Just been signed to Motown. Will be massive. ‘When She Turns 18’ is perfection. Love! Check out here or click here for a free download.
New Music: Penguin Prison
OK, so not very ‘new’ (he’s been causing havoc on the blogs for a good few months now) but I’ve just realised that I haven’t bigged him up, and he’s one of my most listened to artists in the last 3 months according to my Last.fm
Anyway, this is nothing more than fresh, forward looking electro that’s a bit too cool to be pop but is easy to fall in love with at the same time. He’s coming to London later in the month which is nice as it seems he’s been stuck in his native New York for ages! Check out here.
New Robyn!
I love Robyn. I have done since I was at school (in the 90’s), which is kinda embarrassing to admit to, as she wasn’t always very cool! She ditched a big recording contract and an already successful career back then because she wasn’t happy with how her label was selling her. So she went her own way and paid for her huge 2005 album ‘Robyn’, which had all those big hits like ‘With Every Heartbeat’.
A sampler for the first album called Body Talk Pt1 is here. You can here a snippet of her first single, Fembot, on that link. So far, I’ve heard Dancehall Queen which is pretty sweet (produced by Diplo- I can’t find a link for the full clip!). Looks like it’ll be a fun summer when the first album is released in June!
New Music: Starshell
Signed up by Mary J. Blige, Starshell is just pure fun pop (from what I’ve heard so far). Her first single, Superluva, was written for Britney and Lady Gaga. Both gave it a miss. Silly !Check out here.
A little late on this one…
I brought Cheryl Cole’s album when it came out all those months ago (no sniggering), and I was a bit disappointed with what I heard. Parachute was probably the best track on the album, but I had to watch the video to realise that it’s actually a really good pop song.
Arthur Erickson
I only just stumbled across Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. His work was stunningly elegant, Im surprised at myself for not already knowing about him. His estate has a website here which isn’t the friendliest site to work through but the photos of his buildings (specially the residential stuff) are beautiful.
New Music: Liptease
Oxford v Cambridge Goat Race
If you’re reading this from outside of the UK, yesterday was the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race. These two universities row their way down the river Thames and the winning team get a prize or something. For the last couple of years though, there’s been a far more exciting alternative, held at Spitalfields City Farm, called the Oxford vs Cambridge Goat Race. Same idea- only goats race around the farm. Last year the event was tiny, this year it was absolutely huge- there were crowds everywhere! Winning goat? Cambridge!
New Music: Bruno Mars
Currently featured on B.o.B’s ‘Nothin On You’ (which is just about the most amazing bit of hip hop I’ve heard for ages), Bruno Mars look set to shake a few airwaves later this year. Check out here.
Kelis went away, went a bit nuts and came back
This is the new killer tune by Kelis. Called Acappela. Amazing.
New Music: Washed Out
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.
New Music: Salem Al Fakir
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.
Open Up Your Door
I love this just as much as the ice cream it’s advertising on telly right now…
Yes Ms Blige
Mary J Blige is back on form…
New Music: Active Child
Big things are tipped for this chap. Beautiful and haunting music that makes you feel a little bit good. Check out here.
New Music: Pete Lawrie
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.
New Music: Fabio Lendrum
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.
Live: Alex Gardner at The Lexington
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.
Ron Arad
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!
Just back from Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
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: