Laidback Luke is currently a very busy man. A cursory glance at his DJ dates next month sees him jet between the USA, Ukraine, Greece and his native Holland. His frantic DJ sets caught the ear of Cream Ibiza who’ve lined him up for their next Cream Ibiza mix (out 4th July); while his new single, ‘Turbulence’, sees him collaborate with Dim Mak head honcho Steve Aoki and Lil’ Jon. It’s a track that sets out its aims instantly, a thumbing bassline and euphoric melody back Lil’ Jon’s irrepressible vocal delivery. It’s already taken its hold of dance-floors across the globe and has invaded BBC Radio 1’s playlist.
With a career that stretches back to the mid-nineties, Luke has worked with and remixed some of the biggest names in dance; including Daft Punk, David Guetta, Diplo and A-Trak. Luke also has a keen ear for a bootleg and has reworked the likes of Jay-Z, Coldplay and N.E.R.D. into his energetic DJ sets. We spoke to Luke and grilled him on his latest single, his superhero themed club night, Super You&Me, and found out what track is currently driving his crowds crazy. Read more…
While in London for a sold-out five night concert series, pop/rock band, Hanson took some time out to come into our Shazam Studio and give us a stripped back and fun performance of their latest single ‘Give A Little’.
Since 1997, the band have released five studio albums, toured excessively, set up their own label and focused on cultivating a relationship with their loyal fanbase.
With album sales in excess of 15 million, Hanson have recently released their critically acclaimed album ‘Shout It Out’. Debuting at #2 on the US Billboard independent charts, the album is a collection of songs that pays homage to the music that inspired them when they were starting out.
For more information on Hanson and to purchase their latest album, please visit their website.
DJ Fresh continues to rule the Shazam New Release Chart UK with as ’Louder’ notches up a record breaking eighth week at number one. Expect the record to make a big splash in the charts when it’s (finally) released next week.
Big news – our latest Shazam on Android App is out now with some cracking new features. First up is Music Previews – which does exactly what it says on the tin – lets you listen to 30 second clips of songs you’ve Shazam’d*!
With Music Previews you can replay a track at any time – the perfect way to help you decide if you like a song and want to buy it, or just to remember what a tagged track sounds like*!
Previews work when you’re browsing through your tag history, your friends’ tags in Shazam Friends, or tags featured in Shazam’s Tag Chart and Recommendations. When you see the ‘play’ button, tap on it to hear the 30 second clip!
Plus Tag Result and Artist Info screens have had a mini-facelift! The Tag Result screen sports larger cover art and a cleaner look – with a new ‘location’ option at the bottom to remind you where you were when you tagged a track – and discography and biography screens are now combined.
So update now or download Shazam and Encore straight from Android Market – for more of what you love!
*Previews available in US, UK, Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland.
PS! Check out the latest Shazam on Android video here to see Previews and Shazam Friends in action – as well as core Shazam features – discover, buy, lyrics, Shazam Tag Chart and more!
Katy Perry could find herself entering the history books soon if her latest single ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ manages to grab the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Her last four singles from the massive selling ‘Teenage Dream’ have all gone to number one, and a fifth will see her equal Michael Jackson’s record of five consecutive number ones from the same album, in his case 1987′s ‘Bad’. Such an achievement will only emphasise the current trend for female artists raising the bar in terms of sales performances. What with Adele virtually monopolising the higher reaches of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic it’s definitely a case of sisters doing it for themselves. The video for ‘Last Friday Night’, which has already racked up a massive 35 million views on YouTube, sees Perry releasing her inner nerd at the party of the year. Introducing her uber-geek alter-ego, Kathy Beth Terry, Katy dons a comedy retainer and hams it up in the role of ugly duckling invading the world of the high school A-list. However, she can’t take all the credit for the success of the vid. An all star cast features Glee’s Kevin McHale and Darren Criss, Kenny G (playing sax on the roof), Rebecca Black, Debbie Gibson and even Hanson popping up as the in-house band. The ever-reliable production team of Max Martin and Dr. Luke deliver the goods music-wise, but the success of the song owes a huge debt to the video and Perry’s willingness to play the fool.
As well as Beyoncé; U2; Coldplay and the surprise appearances by Radiohead and Pulp getting most of the headlines; another highlight from last weekend’s Glastonbury festival was the ex-Outkast rapper Big Boi, storming Pilton’s Worthy Farm with his incendiary performance, backed by a full band on stage.
The rapper headlined the West Holts stage to great acclaim, right after his collaborator Janelle Monae also dazzled the audience. You can watch him above performing his biggest solo hit, ‘Shutterbugg’, a standout from a celebrated set that mixed the songs of his debut solo album ‘Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty’ with some of the most popular hits from Outkast.
We couldn’t make it this time to the glorious annual mudfest, instead last Wednesday we had the consolation prize of watching Big Boi offering a more stripped down, but equally strong ,warm-up gig in London’ s Heaven; performing in the sole company of his DJ and his guest rapper. For some (admitedly grainy) pictures of the show, read on. Read more…
Fresh from intricate remixes of Gil Scott Heron’s album and Adele’s ‘Rolling In the Deep’, the influential indie producer and DJ has this month put out some original material in the form of the single ‘Far Nearer’.
The hypnotic 8 minute long track features at its core a sumptuous steel band melody that is a haunting sun-soaked dose of euphoria with sharp drums dancing all over it. Everything Jamie XX touches is hyped and so far he’s yet to let his admirers down. Which makes it all the more odd that this track has taken eight months to appear since its radio debut.
The arrangement is tight, unlike some other electronica artists who knock out hastily produced digital singles, there is control throughout. Off-pitch vocals, plaintive steel pans, epic dubstep and house / R’n’B /calypso madness are sewn together so beautifully you never see the seams. The XX mastered hooks in their soul-infused and ultimately melancholic debut album ‘xx’, and it’s in the agonised spaces between ‘Far Nearer’s’ grooves that this tune’s genius lies. Don sunglasses, pour mojito, step into field and make the most of ‘Far Nearer’ at a summer festival near you- it’s sure to be there.
Formed in London in 1976, The Only Ones were brought together by lead singer and guitarist Peter Perrett, who assembled the band during Punk’s British inception. Despite links to the scene, it would be unjust to label The Only Ones a punk band. Their breadth of influences and level of musicianship set them far apart from the gulf of bands that were hastily formed at this time. While the band released four albums between 1978-1980, the shadow of drug abuse often hung over them; as referenced in the song’s lyrics “I always flirt with death, I look ill but I don’t care about it”. Despite the grim subject matter, the track remains one of the most joyous three minutes ever committed to pop music. Any hidden meanings didn’t put off UK mobile network Vodafone, who used it in a 2006 advert.
The track has been covered by a range of artists including The Replacements, Blink-182 and Babyshambles. Clearly a lasting influence on Pete Doherty, Perrett joined The Libertines onstage in 2004; his first notable public appearance in years. The experience clearly ignited something within the singer, who reformed the original lineup of The Only Ones in 2007. While the band played a handful of new tracks in 2009, but as yet there’s been no word of a new album. As welcome as it would be, it’s unlikely that could ever top this gem.
Coldplay have been fairly quiet over the last couple of years, but with a tasty Saturday night headlining spot scheduled for Glastonbury on the weekend what better time to release an anthemic stadium filler like ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’? Sandwiched between the twin titans of U2 on Friday and Beyoncé on Sunday, the lads are going to have to be on top form: but with a highly respectable back catalogue and two previous Glasto headline slots under their belt Coldplay have a pedigree that almost guarantees they will deliver one of the weekend’s most memorable performances. The band share the song-writing credits of ‘Every Teardrop…’ with Australia’s answer to Barry Manilow, Peter Allen. Allen’s record ‘ I Go To Rio’ influenced Chris Martin after he heard it when it appeared in the Javier Bardem film, ‘Biutiful’. However, although there are some similarities in the opening chords in reality the two songs couldn’t be more different. While the original is a disco based tropical knees up, Coldplay have gone for an epic crowd-pleasing approach that keeps the tension racked up before ending in Martin enjoying a lung-busting finale – something that’s sure to go down a storm with the muddy Somerset masses.
