Music news

• Wiley: The Godfather review – grime originator delivers a blockbuster

  12-01-2017 23:15
  
  (Chasing the Art)Not only did he help invent grime back in the early noughties with his frostbitten take on garage production, Wiley was one of the few to successfully transition into pop. And with grime now back in the zeitgeist, his demeanour on this blockbuster album is of a foreman nodding with satisfaction as he looks across a building site – if they’re not already guesting on it, Wiley is praising his fellow UK MCs almost every other bar. A streak of high-gauge shellings a
  
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• Julie Byrne: Not Even Happiness review – intimate songs of a life on the move

  12-01-2017 23:00
  
  (Basin Rock)Julie Byrne might not make for the most reliable tenant – her restless side has seen her move home countless times in recent years (Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans … you get the picture). But life on the move has made for interesting music, in which double rainbows (Follow My Voice), breaking dawns (Natural Blue) and even the dye made from crushed beetles (Melting Grid) serve as lyrical inspiration. This second album might not hang together were it not
  
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• You Me at Six: Night People review – overwrought anthems headed for stadiums

  12-01-2017 22:45
  
  (Infectious)Surrey quintet You Me at Six make overwrought emotional anthemia that’s about as dangerous as a leather jacket. They’re also on the cusp of super-sizing into Britain’s next stadium band and this, their fifth album, has given them their second No 1. Out of all the rockers peddling the same generic chart angst – Paramore, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Fall Out Boy – at least YMAS attempt to suggest they might have gonads behind the guitars (alongside some noiris
  
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• Bonobo: Migration review – pensive ambient electronica from a nomadic soul

  12-01-2017 22:30
  
  (Ninja Tune)It might not be the revolution the music world is pining for, but streaming services have recently reported an explosion in the popularity of ambient world electronica. Good timing for the doyen of percussive atmospherics, Simon Green, who returns with his sixth album. Inspired by his experiences as a nomadic musician rather than global issues surrounding migration, the record shares the same melancholic intensity of Jon Hopkins’ Immunity, but its head remains in the clouds rat
  
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• Sohn: Rennen review – affected modern blues with some intriguing touches

  12-01-2017 22:15
  
  (4AD)Straddling the worlds of electronica and nu-R&B, British musician Christopher Taylor’s output can be loosely divided into two separate entities. Zoom in and the electronic productions that form the skeleton of his second record come into focus: muggy, oppressive tapestries of pounding percussion and interesting sonic flourishes, from ghoulishly echoing bass to crisp, clip-clopping beats. Take a step back from the digital fiddling, however, and the bigger picture is markedly less a
  
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• The Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody review – some of their prettiest music in years

  12-01-2017 22:00
  
  (Bella Union) Related: Wayne Coyne on Miley Cyrus: 'She sends me pictures of herself peeing' It’s a long time since the Flaming Lips bothered the mainstream with the likes of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; in the past decade, they’ve charted a stranger course, with freaky Beatles covers, 2013’s darkly wondrous The Terror and an unlikely bond with Miley Cyrus. More weirdness abounds on their 14th album. Described by frontman Wayne Coyne as sounding like “Syd Barratt meet
  
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• Readers recommend: share your 1980s 12-inch singles and remixes

  12-01-2017 21:00
  
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 16 January A tricky topic hoping to unearth some gold from your record libraries this week – for more on what we’re looking for, read on ...Related: Vinyl destination: who is actually buying records?Continue reading...
  
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• Mosaic: Subterranea review – lustre and luminosity from vibesman Ralph Wyld

  12-01-2017 20:00
  
  (Edition)The enterprising Edition label has released fine recently graduated UK composer Ralph Wyld’s debut album, a cool but very joined-up genre-crossing venture for an unusual lineup featuring his lustrous, Gary Burton-like vibraphone sound joined to brass, clarinets, a cello, and a hip and sophisticated rhythmic section, including bassist and fellow Kenny Wheeler jazz-prize winner Misha Mullov-Abbado. The late Kenny Wheeler’s music, with its gentle symmetries of short modulating
  
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• Trish Clowes: My Iris review – zigzagging melodies and a songwriter's quirky ear

