Aleksandra leaves Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos!

In somewhat of a shock announcement, Aleksandra from Cardiff seven-piece Los Campesinos! has left the band, leaving a posting on the band’s blog.

“I don’t really know how to start this. I’m not sure I can really find the right words to express how I feel about leaving the band. Not in a vaguely coherent manner anyway so I’m sorry if this all comes across as either overly-sentimental or strangely detached.

Making the decision to leave was very difficult and even though I’m excited about what the future has in store for both me and the rest of Los Camp! (once they unveil their bright spangly new line-up), I still get a lump in my throat every time I think about my time in the band coming to an end. Trust me, I’m gutted. The past 3 years have given me some of the best times of my life full of incredible experiences and wonderful people. I am really grateful to have been a part of the Los Campesinos! story. I’m going to miss so much about the whole thing and no doubt regret this move a thousand times over when I’m stuck in some dark corner of a library, while the band are busy playing to thousands in some paradise location… … Continue Reading

Win Baaba Maal’s entire back catalogue

Baaba Maal

Legendary Senegalese master musician Baaba Maal releases his new album Television on June 1.

With its subtle blending of electronic dance elements with the timeless tradition of West African musical traditions, the record is a groundbreaking successor to 2001’s Missing You. Television was made in London and Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Baaba Maal worked on its eight songs with various musicians, but most specifically in a collaboration throughout the recording with singer Sabina Sciubba and keyboardist Didi Gutman, both members of New York’s Brazilian Girls, who blend electronic dance music with a diversity of eclectic styles.

To celebrate the release, we’ve got Baaba’s entire back catalogue to give away:

• Live at the Royal Festival Hall – DVD
• Nomad Soul
• Missing You Mii Yeenii
• On the Road
• Djam Leelii
• Palm World Voices – DVD
• Television … Continue Reading

An incontinence-inducing Great Escape billing…

Mika Miko

As well as a stonking bill elsewhere, our friends Levi’s® OnesToWatch® are putting on a dreamy bill at the Brighton-centric extravaganza impending this weekend. The Great Escape looks fab, doesn’t it?

The beautifully-arranged bill includes self-declared “dirty psychedelic flower punks”, Black Lips, and Scottish wonder boys The Twilight Sad who will be fresh back from a European tour supporting Mogwai. Hockey, Dananananakroyd, Mika Miko and Metronomy also figure.

In fact, the line-up looks exactly like this:
… Continue Reading

White Denim set to play London’s tiny Old Blue Last!

The Gay Blades

We just found out that White Denim are playing the Old Blue Last. The tiny, tiny Old Blue Last! The magnificent, supersonic White Denim! Oh our gosh. It’s all part of White Denim’s whistlestop tour of the UK – their second album’s on its way very shortly.

And not just that but there’s a fantastic rest-of billing too – The Gay Blades and Air France are supporting.

Tickets are available from this very link at the outrageously bargainously joyous fantastic price of £6. And the night is billed as including, er, FREE SHOTS. Yes, free. Shots. Can you believe this? … Continue Reading

Launch of new London venue AND news of second Johnny Foreigner album?!

Johnny Foreigner

It’s a two-for-one special here, we’ve got a pair of very exciting exclusives: the super brilliant Johnny Foreigner have been working on their second album with producer extraordinaire Alex Newport (Death Cab, Rival Schools, At the Drive In, The Mars Volta) in NYC, previewed via a June-released single, ‘Feels Like Summer’. Yelpers!

The band will be playing very very very shiny and brand new London venue Flowerpot on May 18, in an invite-only special. Flowerpot has been set up by the team behind Nambucca and FROG and opens on May 1. It’s in Kentish Town, don’t you know. And to celebrate, they’re putting on 30 free gigs in the month of May! Well, strictly speaking, it is a celebration – but for the fact that the future is similarly free. The Flowerpot is free entry all year round, putting on one band a night every night. How bloody brilliant. More information is available at their website here. … Continue Reading

Latitude’s nigh on encircling the globe…

Latitude Festival is returning to the Sunrise Coast this year on July 16-19 with an ever-expanding and astonishing line-up of music, film, comedy, theatre, cabaret, dance, poetry, literature and art.

With over 700 performers, it’s a whole new world out there (some might say). The press release describes the festival as (breathe) “a fun-filled, cultural adventure by the sea; the ideal weekend away.” And we believe said press release, yes we do.

This year’s festival will be headlined by the infamous trio of The Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Which pretty much has us dribbling into Australia. Already. Other confirmed artists include Bat For Lashes, Magazine and Editors – not to mention one of our favourite stand-ups, Ed Byrne. … Continue Reading

Win tickets to see The Holloways Gaymers Grassroots Gig!

The Holloways

We are giving away four pairs of tickets to a very special and entirely one-off event set up by Gaymers Grassroots gigs. Have a read about it here, why don’t you.

The Holloways are returning to their roots and playing an extremely intimate London venue as part of the Gaymers (mmm… cider) Camden Crawl this coming Friday April 24, 2009, and we’ve got four pairs of tickets to give away!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A DAYTIME GIG. Yes, did you see that? During the day. The day time.

If you want in, just tell us where in the world Holloway is and keep your fingers crossed between now and Thursday, when you’ll find it if you’ve won… … Continue Reading

Jarvis Cocker’s new single available to download for free

Jarvis Cocker

Ex-Pulp legend Jarvis Cocker has made his new single, ‘Angela’, available as a free download on his official website.

… Continue Reading

The Young Knives announce intimate London gig

The Young Kives

Those Oxfordshire eccentrics The Young Knives are to play live in a teeny-tiny London venue, it has been announced today.

… Continue Reading

Founders of The Pirate Bay found GUILTY

Pirate Bay

The four men behind the Swedish file-sharing website have today been found guilty of breaking copyright law on Pirate Bay.

Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde were sentenced to a year in jail, and have also been ordered to pay 30m Kronor (£2.4m) in damages.

The Pirate Bay is the world’s most popular file-sharing website and millions of files are shared through the service each day, many of which are advance copies of movies, and albums.

In (somewhat of) an ironic twist, the accused actually found out the verdict the night before it was announced, and released this information via Twitter:

“Really, it’s a bit LOL. It used to be only movies, now even verdicts are out before the official release.”

In a statement earlier this week, the four men said they intended to appeal the verdict if found guilty.