Love them or loath them, there’s no denying the huge selling power of The Black Eyed Peas. Their standard setting mix of R&B and electro house club beats has seen them conquer the world’s charts: not to mention set the tone for almost every other urban act the world over. While Jay-Z riled against them on the track ‘Death Of Auto-Tune’; Usher, Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Kelly Rowland have seen some of the biggest successes of their career by following B.E.P.’s lead.
Their next album, ‘The Beginning’, looks set to be one of the biggest selling albums of 2010. The first single ‘The Time’ – which mashes together the hook from Dirty Dancing’s ‘Time Of My Life’ with a buzzing club beat – is already the most tagged track in the USA and likely to be a future Billboard number one. It’s even been supported by none other than Oprah Winfrey, who recently included the album as one of her ‘Favourite Things’ for the holiday season.
According to band leader will.i.am, the album symbolises “growth new beginnings and starts a fresh new perspective”. Yet Black Eyed Peas fans aren’t going to be concerned with anything ‘The Beginning’ stands for – they’re likely to be focusing on the radio friendly club beats and poppy hooks which the album delivers in spades.
You can listen to ‘The Beginning’ one week before release by following this link. You can also check out the new video for ‘The Time’, which sees B.E.P. pixilated and dropped into a predictably bangin’ club scenario.
After keeping us waiting for over a decade, Dr. Dre has finally revealed the first single from his eagerly awaited third, and rumored to be final, album ‘Detox’. While over the years certain tracks have leaked, rumored to be the first taster, ‘Kush’ is the first official one taken from the album. ‘Kush’ sees Dr. Dre once again join forces with long time collaborator Snoop Dogg and, surprisingly, R&B auto tune crooner Akon. While Dre purists might cringe at the thought of Akon appearing on ‘Detox’, he thankfully doesn’t dominate the track and Snoop is in good form; even finds time to give out a cheeky diss to the tightness of Will.i.am’s pants. The real stand out from ‘Kush’ is finally hearing a fresh beat from one hip-hops greatest producers.
The track is currently streaming on Dr. Dre’s website and is available for download on iTunes in the US. ‘Detox’ is due for release early next year.
When Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear released his solo album ‘Person Pitch’, few could have guessed that it would become one of the most influential albums of the past decade, only rivaled by the achievements of his own band, Animal Collective. Its psychedelic loops, walls of distortion and sample-based tunes have been a source of inspiration for many a young artist since.
Following up a classic album is never easy. Lennox has announced his intention to leave the samples behind and focus on a more organic guitar and rhythm approach to song writing. Like he did with his former work, the album is being anticipated by a series of limited edition 7” singles released through different labels. We have already enjoyed the title track ‘Tomboy’ and his b-side ‘Slow Days’; as well as ‘You Can Count On Me/Alsatian Darn’. The third one in the series –and last before the album- is called ‘Last Night At The Jetty’ and offers another taste of musical greatness with the distinctive Panda Bear multilayered vocals trademark. You can listen to the single here.
‘Last Night At The Jetty/Drone’ will be released on December the 6th via FatCat. A release date for ‘Tomboy’ is yet to be confirmed.
Chase & Status have been one of the leading lights of the Dubstep and Drum & Bass scene for the past 4 years. Their balls to the wall, bass driven sound has been lighting up dance floors and has even seen them invade the UK national charts with their collaboration with Plan B, ‘End Credits’, reaching the top ten.
This summer Chase & Status really began to deliver on their potential with a hugely acclaimed live show that literally caused chaos on main stages across a number of festivals. (See the above video for scenes of mosh-pits more likely seen at a Punk gigs than raves.) Crude comparisons to Pendulum and The Prodigy have abounded; but in reality the London based group’s stage show has a character all of their own thanks to the pair’s grounding in sweaty underground D&B parties. With Dubstep breaking out in the USA as the sound du jour of edgy pop acts and stadium sized dance music parties, Chase & Status could well be the next act to take British born bass music to a higher plane.
‘Hypest Hype’ is the group’s latest single and features the always angry and impressively stacked, Tempa T. With the record flying up the UK Shazam Pre-release chart it tees the group up nicely for the release of their second album ‘No More Idols’. For a free download of the track, head to Chase & Status’ official website.
While we’re eager to hear what Beck will come up with after the amazing 2008 album ‘Modern Guilt’, it seems we’re still going to have to be patient. After working with esteemed hip hop producer Danger Mouse on his last album, it appears that Beck has picked up on another staple of the rap world: mixtapes.
