Ceremony will play some UK dates this month to celebrate their new album, Zoo.
The band, who have recently been confirmed as support for Refused’s New York show, kick things off on the 19th in Kingston and will also play a Rough Trade East set at 6.30pm on Tuesday March 20th, before heading to XOYO for their headline show.
The full list of dates is:
March 19th – Kingston – Fighting Cocks
March 20th – London, Rough Trade East, 6.30pm
March 20th – London – XOYO
March 21st – Bristol – Fleece
March 22nd – Nottingham – Rock City Basement
March 23rd – Manchester – Moho
March 24th – Leeds – Santiagos (moved from The Well)
Tortoise have announced they’ll be hitting the UK as part of a run of European dates.
The band will play Field Day on June 6th in amongst sets in Norway and Spain. In addition Thrill Jockey will be reissuing their first two singles as part of Record Store Day [April 21st], as well as six albums throughout 2012. Here are the details:
Mos Def, now known as Yasiin Bey, dropped visuals on a new song debuting on French radio this week.
The track, Sunshine Screwface, is produced by Dilla and is guaranteed to get your head nodding. Simple and effective with short brass burts and strummed guitars, this is hopefully what we can expect from his new album, though there’s no confirmation on that record.
The band are currently working on their new album, the follow up to Axe To Fall, released in 2009. The band have filmed the process for a mini-documentary, produced by Ian McFarland which is said to concentrate on the frontman and visual artist of the band, Jacob Bannon.
Murs and Fashawn are teaming up for a joint release.
The double disc EPs will be produced entirely by K-Salaam & Beatnick and called Murs and Me and Me and Fash. During an interview, Fashawn said that the rappers are around 50% done and each disc will see the “Me” in the title taking the lead role.
There are no details on how or when the EPs will be released, but it’s certainly something to look forward to.
The pair is currently configuring how the project will be packaged and released. Fash emphasized the importance of releasing an EP that breaks the mold.
“Yeah, we’re just trying to figure out a creative way to package it and put it out ‘cause you know, me and Murs, we have an extensive catalog. We just wanna do something innovative and fresh and that’s why I like collaborating with each other. This is my first time ever doing an album with another emcee so that should be interesting.”
The dates are the band’s first since 2008 and will see them play a show in Manchester and two in London. Tickets go on sale on March 9th at 9am via Ticketmaster.
The dates are:
October 6th – Manchester, Arena
October 8th – London, O2 Arena
October 9th – London, O2 Arena
Dilated Peoples are one of those groups that you might not listen to in a while, but when you do, you remember just how awesome they are. Thankfully, due to Evidence‘s brilliant Cats & Dogs solo record on Rhymesayers last year, the Dilated catalogue had been getting a good airing in the past few months , building up a lot excitement for the arrival of this show in North London.
Having missed the support, we hit the venue just as DJ Babu hopped up behind the decks and introducing the two MCs, Evidence and Rakaa Iriscience, by blasting out Live On Stage and immediately the tone was set – the crowd shouted, screamed and chanted along, hands thrust firmly in the air. Though the show wasn’t a sell-out, it was comfortably full and you would be forgiven for thinking there were twice as many people in attendance.
The rappers played off each other with glee, Rakaa dropped his verses from under a hat which almost covered his eyes contrasting Ev’s trademark laid back flow as they dived into both new and old tracks, from You Can’t Hide, You Can’t Run and Back Again to the classic Worst Comes To Worst. With every order from Ev, the crowd pumped more noise towards the stage, something all three members reveled in as they each showcased their own individual talents.
Babu’s scratch routine was a lesson in turntablism, speeding up his hand movements to that of a blur, a mini-whirlwide on the decks, Rakaa dropping tracks from his Crown of Thorns record and Evidence wowing the crowd with a rendition of the Premo-produced You, mixing in beats from Gangstarr’s Full Clip and Royce’s Boom.
The setlist provided a greatest hits of their stellar career, never once dipping in energy. Once the show was over and the crowd dispersed, the overall feeling was that of having had the most fun in a long, long time. With a new album on the cards this year, let’s hope it’s not long before they’re back smashing it in London again.
Touché Amoré’s ‘Honest Sleep’ provides the most emo of emo moments tonight at the Barfly. Exceedingly earnest in a way that is both endearing and slightly unsettling, the band have a dedicated crew of followers hanging on their every word at this show.
The aforementioned offering prompts shout-alongs from the audience to the emotive lyrics ‘I’m losing sleep, I’m losing friends’. In fact, pretty much every track blasted forth tonight is met with an enthusiastic, fists-in-the-air, screaming-lungs-out kind of a reaction. Everyone present loves this band. And Touché Amoré are more than receptive to the crowd’s willingness to participate, expressing their gratitude at being there and putting their all into an energetic, if a little short, set.
There is an eerie quiet that comes over the venue in between tracks as the crowd awaits further words from vocalist Jeremy. However, listen closely and you can hear people discussing the band’s lyrical content. Nobody is going off the topic of the band tonight. If you thought the crowd was fervent during the band’s main set, you hadn’t seen anything until they return for a much-encouraged one-song encore of ‘Cadence’. This time Jeremy abandons his mic, putting him on an equal footing with each and every person in the crowd tonight, a fact that they relish and everyone partakes in one last group-voiced emotional pouring out before filtering out of the room.
Touché Amoré’s ability to hold a captive audience is undeniable. Their raw emotional power and cutting riffs make for a crushing live experience, in the best possible way.
Michael Davis of MC5 passed away over the weekend.
The bassist, who was part of the seminal Kick Out The Jams album of 1969, died of liver failure at the age of 68. Davis left the band in 1972 but recently rejoined them whilst continuing to work on his art career which included working with OBEY.
Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon unleashed a new song onto the world.
The duo were performing at the War Child charity show in West London, playing He Thought Of Cars and Strange News From Another Star before introducing the new track as Under The Westway, an homage to the massive flyover situated right over Crossfire HQ. We love it, obviously.
Ceremony will play some UK dates this month to celebrate their new album, Zoo.
