New Music: Liptease

French Electro. Their Myspace proclaims, ‘We Are Here to Dominate Your Ears’. Love love ‘Ooh Ai’ so much. Check out here.

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: 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.

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:

Live: Corinne Bailey Rae at Shepherds Bush Empire

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’.