LATEST NEWS - 2005

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ALBUM OF THE YEAR - 2005
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DECEMBER 2005

2006 - NEW ALBUMS:
Watch out for forthcoming album releases by RADIOHEAD (late 2006), MORRISSEY (March), THE LOVERS (t.b.c.), ARCTIC MONKEYS (January), THE KILLERS (summer), THE FUTUREHEADS (spring), LILIAN HAK (t.b.c), RAZORLIGHT (May) and THE STREETS (April)



2006 - Anniversaries:
Just so that you know, it will be 30 years ago that punk hit the streets of London, it`s 15 years ago that NIRVANA "Nevermind" (Geffen), MASSIVE ATTACK "Blue Lines" (Virgin) and R.E.M. "Out Of Time" (Warners) were released, 40 years ago that THE BEACH BOYS brought out "Pet Sounds" (Capitol), 20 years ago that THE SMITHS gave the world "The Queen Is Dead" (Rough Trade) and a staggering 25 years since DEPECHE MODE released their debut album "Speak & Spell" (Mute).






THE STROKES: Their new album "First Impressions of Earth" (Rough Trade) is out in January and hopefully an improvement on their rather disappointing 2003 release "Room on Fire" which to be fair had a lot to live up to as follow up to their excellent debut album "Is This It" (2001).
Early reports suggest that their 3rd album will bring them back to the fore of the alternative music scene so expect them to feature heavily at the major festivals this summer.




2006 - LIVE:
EDITORS return to The Netherlands in January/February to play 3 gigs in Eindhoven, Utrecht and Amsterdam but if you haven`t got tickets you`re too late as they have all sold out. WE ARE SCIENTISTS will be providing the guest slot at the KAISER CHIEFS gigs in Paris (28th February) and Amsterdam (1st March), which will give people the opportunity to hear tracks from their debut album "With Love And Squalor" (Virgin). KT TUNSTALL will be doing a gig in Paris on 26th February, ARCTIC MONKEYS hit Cologne (Keulen) on 4th March and VIOLENT FEMMES will be playing a one off gig at London`s Shepherds Bush Empire on Sunday 26th February. HEATHER NOVA returns to The Netherlands on 19th March to play a gig in Groningen, while the next London Calling event in Amsterdam will be at the Paradiso on the weekend of 31st March & 1st April. THE BUZZCOCKS have re-formed to do a series of UK gigs in March. The ROCK AM RING Festival in Germany in June has already attracted DEPECHE MODE, KAISER CHIEFS, PLACEBO and FRANZ FERDINAND - More details to follow.



Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn will make his directorial debut with the forthcoming movie "CONTROL", which tells the story about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, and which is based on the book "Touching From a Distance" by the singers widow Deborah Curtis. The soundtrack will consist of Joy Division songs along with accompanying music made for the film by the remaining members of the band (New Order).



Dutch Radio: It was no real surprise to find out in December which songs had made Dutch radio station Veronica`s Top 1000 songs ever! (They call this annual radio presentation the "Top 1000 Allertijden") and it always comes across like being stuck in a bizarre time warp with the likes of Bon Jovi, Meatloaf and Phil Collins once again dominating the event, along with certain Dutch artists like Anouk and Trijntje Oosterhuis who in all honesty just can`t sing in English, while anything slightly interesting or exciting from the past 10 years was once again virtually non existent.
However, it was a surprise to see their show advertised in Dutch music magazine OOR that by all accounts is the nations major source of information when it comes to new music - or is it?! The funniest part however was what Veronica had placed at the bottom of their advert - "80s & 90`s Hits" - Now as we approach 2006 that just about sums it all up really doesn`t it?!



Rumors are that the long awaited album by MASSIVE ATTACK will feature collaborations with Beth Orton and Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and is being described as having taken a Goth-Soul direction!




JOY DIVISION - This month sees an interesting release - Let The Movie Begin (Interstate)- a collection of music and interviews which has been compiled by a couple of Joy Division "experts" in Belgium to coincide with the 25th anniversary since the death of Ian Curtis. The interview sections with members of the band have been added to recordings of live performances from various venues through the career of the band including rarities from Dutch and Belgian concerts. Originally scheduled for an October release, this 26 track album is now available. Next year should also see the forthcoming movie about Ian Curtis reach cinemas worldwide. The film is being directed by Dutch artist Anton Corbijn.




