Styles’ garden fresh fourth solo record, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’ is set to arrive on March 6, 2026. In preparation Styles released his first single in 4 years, ‘Aperture.’ The new track is riddled with electronic dance music influences; Styles seems to be distancing himself from his earlier indie-pop roots, definitely working in his favour, fans and casual listeners alike cannot get enough of the new track. Unsurprisingly the new single performed astronomically well, shooting up to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, only continuing to gain traction after 4 weeks on the chart. It is clear that big time Styles fans were desperate for something new to chew on.

Beloved DJ, Fred Again… played an expectedly captivating set in London’s Alexandra Palace on February 26. Despite being an artist that continuously has tricks up his sleeve, always guaranteed to wow fans, his 90 second teasing of Styles’ new song to a crowded room of ravers was something that nobody saw coming.

Countless fans have shared short clips of the release online, the song appears to be a string arrangement ballad, layered with vocals of Styles singing; “We sleep half the night with your head on my chest, me and you/There’s only me and you.”

In addition to elevating Styles’ new track, Fred Again… recently released his own new album, ‘USB002.’ The celebrated new record saw the DJ debuting 10 new tracks throughout his European and North American tour. Excitement reigned highly among audiences and additionally receiving an unheard Styles snippet is bound to have been pure magic. Truly a show to remember.

It’s meticulously planned that the song would rightfully be premiered during a dance event, given the album’s orientation and title. The intimate act of Styles placing the distribution within the hands of the British producer is leaving fans to speculate wether Fred Again… himself worked on the track. Despite this, there currently is no inclination that he did.

Anticipating the new record, Styles arranged worldwide listening parties earlier this month. Fans in attendance having experienced the new record in all its glory have confirmed the new mystery track is titled, ‘Coming Up Roses.’

Styles’ new record will belong to fans before we know it. Produced by Kid Harpon, electronically influenced, notably by legends LCD Soundsystem, this new album is guaranteed to shock old audiences and reel some new ones in.

In support of this exciting venture Styles announced a tour to go hand in hand with his new release, unfortunately the vast majority of the tickets have largely sold out, notably within minutes. This includes the 12-show run at Wembley Stadium, despite this there is still possible hope from official resellers so keep your eyes peeled.

We cannot wait to hear exactly what Styles has been chipping away on behind the scenes. Make sure to listen to Styles’ new record, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’ on March 6, 2026.

Dury has marked the announcement with the release of the title track as the first single. Check out the emphatic new dance tune below.

Reflecting on his inspiration for the album and first single, Dury told NME: “I ended up in an All Bar One once in Manchester, and I did actually find myself on my own. The only thing that was humorous was that someone called it ‘Allbarone’. That was the only thing that lightened up the moment. Everything else about the night was depressing!”

The indie veteran has teamed up with legendary producer Paul Epworth, who has previously worked with the likes of Adele, U2, Rihanna and Florence & The Machine – this will mark the first album Epworth has worked on in over five years.

Speaking to NME, Dury explained how a chance encounter at Glastonbury led to this dream collaboration: “He saw me before I played Glastonbury, and you know when producers politely say, ‘Yeah, we should work together’ as standard.

“After the set, I could see it in his eyes: he meant it. A week later I was at his birthday party after being suddenly invited. It seemed to me that he’d been through various trails and just wanted to get his head around something different, something that he could get inspired by to be creative. It was serendipitous and great timing.”

This will be Dury’s first album since 2023’s ‘I Thought I Was Better Than You’ as he looks to move away from “making narrative-based indie music” and lean more into his love for dance music.

The 2021 collaboration between Dury and Fred Again…, ‘Baxter (these are my friends)’, caused a shift in the ‘Miami’ singers brain: “In some ways, playing the Fred Again… song live made me pause and think, ‘Fuck, people are moving!’ 

“We had a contemplative audience before that, and it was a much more exciting environment to be in when people are jumping about.”

Dury will head on a British and European tour to mark the release of his ninth album, starting in Belfast on November 11. 

He will then travel throughout the UK during November, where you can catch him in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff, Brighton, London and finally Bristol on the 23rd.

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You can sign up to Dury’s mailing list for access to pre-sale tickets, with general tickets going on sale on Friday 9 May at 10am. Head to this website to gain access to his mailing list and get first access to tickets.

