New music
‘Every woman in the building wanted a bit of his arse': Kevin Ayers, 1944-2013Thursday, 21 February 2013
Whenever the words English and whimsy come together in relation to rock, writes Mark Hudson, the name Kevin Ayers is invariably invoked – not least by Ayers himself. The notably erratic, but gifted singer-songwriter and Soft Machine founder was... Read more... |
Villagers, Village UndergroundThursday, 21 February 2013
These days not all sensitive folk-rockers with trembling voices can bank on easy audiences. Villagers main man Conor O’Brien is one who can – he’s been selling out concerts like nobody's business. This gig was no exception. O’Brien may be plaintive... Read more... |
CD: Dido - Girl Who Got AwayThursday, 21 February 2013
Dido Armstrong’s first two albums are at numbers 19 and 29 in the UK’s all time best-sellers. The 41-year-old singer became an emblem of post-millennial dinner parties, of Bridget Jones-era singleton moping, and of post-electronica easy listening.... Read more... |
Anniversary Special: The Dark Side of the MoonWednesday, 20 February 2013
The sound of a heartbeat. A metronomic ticking. Two men confessing that they’re mad (even if they’re not mad) as a cash register chings. Another man’s manic laughter. A harsh industrial grinding noise. Screams. And then some rock music, Olympian in... Read more... |
Rock and Pop: Raw Power at 40Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Mick Rock was the court photographer of glam. Among the (un)usual suspects found in his lens were Lou Reed, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. But no one played up for his camera quite like Iggy Pop.The proof is in the six images released today as... Read more... |
CD: Palma Violets - 180Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Currently finishing off the NME Awards Tour with Django Django and Miles Kane, this lot seem about as New Musical Express as it gets. Which is to say that, from a cynics perspective, their NME championing is almost off-putting. Given the recent... Read more... |
10 Questions for Musician Soweto KinchMonday, 18 February 2013
Born in London in 1978 to a Barbadian father and British-Jamaican mother, Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians to hit the British jazz and hip hop scenes in recent years. Following a degree in modern history at... Read more... |
CD: My Bloody Valentine - m b vMonday, 18 February 2013
It’s not much of a surprise that My Bloody Valentine have eventually followed up 1991’s Loveless. They’ve been playing live with increasing regularity, with the same line-up as back then. The way the new album has arrived – with no warning via a new... Read more... |
Interview: Bassekou Kouyaté, Mali maestroSunday, 17 February 2013
A couple of weeks ago on BBC’s Question Time one of the pundits airily commented that until recently no-one in the audience would have heard of Bamako, the capital of Mali. That wouldn’t be the case were there any world music fans there – for them,... Read more... |
CD: Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer - Child BalladsSunday, 17 February 2013
Anaïs Mitchell is one of America’s leading new folk singers, a protégée of Ani di Franco. She is a poet steeped in the archetypes of Greek mythology, old stories that she has evoked in a contemporary setting, not least in her re-telling of the... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Family, Latin Noir, Arve Henriksen, WidowmakerSunday, 17 February 2013
Family: Once Upon a TimeFamily were always difficult to place. This lavish box set doesn’t make getting a handle on them any easier. They were as idiosyncratic as Jethro Tull and, in Roger Chapman, had a vocalist as offbeat as Joe Cocker. Not that... Read more... |
Salif Keita, Royal Festival HallThursday, 14 February 2013
The only time the great Malian singer spoke at any length to last night’s audience was when he said, “I don’t know my birthday. I don’t know the day or the year. So any day can be my birthday. So can you please stand up and dance for my birthday.”... Read more... |
