Music news

• Deadmau5: W:/2016ALBUM/ review – genre-surfing EDM that's better than he thinks

  01-12-2016 23:00
  
  (Mau5trap)In a series of tweets last month, EDM superstar Joel Zimmerman all but disowned his eighth album, calling it “rushed” and “slapped together”. “I don’t even like it,” he claimed, adding that he is only releasing it to pay the bills. There were two tracks he reserved praise for, however: Whelk Then, a strange experimental offering that wavers between bursts of clangy syncopation and the ASMR-y sound of dripping water; and Snowcone, which mixes pl
  
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• The Trouble With Templeton: Someday, Buddy review – moody Twilight Zone soundscapes

  01-12-2016 22:45
  
  (Bella Union) The past 12 months have been so sad and seismic that it feels as if there’s no more room in the world for additional musical melancholy. Brisbane alt-rock group the Trouble With Templeton are named after an episode of The Twilight Zone, which signals their songs’ late-night, spectral qualities, and bring the sentiment and soundscapes of the moody, spacious guitar bands who still lurk on festival bills but hardly capture the zeitgeist: the Antlers, Sigur Rós, Patr
  
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• Childish Gambino: Awaken, My Love review – a prog-tinged freak-funk opus

  01-12-2016 22:30
  
  (Glassnote)Given that he’s the creator/star of a TV comedy – the brilliant Atlanta – that’s embedded in the world of hip-hop, you’d be forgiven for expecting Donald Glover to cover similar territory with his musical alter ego Childish Gambino. Indeed, his previous album under that name, Because the Internet, did just that. For his follow-up, though, Glover decided to run a mile from the genre: instead, Awaken, My Love is a prog-tinged funk opus situated somewhere be
  
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• Gurr: In My Head review – fizzing joy of Indie As It Used to Be

  01-12-2016 22:15
  
  (Duchess Box)You wouldn’t have a clue that Laura Lee and Andreya Casablanca were in a group based in Berlin in 2016 by listening to their first album. Even the presence of one song in German, Walnuss, wouldn’t convince you that In My Head was anything other than something unearthed from some US liberal arts college after sitting in a record shop rack since the early 90s. Gurr’s sound is bright and shiny: not the polished metallic sheen of state-of-the-art studios but the tinny
  
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• Peter Doherty: Hamburg Demonstrations review – astute and refreshingly low-key

  01-12-2016 22:00
  
  (BMG/Clouds Hill)Hamburg Demonstrations marks a departure for Pete Doherty: it’s perhaps the first record he’s put out that few people outside of his fanbase will be paying much attention to. With the endless soap opera surrounding the Libertines dimming down and the sound of rickety indie no longer in vogue, it feels very much like a record that can be judged on its own merits. Those merits – the just-about-held-together arrangements, muttered vocals and literary references &n
  
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• Rogue Jones: VU review – charmingly quirky, oddball songs in Welsh and English

  01-12-2016 20:00
  
  (Blinc Records)Rogue Jones are a charmingly quirky band from Cardiff who deserve a cult following. The key figures are the singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Ynyr Ifan, who plays guitar, percussion, bass and trumpet, and his wife, Bethan Mai, who plays piano, drums, accordion, autoharp, glockenspiel and trumpet. They are joined by Bethan’s sister Mari Morgan on violin, bass, drums and synths, for agreeably oddball songs in Welsh and English. The opening track The King Is Dead st
  
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• Azymuth: Fênix review – lounge funk so laid-back it's soporific

  01-12-2016 19:45
  
  (Far Out Recordings) Azymuth were one of the most successful Brazilian bands of the 70s and 80s, thanks to the samba/jazz/funk fusion they called “crazy samba” and their infectious dance hit Jazz Carnival. Keyboard player José Roberto Bertrami died four years ago, but drummer Ivan Conti and bass player Alex Malheiros are now joined by Kiko Continentino, on keyboards and synths, for an album dominated by laid-back lounge-funk. Songs such as Orange Clouds or Rio Doce are pleasan
  
