STREAM: Basement Jaxx take over BBC Radio 1 from 1pm AEDST today!

Basement Jaxx will be guest hosting Giles Petersen's show on Radio 1 tonight (2am - 4am UK time).
During the show they will be debuting the legendary "soundscape" - a new selection of mellow tracks from the "Scars" sessions due for release later this year.

Click here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nfsc9 for more details.

Stream it live from 1pm-3pm AEDST today. And in the crazy daylight savings muddle we're in that's:
Melbourne/ Sydney - 1pm-3pm
Adelaide - 12.30pm-2.30pm
Brisbane -12pm-2pm
Perth - 10am-12pm

Basement Jaxx have just been announced to be playing Good Vibrations festival in February along with labelmates Friendly Fires.

Basement Jaxx's Scars is out now through XL/ Remote Control

Videos : Learn how to be a real guitar hero with Vampire Weekend and The National

Q TV brings you an assortment of Indie Rock luminaries to teach you how to play your favourite tracks on guitar.

Our first one on one lesson is with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig showing us how to recreate "A-Punk".



The National's Aaron Dessner gives us a "Fake Empire" lesson.

Stream - Jack Penate - Everything Is New

To celebrate Jack Penate's upcoming UK tour, XL are streaming his latest album Everything Is New.
An Australian tour is not yet on the cards for Mr.Penate, but in the meantime you can stream his entire album in full, or better yet, get the real deal here!

New video - Peaches - I Feel Cream

Recently being announced on the 2010 Big Day Out lineup, electro-shock princess Peaches releases her new video I Feel Cream.



Peaches' latest album I Feel Cream is out now through Xl/Remote Control.

New MP3: The Horrors - Whole New Way

Brand new track from The Horrors right here.
Whole New Way was originally on the Japanese edition of Primary Colours, but was re-recorded over the English summer in Damon Albarn's studio.
This comes on the back of The Horrors being freshly announced for next year's
selling-out-like-hotcakes Big Day Out.


The Horrors - Whole New Way [mp3]

Hear the brand spankin' new Vampire Weekend track Horchata

Vampire Weekend are offering you an exclusive free download of Horchata; the first track off Contra - the band's highly anticipated full length follow up to 2008’s gold selling debut.

Contra is bustling with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar; it’s heavily layered but taut and kinetic; it chews ravenously through sound palettes and rhythms, and yet it’s nimble and assured; it’s still breezy, and yet it smolders with a newfound emotional heft. The songs are catchy, fast, twinkling, clattering.

“I think we sound more like Vampire Weekend than we did on the first record,” says drummer Christopher Tomson.

“It’s sadder than the first one, a bit more sentimental,” says singer Ezra Koenig.

Click 'Embed' below to get your own Vampire Weekend player

DOWNLOAD: Horchata [mp3]


Vampire Weekend's new album Contra is due out in Australia on 8th January 2010 through XL/ Remote Control.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New videos from The xx

Londoners The xx recently appeared on Later with Jools Holland.
Take a look at their performances of Islands and Night Time.





Also floating 'round the bloggoshpere is a kaleidoscopic fan video for Crystallised.

Go on hang with Friendly Fires!

Channel V and Friendly Fires are getting together on the Sunday Sep 20 @ 11.30am.

They will be aired on a 30-minute special of Channel V ‘Hanging With’ scheduled to go to air September 20th.

The ‘Hanging With’ saw the V crew following the band everywhere, starting one day of filming learning how to cook with celebrity chef/Jaime Oliver’s head chef Ben in the hinterland of Byron.

JJJ Live At The Wireless will also replay Friendly Fires THIS Sunday at 6pm, recorded at Melbourne’s very own Prince Of Whales.

And better yet, if you haven’t seen it already check out Friendly Fires ‘Kiss Of Life’ video rating #10 most flogged on V.

Friendly Fires self-titled album is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Basement Jaxx - Feelings Gone feat. Sam Sparro

Let Basement Jaxx take you on a journey into outer space.

Feelings Gone is an intergalactic work of cosmic puppetry and pure innovation ( it's Jaxx clip, what else did you expect?)
Aussie boy Sam Sparrow is a lonely, wandering astronaut floating in space 'till he meets up with Simon and Felix for a soulful space-jam.

New video from Peaches - Take You On

Never one to take the 'toned down' approach, Peaches offers up the video for Take You On.
Donning a plethora of wigs, beards, lamé and sequins, Peaches multiplies and struts her stuff en masse in what seems to be a parallel universe of colour, geometric patterns and synths.

Peaches comes to cream our decks

Peaches swings this way to the beat of a DJ with a quick stint of her euroslick DJ shows… in a sweatsoaked electro-rock tussle amid sheets of Peaches madness she lets loose a howl of a groove. Reknowned for her remix and production prowess… for the first time Australia bears witness to a tour of DJ mayhem in a sizzling mixture of electro, hip-hop and rock as presented by Peaches. I feel sweat!

Consume presents
PEACHES DJ SETS...

SAT 12 SEPT - FRANKLY at the BRISBANE POWERHOUSE, Brisbane
Tickets from www.brisbanepowerhouse.org ph 07 3358 8600

SUN 13 SEPT - NEVER LAND BAR, Coolangatta
Tickets from the venue www.neverlandbar.com ph 07 5536 6666

WED 16 SEPT - THE CAPITOL, Perth
Presented by Knowledge Music.
Tickets from Moshtix, 78 Records, Planet Video and Bocs Ticketing.

FRI 18 SEPT - OH MY! at HOME, Sydney
Tickets $25+bf available online at oh-my.com.au or any moshtix outlet, or at the door (unless sold out prior).
www.oh-my.com.au

SAT 19 SEPT - ROXANNE, Melbourne
Tickets from Moshtix www.moshtix.com


Peaches’ new album I FEEL CREAM out now on XL/ Remote Control

www.peachesrocks.com
www.remotecontrolrecords.com.au

The Horrors - Mirror's Image

The Horrors have released the video for their third single Mirror's Image.

Confessing himself as a mad fan, Nine Inch Nails front man Trent reznor had premiered the clip on his own site saying:

"We are very pleased and honored to premiere the new video from one of our favorite bands, The Horrors. 'Mirror's Image' is the new single from their excellent record 'Primary Colours'."

Mirror's Image is a swirling and hypnotic track that has now been matched up to visuals that are equally as trippy.

Bold and bright images of kaleidoscopic butterflies and daisies juxtaposed against the harshness of lo-fi visual production.

Perfecto!

Jack Peñate - Pull My Heart Away

Mr Peñate just seems to be getting better and better.

His second album, the very aptly titled Everything Is New takes his music in a completely new direction by exploring his ever expansive range of influences.

We've already showed you the afro-beat infused Tonight's Today as well as the hella catchy Be The One.

Now we have the video for the third single Pull My Heart Away which has also been picked up as iTunes single of the week, Follow the link for a free download!

The clip was shot in filmed in Jordan in the Middle East using a Super 8.

Take a peek!



Everything Is New is out now through XL/Remote Control.

Golden Silvers - Please Venus

And now something a bit more down-tempo from London boys, Golden Silvers.

This is the video for their new track Please Venus.



Golden Silvers' debut album True Romance is out now through XL/Remote Control.

New Peaches video Serpentine

Here's the latest clip from Peaches, for Serpentine from her album I Feel Cream.



I Feel Cream is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Basement Jaxx - Feelings Gone mp3

The Jaxx are back with Feelings Gone.

With their upcoming album Scars right around the corner, the pair offer up another single to follow the ridiculously catchy Raindrops.

What's that? The vocal sounds somewhat familiar? Well, that's cos Aussie boy Sam Sparro (of Black And Gold fame) has lent his vocal talents to the track.
Quite a fitting collaboration don't cha reckon?

Catchy, soulful and dancefloor-ready. Yep, the Jaxx have still got it.

Basement Jaxx - Feelings Gone [mp3]

New Friendly Fires video for brand new song Kiss Of Life

Friendly Fires blew everyone away at Splendour, well those who were lucky enough to cram themselves into the tent to see catch them!

And just in time for their debut, sold out tour of Australia, the band have released a brand spanking new single Kiss Of Life.

Here's the video, featuring Ed Mac's signature hip shimmying moves.



Friendly Fires play:
TONIGHT! Tue 28 Jul - Sydney, Manning Bar w/ Miami Horror & Yacht Club DJs - SOLD OUT!
TOMORROW NIGHT! Wed 29 Jul - Melbourne, Prince Bandroom w/ Miami Horror & Yacht Club DJs - SOLD OUT!

