The Ting Tings Recording Second Album In Berlin Jazz Club
July 2, 2009 by Dave Parrack
The Ting Tings seemed to appear from nowhere at the beginning of last year. Although both members, Jules De Martino and Katie White, had been in other groups for years, The Ting Tings was the first to become really big. They quickly built a sizable fan base thanks to their cross genre appeal, with both clubbers and Indie fans falling for their addictive songs.
Their debut album, We Started Nothing, is astoundingly good, full of catchy tunes perfect for playing on a hot summer’s day. It includes the five singles released which charted, including That’s Not My Name which reached number one in the British singles chart. And now, they’re preparing to record their as-yet-untitled second album.
The Manchester duo recently told BBC Newsbeat of their plans, which see the group going to Germany to try out new material and set the tone for the new record.
La Roux Success Could Signal Another Eighties Revival
July 1, 2009 by Dave Parrack
La Roux are a new British duo, not a solo act like many have assumed. Elly Jackson is the quiff-wearing front woman, with co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid taking a more backseat role. Think of the Pet Shop Boys if Chris Lowe stayed even more in the background than he does already. Their music is a mix of electro-pop and dance, all with an eighties flavor running through it.
La Roux have already released two singles, Quicksand and In For The Kill, the latter of which managed to reach number two in the UK singles chart. Then came their third release, Bulletproof (video embedded below), which hit number one at the weekend. Michael Jackson may have dominated the latest charts but it’s La Roux who made it to the top.
The question for me is whether this success signals yet another 1980s revival? It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened, and with La Roux looking and sounding like the love children of The Human League and Heaven 17, it seems likely to happen.
Michael Jackson Dominates Charts From Beyond The Grave
June 29, 2009 by Dave Parrack
Michael Jackson was always popular in the U.K. in life, and the same can now be said of him in death. Just three days after Michael Jackson died, the latest British charts have shown what a massive effect his passing has had on people. It seems as though most of the population went out and brought his music in the days following his death from cardiac arrest on Thursday (June 25).
Michael Jackson had, prior to his death last week, been kind of out of the news for a while. There were, of course, the 50 shows he’d promised to perform at the London O2 Arena, of which we still don’t know the fate. But apart from that, no one was really that interested in him, his life, or his music. His death changed that completely overnight.
Not only has the death of Michael Jackson provoked an outpouring of grief and been the biggest media event for years, it’s also had a huge effect on sales of his records. Retailers around the U.K. are now reporting they’ve sold out of all his albums. Jackson’s albums occupied the top 15 slots on Amazon’s Bestsellers list, while HMV “experienced an 80-fold increase in demand for his music,” according to Digital Spy.
Perez Hilton Fights Yet Again - Mark Ronson On Twitter
June 23, 2009 by Dave Parrack
I was under the illusion that Perez Hilton was an ultra-snarky celebrity blogger who spent his days writing up embarrassing gossip and tittle-tattle about anyone famous. Except, of course, his celebrity friends such as Lady GaGa who he’ll always be nice about, no matter how big a fashion mistake they may make or crap record they may release.
But it seems I was wrong. In actual fact, Perez Hilton is now a celebrity in his own right and spends his day partying, presenting awards at shows, or arguing with other celebrities. You’ll no doubt be aware that Perez is claiming he was assaulted by one of Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas’ entourage outside a club at the weekend. But that’s not all.
Perez has also been feuding with uber-producer Mark Ronson on Twitter. This comes just a few months after Hilton also did the same with Lily Allen, with the pair showing their bitchy sides before Allen asked Hilton to leave her alone and stop following her on Twitter.
Mika: New Album Inspired By Teenage Years
June 12, 2009 by Dave Parrack
It seems like ages has passed since Mika took the world by storm with his debut album Life In Cartoon Motion, and to be fair it has been two years since it was released. 2007 was a huge year for Mika, with success on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, but then it all came to an abrupt end when the last single from the album, the double A-side of Relax, Take It Easy/Lollipop, was released in December of that year.
