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ROBBIE WILLIAMS REJOINS TAKE THAT So, pop's worst kept secret has finally been made official; Robbie Williams has rejoined Take That and the band are set to release a new album together later this year. Announcing the reunion yesterday afternoon, Williams said: "I get embarrassingly excited when the five of us are in a room. It feels like coming home". Produced by Stuart Price, the as-yet-untitled new album will be released by Polydor in November. And just in case you still don't believe it's true, here they are being all Take Thatty: youtu.be/u2kK-TTOttY |
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COLE TO SIT OUT BOOT CAMP STAGE OF X-FACTOR TO RECOVER Cheryl Cole has pulled out of a V Festival appearance and the whole 'boot camp' stage of the next series of 'The X-Factor' to give her time to recover from her previously reported bout of malaria. According to a spokeswoman, Cole is "making good progress" after being diagnosed with the disease at the start of the last week, but has been advised to rest in the coming months. The singer left intensive care last Friday and spent most of this week in a private clinic, though yesterday returned home. |
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U2 PREPARE FOR COMEBACK U2 have announced that they are now preparing for their rescheduled US tour dates, which will take place in August. The shows were postponed, of course, because Bono had to undergo emergency back surgery earlier this year, followed by a programme of rehabilitation. However, in a video message on the band's website, the singer promised that he would be "fighting fit" for the upcoming gigs and showed off what an incredibly humble and down-to-earth guy he is by apologising for putting fans out when he did his back in. He was wearing sunglasses as he said all this, of course. |
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SECURITY STEPPED UP AROUND JACKO GRAVE TO STOP GRAFFITI Security has been stepped up around Michael Jackson's tomb at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in California because fans have been writing messages to the late king of pop in permanent ink on the building where the singer's body was interred. Members of a Michael Jackson fan club have offered to clean up the graffiti amid concerns the people who own the cemetery might stop fans from getting close to his tomb. |
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WE7 TO TAKE REAL NEWS We7 has added news into the mix, which is interesting. The digital music service has struck a deal with Guardian-owned Real Radio which will now make up-to-date news and entertainment news bulletins available to We7 listeners, should they want such a thing. And, as an added bonus, once you hear Real Radio's terrible 1984-style idents, you'll be reminded why you're using a We7-style service in the first place, rather than listening to a traditional radio station. |
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FREEBUTT FORCED TO CANCEL ALL LIVE MUSIC Brighton venue The Freebutt has announced that it will no longer be able to put on live music after it was ordered to reduce the cut-off level on its volume limiter by the local council. The venue was served with a noise abatement notice in February this year after the council received just one complaint from a neighbouring resident. For further information on the venue and where its shows have been moved to, head to www.thefreebutt.com. |
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Groove Armada was formed by Tom Findlay and Andy Cato in the mid-nineties.
They first found fame with their single 'At The River', taken from second album 'Vertigo', when it was relased for a second time in 1999 (it was originally released as their debut single two years earlier). Ten years on they have now released six studio albums, which have spanned a variety of genres and cemented them as one of the biggest names in UK dance music.
Their most recent album, 'Black Light', was released in February and features guests including Bryan Ferry, Will Young, Empire Of The Sun's Nick Littlemore, Fenech-Soler and Saint Saviour.
As well as all this, Tom and Andy are the men behind the Lovebox Festival, now in its seventh year, which kicks off in London's Victoria Park today. Headlining tonight is Dizzee Rascal, with Roxy Music topping the bill tomorrow and Grace Jones closing what will have been an incredibly eclectic weekend of music on Sunday.
Ahead of that, we asked Tom to put together a Powers Of Ten playlist for us. Here's what he came up with...
