Music news

• Future: Evol review – prolific hip-hop star tones down the weirdness

  18-02-2016 23:15
  
  (Epic/Freebandz/A1) Related: Meet Future, the weirdo hip-hop hitmaker who thinks he's Hendrix Future is contemporary hip-hop’s most prolific artist, with a work rate that keeps a lot of attention on him, but also means that an album release isn’t always the event it could be. On Evol, it’s business as usual for Nayvadius Cash: beats from his coterie of Atlanta-based trap producers, and lyrics littered with drug-trade slang and sexual boasts. The problem is that the material hel
  
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• Wild Nothing: Life of Pause review – calm competence and nigglingly familiarity

  18-02-2016 23:00
  
  (Captured Tracks)Spacey vocals low in the mix and a slowed-heartrate pace mean much of the third album by Jack Tatum’s indie outfit feels like a half-remembered dream. But at least some of the deja vu stems from a feeling that you really have heard these sounds before, albeit in sharper focus. Swilling around in the reverb, allied by a choir of sunshine guitars, is the sound of everything indie ever, from Postcard to post-Britpop. It’s done with the calm competence of a man aware he
  
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• Steve Mason: Meet the Humans review – confident, joyous indie anthems

  18-02-2016 22:45
  
  (Domino)Throughout his many musical pursuits – fronting the Beta Band, King Biscuit Time and Black Affair, and his 2010 and 2013 solo albums – the purity of Steve Mason’s songwriting has never before sounded so beautifully at peace, buoyed by the weightlessness of emotional resolution. Boys Outside and Monkey Minds in the Devil’s Time felt like a process of recuperation, at times agonisingly dark, uncomfortably confrontational. But Meet the Humans is overwhelmed by warmth
  
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• Mavis Staples: Livin’ on a High Note review – soul great's 13th mixes agony and ecstasy

  18-02-2016 22:15
  
  (Anti) Related: Mavis Staples: ‘I often think what would have happened if I’d married Dylan’ Now 76, the youngest of the Staple Singers, whose voices soundtracked the civil rights movement, is still trying to do more. Her 13th solo album pairs her with producer M Ward and a host of contemporary writers, from Tune-Yards to Neko Case, in a bid for more “uplifting and joyful music” about friendship and survival. It doesn’t all come off. The Aloe Blacc-penned Tomo
  
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• Prins Thomas: Principe Del Norte review – cosmic disco from Scandinavia via Ibiza

  18-02-2016 22:00
  
  (Smalltown Supersound) Related: Prins Thomas’s favourite tracks Like some psychic twin-town project, Scandinavian producers are forever drawn to Ibiza. EDM stars fill the beaches, but others – such as Lindstrom, Tiedye, Studio and Todd Terje – have been drawn to the yogic, hippyish side of the island, where astral awakenings to deep Phil Collins cuts are never far away. Prins Thomas has tapped into this state for three self-titled LPs, and this fourth continues the journey outw
  
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• Mari Eriksmoen: Grieg, Wolf, Strauss, Grøndahl Lieder CD review – poised, elegant and persuasive

  18-02-2016 19:45
  
  Eriksmoen/Cemin
  (Alpha)Rising soprano Mari Eriksmoen has chosen her repertoire for this disc well, even if, at only 47 minutes, she has been a bit stingy with it. Her selection of nine songs by Hugo Wolf emphasises a sense of mischief, and the recording captures well the crystalline yet supple quality of her voice and her direct, communicative way with text. Her Strauss selection includes three of the Ophelia Songs, which she makes sound at once confiding and otherworldly, Alphonse Cemin offerin
  
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• Hannes Riepler/Chris Cheek: Wild Life review – a languid guitar-and-sax set

  18-02-2016 19:45
  
  (Jellymould)This meeting of London-resident Austrian guitarist Hannes Riepler with New York saxist Chris Cheek (a cool partner of Bill Frisell and the late Paul Motian) and local rhythm-section stars Oli Hayhurst and James Maddren sprang from a chance encounter on Riepler’s weekly jam session at London’s Vortex jazz club. Riepler’s improvisations attractively juxtapose traditional jazz-guitar mellowness and snappily metallic accents, and it’s a regular delight to hear Che
  
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• Party politics: why grime defines the sound of protest in 2016