Mixtapes have long been adopted in the world of hip-hop and now it appears even singer songwriters are getting in on the action. Beck has shared his latest sonic influences on a series of mixes hosted on his Soundcloud page. Head here to check out his latest ‘Tropicália’ mix. Now you can enjoy the sounds of Beck’s living room in your own house!
After British indie kings Oasis announced they would be parting ways, most fans assumed lead songwriter Noel Gallagher would’ve been first out of the blocks with new material. However, it’s Liam Gallagher and his new band Beady Eye who are the first to deliver new, post-Oasis tracks. The group, fronted by the younger Gallagher brother, is made up of former Oasis members Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock. Rather than make us wait until the release of their debut album, Beady Eye are offering fans a free download of ‘Bring The Light’ as a taste of what’s to come.
Liam’s always worn his love of retro rock on his sleeve, and his ‘f word’ strewn verbal bashings of ‘student bands’ and rival pop acts have kept him in British tabloid headlines for over a decade. With that in mind, it was fairly obvious that Beady Eye weren’t going to reveal a previously hidden love of 80’s synthpop. ‘Bring The Light’ is a brash cut of classic rock ‘n’ roll recalling The Who and The Rolling Stones. This is presumably indicative of what to expect from next year’s, as yet untitled, album.
The song is sure to divide opinions in Oasis’ huge fanbase, to check it out for yourself head here.
It had appeared the attention surrounding British synth pop duo La Roux was beginning to die down. Flame haired singer Elly Jackson and behind the scenes co-writer Ben Langmaid have been busy in the studio working on the follow up to their eponymous debut, but it appears one celebrity fan was keen to revisit their Mercury Prize nominated album. A new remix of ‘In For The Kill’ has surfaced, with Kanye West adding a typically boisterous rap, announcing his arrival with “I’m going in and I’m going hard”. It seems Kanye has been watching a few too many Twilight movies, as the tracks title inspires a vampire obsessed theme to his verse.
While it will be hard to top Dubstep pioneer Skream’s remix of ‘In For The Kill’, Yeezy has certainly given the track a further lease of life. There’s no word on a release for the remix, but fans will have another opportunity to hear Elly Jackson collaborate with the rapper on his forthcoming album track ‘All The Lights’ – which features a plethora of musical talent including Sir Elton John, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, John Legend and Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie. Look out for it when Wests’ ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ is released later this month.
The Axis of Awesome are Australia’s biggest comedy band, their latest video has become a YouTube sensation with over 8 million hits! The ’4 Chord Song’ video is a hilarious mixture of observational humour coupled with great musical talent. Riffing on the idea that all pop music sounds the same: AOA manage to link songs by Mika, Alica Keys, Journey, Black Eyed Peas, The Calling, Bush, A-Ha, Green Day and Lighthouse Family into a chucklesome five minute medley. The video on YouTube shows the band tearing through popular hits from previous decades that all have the same music, specifically 4 chords in a certain order. Watch below for the “Awesome” video.
Jordanm Lee and Benny who make up the band have recently appeared on GMTV and the Scott Mills Radio 1 show, The Axis of Awesome are now ready to unleash their award winning live show ‘Songs In The Key of Awesome’ on the UK. Their first show in the UK will be at Bush Hall on Thursday November 4th.
Refreshing new artist Adian Coker is already making waves in the UK scene, considering his presence has only been around since the end of July 2010. Busy in the background for the past couple of years, Coker has written music for The Mitchell Brothers, The Streets and Leo The Lion’. After concentrating on his own material, the English graduate has produced an inspiring mixtape which is now set for release.
The Londoner has managed to create an articulate 12 tracks for ‘The Colour Of Magic’. A variety of seductive beats clearly catered for the ladies and a mix of up-tempo genuinely enjoyable hip–hop tracks. Adian’s first release before the mixtape drop is ‘Ebenezer Screws’. This short, snappy gripping track is a great eye opening as to what to expect from Mr. Coker. The tracks immediate start grabs the attention of the listeners, rather than the typical UK rapper giving a shout out to everyone they know.
Adian’s content on the microphone is second to none – “never been no Brutus, more like a Caesar, if any man screws me just call them Ebenezer”. It’s a rare combination these days for an artist to have the ability to connect to the audience through the microphone and through their production. Something Adian has mastered – his peers are going to have to take note.
The mixtape drops online as a free download this Thursday 14th October, in the meantime listen to the available tracks taken from ‘The Colour Of Magic’ here. For more information check out his website and if you’re in London on the 14th October, make sure you get to YoYo’s at Notting Hill Arts Club as he will be performing live.
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.
