As she begins a relationship with a new label, Leela James presents a selection of all-original songs, contrasting Let’s Do It Again (Shanachie, 2009), where the classic soul singer paid tribute to iconic soul singers and songwriters who informed her career. The collection is refreshing, starting with the powerhouse” I Ain’t New To This,” which contains a sample of Millie Jackson’s “Solitary Love Affair” during its intro. James keeps things going with “I Want It All,” its thumping bass line a clear tribute to ’70s funk. She doesn’t want to sound retro here, using the arrangement more as reference than direct influence.

Those who have seen James perform live will attest that her shows are highly energetic, and the same goes for this disc. “Party All Night” is a step in that direction, and seems to have been written with the stage in mind. It possesses a strong backbeat, the perfect showcase for James’ powerful pipes and a relentless dance track. But the greatest highlight is her “Mr. Incredible, Ms. Unforgettable,” a sexy duet with Raheem DeVaughn (who also co-wrote the song), whose lyrics make this one of the greatest make-out songs this year yet. Can’t wait to hear that in a live format. Read more…

Music festival promoters are being warned to stop paying big artists so much money.

A group of organisers that represents independent music festivals in the UK and Ireland claim that if fees aren’t cut, fans could suffer.

They say the money top acts are demanding to play has continued to rise despite the recession.

Last year’s festivals were estimated to have brought in £130m for the UK economy.
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Ben Turner is co-founder of the association of independent festivals (AIF) that represents the likes of Green Man, Eden Sessions, Get Loaded In The Park, Bestival, Creamfields, Evolution Festival, Field Day/Underage, Secret Garden Party and WOMAD. Read more…

Jimmy Dean, the country singer who had a big hit with Big Bad John, has died at the age of 81.

His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband passed away at their home in Virginia in the US.

“He was amazing. He had a lot of talents,” she said of the singer, who starred in The Jimmy Dean Show in the 1950s.

In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the successful Jimmy Dean Meat Company.
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The Texan-born singer sold the company in 1984 to Sara Lee Foods but continued to be its chairman and TV spokesperson.

Big Bad John, a song about a coal mining hero, was a crossover hit in 1961, making it to number one in the country and pop charts in the US.

The single won Dean a Grammy award. Read more…

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has told aspiring musicians to avoid the “sinking ship” of major record labels.

Giving advice to young artists in a new school textbook, he said: “When the corporate industry dies it will be no great loss to the world. “So, I guess I would say, don’t tie yourself to the sinking ship because, believe me, it’s sinking.” Radiohead were signed to EMI for 12 years but released their last album In Rainbows via their own website in 2007. EMI is now in a particularly precarious position, with major debts and restructuring issues following a takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma in 2007. The songwriter made his comments in the Rax Active Citizenship Toolkit, published next month by New Internationalist magazine for students of GCSE Citizenship Studies. Read more…

Can we all agree ahead of time to share the love when Marcus Miller comes to town Friday?

I’m just a little concerned that one of his bandmates may steal all the attention from Miller, a prolific bassist and composer whose work helped defined the fusion era and beyond.

That bandmate would be trumpeter Christian Scott, who’s quickly developing a reputation as one of the most gifted and electrifying jazz talents among the 20-something set. The 27-year-old New Orleans native learned from artists such as Clark Terry and Donald Harrison (his uncle) and has held his own playing with artists ranging from jazz purist Wynton Marsalis to the enigmatic Prince. Read more…

Thirty years in is a long career to lead up to a debut album so you would hope that the band are happy with it. They certainly should be because this is a very good bit of electric Blues and you have to ask why no-on has recorded this guy before?

The album kicks off with a raw and powerful piece in ‘Breaking The Stones’ – a bit of slide noodling leading in to some kickass funky Blues with the guitar to the fore – definitely a Gibson sort of sound and ably matched by Grigor Leslie & David Innes on bass & drums and some fine harmonica courtesy of Peter Narojczyk. This ain’t your normal bedroom recording project, these guys can play!

