Somewhere in an alternate universe, Welsh rock legends the Manic Street Preachers have been split up for twenty-eight years. They released their debut album ‘Generation Terrorists’ in 1992, and then did what they initially promised to do – separate, and allow their music to live on in the hearts and minds of the millions of people who bought that debut album. The idea was that the album would lead to a mass socialist uprising in the United Kingdom, capitalism would fall, and the songs would live forever. 

Some of the songs off that album have indeed lived forever – most critics agree that ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ is one of the best songs released by a British band in the past three decades – but things didn’t work out quite the way that the young, wide-eyed, far-left Manics planned. The album sold hundreds of thousands rather than millions, and although it put the band on the map, they still clearly had a lot more work to do. All these years later, with those radical socialists now in their 50s, it’s incredible that they’re still doing it. 

The story of the Manic Street Preachers is one of triumph and tragedy. How many other bands could have survived a story like that of their iconic lyricist Richey Edwards? One day in 1995, on the even of a tour of the United States of America, Edwards left his hotel room, drove back to Wales, and was never seen again. He wasn’t just the man who wrote the beautiful words that the band had become known for – he was very much their face. He was at the center of every photograph, and the subject of every headline. James Dean Bradfield did the bulk of the musical work, but Edwards was the band’s soul. When he vanished, most normal bands would have crumbled. The Manics didn’t. They kept going. 

In truth, they’ve always been a band of contradictions and inconsistencies. They grew up idolizing Guns n’ Roses, and yet they’re their commercial antithesis. Guns n’ Roses are so sponsor-friendly that they have a range of official products going from official beers to official slots. As popular as the idea might be to fans of the band’s music, it’s impossible to imagine the Manics joining the select number of bands who’ve licensed their music to online slots websites. They’ve spent years searching for huge success with albums and singles, but eschewing all of the trappings of that success. It’s a more remarkable bet than any one ever seen in an online slots game that they’ve managed to succeed at all.

Like any band their age, the Manics are slowing down. They’re not playing stadium shows anymore – although they were scheduled to play Glastonbury Festival yet again before it was canceled. They don’t record expensive music videos or release new material as often as they used to. We can now sometimes go three or four years between new Manics albums based on their output since ‘Lifeblood’ in 2004 – and yet now they’re breaking that trend. Thanks to always-outspoken lyricist and bass player Nicky Wire, we now know that there’s a new Manic Street Preachers album in the pipeline, despite the fact that it’s only been two years since they released the critically-acclaimed but commercially-ignored ‘Resistance is Futile’ in 2018. 

By the time the album gets to us, it might not feel as much like a quick turnaround as it does right now. In fact, we might be waiting until the summer of 2021. Wire, who was speaking to music webzine the NME, said that while work was ongoing, the band had only written one song that they were truly 100% happy with for it so far – a track by the name of ‘Orwellian.’ Based on the title alone, we can safely say that no matter how old the Manics get, they’re never going to let go of the political ideology and high-concept subject matter that made them famous in the first place. Wire also says that the sound of the album would be more ‘expansive’ than the back-to-basics style of ‘Resistance is Futile,’ with a broader feel and perhaps harsher tones than its pop-friendly predecessor. For fans of the band’s earlier work, from ‘Generation Terrorists’ through to ‘The Holy Bible,’ this is likely to be music to their ears.

2021 is a long way away at the moment, but hardcore Manics fans have another surprise treat coming their way to break up the wait. In the same breath as confirming that work on the next album had begun, Wire also confirmed that James Dean Bradfield is working on a second solo album. While more music from the Manics was generally expected by their fans, this second piece of information will come as a surprise. Bradfield has released a solo album before – ‘The Great Western’ – but it was issued in 2006 and didn’t sell well. He’d never shown any inclination to release a follow up, but according to Wire, he’s ‘bursting with ideas,’ and so he went ahead and finished the tracks he was working on while he was waiting for the bass player to come up with new lyrics and new content. Presuming that he has a record label prepared to distribute it for him, the new Bradfield album is scheduled for release later on in 2020. 

