Showing posts with label drowned in sound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drowned in sound. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 September 2008

NEWS: Cocker Preaches In The City

Music-conference-slash-festival In The City has today announced one of their most exciting guest speakers for this year’s music conference.

Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker is to appear at the international music convention founded by Tony Wilson, which takes place in Manchester over October 5th, 6th and 7th.

Cocker will take to the lectern on the final day of the event. His lecture will discuss the function of lyrics in modern popular music.

Entitled ‘Saying the Unsayable’, ASAD is told it will be a completely biased and subjective exploration of a selection of Jarvis’ favourite songs on top of a dissection of some of his own lyrics.

He's likely to talk about Leonard Cohen, Pete Doherty, Hot Chocolate, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Sedaka, Dory Previn, Katerine, Rozalla, Arctic Monkeys plus many more he hasn’t thought of yet. There will also be an in-depth analysis of ‘Louie, Louie’.

Other keynote speakers already confirmed include former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham MP and some guy called Sean Adams from some site called Drowned in Sound. Other guest speakers and panelists will be announced over the next few days.

More details are available from In The City’s official website.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

Tuesday, 23 September 2008

NEWS: The Futureheads Bootleg Their Own Work

Sunderland’s finest four-piece, The Futureheads, top off a fantastic major-label-free twelve months with a full UK tour.

Not only are they touring, but in a Pearl Jam fashion, the Futureheads are releasing a number of live shows which fans will be able to buy as digital and actual CD albums from The Futureheads’ online store. The first of which, recorded at 2004 Quart Festival in Norway, is already available from this very link.

The tour dates are as follows:

November
29th London Astoria
30th Whitehaven Civic Hall

December
2nd Glasgow ABC 2
3rd Glasgow ABC 2
5th Cardiff Point
7th Norwich Waterfront
12th Sheffield Academy (Pet Sounds)
19th Gateshead Sage
20th York Duchess

Tickets are on sale now.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

Thursday, 18 September 2008

NEWS: Foo Fighters to take ten year hiatus from UK

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl today sugggested that that the band may not be returning to UK shores for ten years.

His dramatic statement comes after the band played two stonking summer shows at Wembley Stadium.

Unfortunately, this means Grohl and the boys may well be on their way to grandfatherhood before we see them grace a UK stage again.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music Grohl said: “After doing Wembley, we shouldn't come back there for, like, 10 years. We're over there every year, every summer, and I think it's time to take a break and come back when people really miss us.”

Elaborating further he went onto say: "It's a funny place being in the band now because we've been a band for about 14 years," Grohl said. "We've gone from playing the Astoria, to playing Earls Court to playing Wembley. That wasn't really the goal but hey, we'll take it."

"We've never really taken a long break," he said. "I think it's time.”

The band have crossed the pond no less than three times in the last three years and were joined by Led Zeppelin on their last night at Wembley.

Here’s hoping they can still rock like Page and Plant in ten years times...

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

NEWS: Watch: Björk & Antony 'Dull Flame Of Desire'

The video for Björk’s next single, 'Dull Flame Of Desire' is now online

Taken from Volta (reviewed) and out on the 22th September the song is a collaboration with Antony & The Johnsons front man Antony Hegarty.

As with everything associated with Iceland’s pop pixie, the video is pretty conceptual.

Three amateur directors were picked from hundreds of competition entrants and given the responsibility of producing a video worthy of the Björk’s prestigious music video library.

The two singers performed against green screen in New York then each director was sent the raw footage to edit and create their piece. The directors were each given their own section of the film to develop how they saw fit. The three parts were then edited together here in the UK to create the final piece.

Watch the video right here, right now:

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: hejhejmusic.com

NEWS: Doherty & Barat Impromptu Reunion

Former Libertines band mates and likely lads Pete Doherty and Carl Barat joined forces once again last night when they performed an impromptu set in London town.

The surprise performance took place at the Prince of Wales pub in Camden where Doherty was playing his own material for an MTV documentary before a gaggle of fans.

When Barat strolled out on stage though the congregation couldn’t believe their luck.

The cockney couple performed classics from their days as leaders of The Libertines, including 'Don’t Look Back Into The Sun' which transformed into a rendition of Oasis’ 'Don’t Look Back In Anger'.