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• David Helbock Trio: Into the Mystic review – effusive catchiness from skilful threesome

  01-12-2016 19:30
  
  (ACT)There’s a lot of talk about Sufism, mythology and the unconscious in the liner notes to this album by the ACT label’s latest hotshot piano-trio recruits, and if you endorse Stravinsky’s contention that music doesn’t mean anything but itself, you could probably pass on those. On content alone, this album by Austrian pianist David Helbock’s trio with bass ukulele player Raphael Preuschl and drummer Reinhold Schmolzer mostly accounts for their rising reputation in
  
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• Stuart McCallum/Mike Walker: The Space Between review – a treat for guitaristas

  01-12-2016 19:15
  
  (Edition)A renewal of a longstanding dialogue for Manchester’s guitar giants, the former Cinematic Orchestra sideman Stuart McCallum, and Salford’s bluesy world-class virtuoso Mike Walker – largely a lyrical conversation (with a little string-quartet help) savouring the contours of seductive themes by the participants, as well as by Bacharach, Beethoven and Debussy. Walker’s power to soar thrillingly out of a deceptively cool groove to rock-blues wails is soon evident, as
  
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• Ethan Iverson: The Purity of the Turf review – like a time-travelling Monk trio

  01-12-2016 19:00
  
  (Criss Cross) I heard pianist Ethan Iverson at London’s Vortex club in 2013, playing enthrallingly lateral bebop without his band the Bad Plus, and this album with former Miles Davis bass supremo Ron Carter and artful New York freebop drummer Nasheet Waits is that and then some, like a Thelonious Monk trio that’s time-travelled through hip-hop and avant-funk. Iverson’s lurchingly Monkish title track sounds like stretched and squeezed fragments of Rhythm-a-ning. Waits mixes floa
  
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• Is The Bad Blood Over? Taylor Swift Could Be Returning To Spotify

  01-12-2016 17:52
  
  According to Spotify's Head of Music, Swift could be about to make a dramatic return...
  
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• You Got Me Baby

  01-12-2016 17:44 via mtv.co.uk
  
  You Got Me Baby
  
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• Trust Nobody (Ft. Selena Gomez & Tory Lanez) [Explicit]

  01-12-2016 17:44 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Trust Trust Nobody (Ft. Selena Gomez & Tory Lanez)
  
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• The Mack (Ft. Mark Morrison & Fetty Wap)

  01-12-2016 17:44 via mtv.co.uk
  
  The Mack (Ft. Mark Morrison & Fetty Wap)
  
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• Selena Gomez Reigns Queen Of Instagram With The Most Followers AND Likes

  01-12-2016 17:33
  
  Selena + Instagram = A match made in heaven.
  
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• Streams ahead: the artists who made it huge without radio support

  01-12-2016 17:32
  
  Thanks to Spotify, Apple Music and co, musicians such as Glass Animals and Anne-Marie can go global without radio support. But can they convert streaming stats into fans?‘Streaming has been invaluable,” begins Glass Animals singer Dave Bayley, from the back of a tour bus bound for Glasgow. His band’s 2014 song Gooey currently stands at nearly 68m Spotify streams, and was instrumental in turning Glass Animals into what Music Week recently described as “international stream
  
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• Afghanistan's first female rapper: 'If I stay silent, nothing will change'

  01-12-2016 16:45
  
  She’s been threatened with rape and was beaten in the street, but Paradise Sorouri refuses to stop singing about the horrific injustices inflicted upon Afghan womenLife has not been easy for Paradise Sorouri. In the past seven years, the 27-year-old has been forced to flee her country twice, received more death threats than she can count, and was brutally beaten by 10 men on the street and left to die. Her crime? She covers her head with a baseball cap instead of a hijab, raises her voice
  
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• Drake is Spotify’s most streamed artist of 2016

  01-12-2016 16:12
  
  Canadian star tops Spotify’s most streamed charts in the year his hit One Dance became ubiquitousDrake is Spotify’s most streamed artist of 2016. In a year in which the Canadian rapper and singer broke records with his track One Dance, the artist has topped many of the music streaming service’s end of year lists.Thanks to the success of his album Views, Drake accrued more than 4.7bn streams this year, more than doubling his record of 1.8bn streams in 2015. Continue reading...
  
