Big Thief to contribute one per cent of tour income to tackling climate crisis
Big Thief have pledged to contribute one per cent of their touring income to tackling the climate crisis, partnering with Brian Eno‘s EarthPercent organisation.
- READ MORE: Savages’ drummer and Music Declares Emergency co-founder Fay Milton on climate change: “Music needs to get real”
The band announced they were joining the initiative on social media yesterday (February 3), adding that it would be inclusive of their US tour last year. “We are grateful to be part of this group which will grant [money] to organizations fighting the climate emergency in the most impactful ways,” they tweeted.
“The hope is that something like this could spread to our peers, especially those making money and maybe even become a standard for artists and those around the music industry (labels, DSPs, publishers, managers, booking agents, etc).”
Hello. We are now contributing 1% of our gross touring income to @earthpercentorg, including income from last year’s US tour. We are grateful to be part of this group which will grant $ to organizations fighting the climate emergency in the most impactful ways. pic.twitter.com/ebiAHNmMa3
— Big Thief (@bigthiefmusic) February 3, 2022
We hope others will join us and commit to this cause. For more information check out https://t.co/G5VMgSdxuG and if you'd like to join message tom at earthpercent dot com.
— Big Thief (@bigthiefmusic) February 3, 2022
Eno launched EarthPercent last year, with a goal of raising $100million from the music industry towards climate change efforts by 2030. The initiative encourages artists and music-related organisations to pledge a small percentage of their income to the cause, which is then directed to “the most impactful organisations dealing with climate change”.
Appearing on Fay Milton’s Sounds Like a Plan podcast last year, Eno told the Savages drummer and co-host Greg Cochrane about the project. “We’re trying to make it the cause of the music business, really, to say, ‘Let’s have a revolution’,” he said.
“We’ve got quite a few people on board already,” Eno explained, “either actually on board or with a commitment to join us. We’re not talking only to artists; we’re talking to agents, promoters, managers, record companies, publishing companies, legal and so on.”
He continued: “We’re saying to all of them, ‘We’re all part of this business together, and you’re as an important part of it as anyone else. Why don’t you join us?'”
Meanwhile, Big Thief will release new LP ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You’ on February 11 via 4AD. The band have previewed the forthcoming double-album with numerous singles including ‘Little Things’, ‘Sparrow’, ‘Certainty’, ‘Change’ and, most recently, ‘Simulation Swarm’.
Janet Jackson hints at new music after previewing unreleased ‘Love I Love’
Janet Jackson has hinted that a new track featured in her recent self-titled documentary could be set for an official release.
The new Janet Jackson series, which premiered in the UK earlier this week, offers an unprecedented look into the star’s life and lengthy career.
- READ MORE: Janet Jackson at Glastonbury: a pop megamix, a stadium production and the making of a new ‘legends slot’
As reported previously, an unreleased song titled ‘Love I Love’ soundtracks the closing credits of the final episode. “You got that love I love,” Jackson is heard singing in the snippet.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon yesterday evening (February 2), the vocalist was asked if fans will get to hear the track in its entirety and whether it was “hinting” at new material to come.
“It’s so funny because that’s… it was a song that I recorded, like, three years ago,” Jackson replied. “And, in the documentary, we thought, ‘Oh, this would be cool to put this song right here in this moment, this piece in the documentary’.
“And, everyone started reacting to it. So I dunno. We’ll just have to see. Maybe it’ll be a single.”
When quizzed on if there are more unreleased cuts in her archive that could potentially see the light of day, the star explained: “I’ve recorded so many songs that I’ve never released. So, we’ll see.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Jackson said she was “very thankful” for the positive response to her new docuseries. “It was all such a surprise to me,” she told host Jimmy Fallon.
“I was not expecting any of it. I was just really so, so worried that people would find it boring, to be quite honest with you.”
You can watch the interview in full in the video above.
Janet Jackson is available on Sky Documentaries and NOW in the UK. An official synopsis reads: “Janet has enjoyed immense success but also seen incredible tragedy.
“She has endured a tumultuous private life in the face of extraordinary public scrutiny. With no stone left unturned, Janet Jackson lifts the lid on her private life for the very first time and reveals the most intimate moments of the star ever caught on camera.”
Janet Jackson’s latest studio album, ‘Unbreakable’, came out back in 2015.
Silk Sonic are joining ‘Fortnite’ with a special radio station
Silk Sonic, the collaborative project between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, are coming to Fortnite as part of the Icon Series.
