Artist News Business News Deals Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Marketing & PR Media One Liners Releases

One Liners: Beyonce, Ellie Goulding, Orbital, more

By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 2 February 2023

DEALS

BandLab Technologies has acquired beat marketplace Airbit. “We are THRILLED to bring Airbit’s community to BandLab”, says BandLab CEO Meng Ru Kuok. “We are continually looking for opportunities to support BandLab artists in their creative process, and this has been one of our communities’ most requested features. Thanks to companies like Airbit, self-serve beat marketplaces have become an exciting route for creators to find and purchase high-quality beats to kickstart their creative process. We’re excited to improve the user experience for our creators and introduce new ways for them to earn a living”.

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APPOINTMENTS

Dee Ford has announced that she will step down as Group Managing Director of Bauer Media Audio UK later this year. “I will miss Dee’s wise counsel, optimism and entrepreneurship, but am pleased to confirm that Dee will stay with us to ensure a smooth and extensive handover to her successor once they are appointed”, says Richard Dawkins, President of Audio at Bauer Media Group.

Marketing agency WMA has announced the appointment of Martin Kandja Kabamba as Director Of Social & Digital Marketing and Charlie Pollard as Director Of Social. “We are THRILLED to welcome Martin and Charlie to the agency to lead, drive forward and grow our expanding UK and Europe social and digital marketing team”, says WMA’s Erika Thomas.

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RELEASES

Ellie Goulding has released new single ‘Like A Saviour’. Her new album ‘Higher Than Heaven’ is out on 24 Mar. “[Higher Than Heaven is] about being passionately in love”, she says of the record. “But it’s a hyper form of love, almost like a drug induced feeling. It feels almost artificial and there’s the potential for a crash”.

Orbital have released new single ‘Are You Alive?’, featuring Penelope Isles. “’Are You Alive?’ came about when I had the instrumental and felt it could do with a delicate vocal”, says Paul Hartnoll. “Enter Penelope Isles! They took it away and [the duo’s] Lily [Wolter] came up with some killer hooks, we spent a day rearranging the song and Hey presto! ‘Are You Alive?’ was born. But don’t be fooled by the sweetness of the sound, the lyrics have some bite. It’s a dog-eat-dog world”. New album ‘Optical Delusion’ is out on 17 Feb.

Rachel Chinouriri has released new single ‘Maybe I’m Lonely’. “I wrote this from the perspective of not knowing what I want”, she says. “When you are in a long term relationship and know nothing else, it’s hard navigating the dating world. It’s about how I don’t want a relationship but struggle to not attach feelings to more casual situations. I hope other people know the feeling because I have struggled with it recently but I’m getting better”. Chinouriri will headline Hoxton Hall in London over four nights on 9-12 May.

La Luz’s Shana Cleveland has released new solo single ‘A Ghost’. “I never really gave pregnancy and childbirth very much thought, and when I did become pregnant I was surprised by how much of a psychedelic experience it was”, she says of the inspiration for the song. “When I sat outside the house looking out across the field, the chemistry and shape of my body constantly changing, I understood that I was no different than the plants and animals around me”. Her new album ‘Manzanita’ is out on 10 Mar.

Petite Noir will release new album ‘MotherFather’ on 14 Apr – his first LP since 2015. Here’s new single ‘Blurry’, featuring Sampa The Great. “’Blurry’ is a song about growth in love”, he says. “Being ready to take that next step whether it means being together or apart. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just move forward with your life solo. Choosing you above all. Being the best you, because no one will! It was super special to work with my sister Sampa. She is one of a kind and our energy’s gravitate towards each other! Naturally!”

Girl Ray have released new single ‘Everybody’s Saying That’.

Hundred Reasons have released new single ‘So So Soon’. Their new album ‘Glorious Sunset’ is out on 24 Feb.

Esben And The Witch have announced that they will release new album ‘Hold Sacred’ on 12 May. Out now is new single ‘The Well’. “It touches upon a spiritual strength, an enlightenment of sorts and a will to clamber out of despair and follow the light”, says vocalist Rachel Davies of the track.

Jen Cloher has released new single ‘My Witch’. Her new album ‘I Am The River, The River Is Me’ is out on 3 Mar.

M(h)aol have released new single ‘Period Sex’ ahead of their debut album ‘Attachment Styles’, which is out on Friday. “Prior to writing the track I’d had a lot of eye-opening conversations around period shame with people of all genders and from all walks of life, and I wanted to write almost an anthem for everyone who had ever had a period or loved someone who had one”, says singer Róisín Nic Ghearailt. “It felt like a hugely powerful thing to be in a position to create a song as a band that was unequivocally sexy”.

Debby Friday has released new single ‘I Got It’. “This track is a ‘get in the Uber, bitch!’ ode to nightlife, purgatory, and club rats everywhere”, she says. Her debut album ‘Good Luck’ is out on 24 Mar.

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GIGS & TOURS

Beyonce has announced UK tour dates in May, including two nights at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 29-30 May. Tickets go on general sale on 7 Feb.

Alewya will play The Scala in London on 22 Feb. Tickets are on sale now.

The Chills have announced UK and Ireland tour dates in June, including a show at EartH in London on 16 Jun. The band will also release a new seven-inch featuring three tracks that didn’t make the final tracklist of 2021 album ‘Scatterbrain’. Download one of them – ‘The Dragon With The Sapphire Eyes’ – for free on Bandcamp now.

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