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• John Legend: Darkness and Light review – musical weirdness and lyrical bleakness

  01-12-2016 16:00
  
  Emulating his idol Marvin Gaye, the singer has fashioned the personal and the political into a heartfelt musical statementJohn Legend’s sixth studio album opens with a burst of impassioned singing that sounds remarkably like a statement of intent. “They say sing what you know, but I’ve sung what they want,” he offers on a track called I Know Better, over a sparse piano backdrop. “Some folks do what they’re told, but this time, baby, I won’t.”You do
  
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• 11 Of Charlie Puth’s Most Heart-Melting Music Video Moments

  01-12-2016 15:14
  
  We're a sucker for a Charlie Puth music video...
  
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• Get To Know: Harper

  01-12-2016 14:32
  
  Harper is this week's featured artist...
  
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• Jess Glynne Nails Her 'One Big Moment' With Stunning Headline Show At London's O2 Arena

  01-12-2016 14:19
  
  We caught the 'Hold My Hand' star's penultimate show last night and it was amazing...
  
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• Revealed: The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians Of 2016

  01-12-2016 14:10
  
  Congratulations Taylor!
  
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• The Rolling Stones: 'We are theatre and reality at the same time'

  01-12-2016 14:00
  
  The band’s best album in decades is an ‘accidental’ covers collection of songs by their early heroes. Backstage in Boston they talk about playing until they’re dead, Prince opening for them in his knickers and what Bob Dylan really thinks about his Nobel prizeJust over a fortnight before the roof falls in on the US, another institution prepares itself for another phase in its long, checkered and legendary existence. On this Monday afternoon, the Rolling Stones have taken
  
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• All Of The Best Looks From The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016

  01-12-2016 13:31
  
  Gigi, Kendall, the gang's all here!
  
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• Dew On The Vine

  01-12-2016 13:25 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Dew On The Vine (Official Video)
  
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• Gaika review – street-corner evangelist reignites music's political passion

  01-12-2016 13:22
  
  Corsica Studios, LondonThe Brixton vocalist injects powerful drama into intensely poetic dub sermons about city life and society ‘in a state of emergency’Listening to dancehall on the radio, you might easily forget that this is music with a proud political tradition, stretching right back to the times when calypso would mull over contemporary events with the energy of today’s rolling news. Gaika, a Brixton vocalist sitting somewhere between MC, crooner and street-corner evangel
  
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• This Week In ‘Drake Can’t Stop Winning’: Drake Is Spotify’s Most Streamed Artist Of 2016

  01-12-2016 13:21
  
  Read here for the rest of Spotify's end of year results!
  
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• Fontzerelli Celebrates All The Hipster Chicks

  01-12-2016 13:21
  
  Read more here
  
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• Pokémon Go's New Feature Makes It Easier To Find The Pokémon You Want

  01-12-2016 13:18
  
  Time to fire Pokémon Go up again!
  
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• Readers recommend playlist: your songs about iron and steel

  01-12-2016 13:00
  
  A reader forges a playlist of songs involving metal in their lyrics or title, with hits from Jethro Tull, Blondie and Bob MarleyHere is this week’s playlist – songs picked by reader Marco den Ouden (who runs the Marconium website) from your suggestions after last week’s callout. Read more about how our weekly readers recommend series works at the end of the piece.Iron is the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Not surprisingly then, it has been used as an industri
  
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• Keke Palmer Puts Her Own Spin On Drake's 'Fake Love'

  01-12-2016 13:00
  
  Check out Keke's rendition here!
  
