music
The Artist-Superfan’s Brave New Superstore
Primary Wave, run by long-time music executive Larry Mestel, may steal the headlines. His company uses billions to buy the music publishing and masters of mega-artists like Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, Bob Marley, Prince, and Whitney Houston. But Twitter shaman Jack Dorsey’s recent acquisition of Jay-Z’s streaming service, Tidal, by his company, Square, is equally tantalizing. And it points to something that is bubbling up in the business right now that is still early, but ultimately will build into a huge, new movement of massively monetizing direct artist-fan connection and engagement. Dorsey’s rationale for buying Tidal is to give artists a direct path to easily transact with their fans (think merchandise, for example), much like retailers use Square to cut out the credit card middlema...
Courtney Barnett Launches Expansive Live Archive
With concerts currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Courtney Barnett is one of many artists forced to wait to perform live again until it’s safe to do so. Instead of letting that get her down, though, Barnett has just done the next best thing: start an online archive of her touring and performing history. Best of all, it’s completely free to view. Inspired by the legendary digital archives of Neil Young and The Grateful Dead, Barnett decided to organize her past live performances as a way to give back to her fans during the pandemic and immortalize her progress as a live artist. Since playing her first-ever set at The Lark Distillery’s open mic night back in 2007, the Tell Me How You Really Feel singer has gone on to play nearly 800 shows, including solo concerts, gi...
TEKE::TEKE Unleash New Song “Yoru Ni”: Stream
Montreal’s TEKE::TEKE have unleashed the new song “Yoru Ni” from their upcoming debut album Shirushi. The surf-psych seven-piece originally formed as a tribute band to Japanese guitar icon Takeshi Terauchi. But from that singular purpose, TEKE::TEKE have developed an expansively off-kilter identity, layering on the beauty of Japanese folk and the ferocity of UK punk into the perfect soundtrack for dropping acid at the beach. “Yoru Ni” means “At night,” and as guitarist Serge Nakauchi-Pelletier said in a statement, the song had a spookily nocturnal inspiration. He explained, “‘Yoru Ni’ (which translates from Japanese to ‘At night’) was literally written in the middle of the night. I woke up suddenly and had this melody in my head, as if it had come to me from another world. It really felt l...
From Phoebe Bridgers To Megan Thee Stallion, Get To Know The Grammys Best New Artist Nominees
Louis Kevin Celestin has only released two studio albums under his Kaytranada moniker, but the Montreal electronic artist can boast about two dozens mixtapes, collaborative projects, and EPs released over the past decade, too. As such, Kay is the archetype for the age-old “Best New Artist?” question that tends to pop up in this category (see also: Bon Iver, Lizzo, etc.). But as he recently put it on Twitter about his 15 years behind the boards: “[I] have an entire lifetime to make music so that’s pretty new if you do the math.” It’s all a testament to his work ethic and drive; throughout both 2016’s 99.9% and 2019’s Bubba, his exploratory, funky, and effervescent beats are heightened by vocal contributions from Tinashe, Kali Uchis, Anderson ....
Laycon – Wagwan
Check out this brand new music video coming from Laycon – “Wagwan” out now. Nigerian reality TV star and rapper Laycon drops a branding new tune “wagwan”, his first song this year. It comes a while after the launch of his reality TV show on DSTV titled “I Am Laycon”. “Wagwan” is the first of his double release with the other song “Fall For Me” featuring YKB. Laycon is ready to take over the music industry as his new release is quite impressive. With this more, music is expected from the smooth BBNaija Lockdown winner as the year rolls by. Listen, enjoy Laycon – “Wagwan” below and share. Download [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful ...
Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler: I Was Doing the Devil Horns Hand Gesture Long Before Ronnie James Dio
The late Ronnie James Dio has long been credited for popularizing the devil horns hand gesture that has become a universal symbol for metalheads and rock fans. However, in a new interview, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler says he was flashing the devil horns long before Dio, and was even the one who introduced the gesture to the singer. “I’ve been doing that sign since — I’ve got pictures of me doing it since 1971,” Butler told SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk on Monday (March 8th). “And I always used to do it in the breakdown in the song ‘Black Sabbath’ — just before it goes into the fast part at the end, I’d do that sign to the audience.” In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. According to Butler, when Sabbath hit the road to support their 1980 album Heaven and ...