Peaches video mini-doco and speaks to Wound Media

Over at peachesrocks.com, Peaches has been speaking with Wound Media.

And in case you missed it there is also a video featuring footage from the very earliest days of Peaches career. Click the picture below to watch!



I Feel Cream is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

America discovers Blue Roses

While Blue Roses' self-titled debut record was released here back in April, the album only just comes out in the US next week.

Pitchfork recently gave the track I Am Leaving 8/10 and best new music and Stereogum pegged her as a Band To Watch. So it's the perfect opportunity to play catch up if you missed this gorgeous LP the first time around.

Blue Roses is 21 year old singer Laura Groves and a shifting cast of musicians.

The self-titled debut album finds Laura’s haunting voice arranged amidst rich and varied instrumental textures. At heart Groves is an old-school songwriter and storyteller. From soaring folk to dramatic peaks, it’s a personal and heartfelt self-produced debut.

The album was recorded in Laura’s tiny home town of Shipley, in Yorkshire. Much of it was recorded in a piano shop, using a Steinway destined for a local hotel, because she “couldn’t afford to actually buy one”. One track features a choir of friends recorded in a local café. Else where living rooms and local churches were turned in to makeshift studios.

It’s a compelling and warm introduction to a major talent already getting series coverage in the UK music press, and a must for people who love Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, New Buffalo, Joanna Newsom and Bjork.

It’s a stunning mix of fragile, heartfelt songs full of fairytale lyrics delivered with tender, snowflake-like delicacy.

Witness for yourself:







Blue Roses is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

The Horrors on Nylon TV

Behind the scenes at The Horrors photoshoot for Nylon Magazine.



Primary Colours is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

New Kid Harpoon mp3 and video

“Exceptional” – NME
“He has the seeds of something special” – The Independent
“Dreamy imagery sparkling with passion” – The Sun

It’s been over a year since Kid Harpoon released any new material. Since then, he’s been in Los Angeles with producer Trevor Horn working on his debut album.

The first fruits of these sessions, which included musicians who have worked with Bob Dylan, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley playing on the record, is this limited edition single ‘Stealing Cars.’

Debuting Kid Harpoon’s more refined, fuller sound, ‘Stealing Cars’ sees the singer-songwriter develop the lo-fi acoustics of earlier songs and transform them into a rich, textured sound as demonstrated here.

Stealing Cars [mp3]

The single will come backed with the exclusive new track ‘Don’t Cry On Me.’ Kid Harpoon will also be playing an instore at Pure Groove on the day of single release.



Stealing Cars is out July 20 through Young Turks/ XL.

White Stripes rarity exclusives available via subscription

Third Man Records, Jack White's label, has launched an online subscription service which will give members access to pre-sale tickets, T-Shirts, rare vinyl and rare videos only available to subscribers.

The subscription service is called The Vault and will be available for all Third Man Records projects which are mainly Jack White's various bands ie White Stripes, Raconteurs/ Saboteurs, Dead Weather.

It will be a two tiered system - premium and platinum membership, the latter also getting access to an exclusive Third Man 12" LP, 7" and tshirt every 3 months. For those interested in the platinum membership which comes with extra goodies for a higher fee, if you sign up before July 21 you'll receive a double album of The White Stripes LP Icky Thump featuring an exclusive MONO mix, 180 Gram Vinyl and customized artwork. For more details check here.

To launch The Vault, Jack White wrote a blog entry - read it here.

New Jack Peñate album released + video Be The One

When he was last here Jack Peñate was, by his own admission, a kid. A south London bedroom-boy-with-acoustic-guitar. He ducked, he dived, he played the Rhythm Factory, rockin’ the scenesters. And rockin’ the charts: his debut album, 2007’s top ten Matinée, went gold; the single, Torn On The Platform, entered the charts at Number 7. Good stuff, but not great stuff. Not stirring, take-your-head-off stuff. Jack knew this. But the truth didn’t hurt; it liberated him.

So for his second album Jack decided to rip it up and start again. Totally start again. Total honesty, absolute vision, complete control.

The result is Everything Is New , a soul record. Recorded over twelve intense months in producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Friendly Fires)’s own west London home studio, Everything Is New is a giant musical leap forward from this 24 year old Londoner’s acclaimed debut album.

Everything Is New is a technicolour record full of experimentation and possibility. Featuring the blissed-out house grooves of first single Tonight’s Today and swaggering soul of anthemic new single Be The One, the album fuses Peñate’s wide-eyed pop songwriting with the music he’s always loved and lived, successfully bringing Brazilian Tropicala, Krautrock, New Orleans marching bands, Bashment, Afrobeat, lo-fi Hop Hop, Gospel, Reggaeton and Phily Soul into the mix over a nine track record that delights and surprises at every turn.

So here it is. Nine tracks. No filler. An ambitious, timeless, lo-fi soul record. Everything Is New.

Tracklisting:
1. Pull My Heart Away
2. Be The One
3. Everything Is New
4. Tonight's Today
5. So Near
6. Every Glance
7. Give Yourself Away
8. Let's All Die
9. Body Down

And here is the video for Jack Peñate's new single Be The One, out now.



Jack Penate's new album Everything Is New is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

1998: mutant swinger from Mars landed and Jack White had a bowl cut!

Going around the blogs today is footage of Mutant Swinger From Mars - a scifi spoof filmed in 1998, but screening for the first time at the San Diego Comic Con next month.

Making a cameo in it is a young Jack White looking very different to how he does today. Wouldn't have picked it if someone didn't point it out to me!



More details over at Pitchfork.

The Horrors Glastonbury photo diary

The Guardian asked The Horrors to document their time at this year's Glastonbury in a photo diary. The band provided some beautifully arty shots, but somewhat baffled by them, The Guardian contributed captions of their own.



Click here to see the rest.

Discovery album out July 10, stream it now on nme

The Discovery album is out in just over a week. We blogged a couple of tracks a month ago but you can now listen to the whole thing over at NME.

Discovery is the recording project of Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles, friends who began recording together in the summer of 2005. One year later they had committed themselves to their respective bands, Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot, but nonetheless continued to record together when they both found themselves in the same city.

The project is many things: it’s partly an attempt to realize Wes’s concept of a band where everyone plays synthesizers, and of Rostam’s concept for an album where handclaps keep the backbeat instead of snares drums. It’s an embrace and also a commentary on the pop music of the past decade, of booming 808 bass and jittery sixteenth note high-hats; Elements of European electronic dance music skittering in double-time over steady R&B.

If soul music is secularized, sexualized gospel, Discovery is an attempt to see if soul music can survive being plasticized, roboticized, quantized, chopped, and finally, screwed. The album features Rostam and Wes each singing half the songs and guest vocals from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig (on ‘Carby’) and Dirty Projectors’ Angel Deradoorian (‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’)

The tracklist for ‘LP’ is:


You can read an interview they did with Pitchfork here.

Discovery is out July 10 through XL/ Remote Control.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New Elvis Perkins In Dearland video Chains, Chains, Chains

Check out the video for "Chains, Chains, Chains" off the self-titled Elvis Perkins In Dearland album.



Elvis Perkins In Dearland is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

MIA wins Best Female Hip Hop Artist at BET Awards

The BET (Black Entertainment) Awards were featured on news bulletins all across the world last night, with the star studded homage to Michael Jackson and the appearances from Janet and Joe Jackson.

But what you didn't hear is that M.I.A. won the Best Female Hip Hop Artist award on the night. Congrats Maya!

New DJ mix from Friendly Fires

Can't wait for Friendly Fires to get down here to play their sold out debut tour of Australia?

Neither can we!

In the meantime though, we can all warm up to the DJ set they recently dropped for BBC Radio 1's 'Essential Mix'

"Two hours of techno, deep house and post punk from the band who know their way round a DJ Booth as much as they do a festival stage."