‘Allbarone’ will be released via Heavenly Records on September 12 and you can pre-order or pre-save the album here.

Melvin Benn who is the managing director of festival republic said that “Reading and Leeds are among the country’s biggest gatherings of young people and sit at the very heart of youth culture.” When talking about this younger generation of adults he added that “it is vital that their voices be heard at the general election. He also highlighted the importance of the music industry for positive change saying that ” Just Vote is a great way to empower our audiences to channel their energy into exercising their democratic right at this historic moment.”

Dale Vince who is the founder of the Just Vote campaign, said that “This is the most important general election of our lifetime, and the UK music scene has immense cultural influence which can mobilise young people to make their voice heard on 4 July.”

He also encouraged festival headliners and performers to endorse the movement “We’re also calling on the UK’s musicians to use your platforms to rally young people to register and then get out and vote. Artists playing these festivals – if you see this please get involved and help spread the word about the Just Vote campaign: the future of our country depends on young people having a say!”

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Reading and Leeds will take place on the August bank holiday weekend from the 23rd to the 25th and will see headliners Liam Gallagher, Blink 182, Fred again, Lana Del Rey, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon as well as many more huge names.

As well as Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury have also joined the initiative and are running a competition to win tickets to the festival later this month where young people will have the chance to win 2 tickets if they are registered to vote and sign up for reminders about key election moments. Glastonbury will also have a ‘Crash the Party’ installation that will be interactive, reminding people at the festival to vote in the week following.

Glastonbury will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Sza with the organisers revealing the full lineup earlier this week including the full set times for the festival.

Other ‘Crash the Party’ participants include Boomtown Festival, Love Saves The Day Festival, Music Venues Trust, Night Time Industries Association, The O2, OVO Arena Wembley, Rough Trade, Save Our Scene, Secret Garden Party plus many more.

The ceremony, which took place yesterday evening February 4th at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, California, saw the trio fight off competition from Aphex Twin’s ‘Blackbox Life Recorder 21F’, James Blake’s ‘Loading‘, Disclosure’s ‘Higher Than Ever Before‘, and Romy, with Fred Again… even competing against himself for their single ‘Strong‘. Cementing his first ever Grammy wins, it was a huge moment for the London-based fusionist, who was also nominated on the night for Best New Artist as a solo producer. Fellow UK musician Flowdan also joined in on the celebration, with it marking not only his first Grammy, but making musical history as the first ever UK MC to win one.

For Best Dance/Electronic Music Album, ‘Actual Life 3‘ was selected amongst a highly talented pool of nominees, including James Blake’s ‘Playing Robots Into Space’, The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Beautiful Feeing‘, Skrillex’s ‘Quest for Fire‘ and ‘Kx5′ by Kaskade and deadmau5 producing under their collaborative project Kx5. Fred Again… was not in attendance to accept either of the awards, but Skrillex and the ceremony’s host Justin Tranter accepted on his behalf.

In Skrillex’s acceptance speech, he said: “The first thing I want to say to anybody young out there who wants to make music or be an artist, the best advice I ever got was ‘success is something that you attract, not something that you try to chase or catch’. The other thing I want to say is for all the young people and everyone out here I know the world is crazy right now, I really hope that we can actually start listening to each other and that everyone on the other side of the aisle or everyone on a different perspective we realize that they’re not enemies and I really hope we can start listening to each other and having conversations.”

“The last thing I want to say is of course big love to Fred again, love to Flowdan. Flowdan’s one of the biggest inspirations in underground music in my life…and to have a Grammy with those guys, my best friends, making music that we just love, not trying to make a hit, not trying to do anything but push culture forward. This is for those guys. Thank you everybody and congratulations to everyone being here.” he added.

Since the news about his wins broke overseas, Fred has posted a simple behind-the-scenes reel on Instagram of himself and Flowdan jamming to a stripped back piano version of ‘Rumble‘. The clip shows the duo smiling and enjoying the collaborative process as the song begins to take shape:

Following a whirlwind 2023 packed with touring and sold-out shows around the globe, Fred Again… is currently set for another exciting, landmark year ahead, including his headline spot at Bonnaroo 2024 in Manchester, Tennessee this June. Tickets to the festival are available for purchase here. His latest hotly-anticipated single ‘leavemealone’ featuring rapper and producer Baby Keem is out now.

