Carl Barât is enjoying a very busy year. The co-frontman of seminal band The Libertines, who later went to form his own band – Dirty Pretty Things -, has been cementing his reputation as one of the key figures of British popular music during the last decade.
After the recent Libertines one-off reunion to play at the Reading and Leeds festivals, now Barat has just published his first book ‘Threepenny Memoir’ which will be shortly followed by his eponymous debut album as a solo artist. The record is described to be ‘as far from the indie conveyor belt as you can get’ and an attempt to focus in simplicity and good melodies -a good example of this new direction is the upbeat first single ‘Run With The Boys’ with its contagious brass arrangement. The album boasts collaborations with Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon.
15 October BRIGHTON, Coalition 16 October CAMBRIDGE, The Haymakers 17 October STOKE ON TRENT, The Sugarmill 18 October NOTTINGHAM, Rescue Rooms 20 October NEWCASTLE, Digital 21 October GLASGOW, Oran Mor 22 October LEEDS, The Cockpit 23 October MANCHESTER, Deaf Institute 25 October WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Room 26 October BRISTOL, Thekla 27 October LONDON, Scala
And for hardcore fans that can’t wait that long, Barat will be appearing at Rough Trade East for an in-store gig on October the 7.00 pm.
Carl Barât and debut single ‘Run With The Boys’ are simultaneously released on 4th October via his own imprint Arcady Record.
Rihanna is an R&B artist that’s at her best when she aims for the dancefloor rather than for schmaltzy ballad territory. It’s no coincidence that her most successful tracks – ‘SOS’, ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Rude Boy’ – are all guaranteed party starters. Her latest record continues that trend by heading straight for the electro-pop jugular.
Norwegian hit makers Stargate have been roped in to take care of the beats and maintain their recent run of form that’s seen them rack up recent hits for Ne-Yo, Flo Rida and Trey Songz. The results are not a million miles away from a ‘90’s pop-trance hit from Paul Van Dyk, or even a more recent Euro-dance effort from the likes of Cascada. However, no one said you have to break the mould to have a huge hit and the tried and tested formula of bangin’ dance beats and accomplished R&B performance is sure to go down well with radio. Add to this the fact ‘Only Girl’ is as catchy as hell and you have another sure fire winner for the Caribbean songstress.
Currently at # 1 in the US iTunes chart and the Shazam New Release Chart USA, ‘Only Girl’ is sure to be inescapable over the next few months. You can check out the teaser video for the track here.
Canadian electro-pop duo Chromeo have been penning addictive, 80’s influenced tracks since 2004 when they burst onto the scene with their debut album ‘She’s In Control’; with its standout track ‘Needy Girl’ propelling the pair to the attentions of dance fans across the globe. At the time the band - with their brazen nods to Hall & Oates, Prince and Kraftwerk - were probably the only group around to wear their love for all things 80’s so brazenly on their sleeve. However, since then the likes of La Roux and Friendly Fires have propelled the sound firmly into the mainstream. Where Chromeo may have once seemed an unusual commodity, they have now established themselves firmly with their signature, vocoder aided, sound.
Their latest album ‘Business Casual’ – released this week – proves again their skill for crafting instantly catchy pop tracks. Singles ‘Night By Night’ and ‘Don’t Turn Lights Out’ are sure to cause contagious bouts of moonwalking and robot dancing amongst all listeners. The band are set to embark on their biggest ever UK tour later this year, including a headline show at London’s legendary Camden venue –The Roundhouse.
We spoke to P-Thug – the shorter, talk box wielding member of Chromeo – about their new album, their collaboration with Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koening and who, in his valued opinion, is the all time King of the vocoder.
Japanese Voyeurs have just emerged from the studio after recording their debut album, due for release in early 2011. Ahead of their dates supporting Against Me and F**ked Up on their UK tour next month, they have unleashed a free download of one of their new album tracks - ‘Smother Me’. Download it now, below!
Garage rock favourites White Denim have returned with a surprise gift to their fans. The, now four piece, act from Austin, Texas have taken a break in the recording process of their as yet untitled third album, to offer another whole record full of unreleased material.
Comprised of twelve songs from the band’s earlier period, ‘Last Days of Summer’ distils a light, summery vibe. The tracks were reworked using a fresh approach that also showcases both White Denim’s eclectic taste and their impressive evolution to date.
German producer and DJ Alex Ridha is more commonly known under the guise of Boys Noize. Over the past few years he has firmly established himself as one of the major players in dance music. With two albums – 2007’s ‘Oi Oi Oi’ and last year’s ‘Power’ – completed and a string of remixes for the likes of Justice, Depeche Mode and N*E*R*D*, Ridha has built a wealthy output since 2004. Recently Ridha has been getting heads together with influential UK DJ Erol Alkan, releasing two double A-side singles ‘Waves/Death Suite’ and ‘Lemonade/Avalanche’.
As well as playing DJ sets around the world, Ridha also runs Boys Noize Records – home to the likes of D.I.M., Housemeister and Siriusmo. The label has recently announced it will be starting a sub label – BNR Tracks – as an outlet for digital only releases, ensuring Boys Noize will be responsible for pushing some if the freshest tracks around.
We managed to grab a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to discuss the new sub-label, his plans for a new album and if he’ll continue to collaborate with Alkan.
Our look at the most popular music around the globe gets a stopover in India, where action blockbuster ‘Dabangg’ has become the highest grossing movie of the year and it’s on its way to become the top grossing Bollywood movie ever – just a few weeks after being released it’s already the second one.
As its norm in the country, the film’s music – composed by veteran duo Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandi – is a big part of its success. Two songs taken from ‘Dabangg’ were simultaneously at number one and two in the Indian charts last week. At number two we found the nephew of Pakistani legend Nusrah Fateh Ali-Khan, Rahat, performing ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’, whereas the number one belongs to a duet between Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya Nigam called ‘Munni Badnaam’. Two excellent examples of the finest songwriting Bollywood has to offer.
Coming from LA’s skate punk/hardcore underground scene, incorporating elements of noise and shoegaze into their sonic equation, No Age have joined the Sub Pop roaster and turned into one of the most exciting bands around.
Their third album –or second if you consider ‘Weirdo Rippers’ a compilation of singles and EPs- ‘Everything In Between’ is another fine collection of immediate rock pills that builds up on the achievements of the duo’s former work. Standout tracks include the first single ‘Glitter’ – check out the fan made video above, ‘Life Prowler’, which was used as soundtrack in the bizarre promo trailer for the album and the Pitchfork media best music play listed ‘Fever Dream’.
‘Everything In Between’ is released next week via Sub Pop. Until then, you can check out the album stream courtesy of The Guardian.