  12-01-2017 19:45
  
  (Basho)Composer/saxophonist Trish Clowes has focused on big-format music lately, but My Iris – a reference by this imaginative musical colour-mixer to Greek mythology’s goddess of the rainbow – foregrounds her quickwitted young quartet. Clowes’ Wayne Shorter affections steer her wraithlike soprano-sax lines over Ross Stanley’s church-organ chords on One Hour, and also her sharp-angled improv after James Maddren’s backbeat kicks in. I Can’t Find My Other
  
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• John Abercrombie: Up and Coming review – restraint and slow rapture

  12-01-2017 19:30
  
  (ECM)In a world of rampant populism, the description “musicians’ musician” might become even more of a backhand compliment, but if anyone can defend its virtues, it’s American guitarist John Abercrombie – a 1970s jazz-rock pioneer who then nurtured his own kind of gracefully cool small-band jazz over four decades with ECM. With Marc Copland on piano, Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums, the lineup repeats 2013’s 39 Steps, and again the tracks are all Ab
  
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• Derroll Adams: Feelin’ Fine review – welcome reissue of folk hero's great songs

  12-01-2017 19:15
  
  (Ghosts from the Basement)Derroll Adams, who died in 2000, was an American banjo-player, singer and song-writer, and one of the most colourful figures on the folk scene. He travelled across the US, met everyone from Woody Guthrie to James Dean, and worked as a duo with the legendary Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. After they toured together in the UK, Adams stayed on here to be treated as a hero in the folk clubs, and famously introduced Donovan to Dylan. These recordings from the 70s, released on
  
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• The 2017 Tony Awards show goes back to Radio City Music Hall

  12-01-2017 19:13
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Tony Awards are going back to their old — and much larger — stomping grounds.
  
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• People Are Accusing Kylie Jenner Of Photoshopping A Wart Onto Herself

  12-01-2017 19:06
  
  Err...what?
  
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• Is This Lana Del Rey In The Weeknd's 'Party Monster' Video?

  12-01-2017 19:02
  
  Blink and you'll miss her...
  
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• DaVinChe And Tasha Demi Introduce 'Powers' The Collaborative Album

  12-01-2017 18:47
  
  2 weeks, 1 Producer and 32 artists...
  
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• Lethal Bizzle Is Back And Enlists Giggs & Flowdan for 'Round Here'

  12-01-2017 18:30
  
  He's back with a bang and our ears couldn't be happier. Lethal Bizzle drops his first offering for 2017 from his much anticipated album 'Lennox Road'.
  
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• 12 Times Reality Stars' Off Screen Drama Was Dramatic AF

  12-01-2017 18:29
  
  From Kim Kardashian's robbery to Pete Wicks' sexting drams...
  
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• FIF: Pharrell WIlliams

  12-01-2017 18:19
  
  Clap along if you feel those "f**k it!" Friday vibes...
  
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• Why Germany is proud of the Elbphilharmonie – and why Britain should care about that

  12-01-2017 17:48
  
  Germany’s great and good basked in the cultural glow as Hamburg’s concert hall opened its doors last night. In the UK, such a project would be mired in political squabbling and public scornAsk yourself this. If Liverpool or Glasgow built a stunning new concert hall, would it be not just the talk – and the pride – of the town itself? Would its opening attract the Queen and the prime minister? Would a huge contingent of the world’s artistic press come for the occasion
  
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• Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White: ‘Grease is a lot more than kitsch disco’

  12-01-2017 17:42
  
  The duo’s album of lushly soulful covers, Gentlewoman, Ruby Man, is full of surprises – including the Bee Gees’ theme tune to the 1978 musicalFlo Morrissey and Matthew E White are enough to make you sick. They radiate pleasure in each other’s company and are both very much in the ascendant after recording an album of covers so good you don’t want to go back to the originals. To make matters worse, there’s a YouTube video about the making of the album that give
  
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• The xx: I See You review – stepping out of their own shadow

  12-01-2017 16:30
  
  Their last album carried the sense of a band unsure where to go after the success of their debut, but now they seem to have cracked that problemIt was one of 2016’s weirder musical phenomena: the sensation that huge chunks of the singles chart sounded oddly but irrefutably like the xx’s 2009 debut album. It was strange, not least because the xx’s debut album was so unassuming: packed with hushed, inward-looking songs, it sounded like music that was trying to avoid catching your
  
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• Honey G, 5SOS, The Chainsmokers & twenty one pilots Nominated For ‘Worst Band’ At NME Awards 2017

  12-01-2017 16:25
  
  Meanwhile, David Cameron, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and more were nominated for the 'Villain of the Year' award.
  
