Candy Says has only existed for a few months, but things are moving quickly. Juju and Ben have been recording “lo-fi chic pop” in their bungalow garage, and it seems to be catching on. Their first single Melt Into The Sun ended up in the top ten in Prague for six weeks after they played a show there. Favourite Flavour, released next week by Cool For Cats Records on a limited edition of 100 tapes, has been picked up and played by Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq on 6Music.

Juju’s last band, Little Fish, was signed to a major label and toured around the world supporting some big names. As Juju chops a bunch of coriander, I ask her whether her ambitions are different for this band. “I’ve already achieved my ambitions for Candy Says. The plan was just to make some music that we love and get it played on 6Music, and we’ve done that!” So does that mean it’s over? What’s next? “Of course it’s not over. It’s just great not to have any expectations, except for always wanting to create something better.”

Juju and Ben co-authored a book with their friend Miranda Ward (F**k The Radio, we’ve got apple juice) about the DIY ethos and different ideas of success. “Our main aim with this band is just to do interesting stuff – write and record interesting songs, work with interesting people, put on interesting shows and make interesting films. That’s what makes us happy, so that’s what we’re concentrating on. It’s great when Lauren Laverne plays us on the radio, because it helps us tell the story of what we’re doing to a few more people, but there wouldn’t be much of a story if we didn’t concentrate on creating.” Ben looks up from his coding. “This time round, we’ve been very careful to keep control of what we’re doing. We’ve recorded the songs ourselves and we’ve made the films ourselves. We’re not in debt and there’s no pressure to make loads of money. As soon as you have that pressure you have to spend most of your time and effort trying to be fashionable, to be the cool band of the moment. We’re not a fashion band.”

Candy Says named their band after a Velvet Underground song. If they’re not a fashion band, are they an art band? Juju likes to think so. “Absolutely, but only in the way all good bands are art bands. We’re not super experimental, but we do enjoy exploring the edges of pop music and doing things that people wouldn’t expect. There’s a great scene of artists and poets and musicians in Oxford, and it’s fun to work with people from outside the music world. Our films were written and directed by Bekim Mala who’s a painter really, and the actors are all friends of ours – Dan Norman is an opera singer, Steve Hay is an actor and storyteller, Tamsen Healey is an awesome actress. They all enjoyed making the first film so much that they came back for the second! That canvas in the garden is another of Bekim’s crazy projects – he’s going to paint a four by two metre landscape behind us as we play.”

Juju and Ben are parents now, and Ben works full time for Bandcamp. As Juju wonders how much rose water you’re supposed to add to a cous cous salad, I ask her how they have time to be a band. “It’s not easy! We grab an hour or two occasionally and record something or write a few emails. I knew it was going to be tough once we had a baby, so I forced myself to write all the songs while I was pregnant. I’d just sit at my desk with a guitar and not let myself get up until I had a song. We’ve spent about a year getting it all together – the songs, the recordings and the band. I think with any sort of creative activity it’s good to have limitations, and we’ve tried to embrace that idea. Time is the obvious one, but we also have a very simple recording setup. Two microphones and an old laptop.” Ben has been looking up rose water on Wikipedia, and thinks two teaspoons should be enough. “Apparently it’s quite potent. And as for the recording, it’s great having no gear. There’s no temptation to fiddle with stuff. I’m running Logic on an old MacBook and I have no plugins – just the standard reverb and delay. We can work really quickly because almost all the decisions are made by the limitations of the setup. All of our recordings sound like our garage, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”

The garage recordings have a real charm, but the version that’s being played the radio sounds more polished. I ask Ben whether they’re compromising their garage recording ethic for the sake of radio play. “I wouldn’t call it a compromise. It’s just a different style of production for a different medium. Our friend Narco takes the garage recordings and mixes them in a way that makes more sense for the radio. If you put our DIY mixes on 6Music everyone would start fiddling with their radio controls – it would sound weird, and that wouldn’t be much use for us. But the garage recordings are cool, and we’re putting those out too. That’s what the app is about – every month we’re going to post a garage recording of a song with liner notes. I’ve been working on it for months, when I have time. It’s been rejected by the App Store four times now for random reasons, but I think I’ve got it this time. Fingers crossed.” Juju brings her salad to the table. “We’re just going to keep putting out songs in different ways. Favourite Flavour is coming out on cassette with a bright pink case, because that suits the song. Some songs we’ll just put up on the internet, the garage recordings will be in the app, at some point we might put out an EP. I imagine there will be an album some time next year, but we’re not really focussing on that. The album is sort of the least important thing – it’s the default format for people who aren’t interested enough to get into all the rest.”