‘Black Rain’ is a moody Texas style Blues and ‘Two Time Lover’ is a jaunty and raunchy piece of bar-room howl featuring a great harmonica lead – the band might have Gerry Jablonski’s name at its head but this is a real band performance. Read more…

Huge, portentous chords open this album but it isn’t ‘Thriller’ it is ‘Fresh’ – Devo back after 20 years and doing all those things they do best.

This sounds like the most eighties album you ever heard in your life. Synth beats and and that thing where the vocal is set just back from the front and you can hear a real lineal trace from the last Devo album ‘Smooth Noodle Maps’ except, frankly, this pees over anything the have done since ‘Freedom of Choice’ or maybe even ‘Duty Now For The Future’ – geddit?, this is stunning and it would be in 1979, 1999 or 2010.

The lyrics are classic Devo, none more so that ‘What we Do’ where the vocals loom out from a miasma of synth and beats – ‘What we do is what we do cos all we do is what we do’, a diatribe against the modern society and its addiction to communication by electronics. Brilliant counterpoint as they have found themselves in sync with modern society and aren’t exactly happy about it!

The overriding sound of this album is beats, fast beats, slow beats, twisted beats, rock beats, you can dance to all of it but when you listen closely the lyrics are telling stories you might not be comfortable with but this has always been Devo’s way. Read more…

Peaches was chosen as the latest feature Artist for The Creators Project, a creative venture sponsored by Intel and Vice Magazine.

Peaches joins innovators in the fields of music, media and design such as; Phoenix, N.A.S.A., Diplo, Richie Hawtin, Mark Ronson, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, Fool’s Gold, Laurent Garnier, and filmmaker Spike Jonze.

The Creators Project can be described as a media channel, roving event space, and intellectual studio that ‘brings together innovators in music, design, and art’ ; Read more…

One man, many faces, many innovations. Like the man, Davis’s music is based largely on samples from several influences, including hip-hop, electronica, rock, r&b, soul, and alternative. It’s as though he views music like technology, he may not come up with tool, but he finds new ways to use what has already been developed; the art of sample based music.

With his third full release as DJ Shadow, The Private Press, Davis asserts himself as an artist ever pushing the envelope in his genre, and in musical creativity as whole. In “Giving Up The Ghost” Shadow relies on his characteristic organ. But this time around he layers it well beneath a driving snare and bass drum, which is further masked by a feather-light picked guitar. The combination results in an exhaustive contrast between light and dark, good and evil. “Six Days” continues with the darker side, exploring the grim look of war.

The second half of Private Press introduces the listener to a more energetic and playful DJ Shadow, with the break heavy “Right Thing/GDMFSOB” and the high strung “Mashin’ On The Motorway.”

Private Press does not contain any single standout cut. Each individual listener, however, will associate themselves with certain elements of the album, depending on their musical background. With Private Press, Davis continues his quest to inspire listeners and artists alike.

Face it. We live in a world where electronic samples and beats have become part of our everyday music. This “poptronica” revolution has started to envelope our mainstream music industry. It seems most everything released these days is trying to sound “techno.”

Behind these attempts at sounding hip are true electronic acts such as Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers, whose increased popularity has made this electronic music chic. But then there is Death in Vegas, a band whose sound is not so easily referenced.

Electronica? Alternative rock? Trance? Trip hop? Just what the hell kind of music is Death in Vegas anyway?

Damn cool - this would be the simplest description. However, this doesn’t explain much. Perhaps a better description would be “an aural barrage of psychedelic musings which can induce a trance-like state where nothing matters but ourselves and the musical world we are existing within.” Or, perhaps you could take a listen to Death in Vegas’s sophomore effort The Contino Sessions and experience it for yourself.

If you are at all familiar with DIV’s first release Dead Elvis, your initial response may be one of surprise; the boys have come a long way since then. The new album, recorded in The Contino Rooms, London, marks a leap ahead for the band. Featuring guest vocals by Iggy Pop and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, DIV have released what may be one of the most innovative albums of the year. Read more…