New music
theartsdesk in the Shetlands: Seasick VikingsSunday, 16 February 2014
“Would we be able to prosecute the Vikings today, should we? I mean are there parallels between what the Nazis did by plundering art and gold, or what the German soldiers did who raped Norwegian women when they occupied Norway?” Silke Roeploeg might... Read more... |
CD: Fanfarlo - Let's Go ExtinctSaturday, 15 February 2014
It’s always difficult to know quite how seriously bands approach the things that distinguish between an album and a collection of songs: the naming, the sequencing, the artwork. For instance, I could say that “Life in the Sky” - the sprawling, six-... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: DJ Kerri ChandlerSaturday, 15 February 2014
Kerri Chandler is quite simply one of the most revered figures in dance music, as much now as when he emerged from the New Jersey club scene onto the international stage nigh on a quarter of a century ago. True to the spirit of the disco, he has... Read more... |
CD: Reverend & the Makers - ThirtyTwoSaturday, 15 February 2014
Reverend & the Makers are known for a sound that is characterised by a hotpot of indie pop, electronica and Madchester vibes with witty and pithy lyrics, delivered in a Yorkshire accent, that venture beyond the subjects of getting hammered and... Read more... |
The Strypes, Concorde 2, BrightonThursday, 13 February 2014
The Strypes broke through initially with an amped-up version of the blues, akin to the sounds of the early Sixties London blues rock explosion that gave us the Rolling Stones. Tonight proved that they’ve since taken a Tardis through the decades -... Read more... |
CD: Hatcham Social - Cutting Up The Present Leaks Out The FutureThursday, 13 February 2014
It’s easy, if you don’t live in London, to be dismissive of the capital’s endless miniature enclaves of snooty, self-satisfied indie hipsters. I certainly am. But sometimes they get it right. Hatcham Social, associates of Tim Burgess (of The... Read more... |
CD: Lisa Stansfield - SevenWednesday, 12 February 2014
For those of a certain vintage, Lisa Stansfield's voice is woven into the fabric of memory. Of course there was her 1989 monster single “All Around the World” (“and ay-ay-ay-ay can't find my baby”) – but just as importantly, we first heard her... Read more... |
Prince, Shepherds Bush EmpireMonday, 10 February 2014
If you're looking for good vibes, you could do worse than watch people who've queued up for a surprise show by a megastar finally getting through the doors, having paid only a tenner. The buzz on the way into the Shepherds Bush Empire last night, in... Read more... |
CD: Twink - Happy HousesMonday, 10 February 2014
Fans of British psychedelic underground music of the Sixties and Seventies need read no further. This Twink is not the drummer from The Pretty Things and The Pink Fairies who was good mates with Syd Barrett all those years ago (and who is now known... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Mike BloomfieldSunday, 09 February 2014
Michael Bloomfield: From his Head to his Heart to his HandsMike Bloomfield was undoubtedly one of rock’s greatest and most distinctive guitarists. He was also wildly erratic and did much to undermine what others saw in him. He died at age 37... Read more... |
Loop Collective Club Night, The VortexSunday, 09 February 2014
The emergence of artists’ collectives, bristling with idealism and wacky manifestoes, is usually a sign of a vigorous cultural scene. London’s new improvised music scene enjoys several successful examples, of which Loop is perhaps the most prominent... Read more... |
CD: Tinariwen - EmmaarSunday, 09 February 2014
On seeing that new Tinariwen album, Emmaar, had been recorded at Joshua Tree (due to ongoing security problems in their native Mali) with a number of American guest musicians, my heart sank. I imagined some special guest-heavy yet artistically... Read more... |
