The tour, supporting Liv.e’s latest album Girl in the Half Pearl, will include five UK dates in Leeds, Liverpool, Dublin, Manchester, and London. The artist will travel to Europe in June before heading to Australia and finishing in Japan. Liv.e is also performing at Øyafestivalen and Lowlands Festival this August. For tickets and more information see here.

hay now us tour finished for now this spring/summa lookin thiq!! europe, australia & japan! pic.twitter.com/3A02Ap8h42

— Liv.e (@oliveosun) April 4, 2023

The Dallas-born Los Angeles-based singer started the first leg of her tour in March playing dates across North America including a few sold-out shows. She’ll also be performing on the Stephen Colbert Late Show this Friday the 7^th April.

25-year-old Olivia Dean, also known as Liv.e, didn’t originally plan on a musical career having grown up in a family of musicians. Her dad played Blues and was embedded in the Gospel scene and her brother is a drummer. However, after finishing a degree in architecture and object design at the School of the Institute of Chicago Art she decided on a career switch. Her debut EP F.R.A.N.K. dropped in 2017 and the following year her EP Hoopdreams won her fans in Erykah Badu and Earl Sweatshirt. After touring with Earl on his Fire It Up Tour in 2019 and featuring on his EP Feet of Clay her popularity only grew. In 2020, she released her debut album Couldn’t Wait to Tell You to critical acclaim.

The singer’s sophomore album Girl in the Half Pearl was released on 10^th February. It’s a mosaic of genres meshing neo-soul, alt R&B, and hypnagogic pop sometimes with jungle beats and at others with a touch of psychedelia. It’s no surprise that it has been praised by Pitchfork, Loud and Quiet, and Vulture magazine.

Liv.e’s struggles with heartbreak are evident in Girl in the Half Pearl. The singer told Pitchfork: “I didn’t have anybody to talk talk to, so I wrote this album. I had to get this shit out of me. That’s why I’m so glad the album is out, because I feel like an open wound that’s hitting the wind. It feels nasty, but it feels kinda like, “Ahhhh”.

Watch the video for the album’s lead single “Ghost” here:

See below for Liv.e’s UK and Europe tour dates:

21/05/23 – Headrow House – Leeds
22/05 – 24 Kitchen Street – Liverpool
24/05 – Workmans Club – Dublin
25/05 – Yes – Manchester
26/05– ICA – London
31/05 – Le Hasard Ludique – Paris
10/08– Øyafestivalen – Oslo
18/08 – Lowlands Festival – Biddinghuizen

The festival comes back after their very successful debut edition last year, announcing two big headlines who are ready to rock the festival off the boat. The event is going to be lead by one of the most influential and celebrated electronic musicians of all time, Aphex Twin, known for his innovative and experimental approach to the making of his music. Backing up, expect to see the eclectic Erykah Badu. She is amongst the biggest neo-soul idols of the industry and she definitely knows how to put on a show.

A selection of other unmissable artists also have a spot in the lineup. These include Bonobo, Primal Scream, Arlo Parks, Raye, Leftfield, Amyl and The Sniffers, Viagra Boys and many more. Hosted at Clifton Downs in Bristol from the 1st September to the 2nd.

The reason why the festival adopted such a name like FORWARDS, is because it’s ideology toward a greater cause is particularly prominent within their handbook. Not only do they put their head down to put on the best live acts and musical experiences for the Bristol audience, but they take into account the particular discrepancies found amongst the public’s possible unfortunate dysfunctionalities and impairments.

As part of their schedule they include a section named The Information. An offered opportunity for fans to get involved in a space dedicated to hosting debates and discussions alongside experts, creatives, disruptors, writers and thinkers. It is a challenge to create an interactive dynamic in the affair to get people to speak their opinion. After last years success with Jack Monroe and Jay Rayner they return with further announcements down the line.

As well as the latter they have adapted a number of other improvements such as host a Social Initiative programme to create awareness towards positive change. A Capture Forwards programme which invites photographer startups to get first hand experience in shooting a live event to kick start their career.

Claimed “a progressive-minded festival” - a statement made by The Guardian. A fair affirmation after finding out that NHS workers get a discounted ticket, as a thank you for the hard work they put in for the country. As well as balanced discounts for residents and low-income customers. It is safe to say the festival has been named quite accurately.

Tickets go on sale on the 24th March at 10am. The pre sale, however, is on the 23rd March at 10am.

Click here for tickets.

Alongside a number of previously unheard cuts, Four Tet (real name Kieran Hebden) unveiled a 127 bpm reworking of fan favourite “Angel Echoes” – the opener from his 2010 album There Is Love In You – as well as “KH my money’s gone”, which features a sample from Erykah Badu’s “On & On”. Each of the tracks is accompanied with artwork created by frequent Four Tet collaborator Jason Evans.

Hebden had also released “LMB KH version”, an edit of the Destiny’s Child song “Lose My Breath”, though the track has since been taken down. “LMB KH version” debuted back in 2018 during Hebden’s BBC 1 Essential Mix, though according to Resident Advisor, an official release was postponed indefinitely due to issues with sample clearance. It’s likely that those same issues have caused the track to be removed.

Hebden has made all the songs available as free downloads. Listen to them via his SoundCloud below:

Appearing on the Rap Radar podcast, Badu talked openly about how the song initially hit a “sore spot” for her, elaborating ““I didn’t wanna hear that, especially when I heard Big Boi’s verse. When I heard Andre’s verse, I felt very good because his verse was really, really inspiring.” Badu further alluded to the pair being on good terms by adding“He just said how he felt and it was his honest feelings and I always respected that and listened to what he felt and appreciated it.” The full segment can be seen below.

The conversation then turned to what Badu’s mother- the titular Ms Jackson- made of the track. Surprisingly, Badu revealed that her mother’s reaction to the song had been a very positive one. “How did my mama feel? Baby, she bought herself a ‘Ms. Jackson’ licence plate,” Badu said. She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it.”

Badu has also appeared on Outkast classics like ‘Liberation’ and ‘Humble Mumble’, and herself guested onstage with the duo during their 2014 reunion. Outkast performed together in September for the first time since the aforementioned reunion, at the Dungeon Family Festival, despite not being specifically listed on the bill.

Big Boi acted as hype man for large parts of the show, before being joined by Andre 3000 after about 15 minutes. The two then performed multiple classic tracks, including ‘So Fresh, So Clean’, ‘Hootie Hoo’ and ‘SpottieOttieDopalicious’, before being joined by fellow Atlanta icon Killer Mike for a rendition of the Grammy-winning ‘The Whole World’.