Tracklisting:
Friendly Fires (DJ Set)

Alexandro Jodorowsky ‘F Machine’ (Soundtrack)
Tony Lionni ‘Found a Place’ (Ostgut Tontrager)
Luke Solomon ‘People, Places, Thoughts and Faces (Ajello ReMix)’ (Rekids)
David Labeij ‘Shakedown’ (Intacto Records)
Just Two Ordinary People ‘Lucky Times (Paul Frick ReMix)’ (spontanMusik)
2000 and One ‘Wan Poku Moro’ (100% Pure)
Pezzner ‘Shasta’ (Physical Graffiti Records)
Mark Broom and Brothers Vibe ‘Mind/Feeling (youANDme Hirsch Edit)’ (Platzhirsch Schallplatten)
Makam ‘New York Hustler’ (Sushitech Purple)
Arto Mwambe ‘Ombala Mbembo’ (Brontosaurus Records)
Michel Cleis ‘La Mezcla’ (Cadenza)
Visti & Meyland ‘Yes Ma'am (Kasper Bjorke Mix)’ (Eskimo)
DOP ‘The Genius of the Crowd’ (Supplement Facts)
STL ‘Something Is Raw’ (Something)
Alec Wizz ‘Drummin (H2O Mix)’ (4th Floor Records)
Liquid Liquid ‘Optimo (Optimo ReMix)’ (Domino)
Silver City ‘Pendulo (Pete Herbert Edit)’ (Deep Freeze Recordings)
Anton Pieete ‘Players’ (Intacto Records)
Harry Axt ‘Crazy’ (Rompecabeza)
Daniele Papini ‘Church of Nonsense’ (Alchemy)
Cajmere ‘Say U Will’ (Cajual Records)
Friendly Fires ‘Jump In The Pool (Wild Geese Mix)’ (XL Recordings)
Photonz ‘No Fear’ (Dissident)
Paul Woolford ‘Pandemonium’ (Intimacy Music)
Kerri Chandler ‘Six Pianos’ (Deeply Rooted House)
Whirlpool Productions ‘From Disco: To Disco’ (ZAC Records)

Friendly Fires self-titled record is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

The Cool Kids to play Parklife

The Cool Kids are set to return to Australia for Parklife Festival in September:

Saturday, September 26: Botanic Gardens & Riverstage, Brisbane
Sunday, September 27: Wellington Square, Perth
Saturday, October 3: Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
Sunday, October 4: Kippax Lake, Moore Park, Sydney
Monday, October 5: Botanic Park, Adelaide

Tickets are on sale now. More details here.

Their album The Bake Saleis out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Friendly Fires Australian tour - all shows sold out!

We are very excited to announce that all of the Friendly Fires shows have now SOLD OUT. It's going to be one helluva debut tour for the UK trio, uh huh.

Supports for the tour have also been announced:

FRIENDLY FIRES
Sat 25 Jul/ Sun 26 Jul - Byron Bay, Splendour In The Grass - SOLD OUT!
Fri 24 Jul - Perth, Amplifier w/ French Rockets - SOLD OUT!
Tue 28 Jul - Sydney, Manning Bar w/ Miami Horror & Yacht Club DJs - SOLD OUT!
Wed 29 Jul - Melbourne, Prince Bandroom w/ Miami Horror & Yacht Club DJs - SOLD OUT!

New Basement Jaxx video Raindrops + remix it yourself!

Basement Jaxx are known for their memorable clips and their latest kaleidoscopic effort for Raindrops is no exception:

The album is still a little while away, not due to drop until September. But in the meantime Felix and Simon have also given us a bunch of commissioned remixes of the single, that you can play with here:

FULL SCREENhosted by playlive.fm

Raindrops is out now through XL/ Remote Control. Buy it now on iTunes.

The new Basement Jaxx album Scars is due out September.

New Peaches video Lose You

And here's the puzzling new video for Peaches' track 'Lose You' -



Mm, dancing men in white leotards.

I Feel Cream is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

FRIENDLY FIRES SELL OUT MELBOURNE

That's right kids, the Friendly Fires sideshow at the Prince Bandroom Melbourne has completely sold out!
Tickets are still available for the Perth show at Amplifier and the Sydney show at Manning Bar, but you better move fast!

Dates below:

Perth
Friday 24 July
Amplifier
Tickets from Mills, Planet, Amplifier , Star Perth, Heatseeker and Moshtix
Presented by triple j & Drum Media.

Sydney
Tuesday 28 July
Manning Bar
Tickets from Moshtix , 1300 Get Tix (438 849), Manning Bar , on your mobile via Moshtix Mobi and all Moshtix outlets.
Presented by triple j & Drum Media.

Melbourne
*SOLD OUT*
Wednesday 29 July
Prince Bandroom
Presented by triple j & Inpress.

Splendour In The Grass
*SOLD OUT*
Belongil Fields, Byron Bay
25 & 26 July
For more info click here

Friendly Fires self titled debut album is out now through XL/Remote Control.

JACK PENATE - BE THE ONE

After the lovely, summery afrobeat tune that was Tonight’s Today, we get one step closer to Jack Penate’s new album Everything Is New with his latest single Be The One.

This song is hella-catchy; just try not to sing along.

A hearty concoction of pop, soul and a bit of disco, Be The One is testament to the fact that Jack has well and truly grown up on this new record. No cutesy wide-eyed indie pop here.
Everything Is New is due out June 27th through XL/Remote Control.

Be The One [mp3]

New Discovery mp3 (Vampire Weekend/ Ra Ra Riot Side Project)

So about a month ago we mentioned a side project that Vampire Weekender Rostam Batmanglij had been working on with Ra Ra Riot singer Wes Miller.

To the delight of many curious fans, details have surfaced of Discovery’s new LP which is set to be released through XL later this year.

Some highlights from the very literally named ‘LP’ includes an Autotuned cover of the Jackson 5’s classic “I Want You Back”, a remix of Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell" (re-dubbed "Can You Discover?") and vocal contributions by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and Dirty Projectors' Angel Deradoorian.

If you haven’t had time to ‘discover’ Discovery you can hear tracks up on their MySpace and here on stereogum.

Orange Shirt [mp3]

Osaka Loop Line [mp3]

Discovery LP out July 10 in Australia through XL/ Remote Control.

myspace.com/discoverdiscovery

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New Golden Silvers video True Romance - Later Live With Jools Holland

Golden Silvers appeared on Later Live With Jools Holland last night. Check it out:



The band blogged:

"Live on Jools!!!
We had a blast on Jools last night!

It actually does feel like it looks on tv.. pretty hectic!

Specially enjoyed the hypnotic brass ensemble (Pretty sure i saw them playing in the street in Camden a few years back) and baba maal…

you can watch the live show again here

check our electric church style keyboard cloth which we had made specially for the big day!"

True Romance is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Radiohead recording their next album

Radiohead are back in the studio, recording the follow up to their 2007 album In Rainbows.

Colin Greenwood told BBC, "We just went in last week," bassist Colin Greenwood said. "It was really good. It was really noisy and chaotic and really fun. We're at the stage where we've got the big Lego box out and we've tipped it out on the floor and we're looking at all the bits and thinking, what next?"

This will be the band's eighth studio album and will be recorded with their long time producer Nigel Godrich.

Read the full interview here.

New Golden Silvers video Arrows Of Eros

Here's the new clip for Golden Silver's track Arrow Of Eros.



Golden Silvers' album True Romance is out now through XL/ Remote Control. Buy it now on iTunes.

New The Magistrates mp3 Heartbreak

No where near as serious as their name suggests, The Magistrates are four kids hailing from Essex churning out “unashamedly sexual music for the mind, feet and hips"

Being latest singing to XL these boys are fast becoming hot property, NME have already dubbed them as “MGMT and Stevie Wonder mixed to disco perfection”

Hailing from Essex, the musical melting pot that gave us The Prodigy, Blur and Depeche Mode, and thousands of weekend ravers, drinkers and dancers, Magistrates channel their love of 80’s house, early Prince and timeless iconic pop into something of their own.

A fitting introduction is their new single
Heartbreak [mp3]

Buy the EP from iTunes.

And here's the video:


Stay tuned for an album release later this year on XL.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

Friendly Fires announce debut Australian tour

“Friendly Fires are on an unstoppably stratospheric trajectory” NME

“Sophisticated and fun, Friendly Fires is a fine example of dance music with a brain in it’s head” Drum Sydney

“One of the most exciting bands out of the UK at the moment” Music Network

“Friendly Fires show an amplified, ambitious, and inventive attention to detail that helps steer them away from sounding like just another polished party band.” Pitchfork Media

“This is the definitive nu-rave album” Inpress

This UK trio have been labelled everything from dance-punk, to the new nu-wave, electro-pop, melodic song, and disco dance. Call them what you will, we can safely say that U.K’s Friendly Fires are undeniably one of the most exciting bands of 2009. We are pleased to announce their debut Australian tour surrounding an appearance at Splendour In The Grass this July.

Ed Macfarlane, Jack Savidge, and Edd Gibson have been playing together since they met at age 14, although they have come a long way since the days of their first band, post-hardcore outfit First Day Back. Nowadays they consider the artists on the German techno label Kompakt the greatest influence on their sound, and have been called leaders of the “intelligent disco revolution”.

