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The tour follows Eleni’s recent new EP ‘Above Deep Water’, which was released in September. Known for her lush vocals, the EP explores themes of solitude, acceptance, and loneliness, expressing both its desolation and its liberating aspects and often drawing inspiration from her Greek heritage and personal relationships. This release builds on the aesthetic in her earlier EP, ‘Surf The Sun’, currently expanding her sound to include more jazz elements, such as cello, which featured in her Camden Assembly show last night.

 

 

 

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The ’King Street’ singer’s stage presence remains reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval. Whilst a nervous performer, Eleni keeps up incredible control over her vocals. Camden Assembly’s setlist was the longest out of the tour so far, the singer revealed.

The amazing Eleni Drake at Camden Assembly tonight pic.twitter.com/FkQq8ymxVG

— Ali Krausova (@ali_krausova) November 20, 2024

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Greek parents, she moved to the UK as a teenager and later settled in Melbourne, Australia.  Eleni plays multiple instruments, including guitar, piano, bass, and flute, and is known for her unconventional “upside-down” guitar technique.

“‘I don’t find it hard playing upside down! When I was younger the only guitars available to me where right-handed, so I just flipped the chords and taught myself that way. I feel like there are pros and cons. I can hit notes that maybe I wouldn’t be able to if I played a left-handed, but equally sometimes I’m like, – f*ck should’ve just committed to left-handed. So now I have a left-handed too, but I much prefer my right-handed guitars.” Eleni told me in 2021.

Her music has gained a global following, particularly through platforms like YouTube, where she posts both original tracks and covers. She has released several well-received projects, including her EP ‘Vanilla Sky’ and album ‘Can’t Stop The Dawn’.

Despite her independent status, Eleni has achieved significant milestones, including selling out headline shows and gaining over 250,000 monthly listeners on streaming platforms.
You can listen to ‘Above Deep Water’ on Spotify to experience her ethereal and intimate sound.

This year is no different from the last, seeing a star-studded selection of rappers from both sides of the Atlantic. Phase one of Wireless’ line up was announced today via the festival’s official Instagram. 2024’s event poster gives considerable weight to female rappers, both new and old. After exploding in popularity in 2022 after her single ‘Munch’, Bronx rapper, Ice Spice will be playing on the festival’s opening night alongside Trinidadian mega-star Nicki Minaj.

Known for her risqué lyrics, Up-and-coming Missourian rapper Sexyy Red will also be performing at Wireless. Finding her audience after Cardi B’s and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP created an industry niche for tongue-in-cheek, sexually charged, female-led, rap music, Sexxy Red capitalised on this sub-genre, finding success with her 2023 single ‘Pound Town’.

Saturday the 14th of July will see LA rapper and singer Doja Cat headline the night. After her breakout YouTube single ‘Mooo!’, which currently has 129m views, Doja Cat has continued to make a name for herself through a steady stream of popular releases and her outlandish costume designs. Off the back of her fourth studio album, Scarlet, released in November of last year, Doja Cat has secured herself a top spot at London’s biggest music festival.

Wireless’ Saturday will be host to British-born Atlanta rapper 21 Savage. 21 Savage became widely known after his 2016 feature on XXL Magazine’s freshman cypher alongside, then upcoming rappers, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Kodak Black, and Denzel Curry. Since his 2016 breakout, 21 Savage has gone on to release three studio albums, as well as three collaborative albums with Offset, Metro Boomin, and Drake. Fellow Atlanta rapper, Future will also be performing on the event’s Friday show. Known for his pioneering contributions to the American trap scene, Future remains one of the biggest names in the genre.

Although the setlist features only a couple of UK artists so far, with Digga D and J Hus joining the line up, Festival Republic is yet to announce the full line up, the second phase of which will be released next week. Early bird tickets for the festival will go live on January 31st at 10am. For those with either a Three Mobile or Barclay Card rewards scheme, a special pre-sale is currently available until an hour before the general ticket sale date.

Since 2011, Pool has taken a significant shift right, choosing to focus his work on American culture-war issues like LGBTQ rights. Tim Pool hosts a daily podcast on YouTube and is well known online for his inflammatory and discriminatory comments surrounding the LGBTQ community. One of Pool’s largest talking points surrounds a conspiracy theory that suggests that LGBTQ community deliberately recruits children into their movement for political purposes. This conspiracy also implies that there is a sexual element to this recruitment process. In the wake of a 2022 shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ club in Colorado, Pool attempted to justify the attack by saying “Club Q had a grooming event”.

