Doctors.
Lorde (Aka) Ella Maria Lani Yelich-0'Connor is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Her first EP, The Love Club was released on November 22nd 2012, and her first single Royals, debuted at Number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40, and also reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number one song in the United States. Her debut album, Pure Heroine was released on September 27th 2013. She won the Silver Scroll (New Zealand's equivalent of the UK's Ivor Novello's-given to the year's best songwriters) Award for 2013, for her track, Royals.
Ella Yelich-O' Connor comes from a Dalmatian Croat and Irish Ancestry.
At the age of thirteen, A+R Scout, Scott Machlaclan signed her to Universal Music. At the age of fourteen, she began working with Universal Music's Songwriters. Ella began writing songs with her guitar around the ages of thirteen and fourteen years of age.
I don't know if Ella can continuously play a part on the world stage of popular music, because as of July 2013, Ella was a Year Twelve student at Secondary School, in the suburb of Belmont in New Zealand.
Lorde's debut EP, The Love Club, was originally posted on Soundcloud in November 2012. Officially released digitally in March 2013 and on CD in May 2013, The Love Club EP features five songs, including the number one hit Royals. On May 27th 2013, Royals was covered on national television on the New Zealand version of the X Factor by all-girl group Gap 5, who is mentored by UK's (All Saints member) Melanie Blatt. Royals debuted as a single at number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40 on March 15th 2013 and remained in the top position for three weeks. On May 8th 2013, The Love Club EP debuted in the number 2 position on the album chart. In August 2013 with Royals, Lorde became the first female in 17 years to top the U.S Billboard Alternative Song Chart, since Tracy Bonham with her 1996 hit, Mother, Mother. Following the release of Royals in the United States in June 2013, 85,000 copies were sold during a single week in July. In a subsequent interview Lorde stated (and I quote) 'I had a sneaking suspicion that it might do all right'. The song also peaked at number 1 in the United States on the Billboard Rock Charts. With Royals, Lorde became the first solo artist from New Zealand to top the US Billboard Chart, and the youngest artist to hold the U.S. number one in more than 25 years.
Pure Heroine is the debut studio album By New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on September 27th 2013 by Universal Music. The release of the album came six weeks before Ella Yelich- O'Connor (aka Lorde)'s seventeenth birthday, after being spotted at the age of twelve by A&R scout Scott Machlaclan who signed her to Universal Music. Yelich-O'Connor co-wrote the album with its producer, Joel Little.
The album followed much in the same vein as Lorde's previous release The Love Club EP featuring predominately elements of Art pop, Pure Heroine also touches upon other genres including minimal, electronica, indietronica, synthpop and dark wave. Lorde was primarily inspired by the world she lives in and critics mainstream culture. The albums lyrics touch upon teenage life, 'disturbed suburbia' and 'too-good-to-be-true bland teenage years' with other lyrics on the album making references to teeth 'to signify class, authenticity, and social circle'.
Upon it's release Pure Heroine received universal acclaim from music critics, including praise of Lorde's and Joel Little's production. Other critics noticed comparisons to singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The album debuted at number one in New Zealand being certified platinum in its opening week and topped the Australian charts. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 129,000 copies.
The album was preceded by the release of The Love Club EP single Royals, which peaked at number one in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States as well as peaking within the top five of Australia. Royals was followed by the release of Tennis Court also peaked at number one in New Zealand. In mid-September 2013, the third single Team was released, fairing well in New Zealand and Australia.
The album's opening track, entitled Tennis Court, is a song described as being an 'older, slightly crazier cousin' of lead single Royals is a minimal song of an experimental nature; it incorporates elements from different genres to create a new sound. Along with mainly chillwave, the song is influenced by art-pop, pop , grime and blues. Lorde wrote the lyrics to Royals in only half an hour. She was influenced by hip-hop and singer Lana Del Rey. She Says (And I quote) 'I was listening to a lot of rap, also a lot of Lana Del Rey, because she's obviously really hip-hop influenced, but all those references to expensive alcohol, beautiful clothes and beautiful cars- I was thinking. This is so opulent, but it's also bullshit'.
