Blossoms have progressed rapidly since their release of their first singles ‘You Pulled a Gun on Me’ and the catchy ‘Blow’ when they spent 2014 getting used to larger venues supporting the likes of The Libertines and Inspiral Carpets.

The Stockport band have worked hard to get where they are today spending 2015 covering a variety of festivals and a 2016 tour which included supporting The Stone Roses at their Etihad Stadium shows. This year they have already sold out some of the larger O2 venues including the Leeds O2 Academy where they supported Inspiral Carpets back in December 2014.

Blossoms have continued their momentum building material for their highly anticipated second album. Frontman and song writer Tom Ogden told NME:

“I carried on writing after ‘Getaway’ and ‘Honey Sweet’, even though we had the album done, as I was in quite a creative flow. I’m always writing when I can, so we’ve got about 15 tunes. It’s important to stay on the front foot for songwriting, so you’ve got stuff spare if you get stuck.”

Tom continued: “At least eight or nine of those 15 songs are worthy of going on the next album, but I’d want to have 30 or more songs to choose from when we come to really working on the next record.”

Adding to a plethora of success, Blossoms are also to celebrate headlining the 2017 VO5 NME Awards Tour.

Blossoms’ rival nominees for the British Breakthrough include: Anne-Marie, Rag’n’Bone Man, Skepta and Stormzy. The winner on 22 February will follow the list of major names including Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Ed Sheeran, and Sam Smith. See here for the full list of 2017 BRIT nominees in all categories.

2017 sees Blossoms kick off their tour in Osaka, Japan on 22 January before returning to Europe. UK dates are detailed below:

16/3 – University Students Union – Keele
17/3 – Olympia – Liverpool
18/3 – Dome – Brighton
20/3 – Engine Shed – Lincoln
21/3 – Lemon Grove – Exeter
23/3 – Roundhouse – London
24/3 – O2 Academy – Bristol
25/3 – Tramshed – Cardiff
27/3 – Nick Rayns LCR, UEA – Norwich
29/3 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
30/3 – O2 Academy – Leeds
31/3 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
01/4 – O2 Academy – Glasgow

No doubt Blossoms will be adding many festival dates to their summer calendar, but they do have the famous Coachella Festival (USA) to look forward to in April. The BRIT Awards will be held on 22 February. Watch their 2016 single ‘Getaway’ below:

Mxdwn UK have recently announced The Weeknd’s 2017 UK arena tour: read the article here and see the below dates as a reminder:

05/03 – Arena – Manchester
07/03 – The O2 – London
08/03 – The O2 – London
10/03 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
11/03 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
13/03 – Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham
14/03 – First Direct Arena – Leeds

Earlier this month Lana Del Rey paid tribute to the late Leonard Cohen who passed away on November 7, aged 82. Del Rey said:

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t kind of break my heart that I never got to tell you how much you changed me. Not that it would’ve mattered to ya. It’s just that other than Bob [Dylan] and Joan [Baez] you were the only person I ever really felt spoke my language.”
“I love you as a real fan and I always looked for a little bit of you in all of my future friends. God bless.”

Cohen – and outstanding lyricist – was also a prolific poet and was taught by his muse the legendry poet Irving Layton who passed away in 2006.
Lana Del Rey’s last album was Honeymoon, released in 2015. 2016 saw her touring the festival circuit. Both artists demonstrate how powerful their influences are and prove an apt collaboration.  The lyrics have been described as ‘creepy': judge for yourself.

Craig David impressively beat heavyweights such as Kano, Skepta, Stromzy, Tinie Tempah. Grime continued its momentum from last year’s growth. Kano said of Grime’s continuing success:

“It feels like a second chance – doing it the right way. We don’t want to make it to a mainstream audience by doing just anything. Let’s not hide the fact we’re British, when in the past we have, with American accents.”

Michael Kiwanuka also added:

“You can’t really escape it. Up until now, grime has been pushed to one side and not seen as relevant. It’s always been credible but people are finally sitting up and taking notice. So it’s a good year, I think, and good to be a part of it.”

