music blog

Ruth Radelet—formerly of Chromatics—has announced her debut solo EP The Other Side with a video for her new single “Stranger.” The five-track EP is due out October 7. Check out the album art, track list, and the black-and-white video for “Stranger”—directed by James Manson and shot on 16mm film by Freddie Whitman—below.  Radelet has previously shared the single “Crimes.” Of the new song, Radelet said in a statement:  “‘Stranger’ is about a specific kind of loneliness that I have only felt in Los Angeles. Although the song is very much about longing, it’s more about a place than a person. The lyric ‘I could never hold you in my hands’ is about the feeling of always being on the outside looking in, of the city never fully opening its doors to me.” Of the EP, Radelet said:&nbs...

Beth Orton’s new album Weather Alive will be released later this month, and in the lead-up to the release, the English vocalist has shared a new song that’s slated to appear on the album. “Fractals” is a collaboration with the poet and saxophonist Alabaster dePlume alongside drummer Tom Skinner (of the Smile), bassist Tom Herbert (of the Invisible), and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. Both the single and album were inspired by the deaths of producers Andrew Weatherall and Hal Willner. “The track is a beautiful example of the nature of collaboration, where people come in as they are,” Orton shared in a statement. “You’re hearing the first take. I would never have been able to conjure that music without these musicians.” Weather Alive is due out September 23 via Partisan. So far, Orto...

Tom Skinner—the drummer, composer, and producer known for his work in the Smile and Sons of Kemet—has announced his debut solo album Voices of Bishara. It’s out November 4 via Nonesuch/International Anthem/Brownswood. He’s also shared the first single “Bishara”; check it out, along with the album art and tracklist, below. The album takes its name from cellist Abdul Wadud’s 1978 solo album By Myself, which was pressed on Wadud’s label, Bishara—a common Arabic name related to “good news.” Of his song “Bishara,” Skinner said in a statement:  “This record is an attempt to put something truthful into the world, through collaboration and community, at a time of rising dishonesty and disinformation. Bishara is the bringer of good news, and by bringing the musicians on this album who are very...

The Beatles have announced a reissue of their pivotal 1966 LP Revolver. The expanded edition of the album arrives October 28 via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. The original 14-track record has been newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell in stereo and Dolby Atmos, with the album’s original mono mix sourced from its 1966 mono master tapes. Check out a new mix of opening track “Taxman” here, and scroll down to find images of the deluxe set, as well as a trailer for the release. Physical and digital deluxe editions of Revolver also include 28 early takes from the recording sessions, three home demos, a 100-page hardbound book, a four-track EP with new stereo mixes and remastered original mono mixes for “Paperback Writer” and “Rain,” and more. In 2017, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely H...