Music news

• Fans' Holy Grail: unreleased songs in Prince's vault

  28-04-2016 23:17
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before his death, fans searching online for Prince were likely to find just a handful of his performance videos and almost none of his recorded music. In the days since he died, YouTube and other uploading sites have been flooded with hundreds of hours of the superstar musician's songs, concert footage, TV appearances and music videos.
  
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• Melt Yourself Down: Last Evenings On Earth review – frenzied jazz-punk fusions

  28-04-2016 23:15
  
  (The Leaf Label)On their self-titled debut, Melt Yourself Down frontman Kushal Gaya exorcised his demons in Mauritian, French Creole and his own invented language. Its follow-up features lyrics in English, and some strikingly graphic imagery: “I’ve got the rot,” he meditates on Dot to Dot, as if goading the grim reaper, “Cancer me, I say!” This almighty eruption of creativity is led by saxophonist Pete Wareham of Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear, and&
  
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• Travis: Everything at Once review – the same old harmless jangle

  28-04-2016 23:00
  
  (Red Telephone Box)In many ways, this Travis record is no better or worse than previous Travis records. You still get your plangent guitars, your harmless jangle and Fran Healy’s way with an inoffensive semi-melody. You also get a video in which the members of the band all prance around like babies to a song that sounds like Remember You’re a Womble. Have they always done that sort of thing? Maybe. Let’s be honest, I’ve not exactly been keeping track. The question here is
  
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• Knifeworld: Bottled Out of Eden review – elegantly perverse psychedelia

  28-04-2016 22:45
  
  (InsideOut)Were it not for an almost accidental affiliation with the modern prog rock scene, Knifeworld would surely have been embraced by the indie mainstream years ago. Bottled Out of Eden arrives as the band begin to make inroads in that domain, but rather than imbue their sound with a little Tame Impala-like polish, this is an even more adventurous and cheerfully skewed exercise in prog-tinged psychedelia than 2014’s stunning The Unravelling. Uplifting, euphoric and spacious where its
  
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• The Jayhawks: Paging Mr Proust review – an easy musical chemistry

  28-04-2016 22:30
  
  (Sham)Five years ago, the Jayhawks reunited, with original co-leader Mark Olson returning alongside Gary Louris, to release the delightful Mockingbird Time. Sadly, Olson is gone again for its follow-up, but Jayhawks fans need not fear, for album No 9 sounds just as you’d expect the Jayhawks to sound: modest, uninsistent, and rocking in a gentle way, save for when Louris lets his guitar squall through the otherwise modest, uninsistent, and gentle country-funk of Ace. Paging Mr Proust is an
  
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• Kyle Craft: Dolls of Highland review – brilliant, rollicking debut

  28-04-2016 22:15
  
  (Sub Pop)Hailing from a tiny town in Louisiana, Kyle Craft isn’t the most obvious character to reinvent himself as a silver-haired glam desperado, but inspiration struck after he found a David Bowie album in K-Mart. Thus, this unlikely but brilliant debut hurls together Craft’s Dylan-meets-Brett Anderson holler with rollicking ragtime stomp, reminiscent of vintage Cockney Rebel or early Suede. The instantly singable likes of Berlin and Lady of the Ark are peopled by “girls and
  
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• Edward Snowden releases techno song with Jean-Michel Jarre

  28-04-2016 21:42
  
  Swapping the NSA for BPM, the whistlebower’s song with the electronic music legend has hit the web, including a Bourne-style videoIn 2013 Edward Snowden rocked the world of government surveillance when he dropped bombshell revelations about the National Surveillance Agency.
  On Thursday it was the music world Snowden rocked, when he dropped a red-hot techno track co-recorded with French music icon Jean-Michel Jarre. Continue reading...
  
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• Bill Evans Trio: Some Other Time review – exquisite, enthralling jazz

  28-04-2016 20:00
  
  (Resonance)This enthralling session by the late Bill Evans (a crucial pianistic influence on stars from McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock to Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau) was recorded five days after a famous performance at the 1968 Montreux jazz festival by Evans, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Verve’s Montreux live recording won a Grammy, but this studio session has been in the vaults ever since. DeJohnette, who spent only six months with Evans (Some Other T
  
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• Tom Bancroft and Trio Red: Lucid Dreamers review – welcome reunion for classy equals

