New music
Matthew Wright
It would always be difficult to follow The Epic, the 2015 release which turned LA saxophonist Kamasi Washington from leader of the local scene to international star. So this musical and spiritual journey lifts off into the heavens, the 16 pieces divided equally into firstly Earth - the external world perceived by Kamasi - then Heaven, which Kamasi describes as the world he sees inwardly. He’s always been in the West Coast spiritual jazz tradition, though this time the mood, in places, is positively hymnal. The music’s passion, energy and momentum is irresistible, even in the more Read more ...
theartsdesk
Are you a young blogger, vlogger or writer in the field of the arts, books and culture? If so, we've a competition for you to enter.The Hospital Club’s annual h Club100 awards celebrate the most influential and innovative people working in the UK’s creative industries, with nominations from the worlds of film and fashion, art, advertising, theatre, music, television and more. For the second year running they are teaming up with theartsdesk – the home of online arts journalism in the UK – to launch a hunt for young talent.This year the Special Award is for theartsdesk / h Club Young Influencer Read more ...
Peter Culshaw
Many of us recognise that rather striking modernist building in Cromwell Gardens near South Kensington tube, having seen it on the way to the V&A or perhaps a Prom at the Albert Hall but not been sure what it is exactly. I hadn't actually been inside until last week when I was given a guided tour. The space was discussed at one point as a potential site for the National Theatre. It’s actually the Ismaili Centre, the first of six throughout the world (pictured below, the latest in Toronto) and was built by the Casson Cander Partnership and opened (by Margaret Thatcher and the spiritual Read more ...
Russ Coffey
Scorpions stepped on stage wearing leather jackets and shades, and launched straight into "Going Out With a Bang". For a band who, only a few short years ago, were tempted by retirement, the song was a statement of intent. "No sign of slowing down," went the words. And boy did they mean it. Saturday night's concert was a thrilling, high-octane show full of dry-ice and guitar pyrotechnics. There was even a flying drum-kit.The evening, though, was not just about Scorpions. The band were appearing with Megadeth, as part of the Stone Free Festival. It was virtually a double-headline, and the two Read more ...
Katie Colombus
There is a real festival ambience to this quintessentially English field-gig, set amidst the stunning forests of Bedgebury Pinetum as part of the Forestry Commission’s Forest Live concert series. Groups of 40-something chino-clad daahhlings lay out their Joules picnic blankets and luxury camping chairs as visions of the local Waitrose being positively looted for champers and strawbs dance in my mind.Paloma Faith pirouetting onto the stage in a bright yellow wig and rainbow dress is the perfect performance to match a stunning pink sunset, as she bursts forth with “Architect”, the first track Read more ...
Kieron Tyler
How great is Uniform Distortion? As great as Greg Sage’s Straight Ahead or Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Ragged Glory or Dungen’s Ta det lugnt or Alex Chilton’s Like Flies On Sherbert. That’s how great Uniform Distortion is.Uniform Distortion is the fourth solo by Jim James, mainstay of My Morning Jacket and in-demand producer and collaborator. He’s helmed albums by Basia Bulat and Dean Wareham and, most recently, contributed to Laura Veirs’ The Lookout. His last solo album, Tribute To 2, was a covers set where he tackled songs by such unlikely bedfellows as Al Bowlly, Dylan and ELP. Tribute Read more ...
Kieron Tyler
The Rose Garden didn’t linger in the bright lights but for those inclined towards harmony pop their name resonates due to the quality of their sole album rather than memories of them as a one-hit-wonder. Granted, their debut single and late 1967 US hit “Next Plane To London” was a wonderful example of moody Mamas & the Papas-style pop which will always be a staple of American oldies radio. But there was no follow-up hit and it’s April 1968’s long-player The Rose Garden which seals their reputation.Interest in the album began picking up in the early Eighties after the realisation it Read more ...
Owen Richards
It took Soulwax 12 years to release 2017’s From Deewee, a triumphant one take clash of live drums and electronic wizardry. It’s taken less than 12 months for their follow-up; at their current rate, we can expect another release sometime next weekend. As described in an opening voice-over, this is an “essential mix” equivalent to a mixtape, originally created for a BBC Radio 1 session. However, instead of putting together their favourite songs, the band decided to write and record original material over a two-week period – but is this enough time to create a worthy successor?The songs are Read more ...
David Nice
"Get those creatures off the stage, or I won't answer for what I'll do". The exclamation of the Prima Donna in the backstage prologue of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, about to share her grand opera with lower forms of theatrical life, seems to have been shared by a head teacher at the first Setúbal Music Festival in Portugal eight years ago, faced with the arrival of special-needs children to join his pupils. It was a sink-or-swim moment, but artistic director Ian Ritchie stood firm, and the festival has gone swimmingly ever since. All levels now work together without anything other Read more ...
Guy Oddy
For their 15th studio album, The Orb have decided to sidestep the more techno-influenced sounds of their two previous albums Moonbuilding 2703AD and COW / Chill Out World! and reacquaint themselves with the vibe of their genre-creating debut album, The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. By bringing back into the fold the likes of Youth, Roger Eno and the mighty Jah Wobble, Alex Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann have crafted a blissed-out groove that doesn’t stall once. Dubby bass, sparse piano, half-heard spoken word samples and found sounds are all wrapped up for some chilled-out and smiley Read more ...
Katie Colombus
Christina Aguilera is taking a reflective tone in her latest studio album since 2012. There’s a real sense of looking back, right back to when she used to sing “Maria” as a child, to escape the brutal reality of domestic abuse.Here, her version of the Sound of Music classic has the eerie twang of a horror film soundscape with Baroque undertones. It features the vocals of children and lyrics about "how was I supposed to know" and "being too young to know the difference". We then veer aggressively into the shouty “Sick Of Sittin” which sounds like any stressed out mother at the end of their Read more ...
theartsdesk
Since Glastonbury lies fallow this year, Download is the biggest British green field festival of the summer. 100,000 souls gathered to celebrate the canon of metal on the land around Donington Park racing circuit. The site has four stages, two outdoor, the Main Stage, featuring headliners Avenged Sevenfold, Guns’n’Roses and Ozzy Osbourne, and the Zippo Encore Stage, and two under canvas, the Dogtooth and Avalanche stages, as well as a large arena for the hammy activities of WWE NXT Wrestling and also an enclosure where men and women dressed in armour batter each other all weekend.Theartsdesk Read more ...