We tuck in to the cous cous salad. “It’s good, isn’t it?” says Juju. “You can really taste the rose water.”

www.candysays.it

The post Candy Says Interview May 2013 appeared first on More Than The Music.

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We all met on the internet. I used to send demos from the UK over to Ryan in Australia and then when I moved to Australia we started to jam properly. Our band name was one of several dumb name choices. We went for the least silly one… I think.

How would you describe your music?

Indie-pop infused sounds.

What have you been up to so far and what can we expect over the coming months?

We just released our second album ‘You’re a Shadow’ over in our homeland Australia, where we have just finished a heavy tour. The next few months will see us over in the UK playing some headline shows and festivals to support our first single release in the UK of ‘Sharp Shooter’. We’re pretty excited to be heading back over to the UK, we always have fun over there. Then we’ll head back to Oz for further shows… we never stop.

If you could duet with anybody who would it be and why?

I’d like to arrange and sing some harmonies with the Beach Boys. Reckon that would be a trip.

What’s your desert island disc and why would you take this one album?

Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys because I could listen to it on repeat. Such a classic and well made album.

www.hungrykidsofhungary.com

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Cold Spring Faultless Youth will be released on 28Records, and is an obvious experimental step forward compared with their debut album. It seems apparent that after a smattering of EP releases and the experience of playing live gigs in between albums, Mount Kimbie are finding their feet, and arguably pioneering their own unique genre.

Opening track Home Recording’s brass introduction is instantly compelling, and the track grows into a heady cloud of syncopated beats and distorting rhythms, with Campos’ smooth vocals highly reminiscent of James Blake. Two of the strongest tracks on the album feature the effortlessly endearing vocals of King Krule. One of these collaborations, You Took Your Time, blends King Krule’s flowing tones what is at first ambient and mellow hip-hop, which then twists and transforms into something more urgent.

Another gem is Blood and Form; infectious, imaginative and perhaps a potential future single. It showcases Campos’ unique vocals beautifully whilst creating a hypnotic trance with its repetitive beat.

Cold Spring Faultless Youth is a vast improvement on the duo’s previous work; their debut album seemed to be clutching at other artist’s influences, and yet desperate to be different. It seemed so much effort was put into its attempt to be unique that it had a tendency to become repetitive and dull.

Yet this album exudes self-confidence; Mount Kimbie have obviously embraced their own creativity and created 11 little works of art which are a fusion of numerous genres and influences, and yet something new entirely. This album is wonderfully challenging and non-classifiable.

www.mountkimbie.com

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The record starts off slow-paced with lush single, Motorway, a lovely tale of making an escape. This is followed by awesome, nineties-esque Confusion where she rips into a lover that’s messing her around. “You’re playing games; do you think that you could break my heart again?” she questions them. Elsewhere, Strangers proves she can blend the two things she sings about the most – love and clubbing – as she uses the metaphor of dancing to represent the drifting apart of a relationship.

On the more upbeat side, singles Every Night I Say a Prayer and Broken Record are both highlights, and Shake is undoubtedly the best song here; a stomping dancefloor filler that make you want to move (which is what it’s about, so that’s good really). It’s a shame last year’s single Headphones doesn’t make an appearance though.

Although the first half of the album is incredibly solid, it does trail off a bit towards the end, not grabbing the listener as much. The down-tempo Satellite is a great ending though. Just like on Hands, here Hesketh proves she can do lush slow tunes just as well as upbeat numbers. Yet she’s not repeating herself here; the formula may be similar, but the end result is unique as she draws influences from new places – most notably, the seventies disco era.