  18-02-2016 19:35
  
  From stop-and-search incidents to whole raves being shut down by the police, grime has long had a vexed relationship with authority. Maybe that’s why it’s now the most vital political music aroundThe most dramatic single of last year – the song voted Guardian critics’ favourite of 2015 – featured Skepta launching a four-line manifesto. “Me and my Gs ain’t scared of police / We don’t listen to no politician,” he spat. “Everybody on the s
  
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• Mike Westbrook and the Uncommon Orchestra: A Bigger Show review – a party atmosphere

  18-02-2016 19:35
  
  (Westbrook Records)Mike Westbrook will be 80 later this month, was justly hailed as a game-changer in British orchestral jazz in the 1960s, and still joins up jazz, cabaret, brass band and circus music, rock and opera with an infectious openness and no little skill. His West Country-based Uncommon Orchestra’s two-CD A Bigger Show is a typically Westbrookian stew of slamming guitar-powered riffs, lustrous brass harmonies recalling Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, a mix of rather stagey fa
  
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• Esther Yoo: Sibelius and Glazunov Concertos CD review – rounded, vibrant and sumptuous

  18-02-2016 19:30
  
  Yoo/Philharmonia Orchestra/Ashkenazy
  (Deutsche Grammophon)Aged 16, Esther Yoo became the youngest violinist to be placed in the International Jean Sibelius violin competition, and six years on, she has returned to the composer’s concerto – which all finalists have to play – for her debut recording. While it’s the strength and passion of her playing that shines through rather than an especially individual take on the work, hers is a rounded, vibrant performance. She has re
  
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• Dr Lonnie Smith: Evolution review – aptly named return for the fusion pioneer

  18-02-2016 19:30
  
  (Blue Note)Dr Lonnie Smith became a distinctively thoughtful kind of Hammond organist in the wake of his 1960s fame as a jazz/R&B fusioneer, pumping out spacey, Bitches Brew-era ruminations and teasingly sidetracked burnups. This set of smart originals and two covers is enhanced by star guests Robert Glasper and Joe Lovano. The opening Play It Back sounds generically jazz-funky, but Glasper’s adroit piano solo against the time-stretching of two drummers, and Smith’s devious route
  
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• Eyedress Shares Unique Video For ‘Sports’ Feat ThisisDA

  18-02-2016 19:26
  
  Filipino producer Eyedress is always on point with his beats and this one is no different, with the repetitive horns and spacey Hip Hop rhythms drawing you into this hypnotically engrossing track.
  
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• Handel: Imeneo CD review – some rough edges but Ann Hallenberg shines

  18-02-2016 19:15
  
  Staveland/Hallenberg/Piccinini/Beggi/Arcari/Europa Galante/Biondi
  (Glossa)In Handel’s opera Imeneo, the most exciting bit of the story has already happened before curtain-up. Rosmene has been kidnapped by pirates and rescued by Imeneo; so, will she marry him like a good grateful soprano should, or be true to her former love, Tirinto? Three acts of dithering later, she makes the wrong choice. Imeneo flopped at its 1740 premiere; the version Fabio Biondi and his ensemble Europa Galante have
  
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• Carrie Rodriguez and the Sacred Hearts: Lola review – tuneful country-blues with a dash of Tex-Mex

  18-02-2016 19:15
  
  (Luz Records/Thirty Tigers)Carrie Rodriguez is a Texan singer-songwriter and violinist whose repertoire includes country, folk and rock, but is at her best when she explores her Mexican roots. Her great aunt Eva Garza, a Spanish-language singing star in the 1940s, inspired Rodriguez to “create my own blend of Tex-Mex music”. It’s a mix of classic Mexican songs, many slow and unashamedly emotional, and her own compositions, which are often in the ranchera tradition. The opener,
  
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• Academy of Country Music announces songwriting nominations

  18-02-2016 19:12
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grammy-winner singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton earned two extra nominations from the Academy of Country Music Awards, making him the leading nominee with seven nods.
  
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• Yo La Tengo and Alvin Lucier review – avant garde triumph with teapot

  18-02-2016 19:08
  
  Ecstatic Music festival, New York
  If Yo La Tengo are heirs to the Velvet Underground, Lucier could be their LaMonte Young, with a radical set that included a 15-minute piece for triangleIn retrospect, it’s a shock to realize that it took over half a decade for Yo La Tengo to appear at the Ecstatic Music festival, New York City’s premier showcase for classical music hybridism. Given that the band is as likely to commission remixes from hip-hop DJ/producer Pete Rock as from noise-world
  
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• Get Engrossed In The Story Of Hardy Caprio’s New Track ‘Jezebel’

  18-02-2016 18:51
  
  As the title suggests, ‘Jezebel’ sees Hardy discussing the tale of a promiscuous female, but it doesn’t quite follow the path you may expect.
  