The band released their debut self-titled record this year through XL Recordings in the UK – also home to Peaches, The White Stripes, M.I.A., Sigur Ros, and Vampire Weekend, just to name a few. Their track ‘Paris’ received massive radio airplay and has been named Single Of the Week by The Guardian and NME, not to mention being amongst Pitchfork’s Best 100 Tracks Of 2008. Locally, the record was triple j’s Feature Album of the Week, and several tracks from the record have been added to high rotation nationally on both commercial and community radio.

“The surprise is their sophistication; like Klaxons, they're just fluorescent enough to keep club kids interested, but their real commitment is to sparkling, modern pop” The Guardian (UK), 4 stars.

So after playing sell-out shows throughout Europe and the UK and opening for acts such as Interpol and Blur, we are very excited to finally have Friendly Fires heading our way in 2009. They will be appearing at the Splendour In The Grass in Byron Bay, along with as club shows in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
All show details below.


TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 29 MAY

FRIENDLY FIRES DEBUT AUSTRALIAN TOUR
JULY 2009

Perth
Friday 24 July
Amplifier
Tickets from Mills, Planet, Star Perth, Heatseeker and Moshtix
Presented by triple j & Drum Media.

Sydney
Tuesday 28 July
Manning Bar
Tickets from Moshtix, 1300 Get Tix (438 849), on your mobile via Moshtix Mobi and all Moshtix outlets.
Presented by triple j & Drum Media.

Melbourne
Wednesday 29 July
Prince Bandroom
Tickets from Missing Link, Polyester Records (City & Fitzroy), Greville Records, POW Public Bar, Prince Bandroom website or phone bookings (03 9536 1168)
Presented by triple j & Inpress.

Splendour In The Grass
Belongil Fields, Byron Bay
25 & 26 July
For more info click here

Friendly Fires self-titled album out now on XL through Remote Control Records.

FRIENDLY FIRES MYSPACE
FRIENDLY FIRES WEBSITE

New Titus Andronicus video Upon Viewing Bruegel's "Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus"

Check out Titus Andronicus in this new video for the soon to be classic Upon Viewing Bruegel's "Landscape With the Fall of Icarus". Directed by Michael Reynolds.



Titus Andronicus' album The Airing Of Grievances is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

New Elvis Perkins In Dearland video Hours Last Stand

Here are two more tracks taken from the Gold Room sessions with Elvis Perkins In Dearland.

We have already brought you Shampoo and now here are Hours Last Stand and Doomsday from their self titled album out now through XL/ Remote Control.

M.I.A. in Time Mag's World's Most Influential People list, meets Oprah, pleads her for help

M.I.A. really is taking over the world.

Time Magazine included her in their Top 100 World's Most Influential People list with a small profile on her written by Spike Jonze




Following the Time Mag's announcement night this appeared on MIA's myspace blog:

LAST NIGHT , I WENT TO THE TIME 100 EVENT COZ THEY ADDED ME TO THE LIST OF 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2009,

I SAW TAVIS SMILEY WHEN I WALKED IN AND SAID THANKS FOR STICKING YOUR NECK OUT AND BEING A REAL JOURNALIST, HIS PROGRAM WAS THE FIRST PROGRAM TO VOICE THE TRUTH ABOUT WHATS GOING ON IN SRI LANKA, WITHOUT FEAR OF CONSEQUENCES.

THE NEXT PERSON I MET WAS OPRAH!!!!


SHE SAID SHE LIKED MY JACKET FROM THE MAGAZINE (THE ONE MY BROTHER GOT FOR ME FROM THE SIDE OF THE STREET AT SXSW 09) SHE SQUEEEEZED MY HAND SO HARD , I WAS CONVINCED SHE CARED. MICHELLE OBAMA GAVE A SPEECH AND THERE WAS MAD SECRET SERVICE IN THE AIR SO I DIDNT GET TO THROW A PAPER PLANE AT HER SAYING " STOP THE BOMBING OF THE TAMILS IN SRI LANKA"


Sri Lanka government admits bombing civilian safe haven - Times Online

THE TWITTER GUYS SAID THEY FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @ _M_I_A_ ILL TWITTER

SHOUT OUT TO THEM AND STELLA MCCARTNEY, NICE TO MEET A FELLO BRIT IN NYC ASIDE FROM THE GIRLS AT TOP SHOP.

I MET MANY MORE PEOPLE , SOME KNEW ME , SOME DIDNT ....... I WASNT SURE ABOUT MY INFLUENCE BUT........IF I DO HAVE ANY INFLUENCE, I WISH I COULD GET THE MEDIA TO SPOTLIGHT THIS:

THANKX TO BRITISH PRESS WE GET THIS MUCH

Grim scenes at Sri Lankan camps - Channel 4 News

OPRAH CAN YOU DO SOMETHING BOUT THESE CAMPS PLEEEEEEEEEEASE?

White Stripes News

Jack White's been doing a few interviews recently and what with all this talk of his numerous side projects, it's good of Jack to put us at ease and let us know that though The White Stripes have been taking a break, another WS album is not too far away: "It won't be too far off. Maybe next year."

In his recent Music Radar interview, Jack also talks of the cancellation of their last White Stripes tour due to Meg's acute anxiety, which he says "was a very real problem, but one that I'm happy to say is in the past."

The full interview with Music Radar is here.

[via]

Meg To Wed

Well there's the sound of a thousand hearts breaking.

It has been confirmed that Meg White is set to wed Jackson Smith, guitarist for Back in Spades and son of punk legend Patti Smith and the late MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. Talk about rock union!

According to the Detroit News it's set to happen May 22 in Nashville.

More goss here, here and here.

New Devendra Banhart on Rudo y Cursi soundtrack

Stereogum have given the heads up on a new Devendra Banhart track Lindo Cihuatlán featured on the soundtrack to film Rudo y Cursi featuring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.

It is quite beautiful:

Read more about it at Stereogum.

Ratatat announce extra Melbourne show

So RATATAT arrived in the country today and are excited about how much everyone down this way is responding to the tour... so much so that due to the demand for tickets they have reconfigured the tour plans to include a SECOND MELBOURNE show on MON 11 MAY.

This is on top of Perth moving to the larger venue CAPITOL after tickets sold out at our first visit there.

Wellington has also sold out... and both Sydney and Auckland are moving that way very fast as well...

We have also added in Vietnam and Malaysian shows.

After three albums - 2004's RATATAT (with Seventeen Years), 2006's CLASSICS (with Wildcat), and 2008's more recent LP3 (with Mirando and Shempi)... and completion nearing on LP4.

From supporting Daft Punk at the LA Sports Arena in June 2007, to tours with Daft Punk, Mouse on Mars, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, CSS, The Faint, Super Furry Animals, Björk, Clinic, Panther and The Killers... and Mogwai in Japan... along with their own outstanding headline tours including the 2005 Australia/NZ debut tour, and the Essential Festival and dates with Regurgitator in 2007.

“the coolest unconventional musicians of 2008 – there’s no doubt this is genius at work” (Rip It Up)

“The hallmark of Ratatat’s genius is their willingness to process the absolute hell out of their guitar sounds, warping them almost beyond recognition to create a blueprint for the progression of music for decades to come” (Time Out Sydney)

Evan and Mike navigate their unique sonic hover crafting a free flowing chromatic wave of guitars, keyboards, beats, smoke and mirrors back to add another overwhelming layer of atmosphere with TOUR3.

This tour will also include for the first time shows in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam... and more if the wind allows it.

Consume presents...
RATATAT
AUSTRALASIA TOUR3

MAY 2 - TOWNSVILLE Groovin the Moo, Lou Litster Park
with Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Living End, Okkervil River and more...
Tickets from: www.groovinthemoo.com, Moshtix - www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 438 849 GET TIX), Ticketek - www.ticketek.com.au or 132849 and selected outlets around town.

