Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Win Tickets to Amadou & Mariam in London!


Enter a competition to win a pair of tickets to see Amadou & Mariam live in London at the HMV Forum on 3rd December here:


http://www.becausemusic.net/am/forum

Friday, 20 November 2009

Introducing: Is Tropical


IS TROPICAL
DEBUT SINGLE - 'WHEN O' WHEN'
RELEASED - HITCLUB RECORDS - 18TH JANUARY 2010
London three - piece IS TROPICAL are set to release their debut single on the fledgling Hitclub Records label on the 18th of January 2010.
'When O' When', produced and Mixed by Al O'Connell (Klaxons/Big Pink) at Beethoven Street London, comes backed with 'Seasick Mutiny' and is released on limited edition seven inch vinyl and as a digital download. Uniquely varied and disjointed, 'When O' When' rattles through so many different rhythms and styles in a way unlike any other typical 3-and-a-half minute pop formula around right now.

Watch "When O' When" video here:


Formed early this year, the IS TROPICAL line up of Gary Barber (Vocals/Guitars/Keys), Simon Milner (Vocals/Guitars/Keys) and Dominic Apa (Drums/Programming) hit the ground running playing a quick stint of live dates and club nights in and around London. Developing their live show and songs simultaneously, they improvise from scrounged instruments and create a constantly changing soundscape, which sees them effortlessly swoop from raw pop anthems to lo-fi dance songs.

Taking to the stage in their now trademark masks, cloaked by self-made video projections
IS TROPICAL are one of the most exciting and mysterious bands in the country. Spontaneous, unindulgent, and instinctively inventive. IS TROPICAL will be playing the following dates in November and December, more live dates to be announced.
LIVE DATES:
NOV 25TH - THE MACBETH - LONDON
NOV 27TH - GOLDSMITH UNIVERSITY- LONDON
DEC 12TH - CARNIVALE (WHITECHAPEL) - LONDON
DEC 15TH - THE LEGION - LONDON


You Me At Six Announce New Album


Announce January 11th release of eagerly anticipated second album 'Hold Me Down' on Virgin Records

You Me At Six look set to cement their rise from underground heroes to mainstream success with the January 11th release of their second album 'Hold Me Down' on Virgin Records. 'Hold Me Down' is the follow up to their 2008 debut 'Take Off Your Colours.'

'Hold Me Down' finds the Surrey quintet fulfilling their potential with a collection of soaring hooks and irresistible melodies. It captures You Me At Six's live exuberance with 'Playing The Blame Game' breaching the gap between pop-punk energy and the snappy immediacy of new wave, while 'Safer To Hate Her' alternates between a tender, melancholic riff and a fiercely defiant chorus. But 'Hold Me Down'demonstrates that the band aren't reliant on pure energy as closing track 'Fireworks' escalates from its initial reflective tone into a soaring conclusion. The album also highlights a guest appearance from Kids In Glass Houses vocalist Aled Phillips on 'Trophy Eyes.'

An air raid siren heralds the hi-octane thrills of album opener 'The Consequence' which will preview the album when it's released as a free download from the official You Me At Six website on November 25th plus it features guest vocals courtesy of The Blackout's Sean Smith. The first full single to be taken from 'Hold Me Down' will be the crunchy power-pop attack of 'Underdog' due for release on 7th February 2010.

The album was produced by John Mitchell (Funeral For A Friend, Enter Shikari, Architects) and Matt O'Grady (The Blackout, Hexes), and mastered by Bob Ludwig (Radiohead, Coldplay, Pearl Jam).

You Me At Six soon became one of the most vital emerging talents around when they released their debut set 'Take Off Your Colours.'The album's continuing popularity was proven when it was recently released as a 2CD Deluxe Edition that featured their first Top 40 hit'Finders Keepers'.

