It appears that even the normally debilitating process of incarceration can’t stop the productivity of Lil’ Wayne. Despite having to serve time until November 5th, Lil’ Wayne has readied his latest album ‘Tha Carter IV’ for release on – you guessed it – November 5th. The one obvious question is; how did the rapper manage to record in jail? According to sources, Wayne was heavily involved in the track selection process, which dipped into his bountiful stock of recorded output.
‘Right Above It’ features another of hip-hops recent success stories Drake, it sees Lil’ Wayne in a reflective mood. Commenting that “you know you’re at the top when only heaven’s right above it”, we can only wait to see if time inside has quenched the stars ego. However with his next album sure to rocket to the top of the charts, I wouldn’t bet on it.
If anyone caught Booka Shade‘s set at Lovebox festival, you may have been slightly perturbed at the fact that their set got cut short. Due to the sheer weight of people who’d forced into the tent to try and watch them, organisers were forced to stop the duo’s set. The team behind Lovebox commented:
“The decision of the safety authorities to shut down the tent was made for cautionary reasons and we share everyone’s frustration and disappointment at being denied the chance to enjoy Booka Shade experience in full. With this in mind we are able to announce that Booka Shade will be playing a special one off late license 2am affair at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town on Friday 10th September.”
Tickets for the event are already on sale from the venues website; however we’re giving one lucky winner the chance to win a pair of tickets. To win simply email your answer to the following question to competition@shazamteam.com
On the week that saw the release of their much delayed second album, the inventers of the swiftly forgotten ‘new rave’ genre, Klaxons returned to London for a show that undoubtedly gave them a confidence boost before headlining the Radio One/NME Stage at Reading & Leeds festival. If the band had any pre gig nerves, these were quickly banished when the demented guitars of ‘Flashover’ begun. The packed crowd quickly warmed up and reacted as well as the band could’ve hoped. Despite the freshness of the new tracks, they still resonated well with the sold out audience.
Predictably the biggest cheers were reserved for tracks from their Mercury Prize winning debut ‘Myths Of The Near Future’, with ‘Golden Skans’, ‘Magick’ and ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ all receiving an ecstatic response from the crowd. While it’s been heavily noted about the gaps between their first and second album, it’s also important to note that fans simply haven’t had the chance to hear the songs for a while. Therefore it may be slightly unfair to compare both sets of songs just yet. Latest single ‘Echoes’ also stood out as a fan favourite, it’s brain invading chorus was sung back at the band from across the room.
Importantly it looks like the band have put their maligned recording experience behind them, with all members looking chuffed at the audience between songs. Looking relaxed and in a jubilant mood – at one point bassist Jamie Reynolds stops proceedings to wish keyboard player James Righton happy birthday – Klaxons may have just got through their heavy case of second album syndrome unscathed.
Klaxons are on tour throughout the year, for more details check their MySpace.
When MGMT released their second album ‘Congratulations’ this year, many were quick to point out that it didn’t boast a stand out pop track to the standard of ‘Kids’ or ‘Time To Pretend’. However, the slow burning album has done nothing to dent the bands popularity - with the band only being kept off the top of the Billboard charts by the puzzling phenomena that is Justin Bieber.
Their latest single is the title track from the album, a mellow acoustic number that recalls ‘Weekend Wars’ from ‘Oracular Spectacular’. In the head puzzling video, the duo follow a slowly disappearing, unrecognisable creature throughout the desert. The bizarre animal - which resembles an outcast from Jim Henson’s workshop - provides another head scratching twist in their career. One thing’s for certain, they clearly refuse to let the pressure of being on a major label compromise their artistic control.
The band embark on a huge tour in September across the UK, Europe and USA. For more info, head to their MySpace.
This week we headed down to London’s Hoxton Bar & Grill to check out Spectrals. Headed by the enigmatic Louis Jones – who solely writes all the music – we were taken aback by the gloriously melodic lo-fi indie on show. Backed by his band, Jones led a set that included tracks from his forthcoming ‘Spectrals Extended Play’ EP. The music is rooted in the catchy melodies of ’60 and ’70’s soul but sewn together by Louis’ distinct Northern accent. While there may be a crop of bands from the US displaying similar influences - for example Harlem, who took to the stage after Spectrals – it’s refreshing to hear an unmistakably British slant on the sound.
