Shazamers' Blog

Finding a front-man more worthy of ‘godlike genius’ status than that of Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl has to be pretty hard and after the performance they delivered on Friday night you can see why. After walking away with said title at Shockwaves NME Awards last Wednesday the band headlined NME’s Big Gig at London’s Wembley Arena.

Before the Foo’s took to the stage though, a crowd of over 12,000 eagerly excited fans waited with anticipation through an impressive support set. No Age were up first, the Los Angeles based band rocked out to a short but tight set, following shortly after Band Of Horses graced the stage.

The band were undoubtedly impressive, playing a variety of tracks from their three their studio albums including ‘Is There A Ghost’ and ‘The Great Salt Lake’ and ‘The Funeral’ before the stage was taken over by Radio 1′s Zane Lowe with a DJ set to keep the crowd’s vibe up ahead of Cee Lo Green.

Cee Lo was backed by an all girl leather suited band and gave a solid set of his new material as well as a crowd favourite from his time with Gnarls Barkley ‘Crazy’. His big hit ‘F**k You’ was a slightly rockier version but he didn’t fail to deliver.

The moment finally arrived for Dave Grohl and co to play, for the first time in two years in London, and there wasn’t a still body in the crowd. “There are so many tracks we could play, but let’s face it, we’d be here all night” Grohl told the crowd, “so we’re only gonna play the good ones. I’m just that kinda guy you see, I’m a f**king Godlike Genius!”.

Opening with the new single ‘Rope’ and previewing other songs from their new album ‘Wasting Light’ (out on April 11th), as well as gunning through such hits as ‘All My Life’ and ‘My Hero’ the band delivered an energetic and solid set. Reflecting on their first gig in London at Kings College and being asked to go on at one of the main stages after Bjork at Reading, Grohl gave thanks to the London crowd for allowing them to now be playing such big venues across the other side of the world.

After an eighteen track strong set, and just when you thought they had given it their all, they returned to the stage for an epic encore including a cover of The Who’s ‘Young Man Blues’, the band left the crowd on a high-noted frenzy by closing with ‘Best Of You’.

Foo Fighters can be seen later this year as they prepare to tour ‘Wasting Light’ across the globe. For a full list of dates, head to their website.

Steph Cox Gigs/ Events Band Of Horses, Cee Lo Green, Foo Fighters, no age

Old school metal-heads Hatebreed from Connecticut are not only one of the longest operating hardcore bands on the scene, with a 16 year career to date, but also one of the nicest bunch of guys you could ever hope to meet. Shazam had the pleasure of speaking with lead singer and 1994 mainstay Jamey Jasta to chat about new music and how he keeps the wheels oiled on his insane vocal style.

December 2010 saw you complete a UK headline tour, how was it?

It was really great the fans in the UK really get it…with it being a headline tour there is a little more pressure in that you have to be ready physically to do a 90 minute set, you need more sleep to be prepared and things like that; Frank and Chris will have a drink before the show – but I tend not to, that’s the one thing that can wreck your voice.

You sound a little hoarse are you losing your voice?

It normally sounds a little hoarse while I’m on tour, but actually I’m ok. Last time we were on a break I went to an ENT specialist back home and they told me whatever I’m doing I’m doing it right, I had a camera put in my voice box and everything and it turns out I’m fine. A lot of professional song coaches have told me I probably have polyps on my vocal chords and tell their students to never sing like I do but turns out I’m absolutely fine doing what I do.

Do you have a favourite UK city to play?

Leeds has been great on this tour because there was no barricade in the venue, which had a capacity of about 300 so it was a really intimate gig. We can’t do that back in the states anymore as we play bigger venues but I really enjoyed it over here. It reminded me of the old days when we played smaller shows.

What is the best and worst thing about touring?

The best thing is the fans, you get to see all the people who know your lyrics really mean something.
The worst is like, whatever bad can happen on tour it, happens to us; buses breaking down, snow storms, cancelled shows or gear breaking…you know how it is.

Are you going to play any festivals in 2011?

Yeah we will take some time off to do some writing to start with and we have boring stuff to do like sorting out the North American label stuff and normally we do 3 videos per album so we may do 1 more video for the last record too.

Do you have any new material ready for a new album?

There kinda is but I dunno what is going to happen with all that yet.

Who are you listening to at the minute?

I really like the new ‘Phobia’ record that is out on Relapse Records, I also really like ‘Black gives way to Blue’ the latest ‘Alice in Chains’ album. The new Weezer record is pretty cool oh and I went on itunes and just bought the new Waka Flocka Flame album, I really like the way he markets himself and has made a business out of what he does.

If you could have one song from history and claim it as your own work what would you go for?

Iron Man or Back In Black because at any sporting event anywhere these get played all the time.

Is that decision based on royalties?

Well in that case, add Welcome To The Jungle on there too!

Check out the latest Hatebreed news at their website here.