NEW ORDER to headline charity concert in January
We are receiving news that a special concert will take place in Manchester on Saturday 28th January in support of a charity for Cancer. Apart from New Order, Badly Drawn Boy and Doves have also been confirmed so far with more regional acts to follow.

NOVEMBER 2005

THE FUTUREHEADS - 'AREA EP'
Released November 28 - 2005 through 679 Recordings.


1. Area (lead vox Barry Hyde)
2. Help Us Out (lead vox Ross Millard)
3. We Cannot Lose (lead vox Jaff)

The mighty Futureheads return to see out their spectacular 2005 with a brand new EP - "Area" may already be familiar to some as it became a favourite in their live set some time ago, proving a hit with their ever-increasing fan base. The EP is a stand-alone release for the band as they begin work on their second album due for release in mid 2006.

The Futureheads have had a fine year indeed, kicking off with the NME Awards Tour in February, "Hounds Of Love" gave them their first UK top 10 hit alongside 2 sell out nights at London`s Astoria. March saw them re-release their debut album which has sold a quarter of a million copies to date, before playing festivals in the UK, Europe and Japan throughout the summer. All this plus invitations to support bands such as Oasis, The Pixies, and more recently, the Foo Fighters has left them on an all-time high.

Plans for their much-anticipated second album are well underway, in fact they are scheduled to begin recording with producer Ben Hillier (Depeche Mode, Doves, Blur etc) in the next few weeks. They aim to have it completed by late January.

2004 saw them break on to the scene giving it a much needed kick up the backside, 2005 really put them at the top of their game and 2006 could well be the year they go over the edge!

"AREA" is released on 679 Recordings on 28th November.




MORRISSEY & MORRICONE? ...

Rumours are that the new Morrissey album (to be released March 2006) will include some kind of input from the maestro himself!

Morrissey and producer Tony Visconti are currently in Rome working on the new album by the former frontman of The Smiths.

There have been suggestions that the album will have some music by Ennio Morricone!

The tracklisting for 'Ringleader Of The Tormentors' will be:

'I Will See You In Far-off Places'
'Dear God Please Help Me'
'You Have Killed Me'
'The Youngest Was The Most Loved'
'In The Future When All's Well'
'The Father Who Must Be Killed'
'Life Is A Pigsty'
'I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now'
'On The Streets I Ran'
'To Me You Are A Work Of Art'
'I Just Want To See The Boy Happy'
'At Last I Am Born'




Speaking about the sessions on his own website, Visconti wrote: "I am two thirds of the way through one of the best albums I've ever worked on, with not only Morrissey at his best, but the plot has twists and turns which somehow involve film composer Ennio Morricone and an Italian children's choir. Not only is this a departure in his writing (my opinion) but he has extended his vocal range and has written extended melodies." - It sounds like one of the albums of 2006 is already known?!




DEPECHE MODE - 'A Pain That I'm Used To'

Depeche Mode are set to release a new single next month on Mute Records which is taken from their critically acclaimed album 'Playing The Angel' and will be out on 12th December featuring exclusive remixes by Goldfrapp and Stuart Price.




FRANZ FERDINAND 'WALK AWAY'

Franz Ferdinand release a new single, Walk Away, through Domino Records on Monday 5th December 2005. The single is taken from their UK number 1 album, "You Could Have It So Much Better" which is enjoying phenomenal worldwide success. During the week of release it was the biggest selling record across Europe and has gone top ten in every major market across the globe - a rare feat for a UK band.

The single was recorded as part of the album sessions in Scotland and New York and was produced by the band and Rich Costey. It will be released on 7", CD and DVD and features a number of exclusive B-side tracks, including a cover of Air`s "Sexy Boy". The full track-listings are as follows:

7" single: 1. Walk Away 2. The Fallen (acoustic)

CD: 1. Walk Away 2. Sexy Boy

DVD: 1. Walk Away (video) 2. Walk Away (the making of the video) 3. This Boy (live in Edinburgh) Plus downloadable Franz Ferdinand wallpaper

The band will also be releasing a DVD on November 28th. The DVD not only includes live performances from around the globe but also a myriad of very special bonus features including a 40 minute documentary, a Franz karaoke and some rare footage on one of the bands first gigs in Glasgow. They also release a 12" of the in-demand Erol Alkan mix of "Do You Want To" on 21st November.