  28-04-2016 19:45
  
  (Interupto)Drummer, composer and all-round Scottish-music enabler Tom Bancroft unveiled Trio Red with First Hello to Last Goodbye in 2012 – a jubilant debut recorded on the first day Bancroft, pianist Tom Cawley and Norwegian bassist Per Zanussi ever played together, and the chemistry still simmers on this fine follow-up. On a skipping dance through Charles Mingus’s Jump Monk, Cawley’s imagination and farsighted improv logic drive a solo of constantly refreshed directions, whil
  
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• Richard Ashcroft: ‘I wouldn’t trade what Coldplay have achieved for any of my songs'

  28-04-2016 19:42
  
  From careering around Wigan in his mate’s Mini to posing with a drip in his arm, the former Mad Richard has had a breakneck ride. He may now be living a quieter life but he still wants to be ‘bigger than the Verve’“The way we and our mates were living back then was crazy,” says Richard Ashcroft, remembering the days he was on the precipice of fame before the Verve’s third album, Urban Hymns, made them ubiquitous in 1997. “A scene in This is England broug
  
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• Katy B: ‘Clubbing has gotta be better than Tinder’

  28-04-2016 19:39
  
  The south London singer and Rinse FM regular talks about her new album, Netflix and nightlifeKaty B had an epiphany recently. At the age of 26, with two successful albums behind her and some money in the bank, she suddenly realised she was officially an adult. Not because she had bought a house, or given birth, or walked down the aisle. No, it was when she was sitting in a branch of Pizza Express. “I can afford to go out and not share a pizza, dough balls and tap water,
  
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• Radio review: Lauren Laverne’s Prince tribute – ‘a fabulous grief disco’

  28-04-2016 19:34
  
  Playing the sexy, the funky and the sad songs, the 6 Music presenter delivered a warm and empathetic tribute that understood what it means to lose your favourite pop star
  The world woke to the sound of Prince on the radio last Friday morning. Sadly, his songs haven’t bothered a daytime playlist for a good 25 years, but there was Chris Moyles playing Alphabet Street and a Time Tunnel tribute on Heart FM.BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne devoted her entire show to Prince, which, i
  
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• Tim Berne/Steve Byram: Spare review – torrential collision of music and images

  28-04-2016 19:30
  
  (Screwgun)Tim Berne’s avant-jazz – a sound like a roomful of simultaneous conversations – fuses a funky rootsiness, the speediness of postbop and intricate compositional designs that often have more in common with contemporary-classical music. The New York saxophonist/composer has wryly described his aesthetic as “crude elegance” – which is a pretty apt term for this limited-edition book. Between its frugal, brown-card covers, the book unites illustrator Steve
  
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• Jayhawks ride rocky path to reformation

  28-04-2016 19:21
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — To a certain extent, singer-songwriter Gary Louris is fighting against history by reforming the Jayhawks.
  
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• John McCusker: Hello, Goodbye review – rare and classy solo outing

  28-04-2016 19:15
  
  (Under One Sky) John McCusker celebrates his 25th anniversary as a professional musician with a rare solo outing. The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer has had a colourful career, playing with the Battlefield Band, Kate Rusby and Heidi Talbot and touring the world with Mark Knopfler. McCusker’s 2008 album Under One Sky included songs from Julie Fowlis and Graham Coxon, but this is an instrumental set – apart from a brief Talbot vocal at the start of the rousing opening trac
  
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• 9Bach: Anian review – beautiful Welsh-language folk music

  28-04-2016 19:00
  
  (Real World) The Welsh-language band return with a set dominated by the exquisite vocals of Lisa Jên, who also adds piano and wrote many of the lyrics and melodies. At times, it sounds like a solo album. Ifan, a gently pained song of parting, starts as a piano-backed solo and adds a wash of harp and other instruments, while Heno is constructed around layers of vocal tracks – a technique repeated on the traditional Sri Hwi Hwi, with the effective addition of bass and percussion. Elsew
  
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• F**k It Friday: Dua Lipa

  28-04-2016 18:55
  
  Celebrating the power of just saying, "you know what!? F**K IT!"
  
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• This Dyeing Hack Just Made Doing Rainbow Hair A Million Times Easier

  28-04-2016 18:14
  
  Turn yourself into a real life unicorn.
  
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• These Are The Sexiest Infinity Pools In The World

  28-04-2016 17:22
  
  We want to go to there.
  
