Despite the rather tepid reception global audiences gave to her latest English album ‘She Wolf’, Shakira has remained unstoppable and is now ready to go back to her roots in her new Spanish language album ‘Sale El Sol’ (The Sun Comes Out). The Colombian superstar who stormed the global charts last July with the World Cup anthem ‘Waka Waka’ is ready to once more steal this summer’s spotlight right before it ends with her new tropical-flavoured track ‘Loca’.
Originally a meringue hit by Dominican artist El Cata, who also features in Shakira’s cover. The biggest surprise of ‘Loca’, though, appears in its English version, where an unexpected collaboration with original British grime rapper Dizzee Rascal is already generating headlines all across the music press. Shakira is no stranger to having hip-hop guests in her records; Will.I.Am; Lil Wayne or Wycleff Jean count among them, but it’s the first time she teams up with someone as leftfield as Rascal.
‘Sale El Sol’ will be released on October 10th featuring both singles in their English and Spanish versions.
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.
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.
Two years since his debut ‘Alegranza’ earned rave reviews from even the most highbrowed critics of the blogosphere, and just a few weeks after her EP ‘Piratas De Sudamerica’ – comprised of four cover versions of some of his favourite Latin artists- saw the light of day; the Canary Islands born, Barcelona based DJ and cultural agitator Pablo Diaz-Reixa is back again under his El Guincho moniker. This time with his second full length, ‘Pop Negro’.
Keeping the same winning formula alive, influenced as much by the trendy psychedelic loops of Panda Bear as it is by the most forward looking world music acts around the globe, we had already heard the summery, marimba-flavoured ‘Bombay’ and now another brand new single has leaked online. ‘FM Tan Sexy’, according to Reixa is the result of his research on hit singles from the late 70’s; 80’s and early 90’s and the common elements they share. And if we have to judge by how catchy this new track is, he may have found the secret behind bonafide hit making.
‘Pop Negro’ is released in the UK via Young Turks on September 13th. The singles ‘FM Tan Sexy’ and ‘Bombay’ are currently available as free downloads from El Guincho’s own website.
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.
Sufjan Stevens is back!! Years since ‘(Come On Feel The) Illinois’ established him as one of the defining artists of the past decade, and many minor projects and rare material compilations afterwards, fans were starting to worry about some form of writer’s block affecting the young songwriter. His original project of releasing an album per State of the Union seems now parked, but instead the singer-songwriter has released out of the blue a new 8 track EP called ‘All Delighted People’ and a brand new full-length is expected to follow.
The record is built around two different versions of the title track, which according to his Bandcamp page was conceived during Steven’s 2009 tour as ‘a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s ‘Sound Of Silence’ and it shares the same grandiose qualities that made of ‘Illinois’ such an unique work.
‘All Delighted People EP’ is available now. You can stream it in full here.
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.
London three piece ShcwaB previously had a following that could politely be described as ‘cult’, however, the band are currently receiving a sudden resurgence in interest. This is mainly due to their song ‘The Mole Man’ being featured in a recent advertising campaign for the Ford Fiesta. The head spinning advert centers round a couple jumping between a variety of locations, while the track provides a suitably boisterous soundtrack.
‘The Mole Man’ is a raucous slice of garage rock that comes on like the Black Keys fronted by The Fall’s Mark E Smith. While the band’s MySpace seems fairly quiet, this sudden burst of exposure may inspire SchwaB into putting out some new material. While the track isn’t currently available on iTunes, you can purchase the track – taken from ‘The Schwab Family Saga EP’ – on their Bandcamp site. Unfortunately the site offers no explanation of who ‘The Mole Man’ could be. We’d like to think it’s either a lament to The Simpsons’ Hans Moleman or techno DJ – and one of the finest interviewees ever – The Mole.
Erykah Badu’s ‘New Amerykah Part Two’ has undoubtedly been one of the most well received urban albums of the year so far. Featuring heavy doses of retro soul, Erykah’s most recent work has come as a marked contrast to some of the more electro and pop influenced R&B which has dominated the charts of late. Gaining some of the best reviews since her legendary 1997 debut ‘Baduizim’, ‘New Amerykah Part Two’ has incidentally been Badu’s most commercial successful work in a decade and has put her right back into the R&B big leagues.
The remix for Badu’s latest single, ‘Window Seat’, looks set to keep her on heavy rotation on urban music stations during the upcoming months. After previously working with A-list rappers such as Common, The Roots and Lil’ Wayne; the southern songstress continues a trend of working with some of the industry’s most talented rappers by hooking up with Rick Ro$$ – a man who’s starting to gain a reputation as rap’s go to guy for hit remix verses. The video also features a snippet of Badu’s former single, ‘Can’t Turn Me Away (Get Muny)’ – a former Shazam Tag Of The Day and a record with source material also sampled by Notorious B.I.G. no less.