The track Ribs starts with an 'exhausted-sounding Lorde growing more frantic with each passing second', with the lyrics that include the singer discovering her maturity and 'grown-up problems;. The track Buzzcut Season has a tropical paradise style production with lyrics describing Lorde trying to remain in blissful ignorance to the crumbling world trying to permeate through news broadcasts. The album's sixth song Team contains a crashing, synth-heavy beat and was described by Billboard as being 'darkly melodic.' Lyrically, the song touches up on her disconnect with modern pop music and the difference between onscreen portrayals and reality. Next track Glory and Gore is a song with lyrics that talk about society's obsession with violence. The eighth song, Still Sane was praised for Lorde's voice being described as 'smoky and restrained', with lyrics touching upon the all work and no play craziness of her teenage existence and reflects upon the duality of fame and legacy.White Teeth Teens is a doo-wop style song that speaks on the imperfections of teenagers and the way they present themselves. A World Alone, the album's closing track, includes a roaring dance beat. Its lyrics speak of a world which is composed of haters, existential musings, endless internet chatter and the one person with whom one can escape all the judgements.
Upon release, Pure Heroine was generally given acclaim by music critics. At Metacritic, a review aggregate site, it has a weighted mean review score of 81 out of 100, i.e. categorised as 'universal acclaim'. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave the album a score of 94, describing the album as 'immaculate' and stating that Lorde was 'the most vocally striking and lyrically thought- provoking artist to breakthrough in recent times.' He also compared Joel Little's bass, loops and rhythms, on the album, to the dark electronica of English bands Massive Attack and The xx. Furthermore, Lipshutz called the album 'honest and addictive', stating that although the album was not 'ground-breaking' and didn't offer any surprises, it was a 'pure fold' follow-up to her extended play and was a 'strong' debut album. David Farrier of 3 News gave a very favourable review of the album, stating that it lives 'up to the hype' that its lead single Royals created and exceeded expectations. Farrier called Lorde's writing 'so good' and praised her maturity; describing the album as 'sonically delightful', 'utterly unique', and 'timeless.'
What is so incredible about Ella Yelich- O'Connor (Lorde) is a musical persona you can attribute with the Artist, Birdy (Jasmine Van Den Bogaerde). She has a musical maturity vision that defies her actual age. At only 17 years of age, I think for the future, we will be hearing quite a lot of albums by Lorde. This is an artist who is definitely here for a longer longevity, than even she can imagine at the beginning of her music career. In the 21st Century, teenager (Real Lyrical Truth in Music) is still a new kind of music genre demographic,in popular music. The Sugababes were able to capture these very truthful dilemmas of being a teenager with their song lyrics, at the beginning of their careers. There are very few pop acts out there, that can capture the painful realities of being a teenager. As far as Pop Music is concerned, I do think, Lorde is (one day) going to be seen as a leader, in this new movement of teenager reality angst and pain in Pop Music.
In New Zealand, the album charted well where it reached number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums chart in its first week on sale and was certified platinum. Pure Heroine held the number one spot on the album chart for the following two weeks. The album also reached number one on the Australia Top 50 Albums chart in its first week on sale. In its second week on the Australian charts the album fell one place to number two and was certified Gold by ARIA.
The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 129,000 copies in the United States. In its second week on the chart, the album fell three places to number six with a fifty-one percent drop in sales to 63,000 copies. Pure Heroine debuted at number two on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
Tracklisting for Pure Heroine.
- Tennis Court
- 400 Lux
- Royals
- Ribs
- Buzzcut Season
- Team
- Glory and Gore
- Still Sane
- White Teeth Teens
- A World Alone
Below you can see the music video for the first single released from this debut album, the critically acclaimed Royals.
Joe Kefali directed the music video for Royals.
Yeezus is the sixth studio album by Kanye West. It was released on June 18th 2013 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album began production in the living room of a loft space at a Paris hotel. West gathered various artists and close collaborators for work and production on the album, including Mike Dean and Daft Punk. Yezzus also features guest appearances from Assassin and King L, as well as previous collaborators Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi and Charlie Wilson. West enlisted the help of producer Rick Rubin only 15 days before its due date to strip down the record's sound in favour of a more minimalist approach.
West was primarily inspired by architecture and was particularly interested in the works of Le Corbusier, and visited The Louvre several times while in Paris. Musically, Yeezus is dark and sonically experimental, combining elements of Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. West continues his use of unconventional samples including, most notably, the vocal refrain from Nina Simone's cover of Strange Fruit. Yeezus has no album artwork, and the physical CD edition of the album was released in a clear jewel box with little more than a strip of red tape and sample credits. Initial promotion of Yezzus included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances, and West opted to not release singles out of the album in the United States until July 2013 with the song Black Skinhead.
The album received rave reviews from music critics, who considered Yeezus among Kanye West's best work and praised the different sound. However, it was met with mixed reactions from the public, with divided opinions emerging after the album had an internet leak four days before release. Yeezus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 327,000 copies in its first week of release, but sales soon diminished. It topped the charts of 30 other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia. After less than two months of release, the album was certified gold by the RIAA.
