, though it’s possible the court acted to instigate the renewal, otherwise the domain would ultimately end up back on the open market for anyone to buy. Either way, thepiratebay.se is operational again, speeding users through to the piracy platform’s current main URL, thepiratebay.org.

Except, of course, in countries where web-blocks currently apply, so that users instead see a copyright infringement warning from their internet service provider. As discussed on this week’s Setlist podcast, all this domain action probably has little impact on the piracy site, given that people tend to navigate the web by search engine rather than domain name these days.

Though regular file-sharers who had a bookmark set up using thepiratebay.se would have had to do a little admin last week. Unnecessary admin, as it turns out.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:13 | By

Alice Glass accuses former Crystal Castles bandmate of decade of abuse

Artist News

Alice Glass

Alice Glass has made a number of allegations against her former Crystal Castles bandmate Ethan Kath, real name Claudio Palmieri.

Glass parted company with her musical collaborator in 2014, with him subsequently recruiting Edith Frances as the other half of Crystal Castles. Glass, meanwhile, has pursued a solo career, putting out her debut solo EP back in August this year.

When she exited Crystal Castles in 2014, Glass wrote on Facebook: “My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others. For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC”.

However, in a new post on her website, Glass says that she quit the band after being on the receiving end of nearly a decade of abuse from Palmieri.

She writes: “I met ‘Ethan Kath’ (Claudio Palmieri) when I was in the tenth grade. The first time he took advantage of me was when I was around fifteen. He was ten years older than me. I came to in the back of his car extremely intoxicated (from drinks he had given me that night). We didn’t talk for months after that. He went to great lengths to find me again, stalking me and driving past my high school looking for me”.

They subsequently began to hang out and then collaborate on making music together. Glass explains: “I was very young and naïve and in a compromised position in my life. I perceived him as a local rock star because I had seen his band, Kill Cheerleader, on TV. A lot of my friends from the punk scene had also been taken advantage of by much older men, so to me, it was a situation that had been normalised”.

She alleges that in the years that followed Palmieri both sexually and physical abused her, while seeking to control many aspects of her life, and constantly playing down her role in the band. She writes: “He controlled everything I did. I wasn’t allowed to have my own phone or my own credit card, he decided who my friends were, read through my private emails, restricted my access to social media, regulated everything I ate”.

Describing her decision to finally walk away from both Palmieri and the band that they had created, she says: “Leaving Crystal Castles was the single most difficult decision I’ve ever made – that band was everything to me. My music, my performances and my fans were all I had in the world. I gave that up and started over not because I wanted to but because I had to. As difficult as it was, I knew that leaving was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It has taken me years to recover from enduring almost a decade of abuse, manipulation and psychological control. I am still recovering”.

Explaining why she had decided to write this post now, three years after leaving Crystal Castles, Glass states: “The momentum that’s been created recently by the many courageous women who have opened up about their own stories has inspired me to finally be more direct, at whatever cost. This is for my own recovery, for the other women who have been, are currently, or may be in a similar situation with the man who abused me for years, and for those in abusive relationships who are looking to stand up and speak out”.

Responding to Glass’s post – which you can read in full here – Palmieri has denied the allegations made by his former bandmate, adding that he is consulting his lawyers about the claims made against him.

In a statement provided to Pitchfork via his attorney, he said: “I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship. Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice”.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 11:07 | By

Tune-Yards announce new album

Artist News Releases

Tune-Yards

Tune-Yards have announced that they will release new album, ‘I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life’, on 19 Jan through 4AD.

The first single from the record is ‘Look At Your Hands’, of which band leader Merrill Garbus says: “Yes, the world is a mess, but I’ve been attempting to look more and more inward: how do all of these ‘isms’ that we live in manifest in me, in my daily activities, interactions?”

She continues: “Some of the 80s throwback production came from wanting the vocals to sound robotic, maybe to counter the sincerity of the lyrics. I started sampling my vocals in an MPC which I’ve wanted to do for years, and there was something that felt really right about my voice being trapped in a machine”.