Tracks such as the loveable ‘7th Date’ show Jones to be a hopeless romantic, albeit one with a killer ear for a melody. Live the band are particularly understated, only acknowledging the crowd after one particularly “wacky individual” placed a plastic deer’s head on stage.
‘Spectrals Extended Play’ will be released through Moshi Moshi on October 10th. They will also be supporting the likes of Avi Buffalo, Yuck and Les Savy Fav before playing the Welsh Sŵn Festival in October. For more details head to their MySpace. Read more…
For all of you who weren’t lucky enough to win our previous LED Festival tickets competition, fear not! We now have another chance for you to win a pair of VIP tickets for Saturday 27th August. With a line up that boasts the likes of Leftfield; Goldfrapp; Friendly Fires; Aphex Twin and Annie Mac, it looks certain to be one of the unmissable events of the bank holiday weekend in London. Plus you’ll get the chance to experience the festival in VIP style!
To be in with a chance of winning just email us the answer to this question:
What does L.E.D stand for?
Please send your answer to LED@free-prizedraw.co.uk, along with your name and mobile number. If you don’t want to be contacted about further events please state ‘competition only’ in you email.
Today’s Tag Of The Day belongs to Hamburg’s Tensnake’s. Opening with an ecstatic wail – evoking A Guy Called Gerald’s timeless classic ‘Voodoo Ray’ – and a provocative bassline, ‘Coma Cat’ quickly draws you in with its charms. However, the dark disco vibe rapidly evolves when the bassline gives way to a euphoric synth break down bringing the track into unabashed joy-filled house territory.
The simple repeated vocal hook of “can I get, can I get get” is guaranteed to invade your head and has become the standout moment in Tensnake’s many sets over the summer. The German producer/DJ will be playing a number of dates from the tail end of summer up to December, where he’ll be performing at Manchester’s Warehouse Project. For a full list of dates check his MySpace.
For those looking to get more Tensnake action, check out his ‘Remix Selection’ mix below which fatures reworks of Azari & III, The Faint and Foals to name a few.
Zola Jesus is the alter ego of 21 year old singer/songwriter Nika Roza Danilova; a classically trained former opera singer who specialises in haunting ethereal pop. Zola’s sound is somewhere midpoint between Florence & The Machine and Fever Ray – who invited the singer to support her forthcoming European Tour.
Her latest track, ‘Night’, opens with eerie synths and hushed vocals before giving way to a hypnotic beat backed by the singers haunting tones. It’s an intriguing track that puts Zola Jesus leagues ahead of most other 80’s obsessed female singer songwriters. For more info and tour dates head to her MySpace.
Night’ is taken from her recent ‘Stridulum II’ EP, currently available from iTunes.
London collective Roll Deep crash landed to the top of the UK charts with ‘Green Light’, a cut of house injected hip hop that seems to have continued the winning formula from their previous #1 ‘Good Times’. Roll Deep, led by grime’s most enigmatic character Wiley, have been in existence since 2002 but are now enjoying their most fruitful time in the limelight. While former members Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder went on to find chart success in their solo careers, Roll Deep hadn’t topped the charts until May of this year; now it seems they simply won’t leave.
The track is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Winner Stays On’, due for release later this year. You could do worse to bet that the album will be bothering the higher end of the charts on its release. Their recent success is yet another interesting chapter in the world of Wiley, who recently gave away several albums worth of demos on Twitter and previously dismissed his last album ‘See Clear Now’ swiftly after its release. ‘Green Light’ is currently available on iTunes.
‘Crossfire’ is the first single from The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers forthcoming solo album ‘Flamingo’. While The Killers went on hiatus last year following the grueling promotional tour for ‘Day & Age’, it’s clear their frontman didn’t intend to spend any of that time putting his feet up. As with the last Killers album, Flowers has roped in the production skills of Stuart Price, as well as recruiting Daniel Lamos (U2, Neil Young) and Brendan O’ Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen).
It’s a typically bombastic epic track from the singer, which could see him soon entertain the same crowds alone as he did in his day job. While the future of the band has yet to be confirmed, it’s clear Flowers has no worries about delivering the goods alone. The accompanying video is also worthy of a mention, where Oscar winner Charlize Theron battles a swarm of ninjas – administering a mean death star to the head– to save Flowers from capture. Currently racking up over 1.7 million views, it’s clear that this will be bothering the charts when it’s released later this year.