Overall, Little Boots’ sophomore effort is an accomplished record that will be on repeat for most of summer for anyone that’s a fan of dancefloor fillers and dreamy pop. It’s safe to say the wait was most definitely worth it.

www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk

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Me and Tom have known each other our whole lives and then we met Jacob at secondary school in Birmingham  We came into contact with Adam at a club where we were amazed to find a scared little blonde boy being sexually slapped across the face by a rather large welsh lass who thought his name was James  Don’t worry though, we saved him…

How would you describe your music?

Like a night out in Wetherspoons.

What have you been up to so far and what can we expect over the coming months?

We have just been writing and writing and writing as much as possible really. We have only played a handful of gigs so far which were real fun. We have a couple more singles in the pipeline as well, which will be ready to go pretty soon I hope so yano, exciting times man!

If you could duet with anybody who would it be and why?

I think Doug Marsh would be super cool to meet and duet with. His guitar playing is insane and his numerous bands inspire a lot of the stuff we are writing at the moment

What’s your desert island disc and why would you take this one album?

Too hard to say! Maybe Blue Lines – Massive Attack or Ok Computer… I dunno  I’m a massive Radiohead fan, I think the way they basically reinvent themselves from album to album is insane, but i think on a desert island you just need some light hearted reggae or something… U-ROY!! I would take a U-Roy album!

www.werdumb.com
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Fan Refused Entry at Gig

Andy Bellis was refused entry to a gig in Venue Cymru in Wales this week. Bellis held a ticket for The Vaccines sell out gig but was refused entry when he couldn’t name two of the bands albums. Security refused to let him enter the gig. Venue Cymru has offered the following statement to justify their dogged policing of gigs. “We received information that there would be pickpockets at the gig. So we worked in conjunction with our security firm, which is ShowSec, and the police who ensured that our customers were safe inside the venue. Some customers were asked to name the band they were coming to see that evening but nobody was turned away for not knowing the answer or any other knowledge of the band. 2,500 people attended the concert and of those people six were turned away at the door. It does appear that of those six there was a mistake made and that two genuine fans were turned away. Those fans will receive an apology and will be refunded.”
What do you think MTTMers? Was this fair? What would you do in this circumstance?

Madonna Sells Painting for Charity

Madonna has sold the painting Trois Femmes a la table rouge this week. The original painting by Cubist Fernand Leger raised £4.6million and will be donated to the Ray of Light Foundation. Nice one, Madge.

Spice Girls Split….Again?

Rumours are rife at the moment that the Spice Girls have split up again. This means that plans for a 2014 world tour have been stopped. The band intended to tour as a quartet due to Victoria Beckham’s reluctance to tour however if the rumors are to be believed then any hopes of a new tour are sadly going to be squashed.

Tim Lambesis Arrested

Tim Lambesis, the singer with band As I Lay Dying has been arrested under the suspicion of plotting to kill his wife. He was arrested in San Diego. More information to follow as the story unravels.

Ja Rule Released From Prison

Ja Rule was released from prison this week after serving his two year sentence for illegal gun possession.

New Label Launch

Alan McGee has launched a new record label. Having previously founded Creation Records and Poptones, McGee has launched 359 Music.

Culkin and Doherty – Flatmates?

Macauly Culkin and Pete Doherty have formed an unlikely friendship and are now co-existing in Doherty’s home in France.

Rihanna Booed Off Stage

After a three hour delay Rihanna walked on to the stage of her Boston gig to a chorus of boos. The show, which had been rescheduled previously due to Rihanna’s bout of laryngitis started three hours later than scheduled with no supporting act. Bad form, Rihanna.

Live Announcements

Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx have announced live dates for the end of 2013.

28^th November – o2 Academy, Leeds

29^th November – Apollo, Manchester

1^st December – o2 Academy, Newcastle

5^th December – o2 Academy, Brighton

6^th December – o2 Academy, Brixton

Bibelots

Bibelots are currently touring. Have you got your ticket yet?

18^th May – Old Brown Jug, Stoke

22^nd May – Oakford Social, Reading

23^rd May – The Square, Harlow

31^st May – The Macbeth, London (EP Launch)

7^th June – Nambucca, London

12^th June – The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

23^rd June – Hoxton Bar and Kitchen Festival, London

2^nd August – Standon Calling Festival

Bo Bruce

Bo Bruce will be playing a lot of dates over the summer so you have no excuse not to get down to her shows. Tickets are available via www.gigsandtours.com.