MAY 3 - BYRON BAY The Great Northern
plus special guests QUAN and DZ
Tickets from: the venue, www.thenorthern.com.au and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 4 - BRISBANE The HiFi
plus special guests QUAN, DEL TORO and Honky Kong DJ.
Tickets from: www.thehifi.com.au, tel 1300‐THEHIFI (8434434), Rocking Horse Records, Butter Beats , Sunflower Pacific Fair, Disaster piece, Mosh Pit Music, Kill The Music, Gooble Warming, Rockaway Records and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 6 - GOLD COAST The Coolangatta Hotel
plus special guests QUAN, ELKE and Action DJs Ben Rama and Ruftuck
Copresented by KClub, Dima Mak, Havefunclub, The Antijoy, Joy Hysteric and Bats Magazine.
Tickets from: the venue, www.thecoolyhotel.com.au, Disaster Piece Southport, Sunflower Pacific Fair, Rockaway records Springwood, Rocking Horse Records, Butter Beats , Mosh Pit Music, Kill The Music, Gooble Warming and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 7 - WGONG Waves - Libertine Ranch & My Sydney Riot present A Night with the Phantom
plus TAME IMPALA, YOUNG & RESTLESS, FAIT ACCOMPLI and more
Tickets from: www.moshtix.com.au (132 438 849)

MAY 8 - SYDNEY Manning Bar
plus special guests QUAN, QUA, DEPT & PhDJ
Tickets from: the venue, www.moshtix.com.au (132 438 849) and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 9 - MAITLAND Groovin the Moo, Maitland Showground
with Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Living End, Okkervil River and more...
Tickets from:: www.groovinthemoo.com, Moshtix - www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 438 849 (GET TIX), Ticketek - www.ticketek.com.au or 132849 and selected outlets around town

MAY 10 - CANBERRA Anu Bar
plus special guests QUAN and QUA
Tickets from: the venue, Ticketek outlets and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 11 - MELBOURNE The Corner - SECOND SHOW DUE TO DEMAND!!!
plus special guests
Tickets from: the Corner Box Office (57 Swan St Richmond 12-8 Mon-Sat), phone bookings on 9427 9198, online bookings www.cornerhotel.com and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 13 - NZ AUCKLAND Montecristo - VENUE CHANGE!
in conjunction with Universally True - open to ALLAGES
plus special guests MORON SAYS WHAT and F IN MATH
Tickets from: www.undertheradar.co.nz and Real Groovy auckland and wellington

MAY 14 - NZ WELLINGTON Bar Bodega SOLD OUT
in conjunction with Universally True
plus special guests
Tickets from: www.undertheradar.co.nz and Real Groovy auckland and wellington

MAY 15 - MELBOURNE The Corner - SOLD OUT!
plus special guests QUA and WORLDS END PRESS
Tickets from: the Corner Box Office (57 Swan St Richmond 12-8 Mon-Sat), phone bookings on 9427 9198, online bookings www.cornerhotel.com and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 16 - BENDIGO Groovin the Moo, Prince of Wales Showgrounds
with Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Living End, Okkervil River and more...
Tickets from: www.groovinthemoo.com, Moshtix - www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 438 849 (GET TIX), Ticketek - www.ticketek.com.au or 132849 and selected outlets around town

MAY 17 - PERTH Capitol - VENUE CHANGE!
plus special guests THESE SHIPWRECKS and FRENCH ROCKETS
Tickets from: Moshtix, Bocs, Oztix, 78 records, Mills records, Planet Video and consume.oztix.com.au

MAY 20 - China BEIJING Mao Live house
plus special guests REBUILDING THE RIGHTS OF STATUES and ZIGZAG
MAY 21 - China SHANGHAI Zhi Jiang Dream Factory
plus special guests AV OKUBO and THE YOUTH AND THE DESTROYER
in conjunction with Modern Sky
Tickets from usual outlets

MAY 23 - HONG KONG Grappas Cellar
plus special guests QUAN and DJs
in conjunction with The Peoples Party
Tickets from usual outlets and www.thepeoplesparty.tv

MAY 28 - Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR Zouk
plus special guests
in conjunction with Freeform

MAY 29 - Vietnam HO CHI MINCH CITY Pacharan

MAY 30 - Vietnam HANOI venue to be confirmed
plus special guests
in conjunction with CAMA

LP3 is out now on XL/Remote Control.
LP4 is on the way.
www.ratatatmusic.com

Stream The Horrors album Primary Colours here!

The Horrors new album Primary Colours has scored a glowing 9/10 album review in NME:

"Time will tell how Primary Colours stands up to the likes of Loveless or Psychocandy, but right now, this feels like the British art-rock album we've all been waiting for"

.

Take a listen and judge for yourself:

Buy the album on iTunes.

Primary Colours is out in Australia on May 2 through XL/ Remote Control.

Vampire Weekend talk about their second album

[via] [via]

Following Vampire Weekend's performance of new track White Sky on the Jimmy Fallon show, the band continue to tease us with more information about their second album.

Stereogum have given the heads up on an interview singer Ezra Koenig did with EW.com:

"For the last month or so, it's just been us by ourselves in this small studio, working every day," Koenig says. "It's nice after having been on tour so much to be in a slightly different situation, but it's pretty intense. We're really trying hard to do everything that we want to do."

With the songwriting process more or less finished, Koenig says the band has moved on to refining its studio approach. "It's definitely going to be a recognizably Vampire Weekend sound, but there are going to be new sounds. We're trying to challenge ourselves not to use the same bag of tricks that we used on the first album -- different instruments, stuff like that."

One new song that's almost certain to wind up on the album is "White Sky," which Vampire Weekend brought to Jimmy Fallon last month. Notes Koenig: "The recorded version is very different from how we played it on Fallon. Because we were still working on the recording, we decided to do this very slow acoustic version [on TV]. The real version is more like how we've been playing it live. There's a lot of synth sounds, and it's a little more pumped up."

Stereogum also have a couple of mp3s of keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij's side project called Discovery. Check them out here.

I Hear Peaches

Dools at JJJ recently spoke with Peaches about her new record I Feel Cream.

If you missed it you can listen to it online:

New The Horrors video Who Can Say

A couple of weeks ago we blogged The Horrors track Who Can Say from their forthcoming album Primary Colours.

Now here is the video.



The Horrors 'Primary Colours' is out May 2 through XL/ Remote Control.

New Basement Jaxx mp3 Raindrops

You might have caught whiff of this earlier in the week, but if not, you'll be excited to hear that Basement Jaxx are streaming a new track 'Raindrops' on their myspace.

That's BJ's Felix Buxton on the vocals in this track. Though when the guys recently toured they mentioned guest vocalists on the forthcoming album include Grace Jones, Yoko Ono, Yo! Majesty, Lightspeed Champion, Cyndi Lauper, Santigold, and Sam Sparro.

Hear it here.

Download it here.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New Devendra Banhart live videos

Earlier this week Stereogum posted video footage of some new songs Devendra Banhart recently showcased in San Francisco.

It's the first new material we have heard from Devendra since 2007's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.





More details here

Friendly Fires announced to play Splendour In The Grass

Friendly Fires have been announced to be playing Splendour In The Grass festival in Byron Bay this July.

It will be the UK trio's first tour to Australia and promises to be one helluva dance party is this recent review by NME of their sold out show at LA's The Troubadour is anything to go by.

Radio favourites Jump In The Pool and Paris will no doubt be part of their set as well their latest single:


Friendly Fires' self-titled album is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

www.wearefriendlyfires.com

www.myspace.com/friendlyfires

New video from The Magistrates - Heartbreak

The Magistrates are a new signing to XL. Hailing from Essex, the musical melting pot that gave us The Prodigy, Blur and Depeche Mode, and thousands of weekend ravers, drinkers and dancers, Magistrates channel their love of 80’s house, early Prince and timeless iconic pop into something of their own.

The band self-released their debut single Make This Work last year and quickly caught the eye from music tastemakers:

“MGMT and Stevie Wonder mixed to disco perfection” – NME

“If you’ve ever wondered what might happen if Prince and David Bowie had been abandoned at birth and raised together in Essex, then wonder no more, as Magistrates are here to realize your wildest pop fantasies” – Dazed & Confused

The Magistrates will be releasing their follow up ep 'Heartbreak' through XL in late May.

Check out the video:

Ratatat announce supports and sell out Melbourne show

Ratatat have announced the supports for their national tour next month and sold out their Melbourne show!

Better hop to it if you're planning to catch them at their other shows.

Sat 2 May – Townsville, Groovin The Moo Festival w/ Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Okkervil River and more

Sun 3 May – Byron Bay, Great Northern w/ Quan and DZ

Mon 4 May – Brisbane, HiFi Bar w/ Quan, Del Toro and Honky Kong DJ

Wed 6 May – Gold Coast, Coolangatta Hotel w/ Quan, Elke and Action DJs Ben Rama and Ruftuck

Thu 7 May – Wollongong, Waves w/ Tame Impala, Young & Restless, Fait Accompli and more

Fri 8 May – Sydney, Manning Bar w/ Quan, Qua, Dept & PhDJ

Sat 9 May – Maitland, Groovin The Moo Festival w/ Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Okkervil River and more...

Sun 10 May – Canberra, ANU Bar w/ Quan and Qua

Fri 15 May – Melbourne, Corner Hotel w/ QUA and WORLDS END PRESS SOLD OUT!