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• 17 Trends We'll All Be Wearing In 2017

  12-01-2017 16:23
  
  Yes, popper trousers are back.
  
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• Nintendo Switch Price & Game Reveals Leaked!

  12-01-2017 16:14
  
  Here's what we know about the brand new Nintendo console...
  
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• Secret Message Found Hidden In Nintendo Console

  12-01-2017 15:46
  
  You've gotta see this.
  
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• Jaimeo Brown Transcendence review – exuberantly inventive jazz pageant

  12-01-2017 14:59
  
  Ronnie Scott’s, London
  Ingenious live music melded with an assortment of imagery and recordings to produce a show that underlined this trio’s unique ambitionsUS drummer Jaimeo Brown is fascinated by how musical history can be the glue of a community’s life. An imaginative contemporary artist with wide horizons and a game-changing jazz approach, he has lately been exposing his ambitious studio work to the challenge of mixed-media live performance, dramatically unveiled by his Tr
  
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• Anna Tsybuleva review – the Leeds winner still fails to convince

  12-01-2017 14:50
  
  Wigmore Hall, London
  The young Russian pianist took top prize in 2015’s Leeds Piano Competition, but this London recital found her on lacklustre and uninspiring formAnna Tsybuleva took first prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015. The 25-year-old’s win came as a surprise – the concerto final may have been a lacklustre affair as a whole, but there were at least two other pianists who gave more interesting performances than her rather unfocussed account of Bra
  
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• Stephen Bear Sends Fans Into Meltdown Over Potential Celebrity Big Brother Return

  12-01-2017 14:10
  
  Is Stephen Bear returning to Celebrity Big brother?
  
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• Elbphilharmonie Orchestra/Hengelbrock review – storming debut for hall of wonders

  12-01-2017 13:57
  
  Elbphilharmonie, HamburgThe spectacular possibilities of Hamburg’s new concert venue were celebrated in an imaginative opening concert Hamburg’s new concert hall is Germany’s latest austerity-defying architectural bobby-dazzler. But what about the music? How do you mark the opening of a lustrous new hall that is now, after all the arguments and the overspend, the pride of Hamburg? The conventional thing to do would be to programme a mighty work of the heavens — Beethoven&
  
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• Norma Jean Martine review – husky blues-pop sung with tenacious talent

  12-01-2017 13:44
  
  Servant Jazz Quarters, London
  The singer’s eclectic set tallies with her scattergun CV, but playful lyrics and powerhouse vocals bring to mind Amy Winehouse and hint at a glittering careerNorma Jean Martine’s drive is not in question. Rejected by American Idol and the casting directors of Broadway musicals in her teens, she moved from her native New York to London and has racked up co-writing credits on songs as varied as the title track on a Ronan Keating album and an Italian Eurovi
  
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• How Buzzcocks invented indie (with help from the Sex Pistols, a Renault and the Quo)

  12-01-2017 13:35
  It’s 40 years since the Manchester band’s first release reshaped pop music. With no industry support, they pressed and sold the EP themselves, and kickstarted a revolution
  In January 1977 a young punk band called Buzzcocks walked into the Manchester branch of Virgin with a box of singles they wanted to sell. They had set up a label called New Hormones and paid for the records themselves with an early form of crowdfunding – borrowing £500 from a couple of friends and the g
  
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• Ed Sheeran's new album Divide to be released on 3 March

  12-01-2017 13:27
  
  The songwriter’s third album includes the record breaking singles Shape of You and Castle on the Hill This spring ushers in the return of Ed Sheeran. The songwriter’s third album, Divide (÷), will be available from 3 March. Last week, Sheeran unveiled his first new studio recordings since the 2014 album X. The two new singles, Shape of You and Castle on the Hill, broke Spotify’s UK and global streaming records with the two songs exceeding 13m combined streams in 24 hours
  
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• Readers recommend playlist: your songs with alliteration

  12-01-2017 13:00
  
  This week a reader picks from your suggestions after trawling lyrics and titles for alliteration. Roots, the Smiths, AC/DC – and Benny Hill – make the cut
  Here is this week’s playlist – songs picked by a reader from your suggestions after last week’s callout. Thanks for them all. Read more about how our weekly Readers Recommend series works at the end of the piece.One of the hidden benefits of taking a spin in the RR “guru” chair is that you get the chan
  
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• Bronzed Megan McKenna Reveals Sunstroke Nightmare On Romantic Getaway

  12-01-2017 12:57
  
  Megan McKenna has a sunstroke nightmare on holiday with Pete Wicks.
  