- READ MORE: Silk Sonic – ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’ review: an unashamedly retro delight
Epic Games and Atlantic Records announced the new Icon Series launch in a press release. Players will be able to purchase new in-game outfits and listen to tracks from Silk Sonic on a new in-game radio station.
“When Fortnite asked me if I wanted to create an outfit for the game, I asked, ‘Are CGI muscles off the table?’ They said ‘no.’ I said ‘deal.’ I’ll see you on the Island,” said Mars.
Paak added: “When Fortnite agreed to give Bruno CGI muscles, I said, I’m in. He could use the help, so I support it. And it makes me cool. Win, win.”
Nate Nanzer, VP of global partnerships at Epic Games, said that the duo were “long-time Fortnite favourites, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to Fortnite‘s Icon Series”.
“The Icon Series is a celebration of the most dynamic figures in culture — Silk Sonic’s entry will allow players to express themselves as the iconic duo with reactive signature style Outfits and accessories and to discover new music through the new ‘Icon Radio’ station.”
The new Icon Radio station is the first of its kind. Fortnite players will be able to turn on the radio while in cars and listen to tracks from their acclaimed 2021 album ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic‘.
Bootsy Collins will host the station and feature other popular tracks from Mars and Paak.
The official Silk Sonic Set Outfits – allowing players to select either Bruno Mars or Anderson .Paak, as their in-game character style – will launch in the game on February 11 at 12AM GMT. Fortnite fans will have the chance to get early access to the new Outfits and the duos’ signature Silk Sonic Spray by competing in the Silk Sonic Cup tournament. The tournament will kick off on February 7.
In other news, Nintendo has suggested that its next console could have backwards compatibility with Switch titles. Nintendo said: “Into 6th year of Switch, and we are maintaining momentum, we are looking at how to expand and grow this 100m users, leading into next gen device.”
Having announced a limited radio show on Apple Music, Silk Sonic also recently confirmed details of a Las Vegas residency. They will perform 13 concerts at the 5,200-capacity Dolby Live theatre between February 25 and April 2.
Taylor Swift fans believe she’ll feature on Ed Sheeran’s next single
Taylor Swift fans believe she’ll feature on Ed Sheeran’s next single, a reworked version of his 2021 track ‘The Joker And The Queen’.
- READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s best cover songs, from Jennifer Lopez to Coldplay
Ed Sheeran took to Instagram earlier this week (February 1) to share a photo of some signed CDs for “something coming in a bit”. The artwork features the joker from a pack of playing cards, alongside the queen of hearts, which looks suspiciously like Swift.
Sheeran previously teased the release of ‘The Joker And The Queen’ last December. He said it would feature an American artist, and he was hoping for a January release date in an interview with Capital FM.
who do we think @edsheeran is collabing with ?? pic.twitter.com/ldP8IiYYS1
— Capital (@CapitalOfficial) October 29, 2021
Both Swift and Sheeran have also left Easter eggs relating to each other in their various music videos.
In the official video for ‘Overpass Graffiti’, Sheeran can be seen wearing a leather jacket with a print of a joker and a queen on the back, with a badge reading “Taylor Swift” just underneath it.
And in Swift’s video for ‘I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version)’, she can be seen drawing an equals sign onto a wedding cake, perhaps paying homage to Sheeran’s 2021 album ‘=’. She also sold decks of ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ playing cards on her online store.
Ed Sheeran confirmed there is a remix coming out with an American artist for his song, “The Joker and The Queen” off his new album #Equals ?❗️
Fans have spotted these Easter Eggs so far, including “Taylor Swift” written in scenes of the “Overpass Graffiti” music video! ? pic.twitter.com/dUZK1MaRMm
— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) October 29, 2021
The pair last collaborated on ‘Run’, taken from ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’, and have previously performed duets on 2012’s ‘Everything Has Changed‘ and 2017’s ‘End Game‘.
Last year, Sheeran revealed that he once took Swift to his local pub, The Station in Framlingham, Suffolk, for a drink but “no one really clocked who it was”.
Earlier this year, Swift was announced as the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day. Launched back in 2008, RSD will return for its 15th anniversary event on April 23 after hosting two vinyl ‘drop’ dates in 2021.
“I’m very proud to be this year’s Ambassador for Record Store Day. The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me,” the singer explained in a statement.
“Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion. They create settings for live events. They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely.”
