We asked the folks preparing to head off to this year's Reading & Leeds festival who they were most looking forward to seeing. If you are undecided between clashing acts or unaware of any of these, or even if you just want a reminder who to underline in your programme, then this is for you... plus there's a Spotify playlist thrown in for good measure.»
Victoria Hesketh, aka Little Boots, talks us through the gadgets and synths that make up her touring armoury...»
Self-confessed musical magpies Hadouken! first caught mainstream attentions back in 2007, their frenetic dance rock and day-glo aesthetic seeing them crowbarred into the much-feted 'new rave' scene. Now signed to Ministry of Sound and in the process of finishing record number three, it seems a touch unfair to continue attaching that (already jaded) tag to Hadouken!, though their sound continues to genre-blend in a way that's as reminiscent of Daft Punk or Beastie Boys as many of their contemporaries. Frontman and lead yelper James Smith cuts a relaxed figure when I meet him, betraying just a hint of the wired, bristling mind present on the band's records. We chewed the cud about record number three, the rise of dubstep and the politics behind Hadouken!'s dance punk party. »
Single of the Week! Patrick Watson - ‘Step Out For A While’ (Domino) One day I am going to get round to making a playlist of all my favourite, waltzy, merry-go-round songs – singles that go up, up, up, with the peculiar grace of gold-leafed»
This edition of Champion Sound features Ian Bavitz, better known as Aesop Rock; an artist who has not only just released a rather brilliant new album, but also – in part – can be held responsible for this column’s existence. Having discovered hip hop through the back door, it’s difficult to overstate the influence that Aesop Rock records had on me in the early part of my hip hop education. »
Ever wondered what music the people who post on the DiS boards are into? Us too. We've always thought about doing some sort of poll-of-polls, and then - as is often the way with DiS - a member of the community took it upon themselves to start one. The results of which were revealed on the boards too but right here, right now, we can reveal far more than the top 20.»
This month we’re running through the 10 best girl bands of all-time because someone needed to step up to the plate and decide whether TLC are better than The Shangri-Las. There’s also the usual Baromenter of Pop and Made For TV features for regular readers of this near year-old bastion of Top 40-related nonsense.»
Part three of our local scene guide to the North East...»
Single of the Week! Django Django - ‘Hail Bop’ (Because Music) Googling the cove responsible for the liquid digital landscape in Django Django’s video saw me end up on this page. Which I share with you, kindly person, to prove that there st»
This month, FOUND unravel in Edinburgh, Citizens talk about their new album and introducing Mickey 9s.»
It's an interesting time to be a member of Pnau. The Australian dance act, made up of Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes, have until recently been relatively unknown. Yet, as we speak, the duo are number 1 in the album charts with Good Morning To The Night, a reinterpretation of Elton John's 1970s back catalogue. »
DiS' irregular round-up of the best ambient/post-rock gorgeousity... »
Away Game is different class, run by truly generous folk with the right priorities. »
Single of the Week! Jai Paul - ‘Jasmine (Demo)’ (12” on XL) Furtive shopping is the best kind, which is why I am very fond of telling my Mum off for ‘spending all of Daddy’s money’ - especially when she comes back from Clarkses armed»
Getting under the skin of electronic experimenters Tri Angle Records, with label founder Robin Corolan and artists Howse, Vessel, Haxan Cloak and Evian Christ. Plus new music from Scuba, Mala, Dusk & Blackdown and loads more...»
Kat Rolle considers the challenges for the middle classes when it comes to enjoying hip-hop...»
Liars have never been a band to conform or be defined. Since the reactive title of their debut, We Threw Them All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top, they have consistently challenged expectations of the type of band they should be at every step of their career. From exploring percussion through the use of fictional characters on the fan-dividing Drum's Not Dead to creating a whole story album about their hometown of LA on 2010’s Sisterworld, Liars have never been anyone else’s band other than their own. »
Al Horner talks nostalgia culture, new album I Bet On Sky and never saying never with the Dinosaur Jr. frontman.»
Q: What were the best music videos to hit the internet lately?
A: Read This. »
Music news these days can be kind of impossible to keep up with. It seems to be this constant scream of information, unintelligible by the sheer speed that it shoots by at, often borderline unintelligible in the first place – “what was that thumping past like an Olympic air defence missile about the one out of The Vaccines' twitpics from his holiday in Marbella again?” - and that being the case, DiS recently took the move to step away from news lest we're all sucked into some gaping cyber abyss of rumours, get-there-first reporting and regurgitated press releases. So instead, we'll be bringing you a digest of the important goings-on each month in neat mixtape form. This month - Frank Ocean issues a statement on his sexuality, Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard goes it alone, Animal Collective take to the radio, Lykke Li leads a Fleetwood Mac love-in and more...»
If this column had an official remit it would be to act as a filter, condensing the overwhelming world of hip hop mixtapes down into a useful bi-monthly guide. While there will seemingly never be a shortage of free rap music to talk about in this space, it sometimes feels like a shame not to cover the wealth of material being released by more traditional means. You remember, the kind of music exchanged for money? In shops? You’ll have to take my word for it.»
Single of the Week! Dead Fader feat. Sensational - ‘Fishsh’ from ‘work it, no’ EP (Robot Elephant Records) When press releases promise the sound of ‘unapologetic dread’ it is impossible not to have your interest piqued. Which is why D»
DiS' David Edwards and Simon Catlin talk guitars, music and collaborating with two icons of late twentieth-century guitar playing: Johnny Marr and Nile Rodgers.... we kick off an interview with such lines as “When I was playing with Bowie” and “When we were recording ‘There is a Light that Never Goes Out’” mentioned almost as casual asides. »
July 2012 was wet in London, and then suddenly really hot. Many of our readers and staff decamped to sunnier climes for festivals (although most of us ended up in muddy British fields munching on falafels...). This month's mop-up slash digest of what 'we' - staff and DiS readers - have been listening to, hopefully has a few things you love and some stuff you've missed out on that you fall in love with. »
As one of the original members of Belle & Sebastian's transition from being a solo project for Stuart Murdoch to the bonafide group that's existed for the best part of two decades, Stevie Jackson has experienced more ups than downs despite the fickle nature of the music industry. »
Gothenburg native Jens Lekman has long been a shape shifter in presentation. September will see ‘I Know What Love Isn’t’ released on Secretly Canadian, it’s another journey to through Jens’s heart; a series encounters, rejections and ponderings.»
This week’s singles column has been given over to the Olympic theme tunes. It is also a slightly breathless rant about the restorative power of exercise. »
This year, DiS was an official media partner at Latitude Festival. What this meant, is that we got a portakabin in back of the Lake Stage, and spent all weekend luring bands to it with the promise of a bacon and cheese toasties, a game of RISK, or an opportunity to learn How To Speak Suffolk Proper. Fun was had. Inappropriate jokes were told by Josh T Pearson. Haribo marriages were proposed to Sharon Van Etten. Here's Part One of our highlights.»
In the fourth of our irregular series of dispatches from Barcelona, DiS ventured to the Parc del Fòrum for the 2012 edition of Cruïlla (‘Crossing’) festival earlier this month, where a sparkling line-up saw luminaries such as Iggy & the Stooges and the Specials alongside newer stars such as M.I.A. and Sharon Jones, propped up by an exceptional array of local and international talent.»
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