Listen to ‘Look At Your Hands’ here:

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 10:59 | By

One Liners: Tramlines, Dolly Parton, MOBO, more

Artist News Awards Business News Education & Events Gigs & Festivals Industry People Management & Funding Media One Liners Releases

Dolly Parton

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Sheffield music festival Tramlines has re-signed with ticketing firm Gigantic so that it can continue to be the event’s exclusive online ticket agent. The festival states: “The queue-busting solution developed by Gigantic for the tens of thousands of people attending Tramlines last year reduced queuing time by 90%”.

• Dolly Parton is to follow in the footsteps of Josh Homme and read a bedtime story on BBC pre-schooler TV channel CBeebies. I think I need a lie down myself after writing that sentence. Parton will read ‘Dog Loves Books’ by Louise Yates today at 6.50pm.

• MOBO and Help Musicians UK have teamed up to launch the Help Musicians Fund, which will offer grants of up to £2000 to help musicians to further their careers. Find out more here.

• The FastForward conference has announced a new mentoring programme in partnership with Ticketmaster. Six young people working their way up the music industry will receive a year of guidance from a Live Nation or Ticketmaster exec. Apply here.

• Lana Del Rey and Dua Lipa manager Ben Mawson has been confirmed to speak at the latest Ultimate Seminar educational event for aspiring artists, which will take place at the University Of Westminster on 18 Nov. More info here.

• Angel Olsen has released a video for new single ‘Special’, taken from her rarities collection ‘Phases’, which is out on 10 Nov.

• The War On Drugs have released the video for ‘Nothing To Find’, from their recent album ‘A Deeper Understanding’.

• Justin Broadrick has announced a new EP in his JK Flesh guise, titled ‘Exit Stance’. It’s out on 27 Nov. Here’s the title track.

• Rina Sawayama has released another new single, ‘Tunnel Vision’, this one featuring Shamir. It will feature on a mini-album, titled ‘Rina’, which is out this Friday.

• Sega Bodea has announced his second mixtape of movie-inspired tracks, out on 10 Nov. Here’s opening track ‘Requiem’, inspired by Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Requiem For A Dream’, featuring Shygirl.

• Passepied have released the video for ‘Oto No Naru Hou E’, taken from their new mini-album ‘Otonari-san’.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 10:52 | By

Kid Rock’s not running for Senate, you idiots

And Finally Artist News

Kid Rock

It’s alright, Kid Rock has said he isn’t going to run for US Senate. What’s more, he never was, so now you all look really silly for believing him.

“Fuck no, I’m not running for Senate”, he told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show. “Are you kidding me? Who couldn’t figure that out? I’m releasing a new album. I’m going on tour too. Are you fucking shitting me?”

Too right, who’d have ever thought he was being serious about running for Senate. Though, there was all that time he spent insisting that he absolutely was definitely planning to enter politics as a Republican candidate and that everyone who doubted him should shut up.

“I have had a ton of emails and texts asking me if this website is real”, he said on social media after people questioned his ‘campaign’ website when it launched in July. “The answer is an absolute YES. Stay tuned, I will have a major announcement in the near future”.

But that was all part of the ruse, you see. And you fell for it. Although you can perhaps see why. After all, Democrats remembered what an error their complacency about Donald Trump becoming US President had been. Meanwhile Republicans remembered what a success letting Donald Trump run for US President had been (in ‘winning the election’ terms, if nothing else). We live in a world where nothing seems unlikely in politics anymore, and Kid Rock rode that wave as far as he could with a straight face.

It even got to the point where some people on his own team who were “in on the joke” began to question themselves. The musician had to reassure them, “No, we’re not doing it, but let’s roll with it for a while”, he said.