With so much music seemingly appearing out of nowhere from the band, the question of whether Wire would release a second album of his own was put to him. Wire also published a record – ‘I Killed The Zeitgeist’ – in 2006, although his was largely a DIY effort with a limited run. He didn’t deny that he was interested in releasing a follow up but suggested that if he did, he would print only 500 copies of it and distribute it himself. He may have been joking, but with Wire’s trademark sardonic wit, it’s hard to tell. We can’t give you certainty that we’ll get a new Nicky Wire solo album, but we can say confidently that there will be a new Bradfield album, and we’re absolutely positive that despite the pledge they made as young men in 1992, we definitely haven’t seen the last of the Manic Street Preachers.

The post Manic Street Preachers Announce New Album appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Australian culture seems to have a knack of becoming hugely fashionable every few years, besides being home to one of the oldest cultures on Earth. Known for its laidback lifestyle, beaches and barbecues, bone-dry sense of humour, it’s clear that there’s a lot more going on in this country. Many people know that rugby, horse racing and golf are deeply embedded in the Australian culture. In addition to that, there is a wide array of betting sites Aussies love and trust, which offer more than just great odds.

But ultimately, it’s in music where Australia is currently dominating things. Ever since Tame Impala released their now-classic album Lonerism in 2012, the following decade has seen no end of innovative Australian indie stars. 

From the lyrical dexterity of Courtney Barnett to the slapstick punk of The Chats, it seems that Australian artists are enjoying musical freedom that is hard to find elsewhere in the world. While indie bands in the USA and the UK are caught up with being slaves to artistic fashion, it’s the diversity and irreverence in the Australian music scene that could be its greatest asset.

The Rise Of Tame Impala 

Tame Impala almost single-handedly brought about a psych revolution as soon as their track ‘Elephant’ dominated the airwaves in 2012. It wasn’t long before just about every other guitar band started experimenting with effect pedals and tried to mimic the production genius that is the bandleader Kevin Parker.

Many people have put Tame Impala’s unique sound down to the fact that their hometown of Perth is the most isolated major city in the world. But the band grew out of the vibrant Perth scene that also produced other notable Australian bands like Pond and GUM.

While Tame Impala managed to pave a brand new sonic path for less-imaginative indie bands to follow, Courtney Barnett used her incredible lyrical ingenuity to create something hugely intelligent yet strangely familiar. While her songs vary emulate anything from the fuzz-pop of The Breeders to early-era Britpop, her clever wordplay has ranked her alongside Bob Dylan, and she even picked up a Grammy nomination along the way. 

Every year, there seems to be another Australian band who are reinventing indie music in new and exciting ways. Last year Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever released Hope Downs that received excellent reviews at music magazines like Uncut, while new artists such as Brisbane’s Hatchie dominated American college radio with her sweet dream-pop sound. 

Australia’s Vibrant Punk Scene

Although these Australian artists are all making a big impression overseas, it’s also clear that there’s a new generation of Australian bands who couldn’t care less about what the rest of the world thinks. 

Australia has always had a vibrant punk scene with bands like The Saints and The Birthday Party still maintaining a large amount of relevance to the present day. But there’s plenty of new Australian punk bands like Amyl and the Sniffers who are showing a gleeful irreverence, badly missing from today’s po-faced music scene.

But all of this backed up by the Queensland band The Chats who almost had a breakthrough novelty hit with ‘Smoko’, while Brad Pot display a garage punk fury not seen since the likes of much-missed Jay Reatard.

So although music fans are still waiting for that long-delayed next Tame Impala album, it seems that there are plenty more pioneering bands and artists who are keeping the Australian indie music revival alive. 

The post Why Australian Bands Are Ruling Modern Indie appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

It’s a great day to be a Gorillaz fan. Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, and a wide assortment of collaborators are back for their new album Humanz, out April 28th. The regular edition of Humanz features 14 tracks, with the deluxe adding five more (check the tracklisting at the bottom of this post), jam-packed with guest stars — as is the norm for the act lately, coming off the superb Plastic Beach, Obscure Sound’s #1 album of 2010.