Wolf Alice announce 2022 North American ‘Blue Weekend’ tour
Wolf Alice will tour North America this March and April, taking in shows across the US and Canada on a 20-date run.
READ MORE: Wolf Alice live in London: spellbinding small venue show from snarling rock superstars
The tour, announced yesterday (February 1), is part of the band’s ongoing world tour in support of their third studio album, ‘Blue Weekend’. It marks their second tour of North America in as many years, following their run of dates in late 2021.
Along with their headlining dates, the band will also play two shows in June as a support act. They’ll open for Bleachers at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado on Tuesday June 21, and then for Halsey at the Hollywood Bowl the following night. The former is part of Bleachers’ four-month North American tour, while the latter is part of Halsey’s ‘Love And Power’ tour.
Wolf Alice’s 2022 is also composed of rescheduled UK tour dates for this month, which will commence on Valentine’s Day in Glasgow with three nights at the Barrowland Ballroom. A run of postponed European dates, meanwhile, are yet to be rescheduled. The band will perform at Tempelhof Sounds in Berlin before returning to the US in October, where they are scheduled to take part in the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas.
View the full list of North American tour dates for the band below.
Wolf Alice’s 2022 North American tour dates are:
MARCH
21 – Atlanta, The Buckhead
22 – Chapel Hill, Cat’s Cradle
24 – Asbury Park, The Stone Pony
25 – Hamden, Space Ballroom
26 – Harrisburg, University XL Live
28 – Montreal, Corona Theatre
29 – Toronto, Opera House
30 – Cleveland, Beachland Ballroom
APRIL
1 – Pittsburg, Stage AE
2 – Grand Rapids, Elevation
3 – Indianapolis, Deluxe
4 – Madison, Majestic
8 – Des Moines, Wooly’s
11 – Lincoln, Bourbon Theatre
12 – St. Louis, Delmar Hall
14 – Austin, Emo’s
15 – Dallas, Echo Lounge & Music Hall
16 – Houston, House of Blues
JUNE
20 – Morrison, Red Rocks Ampitheatre (with Bleachers)
22 – Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl (with Halsey)
Sam Fender says people were “groomed to hate” Jeremy Corbyn
Sam Fender has said that people were “groomed to hate” the former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The North Shields singer-songwriter spoke about Corbyn – who was succeeded by Keir Starmer as Leader of the Opposition in 2020 – during a recent interview with The Big Issue.
- READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Sam Fender: “This album is probably the best thing I’ve done in my life”
Fender also criticised the current UK government amid the ongoing parties scandal, describing it as the worst “in my lifetime” (via The Independent).
Speaking of his pledge to fight against poverty, the musician explained: “I think I need to do some more stuff to do with this. Because the Tories aren’t doing it.
“We’ve got the worst Government I’ve ever seen, in my lifetime. My dad reckons it’s one of the worst he’s ever seen. And he’s sixty-fucking-six.”
Fender, who’s previously described himself as “obviously left-wing”, went on to criticise the British media’s treatment of Corbyn during his time as Leader of the Opposition between 2015 and 2020.
“I loved Corbyn, quite frankly,” he said. “I mean, he fucked up a lot of things. But I think his heart was in the right place and that’s something that we’ve not seen for a long time.
“I just think he was done a massive disservice by the British press. And I think a lot of people who he would have potentially helped, were groomed to hate him.”
Fender continued: “The Tory party knew exactly what they were doing when it comes to turning him into a fucking enemy.”
During an interview with NME last year, Fender reflected on how the 2019 UK general election saw the so-called ‘Red Wall’ crumble as working-class voters in the north defected from Labour to Tory.
“The polarity between the left and the right has me feeling like I have no identity,” he explained.
“I’m obviously left-wing, but you lose hope don’t you? Left-wing politics has lost its main votership; it doesn’t look after working-class people the way that it used to. Blyth Valley voted Tory just north of [North Shields].
- READ MORE: Sam Fender live in Leeds: close-quarters party from rock’s rising star
“Now, that is saying something! We’re in dire straits when a fucking shipbuilding town is voting for the Tories – it’s like foxes voting for the hunter.”
Fender added: “I’d never vote for the bastards because I fucking hate them and I know what they’re up to, but I get why people don’t feel any allegiance to left-wing politics when they’re working-class.”
Meanwhile, Fender is nominated in six categories for the BandLab NME Awards 2022. He’ll also perform live at the ceremony, which takes place at the O2 Academy Brixton in London on Wednesday, March 2 (tickets are available here).