Best male act – Craig David
Best female act – Lady Leshurr
Best newcomer – WSTRN
Best album – Kano ‘Made In The Manor’
Best hip hop act – Section Boyz
Best song – Abra Cadabra ft Krept & Konan ‘Robbery (remix)
Best video – Nadia Rose ‘Skwod’ (Directed by Reece Proctol)
Best R&B/soul – Shakka
Best grime act (in association with BBC Radio 1Xtra) – Chip
Best international act – Drake
Best jazz act – Esperanza Spalding
Best gospel act – Guvna B
Best reggae act – Popcaan
Best African act – Wiz Kid
Paving the way – Nicola Adams and Ms Dynamite

Listen to the single ‘Nothing Like This’ below:

We, at Mxdwn, have covered several stories following the progress of Radiohead since January 2016. Since the Glastonbury announcement, we now have a European tour to look forward to.

At the beginning of 2016, January saw speculation, teasing fans over an imminent album release. March speculated the possible artwork to accompany the album A Moon Shaped Pool.

March also saw the release of May through August tour dates . . .

. . . then they disappeared . . .

. . . disappeared from the internet.

Suddenly, . . . ‘Burn the Witch’ single became their controversial (see why here) video prior to their album release of A Moon Shaped Pool in May.

Going back to beginnings, Radiohead’s debut 1993 single ‘Creep’ was also performed in May 2016; the first time in seven years.

Furthermore, guitarist Ed O’Brien now finds time to release superb solo material . . . This is the year of Radiohead, so far. European dates add to this momentum and, of course, fans of all generations will no doubt continue to learn more.

It’s a prolonged, planned, and profound drip-feed from Radiohead this year which has elevated them to headline Glastonbury and, prior to this festival, will prepare fans for a European tour beginning in early June in Norway, ending in the UK. Below detail the full dates/venues:

6/7 – Spektrum – Oslo, Norway
6/9 – Ericsson Globe – Stockholm, Sweden
6/11 – North Side Festival – Aarhus, Denmark
6/14 – Visarno Arena, Parco delle Cascine – Florence, Italy
6/16 – I-Days 2017 Milano, Parco di Monza – Milan, Italy
6/18 – Best Kept Secret Festival – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
6/20 – 3 Arena – Dublin, Ireland
6/23 – Glastonbury Festival – Worthy Farm: Pilton, UK
6/28 – Open’er Festival – Gdynia, Poland
6/30 – Rock Werchter – Werchter, Belgium
7/02 – Main Square Festival – Arras, France
7/04 – Manchester Arena – Manchester, UK
7/05 – Manchester Arena – Manchester, UK

This year Radiohead have given us plenty of surprises. So it seems fitting to watch and listen to ‘No Surprises’ from OK Computer.

“I’m off like mixtapes, I want to do a playlist. I want to give you a collection of songs that become the soundtrack to your life, so this More Life: The Playlist. Like I said, dropping in December. All original music from me. You might hear some tunes from the family on there. Just really excited. I had a great tour, I had a great summer. And most people would like go probably take a break, but for me I just want to get right back to it. Be with the people again. Boy Meets World Tour, coming up soon. UK, I’ll be there soon. Big up to UK massive. Everybody—Paris, Amsterdam, Sweden, anywhere we are touching down. But yeah, I just want to celebrate life. More life. That’s what we live by. That’s something we not take for granted.”