According to Charles Aaron of Spin, Yeezus is 'a hip-hop album, not a rap album' because of how it sounds and subject matter are assembled together, and although listeners can hear 'punk' or 'post-punk' or 'industrial' throughout, 'hip-hop has always been about noise and dissonance and dance music as agitation'. Slant Magazine's Ted Scheinman wrote that 'with the album, West reconceives the 'notion of what kind of music (or noise) can underpin hip-hop.' According to music critic Greg Kot, Yeezus is a 'hostile, abrasive and intentionally off-putting' album that combines 'the worlds of 1980's Chicago acid-house and 2013 Chicago drill music, and the 'avant rap' of Saul Williams, Death Grips and Odd Future. He continues... 'It incorporates industrial music, trap music, avant-garde, punk rock and new wave...the record most closely resembles 1990 industrial rock, during which the genre had a significant pop culture impact, with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Marilyn Manson gaining success. The industrial scene created a 'vast global underground community,' and Esquire notes that one of its epicentres was in Chicago, where West was raised. Even Rytlewksi of The A.V.Club characterized its opening series of songs as 'electro' and 'industrial hip-hop'.
Yeezus is primarily electronic in nature, and boasts distorted drum machines and 'synthesizers that sound like they're malfunctioning, low-resolution samplers that add a pixelated digital aura to the most analog sounds.' To this end, the album incorporates glitches reminiscent of CD skips or corrupted MP3's, and Auto-Tuned vocals are modulated to a point in which they are difficult to decipher. Esquire cites On Sight as an early example of the album's connection to electronic music, citing its 'droning synthesizer tone, 'which is modulated until the signal starts throwing off harshly treble-heavy spikes and begins to clip, as if it were overloading a digital audio processor.'
Yeezus continues West's practice of eclectic samples: he employs an obscure Hindi sample on I am a God, and a sample of 1970's Hungarian rock group Omega on New Slaves. On Sight interpolates a melody from Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need) by the Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, although the track originally sampled an old vocal track from the original recording. As late as a week prior to release, lawyers were forced to track down the choir director and members of the choir on the South Side of Chicago in order to get clearance for such a sample. Def Jam executives were significantly worried enough the deal would not be in place in time for the record's deadline, and producers re-recorded the vocals with a new choir, as the sample could not be cleared in enough time.
The track I am a God was inspired by a 'diss' from a major fashion designer, who informed West of his invitation to a widely anticipated runway show on the condition he agree to not attend other shows. The track I'm in It began with a different sample and melody, but West removed the sample and Rubin edited the track down from a six-minute arrangement. Blood on the Leaves, which samples Nina Simone's 1965 rendition of Strange Fruit and was the first track in the first incarnation of the track list, is an example of West's signature dichotomy in which he melds the sacred and profane. Strange Fruit, first recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, brought the lynching's of black Americans to a 'startling poignancy,' creating 'one of the most towering, important songs of the 20th Century.' West's anthemic re-telling instead details an MDMA-fuelled hook-up on the perils of fame.
The physical CD edition of Yeezus was released in a clear jewel box with no album artwork, reflecting the minimalist tone. The packaging consists of little more than a piece of red tape and a sticker affixed to the back, with sample credits and the album's Universal's Product Code. The front is affixed with a Parental Advisory Label. The Source (A U.S. Hip-hop Culture Magazine) pointed out a resemblance between the Yeezus CD packaging and a packaging concept designed for a single by the English band New Order in 2001.
Def Jam confirmed in late June that the track Black Skinhead would be serviced to American radio as the album's first single in July 2013, and that a music video for the track was being produced. It had previously impacted radio in the United Kingdom on June 19th 2013. The song peaked at number 69 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Music Chart.
In August 2013, it was revealed that the track Bound 2 would be released as the second single from Yeezus. The single was sent to radio in the United Kingdom on August 28th 2013. Bound 2 features vocals from American soul singer Charlie Wilson, who was the former lead singer of the Gap Band, and incorporates numerous samples into its production, including prominent elements of the song Bound (1971) by soul group Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Bound 2 received general acclaim from music critics, who referred to the song as one of the highlights of the album and compared its soul sample-based production to West's early work from his debut studio album The College Dropout. The song has peaked at number five on the United States Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
Upon its release, Yeezus received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 85, which indicates 'universal acclaim', based on 45 reviews. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, in early review of the leaked edition of Yeezus, called the record 'a chutzpah classic,' elaborating that 'the entire disc rethinks industrial rock of the early 90's for both a new era and genre.' Steve Jones of USA Today called the album 'immediately stunning...he created a polarizing, multi-layered body of work that probably will be debated all summer.' Jon Don of Rolling Stone called Yeezus a 'brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct,' comparing it to similarly abrasive records: 'Every mad genius has to make a record like this at least once in his career- at its nastiest, his makes Kid A or In Utero or Trans all look like Bruno Mars.' Pitchfork Media writer Ryan Dombal viewed it a 'razor-sharpened take' on West's fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, concluding that 'Cohesion and bold intent are at a premium on Yeezus, perhaps more than any other Kanye album. Each fluorescent strike of noise, incongruous tempo flip, and warped vocal is bolted into its right place across the album's fast 40 minutes.'
The Guardian's Alexis Petridis was positive in his assessment of the record: 'Noisy, gripping, maddening, potent...Yeezus is the sound of a man just doing his job properly.' Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot wrote that 'West sounds more complicated than ever, an artist willing to throw himself off the ledge not just to get a reaction, but to open up a conversation about, well , just about everything that matters to him.' Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times called Yeezus West's 'most musically adventurous album.... It's also West's most narcissistic, defiant, abrasive and unforgiving.' Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented on the album's mix of genres: 'Deploying anything from a Hungarian progressive-rock band to the rasp of dancehall, the album is one long, efficient, inventive kick in the head.' Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly considered the record a plunge 'directly into the darker crevices of his psyche,' commending the 'dense breathless sound sets the tone for an album that reaches far outside of traditional sample-based hip-hop.' Evan Rytlewksi, writer for The A.V. Club, wrote that 'Even by the standards of an artist who reinvents himself with each release, it's a drastic departure,' calling it West's 'loudest and most impulsive album.'
Within one day of availability on iTunes, Yeezus topped sales in the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany, while remaining at number two in the United States behind J Cole's Born Sinner. Yeezus debuted at number one in 31 countries, while also landing top five spots in 20 more charts. Yeezus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 327,000copies in the United States in its first week. The numbers marked West's Lowest solo opening week sales in the US. Despite initially being projected to sell 500,000 copies in its first week, the album's leak led to diminished sales figures. However, it still had the third-best first week sales of 2013 at the time of its release and the best first week sales by a hip-hop album since Drake's 2011 album Take Care. The album's second-week sales saw the album fall dramatically: although it still ended at number three on the chart, sales dropped 80% to 65,000 units making Yeezus the largest second-week percentage drop for a number one-debuting album in 2012-2013 and the fourth-largest for a number one-bowing album in the SoundScan era. Billboard's Keith Caulfield attributed the diminished figures to the untraditional marketing, considering that the lack of single and public appearances lead the album to find 'difficulty in sustaining its momentum'. As of August 25th 2013, the album has sold 517,000 copies in the United States. Other chart-topping performances included the United Kingdom, where Yezzus debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on downloads alone, making the album West's first number one on that chart since Graduation in 2007, and Australia, where it became West's first album to top the ARIA Charts. On August 12th 2013, the album was certified Gold for sales of over 500,00 copies.
Track listing for Yeezus.
- On Sight
- Black Skinhead
- I Am a God (featuring Justin Vernon)
- New Slaves (featuring Frank Ocean)
- Hold My Liquor (featuring Chief Keef and Justin Vernon)
- I'm in It (featuring Justin Vernon and Assassin)
- Blood on the Leaves
- Guilt Trip (featuring Kid Cudi)
- Send It Up (featuring King L)
- Bound 2 (featuring Charlie Wilson)
Below you can see the music video for Black Skinhead (or by its other title) Blkkk SkkkinHead, which was the first official single from this new album in July 2013.
***WARNING: This Song Contains Explicit Language that May Cause Offence to Some People
Even though this song is shocking in lyrical content, as a music video, it is one of the most visually-stunning, computer-graphic music videos that Kanye West has (so far) released in his music career. The music video may have only been filmed in Black and White, but its choices of having a very black/dark (noir) tone with a brighter contrasting white, create this instant paranoid and disturbed environment for this music video.
Alive is the second studio album from British singer-songwriter Jessie J, released on September 23rd 2013. The album features collaborations with the likes of Becky G, Brandy Norwood, Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal.
Alive was recorded over a twelve month period between June 2012 and May 2013 in London, New York and Los Angeles. The title derives from the Wild song lyric 'Am I asleep, no I'm alive.' Writing partners on the album include the likes of Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler and writer Diane Warren.
Jessie began recording the album in August 2012, teaming up with long-term co-writer Claude Kelly, as well as working with the likes of StarGate and TMS. The first track to be rumoured for inclusion on the album was Strip , which Jessie discussed during her appearance at the Brit Awards 2013. It was later rumoured that the track would feature Tinie Tempah. Wild then premiered as the album's lead single on May 26th 2013. The next track rumoured for inclusion on the album was Square One, after Jessie performed it acoustically on a Google hangout with her fans.