However, it's been You Me At Six's famously adrenalized live shows that have cemented their growing reputation as one of the UK's most exciting ascending bands. The band will conclude 2009 with an arena tour as guests to Paramore, before returning for a full UK headline tour in March 2010 that concludes with a show at Brixton Academy.

www.youmeatsix.co.uk www.myspace.com/youmeatsix

Upcoming tour dates

December 2009 - as guests to Paramore

10th - Glasgow, SECC Arena

11th - Birmingham, NIA

12th - Dublin, O2 Point

14th - Cardiff, CIA

16th - Manchester, MEN Arena

17th - Brighton, Centre

18th - London, Wembley Arena

March 2010 - headline tour

9th - Birmingham, O2 Academy

10th - Newport, Centre

11th - Sheffield, O2 Academy

12th - Manchester, Apollo

13th - Newcastle, O2 Academy

14th - Glasgow, O2 Academy

16th - Leeds, O2 Academy

17th - Nottingham Rock City

18th - Southampton, Guildhall

19th - Norwich, UEA

20th - London, Brixton O2 Academy




DJ Hell to release single featuring Bryan Ferry



Hell featuring Bryan Ferry

'U Can Dance'

Release date January 2010 on International Deejay Gigolo Records

It was only a matter of time. Two genre-defining artists together…pop music and dance music's most famous arbiters of taste, collaborating at last. DJ Hell's "U Can Dance" is an interpretation of an unreleased Bryan Ferry song, but it's one that reflects a perfect melding of two distinct personalities, a record that sounds as if the voice and music were made for each other.

Hell, of course, has been riding high on the success of Teufelswerk, his masterpiece of a double album, a journey replete with fruitful experiments and club bombs. One that has yielded both massive hits and not a tiny bit of controversy along the way. Ferry, meanwhile, has been as busy as ever-recording a new album, performing in places as far afield as Siberia, opening up the Cannes Film Festival...basically just being Bryan Ferry.

And now here they are together...It all started in 2006 when Hell dropped in to meet Ferry at his West London studio. At first they discussed Hell remixing an old Roxy Music track, and then it turned into something else - something new (U Can Dance).

They had similar impressions of one another-Hell: "I was impressed by his aura and his look," Ferry: "He impressed us with his sophistication and charm." Fast forward a few years later, and Hell is hard at work on Teufelswerk and putting the finishing touches on the aforementioned song titled "U Can Dance," a serpentine Moroder-esque disco burner. With the help of old friend Peter Kruder, of Kruder and Dorfmeister fame, Hell fashioned the song into a smoldering nine-minute highlight of the double disc set, in which Ferry turns in a typically assured vocal performance.

Ferry may seem like an unexpected fan of dance, but he's been going to clubs since he was a teenager, and in his lengthy career he's worked with legends such as Nile Rodgers of Chic and David Williams from Michael Jackson's band. "It's always a pleasure to work with people from that genre, who follow a singular groove."


HELL FEATURING BRYAN FERRY 'U CAN DANCE' - COMING JAN. 2010 from Gigolo Records on Vimeo.

The single follows in the wake of Hell's "The DJ feat. P. Diddy" which has won over floors and critics alike with its nearly 30-minute Radio Slave remix and fine work from the likes of Deetron, Jay Haze and others. On "U Can Dance" Hell and Ferry have similarly pulled out all the stops for the remixes, gathering up work from the Grammy-nominated producer Carl Craig, DFA mainstay Tim Goldsworthy and pop electro superstars Simian Mobile Disco.

There's also a video - directed by the suitably subversive Jo Apps. It features five beautiful sirens, styled by Nova Dando of Lady Gaga fame. In the fashion of both Roxy Music and the men behind "U Can Dance," the video captures the song's decadence perfectly...