If successful with their filing, Festival Republic would host a new three-day event in Luton’s Stockwood Park. The proposed dates for the new event would fall on the spring bank holiday, Saturday, May 25th to Monday, May 27th. As well as performances, Benn’s application has been reported to propose “a funfair and sponsor activations”. Mirroring the format of the company’s other festivals, the proposed event will likely include the all the bells and whistles associated with their mainline stage shows.

Although Luton Council has already discussed this application, their decision has not yet been made public. For many, festivals can be seen as great economic boost to an area, especially if the event does not provide camping facilities. Large numbers of festivalgoers need accommodation and food which can be provided by local businesses after the day’s shows have come to a close. However, this benefit can often come at the cost of residents, as noise levels will be elevated by both the event itself and by its sometimes-rowdy participants. It doesn’t seem likely that the proposed festival will be a camping affair as the documentation filed does not imply nor mention overnight accommodation.

Other factors to be considered in the council’s decision are the effects that a large-scale event, like this one, would have on Luton’s public transport infrastructure. This is especially relevant, as Stockwood Park is only 1.5 miles from the town’s centre. Either way, the final decision from Luton Council will likely be announced within the week.

This year is looking promising for Festival Republic, as Finsbury Park’s Wireless is set to announce its 2024 line up next week, and Reading/Leeds has already teased the first ten acts for this year’s extravaganza. Among those performing at Reading’s and Leeds’ 2024 incarnation, are DJ and producer Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey, and Liam Gallagher.

Update: As of January 22nd, Luton Council said that Melvin Benn’s “application was granted with minor amendments“. Due to residents’ concerns of increased noise, congestion, and anti-social behaviour, Luton Council has arranged for noise to be monitored during the event as well as a noise hotline that would allow locals to complain about disruption in residential areas.

The announcement came through Hebden’s Instagram story last week where he shared details about the track’s status in the album’s production process, “Loved is the first track on the new album which is coming soon. Just finishing the artwork and making the vinyl and CDs.” He followed the story up with an Instagram post showcasing the album artwork where he stated, “Loved is out now. It’s the opening track from the new album which is coming soon. Artwork by Jason Evans.”

The imminent release of this new album adds yet another compelling chapter to Four Tet’s illustrious discography, standing alongside his 2020 full-length offerings, ‘Parallel’ and ‘Sixteen Oceans,’ and the compelling ‘871,’ released under the pseudonym 00110100 01010100.

Since the release of ‘Parallel’ in 2020, Hebden has continued to intrigue audiences with a series of releases under various aliases, including the cryptic ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ, as well as using pseudonyms KH and 00110100 01010100. Four Tet’s artistic diversity stands as a testament to his ability to explore different sonic realms while maintaining an impressive output.

While specific details about the upcoming album, such as the title and release date, are currently undisclosed, it is confirmed to be released under Four Tet’s own label, Text Records and that ‘Loved’ will serve as the opening track.

In addition to his solo endeavours, Four Tet made headlines last year for his collaboration with Skrillex and Fred again.., forming an impromptu dance music supergroup. They delivered memorable performances, including a surprise headline set at Coachella Festival and a sell-out show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The trio also released the catchy single ‘Baby again..,’ sampling Lil Baby’s ‘Baby’ in March of last year.

In addition to his other musical contributions, Four Tet also joined forces with guitarist William Tyler for the two-song EP ‘Darkness Darkness / No Services,’ under his real name, Kieran Hebden.

As anticipation builds for forthcoming releases, Four Tet has unveiled a series of tour dates for 2024 including stops in Paris, Mexico City, Dublin, and a headline slot at Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Fans can now stream and download ‘Loved’ on various platforms as they await further updates on Four Tet’s upcoming album. Stay tuned for more information on the project as it unfolds.

The festival is set to take place from 21 August to 25 August 2024 at Reading’s Richfield Avenue and Bramham Park in Leeds and will follow this year’s festival, which included headliners The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Billie Eilish and The Killers.

American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey is set to make her long-anticipated Reading and Leeds debut, as will London-based singer and DJ Fred Again. Pop-punk icons Blink-182 will return to headline the famed twin-venue festival for the first time since 2014, while Catfish And The Bottlemen are also set to return, making their first appearance at the festival back in 2021. Another headliner who also featured at the festival in 2021 is Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Cinnamon.