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• Tanita Tikaram performs new material

  28-04-2016 17:17
  LONDON - - After several years on the road, singer songwriter Tanita Tikaram is back with new album "Closer To The People" and a light-hearted single she hopes will get people dancing.  Tikaram made her name in the late 1980s when as a teenager, her debut album "Ancient Heart" sold around 4 million copies worldwide.
  
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• Iggy Azalea Just Saved Fiancé Nick Young From Making A Massive Tattoo Mistake

  28-04-2016 17:03
  
  It's actually really quite funny.
  
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• British Director To Make Houston Documentary

  28-04-2016 16:56
  
  Oscar-winning British director Kevin Macdonald is to make a documentary about the late singer Whitney Houston. The film is the first to be endorsed by Houston's estate since her death in 2012. Macdonald and the producers have been given permission to tell the true story of Houston's record-breaking career and troubled personal life.
  
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• There's Some Good News And Some Bad News About Zoella's Beauty Range

  28-04-2016 16:53
  
  Let's just focus on the good.
  
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• Beyoncé's Lemonade is an object lesson in collaboration

  28-04-2016 16:20
  
  She’s the centripetal force that marshalls the likes of Robert Plant, Jack White, Kendrick Lamar and MNEK to craft exquisite pop music that transcends boundaries and originsAmong its many other achievements – giving music fans some good news following the death of Prince, driving traffic to poet Warsan Shire’s Wikipedia page, making Piers Morgan uncomfortable - Beyoncé’s spectacular new album Lemonade has managed to dethrone Kanye West as pop music’s most ass
  
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• Brian Eno: The Ship review – bold experiments of varying success

  28-04-2016 16:00
  
  Eno’s latest aims to dispense with traditional song structures but is at its most captivating when tending back towards them Brian Eno’s 25th solo album arrives trailed by a very Enoesque explanation. The latter takes in the sinking of the Titanic, the first world war, the Velvet Underground’s third album, an installation in a Copenhagen gallery, Israeli history professor Yuval Harari’s acclaimed bestseller Sapiens: A History of Humankind, and the effect of the ageing pro
  
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• New Splatoon Clothing Is Coming To Miitomo & You Can Get It For Free

  28-04-2016 15:50
  
  Here's how to get your Miitomo x Splatoon swag on just by tweeting!
  
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• Susan Boyle's Heathrow outburst 'down to Asperger's diagnosis'

  28-04-2016 15:45
  
  Singer Susan Boyle's "outburst" at Heathrow Airport has been attributed to her Asperger's diagnosis.
  
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• Zedd & Kesha's 'True Colors' Has Leaked A Day Early & It's Even More Emotional Than We Thought

  28-04-2016 15:32
  
  Get a first listen of the track here...
  
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• How Drake became the all-pervading master of hyper-reality rap

  28-04-2016 15:32
  
  The Canadian artist’s success at spreading both his sound and self far and wide owes much to his desire to be everything to everybody – not to mention his ability to defuse the explosive content once at the core of hip-hopIf there is a single word that describes Drake, whose new album is released on Thursday night, it is diffuse. It is a catch-all that captures the way his tracks seep out of the radio like glistening vapour and conveys the slippery drift of his voice back and forth b
  
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• Taylor Swift Totally Teased Us With Calvin Harris & Rihanna’s New Single At Coachella But Nobody Realised

  28-04-2016 15:04
  
  WE SEE YOU, TAY.
  
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• TWU Meets Avelino

  28-04-2016 15:03
  
  I remember when I first started writing lyrics in my classroom. I started rapping the lyrics that I’d just written to my mate and he said they were wack. I didn’t know how to take that at the time, but I suppose my ability to self critique comes from that because that was harsh!
  
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• Prince Found With Prescription Drugs - Reports

  28-04-2016 14:45
  
  Prescription opioid drugs were reportedly found on Prince at the time of his death, as court records show a judge has appointed a bank to safeguard the star's estate. News outlets CNN and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis were among those to report that pills were found at Paisley Park where the 57-year-old musician died last week. The Star Tribune said that authorities are trying to determine what, if any, role opioids may have played in Prince's death and whether the drugs found at the scene wer
  
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• Billy Ocean on Frank Ocean: ‘At least he didn’t say I was his dad’

  28-04-2016 14:34
  
  Back with a new double album, the Caribbean Queen singer discusses Savile Row suits, the joys of herb and London property valuesBilly, your album is full of your greatest hits. How does it differ from The Very Best Of, Greatest Hits, The Collection, Super Hits and Ultimate Collection?It’s an album that’s a new album, yet it isn’t a new album (1). On Sunday I took my family out for a meal – a really nice Chinese restaurant in Queensway – and I was listening to all th
  
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• How To Unsend Those Awkward Messages You Sent By Accident

  28-04-2016 13:52
  
  The drunk texter's new best friend.
  