Early reviews for the album have been mixed to positive, with music critics widely complimenting Jessie J's vocals and self-confidence, while others dismissed the album as 'generic' and 'overwrought'. Gigwise gave the album a mixed-to-positive review, rating it 6 stars out of 10 , saying 'The second studio album by Jessie J certainly showcases her singing talent, but while Alive is a mix of good tracks and powerful lyrics- a lot which is too similar to what's been before, or even what is plainly out at the moment'. Virgin Media also gave the album a mixed review, rating it 3 stars out of 5, saying 'Jessie J has overcome the hurdles of being a moderate, singer, bog-standard songwriter and not having an original musical idea in her head to become a bona fide A-list pop star' adding that 'Faced with the challenge of following up her crazily successful, four-times-platinum debut Who You Are, the singer and (ex-) talent-show judge born Jessie Cornish has risen to the occasion and then some. Alive is a better album than its predecessor, with marginally fewer banal four-to-the-floor beats and more chance for Jessie's personality-plus charisma to shine.'
London Evening Standard was more positive giving the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling Jessie 'very English response to Kerry Perry', adding that the album is 'thumping, very 21st-century pop, be it the self-help anthem Harder We Fall, the clattering It's My Party or hypnotic standout Square One. She's even fairly funky on Daydreamin'. They continue...'It's short on heart but there's genuine craft here (Conquer the World, a duet with Brandy, oozes quality), plus star quality and a puppy-like need to be liked. She shouldn't fret so: to dislike her would take an almighty leap of mean-spirited faith.' Digital Spy also reviewed the album positively, giving it 4 stars out 5, saying that 'Alive as a whole is an accomplished pop record by an undeniably talented singer-songwriter that results in a natural progression from her debut-and one that can hopefully win some of those haters over', adding that 'There's no escaping the fact that Alive does have a tendency to switch genre throughout its course, but the overall thinking does feel much more cohesive than her debut. They continue...'Thunders mid-tempo, stadium-swaying styling's are a particular highlight, as Jessie concedes her happiness in love over an atmospheric piece of pop. What's more, the funky synths on 'Daydreamin' position it as a future hit, with its 90's Mariah Carey-inspired fervour making it one of the more colourful and lighter numbers'.
The album's first single, Wild, was released on May 26th 2013. The single, which was written by Jessie J and Claude Kelly, features Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal, and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at 9 on the Irish Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Emil Nava and debuted on May 25th 2013.
The second single from the album, It's My Party', was released on September 15th 2013. It premiered on Capital FM on August 5th 2013. The music video, directed by Emil Nava, was filmed in late June and released on August 8th 2013.
Track listing for Wild.
- Its My Party
- Thunder
- Square One
- Sexy Lady
- Harder We Fall
- Breathe
- I Miss Her
- Daydreamin
- Excuse My Rude (featuring Becky G)
- Wild (featuring Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal)
- Gold
- Conquer the World (featuring Brandy)
- Alive
14. Unite
15. Hero
16. Magnetic
17. It's My Party (All About She UKG Remix)
Below you can see the music video for first single released from this new studio album , the track Wild- featuring Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal.
AlunaGeorge are an English electronic music duo from London, consisting of Aluna Francis (vocals and songwriting) and George Reid (production and instrumentation). It was announced on December 5th 2012 AlunaGeorge had been shortlisted for the 2013 Brit Award of Critic's Choice. On December 9th, the BBC announced that the duo had also been nominated for the Sound of 2013 Poll, in which they finished in second place.
The duo first met in June 2009, when George Reid remixed Aluna Francis band My Toys Like Me's track Sweetheart. My Toys Like Me (Aluna Francis previous band) were an electronic music act from London.
Tri Angle (part of the Island Records group) released their single You Know You Like It as a digital download on April 20th 2012, followed by a vinyl release on June 11th 2012. The duo's first commercial single, Your Drums, Your Love, was released on September 10th 2012, debuting at number fifty on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2013, AlunaGeorge had their first top forty hit, a collaboration with Disclosure (An English Electronic Duo) with the track,White Noise. The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Radio presenter Huw Stephens also premiered a new track from the group on his BBC radio 1 show, called Attracting Flies. The track has been included on AlunaGeorge's debut album. The duo performed at the Evolution Festival in Newcastle Upon Tyne on May 27th 2013.