We shouldnt tolerate pedophiles grooming kids

Club Q had a grooming event

How do prevent the violence and stop the grooming? https://t.co/loVoG3A3ot

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) November 22, 2022

As reported by Loudwire, the post shared by Christianson was a quote tweet by Pool regarding an interview with mixed martial arts fighter, Sean Strickland. When asked whether he would accept having a gay son, Strickland returned the question to his interviewer who said that he would have “no problem with it”. In response to his interviewer, Strickland said: “You’re a weak f*****g man”. The fighter then went on to say that: “ten years ago, to be trans was a mental f****n’ illness and now all of a sudden, people like you have f****n’ weaselled your way into the world… you [Strickland’s interviewer] are an infection”. On January 17th, Tim Pool replied to Strickland’s interview, saying “F*****g A+ guy right here”. Evoking far-right sentiments of social disease with regards to LGBTQ people, both Pool’s and Strickland’s comments are intensely derogatory.

HOLY FUCK Fucking A+ guy right here Thanks bud light for bringing us this message on the infection that is the woke left https://t.co/G17Drog39b — Tim Pool (@Timcast) January 17, 2024

This thread was reposted by Architects’ Adam Christianson for a brief period, before being promptly removed. On January 19th, Christianson apologised for his actions, saying: “that retweet was a total accident!”. However, some online are sceptical of Christianson’s backpedalling, citing his history of reposting and liking tweets that share similar sentiments to those of Pool. Christianson has previously liked and retweeted content from other commentators like Zuby Music who has previously evoked conspiracies reminiscent of those pedalled by the likes of Tim Pool.

Shit! That retweet was a total accident!! I don’t endorse anything that guy says other than fuck Trudeau. Sorry for the panic everyone! Complete all-thumbs moment.

— Adam Christianson (@adamarchitects) January 19, 2024

Speaking at a gig in Paris yesterday the band’s frontman, Sam Carter, said: “nobody on this stage judges anybody for their gender, their race, and whoever they are in love with. We never have, we never will”. Although the video does not explicitly mention Christianson’s online activity, many online have drawn a connection between the two events.

Sam Carter has spoken on stage about Architects views in lieu of a recent post shared by guitarist Adam Christianson. “No one on this stage judges anyone for their gender…” @therottendoll_pic.twitter.com/5B1xcD7P1Z — State of the Scene (@SOTSPodcast) January 24, 2024

After announcing a US tour, starting in May of this year, Architects are currently on their European tour that will run until February.

In March of 2023, film studio A24, known for the production of critically acclaimed films like Ari Aster’s Misommar, Daniel Kwan’s and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, acquired the distribution rights for Stop Making Sense. In September of 2023, the film was restored and re-released in public cinemas across the world. Alongside the film, a remastered track list from the feature was released both online and on physical formats. Financially, A24’s distribution deal was wildly successful. According to Variety, the re-release drew $5m (£3.9m) in sales, a figure that, admittedly by a small margin, outstripped the film’s original run in 1984. The film was not only successful at the box office, but it was also a hit with audiences, with viral footage from 2023 showing audiences leaping out of their seats to dance along to the 16-track setlist.

Given the popularity of the re-release, and the film’s 40th anniversary landing on this year, Stop Making Sense will return to cinemas once again. Seeing limited release across the US, Canada, and UK, cinemagoers will be able to catch the show starting January 27.  Tickets are currently available, but make sure to grab them fast, as there are only six screenings currently scheduled in the United Kingdom, five of which are at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.

As well as the film’s re-re-release, A24 has announced that they will sell a collection of limited-edition merchandise. The September 2023 release saw a range of clothing and a DVD/BluRay edition being sold. This year’s showing will bring with it a Zine, as well as a pre-sale for another round of home releases on January 27th.

Whether you are a long-standing Talking Heads fan or you were born over a decade after the band’s final studio album, Stop Making Sense proves the enduring appeal of David Byrne’s enigmatic band.

London’s King Charles Cinema will be hosting Stop Making Sense on the 27th of January, the 24th of February, the 30th of March, the 27th of April, and the 25th of May. Additionally, the Warwick University’s Student Cinema will feature the film on the 22nd of February.

‘Just Another Rainbow’ features dreamy guitar riffs from Squire, accompanied by Gallagher’s signature whining vocals. The track is certainly a sonic call back to the days of Oasis, with Squire replacing Noel Gallagher’s instrumental support. Liam’s collaboration with John Squire marks a cornerstone in Gallagher’s music career, as the 51 year-old singer claimed that, without he and his brother attending a 1988 Stone Roses gig, Oasis may never have happened. Speaking to I Love Manchester in 2017, Liam said: “if I hadn’t gone that night, I’d probably be sitting in some pub in Levenshulme“.