They didn’t stop there today. Four new tracks in total were revealed. A 6-minute video called “Saturnz Barz (Spirit House),” directed by Hewlett, featured the track “Saturnz Barz” [ft. Popcaan], in addition to clips of “Ascension” [ft. Vince Staples], “We Got the Power” [ft. Jehnny Beth of Savages] and “Andromeda” [ft. D.R.A.M.]. These tracks are all available separately on YouTube as well (links below), in addition to streaming on Tidal. These tracks follow up the reveal of album cut “Hallelujah Money“, featuring Benjamin Clementine, earlier this year. While that track drew a mixed critical response, these four seem bound to achieve deserved acclaim, from the spacey pop of “Andromeda” to the hip-hop excitement of “Ascension”.

Recorded in New York, Paris, London, Jamaica, and Chicago, the album was produced by Gorillaz, The Twilite Tone of D/\P, and Remi Kabaka. Gorillaz will be playing the album in full tomorrow (Friday 3/24) at a secret location in London. Find the tickets for that here.

Stream ’em all below — and remember that “Saturnz Barz (Spirit House)” features 360-degree viewing!

Humanz tracklisting:

01 Ascension feat. Vince Staples
02 Strobelite feat. Peven Everett
03 Saturnz Barz feat. Popcaan
04 Momentz feat. De La Soul
05 Submission feat. Danny Brown and Kelela
06 Charger feat. Grace Jones
07 Andromeda feat. D.R.A.M.
08 Busted and Blue
09 Carnival feat. Anthony Hamilton
10 Let Me Out feat. Mavis Staples and Pusha T
11 Sex Murder Party feat. Jamie Principle and Zebra Katz
12 She’s My Collar feat. Kali Uchis
13 Hallelujah Money feat. Benjamin Clementine
14 We Got The Power feat. Jehnny Beth

Deluxe edition bonus tracks:

15 The Apprentice feat. Rag’n’ Bone Man, Zebra Katz, and RAY BLK
16 Halfway To The Halfway House feat. Peven Everett
17 Out Of Body feat. Kilo Kish, Zebra Katz, and Imani Vonshà
18 Ticker Tape feat. Carly Simon and Kali Uchis
19 Circle Of Friendz feat. Brandon Markell Holmes

The post Gorillaz Announce New Album ‘Humanz’, Release Four Tracks appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Legendary trumpet player and previously featured Mac Gollehon, or “Chops”, as Miles Davis once called him, will be performing in a series of shows across New York City in support of his acclaimed 2016 album, Mac Gollehon & The Hispanic Mechanics. The album was recorded at Bill Laswell’s Orange Music Sound Studios and has been billed as “a great mix of Latin-inspired house music, with highlighted acoustic instruments like percussion, guitars and, of course, the powerful trumpet of Gollehon.”

Widely praised for its free experimentation, All About Jazz called the album “an entirely unidiomatic yet intriguing new work” while Jazz in Europe wrote “Mac brings so many musical styles to the mix. It is funk, it is disco, it is decisively Latin – with more than a touch of hard jazz – it is good.” Jon Ireson of music-news.com says “This album goes to show that latin music has interesting directions to go if it’s ambassadors can think outside of the box.” Jordan Smith of Cmuse writes “an album that takes you on a journey through Latin rhythms perfect for the summer, beats you’d associate with a club dance floor and even some relaxed moments for good measure.” The Latin Jazz Network raved  that “Mac Gollehon & the Hispanic Mechanics is among the finest interpretations of African Caribbean music, and among the most compelling in recent history.” JazzTimes.com went as far as to say “Mac Gollehon & The Hispanic Mechanics Have Released the Kraaken!”

Mac Gollehon originally made a name for himself playing on over 500 gold and platinum records including with legends like David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Madonna. He was also the touring trumpet player for Duran Duran. More recently he has become known for hard gigging around not just the New York scene but the whole world. In the past year he has made fairly regular trips to Japan alongside legendary artists like his old friend James Chance. Mac Gollehon has been a mainstay in the New York City scene for years now, as one of the most prominent big band musicians in the country and bringing his distinctive sounds all across the globe.

The show on December 3 at the iconic SOB’s with Mac Gollehon & the Hispanic Mechanics will feature special guest master percussionist Anthony Corrillo from the famed Batacumbele. The December 2 show at Leftfield is James Chance and Mac Gollehon Smokin Section Lounge exudes artistic ambience, peregrinations, wandering sonic interpretation of  standards as well as originals. .December 4 Mac will be at The Silent Barn collaborating with Csigo the brilliant noise artist from Budapest. This set will have a take no prisoners attitude from start to finish. These series of shows will be a truly fascinating look into the scope of a legend. 