This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: blogs.guardian.co.uk

Thursday, 11 September 2008

FEATURE: How great is the BBC?

This feature was posted on Drowned in Sound:

DiS was surprised and excited to hear news that the BBC are working on a project to make all their glorious audio and video music content available to download.

The download service being developed by BBC Worldwide will offer streamed and paid download material from it's vast music archives.

This is a very exciting prospect. All the Peel sessions, Led Zeppelin's performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test, grunge hammered out on Top Of The Pops direct to your computer's video library.

With potential to be bigger than the iPlayer, DiS is naturally gagging with excitement. Details of the launch date have not yet been made available but that's not gonna stop us celebrating the news of this new music download service.

So in anticipation we thought we'd raid the YouTube archives and bring you some BBC music highlights that have inspired, awe struck and left DiS generally motived to keep pushing the good musical word.

Have a look below and see what you think of our selection. If you have any better ideas post them below and we'll soon let you know if you're right or wrong.

1. At The Drive 'One Armed Scissor' (Jools Holland 2000)

No-one was expecting At The Drive-In (pictured above) to incorporate a piece of seating furniture so creatively into the performance. This one track set was ground-breaking and sent jazz-grunge shockwaves far beyond television centre. Watching it back again it hasn't lost any of it's aggression and appeal.

2. Blur 'Universal' (Glastonbury 1998)

One of many Glastonbury performances you could pick from the Beeb's extensive annual coverage of the festival. The song's explicit optimism struck a cord with everyone in the audience both in the field and the armchair. This track especially seems to marry the message of every Glasto undeniably well.

3. Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' (Top Of The Pops 1991)

Probably one of the funniest clips you'll see in the list. Kurt can already be seen giving fame the cold shoulder here as he refuses to tow the TOTP party live and perform conservatively. He deliberately puts on a Morrissey-esque low voice to either poke fun or entertain. Either way his efforts to fail failed as The Observer newspaper listed the performance as the third greatest in the programme's history. Amazing!

4. David Bowie 'Fame' (Bowie at the Beeb 2000)

The thin white Duke returned to his old stomping ground just days after his incomparable headlining set at Glastonbury 2000. The exclusively recorded intimate gig would be the blueprint for other, more contemporary performances from The Streets and Coldplay's outdoor show at Television Centre (youtube). This was easily the best time to see the most influential man in rock do a unbelievable greatest hits set.

5. The Maccabees 'First Love' & 'Latchmere' (BBC Collective 2007)

Bringing us bang up-to-date and coincidentally with a bunch of lads much loved by DiS are The Maccabees. The band performed in 2007 as part of the BBC Collective Sessions, a culture magazine that was available on the website (bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/). Unfortunately closed now but that doesn't mean we still cannot adore the amazing sound and visual quality of the magazines extensive archives. This is what live music should sound like.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

Videos: YouTube

Wednesday, 10 September 2008

NEWS: To The Bones Release Album, Single & Video DIY-Style

DIY music may have had a massive boost from Radiohead this year but it's still alive and well at grassroots level.

Black leather clad Bolton rockers To The Bones (pictured above) release their debut album Duke Type A on 29 September although that's not the story. On the same day they'll release the single 'Rex' through Medici Records.

The label had a very humble birth not long ago when Conor McGloin, the head of the imprint and formerly of Kinesis fame, decided to use the rest of his student loan to fund the band's forthcoming releases, tour and video. And with some success to.

To The Bones are about to embark on an 11 date tour in and around the releases and the video to 'Rex' looks as professional as anything Coldplay could throw at you.

Filmed during a house party, it cost nothing to make hiring only one cameraman, four lights and got every drunk for atmosphere.

They must be doing something very right for their high octane riot rock, endorsed by Manics and Idlewild producer Dave Eringa, has been deemed fit for a showcase slot at Manchester's music industry do In The City at the beginning of October.

You can watch 'Rex' below but the list of tour dates are as follows:

  • 10th September - London Notting Hill Arts Centre
  • 19th September - Grimsby The Matrix Club
  • 3rd October - Bolton Kico Club
  • 7th October - Manchester Cellar Vie (In The City Showcase)
  • 9th October - Basingstoke Light Lounge
  • 10th October - Oxford The Wheatsheaf
  • 11th October - Chelmsford Barhouse
  • 16th October - London The Metro
  • 17th October - Brighton The Freebutt (w/ Killa Kenada/The Horse)
  • 24th October - Derby The Venue
  • 31st October - Salisbury The Barn

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC

NEWS: The Stills hit UK with new album & tour

Glorious Canadian pop rockers The Stills have announced a handful of UK live dates for November this year.