16^th June – Fleece, Bristol

17^th June – Academy 2, Newcastle

18^th June – King Tuts, Glasgow

19^th June – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

21^st June – Bodega, Nottingham

22^nd June – Arts Centre, Norwich

23^rd June – Joiners, Southampton

25^th June – Glee Club, Birmingham

26^th June – Bush Hall, London

27^th June – Deaf Institute, Manchester

6^th July – Summer Sound Festival, Gloucester

7^th July – Cornbury Festival, Oxfordshire

12^th July – T in the Park, Kinross

26^th July – Kendal Calling, Kendal

28^th July – Stockton Weekender, Stockton

Five

Five have included a matinee show to their tour dates. Tickets can be purchased via www.gigsandtours.com.

18^th November – Brighton Centre, Brighton

19^th November – Echo Two @ Echo Arena, Liverpool

20^th November – Opera House, Blackpool

22^nd November – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

23^rd November – BIC, Bournemouth

25^th November – Cliffs Pavilion, Southend

26^th November – Pavilion, Plymouth

27^th November – De Montfort Hall, Leicester

29^th November – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

30^th November – o2 Apollo, Manchester (Matinee)

30^th November – o2 Apollo, Manchester (Matinee)

1^st December – Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow

3^rd December – City Hall, Newcastle

4^th December – Hammersmith Apollo, London

5^th December – New Theatre, Oxford

Mikky Ekko

Tickets for Mikky Ekko’s July tour can be purchased via www.livenation.co.uk.

9^th July – Green Door Store, Brighton

10^th July – Louisiana, Bristol

12^th July – Wireless Festival

16^th July – XOYO, London

Portugal. The Man

Tickets for Portugal. The Man’s September tour are available via www.livenation.co.uk.

11^th September – Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, London

12^th September – The Haunt, Brighton

13^th September – Night and Day, Manchester

Temples

Temples have announced more dates to their tour.

17^th May – The Great Escape, Brighton

18^th May – Stag and Dagger, Glasgow

19^th June – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

20^th June – Boston Arms, London

21^st June – Deaf Institute, Manchester

6^th July – Hyde Park, London (with Rolling Stones)

7^th July – Beat Herder Festival, Clitheron

21^st July – Latitude Festival, Southwold

26^th July – Secret Garden Party, Huntingdon

27^th July – Stockton Weekender, Stockton

17^th August – Beacons Festival, Skipton

23^rd – 25^th August – Leeds and Reading Festival

13^th September – Festival No. 6, Portmeirion

The 1975

The 1975 have announced a whole host of live dates for 2013 as well as 2014. Tickets are available via www.gigsandtours.com.

15^th September – Newcastle University, Newcastle

16^th September – Institute, Birmingham

17^th September – o2 ABC, Glasgow

18^th September – Rock City, Nottingham

20^th September – o2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London (Sold Out)

21^st September – Ritz, Manchester

22^nd September – Sugarmill, Stoke

23^rd September – Leeds University Stylus, Leeds

24^th September – o2 Academy, Oxford

25^th September – Waterfront, Norwich

26^th September – o2 Academy, Bristol

28^th September – Concorde 2, Brighton

30^th September – Academy, Dublin

1^st October – Mandela Hall, Belfast

8^th January – Academy, Manchester

11^th January – o2 Academy Brixton, London

Released This Week

Time – Rod Stewart

Modern Vampires of the City – Vampire Weekend

A – Agnetha Faltskog

More Light – Primal Scream

English Rain – Gabrielle Aplin

Re-Mit – The Fall

Volume 3 – She & Him

Music From Baz Lurhmann’s Filme The Great Gatsby – Various Artists

American Kid – Patty Griffin

Promises – Boxer Rebellion

Black Pudding – Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood

Little Letters – Paper Aeroplanes

Second Hand Rapture – MSMR

The post Music News: Monday 13th May 2013 appeared first on More Than The Music.

