To celebrate his 70th birthday, Eric Clapton is releasing a three-disc set of material that spans his remarkable solo career. The 51-song set, Forever Man, will arrive next month.
Speaking to Australia's Triple J, Kele Okereke has confirmed that Bloc Party have begun work on their fifth album. The singer said, "I guess it's the first time that I have talked about it but we are making a record at the moment. It's sounding like nothing that we've done before but that's what everyone always says. We're at the writing/recording phase. We've started recording - I think we have about 18 [song] ideas and we're going to lay them down properly in the next few months."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly broke Spotify's streaming record for one day with an estimated 9.6 million streams from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Monday.
Ryan Adams will release the live album, Ryan Adams Live at Carnegie Hall, which was recorded during the singer / songwriter's 2014 concerts at the historic New York venue.
Wu-Tang's Raekwon has been teasing us for a long time about his upcoming seventh album, Fly International Luxurious Art (F.I.L.A.). Now, the rapper said the record will arrive next month and features a slew of guests and producers.
Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:
01. Intro (Prod. by Jerry Wonda)
02. 4 In the Morning Feat. Ghostface Killah (Prod. by Scram Jones)
03. I Got Money Feat. A$AP Rocky (Prod. by S1)
04. Wall to Wall Feat. French Montana & Busta Rhymes (Prod. by She Da God & Snaz)
05. Heated Nights (Prod. by Frank G)
06. Fila Word Feat. 2 Chainz (Prod. by Scram Jones)
07. 1,2 1,2 Feat. Snoop Dogg (Prod. by Scoop Deville)
08. Live to Die (Prod. by S1)
09. Soundboy Kill it Feat. Melanie Fiona & Assassin (Prod. by Jerry Wonda)
10. Revory (Wraith) Feat. Rick Ross & Ghostface Killah (Prod by Bluerocks)
11. All About You Feat. Estelle (Prod. by Jerry Wonda)
12. Nautilus (Prod. by Scram Jones)
13. Worst Enemy Feat. Liz Rodriguez (Prod. by Matt Burnett)
Are Foxygen calling it quits? The psychedelic rockers have had a brief but critically acclaimed career and announce that their upcoming tour will be their last. No word if this means they are retiring from the road or packing it in all together.
Tool haven't released a record in nine years, 2006's 10,000 Days. Last year it was reported that the band were involved in a hefty lawsuit with their insurers, which a new judge sided in favor of the band, and illness sidelined a new record. Now, guitarist Adam Jones told Yahoo! that the band hope to have their latest record out later this year. He said, "Some of it's really heavy, some of it's complex and some is more atmospheric, but it's definitely Tool. I think having this lawsuit out of the way should really speed of the progress of getting the album done."
Taking to Facebook, The Living End confirmed they are working on their new album.
Kendrick Lamar is the talk of the town after surprise releasing his latest album, To Pimp A Butterfly on iTunes and Spotify. Now, as we all have had a chance to listen, Flying Lotus, who produced the first track, "Wesley's Theory," he took to Twitter to give behind-the-scenes details of what it was like behind closed doors making this record. Flying Lotus said:
Was helping out with @kendricklamar live visual show when he did the yeezus tour...
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
I was really surprised how he gave zero fucks about the media circus surrounding the tour. Was real low key trying to create, the whole time
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
I was really surprised how he gave zero fucks about the media circus surrounding the tour. Was real low key trying to create, the whole time
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
I played him a folder of beats that I was keeping close for my next @xCaptainMurphyx project. Gave him all the beats like fuxk it.
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
Later that night he told me he had the concept for the album.
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
He gets no credit for being a producer but he had a vision for this album. Dude gets involved w the whole process.
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
Sad thing about that folder of music is I heard he recorded to every one of those songs. Probably never gon hear those. Ooof
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
When I played him that beat he asked me who I imagined on it. I laughed and said @george_clinton . I never thought it would actually happen
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) March 16, 2015
Foo Fighters are Down Under with Rise Against and Dave Grohl, being Dave Grohl, surprised fans during Rise Against's set in Adeline, Australia to drum on a song from his pre-Nirvana band, Scream. Take a look!
After months of teasing, The Vaccines announce details of their third album, English Graffiti. The album will arrive in May and was produced by Dave Fridmann and Cole MGN.
Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, along with the video for "Handsome," below:
'Handsome'
'Dream Lover'
'Minimal Affection'
'20/20'
'(All Afternoon) In Love'
'Denial'
'Want You So Bad'
'Radio Bikini'
'Maybe I Could Hold You'
'Give Me A Sign'
'Undercover'
As the music world descends on Austin, Texas, this weekend for the start of SXSW, artists from all over the world will looking for exposure, new fans, and most of all, a way to generate buzz. One of those artists looking to do this is South Africa's Jeremy Loops. Loops, who is currently the No. 1 artist in his country is looking to cut his teeth in the U.S. this spring as he gears up for the release of his latest record, Trading Change. The Cape Town based singer/songwriter is much more than another musician, he is also an activist with his social atavism brand - GreenPop. Before Loops goes to make people swoon in Austin, we spoke to him about his music, influences, and trying to make the world a better place. Take a look at our interview with Jeremy Loops below:
You celebrate the essence of South Africa in your music with booming
rhythms and folk-like storytelling. Was it your intention to grab hold of what
was around you and let it inspire song?
It would be a lie to say it was a deliberate intention as
opposed to instinct. Right at the beginning of my career, I read an interview
where a musician I really respected said 'tell your own story. Tell your
truth.' I can't quite remember who it was who said that, but that's what I set
out to do. I can never be a better you than you, so why would I be someone
else? You can never be a better me than me, so why would I be someone else? And
I am South African, so I think there is an inevitability of that coming into my
music.
In recent years, Civil Twilight, The Parlotones, John Wizards, and BLK
JKS, all very different sounding bands have gained some attention here in
America but never achieved the massive rise they should have. Do you feel that
it is much harder to break it in this country coming from your country?
Hell yeah, it's way more difficult. Way, way, way more
difficult. The difficulty is part geography and part the global media
landscape. Here's the thing - if you're a reporter in New York, and you have
hundreds of really interesting NYC bands to cover every day, and then thousands
of American bands, why would you work extra hard to find out what's happening
elsewhere? So our approach is to work really hard to be in your face, in your
space! The downside is it is really expensive for us to tour the U.S. just to
break the market. Airfare is a killer. But we've been saving our pennies and
investing wisely in the band, our team, and our partners so that we can give it
a genuine shot.
One thing I will say, though, is it is definitely not the
quality of the music. We just have to work harder. We're prepared to work hard
and take risks.
South Africa is the rainbow nation, and it seems as if you play off that
idea. You paint a picture in the listeners head with various styles of music.
Who are some of your influences?
I grew up on Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Woody especially
is an icon to me. Domestically, there was a point in my youth when the whole
country was crazy about Mango Groove. Hugh Masekela has also been an influence
over the years, and him and I have recently become friends. It's crazy. Also,
I'm not sure if this counts, but I consider Rodriguez one of our own. Ha. And
he's great.
You are based in Cape Town, how has that city influenced your work?
To be honest, most of my work ethic developed abroad while
working on a super yacht. Our work hours were irregular, but highly condensed.
It helped me learn to compartmentalise tasks. So I'd work intensely for like 8
hours of the day, and then work on music for 6 hours thereafter. When I got
back to Cape Town, I was able to add surfing to my routine, which I really
missed while working abroad.
I will say that in order for us to break around the world,
we have to work like New Yorkers work. Super intense when we're working, but
play really hard when we aren't, else we'll burn out. I'm still searching for
balance, though. It's elusive.
You are a big fan of collaborating with other artists. Who would you
love to work with?
I met a really talented British musician named Lucy Rose in
Prague recently. I'd love to work with her. I'm also a big fan of Andrew
Bird's, and I'm curious what he and I could do together. Shakey Graves is cool
too. I also grew up on mid 90s soulful rap, so working with someone like Mos
Def, Q-Tip or anyone who comes from that era or, rather, that etho, would be
cool to work.
Thanks to your infamous loop pedals, you are a one-man band. Do you ever
wish to expand this into a full on group that backs your or are the loops just
too much fun to play with?
I've found the perfect balance, actually. My friends and
long-term collaborators Jamie Faull, who's on sax and keys, and Motheo Moleko,
who raps, are always with me, so I always collaborate with them. For our larger
shows, we routinely scale up to six musicians. But what I've done is hybridised
the two - I always have my loops but we have a band playing around that. And
this way I can scale the experience during the show, first starting alone and
then growing all the way up to six people by the end of the gig.