Sat 16 May – Bendigo, Groovin The Moo w/ Architecture in Helsinki, De La Soul, The Drones, The Grates, Okkervil River and more...

Sun 17 May – Perth, Amplifier w/ These Shipwrecks and French Rockets

White Stripes News - White Stripes film?

Jack White sure as a hella busy year ahead of him.

Following the announcement of Jack's new band Dead Weather, self-titled mag published this interview with Jack White and Allison Mosshart.

As Pitchfork has gleaned, Jack's To Do list for 2009 includes a film, production on 4-5 albums, a photo/ song series at the Third Man Records HQ, touring and album release from Dead Weather and 'other pretty big stuff' for Third Man Records. See more on Pitchfork here.

And what is this about a White Stripes film? Well has Jack told Self-Titled Mag:

"Then also, Third Man Films. The White Stripes are releasing a film this year, and when I go back home in a few days, I’m going to mix all the music for that, which is like 40 songs, so that’s going to take a lot of time."

You can read the original Self-Titled Mag interview here.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New video - Peaches - Talk To Me

The first official video from Peaches' new album, "I Feel Cream", out May 2 on XL/ Remote Control.

Directed by Price James.

New The xx MP3 - Crystalised

Introducing the latest band toted as the “next big things”. The xx.
Four 19 year olds from London producing music with the kind of brooding minimalism you’d expect from someone a lot more advanced in age.

Earlier this year, they put everyone in a flurry with their cover of the Womack and Womack track Teardrops. It seems the more we here from these guys, the more we hear that they are most certainly the ones to watch in 09’.

Their knack for tense, slow burning no-wave pop is obvious on their latest track Crystallised, taken from their debut album due out sooner hopefully than later this year.

Crystalised [mp3]



The xx's first 7" will be out soon through Young Turks/ XL, with a debut full-length to follow in September.

New track from The Horrors - Who Can Say

If you found the epic Sea Within A Sea single we posted up last month a bit too much to swallow, here’s something a little more short n’ sweet.

Who Can Say is the second taste of the oh so very soon to be released Primary Colours.

The lads seem pretty intent on starting a new chapter in their musical path, only subtle hints of their old stuff is evident in the new tracks and news has been circulating in the blogosphere that their onstage attire has seem to be toned down a few notches… hmm interesting.

Bringing to light their inspirations (or obsessions) with such musical staples as My Bloody Valentine and Jesus And Mary Chain Who Can Say matches a swampy, chugging bassline with a steady drumbeat and a middle eight of Shangri La-esque spoken word.

Have a listen to what all the fuss is about.

Who Can Say [mp3]

The Horrors' new album Primary Colours is out May 2.

Blue Roses live - Fly Session videos

Speaking of Blue Roses, check out these live videos for Fly Sessions:

Doubtful Comforts



Does Anyone Love Me Anymore



Blue Roses self-titled album comes out April 25 through XL/ Remote Control

Blue Roses - I Am Leaving mp3

Now we realize the words ethereal and angelic get bandied around relentlessly when describing a lot of solo female artists, but in the case of Yorkshire's Blue Roses a description more modest just wouldn't be doing her any justice.

Recently taking on the Blue Roses moniker, 20 year old Laura Groves is on the very cusp of releasing her self titled debut album and has offered us the beautifully delivered I Am Leaving in the meantime.

Named after a Tennessee Williams novel, Blue Roses' music is every bit as unique and enthralling as it's namesake.

A breath of fresh air from the twee sugary faff we've been hearing from her contemporaries, after one listen to I Am Leaving a sigh of relief is most likely to ensue.

I Am Leaving [mp3]

Blue Roses' debut self-titled album is out April 25 through XL/ Remote Control.

The Horrors premier new album at London show

NME reports The Horrors premiered their new album at a London show at Bethnal Green's Rich Mix Cinema, earlier this week.

Their album Primary Colours will be released here on May 2 through XL.

We posted the mp3 and video of The Sea Within A Sea last week but if you're hungry for more, check out this track by track review on The Quietus.

Jack Peñate - Tonight's Today video

Just in!



Tonight's Today is out April 4.

The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea mp3

When a mysterious, unnamed counting down clock appeared on the Horrors Website, speculators and fans naturally assumed that this clock counted down to the release of new, never before heard Horrors material. On the 17th of March the band unveiled their first single ‘Sea Within A Sea’ from their upcoming album ‘Primary Colours’.

Drainpipes and amazing hair still intact, the band seem to have matured musically producing this 8 minute epic that swerves towards their influences in Joy Division and Kraftwerk. .In their track-by-track summary of the ‘Primary Colours’ NME described “Sea Within A Sea” as “An eight-minute Spacemen 3-meets-Neu! odyssey of ominous motorik rhythms, Faris’ mournful incantations and an expanding starfield of synths.” Phew! Now, we do realise that the Horrors may be the darlings of NME, but this ain’t no exaggeration! Check it out for yourself…

Sea Within A Sea [mp3]


www.thehorrors.co.uk
www.myspace.com/thehorrors

Vampire Weekend perform White Sky

Well looks like Vampire Weekend's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon appearance was up on Youtube for about half a second before getting taken down is back up on Youtube in all it's glory, so catch it while you can:



And here's an mp3 of the band's perfomance of White Sky, complete with string section, as posted by the good ole folks at Stereogum

White Sky (live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon) [mp3]

New video for The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea

The Horrors have signed to XL. Check out the video for The Horrors track 'Sea Within A Sea' from their forthcoming album Primary Colours out May 2.

As the XL blog says "[eight] minutes long and taking in Neu!, gloomy post-punk, C86 indie and acid house ... we never knew the Horrors had it in them."

An "8 minute kraut-goth workout" indeed.



www.thehorrors.co.uk
www.myspace.com/thehorrors

Talk To Me Peaches

Ok so the new album is gonna be called I Feel Cream, so I think we can safely say that Peaches is not about to go in to the “mature and introspective” phase of her career. Talk To Me is the first single and lets face it no one does this shit like Madam P, (though are we alone in noticing that plenty of prissy little pop stars are taking the Peaches thing and thinning it down and smearing it on their own sound?) But here’s where you get the pure stuff. Peaches produced it herself and on the album she’s bumping up against Simian MobileDiisco, Soulwax, Digitalism and Drums of Death). Excited? You should be!

Talk To Me [mp3]

Golden Silvers offer True Romance

Some folks are going to love this big time. The first single from Golden Silvers. It’s stylish and groove ladened and yes it hints at 80s synth pop but really it couldn’t have happened any other time but now. It’s produced by new wunderkid on the block Lexxx, who has worked with Crystal Castles and Esser and he’s absolutely “of the moment”.

True Romance (True No. 9 Blues) [mp3]

Check out the cool video for it too:


True Romance 7" is out April 18.

Getting the impression the album due April is going to be well worth checking out!

Jack Peñate on Tonight's Today

Whether or not you’ve heard Jack Penate before you really should check this out. It’s a different and bold sound from the guy (and more power to him cos his debut album went platinum so he could have easily just come through with more of the same). In fact NME have touted this as the “The first great single of 2009”. It’s the first taste of his yet to be named second album, it’s produced by Paul Epworth (Friendly Fires, Bloc Party) and the closest hint we can give ya about what it sounds like is kinda Peter Gabriel when he was a pop star back in the late 80s with mutating afrobeat guitars undulating in the mix.

Tonight's Today [mp3]

Tonight's Today is out April 4.

M.I.A. vs RyeRye

Super Mum Maya aka M.I.A. has turned up on a Rye Rye track 'Bang', which you can check out at Rye Rye's myspace.

Elvis Perkins - 'Shampoo' live at Gold Room Sessions

Brought to you by the same people that give us DUMBO sessions comes Gold Room Sessions.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland performed the track Shampoo for the session. It features on their self-titled album due out early April.


Shampoo (album version) [mp3]

Ratatat return

Ratatat return for their third tour of Australia in May.

Tour3 will see them play eleven dates, and venturing out into our fair country’s regional nooks and crannies with the Groovin’ The Moo festival as well has headlining shows of their own.

“the coolest unconventional musicians of 2008 – there’s no doubt this is genius at work” (Rip It Up)

“The hallmark of Ratatat’s genius is their willingness to process the absolute hell out of their guitar sounds, warping them almost beyond recognition to create a blueprint for the progression of music for decades to come” (Time Out Sydney)

Evan and Mike navigate their unique sonic hover crafting a free flowing chromatic wave of guitars, keyboards, beats, smoke and mirrors back to add another overwhelming layer of atmosphere with TOUR3.