Watch the music video for Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” below:

Liam Gallagher is yet another headliner making a return to Reading and Leeds, having also featured at the 2021 edition. The former Oasis frontman is set to play the entirety of Definitely Maybe to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the acclaimed album, with his appearance at the festival to be preceded by a tour dedicated to the anniversary of said album.

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn, the main promoter of Reading and Leeds festival among others, has said of next year’s event, “We are thrilled to announce the first wave of artists for Reading & Leeds 2024. I am very proud that the biggest artists in the world choose to play Reading & Leeds and to have three incredible UK festival exclusives – the electrifying Fred again.., a true generational talent Lana Del Ray and the legendary Blink-182.

Ben continued, “The iconic Liam Gallagher will return to play an all-time classic album ‘Definitely Maybe’ which will be a special moment indeed. We pride ourselves on nurturing artists from the early stages in their career, so to see acts like Catfish & The Bottlemen rising through the festival to headline for the second time is very rewarding. 2023 was a hugely successful year for attendance and sensational audience feedback, and we are eager to build upon this success even further at the UK’s biggest and best music festival.”

Watch the music video for Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?” below:

Tickets for the 2024 edition of Reading and Leeds will go on general sale on Thursday 30 November at 8.30am and will be available to purchase here.

The Mercury Prize is a £25,000 prize that celebrates the best of British and Irish music and has become a well-known and prestigious award for both established and up and coming artists. Previous winners include Dizzee Rascal’s Boy in da Corner and Primal Scream’s Screamadelica.

The 2023 Mercury Prize ceremony took place on Thursday 7th September at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Ezra Collective were one of 12 nominees for the 2023 Album of the Year award, and were up against acts such as Arctic Monkey’s, Fred Again.., Loyle Carner, RAYE and more.

When accepting the award, Ezra Collective drummer Femi Koleoso said “First of all, let me thank God because if a jazz band winning the Mercury Prize doesn’t make you believe in God, I don’t know what will”

“This is not just a result for Ezra Collective, or for UK jazz, but this is a special moment for every single organisation across the country, ploughing efforts and time into young people playing music.”

You can watch Ezra Collective’s acceptance speech below:

Where I’m Meant To Be spans many genres including Jazz, Afrobeat and Funk. Many artists featured on this Ezra Collective LP, including Emeli Sande, Sampa the Great, 2022 Mercury Prize nominee Kojey Radical, and 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen.

Ezra Collective’s debut album You Can’t Steal My Joy was released in 2019, and due to the Coronavirus pandemic, live shows and touring for the 5-piece were limited. Their sophomore, and now award winning, release was written during the 2o2o lockdown. Much to fans delight, Ezra Collective made an electric return to the stage and performed their song “Victory Dance” at this year’s Mercury Prize ceremony.

Other performers at this year’s Mercury Prize included nominees Young Fathers, RAYE, and Jessie Ware. Whilst not all nominees perform at the awards ceremony, all acts receive a trophy in recognition of their achievement.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 Mercury Prize were:

• The Car by Arctic Monkeys
• Where I’m Meant to Be by Ezra Collective
• Actual Life 3 by Fred Again
• Beautiful and Brutal Yard by J Hus
• That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware
• I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
• False Lankum by Lankum
• Hugo by Loyle Carner
• Messy by Olivia Dean
• My 21st Century Blues by Raye
• Nymph by Shygirl
• Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers

Arctic Monkeys claim their fifth nomination for the Mercury Prize for there 7th album The Car, making them joint most nominated artists in the award history along side Radiohead.

A popular fan favourite single from the album The Car by Arctic Monkeys “There better be a mirror ball.”  along with singles such as “Perfect sense” and “Hello you” could see a second time win for the band.

Mercury Prize Awards celebrates its 32nd year, although last years show was cancelled out of respect, for Queen Elizabeth’s II death.

This years show will go ahead in all its glory on September 7th at 9pm and will be played on BBC 4 and on iPlayer, along with full coverage, from BBC Radio 6, as well as all BBC online and social media outlets. Showcasing some amazing artists, and their latest albums, viewers and listeners will have a whole host of talent to look forward to.