Drake teased fans with three new tracks from this project as part of his 30th birthday celebrations. ‘Two Birds, One Stone’ apparently caused controversy with its reference to rapper Kid Cudi who is recovering in rehab as he was suffering with “depression and suicidal urges”. The lyric which caused the offence is as follows:

“You were the Man on the Moon, now you go through your phases / Life of the angry and famous”

Drake is in the UK and Ireland in January and February beginning with two nights in Glasgow and performing a huge amount of performances at the London O2:

25/1 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow
26/1 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow
28/1 – The O2 – London
30/1 – The O2 – London
01/2 – The O2 – London
02/2 – The O2 – London
04/2 – The O2 – London
05/2 – The O2 – London
08/2 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
09/2 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
11/2 – Arena – Manchester
12/2 – Arena – Manchester
14/2 – The O2 – London
15/2 – The O2 – London
17/2 – Arena – Sheffield
19/2 – 3Arena – Dublin, Ireland
20/2 – 3Arena – Dublin, Ireland
22/2 – Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham
23/2 – Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham

Twitter responses defended Drake’s lyrics which were apparently written before Kid Cudi announced his illness in public. Others criticise the word choice “phase” when describing mental illness, echoing the stigma that continues with depression. Listen to ‘Two Birds, One Stone’ below:

5/5 – Alexandra Palace – London
6/5 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
7/5 – SECC – Glasgow

Tickets for these dates go on sale this Friday, 28 October.

Speaking with NME, founder member Chino Moreno said of the band’s future:

“I certainly wouldn’t want to carry on forever.

“The fact we’re still out there making music is far beyond what I could have imagined when we started out, but to imagine doing it for another 20 or 30 years? I’m not sure about that!”

Frontman Chino Moreno formed Deftones back in 1988. Since then they released eight studio albums: Adrenaline debuted in 1995, their eighth album entitled Gore was released this year.

Interestingly, this year Deftones – as part of their world tour – called in at Sonar Iceland where they performed to twenty fans 400 feet inside a volcano.

Presently, Deftones are preparing for November dates beginning in Japan, taking in a number of dates in Australia, and ending in Hawaii. Let’s see if there are any surprise volcano gigs in this visit!

5/11 – Knotfest Japan – Chiba, Japan

8/11 – Metro City – Perth
10/11 – Thebarton Theatre – Adelaide
11/11 – Festival Hall – Melbourne
12/11 – Hodern Pavilion – Sydney
13/11 – Riverstage – Brisbane

16/11 – Republik – Honolulu, Hawaii

Directed by Luca Monterosso Whitman, the video is aesthetically artistic featuring Doherty blended with ink or watercolour illustrations by art student Celine Jennings. Luca said of his involvement with Doherty:

“I am very proud and flattered to give my contribution to the creation of this beautiful project. Being able to work with Peter has been an amazing experience.”

Famous for fronting the Libertines, and then Babyshambles, Doherty has had a varied career punctuated by his changing reputation.

Interviewed by Ingrid Sischy (Interviewmagazine.com – read the full interview here), Doherty speaks of his connection with the audience:

SISCHY: The thing that struck me when I first read about you is your desire to really keep a connection with the audience and break down the distance between performer and audience. Where does that come from?

DOHERTY: The same place any desire comes from: the soul. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily deliberate in the early days, but there was a point where ya have to … put the kettle across the pedal, if y’know what I mean. And, I think “Horror Show” was really the first song where I actually thought, What are the people listening to this song gonna think?

Pete Doherty is presently in Argentina and will be performing Mod Club San Telmo, Buenos Aires, tonight (21 October). Famously, back in April, Doherty announced (a story covered by Mxdwn, read the article here) he would be involved in the opening of the Bataclan Theatre, Paris. It is with no surprise that both of these November gigs are sold out. See Doherty’s November tour of France below:

16/11 – Le Bataclan – Paris
17/11 – Le Bataclan – Paris
18/11 – Le Bikini – Toulouse
19/11 – L’Usine – Isters (Marseilles)
21/11 – Le Cooperative de Mai – Clermont-Ferrand
22/11 – Le Transbordeur – Lyon
24/11 – Le Cargo – Caen
25/11 – Stereolux – Nantes

Watch the new video to his new single ‘I Don’t Love Anyone (But You’re Not Just Anyone)’ below.