Franz Ferdinand are: Bob Hardy (bass), Nick McCarthy (guitar / keyboards / vocal), Alex Kapranos (vocals / guitar) & Paul Thomson (drums)




JOHN LYDON - The former front man of The Sex Pistols (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) has a new compilation album out called "Best Of British £1 Notes" (Virgin) which is prominently his work with PIL (Public Image Limited) but also includes some of the Sex Pistols songs and a recommended overview of his contribution to the alternative music scene since punk rock in the 70`s.
You can also check out what John has to say on his own website in what he terms "No Lies, No Bullshit. Just John" at:
http://www.johnlydon.com/jlhome.html





ALFIE - The Manchester band that was due to play at the recent London Calling event in Amsterdam have decided to split up. They had released a total of 3 albums but despite some good reviews they were never able to get themselves in a financially viable position that then allowed them to continue making music. It`s a shame and a sign of the times, where amongst other factors, copying/piracy also has its price!



COPYING & DOWNLOADING: On the subject of illegal copying and piracy, I?ve recently been hearing a new reason (self justified excuse?) why people think it`s ok to copy music and not buy the CD. Apart from the usual argument that CD?s are too expensive, they now come out with "Bands maken hun geld van de live optredens en niet van de verkoop van CD`s" - "The bands make their money from the concerts and not from the CD sales". All I can say to that is BULLSHIT!

I`m not sure how this myth began but let me assure you of the following facts:

1 - the majority of artists (especially those on independent labels) actually end up losing money from tours and concerts, which just like EP/single releases, are usually done as a loss making exercise but are necessary to help promote an album. The reality is that the promoters, the artists? agent and the venue itself are usually the biggest earners from the majority of live performances. THE AGENT: deals with live gigs, concerts and touring. It is usually the agent?s job to work with local promoters and to determine the ticket price. The Agent usually earns between 10 & 30% (depending on popularity of the artist). THE PROMOTER: is responsible for the promotion of the gig, security, catering, venue hire, etc which can easily run up to 40-50% of the ticket price. THE TICKET: After tax has been deducted and by the time the promoter has deducted costs then there is usually around 50% of the ticket price left over to share as profit between the promoter and the artist/band, which is then split from 70-30 up to 90-10 in favour of the artist. THE ARTIST/BAND: will usually have their own sound and lighting engineers, a tour manager and will have to pay their roadies, while touring also includes transport and hotel costs. So once all these costs and percentages have been deducted (Agent, promoter, tour costs, venue, etc) there isn?t much left over!

2 - making music costs money and therefore selling product (CD & records) is the only way to survive. Record companies will provide an advance to their artists for recording costs, promotional video costs, producer`s advances and fees, transport and tour support money, wardrobe, art work, etc but the term "advance" is a clue here so they`ll also want to re-coupe the majority of these costs before the artist can start to earn themselves.

3 - Simple mathematics: Most artists with a record deal will also have a publishing deal, a manager and an agent. They will also require the services of a producer and sound engineers, a promoter for tours and festivals (often more than one as soon as they start to cross borders), art designers, roadies, the list goes on. The reality here is that they all expect to get paid.

So think about it - Would you be prepared to work for nothing?




31st October - New Album releases:


BLINK 182 - Greatest Hits (Geffen/Island Records)
THE PADDINGTONS - First Comes First (Vertigo)
TEST ICICLES - For Screening Purposes Only (Domino Records)
NIRVANA - Sliver /The Best of Box (Geffen)





Watch out for:

THE LIKE - This is a new all girl guitar band from Los Angeles but is this going to be creating the same impact as The Breeders did? (Even if they did actually have one bloke in the band) - Or will this be the first all girl band to come from the USA since, err ... The Bangles! Early reports suggest they`re influenced by PJ Harvey (surely only a good thing?) Their new single/EP is due out soon on Polydor Records.

