It’s been over 20 years since the birth of Gorillaz, and co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are celebrating the visual side of the project with a giant “almanac” due out this October. The Gorillaz Almanac, published by Z2 Comics, will contain over 120 pages of full-color illustrations by Hewlett, including exclusive new artwork, games, puzzles, and the first-ever comic strip to star the virtual band members: 2D, Noodle, Murdoc Niccals and Russel Hobbs. Appearances from guests spanning multiple eras of Gorillaz are also promised. The standard edition of the book comes packaged with a CD copy of “season one” of their 2020 Song Machine project, which has thus far produced tracks like “Momentary Bliss” (featuring slowthai and Slaves), “Désolé” featuring Fatoumata Diawara, and “Ari...
The latest episode of Killing Eve contained a cryptic cover of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” by previously unknown band Jack Leopards and the Dolphin Club. Via Pitchfork, a trail of clues suggest that the song actually comes from Swift and Jack Antonoff, while Swift’s brother Austin may be the vocalist. T-Swift left the first breadcrumb herself, when she tweeted about being “VERY STOKED” for the cover by Jack Leopards and the Dolphin Club. Jack Antonoff, a co-writer of the original version of “Look What You Made Me Do”, is listed in the credits as a producer, along with a certain Nils Sjöberg. Swifties will recall Sjöberg as the pseudonym Taylor used for her co-writing role on Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s “This Is What You Came For.” But what about Austin? There are tw...
Chicago band Whitney has released a new cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” featuring the searing guest vocals of Waxahatchee. As if that weren’t enough, Whitney has also served up a version of the R&B classic “Rain” by SWV. While these two covers come from very different sonic backgrounds, together they help demonstrate the range of Whitney’s rock and country-soul sound. Drummer/vocalist Julien Ehrlich brings “Take Me Home, Country Roads” up an octave, allowing his relaxed tenor to float above those iconic southern riffs. For Waxahatchee, aka Katie Crutchfield, this kind of melody is her bread and butter. Her voice obliterates his when they join together for the chorus. But this happens when one half of the duet has a bigger natural instrument than the other, and the ...
Electronic composer Nicolas Jaar isn’t letting 2020 get him down. Already this year he’s released his latest album, Cenizas; dropped an effort under his Against All Logic moniker, 2017-2019; and shared a bunch of unreleased A.A.L. music during a livestream mix. Now, Jaar has announced another new LP, Telas, and debuted not only the first song, “Telahora”, but an additional non-album track called “All One”. Jaar detailed Telas, which means “Veils,” both on his website and during a takeover of Palestine-based internet radio station Radio Al Hara. Due out July 17th on Other People/Mama Records, the album is, at its core, an hour-long piece of music broken into four parts: “Telahora”, “Telencima”, “Telahumo”, and “Telallás”. Joining Jaar in the music making are cellist...
Dr. Dre (British GQ) No wonder Dr. Dre doesn’t post much online. In a new interview with Jimmy Iovine in British GQ, the prolific rapper said he thinks social media has “destroyed” the artist mystique by offering fans too much access into the life of musicians, reports NME. Dre and Iovine’s conversation primarily revolved around how digital fame plays a role in an artist’s success nowadays. “I probably would’ve hated social media when I was coming up,” said Dre. “There’s a certain mystique that gets destroyed. I like the mystique. I like waiting. I don’t need anybody to know where I am every minute or what I’m doing. Or what I’m about to do… There’s a certain mystique that came along with music that was entertaining to wait to see what was about to happen.” From there, Iovine took Dre...
Netflix has announced that Dark returns for its third and final season on Saturday, June 27th. If that date sends shivers down your spine, that’s because it’s the same day as the much-touted apocalypse in the series. Based on the fire and brimstone in the new trailer below, it would appear the end times are approaching. Diehard fans will be pleased to see a number of familiar faces emerge from the smoke, particularly Jonas who asks arguably the toughest question of all: “Why am I here?” Odds are the German drama will finally put everything on the table, ending all the cycles that have made it one of the more pretzeled watches in recent memory. Editors’ Picks Catch it down yonder, and start your rewatch. As Alex Huntsberger stated in his positive Season 2 review, “refreshing yourself ...
Offering a taste of what is to come, Banku Music boss, Mr Eazi shares the snippet of his highly anticipated track with American rapper, Nicki Minaj. The snippet, which already sounds like fire was produced by Major Lazer (a Jamaican-American electronic dance music trio,) is off his forthcoming EP scheduled for July. Before the release of this snippet, Mr Eazi confirmed collaborating with Nicki Minaj and Major Lazer, and fans were excited about the announcement. Normal level Jah willing soonest Drop https://t.co/ceEAj6mr9B — Don Eazi (@mreazi) May 22, 2020 He shared while he was on Instagram Live. .@MrEazi shares the snippet of his collaboration with @NickiMinaj to be featured on his forthcoming EP dubbed “One Day You Will Understand.”pic.twitter.com/AsOxyHTp...
JPEGMAFIA is always a ball of energy, but 2020 appears to be the year where he lets off creative steam at every opportunity that arises. Today, the experimental rapper has released his fifth (!) new single of the year, “CUTIE PIE!”, alongside a low-res music video. Since dropping his album All My Heroes Are Cornballs last fall, JPEGMAFIA has shared a string of exclamatory tracks that read like flyer announcements thanks to names like “BALD!”, “BODYGUARD!”, and “Covered in Money!”. Clearly, this new single “CUTIE PIE!” continues the trend. “CUTIE PIE!” opens with a lo-fi percussion beat that sounds like it’s being recorded to an iPhone and a slinky bass beat. Combined, the rhythm section is a throwback to ’90s hip-hop — and JPEGMAFIA keeps that mood going by spitting nonstop verses in a mon...
As government officials begin planning how to reopen their states amid the coronavirus pandemic, music fans everywhere are wondering when, if at all, it will be safe to attend concerts again. While drive-in concerts and socially distanced shows, seem like sensible short-term alternatives, one company has taken upon itself to invent a more catch-all solution. Production Club usually spends its days working on “stages and experiences” for clients in gaming, technology, and music industries. After seeing news reports about people flooding to beaches without proper protection, though, the creative studio began brainstorming ways to help out their communities directly. They came up with the Micrashell, a protective suit people can wear to music festivals and clubs to prevent the ...
Last month, Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O dusted off the band’s track “Our Time” for a special solo performance from quarantine. This weekend, she returned with another socially-distant performance video, this time with YYYs guitarist Nick Zinner in tow. With Karen singing from her closest and Zinner appearing remotely via a laptop, the pair played “Phenomena” from their 2006 album Show Your Bones. For added effect, Karen decorated her closest with streamers, strobe lights, and even a smoke machine. Catch the replay below. Karen captioned the video, writing, “Party anywhere (closet) anytime (any day of the week) safe at home. 💥” YYYs’ last album, Mosquito, dropped in 2013. Earlier this year, Karen O said she was “ready to make” new music with the band agai...