RATATAT TOUR3
Sat 2 May – Townsville, Groovin The Moo
Sun 3 May – Byron Bay, Great Northern
Mon 4 May – Brisbane, HiFi Bar
Wed 6 May – Gold Coast, Coolangatta Hotel
Thu 7 May – Wollongong, Waves
Fri 8 May – Sydney, Manning Bar
Sat 9 May – Maitland, Groovin The Moo
Sun 10 May – Canberra, ANU Bar
Fri 15 May – Melbourne, Corner Hotel
Sat 16 May – Bendigo, Groovin The Moo
Sun 17 May – Perth, Amplifier

Check out Animal Collective's epic 10 minute remix of their track 'Mirando'


Mirando (Animal Collective Remix) [mp3]


LP3 is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

Embed with Peaches

Feel the Peaches love and stream the mixtape we told you about last week on your own blog.



right click to download drums of death mixtape as mp3

Copy to code below to get embed with Peaches
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Peaches' new album I Feel Cream is out May 2 through XL.

Hey, it's Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Last month we gave you the first glimpse of Elvis Perkins in Dearland’s new eponymous album, the track Shampoo.

Now comes the new single from the album, Hey. Propelled by the pounding, ring-tailed beat of the marching drum, Hey is one of the catchiest songs from the album and perfectly balances its propulsive rhythm with delicate vocal harmonies supplied by Lavender Diamond front-woman Becky Stark.

Hey [mp3]

In a traditional New Orleans funeral procession, “the second line” refers to the lively troupe of brass musicians who trail behind the mourners, injecting a spirit of spontaneous celebration into an otherwise sombre affair. Indeed, Elvis Perkins in Dearland feels very much like the second line to his exquisitely melancholic and much-hailed solo debut Ash Wednesday, conjuring both the greatest celebration and the saddest funeral, channelling an ageless wisdom that deepens with each new listen.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland is due out early April.

Vampire Weekend vs Miike Snow

Vampire Weekend's latest single The Kids Don't Stand A Chance has been given an electro makeover courtesy of Miike Snow's production wizardry.

Miike Snow are Swedish producers Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (aka Bloodshy & Avant, producers and songwriters of Britney Spears's "Toxic" and "Piece of Me") and musician Andrew Wyatt (Fires of Rome, Black Beetle).

You can hear their remix of The Kids Don't Stand A Chance over at RCRD LBL.

The White Stripes perform on Late Night

The White Stripes made a special appearance on Conan O'Brien's final episode hosting Late Night, playing the track We're Going To Be Friends from their 2001 album White Blood Cells.



Conan has been a long time fan of The White Stripes, with the band performing on his show several times and Conan making an appearance in their video for The Denial Twist.

New Basement Jaxx single

Late last year Basement Jaxx released Planet 1 and Planet 2 EPs. Now Felix and Simon kick off 2009 with Planet 3 EP: four brand spankin' new tunes with some new friends taking on the vocal duties.

The first track from the EP is the jazzy, foot-tapping She's No Good featuring Eli "Paperboy" Reed on vocals.

Other tracks on the EP are:
My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion)
Wheel N Stop (feat. Serocee)
Twerk (feat. Yo Majesty)
You can hear some of the tracks at the MySpace.

Planet 3 EP is out exclusively through iTunes from next week with a new album to be released later in the year.

In the meantime, Basement Jaxx will be heading to Australia in just over a week to play the Future Music Festivals, along with headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

TOUR DATES
Sat 28 Feb – Sydney, Future Music Festival
Sun 1 Mar - Perth, Future Music Festival
Tue 3 March – Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Wed 4 March – Melbourne, Palace Theatre
Sat 7 Mar - Brisbane, Future Music Festival
Sun 8 Mar - Melbourne, Future Music Festival
Mon 9 Mar - Adelaide, Future Music Festival

Peaches and Cream

I Feel Cream is the highly anticipated new album from shock princess, Peaches. Due out May 2nd, the album follows on from 2006's Impeach My Bush, which featured the wickedly catchy tracks Downtown and Boys Wanna Be Her.

Returning to her electro roots in I Feel Cream, Peaches enlisted Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism, Drums of Death and rapper Canuck Gonzales to help her out. Other special guests feature on the album but that's a secret for now.

As a teaser for the album's release, UK's Drums of Death has made a Peaches mixtape featuring snippets of tracks off the new album, as well as old favourites that we all know and love. You can download the full mixtape over at BIGSTEREO.

www.myspace.com/peaches

Introducing Blue Roses

The last couple of years has seen a plethora of female singer-songwriters take over the charts. So it comes as a relief to discover that Blue Roses is like no other.

Having tirelessly worked away in friends' bedrooms, recording in churches in her native Yorkshire and borrowing instruments from local music shops, the first glimpse the word will have of Blue Roses (aka Laura Groves) is Doubtful Comforts, a gorgeous, heartfelt plea to a former love.

Doubtful Comforts [mp3]

The song itself sees delicate twinkling kalimba give way to a glorious, lush and symphonic backing and a vocal where Blue Roses pleads “You’re so good at getting my hopes up / Where they don’t belong / I can’t reach them.”

As lead singer Laura explains, “I wanted to create something that would connect with people emotionally, whether it be a lyric or a certain chord change or a sound - something that could perhaps become as important to someone as my favourite records are to me.”

Blue Roses' self-titled debut album is due out in April.

myspace.com/musicofblueroses | musicofblueroses.com

Tetris Andronicus

iPhone users, here is another one to add to your collection of crazy applications courtesy of New Jersey's Titus Andronicus.

The Titus Andronicus iPhone application tests your inner roadie as you are challenged to pack instruments and amps efficiently into 2003 Chevrolet Express - Tetris style.

Featured in the game are tracks My Time Outside The Womb and Titus Andronicus, both of which can be found on their debut album The Airing Of Grievances. Full of triumphant rock anthems, the album is out now.

Titus Andronicus are:
Andrew Cedermark – guitar, keyboard, vocals
Ian Graetzer – bass
Eric Harm – drums
Ian O’Neil – guitar, vocals
Patrick Stickles – vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica

myspace.com/titusandronicus

M.I.A. has a baby boy

Just a few days after her Grammy performance, M.I.A. gave birth to her first child on February 11th. An ecstatic Maya posted on her myspace:

HAPPY VALENTINES!

SUNDAY NITE I CA M E HOME FROM THE GRAMMY'S STILL IN THE MOOD TO PARTY , I COUDA EASILY GONE OUT BUT I WENT HOME INSEAD , LUCKY I DID!! COZ MY EARLY STAGE LABOUR KICKED IN AROUND 2 AM .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfndz8pW9WY

MY BABY WAS BORN WEDNESDAY , HE IS HEALTHY , FINE , BEAUTIFUL AND THE MOST AMZING THING EVER ON THIS PLANET, OF COURSE IM HIS MUM!!!

ME AND BABY ARE PUTTING OUR TOUR DATES FOR 2010 TOGETHER
AND MAKING MIX TAPES
AND FIGURING OUT A WAY TO BREAK OUT OF THE HOSPITAL !

HOPEFULLY THE WORLD IS BEEN TICKING ALONG AND I AINT MISSED MUCH!

C U SOON ,

AND MY BABY BOY SAYZ HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here's a pic of the baby, care of The Music Slut.

Radiohead and Adele win Grammys

UK's Adele has won 2 of the 4 Grammys she was nominated for, picking up Best New Artist for her debut album 19 as well as Best Female Pop Performance for Chasing Pavements, which she performed live at the ceremonies. You can hear a radio performance of some of the tracks from the album here.

Chasing Pavements


Radiohead also won 2 awards earning Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for In Rainbows. The band performed the track 15 Step from the album at the awards, backed by the USC marching band.

M.I.A. missed out on Record of the Year for Paper Planes, losing out to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (who?!). And despite her baby being due on the same night, M.I.A. went on to perform Paper Planes to an adoring crowd.

And it wouldn't be a Grammy post without some fashion shots:

Devendra Banhart covers Kath Bloom

Kath Bloom is a singer-songwriter from Conneticut who has been making avant-garde folk music since the 70s.

Fellow alt-folk artist Devendra Banhart features on her new tribute album Loving Takes This Course with his cover of Forget About Him. And here's the track, care of Stereogum:



Devendra Banhart's latest album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is out now.

Basement Jaxx sideshows announced

Sydney and Melbourne fans of UK dance pioneers Basement Jaxx will be excited to hear that the duo will be treating us to side shows when they venture down here for the Future Music Festival in February/March.

Tickets for the intimate shows in Sydney and Melbourne go on sale this Monday. With a new album due out later this year, this may be a chance to hear some much anticipated new material from the duo. Be prepared for a show that ‘kicks like a hyperactive mule’.