Aluna Francis vocals have been described as 'almost child-like voice' as well as being called 'sugar sweet' and 'emotionally soulful and heart-warming too'. George's production combines sounds from bass, garage and dubstep. The band use techniques of R&B and use 'futuristic pop'. The musical style has been described as 'advanced minimalistic polyrhythmic beats' as well as 'bashment, experimental hip-hop, 90's r&b and house.' The duo cite inspiration from artists including Flying Lotus, Chris Clark , Hudson Mohawke, Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey. the band also cite James Taylor, Van Morrison, Aaliyah, P.J Harvey ,CocoRosie as references..
George Reid was previously a guitarist in indie-math rock band Colour. He has cited American hip-hop by The Neptunes, as well as Lil Wayne, as inspirations. Reid has said his approach to music-making stems from it being 'so easy to get lost in software, you get to a point where so many noises might be carrying the song, rather than the song carrying everything else. So that's my excuse for having nothing in there.'
Body Music is the debut studio album by the English electronic music duo AlunaGeorge. It was released on July 26th 2013 by Island Records. The album includes the singles You Know You Like It, Your Drums, Your Love and Attracting Flies.
- You Know You Like It was released as the album's lead single on April 19th 2012 by Tri Angle. When re-released on August 2nd 2013 by Island Records, the single reached number thirty-nine on the UK Singles Chart.
- Your Drum, Your Love, released as the second single from the album on September 10th 2012, reached number fifty on the UK Singles Chart.
- The third single Attracting Flies was released on March 8th 2013, peaking at number seventeen on the UK Chart.
- Best Be Believing will be released on November 3rd 2013, as the album's fourth single.
Tracklisting for Body Music.
- Outlines
- You know You Like It
- Attracting Flies
- Your Drums, Your Love
- Kaleidoscope Love
- Bad Idea
- Diver
- Lost and Found
- Best Be Believing
- Superstar
- Just a Touch
- Body Music
- Friends to Lovers
- This Is How We Do It (bonus track)Deluxe edition bonus
- We are Chosen
- Indestructible
- Watching Over You
- Put up Your Hands
- B Ur Boo
- The UK physical CD deluxe edition switches tracks 17 and 18.
Japanese deluxe edition bonus tracks
20. Your Drums, Your Love (Friendly Fires Remix)
21. Attracting Flies (Baauer Remix)
Below you can see the music video for the 1st single released from this album,You Know You Like It. This is followed by the music video for Best Be Believing, which is scheduled to officially be the fourth single released from this debut album, on November 3rd 2013.
Modern Vampires Of The City is the third studio album by American indie-rock band Vampire Weekend, released on May 14th 2013 by XL Recordings. After releasing their 2010 album Contra, the band toured and wrote new material during sound checks. Following a period in which the quartet pursued different musical projects, they regrouped and began work on their third record in 2011. Working with no deadline in mind, the band brought in an outside producer for the first time, Ariel Rechsthaid.
Recorded in various locations, including New York City, Los Angeles, Martha's Vineyard and apartments, Modern Vampires of the City is an attempt to distance the band from the sound they became heavily associated with following their 2008 debut Vampire Weekend and second album, Contra. Broadly experimental, the sound featured on the record is the result of a variety of unconventional recording assets, including pitch shifting. The cover art is a 1966 photograph by Neal Boenzi of the smoggiest day in New York City history, on which the air pollution killed at least 169 people.
Modern Vampires Of The City debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 134,000 copies, becoming the band's second consecutive number-one album, and has been acclaimed by critics.
The success of Vampire Weekend's second album, Contra, in 2010 established the group as one of the past decade's great indie-rock success stories. By the time the band wrapped their world tour of Contra, they realized they had not taken a break in nearly five years.
During the break, the band members pursued different projects. Chris Baio performed DJ sets and scored the Bob Byington film Somebody Up There Likes Me, Rostram Batmanglij recorded solo material and produced tracks for American Alternative Hip-Hop group, Das Racist and spent time traveling India with three friends. lead vocalist Ezra Koenig collaborated with Major Lazer ( An electronic dancehall DJ project created by American DJ/producer Diplo). Koenig had broken up with his girlfriend shortly before the release of Contra and subsequently moved out of their shared apartment in New York. Feeling 'weird and aimless', Koenig attempted to stay in Los Angeles but he lasted four months before heading back East.
By the time the band eventually regrouped in 2011, the quartet had amassed plenty of material and made sure to take their time making a new record. Ezra Koenig and Rostram Batmanglij met several times a week to write songs, some of which they'd later scrap. The pair took a 'writing retreat' to Martha's Vineyard, where they bore down and composed several new tracks. Working with no deadline in mind, the band began work on Modern Vampires Of The City.