Aside from making music, you are an activist and protest the
deforestation in your country. To those that simply do not understand, why is
this so important?
Deforestation and the rate the planet is degrading at are
kind of like a hairline crack on a tile. It seems innocuous at first, and then,
before you know it, you've fractured and broken the whole tile. People don't
realize that this is actually where things are for earth. I think very few
people think the threat to the planet, and our environment, and all life is
actually imminent, but it is. This is what we're trying to do. Make caring for
the environment cool, so that people lose these stupid associations with tree
hugging and the like, and instead realise that we're in serious crap and need
to do something about it.
Tell us about GreenPop, your social activism brand.
Activism is a bit of a misnomer for what we do at GreenPop.
GreenPop, the company I co-founded, plants trees in under-green communities all
around Southern Africa. We don't just advocate for trees, we actually get our
hands dirty and get stuck in, so we prefer the quite literal 'tree-planting
organisation' as a designation instead. To date, we've planted over 40,000
trees, and we're looking to breach 100,000 soon.
You grew up during Apartheid and then during the Mandela reign, how did
the shift in political and social power change you not just as a person but
also as a musician?
Thats a tough question...I suppose as a person I have been
saddened my entire life by the way governments and countries are mismanaged.
The misuse of political power and the abuse of human rights is something I am
very aware of because of how in your face it is growing up in a country like
SA. But my frustration is not with SA alone. If you look just a few hundred
years into our history, you'll see exactly where and why all of this came to
pass, and realise that so often Africa merely suffered as result of injustices
forced onto it. Some countries got rich off the backs of slave labour and left
the countries behind in ruin. I can't separate this frustration from my
personal life or my music, but I do hope to be able to send a positive message
of change through what I put out there.
When people
hear your music, what do you want them to take away from it?
That even in the most difficult, most heart wrenching, and
trying situations we actually land up in as people, joy or happiness can still
be experienced in a moment or through those trials. That's what my music is. I
try make music that brings people joy and happiness as a response to all the
other difficult shit we experience out there in the 'real world'.
What is
next for Jeremy Loops?
Releasing my debut album Trading Change in the U.S. in June
this year is a major goal for us. We'll be touring the States a bunch this year
in support of it, too. Similarly, we have major plans for Europe as well. We've
made an album we're really proud of, but my first love is performing on stage,
and traveling the world doing so is the trifecta. Basically, I'm feeling really
good about 2015.
At the start of the year we presented to you our first new series, The Cultural Mixtape, which will highlight a country or city on the globe and give you the flavor of their music. Our first installment was a success with The South African Mixtape and continuing the quarterly series, our second installment is The Italian Mixtape.
Italy, home to the four time World Cup champions Azzurri and known of their beautiful art, food, countrysides and cities is country that has deep roots in pop music. With Italians running to the dancefloor any chance they get, there is also an emerging indie scene that we highlight in this mixtape as well. Travel with us sound to the land that gave the world Fellini, Andrea Pirlo's free kick, Nutella, the opera, and priceless works of art.
Speaking to BEC-Tero, Pete Doherty discussed how The Libertines are recording their new album in Thailand in a video that was shot last month. In the video, Doherty said, "Carl's [Barat] come out, he's gone back, he's come out again. But he doesn't want me... he doesn't want to work with me in London, basically. He's made that clear. I think he was surprised and pleased at how well it went, working here, away from everything, and how inspired it was. So it's just a question of him getting back out here. Rather than picking up where we left off, which was a bit of a sour time, actually, we've gone right back, to when we first got together and were writing, when things were a lot more positive and exciting."
Siouxsie and the Banshees will reissue their second album, Join Hands, on remastered 180-gram vinyl next month.
The New York Times is reporting that the long-awaited Beastie Boys autobiography, which was supposed to arrive this year, has been pushed to 2017.
Kendrick Lamar has confirmed the tracklisting to his upcoming sophomore album, To Pimp A Butterfly. Take a look:
01 Wesley's Theory 02 For Free? (Interlude) 03 King Kunta 04 Institutionalized 05 These Walls 06 U 07 Alright 08 For Sale? (Interlude) 09 Momma 10 Hood Politics 11 How Much A Dollar Cost 12 Complexion 13 The Blacker The Berry 14 You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) 15 i 16 Mortal Man