CHIKA Covers Billie Eilish’s “my future”, Reimagines “U SHOULD”: Stream
All this week, the Spotify Singles series is highlighting the nominees for the 2021 Best New Artist Grammy. But the contribution from CHIKA comes as a double celebration, as today happens to be the Alabama MC’s 24th birthday. As a gift for your ears, she’s delivered a new rendition of her single “U SHOULD” as well as a cover of Billie Eiilish’s “my future”. Plenty of artists have put their own spin on Eilish’s single from last summer, including Artist of the Month Arlo Parks and Miley Cyrus. CHIKA takes it into a new realm, however, taking ownership of the luscious, jazzy ode to self worth with a whole new verse of her own. “Ain’t no stopping shooting stars/ They got their own mind, and that’s the gold mine,” she raps. “The whole grind is nuts, so hold mine/ I promise you I’m set for go ti...
Matt Berry Announces Psych Rock Album The Blue Elephant, Shares “Aboard”: Stream
When he’s not playing a Staten Island-based vampire in What We Do in the Shadows, the English actor Matt Berry makes freaky psych-rock music. He’s released upwards of ten albums over the last 25 years, and now he’s announcing that his latest will be titled The Blue Elephant. The full album is out in May, but today he’s giving fans a taste with a new song called “Aboard”. Like his previous six records, most of which have arrived in the last ten years, The Blue Elephant will be released via the legendary London label Acid Jazz. The imprint is famous for putting out music that’s super out-there, and Berry’s ear for tantalizing psychedelia fits snugly into their renowned catalog. His 2020 record Phantom Birds was a detour into classic folk, but a press release promises that...
Laycon – Fall For Me ft YKB
Check out this brand new piece of music coming in from Laycon – “Fall For Me” ft YKB out now. BBNaija Season 5 winner Laycon premieres a brand new single titled “Fall For Me” featuring singer YKB. It is one half of his double music release, with the other titled “Wagwan“. This new song from Laycon is a smooth Afropop tune that would get to you instantly without a doubt. Laycon also tries out singing some of his lines while YKB gives some rhythm and melody with his voice. The reality TV star before releasing the track, did a little listening session with his fellow BBNaija housemates. Listen, enjoy and share Laycon – “Fall For Me” ft YKB below. Download [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It...
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic to Make Live Debut at Grammys
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are not only some of the smoothest guys making funk-based music these days, but they’re also two of the most entertaining artists of this era. A few weeks ago, they revealed they’re joining forces under the new moniker Silk Sonic, and now they’re already gearing up to make their live debut as such at the 2021 Grammy Awards. This all started when Mars and .Paak decided to write music together while stuck in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. The two artists originally bonded when .Paak opened for Mars on his 24K Magic world tour years ago, and they collaborated on record for the first time when they contributed to Chic’s 2018 album It’s About Time. But for them, Silk Sonic is a chance to explore other creative corners of the funk world that they’ve not...
Johnny Depp Investigates The Notorious B.I.G.’s Death in New Trailer for City of Lies: Watch
Three years ago, City of Lies was one month away from hitting theaters before it was pulled by its distributor due to Johnny Depp’s less-than-flattering public image at the time. Now, the crime drama is finally scheduled to hit select theaters and VOD on March 19th, and a newly revealed trailer is streaming below. In case you forgot — which, considering how much time has passed since the first trailer came out in 2018, would be understandable — City of Lies is based on the true story of The Notorious B.I.G.’s death in 1997. Directed by Brad Furman, the movie follows a retired LAPD detective named Russell Poole (Depp) and a journalist (Forest Whitaker) as they try to uncover the identities of those responsible for the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Allegedly a handful of co...
Winston Marshall to Take Leave of Absence from Mumford and Sons Following Andy Ngo Tweet
Mumford and Sons banjo player Winston Marshall is taking a leave of absence from the band amidst outcry over his recent social media post praising right-wing agitator Andy Ngo. In a tweet posted this past weekend, Marshall called Ngo a “brave man” and congratulated him on publishing a book about Antifa’s “radical plan to destroy democracy.” “Finally had the time to read your important book,” Marshall wrote. Now, though, Marshall has issued a public apology and announced his intention to take time away from Mumford and Sons “to examine my blindspots.” “Over the past few days I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed. I have offended not only a lot of people I don’t know, but also those closest to me, including my bandmates and for the I am truly sorry,” Ma...