Her sumptuous blend of soul, jazz and pop has been well received all over the world, not just in her country of origin. With songs in Portuguese, English and even Spanish, Luísa has proven that she is a force to be reckoned with. Her sharp and vivid lyrics are paired with fresh and breezy melodies, much like her bubbly personality.

Since 2011, the performer has been gracing many stages all over the world, showcasing her unique musicality and magnificent voice, reminiscent of great singers like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, whom she lists as some of her inspirations. Her wide-raging talent has given her the opportunity to appear in Jools Holland’s show in 2012, making her the first ever Portuguese musician to grace the highly praised BBC production. The year also saw her collaborating with Alejandro Sanz (“Bailo Con Vos”) and David Fonseca (“It Shall Pass”).

Her newest album is also graced with the mastery of some very special guests. Jamie Cullum, Britain’s very own ‘Sinatra in Sneakers’, features in the nostalgic and mellow She Walked Down The Aisle, lending his deep voice to a wonderfully crafted track. António Zambujo, fado singer and composer, duets with Luísa in Inês, while Mário Laginha, contemporary jazz composer, plays the piano in the track The Last One.

So if you’re looking for some accessible jazz music, or just fancy lending your ears to something new, Luisa Sobral is the girl for you.

www.luisasobral.com

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With other Luhrmann productions – Romeo and Juliet, Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge – we know that he is very shrewd in using music wisely to help set the mood, the pace, the scene and the idea of a movie. He and his musical team place songs so well in a score that they often become an omniscient character, a narrator even to the story. Therefore, naturally our curiosity has been piqued.

The soundtrack opens with Jay-Z’s 100$ Bill and is laced with dialogue of the film, rather confusingly Mr Carter mentions events and people that didn’t actually exist during the 1920s which makes the song stick out for all the wrong reasons.

Jay-Z’s other half attempted to cover Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black featuring Andre 3000; again this is confusing and you cannot help but feel that the raw gritty desperation of Winehouse’s original may have suited the soundtrack more rather than Beyonce’s breathy vocals and Andre 3000 recently developed stutter. The third track on the album offers something by way of what we expect from Gatsby. Will.i.am’s Bang Bang at least offers a modern take on a Charlston sound.

Highlights of the album include Lana Del Rey’s Young and Beautiful; the lyrics reflect the mood of the story and Del Rey’s vocals complement the song – there is a subtle and quiet desperation to be heard. Emeli Sande’s cover of Beyonce’s Crazy in Love seriously lends it sound well to the soundtrack; the arrangement with added brass section almost reeks of jazz and liqueur and it is a splendid contribution. Jack White’s Love is Blindness is scintillatingly epic. The squealing guitars are so out of place with the time period but the intensity and the passion are overwhelming.

Overall the album does not meet nor does it exceed expectations. The soundtracks to previous Luhrmann films have been more memorable. One can only hope that when the sound is heard accompanying the film that it blends together much more seamlessly as the soundtrack alone does not clearly produce a definitive emotion.

The post The Great Gatsby – Original Soundtrack appeared first on More Than The Music.

After coming over all electro in their third effort, Last Night on Earth, the band have again changed directions with Heart of Nowhere. While the catchy tunes remains, the band have evolved once more – gone is the electronic vibe, for starters.

The record begins with an instrumental introduction full of strings. Building up nicely it blends perfectly into the title track (so much so they could be the same song) which features the wonderful Anna Calvi; her powerful vocals adding a whole new dimension to the track, complimenting Charlie Fink’s voice beautifully.

Fink has always written incredibly open and honest lyrics, and this album is certainly no exception. After tales of youth, heartbreak and recovery from the band on previous LPs, Heart of Nowhere’s main focus is reflections of youth and adulthood, growing up and coming of age – with lyrics such as “now you’re getting married while I’m waiting for my life to start” in one of the record’s best songs, Lifetime. Elsewhere, All Through the Night and Silver and Gold are two of the album’s highlights – on the latter Fink singing that “love may not be the cure, but at least it’s a common ground, so show a little faith in me”. Final track There Will Come a Time is full of hope; a fitting ending to the album.

Overall, Heart of Nowhere is another strong effort from a band that keep churning out fantastic (and for the most part, feel-good) songs. And who can fault them for that?

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