Sat 28 Feb - Future Music Festival, Sydney, Randwick Racecourse
Sun 1 Mar - Future Music Festival, Perth, Wellington Square
Tue 3rd March – Enmore Theatre, Sydney *sideshow
Wed 4th March – Palace Theatre, Melbourne*sideshow
Sat 7 Mar - Future Music Festival, Brisbane, Doomben Racecourse
Sun 8 Mar - Future Music Festival, Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Mon 9 Mar - Future Music Festival, Adelaide, Rundle Park

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett Monkey around on Pitchfork

Last year saw the creators of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, once again team up with each other to create an aural and visual masterpiece, Monkey: Journey To The West.

Based on the Chinese story of the Monkey King (that's Monkey Magic to you and me), the album was released late last year and became the first Mandarin record to make the UK Top 10, also making it into the Top 5 albums chart.

The duo sat down with Pitchfork to talk about Monkey, Gorillaz and the demise of.

Pitchfork: After the success of Gorillaz, you must have had your choice of projects. When [New York-based opera director] Chen Shi-Zheng approached you, what attracted you guys to this particular story?

JH: Well it wasn't-- it was Alex Poots [artistic director] from the Manchester International Festival who came to us first. We had done work with him about a year before; we opened the Manchester Festival with five nights of the [live] Demon Days project. And he said, "Are you interested in this Monkey project?" And we were promised a trip to China, so we thought, "Hey, we'll go to China, check it out, see what we think." And if we don't like it, or don't like the people involved, at least we got a free trip to China!

Read the full interview here.

Vampire Weekend awesome foursome in triple j hottest 100

The triple j Hottest 100 countdown over the Australia Day long weekend was highly anticipated as always, with a mixed bag of surprising and somewhat predictable moments, charting what triple j listeners rated as the best singles of 2008.

New York boys Vampire Weekend consistently came up as favourites, with four tracks from their self titled debut album appearing on the list (the most of any other band, tied with winners Kings of Leon), cementing them as one of the stronger new acts to come out of '08.

The fans' favourite tracks Vampire Weekend tracks were :
Oxford Comma at #30,
A-Punk at #32,
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa at #52 and
One (Blake's Got A New Face) at #71.

For the full Hottest 100 head to triple j.

M.I.A up for an Oscar

M.I.A. and Indian producer A.R Rahman have received a 'Best Original Score' Academy Award nomination for their collaboration on O... Saya.

The song features on the soundtrack for Danny Boyle's Golden Globe winning film Slumdog Millionaire that is currently taking the world by storm.

Other songs nominated in the category are 'Jai Ho', another Rahman track from Slumdog Millionaire, as well as Peter Gabriel's track 'Down To Earth' which appears on the Pixar animated film WALL-E.

The Slumdog Millionaire sound track is out now through M.I.A's own label N.E.E.T.

TV On The Radio take on Bowie

TV On The Radio have been selected by the one and only David Bowie to cover his 1977 hit Heroes.



The glam rock legend chose TVOTR to perform the title track of the Heroes compilation put together by War Child, a network of independent organisations helping children affected by war. War Child asked 15 ultimate icons to select a song from their back catalog and to entrust one of their favourite acts to create a unique interpretation of that track.

The 16 track compilation also features Peaches' interpretation of Iggy Pop and The Stooges' Search And Destroy. Peaches is currently working on her new album due out later this year, with guests on the album including Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism and Canuck Gonzales.

Adele live set

UK songstress Adele has recorded a live set for American radio stations WXPN, performing 5 tracks off her debut album 19. You can hear the full set here.

Adele is up for 4 Grammys: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Winners will be announced February 8th.

Ratatat Remixed

Early last year we herd news circulating about Animal Collective having remixed Ratatat's track Mirando from their third album LP3. The result? It's been transformed into an epic "ten minute techno wonder".


Mirando (Animal Collective Remix) [mp3]

Friendly Fires 'Skeleton Boy' video

Skeleton Boy is the upcoming new single for Friendly Fires, out early March. In the video the boys risk their health for the sake of art. Getting polystyrene balls stuck up your snozz can't be good for you.

The single features a re-recorded version done with Paul Epworth (who also produced first single Jump In The Pool). More synths? Check. Even catchier? Double check.

Jack Peñate gets an extension

UK pop wunderkind Jack Peñate's second album (his follow up to the very catchy Matinee) is due out later this year. With anticipation growing, we’re here to satisfy your need to put on your dancing shoes by offering you an extended mix of his new single Tonight's Today. Have a listen!

Tonight's Today (Extended Club Mix)[mp3] (192kbps)

Tonight's Today (single edit) [mp3] (128kbps)

New track from Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Having released his intimate debut album Ash Wednesday back in 2006, Elvis Perkins now returns with a new album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Elvis Perkins in Dearland is the collective name of Elvis and his three piece band (bassist Brigham Brough, keyboardist/guitarist Wyndham Boylan-Garnett, and drummer Nicholas Kinsey) who have been touring with Elvis over the past few years.

On first single and opening track Shampoo, Elvis knocks out a catchy, loping riff on his acoustic guitar even as he is being surrounded by a collective chorus of whistles, tempting him to come join the circle. And join it he does—with the first seductive thrush and pull of Wyndham’s B3 organ, the song eases into its catchy hitch-step rhythm and Elvis’s lonesome call “sweep up, little sweeper boy” is folded into the textured fullness of the Dearland sound.

Shampoo [mp3]

Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Shaw (Bob Dylan, Ween) the new album is due out in early March. You can hear more tracks at their website.

While You Were Sleeping (from 2006's Ash Wednesday LP)

Peter Gabriel and and Hot Chip cover Vampire Weekend

"And it feels so unnatural. Peter Gabriel, too."

With a chorus line like that, how could Peter Gabriel not do a cover of Vampire Weekend track Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa? And with electric keyboard help courtesy of Hot Chip, this is the result:

"It feels so unnatural. Peter Gabriel, too. And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name."

Jack Peñate - new single 'Tonight's Today'

Following on from his ridiculously catchy debut album Matinee, released late last year, UK's pop darling Jack Peñate returns with his new single Tonight's Today.

The single just debuted on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show as his 'Hottest Record In The World'. Hear why for yourself:

[mp3] (128kbps)

“Pure out-and-out fun” NME
“This is the kind of pop music that makes me rub my hands together with glee... it's bloody great” Inpress

Tonight's Today is out early 2009 on 12" with a new album due out early/mid 2009.

Torn On The Platform (Live at Melbourne's HiFi Bar, February 2008)
From the album Matinee

Vampire Weekend and Chromeo

Vampire Weekend performed their new single The Kids Don't Stand A Chance with Chromeo at the MTVU Awards, featuring a nice bit of vocoder action half way through.

Tanlines - New Flowers

Tanlines are duo Eric Emm (from production duo Brothers) and Jesse Cohen (Professor Murder). The Brooklyn based duo came to some prominence and notoriety earlier this year with a playful, synth-led remix of Telepathe’s ‘Chromes On It’ [mp3]


Their unique approach to having their music heard includes using YouTube (which they describe as the best record label ever), to post tracks accompanied by self-made videos on their own channel as soon as the songs are done, creating a bizarre, almost psychedelic visual experience of Tanlines music.

They will release their debut 12", New Flowers, in January through Young Turks (Holy Fuck, El Guincho). The Balearic house-meets-Larry Levan’s NYC disco groove track was created when artist Marisa Olson asked them to contribute to the launch of her art book, Poems I Wrote While Listening to the Doors, 1992-1994 (Before I Found The Internet). They took one word from the suggested poem - “flowers”, and created this euphoric (mostly) instrumental track. The video features visual by Marisa.

New Flowers


myspace.com/tanlinestheband

Titus Andronicus Air Their Grievances

The Airing of Grievances is the debut album from New Jersey's Titus Andronicus, who named themselves after the Shakespearean tragedy.

The album was originally released in May of this year, getting a stellar 8.5 review on Pitchfork. XL will be realising a newly mastered version of the album in early 2009.

What does Titus Andronicus want people to walk away with after experiencing The Airing of Grievances? “Just that we’re humans, like them,” Stickles says. “That we’re every bit as imperfect and flawed and weak as they are. People always used to talk about Led Zeppelin, and how they were, like, gods onstage. I want people to look at us and see humans onstage, reveling in their humanity. We’re just regular guys from New Jersey, with the same wants and needs and desires and anxieties and disappointments that everybody else has.”

Titus Andronicus [mp3]


myspace.com/titusandronicus