I don’t think you’ve ever heard anything like this before. It’s on a similar stroke to Active Child, but kinda not. I can’t explain it very well. I can listen to Washed Out’s stuff on repeat and not get bored. It just takes you away to somewhere new. Check out here.
It’s so rare to see people from Syria (my own home) get famous in the western world (for the good reasons!). Enter Salem Al Fakir, who’s a bit of a pop star in Sweden. I didn’t know about him til I saw a clip of him performing ‘Keep On Walking’ which is absolute perfection in my eyes. He’s already released 3 albums since 2007 in Sweden, so it’s only a matter of time before the rest of Europe clocks on! Check out here.
I love this just as much as the ice cream it’s advertising on telly right now…
Mary J Blige is back on form…
Big things are tipped for this chap. Beautiful and haunting music that makes you feel a little bit good. Check out here.
Just signed to Island Records, nice guitary music with a nice voice. Currently touring with Thurin Breaks (I didn’t know they were playing London til they came and went!). Check out here.
I’m not sure how to describe Fabio’s music other than it being fantastic. He co-wrote a track by Example which went a little huge here in the UK called Won’t Go Quietly (I’ve been rooting for Example for years, it’s so good to see his efforts being picked up finally). Check out Fabio’s Myspace here. Will be massive shortly.
I’ve raved on about this guy for ages but this week I saw Alex Gardner live for the first time. We came in a bit late so only managed to catch a couple of songs but this little man can SING! If you get a chance to catch him then do it. I can’t get 0ver how young he is yet have such an amazing voice.
I had the pleasure of being treated to the Ron Arad exhibit at the Barbican yesterday and was stunned at the beauty of his work. He gave me a little glimpse into his world when I was a teenager, dedicating a whole project to him (which got super top marks for me). Since then I’be been a bit obsessed with his work, and a little jealous that I could never afford one of his pieces. Still, what’s on at the Barbican is really good- and you get a chance to play with some of his furniture, which is so cool if you like chairs!
I’ve just arrived back from the BBC TV Centre in White City (London) where the UK national selection for Eurovision was hosted live on TV. We were queing from 2pm and filming wrapped at 10pm! Pete Waterman composed the song, so all we had to do was pick a singer. They were all way too young I think (one girl forgot her lines half way through the song but she did have an amazing voice). Anyway, here’s the winner:
Eliza Doolittle makes happy music!
I really like Neon Hitch. She’s just got signed up by Warner Bros. She also co-wrote ‘Blah Blah Blah’ for Ke$ha.
Last time I saw Corinne Bailey Rae live was around 5 years ago at the same venue, when she released her first album. It was fresh, fun, light and summery. This time round, she’s back with a deeper, darker sound that’s sombre with sorrow.
She shed a few tears when playing her older stuff, and I did feel a bit younger listening to them. I’m only 25 and Im starting to feel old! Darn! Her set went on for about an hour and a half, and it was pretty much amazingly nice to experience. The stage was a lot more static than last time- giving it a more grown-up feeling.
Standout performances have to be ‘Feels Like The First Time’, ‘Love’s On It’s Way’ and her versions of ‘Que Sera Sera’ and ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’.
Erik Hassle is really good. Buy it!
Wow. I’ve been following this guy (not literally) since the end of last year and can’t get over the fact that he’s only 18, yet pretty much amazing already. Out March 22nd 2010. Alex Gardner
Mamy Rock is causing a bit of a storm in France right now. Why? Is it because she’s a 69 year old house DJ who’s actually called Ruth Flowers? Yes. And she’s really good. I can see a whole load of grandpa’s chasing after this GILF! Check this out:
Colin Firth just one his BAFTA for best actor. I love love loved this film.
This proves that even icons like to practice. But it also proves that icons create unrefined beauty with whatever they do.
I saw these guys at The Relentless Garage (it’s a venue in London that isn’t a garage nor is it relentless in any way) for HMV’s Next Big Thing festival. I am a bit obsessed with Erik Hassle, the ginger big haired skinny Swede with a really good voice and even better music. His album is out on Monday and you should really get it because it’s amazing and I haven’t stopped listening to it for the last few months. His first single here kind of tanked though:
Ellie Goulding was really good too, although she can’t shake her hips to save her life- how can someone with banging beats be so bad at dancing?
Tinashe was OK, his songs all sounded the same but he was friendly to look at.
This must be the 10 millionth blog I’ve set up, and probably will delete again some day. It’s a terrible cycle- you feel like you should set one up because you already have a Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, LastFM and MSN account. And now a WordPress. Why is it called WordPress? Why do you want to press a word? A word is not a button, is it?