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• Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby Was Getting Lip Fillers Way Before Kylie Jenner, FYI

  18-02-2016 18:41
  
  Geez Kylie, be more 2014.
  
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• Big Zuu & Frostar Join Forces For ‘Flexing Freestyle’

  18-02-2016 17:29
  
  Attacking every bar with serious intent and venom, both Zuu & Frostar skip over the insane bass-led beat with a determined passion, making this freestyle one to remember.
  
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• Jaden Smith's Girlfriend Went To Jail Over A Hermes Birkin Bag She Didn't Steal

  18-02-2016 16:55
  
  Maybe now we don't want to be Instagram famous after all.
  
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• 5 Seconds Of Summer Couldn't Be Happier About Winning NME's 'Worst Band' Award

  18-02-2016 15:57
  
  Congrats guys!
  
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• Miley Cyrus And Liam Hemsworth Might Actually Be Married Already

  18-02-2016 14:46
  
  PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE.
  
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• Kylie Jenner Shares First Sneak Peak Of Her New Nail Polish Collection

  18-02-2016 13:49
  
  We need it and we need it NOW.
  
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• 15 Models You Need To Follow On Instagram During London Fashion Week

  18-02-2016 13:41
  
  Your ticket into the FROW without ever having to change out of your PJs.
  
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• Pretty Little Liars Gets A Suicide Squad Trailer Makeover & We Need This Movie To Exist

  18-02-2016 13:32
  
  It’s actually scary how well it works.
  
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• It's Impossible Not To Cry At Taylor Swift's Birthday Message To Ed Sheeran

  18-02-2016 13:15
  
  IMPOSSIBLE. Okay maybe possible.
  
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• Mo Stack Drops 21-track EP, ‘Gangster With Banter’ & Brand New Video

  18-02-2016 13:07
  
  Dropping alongside his new tape, is a brand new video for ‘Fuck This Generation’ – which is the outro to the project. The EP has 17 tracks, plus 4 bonus tracks.
  
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• The 2016 Jameson Empire Awards Nominees Are Everything The Oscars Should've Been

  18-02-2016 13:00
  
  Creed, Suffragette and Straight Outta Compton FTW!.
  
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• Spoiler Alert! Ex On The Beach's Megan McKenna And Naomi Hedman Get Into A Full-On B*tch Fight And Security Are Called In

  18-02-2016 12:47
  
  "I'M THE F*CKING BIG GIRL!!!"
  
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• Darq E Freaker Announces New Instrumental Project & Drops First Single '2C-I'

  18-02-2016 12:43
  
  By no means a 'chill out' track, '2C-I' takes us both left and right, up and down, and everywhere in between, all at the same time and has us feeling super charged up with the energy of the beat.
  
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• Just How Much Sugar Is In Those Delicious Hot Drinks We All Love So Much?

  18-02-2016 12:33
  
  SPOILER: A terrifying amount
  
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• Adele Admits She ‘Cried All Day’ Over Technical Glitches During Her Grammys Performance

  18-02-2016 11:41
  
  Might make a good next song though.
  
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• Bring Me The Horizon Trash Coldplay’s Table At The 2016 NME Awards

  18-02-2016 11:30
  
  Oh it's ON.
  
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• Quiz: how well do you know your music award-show speeches?

  18-02-2016 11:29
  
  After this year’s Grammy’s and ahead of the Brits, see how many of these famous speeches you can match to the probably sozzled winner as we plough into the heart of awards season Continue reading...
  
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• Watch Zayn Perform New Track 'It's You' On Jimmy Fallon And Unveil His New Album Cover

  18-02-2016 10:32
  
  Who could this be about, then?
  
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• VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan Chats Love & The Best Sex She’s Ever Had, Both Of Which Involve Kyle Christie

  18-02-2016 10:24
  
  Ooh Holly…
  
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• Shakira demanded a 'curvier' character in new Disney animation Zootopia

  18-02-2016 08:04
  
  The singer said she asked for her character to have “more meat on her bones”.
  
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• Music video service Vevo aims to launch paid service

  18-02-2016 03:59
  DANA POINT, California (AP) — Vevo, the music video service owned by major labels Sony and Universal, is working on launching an ad-free subscription service with original content later this year.
  
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