Disclosure Page 2

After winning the Best New Festival at last years UK Festival Awards, co-curators Rudimental and Disclosure are set to do it all again, establishing a name for themselves at the festival, making sure everyone knows it is theirs, giving it their own cultural identity. 

The two-day festival that spreads across the weekend of June 11th and 12th provides no camping, but a music festival that transcends generic boundaries, a diverse line up that attracts and appeals to all ages. From James Bay to Skepta, Jack Garratt to DJ EZ, Wild Life is showcasing its multifarious taste, despite Earth Wind and Fire pulling out. 

Continue reading: Wild Life Festival 2016 - Preview

Sam Smith has had a year to remember in 2013, but this year of success may very well be only the start of his rise to musical stardom as his considerable talents continue to get noticed. His latest bit of recognition came last night (11 Dec.) when he was chosen as The Brits 2014 Critics' Choice, an honour that has predicted the success of Adele, Emeli Sandé, Ellie Goulding and Tom Odell in the past.

Smith is continuing his rise to the top with his Brits win

"It means the world to me, it's the only award i really care about. I've watched the BRITs religiously every single year," he said in a statement released on the Brits' website. "I'm such a massive fan of female singers and some of the females who have won this award have been my biggest inspirations, so to even be nominated means a lot to me, a lot."

Continue reading: Sam Smith Named Winner Of Brits 2014 Critics' Choice

The 2013 Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit brings another year of eclectic electronics with rather a large helping of Britain filling up the line-up!

Headlining this amazing festival in Asheville, North Carolina on the last weekend of October (25th-27th 2013) is Nine Inch Nails; unsurprisingly, given their impressive headlining record this year which includes Lollapalooza, Leeds & Reading Festival, Outside Lands and Rock en Seine. Also scraping the top of the bill are Bassnectar and Pretty Lights, but there's something particularly British about a good chunk of the bands that follow. 

Continue reading: A British Year For North Carolina's Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit 2013?

This year's Barclaycard Mercury Prize could be one of the greatest lists of nominees in the awards history. 2013's nominees shortlist includes talent old and new, rock, pop, and dance with one thing to unite them all: they represent a selection of Britain and Ireland's strongest mainstream albums released during the last 12 months.

Bowie Looking A Favourite To Win.

It would be almost too easy to say that David Bowie will win: the 66 year-old made a triumphant and unexpected return this year with the critically lauded The Next Day which was recorded in secret over two years. He's also the bookies favourite along with Arctic Monkeys at the moment, with odds that are unlikely to change. Last time Bowie was nominated was in 2002 when he suffered defeat to pop star Ms. Dynamite but this time round there's been such a lot of press surrounding Bowie's come-back that he's been hard to ignore.

Continue reading: Mercury Music Prize List Has "More Good Albums...Than For A Very Long Time"

David Bowie came back from his retirement/hiatus completely unannounced this January, when he released the video for the single 'Where Are We Now,' and managed to catch everyone off guard with his birthday announcement of a new release and the subsequent quality of his first album in a decade.

This is Bowie's first Mercury nomination

The Next Day made the critics swoon after Ziggy Stardust once again and now, five months after he released his twenty-fourth album, Bowie is still being fancied by critics as he emerges as the front-runner to win this years Barclaycard Mercury Prize.

Continue reading: David Bowie Leads The Pack In Mercury Prize Nominations

You, being a seasoned festival-goer, will know that it’s Lollapalooza 2013 in Chicago’s Grant Park this weekend (August 2 – 4, 2013), which promises to play host to some of the biggest acts in the world as well as showcasing the most exciting and innovate new bands on the planet. And that’s what we’re here to concentrate on: the young, fresh and ready to impress.

It seems a long, long time since Disclosure’s first single Offline Dexterity, though the British electronic duo have gone from strength to strength in recent years and finally released their debut album, Settle, on PMR Records on June 2, 2013.It was met with both commercial and critical success, including a score of 9.1 from the notoriously picky musos at Pitchfork – no mean feat.

Sure, we’d rather see Disclosure in a club - perhaps in the early hours of the morning – though Lollapalooza-goers will have to settle for 6pm at The Grove, on Friday (August 2, 2013). Saying that, both Guy and Howard will be DJ’ing at The Mid club in Chicago’s West Town from 10pm on Friday.

Continue reading: Lollapalooza 2013: The Best New Bands Worth Checking Out

A week in music videos... Kanye West has been doing a lot of promotion for his edgy, rock-infused track 'Black Skinhead' (or 'BLKKK SKKKN HEAD' as it's otherwise known'), the lead single from his US and UK number one album 'Yeezus', so his anger when the unfinished video directed by Nick Knight was leaked earlier in July was unsurprising. He described the unauthorised distribution as 'heartbreaking' and no wonder; a video as unique as this was definitely worthy of a grand entrance but, nonetheless, the spoiler has definitely not affected the viewing experience.Watch the video for BLKKK SKKKN HEAD here.

French house star Kavinsky has already become a hit in his home nation with his debut album 'OutRun', released earlier this year, reaching number 2 in the charts and he's certainly turning heads overseas too. Teaming up with Canadian producer The Weeknd on one of his newest singles, Kavinsky delivers a driving dance beat with 'Odd Look' - the single from his new EP of the same name. The track also features on his album as a collaboration with fellow electronic musician SebastiAn. Listen to Odd Look here.

Continue reading: A Week In Music, Kanye West Releases 'Black Skinhead' Video, Dawes Talk New Album And Bob Dylan And Mercury And Jackson Duets Are To Be Unveiled