THE IVORIES - This is another all girl guitar band, but they don?t come from LA or have a major record company behind them. The Ivories hail from Leeds and have firmly placed themselves in the garage rock territory with a gothic tint to their stage presence. Could be interesting? During the most part of November they are on tour in the UK, while their new single/EP Reduce the temperature is out on 31st October.

SUNDERLAND - The City, not the football team. Following in the footsteps of Bryan Ferry and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) albeit some time ago when they broke through, we have recently seen the emergence of some new bands from this city in the North East of England, with The Futureheads leading the way. Now we have two more bands to watch out for: Kubichek! (who have just been asked by Editors to support them on their forthcoming sell out UK tour) and Field Music who are due to play at Amsterdam`s Paradiso on Saturday 5th November as part of this years London Calling event and have a single/EP out called "If Only The Moon Were Up".


London Calling (Amsterdam Paradiso - 4th & 5th November)
The annual gathering of upcoming or recently established (mainly) British bands, who for the most part are making their first live appearances in Holland. So if you?re not in Paris this weekend then Amsterdam is an option. This year look out for The Zutons, Test Icicles and Field Music.
7/11/2005: a REVIEW (for Saturday 5th November) can now be found at the LIVE REVIEWS section on this site!


KAISER CHIEFS - The Leeds band who made a huge impact during the summer at most of Europe`s festivals are set to release a new single/EP "Modern Way", which is taken from their critically acclaimed album "Employment" (B-Unique/Polydor records).




THE CINEMATICS - A Scottish band who are building up a decent live reputation that have been resembled to a ballad driven Suede and who are already appealing to those art-house students.

OCTOBER 2005

I AM KLOOT


The Manchester band are without a record label after parting company from Echo Records. The band, whose third album "Gods And Monsters" was released earlier this year to the usual critical acclaim (we gave it a 7) and played the Vera in Groningen during the summer, said on their official website: "It became clear that Echo were unable to sustain the band's financial backing." However, the three-piece - Johnny Bramwell, Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves - will still be touring in the UK and parts of Europe (incl. Zwolle!) during October and November. They are also due to release a new single "Maybe I Should" (14th November) on Skinny Dog Records.
Selected Tour dates for I AM KLOOT are as follows:

OCTOBER
Mon 31 Brussels, Botanique www.botanique.be Tel +32-(0)22183732
NOVEMBER
Wed 16 Holland, Zwolle, Hedon http://www.hedon-zwolle.nl Tel +31 (0)38-452 72 29
Thu 17 Belgium, Hasselt, Muziek-O-Droom
Fri 18 November - Den Haag, Crossing Border Festival

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Talking about Echo Records, I seem to remember that they also released BABYBIRD (that fantastic indie band from the late 90's) in the midst of critical acclaim? - Strange decisions, but it looks like they only appear to give their acts a limited time until they pull the plug. Maybe not the best label to get a development deal then?!?

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ARCTIC MONKEYS, TEST ICICLES & FRANZ FERDINAND...
As far as record labels are concerned, it looks like Domino Records is the current place to be if you're an upcoming indie band in the world of alternative music. After the worldwide success of Franz Ferdinand, the prolific touring by The Kills and then Arctic Monkeys debut single on Domino Records crashing into the UK Top 40 last week at ... number 1. - And if that's not enough, now we have newcomers Test Icicles who have been described as "a riot of chaotic rock-techo with ranting/screamo slung in for good measure". Their debut album is out on 31st October. Curious?


Domino Records info (from the horses mouth) can be found at http://www.dominorecordco.com/site/




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THE KILLS
It looks like they are still out their touring to help promote latest album & single "No Wow" (Domino) since April and they are about to complete over 100 gigs this year! They played the Vera in Groningen on 18th May, and are currently on their UK leg (with support from much tipped Texan punk kids Be Your Own Pet) - The November dates will include venues in France and Scandinavia.

November - THE KILLS
05 Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
06 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
07 Oslo, Norway - Blaa
08 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
15 Rouen, France - Exo 7
16 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix
17 Rennes, France - Ubu
18 Montpellier, France - Rockstore

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Maximo Park play a gig at the Paradiso on Thurs 3rd November and then Bloc Party at the same venue on Saturday 3rd December.







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