KISS’ Gene Simmons thinks all bands should halt performances in Russia
KISS frontman Gene Simmons has given his thoughts on whether bands should cancel any upcoming performances in Russia. See the clip below.
READ MORE: Ukrainian artists on the Russian crisis: “Now is the time to push for change”
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, numerous artists have announced the cancellation of scheduled performances. Speaking to TMZ, who questioned Simmons about bands that are still planning on heading to Russia, he said: “We’re not going… there’s a bigger issue than putting on a rock concert.”
When the TMZ reporter asked whether there was any possible justification for artists performing shows in Russia, he added: “The only possible upside might be if a band gets up there and makes political statements on stage, which is usually something I’m against but this is beyond politics. This is just lunacy.”
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He continued: “I mean we were faced with the same problem with Botswana in the days of apartheid. We were offered millions of dollars, but we said, ‘No, we can’t go there, because if a western band goes there, you’re saying it’s okay for apartheid and all the racism and the lack of justice.’ So we said no. There were some bands that went, and they paid the price. Their fans turned on them.
“The problem is if a western band plays Russia, it gives credence — a political win for Putin’s outright lies.”
When asked what his message would be to bands still playing in Russia, Simmons said: “I would recommend nobody goes there, just shut it down. Stop drinking Russian vodka, just stop it.”
KISS will begin their European tour in Dortmund on June 1, with an appearance at Download scheduled on June 10.
Recently, Green Day cancelled their upcoming show in Moscow, as did Biffy Clyro and Placebo, who were due to play Moscow’s Park Live 2022. Yungblud also cancelled his upcoming shows in Russia saying he was “heartbroken” because “I know the vicious and brutal acts of the Russian regime in Ukraine over the past week do not reflect the attitudes and ideals of the beautiful people who I have met in Russia in the past.”
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Earlier this week, My Chemical Romance added to the long list of bands cancelling performances in Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to NME recently about the ongoing war, Bloom Twins’ Sonia Kuprienko said: “Touring in Russia right now doesn’t sound like a good idea. Ukrainians should be hiding while Russians are waiting for us to entertain them? I don’t think that’s logical.”
Singer Anna Kuprienko continued: “People think it’s just a Ukrainian conflict, but don’t even know what’s going to happen later. No one knows what’s going to happen to the Ukraine, no one knows what’s going to happen to the whole of Europe, no one knows what’s going to happen a few days from now. People need to do something to stop this because if it goes any further then it might be very bad for everyone.”
You can donate here to the Red Cross to help those affected by the conflict, or via a number of other ways through Choose Love.
Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea join Nick Cave & Warren Ellis on stage in LA
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea joined Nick Cave and Warren Ellis onstage in LA last night (March 9). Watch them perform The Bad Seeds’ ‘We No Who U R’ below.
READ MORE: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis live in London: Minimal elements for maximum impact
Joining Cave and Ellis for the second encore of the night, Flea helped them perform the opening track to The Bad Seeds’ 2012 album, ‘Push The Sky Away’. This was the song’s debut on the pair’s current tour for their acclaimed 2021 album ‘CARNAGE’, and the first time that the song has been played in seven years.
The bassist added his own meandering style to the track, before embracing Cave and Ellis at the end of the song.
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After the concert, Ellis took to Instagram to share a photo of the two, writing “Flea, beautiful brother. So wonderful to have you on stage tonight in Los Angeles with me and Nick at The Shrine. Can feel the soul pour out of you on stage.”
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While Ellis and Flea have a history of performing together (they did a whole concert together at Paris’ Le Trianon in 2014), Cave has a more troublesome relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Nick Cave is widely reported as having infamously slammed the band in 2004, as once quoted in a Guardian review of ‘Stadium Arcadium‘. “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’,” Cave is reported to have said. “And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers”. But it seems like Flea didn’t take that criticism to heart.
Responding on RHCP’s official website two years later, Flea explained: “For a second that hurt my feelings because I love Nick Cave. I have all of his records. I don’t care if Nick Cave hates my band because his music means everything to me because he is one of my favourite songwriters and singers and musicians of all time. I love all the incarnations of the Bad Seeds.But it only hurt my feelings for a second because my love is bigger than all that shit ,and if he thinks my band is lame that’s OK.”
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Red Hot Chili Peppers shot for NME by Gus Van Sant
Flea echoed these sentiments in an interview with The Guardian in 2011 when he said: “Creativity waxes and wanes. We’re very lucky. We’ve made bunches of fucking money. We could be sat on the beach eating burritos, but even when we’re pissed off with each other we sit in a room and work.
“Igor Stravinsky sat at his piano every fucking day. Some days it was rubbish and his wife was chewing his ear off – but he stuck at it. The same thing goes for Nick Cave, the greatest living songwriter. He goes to work! Every day. And that’s what we do.”
See more photos and footage of the performance below.
Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and Flea, a transformational collective experience. Thank you, @nickcave @ShrineLA. pic.twitter.com/affcHpnFVf
— Colette Weintraub (@rockisagirlsbff) March 10, 2022
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The 21-song setlist pulled heavily from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ work together with The Bad Seeds but also included a cover of T-Rex‘s 1971 track ‘Cosmic Dancer’. Check out the complete setlist below:
‘Spinning Song’
‘Bright Horses’
‘Night Raid’
‘Carnage’
‘White Elephant’
‘Ghosteen’
‘Lavender Fields’
‘Waiting for You’
‘I Need You’
‘Cosmic Dancer’ (T-Rex cover)
‘God Is in the House’
‘Hand of God’
‘Shattered Ground’
‘Galleon Ship’
‘Leviathan’
‘Balcony Man’
‘Hollywood’
‘Henry Lee’
‘We No Who U R’ (with Flea)
‘Into My Arms’
‘Ghosteen Speaks’
Warren Ellis and Nick Cave are currently in the middle of their first US headline tour as a duo, in support of 2021’s ‘Carnage’.
Warren Ellis and Nick Cave are set to play:
March 2022 13 – Oakland, CA, Paramount Theatre 14 – Oakland, CA, Paramount Theatre 17 – Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre 20 – Chicago, IL, Auditorium Theatre 22 – Boston, MA, Wang Theatre 24 – Brooklyn, NY, Kings Theatre 25 – Brooklyn, NY, Kings Theatre 27 – New York, NY, Beacon Theater 28 – New York, NY, Beacon Theater 31 – Toronto, Ontario, Massey Hall
APRIL 2 – Montreal, Quebec, Place des Arts 3 – Montreal, Quebec, Place des Arts
The Bad Seeds will then perform a season of festival shows throughout Europe this summer.
After cancelling shows in Russia and Ukraine, Cave then responded to “double standard” accusations over his stance on Israel and Palestine.
Cave and Ellis also recently shared details of the cinema release for their forthcoming film This Much I Know To Be True.
Meanwhile, Red Hot Chili Peppers recently shared the new single ‘Poster Child‘ from long-awaited new album ‘Unlimited Love’ – which is due on April 1. Read our exclusive Big Read cover interview with the band here.
The xx’s Oliver Sim shares new debut single ‘Romance With A Memory’
The xx’s Oliver Sim has shared his debut solo single, ‘Romance With A Memory’ today (March 10) – listen to it below.
Sim, who plays bass and is co-lead vocalist in The xx, also shared a new lyric video to accompany the track, which you can watch below.
Speaking about the track, which was produced by bandmate Jamie xx, he said: “I’m thrilled, excited, ecstatic, over caffeinated and overjoyed to be sharing ‘Romance with a Memory’ with you all.
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“Terrifyingly, this is the first song I’ve ever released under my own name, I really hope
you all enjoy it. Produced by my dear older brother Jamie xx. P.S still very much in a loving and happy relationship/band with Romy and Jamie,” he added of his bandmates.
You can listen to the new song here:
Sim’s new material is said to take inspiration from “his love of horror films and his own life.”
Speaking about the video for the new song yesterday (March 9), Sim added: “I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to watch a ghoul having a good time.
“I’ve made a compilation of some of my favourite monsters, killers and queers getting down to ‘Romance With A Memory’. I hope both the music and monsters make you feel as happy as they make me.”
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Sim put together a handful of demos after The xx decided to take a break in 2017, taking them to Jamie xx to “flesh out”, according to a press release.
‘Romance with a Memory’ was “one of the first songs Sim wrote, and the first song he and Jamie worked on together,” it adds.
More music from Sim is expected soon.
Meanwhile, Sim will also begin The xx’s new monthly radio show on Apple Music 1, titled Interludes Radio, today.
For the inaugural “horror-themed” episode, Sim will be joined by a host of friends and collaborators including Florence Welch, Elton John, Sampha, Jimmy Somerville and director Yann Gonzalez, as well as his bandmates from The xx.
The xx’s most recent studio album, ‘I See You’, came out in January 2017. Back in December, the band shared video footage of themselves working together in what appeared to be a rehearsal or recording space.
Watch Wet Leg perform two tracks on ‘The Tonight Show’
Wet Leg were the musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (March 9) – watch their performance below.
READ MORE: Wet Leg live in London: check out photos of their celebratory Independent Venue Week show
The band are currently on a US headline tour but stopped by the 30 Rock studios to perform two tracks from their upcoming, self-titled debut album.
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Watch the band perform their viral debut track ‘Chaise Lounge’ and 2021’s ‘Wet Dream’ below.
Wet Leg made their US television debut last year with an appearance on Late Night With Seth Myers following performances on Later With Jools Holland and NPR’s Tiny Desk concert.
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Later this week, the group are set to perform at SXSW before returning to the UK for a headline tour around the release of debut album ‘Wet Leg’, which is out April 8.
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Wet Leg have also announced a run of instores and another UK headline tour for later in the year. Check out the dates below:
APRIL 2022 7 – Banquet at PRYZM, Kingston (early & late shows) 8 – Rough Trade East, London (matinee & evening) 9 – Resident, Brighton 10 – Rough Trade, Bristol 11 – Rough Trade, Nottingham 12 – HMV, Birmingham 13 – Bear Tree Records out-store at The Foundry, Sheffield 16 – Newcastle University, Newcastle 17 – The Mash House, Edinburgh 19 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 20 – Gorilla, Manchester 21– Trinity Centre, Bristol 23 – o2 Institute, Birmingham 24 – Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich 26 – Electric Ballroom, London 27 – The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 28 – Neighbourhood Weekender, Victoria Park, Warrington
JUNE 23 – The Louisiana, Bristol (for Independent Venue Week)
NOVEMBER 3 – UEA, Norwich 14 – O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol 15 – O2 Academy Liverpool, Liverpool 17 – SWG3, Glasgow 18 – Leeds Beckett Students Union, Leeds 19 – O2 Ritz, Manchester 21 – O2 Institute, Birmingham 23 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London 25 – Rock City, Nottingham 27 – Limelight, Belfast 28 – Academy, Dublin
Last month Wet Leg shared a new track called ‘Angelica’.
The group described the song, which is about Teasdale’s oldest friend, as a mixture of “the absurd”, “the sardonic”, “social angst” and “a trippy, synth-kissed journey through parties and regrets.”
Teasdale added: “It’s laced with disenchantment. Even though the chorus is ‘good times, all the time’. That’s just impossible, isn’t it?”
Kanye West continues to attack Pete Davidson in second ‘Eazy’ video
Kanye West and The Game have shared a second video for their recent joint single, ‘Eazy’, which – like the first video the pair released earlier this month – sees Pete Davidson meet a violent demise.
READ MORE: On the scene at Kanye West’s ‘Donda 2’ event in Miami: “It felt like a cult convention”
While the first clip sported a crude, monochromatic claymation aesthetic, the new one is animated with 3D models. Starring alongside West and The Game is an animated version of the skinned money from the ‘Eazy’ single’s cover art.
The monkey launches an attack on Davidson in this clip, pinning down a blurred-out avatar of the Saturday Night Live star (who is currently involved with West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian) and walloping him with a string of punches over West’s lyric, “God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”
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Take a look at the new ‘Eazy’ video below:
The first video for ‘Eazy’ earned widespread criticism for its portrayal of violence against Davidson. In the clip, West kidnaps the comedian and buries him in a bed of soil, leaving his head exposed. The rapper sprinkles seeds around, leading a bush of roses to grow from Davidson’s head. West then pulls out a pair of gardening shears and begins to trim the roses, cutting to a close-up shot of Davidson’s eyes suddenly going white.
Multiple celebrities went to bat for Davidson in the days following the video’s release. For example, James Gunn – who worked with Davidson on The Suicide Squad – supported the actor and comedian, writing on Twitter: “Pete Davidson is one of the nicest, sweetest guys I know. A truly generous, tender, and funny spirit, he treats everyone around him with respect.””
Kaley Cuoco, who stars opposite Davidson in the upcoming Meet Cute, also threw her support behind him, agreeing with Gunn’s analysis. West later addressed the backlash he’d received, writing in another Instagram post that “art is not a proxy for any ill or harm”, and that “any suggestion otherwise about my art is false and mal intended”.
Earlier this month, Kardashian was granted single status by a judge, marking the next step in her process of divorcing from West. She’s now able to change her legal surname from Kardashian-West back to Kardashian. Details concerning child custody and property are yet to be resolved, however, with the case not expected to be finalised soon; the next hearing will be held on August 5.
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Over the past week, West has released an animated video for his ‘Donda’ track ‘Hurricane’, shared a poem titled ‘DEAD’ in which he claimed that “men [and] celebrities are not allowed to cry”, and joined the legions of moviegoers heaping praise onThe Batman.
Meanwhile, Corey Taylor has called West a “fucking moron” over the rapper’s decision to make ‘Donda 2’ available exclusively through his $200 Stem Player device.
Listen to Sigrid’s gleaming new single ‘It Gets Dark’
Sigrid has shared her galactic new single ‘It Gets Dark’, which pays tribute to both the highs and lows of life – listen to it below.
The single is the latest to be taken from the Norwegian pop star’s upcoming second album, which has yet to be announced.
READ MORE: Griff & Sigrid at the BandLab NME Awards 2022: pop perfection from the dynamic duo
“I have never ever been this far away from home / And now I know / It gets dark, it gets dark at night,” Sigrid sings on the chorus. “I’m moving at the speed of light / I had to go but now I know / It gets dark so I can see the stars.”
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“I believe you need to feel the lows in life to feel the highs, and you have to know what sucks to then properly appreciate the good stuff,” the star said in a press statement. “‘It Gets Dark’ is an ode to that. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a single release before.” Listen to it below now.
The track was premiered on Clara Amfo’s BBC Radio 1 show as the Hottest Record In The World. “I think when we wrote ‘It Gets Dark’ I didn’t know what my second album was going to sound like and then when I heard that intro, that’s when I knew: ‘This is it – this is the sound’,” Sigrid explained. “So it’s been the leading star for the whole new era.”
When told she sounded more confident on the track, Sigrid replied: “I’ve really found another part of myself with touring so much and playing live. I absolutely love that. If something happens, it happens and you’ve just got to get on with it. ‘It Gets Dark’ is also a homage to all that touring as well.”
Meanwhile, Sigrid picked up the award for Best Collaboration with Griff at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 last week (March 2) for their single ‘Head On Fire’. The pair also performed the song there for the first time and spoke about their friendship on the red carpet at the event.
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“I think we’re genuinely friends,” Griff said. “I feel like it was birthed out of us actually really getting along with each other, and when we got into the studio, it wasn’t that we wanted to write a collab, it was that we just wanted to hang out.”
Last week (March 4), the two stars shared a new version of ‘Head On Fire’, this time featuring additional vocals from King Princess and MØ.
TikTok star Sam Ryder is reportedly set to represent UK at Eurovision 2022
TikTok star Sam Ryder is reportedly being lined up to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
READ MORE: Daughters Of Reykjavík – ‘Soft Spot’ review: uncompromising feminist rap collective spit some truth
According to the The Mirror, BBC bosses are preparing to reveal the viral star as this year’s entrant with his recent single ‘Space Man’.
Ryder found viral acclaim after he started posting covers and at-home karaoke tracks at the beginning of lockdown in March 2020. By the end of the year, he was crowned TikTok’s most popular artist account.
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With 7.7million followers and a range of famous fans including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys, Ryder recently performed for an NME Home Sessions performance.
It was announced last year that TaP Music – the global music publishing and management company behind the likes of Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey – will collaborate with the BBC to choose a track and artist to represent the UK at the Song Contest.
Meanwhile, Russia was recently banned from competing in this year’s Eurovision following backlash to an earlier statement from organisers saying the country would be allowed to compete despite launching a military assault on Ukraine.
Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and declared martial law, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last month.
Ukraine’s entrant, Alina Pash, will also no longer represent her home country at this year’s event, the competition also recently announced.
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Among those vying to compete are Iceland’s Daughters of Reykjavík and Scandinavian neighbours The Rasmus.
Eurovision 2022 will take place at the PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy, with the Grand Final set for May 14. Last year’s Eurovision was won by the Italian band Måneskin.
MC5 announce first album in over 50 years and US tour dates
MC5 have announced their first album in over 50 years and a series of US tour dates.
READ MORE: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has turned into a museum. Time for change
The band took to Instagram earlier today (March 9) to post a video, which you can view below, featuring old footage of the punk veterans and a snippet of the album’s title track ‘Heavy Lifting’. The song also features Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello.
MC5 have reformed with original member Wayne Kramer, Pollo Elastica’s Brad Brooks, Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Vicki Randle (Mavis Staples) and guitarist Stevie Salas.
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The new LP, which is due to drop later this year, will be the band’s first proper studio effort since 1971’s ‘High Time’ and sees Kramer collaborating with Morello, Kesha, Jill Sobule, Tim McIlrath, and Alejandro Escovedo.
The band will also hit the road for a US tour in May, dates for which you can view below.
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Tickets for the shows will go on sale this Friday (March 11) and further information is available via Kramer’s Facebook page here.
Meanwhile, MC5 were recently nominated for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame alongside Eminem, Kate Bush, Beck, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Rage Against The Machine, A Tribe Called Quest, Carly Simon, Judas Priest, Fela Kuti, New York Dolls, Dionne Warwick, DEVO and Pat Benatar.
It is the Detroit rockers’ sixth nomination over the years ahead of the final shortlist in May.
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A body of more than 1,000 artists, industry members and historians will help decide which five acts out of the 17 will progress into the final round of induction consideration. Fans also have the chance to contribute to the selection process by voting every day here or at the museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
Foo Fighters, Jay-Z and Tina Turner all featured in the 2021 cohort of inductees alongside The Go-Go’s, Carole King and Todd Rundgren in the Performers category. Kraftwerk, Gil Scott-Heron and Charley Patton, meanwhile, each received the Early Influence Award.
Franz Ferdinand join line-up for tonight’s Ukraine fundraiser gig in London
Franz Ferdinand have joined the line-up for a fundraising gig for Ukraine that is being held in London tonight (March 9).
Night For Ukraine will take place at The Roundhouse this evening and also feature the likes of Bob Geldof and Chrissie Hynde.
READ MORE: Ukrainian artists on the Russian crisis: “Now is the time to push for change”
All money raised from the event will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to support humanitarian and emergency response work in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
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Other acts on the bill include the Ukrainian-born Bloom Twins, Ukrainian baritone and Royal Opera House Principal Artist Yuriy Yurchuk, Imelda May, Jack Garratt, Eckoes, Peter Xan and more.
Tickets for the fundraiser cost between £25 and £35 and can be purchased here.
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In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos paid tribute to the “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv. In an Instagram post that showed a picture of him and his bandmates visiting the city, he reflected on his experiences and encounters there.
“This is Kyiv when we visited less than three and a half years ago,” he wrote. “I loved this city which had a sense of optimism in amongst the deep history. The people were welcoming, open and comfortable in their identity. In some ways it reminded me of Berlin 25 years ago: a flower of opportunity unfurling in the spring sunlight.
“To see missiles crashing onto its streets and the advance of tanks towards it fills me with incomprehensible horror and foreboding for what is to come and what will be destroyed. The people. All those people on the streets, in the cafes, just going about their lives. All because of the paranoia and ego of one criminally insane man.”
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The post followed another in which Kapranos said he “unequivocally condemn[ed] the invasion by the Russian state”. “I was fortunate enough to spend time in the beautiful cities of Kyiv and Odessa when I played there with our band,” he said. “The people I met were warm and my fond memories are now tinged with indescribable sadness as I see what is happening.”
He added that Ukraine posed “no threat” to Russia and warned that Vladimir Putin would not stop with capturing the country. “It’s the borders of the USSR at the very least which he is after,” he said. “I feel for the people of Russia too, particularly the people I have met over the years who I know are appalled by this action and know what the horrific consequences of this action are for them. For all of us. Ultimately this will be the end for Putin. At what horrific cost though?”
On Monday (March 7), the UN reported that 406 civilian deaths and 801 injuries had been recorded in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24.
You can donate here to the Red Cross to help those affected by the conflict, or via a number of other ways through Choose Love.
Florence + The Machine announce new album ‘Dance Fever’
Florence + The Machine have announced details of their new album and revealed the record’s artwork in an Instagram post.
The forthcoming LP will be the act’s first since ‘High As Hope’, their fourth album which was released in June 2018.
READ MORE: The story of NME in 70 (mostly) seminal songs
Posting on her personal Instagram account, Florence Welch shared the artwork for the new record, which reveals that it will be called ‘Dance Fever’.
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The sleeve features the musician stood in front of a golden moon and dark branches, with a butterfly above her and two big pink flowers in her hair. The artwork was created by acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Autumn de Wilde.
“A fairytale in 14 songs,” Welch captioned the post, adding that the record would be available to pre-order from 8am GMT, although she did not specify from which date. Further details about ‘Dance Fever’ have yet to be announced, including a release date and tracklist.
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In the last few weeks, Florence + The Machine have shared two new songs – first, with ‘King’ and earlier this week (March 7) with ‘Heaven Is Here’. Of the latter, Welch explained that it was the first song she had written in lockdown. “I wanted to make something monstrous,” she wrote. “And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out.”
She continued: “With dance studios also shut it was my dream to one day create choreography with it. So it’s one of the first pieces of music I have made specifically with contemporary dance in mind.”
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At the time of ‘King’’s release, the star shared that she had started to consider herself as an artist in the context of her gender more after entering her thirties. “I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires,” she wrote. “To be a performer but also to want a family might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts.
“I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”