Sam Fender’s acclaimed second record ‘Seventeen Going Under’ was named NME‘s Album Of The Year for 2021. Check out NME‘s recent video interview with the musician above.
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo has built his own streaming platform, Weezify
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has built a streaming platform to host thousands of Weezer demos.
The tracks were originally released in 2020 as part of Cuomo’s “web programming class”.
- READ MORE: Weezer: “’Ok Human’ is about feeling isolated, alienated and secluded – it’s perfect for now”
Available to buy in era-bundles, the demos range from Cuomo’s musical ventures pre-Weezer all the way through to 2017’s ‘Pacific Daydream’. Now, he’s built an app to play those demos and called it Weezify. It’s available on the Apple Store and through Google Play.
“A Spotify-like player for all of Rivers Cuomo’s demos (1975 – 2017),” reads the description. “Close to 3,500 demos. Follow curated playlists. Create playlists of your favourites. I made this app myself. It took me all of 2021 to make. I hope you enjoy it.”
Tired of Spotify? Come on over to Weezify. https://t.co/sZ97eMbOXwhttps://t.co/DcKQVGeQ38https://t.co/c9oCph9EwW
— Rivers Cuomo (@RiversCuomo) January 30, 2022
Cuomo spoke to NME last year about life in lockdown. “I’m a real introvert and I’m perfectly happy to be at home all the time working on music and computer programming,” he said. “I got my family here, my parents live next door, so this is actually an ideal lifestyle for me.
As well as developing apps, Weezer have been working on a four-album project called ‘Seasons’.
Each of the project’s albums is due to be released on the first day of every season in 2022, and will feature its own unique style. For example, one of the four records will be inspired by Elliot Smith. Another will be inspired by Weezer themselves.
In an appearance on Good Morning America, Cuomo said: “Spring is kind of like happy chill,” he said of the springtime LP. “And then we move through to dance rock, like a Strokes-style album for the fall.” He went on to add the aforementioned “Elliott Smith-style” album will be a “sad acoustic” release that will arrive for winter.
In June, Weezer are scheduled to return to the Hella Mega Tour alongside Green Day and Fall Out Boy after the original European run of shows was delayed due to COVID-19.
PARTYNEXTDOOR links up with OG Parker for slinky new single ‘No Fuss’
Georgia-based producer OG Parker has shared a new single titled ‘No Fuss’, featuring R&B artist PARTYNEXTDOOR on lead vocals.
The single, released last Friday (January 28), is the first song confirmed to be part of Parker’s forthcoming debut solo album, set for release later this year. Parker’s two previous albums, 2019’s ‘Ultraviolent’ and 2021’s ‘Die 4 Disrespect’, were both collaborative efforts with singer-songwriter Chrishan and rapper DDG respectively.
In a statement shared alongside the release of the single, Parker noted that the collaboration between himself and PARTYNEXTDOOR was a personally important one.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with some of the most iconic artists of my generation but this collaboration is very special to me,” he said.
“It was always a goal of mine to work with [PARTYNEXTDOOR], and after the numerous records we’ve touched on [sic] I knew adding him to my album was a no-brainer.”
Listen to ‘No Fuss’ below:
Parker continued by noting that the song’s producer, Soulful, worked together with him in order to begin “creating a vibe specifically” for PARTYNEXTDOOR.
“I knew once [he] heard the beat he would connect it with the people. ‘No Fuss’ is for sure going to be a game changer, and I am thrilled to share my next single with the world.”
‘No Fuss’ is the first new music from both Parker and PARTYNEXTDOOR this year. While the former released the aforementioned ‘Die 4 Disrespect’ alongside DDG in 2021, the latter released the EP ‘COLOURS’ and a collaborative single with Preme entitled ‘Make a Mall’ that same year.
The Weather Station announces new album, shares new song “Endless Time”
Tamara Lindeman, aka The Weather Station, has announced a new album, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars.
The album is a companion piece to last year’s Ignorance – which was voted Uncut’s Best Album Of 2021.
Lindeham has shared a track from the album – here’s “Endless Time“:
How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars was recorded live at Toronto’s Canterbury Music Studios between March 10 – 12, 2020, with Jean Martin co-producing. Lindeman’s band for the record include Christine Bougie on guitar and lap steel, Karen Ng on saxophone and clarinet, Ben Whiteley on upright bass, Ryan Driver on piano, flute, and vocals, and Tania Gill on wurlitzer, rhodes, and pianet.
