Excellent come back from the original Mr Pop Idol. He’s come such a long way since that awful ‘Evergreen’ song! The new single from Will Young‘s forthcoming album, “Echoes”. Single released Aug 21st, album released Aug 22nd. Check out the video here.
Just back from seeing Professor Green (with support from Ed Drewett) at Somerset House in London. It’s a bit of an unusual place to have a gig like this, but that made it all the more fun. Was very good. Previews of Green’s new material were really very good- I have a feeling his next album (out in October) will be tons better than the first one (although that was pretty good too). He played my favourite track on the album, the hugely ‘Goodnight‘, which was awesome. Another highlight was an appearance of Emeli Sandé. Can’t wait to see more of this girl!
Three of Sony Music’s most exciting rising stars (and personal favourites)- Oh Land, Mads Langer and Loick Essien, talk about how their lives have been shaped by music and how they have turned their dreams into reality with the help of Sony. Bit of a shameless plug but it’s a fun clip to watch that makes you get up and do something for yourself. There’s also a competition by Sony where you have to create a remix using Bob Dylan & Ting Tings samples. Check out here.
Epic Irish indie with a bit of a raw edge. ‘Raised on a diet of Soul In Heaven era Verve self-belief, and Jesus and Mary Chain’s wanton fuzz, the band took an early hazy blueprint of how they wanted to sound and immediately removed anything that might interfere with their creating of it. They killed off long-standing relationships, resigned from the day-jobs and cut local ties, moved to London and have here made a record that took those noisy, hissing 8-track bedroom demos and transformed the very same songs into swirling, guitar-heavy anthems.’ Check out here.
Weirdly I mentioned Erik last week, and today he’s put up his latest video up. Featuring lots of little Erik doing Swedish things that ginger kids do.
I don’t know much about these guys but they have a very fresh indie/ pop/ electro type of sound. Check out here.
This is a very catchy song from the man who was once known as ‘Lightspeed Champion‘. Although I kind of wonder what these kids will be thinking in ten years time when they see how 90’s they looked in 2011… Anyway, check out here.
This is about drugs, isn’t it?
Favourite current band + favourite re mixer = wet pants.
From Erik Hassle’s ‘Taken’ EP. This song makes me swell a bit. The way those dark, breezy beats work their way at the start… argh… It’s no secret I’m a huge Eric fan. Beautiful.
Listening to Heaven blew me out of my desk. Such a big voice and massive production. The single’s out in August, so you’ve got a month to get used to Emeli Sandé being on your radio on loop. Just one word for this girl- WOW. Check out here.
I can’t get this song out of my head- it’s so catchy. It has an anthemic thing going for it while sounding very lo-fi at the same time. Check out here.
Interesting, eclectic sounds from this Nottingham band. It’s sort of light indie music that takes you to another level. And just to add to the good weirdness of it, the band set about creating a ‘headphones only’ version of the song…
“When you listen back on headphones, then it’s you who hears the music in the same way, like you were actually there in the environment. The sound of the instruments, voices and the ambience of the location are all captured in 3D surround sound so you’re sonically transported to that time and place each time you listen to the track.” Check out here.
You’ll recognise The Reason 4 from the 2010 series of The X Factor. They didn’t win, but it put them on the map and has helped realise a 10-year ambition for the Southampton four –piece. Now signed to Sony, this is their debut single, out August 7th. The average age for this band is 29, which is a bit rare for new boybands, but I like that. Grown up pop. Check out here.
Electro pop with a bit of brass playing in the background, it’s all very LA. It took a couple of listens to get in to this, but it’s really lovely once you give it a chance. I specially like the bit where it all goes Hercules and Love Affair at 1:30 mark. Check out here.
I don’t usually feature new remixes of old songs but I really want you to check this one out of a song by Miike Snow, called Silvia. The original is a stunning piece of pop, but this remix just makes me want to have a can of red bull and run down a rainy Hyde Park naked. Download below.
I first saw these two Swedish club DJ’s when they were the warm up act for Robyn at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. They’ve now got their own single, and it sounds a bit like something Robyn would sing herself, which is a good thing. Check out here.
Juan Zelada has already been enjoying slots touring with the likes of Amy Winehouse. Now he’s just become one of the few unsigned artists to be announced as Radio 2’s Record of The Week with his single ‘Breakfast in Spitalfields’. Check out here.