The tour will coincide with the UK release of the quintet's third LP Oceans Will Rise. In shops on 20 October through Arts & Crafts the statement from The Stills' press people insist the 'new album showcases a reinvigorated band armed with a razor-sharp sense of melody and a wholly rejuvenated sense of itself.' DiS agrees.

Only a couple of months ago the band found themselves opening for Paul McCartney at the Quebec City 400th Anniversary concert in front of quarter of a million people so this mini-tour is sure to bring them back down to Earth.

The dates for The Stills November UK tour are as follows:

  • 25th November - London Cargo
  • 26th November - Manchester Night & Day
  • 27th November - Glasgow Stereo
  • 28th November - London Koko Club NME

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC


NEWS: Elbow React To Mercury Victory

Every media outlet, not just music publication, has been reporting on Elbow's triumph last night in the race to become the Mercury Music Prize winners last night during a swanky ceremony in London town.

Going somewhat against the grain of previous winners, Elbow's victory is already proving extremely popular across both critical and fan-o-spheres.

After being handed the award for 'Album Of The Year' Elbow frontman Guy Garvey (pictured above) said, "This is quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to us."

"It feels great, very unexpected. I suppose you could look at it in the same way that certain Bedouin tribes look at a bowl of milk. It's something that doesn't occur very often, and it's so much sweeter for it."

Despite the mickey taking, Garvey is said to be genuinely grateful and quite taken a back by the band's achievement.

"Having said that, it's been a long time that we've been doing it and this is a cause for celebration. I'm just so very proud that we've been working together this long - to this end. We really wanted this"

'The Seldom Seen Kid', the band's fourth album was quoted by the Chair of Judges, Simon Frith, as "an album of epic songs, rooted in their locality, a switchback of emotions rooted in the everyday, the sound of musical ambition perfectly realised. Elbow’s album is triumphant, heartbreaking, unerringly melodic and life-affirming.”

Highlights from the evening's events will be broadcast by BBC Two on Friday 12 September. The programme will feature the live performances on the night from nominees The Last Shadow Puppets, Adele, British Sea Power, Neon Neon, Laura Marling and winners Elbow.

To watch Elbow perform on the night cast your eyes beneath:

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC


Friday, 25 July 2008

NEWS: Oberst Streams Entire New Album On Official Site

Bright Eyes star Conor Oberst has made his new, self-titled solo album available to all via a stream on his website.

Conor Oberst will be officially released through Wichita Recordings on August 4 but it is already up on his official website as a live stream for those who’re too impatient to wait a week or two.

A single, ‘Souled Out!!!’, will follow on August 25 as a special one-track 7” with a special etching on the B-side by artist Kaite Murphy, creator of the Grace McSorely comics.

ASAD is told the track will also be made available via all the normal digital outlets.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

NEWS: Ben Folds Announces New Album

Ben Folds is going to unleash his rock side with his new long-awaited album.

Out on September 30, Way To Normal is Fold’s third solo long-player as a solo artist and comes as the follow-up to Songs For Silverman.

Folds takes up vocal, piano and, of course, song-writing duties on the Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse, The Hives) produced album.

Indie pop starlet Regina Spektor features as a guest vocalist on the album’s first single, ‘You Don't Know Me’.

The new raucous album shouldn’t be assumed to be an ode to divorce following Folds’ own two-year legal proceedings with his ex-wife, as the musician explains.

“The songs are not topical. I was not interested in making a record about the D-word. I got all that stuff out of my system on the last record, which was deliberately stoic. This new album is really about me being free, which is why it feels cathartic and expressive. It's about me coming back to being myself.

"I came out of the courthouse, kissed the ground, and walked straight into the studio. I felt like a bottle of champagne that had been shaken for 18 months and popped open in the studio. That's why this record has so much energy."