The Track has gathered a rather modest 45,000 views on YouTube so far. Over on Twitter, opinions are mixed, with several users expressing dissatisfaction with poorly crafted lyrics and uninspired vocals. On the flipside, the track has been embraced by many fans expressing excitement for the album’s full release. Old school Gallagher heads will be delighted to hear that the single is available on Liam’s official merchandise store as a limited seven inch vinyl. 

Thank you for the BIBLICAL/CELESTIAL response for RAINBOW the reviews have been HEARTWARMING can’t wait for you all to hear the album stay cool and if you can’t do that stay safe LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) January 5, 2024

For those looking to hear ‘Just Another Rainbow’ live, Gallagher has announced that he will be headlining Glasgow’s TRNSMT festival in July of this year. Joining Liam will be the likes of Calvin Harris, Rick Astley, and Chase & Status. Fans south of the Scottish border will be able to see Liam at Festival Republic’s Reading and Leeds double bill in August of this year alongside Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey and many other big names in popular music. As well as the UK festival circuit, Gallagher will be touring in June and July in Manchester, London, Sheffield, Dublin, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow. However, Liam has taken to Twitter saying that he will avoid playing any of his solo material on his upcoming tour in favour of Oasis classics and a few B-sides from Definitely Maybe. Anyone wanting to catch Liam’s solo work will most likely have to do so at TRNSMT, Reading, or Leeds. 

2024 is shaping up to be a big year for Liam, with a stacked summer tour and a new studio album around the corner, Liam Gallagher listeners are in for a treat.

More recently, UMG has set its sights on AI assistant Claude 2, developed by American tech startup Anthropic PBC. Instead of focusing on supposedly stolen voice talent, UMG has joined Concord Publishing and ABKCO Records to contest the AI assistant’s use of copyrighted lyrics. The complaint filed by the three music labels argues that “Anthropic unlawfully copies and disseminates vast amounts of copyrighted works—including the lyrics to myriad musical compositions owned or controlled by Publishers.” When the AI assistant Claude 2 is asked to recite lyrics from copyrighted music, they are regurgitated by the program. While websites like Genius, a large music lyric database, serve a similar function, they seek licensing agreements from the owners of the copyrighted material used on their site.

Even outside of music, AI companies have been in hot water over copyright law, with The Times filing a lawsuit against OpenAI, the operator of Chat GPT. The Times cites a similar claim to UMG, stating that their copyrighted materials are displayed by the program without permission. However, there is a deeper issue at the heart of both of these lawsuits. Copyrighted material is used to train these AI models. Understandably, both UMG and The Times are not thrilled by their material being used to improve the product of another business without credit or license. This is an issue posed by AI assistants across all mediums, with artists, musicians, and writers essentially having their work scraped from the internet and fed into a program that presents stolen work as original. 

ghotstwriter977’s ‘Heart on My Sleeve’ was a novelty designed to outline how producers and writers are often treated as disposable when compared to big-name artists like Drake. Speaking to CNN, ghostwriter977 said: “I was a ghostwriter for years and got paid close to nothing just for major labels to profit”. ghostwriter977 flipped this narrative on its head, producing and writing a compelling Drake song without involving the artist himself. In the case of Claude 2 and Chat GPT, the use of copyrighted content serves a less noble cause as many see the rise of generative AI programs to be reliant on the mass theft of other people’s work. This is an attitude expressed by UMC and associated parties in their filing against Anthropic. 

The ‘Sunday Lunch’ videos were born out of the pandemic in 2020 – featuring King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and 80’s pop star Toyah Wilcox (who goes by the name of Toyah) playing light-hearted covers of classic songs such as ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Bad Reputation’ in there living room and often dressed in fancy dress.

The videos became a viral hit during the COVID pandemic and have continued to attract a lot of attention as the pair continue to make the videos.

Talking to Eonmusic, Toyah Wilcox spoke about being approached by production companies regarding the project: “We have a documentary crew following us, and we have quite a big production company scripting an idea at the moment,” she said.

She later added: “Obviously, we won’t be in it, it’s for actors to play, but that’s all in the back kind of pool of what you call pre-production. All of that’s going on.”

This information supports what the two have explained in the past about the longevity of the series as explained during an interview at Glastonbury, they said: “We’ve actually been picked up by a world agency and we have decided that we’re going to give them a set amount of years, at the moment our social media numbers are growing. So as long as those audiences are there and that kind of pull is there, we’ll keep going. But I will not watch him do anything that makes his health suffer.”