“With Ignorance, I wrote more songs than I ever had in my life,” Lindeman tells Uncut. “It was such a time of intense creativity for me. The songs on How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars were all written at the same time. They intersect and converse with each other. So it’s a companion, not a follow-up; a piece of the same puzzle.
“The songs were so internal, so naive, so gentle; they didn’t fit the sound and production vision I had in mind for Ignorance. But it’s all the same themes, plus maybe a bit more about writing. When it came to the session in Toronto, I just wanted the songs to be recorded. I paid for it myself and didn’t really tell anyone. I saw it as a quiet, strange album of ballads. It was a beautiful and gentle experience. It was recorded live in March 2020, as a mostly improvised performance. It was a very special band – mostly women, mostly jazz musicians. People who could respond in the moment and who I trusted completely. It was the most peaceful recording session I’ve ever been a part of.”
The tracklisting for How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars is:
Marsh
Endless Time
Taught
Ignorance
To Talk About
Stars
Song
Sway
Sleight of Hand
Loving You
You can pre-order the album here.
Meanwhile, The Weather Station tour the UK and EU in Spring.
Sunday March 13, 2022 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East (solo performance + signing)
Tuesday March 15, 2022 – Brighton, UK @ Komedia +
Wednesday March 16, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla +
Thursday March 17, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla +
Friday March 18, 2022 – Dublin, IE @ Workmans Club +
Saturday March 19, 2022 – Belfast, UK @ Black Box +
Monday March 21, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono +
Tuesday March 22, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club +
Wednesday March 23, 2022 – London, UK @ Scala +
Friday March 25, 2022 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique ~
Saturday March 26, 2022 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire ~
Sunday March 27, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord ~
Monday March 28, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club ~
Wednesday March 30, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen ~
Thursday March 31, 2022 – Oslo, NO @ Bla ~
Friday April 1, 2022 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser / Bar Brooklyn ~
Saturday April 2, 2022 – Gothenburg, SE @ Oceanen ~
Monday April 4, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtwache ~
Tuesday April 5, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell ~
Wednesday April 6, 2022 – Munich, DE @ Milla ~
Thursday April 7, 2022 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F ~
Saturday June 11, 2022 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera ~
+ = with support form Ami Dang
~ = with support from Aoife Nessa Frances
Watch Coldplay’s stripped-back performance of ‘My Universe’
Coldplay delivered a stripped-back rendition of their recent single ‘My Universe’ on US TV last night – check out the video below.
- READ MORE: Coldplay and BTS’ new song ‘My Universe’ is a celestial ode to unity, hope and the power of love
Chris Martin and co. performed an acoustic take on the track on yesterday’s episode of The Ellen Show (January 26). The original version of the song features BTS and appears on Coldplay’s latest studio album, ‘Music Of The Spheres’.
Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Martin told Ellen Degeneres: “Some said to me, ‘Oh, BTS asked you to do a song for them’. Or that’s what I got told. And at the time I was like, ‘That’s never gonna work ever’. How are we gonna fit these two things together?”
The frontman went on to say that the idea of the team-up then became “really attractive in its weirdness”, adding: “And then one day the right song just kind of arrived.”
Martin continued: “I just knew at the time, ‘OK, this is a song we’re supposed to do with BTS, and it’s supposed to be about people who can’t be together or told they shouldn’t be together or forced to live in separate places’. So then it felt really natural.
“For something that could’ve seemed so artificial, it turned out being one of the most real feelings. I genuinely love those people.”
Later in the chat, Martin reiterated his plans to only release two more Coldplay records. “I think that’s what feels right to us,” he explained, adding: “The story of our albums ends then. Like Harry Potter finishes at a certain point.”
You can watch the full conversation below.
Coldplay are set to embark on an eco-friendly world tour this year, with dates scheduled for London’s Wembley Stadium, Glasgow, Paris, Berlin and other European cities throughout July and August.
During a Big Read interview with NME last October, bassist Guy Berryman said the band had “made a great start” with the sustainable shows. “Whatever we end up doing, will be a Phase One, but there always has to be an improvement and a continual cycle,” he said.
“If you want to pick holes, and I’m sure someone can and will, I think that’s fine: what you have to do is embrace the idea of continued progress. It has to be an ever-evolving situation.”
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