Ben Folds has been performing at many summer festivals this year, and will continue to tour Way To Normal worldwide into 2009.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: flickr

Thursday, 17 July 2008

NEWS: The Hoosiers Blast Kings Of Leon's Dancing Abilities

The Hoosiers (above) have attacked Kings of Leon (below) for ‘not putting on a show’ when they headlined the Glastonbury Festival last month.

The music press was full of praise for the blues rockers after their Pyramid Stage set on the Friday night, but The Hoosiers' Irwin Sparkes believes they could have danced a bit.

Talking to The Daily Star, the frontman said: “I saw them at Glasto and they are good but they just don’t put on much of a show.

“You want something personal because you know they do it every day – you want them to make it feel special for you.

“We did some dances on stage at Glastonbury. We like to put on a bit of a show.”

Make your own punchline up: here...










This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Images: Google

NEWS: Future Of The Left Extend Their Summer Road Trip

Angry Welsh rockers Future Of The Left have expanded their upcoming UK tour by adding two new dates in London and Newcastle.

The DiS favourites will call at London Proud Galleries on July 25 and Newcastle’s Head of Steam on August 16.

The tour dates are as follows:

  • 25th July - Proud Galleries, London
  • 11th August - Lousiana, Bristol
  • 12th August - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
  • 14th August - Belsonic Festival, Belfast
  • 15th August - Captains Rest, Glasgow
  • 16th August - Head of Steam, Newcastle
  • 19th August - Forum, Tunbridge Wells
  • 20th August - Water Rats, London
  • 22nd August - Reading Festival
  • 23rd August - Leeds Festival
  • 30th August - DETAILS TBA, Sheffield
  • 31st August - Offset Festival, London
Watch 'Lord Hates A Coward' by Future Of The Left performed at last year's SXSW festival below:



This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

INTERVIEW: Trail of Dead talk evolution and misfortune ahead of new LP

As …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead sit in their studio delicately piecing together their sixth album, and deciding what its preceding EP will sound like, frontman Conrad Keeley (the group is completed by Kevin Allen, Aaron Ford, Clay Morris, Jay Phillips and Jason Reece) takes time out to have a word with DiS.

Before you started work on the new album how did you see Trail of Dead’s sound evolving after your last LP, So Divided (review)?
Evolution, maturation: these aren’t necessarily conscious acts. They happen organically, or at least should, and therefore you don’t always notice it. With us I think it happened live, when we were playing our old songs, but trying out new ways to make them interesting. It started with improvising with our old drummer Doni, then continued with our current drummer Aaron. I don’t even know if I managed to address this evolution properly on the new record, but I hope I did to some degree.

Do you feel the band is moving in a new direction?
I don’t think we’ve ever taken on new directions – I’ve always seen everything we do as simply extensions of what we originally intended to do with the band when we started. I think people who don’t see our records as logical progressions had a different idea of what we were going for in the first place. If anything, our last record So Divided fell slightly out of step, but that had mainly to do with the fact that we weren’t trying to make a great record – we were just going through the motions, because we were fed up with our label. Despite what happened behind the scenes on that record, I’m amazed how well it came out.


Video: Trail of Dead, ‘Caterwaul’, from Worlds Apart


Trail of Dead are an act many DiS readers will have followed for some time (true story – Ed) – can you explain what’s behind the new record and what we can expect?
Musically there were a number of new influences that inspired me while I was writing, bands like Yeasayer, Fleet Foxes, and Dirty Projectors. None of these bands are making ‘rock’ music, per se, but then I haven’t heard a particularly inspiring rock album in ages. If you know of one, please tell me. As always, there’s a lot of pain and frustration behind any given record, mainly from the recording process itself. I was playing with a lot of themes in the songs – youth and aging, theology and spirituality, childhood and memory. Unfortunately, I missed most of the important topics, like sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Is there a title for the new album yet?
No, we usually wait to name the album at the very last minute.

You’ve run into some problems what with your producer leaving right at the last minute – this doesn’t mean it’s cursed or something, does it?
We are no strangers to curses and misfortune, and we’ve learned to take them in stride. If anything, it was a blessing. I think we needed to work with people who still believed in the future of music, and had not given up on their lives and the world.