Hazel Savage Interviews Hatebreed

In true Shazam Session form, we were treated to the audio delights of recent Ninja Tune signing “Spokes” as they visited us here at Shazam HQ.
The whimsical ensemble are currently on tour taking in Belgium, The Netherlands, Portugal and France; see http://www.myspace.com/spokessound for details.

You can purchase the latest album on Ninja Tune here.

Hazel Savage Shazam Sessions Spokes

Our favourite Mormon trio –slowcore kings Low- are back with a new album ‘C’Mon’; the ninth of their career and the third album they release via Sub Pop. Recorded in their local Duluth, Minnesota, at the same former Catholic Church-turned-studio where they shaped up their seminal album ‘Trust’; the peculiar acoustics of the place matching their perfectly gorgeous vocal harmonies and the intimate, nearly spiritual atmosphere of their songs.

The first taster ‘Try to sleep’ finds the band in top shape and it’s a pretty good example of how Low want to sound in 2011, in their own worlds ‘closer to how they perform live; warmer; fuller and more introspective’ and its available as a free download from their official page; where you can also see the details of their forthcoming US and European tour. It will begin with an intimate show at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas; continuing in New York’s Radio City Music Hall supporting Explosions In The Sky on April the 6th and will come to an end in London with their first headlining show at the Barbican on June the 3rd.

“C’mon” will be released on April the 11th, one day later in the US.

Roberto Gonzalez News

Chris Brown tops our US New Release Chart for the second week in a row; with ‘Look At Me Now’.

Jon Davies News, Shazam New Release Chart USA Chris Brown

Wiz Khalifa’s ‘Black & Yellow’ tops this weeks Shazam UK Pre-release chart.

Jon Davies Shazam New Release Chart UK Wiz Khalifa

Shazam has teamed up with Nokia for the ultimate music experience.  For a limited time, select Nokia phones (see full list below) will be offered Shazam Encore as a special gift from the Ovi Store – when they download the latest Ovi Store upgrade.

With Shazam Encore, you can find out the name of that tune with unlimited tagging, share music moments with friends, and get access to the hottest music content as well as purchase tracks and buy concert tickets.  Don’t wait to redeem this offer!  To get started, simply visit the Ovi Store from your mobile and

1. Download the update and install your new Ovi Store App

2. Choose ‘Get Your Gift’ from the Welcome Screen

3. Choose Shazam from list of Gift Items

Get started now! http://apps.store.ovi.com/r/cSp3ZJ

Available Devices: 5230, 5530XM, X6, 5228, 5233, 5250, 5800i, 5800XM,C6-00, N97, N97mini.

LeeMc News

Recently we were lucky enough to get to meet UK DJ and Rapper Ironik at the resplendent Pete Waterman Studios in London.

Ironik was every inch the perfect gentlemen as we discussed his upcoming second album release, his first ever TV appearance, why he loves The Kooks and what exactly it is about the Shazam Charts that catches his artists eye.

Pre-order the new EP ‘Killed Me’ by Ironik here.

Hazel Savage Shazam Sessions Ironik

Emerging synth outfit Diagram Of The Heart, are set to release their next single ‘If I Were You’ on the 13^th March through Sony Music. The London based two piece have already won plaudits from the likes of Q Magazine, Pop Justice and BBC Radio 1, and are slowly amassing a steady army of supporters.

‘If I Were You’ is a hook laden slice of electronic pop, that recalls the likes of Calvin Harris and Example. While you can currently pre-order the track on iTunes, those looking for an instant fix should head to the bands Facebook page. In exchange for a ‘Like’ you can claim a free download of ‘Heavy Heart’.

Jon Davies New Music Diagram Of The Heart

Never one to disappoint, the epitome of a pop star, Lady Gaga, returns to our charts with her latest single. The attention grabbing diva recently chose an Egg shaped carriage as her mode of transport as she invaded the Grammys. An exceptional way to start the night, however Ms. Gaga almost cracked under pressure as she gave a speech after receiving one of her awards. The stunt was talked about across the globe creating a huge buzz for her single ‘Born This Way’ which topped the Billboard 100 and was crowned Billboard’s 1000th single. Gaga also broke a record of sales with opening week digital sales topping 448,000 downloads.

The Madonna influenced track set a record in radio play after dominating the US airwaves, an incredible achievement from the provocative artist. The song starts off with a brief spoken word prologue about love, quickly followed by a mash of messy, infectious, synths. A club friendly drum pattern and typical chord progression combine to produce a fiery hit. Additional drones and electric stabs feature in the background while Gaga exclaims she was “born this way”.

The release of ‘Born This Way’ has boiled a debate from Madonna fans claiming Lady Gaga has pirated the track ‘Express Yourself’, while the tracks do carry a very similar sound and rhythm, Gaga has made a statement lately proclaiming her love for Madonna; which should keep things sweet between the fans.

Jack Taylor Tag Of The Day Lady Gaga