TOUR DATES

Nov 6 2009 - Womb Tokyo

Nov 7 2009 - Mole Sapporo, Hokkaido

Nov 13 2009 - Boogee Basement Graz, Kärnten

Nov 20 2009 - Lux Lisboa

Nov 26 2009 Patrick Mohr x Hell, Munich

Nov 27 2009 - Bergwerk Altenmarkt

Nov 28 2009 - Fabric London and South East

Dec 3 2009 - Vienna International Human Rights Film Festival Wien

Dec 4 2009 - Alte Borse Zurich

Dec 7 2009 - Spacio Atlantico Roma

Dec 10 2009 Patrick Mohr x Hell, Berlin

Dec 11 2009 - Rex Paris

Dec 12 2009 - Watergate with M.A.N.D.Y Berlin

Dec 17 2009 -Wendy& Jim after party-Flex Wien

Dec 18 2009 - Velvet Leipzig

Dec 19 2009 - Park Motel Dresden

Dec 26 2009 - Playground @ Kornhaus, Bern

http://www.djhell.com/ http://www.myspace.com/djhell

Introducing: The Duke & The King

The Duke & The King


New single "The Morning I Get To Hell" out on 14th December 2009 on Loose Music

The Duke & The King are a glam-soul-folk quartet from New York featuring Simone Felice, Bobbie Bird Burke, Simi Stone and Nowell Haskins. Named after the travelling Shakespeare Hustlers in Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' these curious blood-brothers (and sweet sister) have found a home together, a travelling church of harmony and sin where its OK to French kiss your cousin and all strays are welcome to come out of the cold and sing along to songs of love, loss, pathos and hope. The Duke & The King have been touring all corners of the globe in support of their internationally acclaimed debut album 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'.

The Duke & The King will be playing two UK shows in November:

Saturday 21 November - The Ruby Lounge - Manchester

Sunday 22 November - The Scala - London

Watch The Duke & The King performing "The Morning I Get To Hell" on Later with Jools Holland earlier this year:



"Exquisite -Already one of my favourite albums of the Year" - UNCUT

"Songs so perfectly formed they might have been around forever" - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

"A wondrous album" - CD of The Week - THE SUNDAY TIMES

"The kind of record that cults are made of" - THE WORD

"One of my favourite albums of the year. Each song somehow sounding like a classic, each live performance suggesting we are in the presence of a rare, fiery brilliance" - THE GUARDIAN

"Nothing Gold Can Stay already has hovering not so very far above it the status of classic" - THE SUNDAY TIMES

"Haunted but rapturous. Treasure it" - THE MIRROR


http://www.myspace.com/dukeandtheking

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Akira The Don Announce new EP and Zombie film



Akira The Don "I Am Not Dead (Yeah!)"
EP Mini-Movie Party - October 31st 2009



London. Autumn, 2009. The music industry lies in ruins. Dead-eyed zombies lurch and drool where once stood pop stars we loved and admired. The airwaves are dominated by the reanimated howls of soulless rotting husks: dead music for a dead culture.



But one man is ready to change all this. One living, breathing, bona fide pop star has come to say "enough is enough"; Akira The Don is not dead.



To celebrate, we bring you the "I Am Not Dead (Yeah!) EP", his first official release for two years: and it's out this Halloween.



The EP showcases five brand new ATD tracks, including "I Am Not Dead (Yeah!)", taken from Akira's forthcoming album, The Life Equation: co-produced by Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Robbie Williams) and featuring Gruff Rhys (SFA, Neon Neon) on backing vocals.



The EP is accompanied by a zombie apocalypse mini-movie music video that has been a year in the making, had no budget, and stars a whole host of friends, enemies, collaborators, extras and passers by.



Watch a trailer here:






A party and film screening will be held at The Dogstar in Brixton, London on Halloween: Saturday, October 31st.



The release will be available via akirathedon.com, iTunes and all other major digital retailers.

Friday, 9 October 2009

Charlotte Gainsbourg - New Album and Free Download



CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG
New Album "IRM" 25th January

Title Track "IRM" Free Download 7th October

Charlotte Gainsbourg releases her new album "IRM" through Because Music on 25th January. Recorded and produced by Beck at his studio, the album will be preceded by a free download of the title track through www.charlottegainsbourg.com on 9th October. Watch a teaser here:


Charlotte, who is currently in Los Angeles putting the finishing touches to the album with Beck, picked up the Best Actress Award at Cannes this year for her role in Lars Von Triers' controversial film "Antichrist".
When Charlotte Gainsbourg began planning her forthcoming album, she thought Beck might be a perfect producer for the adventurous and diverse approach she had in mind. From their first casual hours together in the studio, she recognized a shared sensibility and the potential for a collaboration that would prove both natural and seamless.
Gainsbourg explains: "We started with 'Master's Hands', which has a sort of African beat and then we did 'In The End', which is very melodic and much quieter. 'Heaven Can Wait' followed, which is a much more classic pop song. So in that same [first] session we went in three different directions". Beck's interpretation of the early session echoes Gainsbourg's: "I pulled a bunch of songs out. And then I wrote a few, with her in mind, but when we spent time together they changed because I got more of a feeling of where she wanted to go. We got in the studio and I could see all the possibilities."