Since then, Mika has been very quiet. But now he’s back, and preparing to release his as-yet-untitled second album. He released an EP this week called Songs For Sorrow which is meant to act as a bridge between the two albums, with the full LP due out in September.
Unlike some artists who release albums almost willy-nilly with little or no connection between them, Mika has stated that his second album is going to be a direct follow up to the first. He recently spoke to BBC Newsbeat about the nature of his new album, and how if the first album was him dealing with his childhood, this one deals with his teenage years.
Amy Winehouse’s New Album Inspired By St. Lucia
June 5, 2009 by Dave Parrack
I’m sure I’m not the only one eager to hear a new album from Amy Winehouse. In fact, I know I’m not the only one because her record label has been on at her for months about getting it finished and released. But Winehouse isn’t a lady (at all, arguably) to be rushed, and seems to be taking her sweet time over the follow-up to Back To Black.
Winehouse has been spending a lot of her time in St. Lucia, the Caribbean island where she has been living since December. So maybe it’s no surprise to hear that she’s been inspired by her new home when writing the new album. Although that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good move. Winehouse the reggae artist, anyone?
The Sun newspaper reports that Winehouse is basing the album not on her troubled love life or dalliances with substance abuse, but on island life and the folk stories surrounding St. Lucia. Not only that but she’s also hired three local musicians, who play traditional Caribbean instruments, to record the album with her.
The Streets New Album Dropping In February
May 29, 2009 by Dave Parrack
When The Streets (AKA Mike Skinner and his mates) first came to my attention with their first album, Original Pirate Material, in 2002, I found them refreshing, something new and original, and uniquely British. That album was a real breath of fresh air, livening up the radio and proving there is more to the British music scene than cheesy Pop and populist Indie.
Four albums later and The Streets are preparing to release their fifth studio album. The long player is as-yet-untitled but Mike Skinner today revealed it will be getting released in February 2010. And I’m not too sure how I feel about the prospect at the moment.
Muse Name New Album On Twitter | ‘The Resistance’ To Be “Symphonic” In September
May 22, 2009 by Dave Parrack
It still amazes me that there are some people in the world who haven’t heard of Muse. Even worse, there are some who have heard of them but rather than react with joy that they’ve discovered a truly great band simply don’t get them or, shock horror, don’t like them. I suppose there is no accounting for taste.
Muse are, for me, the greatest British band around right now. Each album is a carefully constructed opus magnum which cuts across genres and leaves everyone who listens ecstatic at the music they’ve just heard.
Muse released their last studio album, Black Holes and Revelations, back in 2006, and have been extensively touring ever since. But they’ve also spent the last year beavering away on the follow-up.
Radiohead Talk New Album | Band Working On Follow-Up To Controversial ‘In Rainbows’
May 20, 2009 by Dave Parrack
Radiohead are, without doubt, one of the biggest groups to have emerged from the UK ever. They are unique in being a modern-day British band just as loved in the Stated as they are in their native country.
When the band released In Rainbows in 2007 they also became great innovators, being one of the first artists to try and use the power of the Internet rather than try and rally against the new ways of distributing music.
Now, Radiohead are well on the way to releasing their next album, the eagerly-awaited follow-up to In Rainbows. Back in September, Ed O’Brien revealed that many of the songs for the next release had already been written, and fellow band member Colin Greenwood has now revealed the band are in the studio recording new material.
New Gorillaz Album In 2010 - Damon Albarn Writing Tracks But Busy With Blur Reunion
May 15, 2009 by Dave Parrack
Gorillaz may only be a cartoon band at heart but they were absolutely huge on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world a years ago. Then Damon Albarn and his fellow collaborators decided to call it day and go off and do other stuff.
This means we haven’t had a new Gorillaz album since Demon Days was released way back in 2005. But fans of the animated satirical anti-band won’t have to wait much longer for new material, with the third album due for release in 2010.
The source of this unofficial announcement is Albarn’s manager Chris Morrison, who revealed that his client already has around two album’s worth of material written but is rather busy at the moment with other commitments to fully pledge himself to recording the new album.