Mac is very excited about the upcoming shows which will feature many of his longtime friends and call attention to various sides of his career. He hopes to use this as a jumping off point for a 2017 festival season that will bring him back to the center of the trumpet playing world. Any fan of non-mainstream music or hard hitting trumpet sounds would be remiss to if they missed any of these special events. Mac is back.

Dates:

November 1-Drom. Showtime 7PM one set  Drom is located at 85 Ave A NYC.      

December 2 Leftfield-8PM one set. Leftfield is located at 87 Ludlow St. NYC.     

December 3 at SOB’s two shows 8PM and 10PM. SOB’s is located at204 Varick St. NYC.      

December 4 The Silent Barn showtime 9:30 PM. The Silent Barn is located at 603 Bushwick Ave  Brooklyn NY 

The post Legendary Trumpeter Mac Gollehon Preps For String of NYC Shows w. James Chance and Special Guests appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Already kicked off on July 30th in Windsor, VT, Campbell is touring with The Phaction on a 24-city promotional tour for their new album Taking Back Tomorrow. Per the press release, the upcoming album will “feature some of today’s most groundbreaking voices, including Iesha Green (sharing songwriting credits with Rihanna) and Heidi Feek (daughter of country music stars, Joey and Rory Feek), while matching them with legendary hip hop names, such as Ras Kass (who Pitchfork called one of the greatest rappers of all time) and Talib Kweli (independent hip hop pioneer and former Rawkus Records emcee and co-creator of the famed hip hop super duo Black Star), among many others.”

Check out a video below on the making of the album, as well as the tour dates below that:

Saturday 8/13/2016 Grand Forks, ND – Ojata Records
Sunday 8/14/2016 Missoula, MT – Stage 112
Monday 8/15/2016 Great Falls, MT – Back Alley Pub
Tuesday 8/16/2016 Seattle , WA – Vermillion
Wednesday 8/17/2016 Portland, OR – Starday Tavern
Thursday 8/18/2016 Bend, OR – Silvermoon Brewing
Friday 8/19/2016 Berkeley, CA – 924 Gilman St
Saturday 8/20/2016 Santa Cruz/Napa, CA – TBA
Sunday 8/21/2016 Los Angeles, CA – Redwood Room
Monday 8/22/2016 Flagstaff, AZ – Firecreek Coffee
Tuesday 8/23/2016 Denver , CO – Herman’s Hide Away
Wednesday 8/24/2016 Cheyenne, WY – MHz
Thursday 8/25/2016 Helena, MT – Jesters
Friday 8/26/2016 Ketchum, ID – Whiskey Jacques
Saturday 8/27/2016 Las Vegas, NV – TBA
Sunday 8/28/2016 Phoenix/Tempe AZ – TBA
Monday 8/29/2016 Fort Worth, TX – TBA
Tuesday 8/30/2016 Atlanta , GA – Apache Cafe
Wednesday 8/31/2016 Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabitts
Thursday 9/1/2016 San Jose, Costa Rica – TBA
Friday 9/2/2016 San Jose, Costa Rica – TBA
Saturday 9/3/2016 San Jose, Costa Rica – El Sotano
Sunday 9/4/2016 Charlotte, NC – Apostrophe Lounge

The post Chuckie Campbell Announces New Tour, Album appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Three months in, nine to go. There’s a year-long music contest happening right now and if you make music, listen to music, or just like music, you need to know all about it.

The Stagelight Monthly Music Contest II is live and it’s not stopping until March 2017. The premise is simple—you upload a song, an original composition, and get your fans to vote. If you don’t have a huge following, don’t stress, votes count but creativity counts more. Interested? Upload your song here.

So far this sounds like a standard song contest, but it’s not, and here’s why-

Every month has a specific style. First three months were rock, electronic, and hip hop. This month is ‘wildcard’ month. Wildcard means any style, any genre. This is the time to enter if you don’t subscribe to one genre. The more creative the better. After all, creativity is the most important factor.

