It’s been an eventful trip to the UK for Mr. and Mrs. Carter. While the Mrs. busy rocking Glastonbury the Mr. was behind the scenes sorting out deals British music industry A-Listers. One of Jay-Z’s top priorities was reportedly talks with UK chart topper Adele.
According to a source for The Sun: “He’s keen to work with her, whether it’s producing or writing together. She was a huge hit in the States and he believes they could make a massive record together.” Reportedly at their meeting she charmed him so this collabo is likely a go.
If Jay-Z’s massive hits with singer Alicia Keys or even his own wife, Beyonce, are any indication of how big an Adele/Jay-Z collabo we may be in for an inescapable pop hit that we may not want to escape from.
What do Beyonce fans get the girl that has everything? Well, despite album leaks and bad reviews they get Beyonce’s fourth studio album, 4 to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts next week, making it her fourth No. 1 solo album.
By next week Beyonce may sell 300,000 copies of her latest release. That may not sound like much but considering how few albums people are buying these days and the fact that many of us have heard the entire album online already I think Lady Bey’s still doing pretty good. Still according to Nielsen SoundScan the first week sales for 2008′s I Am… Sasha Fierce were 482,000 and 541,000 for 2006′s B’Day.
‘Run the World (Girls),’ has so far peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 424,000 downloads in the U.S., falling short of the lead single type of chart-topping hit Bey Bey had with ‘If I Were a Boy’ and ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)’. Even the super loyal Beyonce stans were disappointed by that single.
Could this be marking a decline for the favored singer who managed to be the top R&B/Pop singer in the hearts and minds of many, even at the times when she didn’t have an album out? What do you think?
Been meaning to put this track up for a minute now… ‘Playing House’ is from Active Child’s forthcoming debut album You Are All I See available August 23rd on Vagrant Records. I be diggin this!
Björk commissioned several custom instruments for the shows surrounding the release of ‘Biophilia’ – one is a hybrid gamelan celeste; the original steel bars of a vintage orchestral celeste were replaced with bronze tonebars hand-made by UK cymbalsmith Matt Nolan, and the instrument was rebuilt and MIDIfied by Iceland’s top organ-maker, Björgvin Tòmasson. This is a 2-minute brief montage of the making of the ‘Gameleste’. I wish I had Bjork’s OG status and could make some next hybrid instruments for myself.
New illustrated visual offering for ‘Tao Te Ching’ which featured on the extremely dope ‘Clouds’ longplayer which has been getting serious replay pon the ipod for the last few months.
According to SoulUK this video of Alice Russell performing a new track called ‘Breakdown’ is a couple months old – how did I (we) let this one slip me by? Could ‘Breakdown’ symbolise hope that after three long years we’ll finally be getting a follow up to Russell’s sensational Pot of Gold? I sincerely hope so – not many can match this woman’s talent, her voice is transcendent.
‘Game Over’ is the first track taken off Daley forthcoming mixtape Those Who Wait, due out mid-July. I was blown away by Daley’s when I saw him live last year – he has without question one of the best voices I’ve heard in a very, very long time. I’m looking forward to hearing that mixtape.
Highly recommend you keep your eyes/ears on this dude in the coming months.
Not going to pretend I understand the premise behind this video. Some next voodoo ish… However the tune is a banger and comes from the iTunes and Japanese edition of the new Room(s) longplayer which is dropping on Planet Mu July 25th.
One of the biggest tracks from the recent longplayer 93 Million Miles which dropped on Warp a couple of weeks back gets the visual treatment courtesy of Sixty40. This track has been destroying the dance floor for a while now still. Gully.
I am really excited to be sharing this with you…. My good friend and all round artistic homeboy Chairman Kato has made available a track that was part of a recent stunning exhibition called ‘Underbelly’. It was the collaborative debut of electronic musician Kato and special animator Chris Stoneman and was a site-specific installation in the heart of Spitalfields in reaction to and against the teashop under which it lived.
After the success of the first installation, Kato (with his fingers in many pies) is curating and taking part in Underpin: A Group Art Show. The premise is simple: it is a collection of 8 artists, stumbled upon through side streets, markets, galleries and coincidence who have been brought together to create a show of ideas – a showcase of up and coming artists with soul.
Check out more details about the upcoming exhibition here and make sure you head down to experience their work for yourself at the launch of this diverse exhibition on Thursday July 7th, in association with Time Out First Thursdays. From Thursday 7th July to Sunday 7th August @ Teasmith, 6 Lamb Street, London, E1 6EA. For more Chairman Kato music related madness check out his mix (and video) for the good peoples over at The Boiler Room and make sure you press play below and get your free download orrrrn. You can always expect forward thinking electronic goodness from this man. Nuff respect due sir.
Been fiending for the full version of ‘I Won’t (Crazy World)’ since we posted the snippet a couple weeks back. Finally got my hands on it and of course, now you do too (stream only).
This previously unreleased track, recorded during the Songs in A Minor sessions is featured on the collectors edition of Alicia’s re-released album – available now. The same goes for ‘Ghetto Man’ – a harrowing, classic Keys’ sounding number featuring a haunting verse from Poet muMs da Schemer.
Love these. I really need Alicia to go back to doing this.
Furthermore, I watched the documentary about Songs In a Minor included in the collectors edition last night – it was brilliant, highly recommend you grab it. Peep the trailer here.
Hennessy have partnered up with film maker Thibaut De Longeville to release ‘The Art of Blending‘, a 30-minute documentary featuring a whole host of incredible (and legendary) artists performing their biggest and best hits. From Q-Tip, to the Roots, Ron Isley to Chaka Khan – the list is bountiful and impressive.
The piece will premier on June 30th via Hennessy’s facebook page – pop it in your diaries. For now though, have a look at the trailer up top.
Peep this video of Talib Kweli & Maseo (De La Soul) turning the pages and discussing Hip Hop’s first official luxury table book “Hip Hop: A Cultural Odyssey”. The two recall memories from the genre’s formative days and also converse on it’s future.
The book is officially released in the UK on July 25th and features 420 pages, 337 photos, over 40 essays and 157 interviews. The one of a kind tribute can be purchased at hiphopculturebook.com (retails: £249.99/$299.99).
“We can wait for academia to put our culture into a capsule, or we can take it seriously and do it ourselves” – Talib Kweli