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• Captain America's Chris Evans Admits He 'Races Home' To Watch Ex On The Beach… What A Sort!

  28-04-2016 13:34
  
  US TOO, CHRIS!
  
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• Lottie Tomlinson Modelling Ariana Grande For Lipsy Will Make You Want The Entire Collection

  28-04-2016 13:27
  
  Living the Mean Girls dream.
  
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• Mike Posner review – 'class B' celebrity brings his A game

  28-04-2016 13:17
  
  XOYO, London
  He may describe himself as second-league, but Posner emits charm all the way serving up hits he’s penned for others and potential Glasto anthems – give this man a festival“You may not know that I helped to write this song,” says Mike Posner, clearly underestimating his audience. Not only does everyone here know the Detroit pop-rocker co-authored Justin Bieber’s 2012 hit Boyfriend, they rousingly chip in as Posner sings it. He could have dedicated a leng
  
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• Ariel Winter's Mum Calls Out Her Daughter For Undergoing Breast Reduction And Showing Off Scars

  28-04-2016 12:44
  
  She doesn't think she should be 'flaunting' them, apparently.
  
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• YouTube: 'No other platform gives as much money back to creators'

  28-04-2016 12:41
  
  In a series of articles on Guardian music this week, artists have demanded more money from YouTube. One of the company’s executives says they have got it wrong – YouTube is actually supporting the music industry Lately, there’s been a chorus of music label representatives and artists accusing YouTube of mistreating musicians. As the music industry shifts from a business that mainly sold albums and singles to one that earns money from subscriptions and ads, there are bound to be
  
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• This Is How To Make Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Through Travelling

  28-04-2016 12:38
  We spoke to Bruce Poon Tip, who literally did this.
  
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• Zayn Malik Will Make His UK Solo Performance Debut At Capital’s Summertime Ball & Fans Are Excited

  28-04-2016 12:33
  
  YAAAAAAS.
  
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• EXCLUSIVE! Axwell Λ Ingrosso Premiere Their 'Dream Bigger' Vid On Snapchat Discover

  28-04-2016 12:00
  
  Check out the first vertical music video RIGHT NOW on our Snapchat Discover channel...
  
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• Vine Star Cameron Dallas Strips Off To Model In A Smoking Hot Calvin Klein Campaign

  28-04-2016 11:54
  
  Nothing to see here, just Cam with his shirt off...
  
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• Beyonce Dedicates Song To Jay Z During Show

  28-04-2016 11:42
  
  The message to the rapper comes as the couple's relationship is hit by infidelity rumours following the release of the singer's new album, Lemonade. The 34-year-old paid the tribute to Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy when she sang her hit Halo during her Formation show in Miami on Wednesday. Jay Z was reportedly in the audience at the Marlins Park Stadium.
  
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• Kendall And Kylie Jenner Tease Their Topshop Swimwear Collection & We Want It All

  28-04-2016 11:33
  
  GIVE IT.
  
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• Beyoncé kicks off Formation tour in Miami – video

  28-04-2016 11:29
  
  Beyoncé performs on the opening night of her Formation World Tour on Wednesday in Miami. In these clips she performs Hold Up and Daddy Lessons. It is her first concert since releasing the album LemonadeRead the Guardian’s five-star review of BeyoncéContinue reading...
  
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• Beyoncé Dedicates Halo To Her 'Beautiful Husband' On First Night Of Formation Tour

  28-04-2016 11:19
  
  Well isn't that just the cutest thing you ever did hear.
  
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• Beyonce has shared the most adorable photo of her four-year-old daughter Blue Ivy

  28-04-2016 11:09
  
  On the opening night of her Formation tour, Beyonce dedicated a song to her “beautiful husband” Jay Z and also remembered Prince.
  
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• Got A Question About Sex? Ask MTV's New Agony Aunt Grace Victory...

  28-04-2016 10:54
  
  Let's get to the truth about sex...
  
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• Are Miley Cyrus And Liam Hemsworth Planning A Summer Wedding Now?

  28-04-2016 10:21
  
  Quick, someone get us a kaftan.
  
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