| TOM FINDLAY'S TEN | ||
| 01 | LCD Soundsystem | I Can Change |
| For me, this is the outstanding tune off the new LCD album. It's a step away from James Murphy's normal declamatory vocal style to something incredibly moving - annoyingly he can really sing. | ||
| 02 | Todd Rundgren | I Saw The Light |
| Todd's a bit of a songwriting hero, I've always been a sucker for that 70s, freewheelin' Carole King sort of a sound. Whenever I'm having a bad day, this tune gives me a lift. | ||
| 03 | Bombay Bicycle Club | Always Like This |
| I saw this lot at Glastonbury last month and they were brilliant - I can't wait for them to play Lovebox. They've just put a new album out, but this is the highlight of their last album. I think they're going to be massive. | ||
| 04 | Yeasayer | Ambling Alp |
| Saw this band live in Poland last month and they were utterly brilliant, the best live performance I have seen this year. They dropped this track as the last tune, and the place went off. No wonder. | ||
| 05 | Michael McDonald | I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) |
| I'm a sucker for blue eyed soul, it's my guilty pleasure. Hall & Oates, Boz Scaggs, I'm uttterly shameless. People'll recognise this sample from a big Warren G tune back in the day, but the original is even better. | ||
| 06 | Hurts | Wonderful Life |
| There have been some brilliant bands emerging this year. They all sound great, and look even better. This bands Hurts made my favourite song of the year, and here it is (albeit in remixed form). | ||
| 07 | Groove Armada | Fall Silent |
| It's my birthday as I write this, so I had to put this song in, because it makes me feel really nostalgic. 'Black Light' was a pretty tough record to make, but we came through it, and this one really reminds of some of the mayhem around it. | ||
| 08 | Al Green | Simply Beautiful |
| Whenever I'm feeling a little exhausted the morning after the night of a big gig I reach for Al Green. I just love the way he sings this track, it's almost like he's whispering in your ear. | ||
| 09 | Boy 8 Bit | Cricket Scores |
| I'm playing a lot in Ibiza this summer, so I've never been too far away from house music for a while now. I felt I had to give some props to my favourite dance producer of the moment, Boy 8 Bit. He's done so much good shit, but this one really stands out. | ||
| 10 | Andre 3000 | Roses |
| 'The Love Below' blew my mind, and having played it to death I'm coming back for a second helping. I think it's sounding even better this time around. | ||
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Freddie For A Day. The AIDS awareness charity set up by the remaining members of Queen following the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991, the Mercury Phoenix Trust, has announced the first annual Freddie For A Day fundraising event. As the name suggests, people are being asked to dress as Freddie for an entire day in order to raise money for the charity. The event will take place on 3 Sep - mercuryphoenixtrust.com | |
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Magnetic Man. You can tell dubstep's come a long way when it's possible for the genre to have its own supergroup. Magnetic Man are dubstep's biggest name and remixer du jour Skream, along with two of the men responsible for shaping the genre's sound, Benga and Artwork. Their debut single, 'I Need Air', features vocals from Angela Hunte, who co-wrote Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' 'New York State Of Mind' - youtu.be/m2vWQFHP3D0 |
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Wiley. At the end of last week, Wiley's Twitter feed went into overdrive, starting with a tirade against his former manager John Woolf, who he had apparently just sacked, followed by the rapper uploading twelve zip files of unreleased music, totalling around 200 tracks. As the tweets were coming thick and fast, Grimeforum.com handily collected all the files together in one place - grimeforum.com/?p=3455 | |
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Émilie Simon. Having trained at the Sorbonne, which I know from period dramas is impressive, Émilie Simon also has has a masters degree in musicology from the Conservatoire et l'Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique. However, the electronic pop music she makes is far from being stuffy or academic. Her fourth album, 'The Big Machine' is out on Monday - myspace.com/emiliesimonmusic |
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Sputniko! Combining influences as disparate as Laurie Anderson and J-Pop, Sputniko! writes songs about modern and future life, covering such topics as stalking potential lovers on Google, android social network addiction and machines to allow men to experience menstruation. Her well-stocked website will keep you entertained for hours. Look out for links to download her free 'Parakonpe 3000' album - sputniko.com | |
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Dems. Dan Moss unveiled his new project, Dems just two months ago. With a sound that most reminds me of LA-based Active Child (albeit more lo-fi, less choral and without the harp), two tracks are available for free from his Bandcamp page, both of which are staggeringly beautiful. Moss says he's "trying to create electronic, lo-fi pop that sticks in the head" and so far he's been very successful in doing just that - dems.bandcamp.com |
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Q1 How did you start out making music? LISSIE: "As a kid, I naturally and intuitively loved to sing, and would make up words and melodies to express myself. In my teenage years I began to teach myself to play the guitar, and started writing songs to actual music and loved it and the outlet it became for my thoughts and feelings. So much so, that I just kept doing it. Then I started playing out, writing more songs, playing out, writing more songs, etc..." Read more of Lissie's answers |