How do you overcome obstacles like a producer leaving?
I don’t see that as too massive a problem. Like all of our problems, I try to look at the big picture, and realise that what we are doing is fairly insignificant. If we were trying to rebuild Iraq, or relieve earthquake victims in remote parts of China, I might be concerned. But we’re not: we’re just recording rock music. It’s hardly worth getting upset over.

I hear you’re planning to release an EP to precede the new album. Can you give any details about that?
I don’t yet know what’s going on the EP, I think I’m still writing it.

It seems you never stop working – when you’re not writing music you’re doodling. What do you do to relax? To relax I usually like to bike really fast, run really fast, climb a mountain, get on a jet ski, or do something dangerous that might kill me.


Video: Trail of Dead, ‘Another Morning Stoner’,
from Source Tags & Codes


The new album will be released through your new label, Richter Scale (news). Are you excited about the prospect of putting out your own music, and music you enjoy?
What could be more exciting! Yes, indeed. But all this is timely, the way I see it. Many bands are starting their own labels and imprints. With the changes taking place in the industry it seems to make a lot more sense. We came onto the majors because we wanted to; I had a romance-fuelled idea of what that meant, based on the history of bands I grew up admiring, I wanted to be like them. It was hard for me to face up to the fact that it will never be like the ‘60s and ‘70s, the days of stadium and arena rock is past, and we are living in a time where rock has taken a back seat to urban music and pop music, and a lot of things that aren’t even music. In a way, facing the reality of it was a lot more difficult than making a decision to be in control of what we do have.

What’s it like partnering up with Universal again though, considering you parted company last year?

It wasn’t really that messy, we actually got off quite easily. Imagine all those stories you hear about bands whose albums got shelved, or who lost control of their catalogue. In so many ways we’ve been lucky, and as I see it we continue to be.

Expect Trail of Dead’s sixth album to land in stores in early 2009, with an EP of new material expected beforehand. Watch video diaries of the band’s studio sessions at their official website, here. Find them on MySpace here.

This interview can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Trail of Dead MySpace

NEWS: Dirty Libertine Chav: Busy Bee Barat

Pushing aside the ever renewing hype about possibly joining forces once again with loveable rogue Doherty, Carl Barat has revealed details of another side project he’s got brewing away.

On top of the work he’s been doing on The Chavs, with Tim Burgess of The Charlatans and Klaxons’ Jamie Reynolds, Barat has begun working on a dub album with Reverend and The Makers frontman Jon McClure.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music earlier today, he gave away few details:

“I'm just making a little dub record. To see how it goes, and if it's no good then well just leave it. It's just something I want to do and something he wants to do, so…”

The former-Libertine who is currently touring the new Dirty Pretty Things album Romance at Short Notice also spoke a little about what The Chavs are getting upto next.

Treating The Chavs as a somewhat of a musical retreat he said the new material is going to be quite different from they’ve done before:

“It's gonna be our darker stuff that we haven't been able to do with our bands. I think, I mean the inspiration starting points were the later PiL records. The idea is everyone brings something to the table really and we just see how it goes. It might change completely, but The Chavs are not going to be too silly anymore.”

Back to the Doherty rumour mill then?

For a retrospective look at how The Chavs were born, glance your eyes below:

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Uncut

Thursday, 10 July 2008

NEWS: Boosh Fest "a success" say organisers

Despite reports in The Guardian that fans were left “bemused”, the organisers of The Mighty Boosh Festival have deemed it an overwhelming success.

It demonstrated a fantastic return to form from the ‘Godfather of Gigs’ Vince Power who masterminded the all-dayer for comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.

The entertainment cocktail of comedy and music that took place last Saturday (July 5) was hampered by traffic problems which, we are reassured, are going to be looked at in the event of another Boosh Fest.

In an unexpected bout of blazing sun revellers plastered in face paint and fancy dress added a Boosh universe theme to the day.

Highlights included Ross Noble and Frankie Boyle’s ‘daft as’ sets in the rammed comedy tent and powerful performances from Robots in Disguise, White Denim, The Kills and the much-celebrated Gary Numan.

As the The Mighty Boosh Band took to the stage the site looked ready to explode with hundreds of sunburnt Bob Fossils and Nabos barging to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

So who went? Who enjoyed it? Who didn’t? Who was caught up in the traffic? Et cetera.

