New Music: First Rate People

Beautiful, stylish indie/pop/dance. This is the sort of thing I would have playing at the back of a catwalk show. Check out here.

First Listen: Robyn feat Teddybears ‘Cardiac Arrest’

Teddybears have previously worked with Robyn on ‘Cobrastyle’ from *that* album which shook the pop world crazy side. They’ve collaborated with her again on ‘Cardiac Arrest’- it’s got a cheeky upbeat poppy vibe to it which is just perfect to listen to on one’s birthday! Buy it here.

Stockholm: Melodifestivalen & Schlager

I went to Stockholm this weekend to watch the Melodifestivalen final, Sweden’s biggest TV show and a dream-come-true for any Eurovision fan. It was also a good excuse to check out Sweden. Stockholm was way bigger than I imagined it to be, and just take a look at the place we stayed in!

Melodifestivalen was at the Ericsson Globe Arena (known for hosting Eurovision in 2000), which is a giant ball shaped venue that is absolutely huge on the inside. The winner of the show goes on to represent Sweden in Eurovision- this year it was this song by Eric Saade:

Pretty spectacular, albeit the lyrics are a bit on the weak side… But judging by the bars and clubs around town, it seemed that this song by Danny Saucedo (which came runner up) was the favourite amongst Swedes:

After the show we went to a Melodifestival party at a club tucked away in a really odd part of the city. One of my favourite songs from this year (which didn’t get through to the final) was this tune by Jenny Silver:

It was heaven. Now back to the real world and new music! More pics on Flickr.

Live: The Streets at Brixton Academy

You might know that I go crazy over The Streets… I don’t know why but it resonates with me. Last night they played Brixton Academy in London for what will probably be the very last time in their 10 years as a project, so I had to go. While everyone around me was fucked off their faces, I couldn’t help but get emotional- a lot of things have happened to me this last decade with Skinner’s songs playing as a soundtrack.

I felt as though I was 18 again, just coming out of school and freaking out over the future, being in relationships with people I shouldn’t have, and discovering stuff about myself that I never knew.  Anyway, it’s sad that The Streets are over, but it did end in an epic way last night. There’s more pics on my Flickr… They’re mostly shit just because I couldn’t stop moving around.

Until Amy Winehouse comes back, Dionne will fill the void in my soul

Dionne Bromfeld hit the headlines last year when she became the first signing to Amy Winehouse‘ record label, Lioness Records. I didn’t think much of it back then, despite Amy being the one singer who’s held my heart since the early noughties. Now Dionne has a proper single that is actually pretty good. Check out here. Dionne, you’re amazing. Ask Amy to make uncle Alfie happy and chuck a new album for him yea?

New Music: 4 Guys From The Future

”Just as the track is a multifaceted pop song we wanted tomake a multifaceted video. We were compelled about thiscertain space in which the abstract and the human emotionalare brought together with symbols about the universallife. The future, we believe, holds a new form of communityfor all people and this we will soon begin to encounter. Thatis why we want to explore symbols about the universal.” Check out here.

New Music: Matthew P

I’m not sure how long Matthew P has been around but I only just received an email about him today. This is the sort of laid back music I imagine someone writes up by the beach, which is very cool and makes me a bit jealous of being stuck in Shepherd’s Bush… Even though this isn’t the sort of think I would have on my iPod, I still think it’s worth mentioning. Anyway, check out here.