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Q2 What inspired your latest album? MATTHEW & THE ATLAS: "The last EP 'To The North' was a pick of a collection of songs I'd been working on. We developed the songs structurally in pre-production, 'I Will Remain' especially. That was just a simple folk song before, and we decided to make it bigger and more raucous, which it really benefited from. I wanted the EP to have levels, so when you listened to it, you start of in one place, and end somewhere else by the end. Having a bigger track at the beginning allowed me to put some gentler songs after and do something more epic with the finale" Read more of Matthew & The Atlas' answers |
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Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track? THE MORNING BENDERS: "I write a naked version of the song on guitar or piano, at first. Then we go into the studio and dress it up in some Don Juan shit" Read more of The Morning Benders' answers |
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Q4 Which artists influence your work? LYREBIRDS: "We were all influenced by a similar group of people, that was one of the reasons we came together in the first place. People like Bowie, Neil Young and The Doors seem to have been an influence on our songs, but we do our own thing" Read more of Lyrebirds' answers |
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Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time? MACY GRAY: "I would say have a drink and smoke a joint first, you'll like it even better" Read more of Macy Gray's answers |
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Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future? ANGUS & JULIA STONE: "I would like to keep playing music. I would like to keep visiting the places we have visited so far and continue to see new places. I would like to keep falling in love. I'd like to get better and better at not knowing what I am going to be doing in the future. And get better at being comfortable admitting I really have no idea" Read more of Angus & Julia Stone's answers |
Oh, what, these guys again? Yes, them again. After last week's hoo haa over Island Records Senior VP David Sharpe's email to his staff complaining that Tom Jones' new album 'Praise & Blame' was "all spiritual", this week Tom Jones gets his right to reply. And reply he has, at great length, branding the label man "stupid" and "some fella who signs cheques or something".
Last week's Beef Of The Week was devoted to Sharpe's email, in which he wrote: "Imagine my surprise when I walked into the office this morning to hear hymns coming from your office - it could have been Sunday morning. My initial pleasure came to an abrupt halt when I realised that Tom Jones was singing the hymns! I have just listened to the album in its entirety and want to know if this is some sick joke?"
In conclusion, he said: "Please don't give me the art over commerce argument, it's run its course... what are you thinking when he went all spiritual?"
Asked for his opinion of Sharpe's attack by Welsh newspaper The Western Mail, Tom Jones said: "People are going to read this and think the record company doesn't like [my album], or that I've made a mistake. It's not coming from the creative people in the record company, because they're backing [the album] up all the way, I mean they're thrilled with it, so I don't understand it. When I questioned them and said, 'What the hell is this all about? Who is this fella? I don't even know who he is', I found out that he's some fella who signs cheques or something. But he's not in the creative side of it and they're 100% behind it, but people don't know that".
Warming to his subject, Jones continued to rant: "In the press it says that I've gone off and made something that the record company didn't pay me for and that they don't like it. People tell me that all publicity is good publicity, that's what I've been told. People say to me, 'Well it's being talked about', but to me it's being talked about in a negative way. Hopefully, if there's any good that comes out of it, it's that people will wonder about [the new album]. But it isn't the way I would handle it by going and making a stupid statement. That's not going to help it. They've apologised, they can't apologise enough - and they've said, 'We'll make good on this'".
Starting to get somewhat repetitive, he continued further: "The record company said, 'You don't understand, he loves the record', then I said, 'Then what the fuck is this all about? What's going on here?' I read it and I was pissed off. And I'm supposed to know what's going on! They say, 'Well, he's not from the creative side'. Well people don't know that. People see that he's an exec of a record company - that's what they're reading".
And further still: "People can decide for themselves if they hear the album. As long as it doesn't turn people off, though. If they read it and think, 'Oh look out, Tom has made a mistake here, they've paid him for something and he's gone off and done something else and they don't like it'. It's not good. That's the part I don't like. They say, 'Is it a sick joke?'. That's stupid to say that. No record company is going to let you go away and record something without hearing things that you are doing. I mean, the first two songs they wanted to hear, the producer Ethan Johns said, 'OK let them hear what we've done so far', and they loved it".
So, in a nutshell, Jones isn't happy. He's worried that the public will think that Sharpe's view represents that of Island Records as a whole, and he's keen to stress that the exec has no creative input into anything at all. They don't even let him choose the colour of the Post-It notes.
To be fair, whether it was an outburst that was leaked or a carefully thought out publicity scam, Sharpe's email is likely to make more people at least interested in hearing a bit of 'Praise & Blame'. But, as I noted last week, being interested in hearing what an artist nearly 40 albums into his career sounds like these days is not the same as wanting to spend money in order to actually own the album in question.
We'll see how Jones' latest offering fares when it's released on 26 Jul. |
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