Kelis is back with a new album and record contract! After taking some time off the spotlight in order to deal with more personal affairs – including her divorce from hip-hop star Nas Escobar and the arrival of her first son – the R&B singer is giving the finishing touches to her fifth studio album, ‘Acapella’. Its title track, dedicated to the newborn, is the first taste from the record and has just been previewed by the singer via her twitter feed. Produced by hitmaker du jour David Guetta; the song is an euro-dance infused, electropop smash. Expect it to soon be taking clubs around the world by storm.
Sean Combs AKA P Diddy is a man that has his fingers in many pies. After almost a decade of brand diversification P Diddy’s business interests have swollen to include two clothing lines, a Sean John fragrance range, a movie production company, two restaurants, a burgeoning acting career and his own reality TV show aired on VH1 in the USA. Almost inevitably, with so many plates spinning Diddy’s musical output has slowed in the past few years; although Combs’ notoriously intense work ethic has still seen him produce notable guest appearances on records by Busta Rhymes, Pussycat Dolls and DJ Hell since the release of his last album in 2007.
Now, after pledging that his previous solo album will be his last, Diddy returns as the ringleader of a new R&B group named Dirty Money. Featuring vocals from female singers Dawn Richard of Danity Kane and Kalena Harper, Diddy has compared the group to great 80’s pop/ R&B groups such as Bel Biv Devoe and Prince And The Revolution. With Diddy taking a back seat to concentrate on production and rhyming cameos the rap impresario finds himself in a position where he has previously accomplished some of his best work, producing tracks for groups – as he did in the 90’s with Total and 112. ‘Love Come Down’ twists a sample from Jay-Z’s ‘Izzo’ around a slightly discordant bell sample to create quite a striking R&B club jam – especially when compared to the overly electronic and auto-tuned efforts by many of their contemporaries. Proving that Diddy can still bring the urban grooves as well anyone in the business today; ‘Love Come Down’ is finding favour with all of the big hip-hop/R&B tastemakers the world over.
And just for good measure here’s one of Diddy’s previous best…
Animal Collective are crowning a fantastic 2009 – a year that seen the band collecting all sort of honours for their acclaimed ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ – with a brand new 5-track offering, ‘Fall Be Kind’.
This new EP rescues some of the tracks from the ‘Merriweather…’ recording sessions that didn’t make the final cut in another excellent collection from the prolific Baltimore combo. Some songs – ‘Bleed’ and ‘On A Highway’- were already part of their live sets and widely available on the internet, the rest are now being unveiled to the world. First, it was the festive opening track ‘Graze’ – see video above – where a fairground attraction-like hook boosts the band’s trippy excursions. And now, Pitchfork has just granted a 10/10 review to the EP’s highlight, ‘What Would I Want? Sky‘ which samples The Grateful Dead’s ‘Unbroken Chain’; the first ever (legal) sample taken from the psychedelic legends’ vast catalogue.
Full track list goes as follows:
1. Graze. 2. What Would I Want? Sky. 3. Bleed. 4. On A highway. 5. I Think I Can.
Fall Be Kind is out on CD on December the 15th and on digital format on November 23rd.
Northern Irish boys The Answer are about to embark on a UK headlining tour after having spent the last year supporting AC/DC in the States. We caught up with singer Cormac Neeson, guitarist Paul Mahon and bass player Mickey Waters to ask a few questions about touring, bravado and just generally having a laugh. Read more…
This Wednesday saw the latest installment of the infamous Vice magazine hit the streets and to celebrate the Vice team organised a drink up in their local East End watering hole and home away from home, The Old Blue Last. The scurrilously fashion, music and controversy obsessed mag are well known for spotting cooler than cool bands long before they hit the big time which means Vice’s parties are often one of the best places to discover new bands before even the most cutting edge hipsters. With a label roster that’s included the likes of Black Lips, Bloc Party, Chromeo, The Raveonettes, Death From Above 1979 and Justice, Vice pretty much have a record that speaks for itself when it comes to trend setting independent music. Wednesday’s party was headed-up by New York scenesters, So So Glos. Mixing the punk funk panache of late Clash with of the moment NYC bands such as The Virgins, So So Glos could be yet another band to add to the long list of excellent Vice discoveries.