London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, will hold this years award show and tickets are available to purchase. Hosting this years Mercury Awards is DJ and Television presenter Lauren Laverne. There is no further announcement as to whether she will have a guest presenter along side her.

Each performer announced will feature 10 live and two pre-recorded performances at the award show; however, both Arctic Monkeys and Fred Again will be touring in September and unable to attend this years show. Instead, a special film will be shown, to celebrate both of their award nominated albums.

Mercury awards see’s four nominations for the second time, from acts Jhus, Loyle Carner, Young Father and Jessie Ware.

Jessie Ware on release of her album That! Feels Good! which is the title track to the first song, wrote on her official Instagram page to say, “This album is no longer mine, its all yours!”

Jessie Ware in an interview with NME, commented on how she felt to be nominated for her album That! Feels Good!, a decade on since her last Mercury nomination. She said, “It’s nice to see brilliant artists and lovely to be amongst them. It’s amazing to be up for my second Mercury a decade on, and I feel proud of myself.”

This highly sort after award has previously been won by the likes of Portishead in 1995 with their album Dummy, Badly Drawn Boy in 2000 with album The Hour of Bewilderbeast and Arctic Monkeys in 2006 with album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

Mercury Prize Award has no categories, and is open to all musical genres, with 12 shortlisted ‘Album of the Year’ with 1 winner. The artist to win the award will take home, not only the ‘Album of the Year’ trophy, but also a cash prize of £25,000 pounds. Not to mention blow up their social media and public awareness.

Ships will be premiering on the 21st October as the centrepiece of the 2023 Venice Biennale Musica. Eno will then play shows in prestigious venues in Berlin, Paris, and Utrecht before closing the tour with two performances at 6:30 pm and 9 pm for the Royal Festival Hall in London on 30^th October.

Tickets will go on general sale from Thursday 8^th June. Members of the Southbank Centre can access the ticket presale from 10 AM BST on Wednesday 7^th June. For more information see here.

Eno will be performing with Baltic Sea Philharmonic, orchestrated and conducted by Kristjan Järvi as commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia. At the Biennale Musica, Eno will be honoured with the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award “for his research into the quality, beauty and diffusion of digital sound and for his conception of the acoustic space as a compositional instrument” according to the event’s page.

#BiennaleMusica2023 @brianeno, this year’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, has just announced his first ever solo live concert tour, starting on October 21 at the @teatrolafenice, as part of the 67th International Festival of Contemporary Music. SHIPS is commissioned by… https://t.co/LPdDpiiY8f

— La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) June 6, 2023

Eno toured with Roxy Music in the 70s but has since rarely played live only playing one-off shows or at festivals. Brian and his brother Roger played together at Acropolis, Athens back in 2021 as part of the annual Epidaurus Festival. The concert was filmed and screened in cinemas across the UK for one night only on the 2^nd March earlier this year.

Originally Eno didn’t plan on making The Ship a record. “The way the whole piece started out was not as a record but as an installation,” Eno told Entertainment Weekly back in 2016. When a friend of Eno’s asked him for a recording of the installation in Stockholm he started thinking of making The Ship an album. “It took me by surprise a little bit,” he continued. “I wasn’t planning it as my next record project when I started it.”

On the third track “Fickle Sun (ii) The Hour Is Thin”, Eno used a Markov chain generator to create the lyrics spoken by Peter Serafinowicz by mixing “dirty songs by First World War soldiers” with “accounts written from the lifeboats by people watching the Titanic sinking” and “part of a book about the blitz over London”. The result is an eerie and twisted lullaby. Listen to the track below:

Last month Eno collaborated with British DJ Fred Again.. on the surprise LP Secret Life. The album was released on electronic artist Four Tet’s label Text Records and was dubbed by the artist “the most beautiful album of 2023”.

The album Secret Life by Fred again and Brian Eno is coming out on my label Text Records on Friday

— Four Tet (@FourTet) May 2, 2023

Listen to the track “Trying” from the album below:

See below for Brian Eno’s Ships tour dates:
21/10/23 – Venice Biennale Musica – Venice
24/10 – Philharmonie Berlin – Berlin
26/10 – La Seine Musicale – Paris
28/10 – TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht
30/10 – Royal Festival Hall – London