Modern Vampires Of The City was recorded in a variety of locations: SlowDeath Studios in New York, Echo Park 'Back House' in Los Angeles, Vox Recording Studios in Hollywood, Rostram Batmanglij's apartment and a guest house on Martha's Vineyard. Early drafts of the tracks 'Obvious Bicycle' and 'Worship You' were produced at OK Go (An alternative American rock band) frontman, Damian Kulash's old house in Chicago, before being taken to an official studio to work on. Rostram and co-producer Ariel Rechtshaid used a pair of mirrored solid state MacBook's with UAD-2 Satellite Firewire Cards so they could take their recordings anywhere and work on them from separate locations with maximum ease. The band credits Vox Studios with defining spacial quality of the recordings, especially the use of their vintage analog tape machines, with Batmanglij remarking, 'Much of the overall sound and approach to the album was being able to record the drums to tape on an old Ampex machine.' The band wanted a unique drum sound, and so they recorded in a room with high ceilings and had engineer David Schiffman use a 'pretty non-conventional drum miking setup' in which a pair of Neumann U 47's were used as over-head microphones with RCA 77dx ribbon microphones between the Neumann's and the drum kit for added texture. Tape recordings of the drums were then heavily treated and manipulated with Ableton Live plug-ins. Lastly, the band layered samples onto select portions of the drum recording to accent or shape the finished tone.
Modern Vampires Of The City is a departure from the percussive, African-influenced indie-pop of the second album, Contra. Co-producer Rostram Batmanglij said that the album has a recurring tension that distinguishes it from the band's previous albums. He says: 'Even if the songs are mostly in a major key, there's something that's hanging out there that's a little bit dark, and I think that's reflective of the world.' According to Heather Phares of Allmusic, the album eschews the eclectic music of Contra for 'a less audacious production style and smaller instrumental palette: guitar, organ, harpsichord, and the occasional sample combine into a rarefied sound that suggests a more insular version of their debut'. She pointed to how the album is bookended by the stylistically narrow chamber pop on the songs Obvious Bicycle and Young Lion. The track Step was inspired by a lyric from Souls of Mischief's (A Californian Hip-Hop group) 1993 song Step to My Girl, which sampled Grover Washington Jr's cover of Bread's Aubrey. The vocal melody of the chorus interprets the melody of Aubrey so close that the band had to clear it as a sample. The chorus vocals were recorded in Ableton Live using the onboard microphone in Rostram Batmanglij's MacBook Pro. Alexis Petridis viewed that some songs echo lesser known 'musical tropes from the band's previous albums-a mock Irish-folk influence is heard on the track Unbelievers, while Step features 'Left Banke-inspired baroque pop'.
Much of the lyrics were composed by Rostram Batmanglij and Ezra Koenig in Batmanglij's apartment (a former factory building in Brooklyn) and at a rented cottage on Martha's Vineyard. The lyrics explore more mature, world-weary themes such as growing old and disillusionment with American foreign policy. The album eschews the theme of privileged youth from their first two albums in favour of characters with adult responsibilities and reflections on the passage of time. Faith and mortality are recurring themes on songs such as Unbelievers, Worship and Everlasting Arms. Ezra Koenig likened their first three albums to Brideshead Revisited. He says: 'The naïve joyous school days in the beginning. Then the expansion of the world, travel, seeing other places, learning a little bit more about how people live. And then the end is a little bit of growing up, starting to think more seriously about your life and your faith. If people could look at our three albums as a bildungsroman (coming of age story), I'd be OK with that .' According to Brice Ezell of PopMatters, Modern Vampires Of The City is 'very much an indie-rock record because of Koenig's voice and diction, which revels the youth that he and his band mates so often strive to shrug off.' Ezell asserts that, on songs such as Unbelievers, the 'reckless abandon' expressed by the lyrics reveals the group's grasp on the genuine rebellion that indie rock ought to strive for.'
Modern Vampires of the City received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 50 reviews. In his review for The Independent, music critic Simon Price called it Vampire Weekend's 'most outwardly straightforward' and 'most cohesive and convincing effort yet.' Robert Christgau, writing for MSN Music, said that the songs have several 'twists' in their 'boy-to-man themes' and that, like the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, each lyric and musical element is 'pleasurable in itself and aptly situated in the sturdy songs and tracks, so that the whole signifies without a hint of concept.' Nathan Brackett of Rolling Stone said that the album has a 'precise craft and soul that speaks to the heart of city life.' Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media wrote that the 'vocals and music interact with each other in an effortless flow' and that 'there's more air in these songs, more spontaneity, more dynamics.'