Sure, the fact that he has an album coming out – ‘Sweet Southern Revenge’ on 3 Nov – and tour dates booked should have been a clue that all was not as it seemed, given you might have thought he’d have needed time to get his campaign plans sorted around about then.

But I’m not sure anyone who fell for the hoax believed Kid Rock had thought any of this through properly, so it was entirely possible he was going to release an album, go on tour, and then just focus on his election campaigning at the last minute.

As for how he views the prank now that it’s all out in the open, he told Stern: “It’s the worst advice I ever gave myself, but it’s been the most creative thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve gotten to see everyone’s true colours”.

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Wednesday 25 October 2017, 09:34 | By

Approved: Ggoolldd

CMU Approved

Ggoolldd

After a lengthy run of singles over the last couple of years, Ggoolldd are working their way towards a new EP release, ‘Teeth’, which is due out on 1 Dec.

Their newer material sees them broaden out their pop sound yet further, no more so than on latest single ‘The Way That I Feel’, which features the roughest edges of any of their songs to date. Elsewhere, recent single ‘Excelsior Springs’ sees the band indulge their lighter side with a track that floats on its bassline.

Also on the EP will be last year’s ‘Undercovers’ and June release ‘Secrets’, which are the most pure pop moments of the record, though both with very different vibes.

Listen to ‘The Way That I Feel’ here:

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Tuesday 24 October 2017, 12:43 | By

New abuse claims made against R Kelly

Artist News Top Stories

R Kelly

New allegations of abuse have been made against R Kelly in a lengthy interview in Rolling Stone with former radio DJ Kitti Jones, who claims she was mentally and physically abused during a two year relationship with the singer from 2011 to 2013.

Jones says she began a relationship with Kelly after meeting him at a concert in 2011 and subsequently relocated to Chicago to move into his apartment.

She alleges that Kelly offered to pay her double her current salary to make the move, while telling her that he wanted her to meet some of his female friends. She claims he told her: “I have friends and I have girls I’ve raised. I eventually want you to meet them, but I want to make sure you’re mentally ready for that”.

During her time living in Kelly’s homes, Jones says that the singer was routinely controlling over her life and the lives of other women, who were often monitored and required to ask for permission to undertake mundane tasks. She was also allegedly forced to become sexually involved with those other women for Kelly’s gratification.

She states: “He videotapes everything that he does, and sometimes he’ll just make you watch what he’s done to other girls or girls that he had be together. He would masturbate to that and then have you give him oral sex while he’s watching what he did with somebody else on his iPad”.

Jones alleges physical abuse too, in particular after she questioned Kelly about his 2008 child pornography trial – in which he was acquitted – and when she tried to reclaim some belongings after deciding to end their relationship.

The experience ultimately resulted in Jones becoming suicidal, before she decided to get away from Kelly, telling the singer she needed to return to Dallas to see her son.

Numerous abuse allegations have been made against Kelly over the years, including the accusations of him sexually abusing underage girls, which led to the 2008 court case.

American journalist Jim DeRogatis has regularly reported on those allegations, documenting numerous lawsuits that have been brought against Kelly alleging sexual abuse, all of which the singer settled out of court.

His most recent piece for BuzzFeed in July claimed that R Kelly was running an abusive cult, with three sets of parents alleging that their daughters had been “brainwashed” by the singer who was now controlling their lives, down to what they eat and wear, and when they sleep and bathe.

Kelly has always denied the various allegations made against him. Responding to the new allegations in the Rolling Stone interview, a representative said: “Mr Kelly is aware of the repeated and now evolving claims of [Ms Jones]. It is unfortunate that Ms Jones, after public statements to the contrary, is now attempting to portray a relationship history with Mr Kelly as anything other than consensual involvement between two adults”.

The rep continued: “As stated previously, Mr Kelly does not control the decision-making or force the actions of any other human being, including Ms Jones, by her own admission. Any claim of wrongdoing of any kind or of mistreatment of any woman by him is false, ill-motived and defamatory”.

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