Toyah Wilcox later added during the interview: “Another bit of news that’s happening is we’re being courted by TV at the moment. We’ve got about three ideas in the very embryonic form that we should be shooting next year.”

The success of the videos has seen the married couple touring together for the first time, including shows at Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival. The duo are currently about to kick off their ‘Sunday Lunch Rock Party’ tour at the end of September in Wimborne before heading to multiple other venues in the UK in places like London, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Tour dates

30/09/23 – Tivoli – Wimborne

01/10 – Town Hall – Cheltenham

07/10 – Royal Hall – Harrogate

08/10 – Playhouse – Whitley Bay

09/10 – The Lowry – Salford

14/10 – Assembly Hall – Worthing

16/10 – Philharmonic Hall – Liverpool

19/10 – The Apex – Bury St Edmunds

20/10 – The Anvil – Basingstoke

21/10 – Shepherds Bush Empire – London

25/10 – Opera House – Buxton

26/10 – Theatre Severn – Shrewsbury

28/10 – Grand Theatre – Swansea

29/10 – Town Hall – Birmingham

Sir Elton John Performs To Biggest Ever Crowd At Glastonbury

Brits Rising Star Winners FLO To Perform At The Isle Of Wight Festival

Willcox & Fripp Cover Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘No One Knows’

Willcox & Fripp Back With Cover of Classic The Clash Song

Syd Barrett Estate launches the Official Syd Barrett YouTube channelhttps://t.co/4utqmCEdlZ
Syd Barrett Music Limited and the Syd Barrett estate are launching a dedicated Syd Barrett YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/U6FFXZY03j

— Syd Barrett-Official (@TheSydBarrett) May 9, 2023

The channel will feature songs from Barrett’s solo career post Pink-Floyd, and will be accompanied by animated music videos created by Swedish animator Alex Teglbjaerg.

Taken from a press release, Peter Barrett, on behalf of the Barrett Family, explains, “There isn’t all that much filmed Syd Barrett out there. You’ve seen already seen most of the material and the few bits that pop up are quickly placed in the public domain. We want to take his quirky and poetic lyrics and translate them into images”.

Teglbjaerg, on his contribution to the project, added, “I try to take the listener into a Syd Barrett dream of sorts. Syd was a craftsman when it came to writing intriguing lyrics for his songs. Many times utilising cut-up techniques. That’s what I am attempting to do as well. I take what we take for granted, Syd in a room with painted floorboards and find a way to discover more. Not just zoom in, I try to immerse the viewer in that room by using collages and elements from multiple sources. But in the end, the focus is not on the visuals themselves. It lies in Syd’s music and lyrics”.

Watch the animated music video for “Dark Globe” below:

Barrett co-founded psychedelic and progressive rock band Pink Floyd in 1965 with Roger Walters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, and was initially the main creative force, both lyrically and musically, driving the band forward. Regularly performing at London venue the UFO Club, the group quickly amassed a growing fan base, and released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in August 1967. The album was well-received and reached number six in the UK Albums Chart.

Despite the early success, however, Barrett’s relationship with the band grew worse; his ever-increasing use of LSD distanced himself from the band and by the time the group’s second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, was released the following year, Barrett had been asked to leave. His last contribution to the band’s discography was the single “Jugband Blues“, the only song Barrett had written on the new LP, and a hauntingly self-aware portrait of Barrett being left behind by his bandmates.

Watch the 1967 promo video for “Jugband Blues” below:

Barrett subsequently embarked on a brief solo career, releasing the single “Octopus” in November 1969, the only single he ended up releasing, and followed this two months later with the album The Madcap Laughs (1970). The album was produced with the help of Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters, with Richard Wright helping produce his second, and final, album, Barrett (1970).

Syd Barrett’s genius has influenced and inspired a plethora of artists over the years and this new youtube channel dedicated to his music will undoubtedly prove a poignant tribute to said genius.

This is the fourth music video to be released from The Car, the band’s seventh studio album released in October 2022. Watch the video here:

“Sculptures of Anything Goes” is the latest single from the critically acclaimed album. A distinct break away from the band’s indie rock roots, the album continues where Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino left off with its piano-oriented experimental pieces.

The video hones in on the new lounge rock feel that Arctic Monkeys are channelling these days with its colourful palette and abstract shots of the band both in rehearsals and performing the song on tour.

Moving on from his Teddy-boy style days that became iconic during the peak of A.M. mania, Alex Turner has matured in aesthetic in a way that goes hand in hand with the band’s change in musical direction.