Although he called it a 'gorgeous album', John Calvert of NME felt that the band sacrificed 'the sonic smarts that made them.' By contrast, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian believed that Vampire Weekend succeeded in 'shaking off the shtick that made them famous' with music devoid of musical 'novelty' and lyrics that replace their previous 'arch depictions of moneyed young Wasp lives' with more heartfelt themes of mortality.' Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo said that, although the songs may be dense and wordy, they are also 'immediately potent on a purely visceral level, striking a perfect balance that makes for what's perhaps' the best album of the year.' Mike Powell of Spin felt that the ambiguity of Ezra Koenig's lyrics is more than made up for by 'the clarity of the music' and found the songs sad but catchy.
Modern Vampires of the City debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 134,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming Vampire Weekend's second consecutive number-one album, as well as the nineteenth independently-distributed album to top the chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number three with first-week sales of 27,805 copies, earning the band their third consecutive top twenty album in the United Kingdom.
Track listing for Modern Vampires In the City.
- Obvious Bicycle
- Unbelievers
- Step
- Diane Young
- Don't Lie
- Hannah Hunt
- Everlasting Arms
- Finger Back
- Worship You
- Ya Hey
- Hudson
- Young Lion
Below you can see the music video for the first single released from this new album, the track Diane Young. This track was officially released on March 19th 2013. The music video for Diane Young was directed by Primo Kahn.
There is also the music (lyrics) video for the track Ya Hey,which was the official 2nd track released from this album on May 2nd 2013.
Leaders of the 1980's British New Romantics Movement returned with a brand new studio album earlier this year.
Hearts and Knives is the fourth studio album by the British pop group Visage, released in May 20th 2013, its is the band's first album of new material in 29 years.
In January 2013, Visage announced their new line-up to consist of vocalist Steve Strange and bassist Steve Barnacle (who had worked with the band on their 1984 album Beat Boy), along with Robin Simon ( former guitarist in Ultravox and Magazine) and Lauren Duvall on vocals. The band's official website confirmed that former Visage/Magazine keyboardist Dave Formula, and former Simple Minds keyboardist Mick McNeil have also contributed to the album.
The make-up and Fade to Grey- style mask seen on the front cover were created by Lara Himpelmann, and the cover shot was taken by photographer Peter Ashworth, who was responsible for the cover of Visage's debut album Visage in 1980. The new logo and graphics have been designed by The New Foot Studio.
A Single, Shameless Fashion, was released as a digital download in April 2013 and followed by a physical CD-single released on May 6th 2013.
A second single, Dreamer I Know was released on July 23rd 2013. A promo video for the single (the band's first since 1984) was produced. The single includes the non-album track,Digital Age.
Track listing for Hearts and Knives.
- Never Enough
- Shameless Fashion
- She's Electric (Coming Around)
- Hidden Sign
- On We Go
- Dreamer I Know
- Lost In Static
- I Am Watching
- Diaries Of A Madman
- Breathe Life
Below you can see a video with the first track released from this album,Shameless Fashion-also with a description about the evolution of how this new studio album by Visage was created.
There is also the music video for the second track released from this album, Dreamer I Know.
It looks by the look of this video... the early 1980's New Romantic period, never left Mr Steve Strange.
No Smirking Kids... there was a lot of this posing with the arms in British Pop Music, of the early 1980's.
Spin Doctors (the New York City, alternative rock band), who are best known for their early 1990's hits, Two Princes, and Little Miss Can't Be Wrong, also returned with a brand new studio album earlier this year.
This is the band's first new studio album in eight years. The last Spin Doctor's studio album was 2005's, Nice Talking to Me.
The new studio album is released by Ruff Records.
The Spin Doctors, today now consist of:
- Chris Barron-lead vocals, guitar (1988-present)
- Aaron Comess-drums, percussion (1988-present)
- Eric Schenkman-lead guitar, vocals (1988, 1994, 2001-present)
- Mark White-bass guitar (1988-1998, 2001-present)
If The River Was Whiskey (the name of the new album) is the sixth studio album by Spin Doctors.
Today, they are just called Spin Doctors. The new studio album was released on April 30th 2013.
Track listing for If the River Was Whiskey.
- Some Other Man Instead
- If the River Was Whiskey
- Sweetest Portion
- Traction Blues
- Scotch and Water Blues
- About a Train
- The Drop
- Ben's Looking Out The Window Blues
- So Bad
- What My Love?
Below you can see the music video for the title track released from this new album, If The River Was Whiskey.
Happy Music Buying and Listening Music Folks!
Roger Howard 24/10/2013
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