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• 15 Celebs Who Have Been Accused Of Using Photoshop And We Don't Know What To Believe Anymore

  12-01-2017 12:55
  
  WHy would Kylie Jenner photoshop a wart on? IT MAKES NO SENSE...
  
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• You Can Now Get A Wearable Pokémon GO Plus Tracker AT LAST

  12-01-2017 12:53
  
  You don't need an Apple Watch if you've got this.
  
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• Ed Sheeran OFFICIALLY Drops ÷ Album Details & This Is How You Pronounce It...

  12-01-2017 12:05
  
  It's out REALLY SOON! Kind of.
  
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• Scotty T’s Fail Proof Three Point Plan To Winning Celebrity Big Brother

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  Well he did win the thing after all.
  
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• Anna Kendrick To Star As Surprising Disney Character

  12-01-2017 11:38
  
  This sounds GREAT.
  
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• Ariana Grande & John Legend Will Be Performing A Major Song In Beauty And The Beast

  12-01-2017 11:33
  
  This could be amazing.
  
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• Is Kourtney Kardashian Pregnant With Her And Scott Disick's Fourth Child?

  12-01-2017 11:31
  
  Kourtney Kardashian said to be pregnant with her fourth child.
  
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• Syd Unleashes Her Brand New Solo Release 'All About Me'

  12-01-2017 11:27
  
  Known for previously being a part of Odd Future and as the current lead vocalist of one of my favourite Neo-Soul bands The Internet, Syd is kicking off 2017 with her brand new solo release ‘All About Me’.
  
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• Joe And Ashanti Are Set To Tour The UK Together Next Month!

  12-01-2017 11:22
  
  Joining forces for the first time to perform together on their upcoming UK tour, you do NOT want to miss out on Joe and Ashanti performing together...
  
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• Ed Sheeran Reveals What Really Happened With Princess Beatrice And That Sword Incident

  12-01-2017 11:20
  
  Finally, we answers!
  
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• Kendall Jenner Settles 'Crazy' Plastic Surgery Rumours Once And For All

  12-01-2017 10:26
  
  So that's that, then.
  
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• Wayne Coyne on Miley Cyrus: 'She sends me pictures of herself peeing'

  12-01-2017 10:00
  
  The eccentric psychedelic rocker is back with a new Flaming Lips album, this time with help from the former Disney star and a newfound love of A$AP RockyIt’s almost a surprise that Wayne Coyne doesn’t roll up to our interview in his giant hamster ball. The Flaming Lips frontman is so defined in his Wayne Coyne-ness that, waiting around, it’s hard not to picture him as he appears onstage: an intergalactic pirate smothered with fake blood and confetti, flanked by dancing pandas,
  
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• Bowie's Blackstar outsold classic albums in year after he died

  12-01-2017 09:45
  
  Official Charts Company releases list of Bowie sales since his death, with Heroes topping the list of bestselling tracksThe most popular David Bowie album since the singer’s death on 10 January 2016 is Blackstar, according to the latest figures from the Official Charts Company. The compilers of the UK charts have put together top 10s for both Bowie’s album sales and singles sales over the last year, with Heroes topping the singles sales list.Since his death, Bowie’s albums have
  
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• Bella Hadid Immediately Unfollows Selena Gomez After She's Caught Making Out With The Weeknd

  12-01-2017 09:45
  
  Well THIS came out of nowhere.
  
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• Party (Ft. Gucci Mane & Usher) [Explicit]

  12-01-2017 07:39 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Party (Ft. Gucci Mane & Usher)
  
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• Moves [Explicit]

  12-01-2017 05:55 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Moves
  
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