If you’re not convinced, maybe the prizes will. Do you need a new studio setup? If you win first or second place, for any month, you’ll get one. The monthly first place winners get Lenovo Ideacentre Y900, ThinkVision P27 27” Wide UHD IPS Monitor, Blue Microphones Yeti Pro, and Blue Headphones Mofi. Second place monthly winners get Lenovo Ideacentre AIO 300 23-inch All-In-One Computer. If you don’t win next month, enter the next, and the next, and the next. You have every month until March 2017 to snag a prize.

All the first place monthly winners compete for one grand prize—a studio mentoring session with Linkin Park, Lenovo Yoga Home 900, and a Yamaha reface CS. The grand prize winner really takes it home. Two studio setups, and a once in a lifetime experience.

This isn’t a publicity stunt. We looked into it. The contest is hosted by Open Labs and sponsored by Intel. Open Labs makes Stagelight—music production software for new artists. Stagelight is a full DAW for Windows and Android, and, from what I gather, super easy to use. Here is a great review of Stagelight. I just downloaded it and am trying it myself.

One more thing—if you don’t make music, you can still win prizes. Listen to songs, and vote for your favorite. Every week you have a chance of winning a prize. You can win tablets, tiny desktops, and chromebooks. Here is a detailed list of prizes. You can vote every week, giving you a higher chance of winning.

That’s it. Now you know about a great opportunity. The Stagelight Monthly Music Contest II is in full swing. Put yourself out there and submit a song. Three artists have already won. Musician or not, you can win, and if you’re a musician you can win BIG.

The post Stagelight Monthly Music Contest II Is Live appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Fresh off winning four Grammys on Monday night (including Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Music Album), Alabama Shakes have announced the dates for this spring and into the summer. See the dates below:

03-11 Bogota, Colombia – Festival Estereo Picnic
03-13 São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brazil
03-14 São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brazil Sideshow at Club Audio
03-15 São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brazil Sideshow at Circo Voador
03-17 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina Sideshow at Niceto Club
03-19 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina
03-20 Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile
04-21 Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
04-22 Charlotte, NC – Uptown Amphitheater
04-23 Charleston, SC – Volvo Cars Stadium
04-25 Chattanooga, TN – Track 29
04-26 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena
04-27 Athens, GA – The Classic Center
04-29 Ybor City, FL – Cuban Club
04-30 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheater
05-21 Gulf Shores, AL – Hangout Festival
05-27 Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater
05-28 Burnaby, British Columbia – Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park
05-29 George, WA – Sasquatch! Music Festival
07-08 London, England – Hyde Park ? British Summer Time
07-09 Barcelona, Spain – Cruilla Barcelona Summer Festival
07-15 Memphis, TN – Mud Island Amphitheater
07-16 Louisville, KY – Forecastle
07-19 Chicago, IL – Civic Opera House
07-20 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
08-06 Taos, NM – Kit Carson Park
08-07 Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre
08-09-10 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theater
08-12 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre

The post Alabama Shakes Announce New 2016 Tour Dates appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

In a quick Instagram video from Killer Mike, hip-hop duo Run the Jewels (which also includes producer/rapper El-P) gave fans a brief glimpse on the progress of the album. The video consists of the two in the studio bobbing their heads along to what is likely a new track. No official announcement has been made yet for the release of Run the Jewels 3, but the album should be arriving this year. Their previous album, Run the Jewels 2, was one of our top 10 albums of 2014.

The post Run the Jewels Tease New Album from Studio appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Columbia Records chairman Rob Stringer announced Friday night that LCD Soundsystem had signed to the label. Stringer made the announcement during an interview at Billboard‘s Power 100 Celebration.

With festival appearances, a new tour announced and an album on the way, 2016 is poised to be a big year for the newly reunited Soundsystem. The group took a hiatus in 2011, after a supposedly final show in Madison Square Garden. However, Murphy mentioned last month about new-found inspiration cultivated from his hiatus, and released a new track in “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” shortly thereafter.

The post LCD Soundsystem Signs to Columbia Records appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

FKA twigs’s debut EP1 will be getting a reissue through Young Turks on April 8. Previously, the record had gone out of print making it a rare find. EP1 was initially released in 2012.

Her first full-length record, LP1 was released in 2014 and an EP, M3LL155X, came out last year.

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