‘Video Phone’ pits together two of the most successful female singers of 2009, Beyoncé & Lady Gaga. Taken from the former’s album ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’, the release of the single ties in with re-issues of both artists’ albums. With an intro that is reminiscent of a classic Bond theme, the track gives way to a killer beat and a stuck-in-your head, hypnotic vocal from Beyoncé. Lady Gaga lends the track her inimitable style to the video where the pair engage in a scantily clad synchronised ‘dance off’ whilst brandishing Buck Rodgers style ray guns – which makes quite odd but still amazing stuff viewing.
As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This mantra must have been running through Snoop Dogg’s mind when running through ideas for his latest video. ‘Gangsta Love’ incorporates all the classic rap video mis-en- scene: chiefly scantily clad ladies, flash cars and champagne. Clearly inspired by the classic opening sequence of ‘The Naked Gun’, in this video we see Snoop and The Dream travel through a variety of locations including a beach, football pitch and a nightclub. While the pair’s vehicle also transports into a speed boat, rollercoaster and casino. It’s clear from this video that although Snoop may be approaching two decades in the rap game, he’s unlikely to go changing his love of cars, women and bass heavy hip hop beats anytime soon – somthing every rap fan should be happy about!
With a slew of chart topping singles under his belt, production credits on the Black Eyed Peas’ multi platinum selling hits, and a continued dominance of the world’s best night clubs and festivals; you could certainly say 2009 hasn’t been a bad year for David Guetta. Not content with being one of the most successful dance producers on the planet, the DJ/Producer has used the last 12 months to storm the world’s pop charts – becoming one of the most consistent hit makers on the planet. Added to this, hook ups with Akon and Kelly Rowland have become some of the most tagged tracks at Shazam worldwide taking the number one spot in our tag charts both in the UK and USA.
However, while Guetta’s experienced a huge uplift in exposure this year, he’s far from forgotten his club music background. His revered club night in Ibiza , ‘F*** Me I’M Famous’, has continued to go from strength to strength while more underground productions from the Frenchman, such as ‘Grrrrr’, have continued to win over some of the world’s most important dance music tastemakers.
To celebrate the release of his latest album, ‘One Love’, we’re giving you a chance to win a copy of the CD signed by the man himself.
All you have to do to stand a chance of winning is email competition@shazamteam.com with your address and answer to the following question:
Who collaborates with David Guetta on his latest single, ‘One Love’?
A) Pitbull
B) Flo-Rida
C) Estelle
Terms and conditions of competition: 1.Closing date for the competition is 01/12/2009. All entries after this point will be void. 2. All winners will be notified by email on 01/12/2009. 3. All correct answers will enter a prize draw and the winners selected at random. 4. There will be three winners who will win a signed David Guetta CD 6. The decision of Shazam Entertainment is final. 7. Employees of Shazam Entertainment are not eligible to enter this competition
Last night French punk pop band Plasticines put on a performance that hinted that they may just be about to break in 2010. Significantly raising their profile after becoming the first signing to Nylon Records, plus a recent cameo in American soap ‘Gossip Girl’; the band took to the stage tonight in front of an eagerly packed Camden crowd. With many of their fans forced to prop themselves against the venue’s sweaty walls, Plasticines tore through a short set that even induced a bout of crowd surfing from over enthusiastic male sections of the audience.
Their songs occupy a space between the saccharine punk of The Go-Go’s and the rough ‘n ready edge of The Runaways. Clearly the girls were also taking notes when the likes of The Libertines and The Strokes were repackaging garage rock in the early 00’s. The band’s popularity hasn’t been hindered by the fact that they are four young, attractive girls – but this is hardly a new thing in music. While thrashing through recent single ‘Barcelona’, Plasticines showed that they have the musical chops to silence any critiques of their technical abilities.
