Monday 21 October 2013

Calvin Harris and Hurts - Alesso Feat – Under Control.



Calvin Harris is one of Scotland’s biggest contemporary artists and one of the world’s biggest DJs.  Harris has collaborated (written and produced) with the likes of Rihanna, Kylie Minogue, Dizzee Rascal, Example, and more. He holds the record for the most UK Top Ten Hits songs from a studio album. He has won numerous Brit, NME and MTV music awards plus the Ivor Novello Award 2013.
Alesso, Harris, Hutchcraft
His latest collaboration is with DJ Alesso and features Theo Hutchcraft of the band Hurts with the song Alesso feat, Under Control. Hot tune from Alesso and interesting vibe with Theo’s strong haunting vocal and Harris’s dance beats.       
Calvin Harris and Hurts - Alesso Feat – Under Control.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZqmarGShxg&sns=em

Theo Hutchcraft
Adam Richard Wiles, known by his stage name Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer.  His gold selling debut album,  I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the top-ten singles "Acceptable in the 80s"and "The Girls".
His second studio album, Ready for the weekend (2009), reached number one on the UK albums and includes the chart-topper "I'm not Alone", the UK top-five hit "Ready for the Weekend".

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Celtic Connections 2014 Launch



Celtic Connections 2014 comes of age with it's 21st year.  Celtic offers its audience the unexpected and often unique musical collaborations.  

According to Artistic Director Donald Shaw, the world's largest Celtic festival offers breadth, internationalism and camaraderie.  The festival will host Indie, Americana, International artists with connections to their own folk music, as well as traditional Scottish folk music. 

Two big concerts will be held at Glasgow's new SSE Hydro arena - eighties band Del Amitri and an International Burns Night Concert.   

This year will focus on a Commonwealth theme with several commonwealth and international artists appearing in keeping with Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014. 
Headliners for Glasgow's biggest musical festival in 2014 will include BOBBY Womack, Suzanne Vega, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lloyd Cole, Nicola Benedetti, Seth Lakeman and Imelda May. Plus some of the biggest names in world, folk and Americana music.
Highlights include Indian and Australian music and a celebration of the 1960s “Laurel Canyon” music scene that inspired The Doors, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
The line-up confirmed today features several Commonwealth celebrations to coincide with Glasgow’s hosting of the sporting games next summer.  Also a concert marking 100 years since the start of the First World War.
Festival favourites performing in 2014 festival are - Capercaillie, who are celebrating their own 30th anniversary, Salsa Celtic, Peatbog Faeries, Treacherous Orchestra, and Gaelic songstresses Julie Fowlis and Kathleen MacInnes.  


The festival will host 300 events, at 20 venues with over 2,100 artists and run from 16th Jan to 2nd Feb 2014.  


Sunday 13 October 2013

New Music 2013


Kurt Vile’s 5th studio album Wakin on a Pretty Daze,
http://kurtvile.com/
 
New Glasgow band #Chvrches, worth checking out! Cool sound. http://chvrch.es/videos
Strong melodies and memorable sound.


Check out HAIM's Days Are Gone, first album. Good vocals and cool bass lines - http://haimtheband.com

Lorde (Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor)
Only 17 (!)  is a New Zealand singer songwriter with a style all her own, I saw her on the Jools Holland tv show and I was impressed. She has topped charts with her first EP The Love Club and singles Royals. Interestingly her mother is a poet. Her debut album Pure Heroine, was released Sept 2013. http://lorde.co.nz/


Tuesday 8 October 2013

Haim's Days Are Gone


The three LA Haim sisters grew up with rock n roll and so their sound draws heavily from 70s and 80s pop rock. 
I like that they are playing basketball in their Save Me video and that they look good without having to totter around the stage in enormous heels the way most girl bands do. They actually play instruments too (!)  - Este plays a mean bass guitar, Danielle energetic rocking guitar and Alana dynamic fun rhythms on percussion, drums and keys.  
Their first album title, Days Are Gone, has been receiving mostly good reviews. They are strong vocally and all four singles are quality funky indie rock pop (Don't Save Me, Forever, The Wire, Falling). The track Go Slow shows a bit of an XX influence. The later tracks veer slightly into a poppy sound and with Let Me Go reminiscing for 70s rock. 
  


Otherwise the girls write and produce their own material and do it well. I would prefer that they stuck to the raw rock sound that they play live. I like their fun energy and new sound vibe.
I saw them play an upbeat and cool gig at Glasgow's SW13 venue last May, where they did a rocking version of early Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well. They also played Glastonbury 2013 and other UK festivals and they topped the BBC's Sound of 2013.  I noticed them firstly on the Jools Holland tv show earlier this year and I thought they played a distinctive rhythm that made them stand out.   http://haimtheband.com/

Haim at SW13 Glasgow