4/2 – Manchester – O2 Ritz
15/2 – Norwich – The Nick Rayns LCR UEA
16/2 – London – KOKO
17/2 – Birmingham – O2 Institute
18/2 – Bristol – O2 Academy
23/2 – Dublin – The Academy
24/2 – Belfast – The Limelight
25/2 – Newcastle – O2 Academy

Sigala’s last single ‘Give Me Your Love’ drew in real fame which featured John Newman and Nile Rodgers; this transformed him into one of the most successful dance music producers of this decade. His debut single ‘Easy Love’ reached Number One and broke Ministry of Sound’s record for pre-orders. ‘Easy Love’ featured a sample from Jackson 5’s ‘ABC’.

Sigala (real name Bruce Fielder) also collaborated with Craig David on the single ‘Ain’t Giving Up’. Some say Sigala is going to be the next David Guetta or Armand Van Helden: a superb achievement for a DJ and producer only in his early-twenties. Watch ‘Give Me Your Love’ below.

29/1 – Norwich – UEA
30/1- Cambridge – Corn Exchange
01/2 – Leicester – De Montfort Hall
03/2 – London – Hammersmith Eventim Apollo
06 /2- Southend – Cliffs Pavilion
07/2 – Folkestone – Leas Cliff Hall
09/2 – Newport – Centre
10/2 – Plymouth – Pavilions
12/2 – Bristol – O2 Academy
13/2 – Portsmouth – Guildhall
14/2 – Brighton – Centre
16/2 – Manchester – O2 Apollo
18/2 – Birmingham – O2 Academy
20/2 – Nottingham – Rock City
21/2 – Leeds – O2 Academy
22/2 – Newcastle – O2 Academy
24/2 – Aberdeen – Arena
25/2 – Edinburgh – Usher Hall
26/2 – Glasgow – O2 Academy
28/2 – Belfast – Waterfront
01/3 – Dublin – Olympia

Busted’s first studio album in thirteen years will be released on 11 November which includes the recently released single ‘On What You’re On’ – watch the video below.

Formed in 2000, Busted released two albums earlier in that decade: the eponymous Busted in 2002, and A Present For Everyone in 2003. From 2006, after the band’s split, members of Busted pursued solo projects. Then, famously, Busted returned as McBusted joining McFly to tour between 2013 and 2015.

In an interview with BBC 6 Music, Ed O’Brien said:

“[My] kids were born in 2004 and 2006. And I said to the [Radiohead] guys: in five years’ time, me and my wife are gonna go and live in Brazil for a year. I don’t wanna put the kibosh on anything but this is something we have to do. Don’t feel you can’t make a record. Make a record without me, if I can come in later on, whatever … I’d had so many adventures with this band; I wanted to have an adventure with my family.

“So we went to live in Brazil, in the middle of the Brazilian countryside, and we lived on a little farm in basically a hut the size of this room next to a waterfall. Life was really simple. Kids went to the local school. No one could speak English, so they picked it up, the language of play and stuff. And life was reduced to its simple parts. For me, it was music and my family. And I would go each day, walk up the hill to this beautiful little hut next to this lake, and I started writing.”

Ed O’Brien was highly inspired by Brazil’s carnival culture:

“It was the greatest thing I’ve ever, ever, ever experienced in terms of music. Everyone sings. There must be 4,000 people in each samba school who parade down there, and the combination of writing music and that feeling of being there and being like, ‘Oh my god, music can be like this.’ It was so profound, so it’s fed my whole inspiration and writing. There’s an element of that joy of music. But, like a lot of Brazilian music, there’s a dark heart.”

Favourites to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2017, Ed O’Brien could not confirm if Radiohead were definitely going to be there:

“I would love to. I go to Glastonbury every year, it’s my carnival. To be asked to play at Glastonbury again would be magic. I also think Glastonbury is like our spiritual home. It is the mother of all festivals… there’s nothing like that one… It would be great to play there.”

Watch Radiohead’s debut single ‘Creep’ (1992) below: