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This new album is Headie One’s first solo record in three years, and follows ‘Too Loyal for My Own Good’, released in 2021. Since then, he has released two albums in collaboration with other artists, ‘No Borders: European Compilation Project’ with artists such as Gazo, Luciano, Shiva, and Hamza, alongside ‘STRENGTH TO STRENGTH’, which he produced with K-trap.

Recently, Headie One released a sneak peek of the upcoming album, as he released ‘Tipsy’, featuring Aitch. So far, he has also released three other songs from his new album, including: ‘Martin’s Sofa’, ‘I Still Know Better’, and ‘Cry No More’ featuring Stormzy and Tay Keith. The anticipation for his new album is consistently rising, as he also released a music video for ‘Tipsy’, which you can watch below.

In addition to his new album, he also recently announced a European and his first ever Australian tour, that will take him to Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Antwerp, Cologne, Frankfert, Munich, Berlin, and Zurich this October and November, and next February and March. You can find tickets here.

His new album, is set to be an exciting one, as his 2020 album, ‘EDNA’, made history as it was the first drill album to top the UK charts, leaving the possibilities for his new album endless. The success of his music has lead to Headie One being considered a pioneer of UK drill music, and he is part of OFB, that stands for Original Farmer Boys and is a group made up of prominent drill artists from Tottenham, such as Bandokay, and Double Lz.

When talking to NME about his new album, he assured fans that “it’s the last one but it’s not the last one you know?”, so they can rest assured that the album’s name does not reflect the end of his career. He also told NME that “this album is about the place we come from, the negative things that happened and that are still in effect today so I’m giving a lot of home truths in this one”, exciting fans with the intimacy of his new album, which you can pre-order here. If you pre-order the album by 4pm on the 26th June, then you will have the opportunity to enter a competition to watch Headie One from backstage at Glastonbury Festival on Friday 28th June with a plus one.

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.

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.

Jockstrap have been on the radar since their debut EP Love is the Key to the City earned them features in publications like DAZED, DIY and The Quietus. Since then, the band have produced a remix album Lost my Key in the <3 Club <3, several singles and most recently an EP titled Wicked City.

The City appears to be a running theme in their work. Georgia said in an interview that the City as an idea ‘represents [the] formative experiences [she’s] had here, in London’. Both Ellery and Skye came to London to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Ellery from coastal Cornwall and Skye from the East Midlands.

The duo met during their first year of studies, at Uni halls in the Barbican and are now in their final year. While Ellery is a Jazz violinist, Skye studies electronic music, but neither are pigeonholed by their disciplines. Ellery cites Joni Mitchell, Elton John and drone metal band Sunn O))) as influences while Skye refers to John Cage, Leonard Cohen and Muse in interviews.

Their creations are academic, almost to the point of being inaccessible. Wicked City is definitely the product of two people studying music at a high level and, in the words of Pitchfork, there is ‘more than a whiff of art-school hijinks to the project’. At the end of penultimate track The City, Ellery narrates a passage from Kathy Acker’s postmodernist novel Blood and Guts in High School over a squeaky and discordant beat laid down by Taylor.

Ellery says she’s drawn toward the ‘perverse imagery‘ in Acker’s writing, perhaps shedding light on their choice of band name. Another thing she shares with Acker is a reluctance to abide by linear narratives. Jockstrap’s 2020 track Robert featuring Injury Reserve makes no effort to be coherent. It starts with Ellery addressing Robert Mapplethorpe in a robotic voice with the words You’re provoking me Robert// I want to your playmate// I want my own portrait.

Then comes a drum interval and the entrance of Steppa J. Groggs rapping over an industrial sounding beat: Pull up to the blacktop party wearing Vans, I’m off the wall// Burn the body with some gasoline just to top it off. Toward the end of the track, Skye chops up the words with some seriously experimental beats and the overall result is baffling. Jockstrap are the first to admit this, saying in an interview that they spent a long time ‘questioning’ whether the song ‘made any sense’.

This contrasts with songs like City Hell, where Ellery’s classical training is more apparent. Only for a short while though, until Skye’s glitchy beat comes in and subverts our expectations yet again. Their club mix of this is a dance track that I can’t imagine dancing to. But it exemplifies the duo’s disregard for genre and desire to make something that challenges their listeners. Jockstrap are one to keep watching; what other band could convincingly claim ‘Skrillex and Robert Mapplethorpe inspired this track‘?

Naming the song as his “best work yet”, Ty Dolla $ign’s new single is an infectiously danceable hip house throwback, with Skrillex’s production channeling the essence of classic samples from Queen Latifah’s “Dance for Me” and Ultra Naté’s “Free”, as well as Mucho Michie’s house remix of Ralphi Rosario and Xaviera Gold’s “You Used to Hold Me”. Playing on the title’s obvious narcotic associations, his verse and twigs’ mirror each other and bookend the song, using ego death as a stand-in for the loss of self one undergoes when in a relationship, and the rebuilding of the self necessary after it ends; Ty still hurting having been left alone, twigs already planning to “rise back up”. 

<3 @tydollasign @Skrillex @serpentwithfeet @kanyewest pic.twitter.com/iTA0UWxouy

— FKA twigs (@FKAtwigs) July 1, 2020

Debuting a full length version way back at Coachella 2019, a leaked mix of “Ego Death” had been floating around the web since March before its official release yesterday just in time for the summer. It’s frankly a tragedy we’ll have to wait so long for it to hit the dance floor. Speaking in a press release, Ty explained that the delay had come about since he “just had to find the right time to put it out”, adding that a new album was on the way.

Despite recording his verse well over a year ago, Kanye has coincidentally just announced his own upcoming album God’s Country after he put the single “Wash Us In The Blood” with Travis Scott on Tuesday. As for new output from twigs we’ll have to wait and see; it took five years for MAGDALENE, the follow up to her acclaimed debut, to arrive last November. But seeing as she teased a new mixtape earlier this year, there’s a good chance it won’t be too long til her next project. Listen to “Ego Death”’s official audio below: