Global supergroup Swedish House Mafia have returned with a massive showing of momentum with their new song and video “It Gets Better” alongside an announcement of signing to the prestigious Republic Records as well as being managed by the formidable SALXCO MANAGEMENT. Their reunion is celebrated by an iconic cover of Billboard Magazine and will be galvanized further with a special performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday July 19th. The seminal global group last released music in 2013 with fans and press worldwide hoping and speculating for years about a return. This marks the beginning.
Iron Maiden End Weeks Of Online Speculation To Reveal First New Music In 6 Years
IRON MAIDEN today revealed their brand-new track, The Writing On The Wall, with an eagerly anticipated global YouTube video premiere. The song was written by Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith & lead singer Bruce Dickinson, produced by Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Maiden bassist and founder-member Steve Harris.
Bruce Dickinson initially had a concept for the video which came to fruition in collaboration with two Award-winning former Pixar executives and long-standing Maiden fans Mark Andrews & Andrew Gordon. The pair have over 50 years of animation industry experience between them at the very top-level including work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Brave, Monsters Inc & Finding Nemo. With partners lining up to get involved with the project they chose BlinkInk, a London based animation studio celebrated for their work with a variety of global brands from Adidas to Coca-Cola and a number of high-profile music videos.
In BlinkInk director Nicos Livesey, another long-time Maiden fan & kindred spirit, they found a man who shared the collective vision for the track – resulting in the final film which features the very first glimpse of a stunning new incarnation of Eddie in spectacular 3D form.
Bruce comments “I had a pretty clear idea of the concept to accompany the song and when I met Mark and Andrew, on Zoom, it quickly became clear we were all very much on the same wavelength, and this was reinforced with the addition of Nicos and his young BlinkInk team. Our weekly team Zoom meetings were then usually both highly creative and a lot of fun!
I’m very proud of the way the video turned out, it’s more like a mini-film really. I knew it was going to work out as soon as Mark brought my treatment to life with his incredible storyboards – I thought we could make something very special together. I think we did and hope our fans will agree. In fact it’s pretty much created by Maiden fans!! ”
Director, Nicos Livesey takes up the story: “We quickly found the expertise we wanted, and people were literally throwing themselves at me to work on a Maiden video – we had more than 60 people in 13 countries from Brazil to France, & Romania to the USA to add something to the clip and I’d say their love, passion and understanding of the band shines through every frame. They were a dream team for the producers and myself to manage.”
Amaal Awakens Her Alter Ego Milly In Intoxicating Single & Video For “Honey”
Somali-Canadian singer-songwriter Amaal has returned with a hypnotic, new song and visual for “Honey,” the first single off her highly-anticipated sophomore EP Milly, set to release this fall. The Dan LeMoyne-directed video captures Amaal’s transcendent alter ego Milly, an unapologetic version of herself that embraces intimacy and female autonomy without fear of shame or judgement. She physically and figuratively awakens with slow, jolted movements, shedding old inhibitions and welcoming a sense of sexual liberation considered explicitly taboo in her conservative Muslim community.
“My music is a celebration of my womanhood,” Amaal explains. “It’s the sound of me reclaiming my power, my pleasure, myself.”
In the “Honey” video, Amaal moves through moody blue, purple and red-orange hues drenched in Cuchara jewelry and ultramodern pieces from Marine Serre, Sho Konishi and Herve Léger (styling by Lebani Osmani) as she croons over the melodic track, produced by GRAMMY-nominated duo Nicky Davey (Beyoncé, Zayn). Watch the video here, and stream the track here.
Amaal’s first studio EP Black Dove made quite an impact in the Canadian music scene as she showcased her powerful intuition both musically and emotionally. “Not What I Thought” boasts 1.8 million views as Amaal sang her heart out in a gorgeous Iceland set music video directed by Sean Brown. “Amaal has mastered the art of pairing airy but commanding vocals with pulsing production,” The Fader wrote.
The fourth of ten children, Amaal began her remarkable journey in war-torn Mogadishu, where she and her family lived until they were forced to flee as refugees in the early 1990s. Starting over fresh in Toronto, she embraced the poetic nature of her cultural heritage but bristled at the conservative structures and customs that came with it, particularly the repressive expectations placed upon women. By the time she hit 20, Amaal had grown bold enough to begin making her own music, but she still felt limited as to what she could sing about, so she focused her creative energy on politically and socially conscious material inspired by the civil unrest in Somalia and the struggles her people faced as a result. It was powerful stuff, to be sure, but there was more to Amaal than being a refugee, and she longed to express the fullness of herself and her story in her art. In 2019, Amaal finally worked up the courage to step outside of her comfort zone with the release of Black Dove, a daringly vulnerable collection that found her reckoning with love and heartbreak and desire in her music for the very first time. Though it felt incredibly risky, the EP was a critical smash, garnering a Juno nomination for Soul/R&B Recording of the Year, racking up millions of streams online, and prompting rave reviews across the board. Complexhailed Amaal’s “airy and ethereal vocals,” while Vibe proclaimed her a singer “like no other,” and Exclaim!dubbed her “an artist that demands attention.” Amaal’s sophomore EP, entitled Milly, will be released fall 2021.
The 2021 Polaris Short List Is Here
The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC Music, has unveiled the 10 albums on the 2021 Short List.
The 2021 Polaris Music Prize Short List is:
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Theory of Ice
Cadence Weapon – Parallel World
DijahSB – Head Above The Waters
Dominique Fils-Aimé – Three Little Words
Mustafa – When Smoke Rises
The OBGMs – The Ends
Klô Pelgag – Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
TOBi – Elements Vol. 1
The Weather Station – Ignorance
Zoon – Bleached Wavves
“This year’s Short List is an excellent snapshot of artists on the genreless, limitless vanguard of Canadian music. Congratulations to the nominees, and thank you to our devoted community of jurors for their time and care spent crafting this list. After the year everyone’s had, we all could use a moment of reprieve. Consider this your invitation to give all 10 remarkable albums a generous spin,” said Polaris jury foreperson Melissa Vincent.
The new nominees were revealed during the Polaris Short List Special, which aired earlier today across Canada via CBC Music and CBC Listen. Hosted by A. Harmony, the special featured music from the Short List nominees as well as in-depth interviews with CBC personalities and Polaris jurors. An encore broadcast of the special will air on CBC Music, Sunday, July 18 at 6 p.m.
With the announcement of the 10 nominated albums CBC Music is kicking off the Short List Summer, a sprawling, season-long deep dive into the nominated records and the artists who made them.
This Short List Summer will include the Polaris Spotlight, an editorial series diving into each of the short-listed artists and their nominated albums, beginning Tuesday, July 20. This will be capped every Sunday with a one-hour CBC Music radio special called The Ten, starting Sunday, July 25. Each week, the show will take an in-depth look at one of the 10 nominated albums in the lead-up to the 2021 Polaris Prize winner announcement.
Due to the continued uncertainty around returns to public gatherings, Polaris has chosen to not host a winner Gala event this year. More details about the 2021 Polaris Music Prize winner reveal on September 27, 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. Additionally, the nine other nominated acts whose albums make the 2021 Short List will receive $3,000 each courtesy of Slaight Music. New for 2021, Polaris Music Prize has partnered with Play MPE to award the winning artist with a global music promotion distribution package for one release (single or album) worth up to $3,025 CAD. Play MPE will also gift all nine remaining Short List artists with distribution packages worth up to $1,000 CAD each.
Albums eligible for 2021 Polaris Music Prize consideration must be released between May 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. An independent jury of music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people from the larger jury pool are then chosen to serve on the Grand Jury. This Grand Jury will select the Polaris Music Prize winner.
The past winners are Backxwash (2020), Haviah Mighty (2019), Jeremy Dutcher (2018), Lido Pimienta (2017), Kaytranada (2016), Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).
Tesla Announces Their Return To The Concert Stage With The “let’s Get Real!” Tour 2021
After an 18 month hiatus that the world has taken from live concerts due to the Covid-19 lockdown, America’s multi-platinum rock band TESLA is announcing their return to performing live concerts with the “LET’S GET REAL!” tour – kicking off August 5th in Grants Pass, Oregon. The tour will include shows with legendary artists Styx, Kid Rock, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and will continue until November 2021 – hitting the continental USA and Mexico.
Frank Hannon: “We are so excited and anxious to get back to performing ‘real’ live concerts again. There’s nothing like the energy of being in the same spontaneous moment with an audience of people. Tesla has always taken pride in being a high energy live band relying on performances without any backing tracks or pre-recorded help. We are planning some surprises for our fans on this upcoming tour by playing some deeper Tesla cuts as well as a fresh brand new song we just wrote. Of course we will play the hits as well, but introducing a fresh new track on this return is something we are very excited about!”
Over the course of their thirty-five year + career, the iconic Sacramento melodic hard rock quintet—Frank Hannon (guitar), Brian Wheat (bass), Jeff Keith (lead vocals), Troy Luccketta (drums), and Dave Rude (guitar)—sold more than 25 million albums domestically and played globally to sold-out crowds far and wide. To say TESLA live is absolutely bombastic is an understatement, they are a hard rock band to beat all hard rock bands.
TESLA 2021 TOUR DATES: (more dates to be added)
Aug. 5 – Grants Pass OR (Josephine County Fairgrounds)
Aug. 6 – Grand Ronde OR (Spirit Mountain Casino)
Aug. 9 – Sturgis SD (Full Throttle Saloon)
Aug. 11 – Harris MI (Island Resort & Casino)
Aug. 12 – Harris MI (Island Resort & Casino)
Aug. 14 – Dubuque IA (Q Casino & Hotel: Back Waters Stage)
Aug. 15 – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort (Mt Pleasant, MI) * w/ Kid Rock
Aug. 18 – Des Moines IA (Iowa State Fair) * w/ STYX
Aug. 20 – Island Lake IL (Bands in the Sand at 3D Sideouts)
Aug. 21 – St. Louis MO (The Pageant)
Aug. 24 – Anderson IN (Paramount Theatre)
Aug. 25 – Wabash IN (Honeywell Center)
Aug. 27 – Holmdel NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sept. 16 – Roanoke VA (Dr Pepper Park)
Sept. 17 – Ocean City MD (O.C. Bike Fest)
Sept. 19 – New York NY (Irving Plaza)
Sept. 21 – Hampton Beach NH (Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom)
Sept. 23 – Mansfield MA (Xfinity Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sept. 27 – Morrison CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Oct.1. – Irvine CA (Fivepoint Amphitheatre) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Oct. 16 – Pigeon Forge TN (Monsters on the Mountain Festival)
Oct. 25 – October 30 -Quintana Roo MX (The Sands 2021 at Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort)
Nov. 5 – Knoxville TN (Thompson Boling Arena) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Nov. 6 – Charleston WV (Charleston Coliseum) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Nov. 9 – Charlotte, NC (The Fillmore)
Nov. 13 – Greensboro NC (Greensboro Coliseum) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Nov. 14 – Atlanta, GA (Coca Cola Roxy)
Nov. 19 – Bossier City LA (Century Link Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Nov. 20 – Tupelo MS (BancorpSouth Arena) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Video: Dave Grohl Inspired By Disco Drum Beats
Dave Grohl explains to Pharrell Williams where many of his Nirvana drum tracks came from disco inspiration. I’ll never hear Smells Like Teen Spirit the same way again.
JUNO Award-Winning Rock Duo Crown Lands Unveil “White Buffalo”
Juno Award-winning, powerhouse rock duo Crown Lands – Cody Bowles (vocals and drums) and Kevin Comeau (guitar, bass, and keys) – share two new tracks, “White Buffalo” and “The Oracle” today. Both tracks were recorded with three-time Grammy Award-winning, Toronto producer David Bottrill (Tool, Mastodon, Rush, Peter Gabriel).
“White Buffalo” arrives as a symbol of aspiration, in recognition of the resilience and strength of Indigenous communities to overcome injustice while manifesting a prosperous future. The big guitars, stomping baseline and pummeling drums barrel forward as if to conjure the movement of a giant buffalo.
“White Buffalo is the third instalment in our trilogy of songs about Indigenous rights,” says Crown Lands. “Mountain” is what happened. “End of the Road” is what is happening. White Buffalo is manifesting what will happen: overcoming oppression and rising up to reclaim one’s land. The White Buffalo is a symbol of manifestation. When Colonizers came to North America they tried to wipe out the Buffalo to starve Indigenous people to death. The buffalo are still here. We are too, and together we’ll overcome. Also, never has 7/8 ever been more danceable.”
“White Buffalo” is released today with the accompanying official music video, directed by Alim Sabir. The spirited visual sees Crown Lands immersed in the elements, performing in a new age forest with dancers that fortify the theme of movement.
Over the course of a thirteen-minute, multi-part composition, “The Oracle,” continues another story that Crown Lands is creating, revealing the origins of the Queen character featured in the “Context: Fearless Pt. 1” music video. “We wanted to take the listener somewhere and evoke a sense of adventure,” says Bowles. Taking solace from the realities Crown Lands confront in a fictional world they continue to create.
Crown Lands were introduced to Grammy Award-winning producer David Bottrill after he produced the vocals for the band’s last release, “Context: Fearless Pt. 1.” Comeau recalls, “The riff for ‘White Buffalo’ came to me during the Context / Right Way Back session with Nick Raskulinecz back in February 2020. It felt addicting and special then. It was originally written in 13/8 and the chorus was in 7. It kept popping its head up in jam sessions, but we weren’t sure how to make the chorus work. Enter David Bottrill.” On working with the esteemed producer, Comeau continues, “Dave is one of the most meticulous and detail-oriented people we’ve worked with. His precision helped make these songs exactly what they needed to be.”
Fans now have a chance to experience a Crown Lands live set up-close-and-personal as the band announce a hometown show on December 1, 2021 at the Axis Club (Formally The Mod Club) in Toronto. Tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.
Mad Fer It! Oasis Knebworth 1996 Documentary Will Be Released On September 23
Oasis have today unveiled the title, release date and ticketing details for their eagerly anticipated Knebworth cinematic documentary, Oasis Knebworth 1996. After almost two years without significant live events anywhere in the world, the cinematic release of Oasis Knebworth 1996on 23rd September will serve as a timely reminder to fans new and old of the euphoria and togetherness that only a great concert can bring. Oasis Knebworth 1996 is the story of the special relationship between Oasis and their fans that made the largest concert of the ‘90’s possible. It is told entirely in the moment through the eyes of the fans who were there, built around extensive, and never before seen archive concert and backstage footage from the event, with additional interviews with the band and concert organizers. Directed by Grammy Award-winner Jake Scott, this is a joyful and at times poignant cinematic celebration of one of the most iconic live concert events of the last 25 years, driven entirely by the music, and the fans’ own experiences of that monumental weekend. Tickets for Oasis Knebworth 1996 will go on sale on Tuesday 10th August, marking the 25 years to the day since the first night of the concerts.
Oasis’ two record breaking nights at Knebworth took place on 10th & 11th August 1996, with over a quarter of a million young music fans from all over the world converging on Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire to see the legendary sets. Tickets went on sale on 11th May 1996. Queues formed outside local record shops and ticket offices overnight, and fans around the world spent the day on their landline phones trying to get through to constantly engaged booking lines. All tickets sold out in less than 24 hours, breaking every UK box office record in the process. Organisers estimated the band could have sold two or three times as many tickets. Over 2% of the population of the UK had attempted to buy tickets.
The monumental shows were set against a backdrop of the UK slowly recovering from a decade of recession. Emerging from the ‘80s, the mood of the nation was changing. A cultural resurgence in arts and culture was giving rise to Cool Britannia and, in their meteoric rise, Oasis embodied that new found optimism and swagger. Two short years had taken the band from their council estate in Manchester to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world and for the congregated masses, seeing themselves in the five men on stage in front of them, anything felt possible. Featuring a setlist absolutely packed from beginning to end with stone cold classics, from the opening salvo of ‘Columbia’ and ‘Acquiesce’, all the way to ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Live Forever’, a triumphant, orchestra backed ‘I Am The Walrus’, and the first song from the 1990s to cross one billion streams on Spotify, ‘Wonderwall,’ the Knebworth concerts were both the pinnacle of the band’s success and the landmark gathering for a generation.
The film will be produced by Black Dog Films. Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher will serve as executive producers. It will be financed and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment and released theatrically by Trafalgar Releasing.
Liam Gallagher says “Knebworth for me was the Woodstock of the 90’s. It was all about the music and the people. I can’t remember much about it, but I’ll never forget it. It was Biblical.”
Noel Gallagher says “I can’t believe we never played Rock ‘n’ Roll Star!”
My Next Read: “All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs” By Ken Womack and Jason Kruppa
George Harrison and Eric Clapton shared a legendary and tumultuous friendship that shaped not only their respective lives and careers but the shifting face of rock music itself in the early 1970s.
In All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs (Chicago Review Press, July 20, 2021), renowned Beatles expert Ken Womack and music historian Jason Kruppa explore Harrison and Clapton’s musical and personal collaboration, friendship, and rivalry.
Close attention is devoted to the climax of Harrison and Clapton’s shared musicianship—the November 1970 releases of All Things Must Pass, Harrison’s powerful emancipatory statement in the wake of the Beatles, and Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Clapton’s impassioned reimagining of his art via Derek and the Dominos—two records that advanced rock ’n’ roll from a windswept 1960s idealism into the wild and expansive new reality of the 1970s.
Authors Womack and Kruppa interrogate these two iconic albums, from inspirations to studio sessions to legacies, and unearth new perspectives on Harrison and Clapton. Drawing on a mountain of archival material and featuring new research and new interviews with key participants, including drummer Alan White and bassist/Beatle confidant Klaus Voormann, All Things Must Pass Away sweeps aside the myths in favor of a richly detailed exploration of these two remarkable albums and the men who made them.
All Things Must Pass Away will provide readers with a powerful overview of Harrison and Clapton’s relationship—especially in terms of the ways in which their revolutionary musicianship and songwriting would eclipse rock music and redefine the genre.
Jethro Tull Announce ‘The Zealot Gene’, Their First Studio Album In 20 Years
InsideOutMusic/Sony Music are extremely pleased to announce the signing of progressive rock legends Jethro Tull to the label. The band has already completed a new album titled ‘The Zealot Gene’, which can be expected in early 2022.
Ian Anderson had this to say about the new signing – “After 54 years in the world of music recording, it is with great pleasure that I now sign Jethro Tull to a record company which reminds me, in many ways, of the old Chrysalis label – both as an independent and in its later years in partnership with EMI. Here are real music guys with a passion for the best and most creative in rock music. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship and more releases to come.”
InsideOutMusic Label Manager Thomas Waber states, “Adding Jethro Tull to the roster is an incredible honour for us. The band are true innovators of the genre and we are looking forward to working with them on their new album. We are sure their countless fans will be as excited about it as we are!”
With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, Jethro Tull are one of the most successful rock bands of all-time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Ian Anderson, Tull still continue to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages.
The band currently consists of Ian Anderson – Flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals; Joe Parrish-James – Guitar; Florian Opahle – Guitar (album only); Scott Hammond – Drums; John O’Hara – Piano, keyboards and accordion, and David Goodier – Bass guitar.