The video was directed by Ben Chapell with Matthew Cronin as editor.

The video has largely been met with positivity with Twitter user @RuzannaBlack declaring it to be a “masterpiece.”

Sculptures of anything goes music video is a masterpiece.
That’s it. Send Tweet.

— Amarikacin (@RuzannaBlack) March 6, 2023

  Another fan took to Twitter to state that the song is ‘perfect, overcomplicated, weird and poetic.’

i wasn’t sure why they chose sculptures of anything goes as the new single, but now that i spent more time with the song, i get it. it’s that perfect, overcomplicated, weird and poetic thing i love alex for pic.twitter.com/hqf3kKKV9w — Anna (slow)⁷ (@vadjokakivadjok) March 7, 2023

The Car has without a doubt been Arctic Monkey’s most polarising album yet. The album received critical acclaim, with NME awarding it ‘Album of the Year,’ declaring it to be “the band’s most adventurous album, but also their most open-hearted, striking a perfect balance between subversion and tenderness.”

The first single released from the album, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” was nominated for a Best Alternative Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards and was listed in The Guardian’s 20 Best Songs of 2022.

However, some fans were disappointed to find the band once again distancing themselves from the indie rock sounds of Favourite Worst Nightmare and Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

One fan wanted to ‘bin’ the album upon hearing it’s similarities to Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.

One song into the new Arctic Monkeys album and can already tell it’s every bit as shit as their last album was.

Bin.#TheCar

— Louthdog (@Louthdog) October 21, 2022

Another fan called out the fact that the album was far less of a collaborative band effort than usual, with Alex Turner being credited as the sole writer for seven of the ten tracks.

Only three songs on #TheCar are listed as being @ArcticMonkeys songs. So the rest of the band didn’t want their name on the other seven. Maybe they think it’s a shit album too. — Ste (@SABrack84) October 21, 2022

“Sculptures of Anything Goes” was a team effort from Turner and Jamie Cook however and has largely been praised for its maturity as a track.

Arctic Monkeys are set to tour the UK and Ireland in 2023. Find tickets here.

29/05/2023 – Ashton Gate Stadium – Bristol

31/05/2023 – Building Society Arena – Coventry

02/06/2023-03/06/2023 – Emirates Old Trafford – Manchester

07/06/2023 – Carrow Road Stadium – Norwich

09/06/2023-10/06/2023 – Hillsborough Park – Sheffield

12/06/2023 – Swansea.com Stadium – Swansea

14/06/2023 – The Ageas Bowl – Southampton

16/06/2023-18/06/2023 – Emirates Stadium – London

20/06/2023 – Malahide Castle – Dublin

25/06/2023 – Bellahouston Park – Glasgow

Stream The Car here.

Waters spoke to The Telegraph about embarking on this project, saying, “not enough people recognised what it’s about, what it was I was saying then.” He believes this to be the perfect opportunity to point fans in the right direction, stating in the accompanying caption to the snippet of ‘Us and Them’ that reworking the album would provide a good opportunity to “re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album.”

Waters acknowledged that “it’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable.”

He continues, “But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.”

Relationships between the ex-band members haven’t always been the best since Waters’ exit in 1985, with Waters anticipating backlash to this rerecording project. He told The Telegraph, “I wrote ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. Let’s get rid of all this ‘we’ crap! Of course we were a band, there were four of us, we all contributed, but it’s my project and I wrote it. So… blah!”

Waters also revealed to The Telegraph that this project had been “secretly” in the works for months, reworking the entire track list “from scratch” unbeknownst to ex-band members David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

He is reportedly “planning a lavish vinyl release” of the rerecording, with the release date pushed back from March to May as Waters keeps “tinkering with recordings.”

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ Pink Floyd have also announced a reissued version, due to be released on 24^th March. The reissue will also include a live recording of Pink Floyd’s 1974 Wembley Stadium show.

A book will also become available on 24^th March, titled ‘Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon: 50^th Anniversary.‘ The book will include rare and unseen photos taken during tours between 1972 and 1975.

Additionally, harking back to Pink Floyd’s successful stargazing events at the London Planetarium in 1973, fans will also be able to experience ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ stargazing events at planetariums around the world.

Full details of the 50^th anniversary reissues and events can be found here.

Purchase tickets for Roger Waters’ tour here.

31/05/2023 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham

02/06/2023 – 03/06/2023 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow

06/06/2023 – 07/06/2023 –  The O2 – London

10/06/2023 – Manchester AO Arena – Manchester

Stream ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ here.