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• Kojo Funds Announces Headline Show In January

  01-12-2016 12:56
  
  We're excited for this one!
  
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• Capitol Records at 75: Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and MC Hammer

  01-12-2016 12:53
  
  To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Capitol Records in 2017, publisher Taschen delved into the company’s photographic archive for a new book that documents the label’s decades of success. From the studio to the streets of Hollywood, here’s a glimpse of Capitol’s 20th- and 21st-century evolution Continue reading...
  
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• South London's Seejay100 Enlists Moelogo For ‘Pull Up’

  01-12-2016 12:52
  
  Check out the video here!
  
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• Scavenger Hunt And POLO Join Forces For ‘River Runs Dry’ Remix

  01-12-2016 12:35
  
  Check out the remix here!
  
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• Jeremy McConnell Claims Scarlett Moffatt 'Emotionally Bullied' Her Ex Boyfriend And 'F***ed Him Over'

  01-12-2016 12:22
  
  Ouch.
  
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• Chloe Ferry Gives Victoria’s Secret Models A Run For Their Money With VERY Revealing Snapchat

  01-12-2016 11:56
  
  Chloe reveals (just about) ALL...
  
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• Rolling Stones on Bob Dylan's Nobel prize – 'He thought he had done something pretty good'

  01-12-2016 11:30
  
  The Nobel laureate was happy about his literary win when he shared a bill with the Stones immediately after the news was announcedFor all his public diffidence about winning the Nobel prize in literature – he was criticised for being “impolite and arrogant” by a member of the Swedish Academy for not returning its calls – Bob Dylan really was pleased to get the award.The Rolling Stones played the Desert Trip festival in California with Dylan the weekend after he was awarde
  
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• Geordie Shore Spoiler Video: Gaz Beadle Gets Emotional As He Opens Up About Missing Charlotte Crosby

  01-12-2016 11:30
  
  Don't miss brand new Geordie Shore: The Party Tour, Tuesdays at 10pm - only on MTV!
  
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• Kanye West Has Been Released From Hospital After 'Psychotic Breakdown'

  01-12-2016 11:25
  
  The rapper is recovering at home.
  
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• The BRIT Awards 2017 Statue Design Has Been Unveiled & It's Classy AF

  01-12-2016 11:23
  
  If only we were talented enough to win one of these...
  
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• Muse, Major Lazer, Bastille Announced For Reading & Leeds 2017

  01-12-2016 11:22
  
  No Frank Ocean as yet...
  
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• The Smiths to release first single in decades

  01-12-2016 10:05
  
  The band will issue demo version of The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, with a sleeve designed by MorrisseyBehind Morrissey’s hatred of the music industry, there lies a murderous desire for new Smiths releases, it seems. The legendary band are to release their first single since 1995’s posthumous Sweet and Tender Hooligan, and their first led by an unreleased track since Girlfriend in a Coma preceded the Strangeways Here We Come album in August 1987.The Morrissey website True to You
  
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• Bella Hadid And The Weeknd Crossed Paths On The Victoria’s Secret Runway And The Pictures Are Pretty Awkward

  01-12-2016 09:55
  
  It's never easy bumping into an (alleged) ex...
  
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• #TBT Do You Remember Fifth Harmony's AMAZING Mariah Carey Cover?

  01-12-2016 09:00
  
  Watch the girls SLEIGH 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'...
  
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• Sexual (Ft. Dyo) (Lyric Video) [Parental Advisory]

  01-12-2016 08:55 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Sexual (Lyric video)
  
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• Season 2 Episode 3

  01-12-2016 08:55 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Season 2 Episode 3 (Official Video)
  
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• Make Believe

  01-12-2016 08:55 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Make Believe (Official Video)
  
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• All Night

  01-12-2016 08:55 via mtv.co.uk
  
  All Night
  
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