To see an on site interview with the Boosh boys have a look below:


This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC


Wednesday, 9 July 2008

NEWS: You're the next Lil Wayne? Barack Obama doesn't think so

US President in waiting Barack Obama today name checked superstar rapper Lil Wayne during a speech intended to encourage young people to stay in school.

The ‘tough love’ message directed toward the nation’s African American youth was an attempt to illustrate the importance of a high school education above an attempt at employment in the professional sports arena or the music industry.

“You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school,” announced Obama to a cheering crowd in Powder Springs, Georgia.

In the speech the Democratic nominee spoke of high school drop-out rates and the need for students to be more committed to their education in order to develop a successful career post-school years.

Crossing the pop culture/political divide is a dangerous move for any figure, but for the most celebrated rap artist of 2008 it’s a bit of a coup.

For a bit of Lil' Wayne look below:

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC


NEWS: Capital return: Howling Bells in London tonight

Australian four-piece Howling Bells are set to make their return to the London live scene tonight (July 9) when they roll up to The Hoxton Bar and Kitchen.

To celebrate, DrownedinSound got cosy with Juanita Stein (pictured) in the July rain to talk about their new album, the follow-up to their Bella Union-released self-titled (review).

When asked what progress had been made on their second album, the vocalist said:

“We’re about three quarters through mixing the second record now. Been a really inspired and exciting process making this album.

“Where the debut was charcoal and blood red, this one is gold and silver. Diamond shaped as opposed to circular. More optimistic minus the naivety that comes with it.”

Sounds interesting and nicely angular, but can people expect? What about influences?

“In terms of influences, the band seems to have re-connected with the music that first inspired us as individuals. Pink Floyd, The Doors, Hendrix, Love, The Byrds, all the stuff we used to get stoned to combined with all the fun, progressive electronic music we listen to today.

“As this record has been a way more collaborative affair, all those influences combined have definitely made their mark.”

Hopefully all this promise will manifest itself on stage tonight.

The LP was laid down at Sound Factory Studios in Los Angeles with producer Dan Grech-Marguerat, whose past credits include Radiohead and Paul McCartney.

In addition to tonight's London show, you can catch Howling Bells at the following festivals:

  • 18 July - Southwold Latitude Festival
  • 20 July - London Lovebox
  • 9 August - London Field Day
  • 10 August - Leicester Summer Sundae
  • 29 August - Scotland Hydro Connect
'Low' by Howling Bells is playing below:



This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

COMMENT: Is professional music opinion now worth nothing?

Metallica (pictured) might yet be spared their blushes as it turns out most people are looking elsewhere for their music criticism and reviews.

Music criticism is apparently being rubbished by fans as they begin to seek muso advice from other sources.

Professional opinion is being ignored by eight out of ten consumers who are favouring online reviews from music stores and social networking sites for the latest reviews of albums and gigs.

E-commerce firm Avail Intelligence conducted this latest Trust Index research which showed 40 per cent of respondents preferred information sources such as the iTunes Music Store and the iLike Facebook application.

The opinion of family and like minded mates came in at the top though with 41% of the vote.

On top of this the ability of the internet to be a successful platform for the sale of music is being questioned.

Fifty-one per cent of people said they prefer to purchase CDs while 25 per cent opt for digital downloads.

At the moment the average spend on CDs is £9 per month. Due to the minimal cost of electronic tracks that’s around 38 per cent of an equivalent digital music spend.

Dr Rolf Elmer, chief executive at Avail Intelligence, said: “What this research shows is that today's consumer is more informed than ever and that personalisation will be critical for e-tailers looking to stand out.”

Some of this change can be attributed to the now common use of social networks to launch new artists such as Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys and the diversity of these sites.

Discuss: What do you think of these revelations? Is our opinion null and void? Surely not!?

This discussion can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Taringa.net

Tuesday, 8 July 2008

NEWS: Stage shakes off alcoholism: Reading and Leeds re-branded

With the cleaning up and rebranding of the Reading and Leeds Festival sans-rubbish dishwater alcohol, the new bands tent has gone through somewhat of a metamorphosis.

As of this year the smallest of the stages at the festival formerly known as The Carling Weekend will be called the Festival Republic Tent.

Headlining this stage will be Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, Elliot Minor and The Kills (pictured above).

This year the Reading and Leeds Festivals will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend of 22-24. More information here.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google