Beck brought in many of his regular collaborators including, Joey Waronker and James Gadson on drums, Brian LeBarton on keyboards, David Ralicke on trumpet and Beck's father, David Campbell, for string arrangements. Though Gainsbourg's unique voice is instantly recognizable throughout, her vocal performances here are as varied as the material.
Gainsbourg's previous record '5:55', which Because released in 2006, garnered worldwide critical acclaim and went on to sell over half a million copies. Featuring collaborations with Nigel Godrich, Jarvis Cocker and Air, the album established her as a unique recording artist.


Thursday, 8 October 2009

GRAMMATICS BRAND NEW SINGLE AND BLOC PARTY DATES





Grammatics release brand new single Double Negative around Bloc Party dates



"Grammatics bowl you over with washes of high-IQ indie. Great stuff." - THE SUNDAY TIMES
“Bona Fide Genius.” - NME

Following tours with Rolo Tomassi, Maximo Park and performances at Reading and Leeds Festival, Grammatics return with a brand new single ‘Double Negative.’ Recorded over the summer and not featuring on the band’s debut LP, Double Negative is a twisted fairground ride of a tune, with machine guns drums and spiraling guitars, a typical Grammatics; full of eloquent angst and melodrama, it comes accompanied by the a cello led cover of The Good Life’s Notes In His Pockets. The single is released on October 26th on 7” and is available digitally now.




Out earlier this year, the bands debut album has already been hailed as one of 2009's great arrivals, and recently finished runner-up in Drowned in Sound’s alternative Mercury award – the Neptune Music Prize.
Grammatics have been personally invited to play main support on Bloc Party’s 23 date ‘Bloctober’ tour, kicking off on 2nd October.

Remixes of Murderer and Dilemma will be available for free download from www.dancetotheradio.com throughout the tour.

Live Dates

2nd October - Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, UK (w/ Bloc Party)
3rd October - Picture House, Edinburgh, UK (w/ Bloc Party)
4th October - Iron Works, Inverness (w/ Bloc Party)
6th October - Music Hall, Aberdeen (w/ Bloc Party)
7th October - Alhambra, Dunfermline (w/ Bloc Party)
8th October - City Hall, Hull (w/ Bloc Party)
10th October - Academy, Sheffield (w/ Bloc Party)
11th October - Academy, Leeds (w/ Bloc Party)
12th October - Engine Shed, Lincoln (w/ Bloc Party)
14th October - Victoria Hall, Stoke (w/ Bloc Party)
15th October - Academy, Birmingham (w/ Bloc Party)
16th October - Centre, Newport (w/ Bloc Party)
18th October - Arena, Llandudno (w/ Bloc Party)
19th October - University, Liverpool (w/ Bloc Party)
20th October - Academy, Bristol (w/ Bloc Party)
22nd October - Hall For Cornwall, Truro (w/ Bloc Party)
23rd October - Pavilion, Plymouth (w/ Bloc Party)
24th October - Centre, Brighton (w/ Bloc Party)
26th October - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (w/ Bloc Party)
27th October - Corn Exchange, Cambridge (w/ Bloc Party)
28th October - Rock City, Nottingham (w/ Bloc Party)
30th October - Rivermead, Reading (w/ Bloc Party)
31st October - BIC, Bournemouth (w/ Bloc Party)

Download

MP3 – Inkjet Lakes feat. Blue Roses (from the debut album ‘Grammatics’) http://www.mediafire.com/?2dqtjv21tjy

Visit

Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/grammatics
Website – http://www.grammatics.co.uk
Label – http://www.dancetotheradio.com

(For Press)

PDF – Press Pack http://www.dancetotheradio.com/press/grammaticspresspack.pdf
JPG – Hi-res Packshot http://www.dancetotheradio.com/press/DTTR055Cover.jpg
JPG – Hi-res Press Photos http://www.dancetotheradio.com/press/GrammaticsPressShot.jpg