Now, 2015 has been a pretty phenomenal year for new music - I'm sure I've still got a few albums to catch up on if I'm honest. However, there are some artists that I can't help but wish had released a record this year. There's always next year though!


DAUGHTER
It's been a couple of years since their debut If You Leave and I still listen to it on a very regular basis. Beginning to end, no matter the order, that record is stellar. Luckily, Daughter released a new single a couple of months ago here and if it's anything to go by, then their sophomore record out next year should have no problems making it onto my top albums of the year list - I just wish it'd come sooner, but suppose good things come to those who wait.

FRANK OCEAN
The king of procrastination himself. Frank had the whole world waiting for a new album this year around July and we're still all waiting - no news of a release date, time schedule, absolutely nothing. Channel Orange was a brilliant record and was maybe actually a little underrated as a whole piece but 3 years on - let's go Frank! I don't know when we'll get a second record but when we do, I'll be expecting very big things.

KANYE WEST
Speaking of procrastinators, here's another new record that I'd expected to hear around mid year and am still waiting (semi)patiently for. After the controversial Yeezus this new record was supposed to be a complete 180 and I was so ready for the differing views and undeniably brilliant tracks but instead we got a big bowl of nothing. Okay well, we got "All Day" but still - album in 2016 please.

RIHANNA
Continuing on the thread of artists who made us false promises this year, bad girl Rih Rih has been teasing us since the year began, with music videos, the absolute banger "Bitch Better Have My Money", album covers, and even album titles but still we've seen nothing. Still unsure of a release date at this point but with a tour already announced for next year, I'm sure we won't be waiting much longer.

THE NIGHT VI
To be honest, I've been waiting for this band to release an album since I first discovered them in 2013 here and last year seemed a little bit promising with new single releases and covers. We did get an EP this year to be fair so they didn't leave us with nothing but I just want a big breakout debut album that won't be able to hide under the radar. No signs of that happening anytime soon though so until then I guess I'll just keep listening to Maybe That's How I'm Feeling.

LAURA MVULA
Laura's been making new music ever since her debut record came out - we just haven't heard any of it yet. The only thing I'm worried about with her sophomore is that the same thing that happened to Alt-J and SBTRKT will happen. She was something so new and different when she debuted and now it might be too hard to keep a unique sound without overdoing it. Will just have to wait and see if she can prove this theory wrong.

HAIM
I feel like I haven't heard anything from Haim in the longest time! I know it's only been a couple of years but they blew up so quickly and had so many hits in such a short space of time that when they dropped off the scene to record new material, their absence was very noticeable. I wasn't their hugest fan but I liked what they were doing and a need them to come back and fill that Haim shaped hole in my life.

BALANCE AND COMPOSURE
After The Things We Think We're Missing in 2013 I've been waiting for any opportunity to see this band live. That record was some of the best pop rock I've heard in a while! Again, an album that return to frequently, so when rumours started coming up about them breaking up earlier this year I was pretty devastated. Thank God they later came out with a statement that they're not breaking up and they're actually recording new music - just wish it'd come out this year.

ARCANE ROOTS
Another cop out - they did release an EP earlier this year here and it was definitely good, but after the gold that was Blood & Chemistry I was hoping to get my hands on another musical masterpiece this year. Either way, now that the band are getting more and more recognition this might result in more music soon. I haven't heard anyone in the same space do it quite as well as them just yet.

CHARLOTTE OC
In fairness, I did only discover her last year but since discovering her music, she's blown up quite a bit and released quite a few new singles - only right for me to assume that a new album's on it's way right? Well I was mistaken. She did however (like most of the other artists on this list) release an EP earlier this year here - no signs of a debut record yet but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

A couple of days ago we caught up on half of the music news that's been going on around the world these past few days here. But now it's time for the other half of interesting news coming our way...

CHARLOTTE OC NEW SINGLE "ON & ON"
Along with this new single, Charlotte has also announced the release of her new EP - Burning - available on iTunes right now. As always, I love what Charlotte's done - her vocals sounding stellar as always. However, this wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.

 
WOLF ALICE NEW SINGLE "I SAW YOU (IN A CORRIDOR)"
Speaking of exciting, Wolf Alice have recently announced their debut album, My Love Is Cool, coming out on the 22nd of June. Ahead of its release, they put out a 7" with the songs "Giant Peach" and "I Saw You (In A Corridor)" on it. Both songs are completely different but equally good listens.


RIHANNA NEW SINGLE "DANCING IN THE DARK"
As well as her new single "As Real As You And Me" which I mentioned in the first of these posts, Rihanna has released another single that will appear on the new motion picture Home's official soundtrack. This one is a little bit more upbeat but I really prefer the first of the two.


WARPAINT NEW SINGLES "NWO/I'LL START BELIEVING"
I love getting new music form Warpaint, especially when it's so unexpected and obviously when it's just this good! They've given us, not one, but two tracks to have a listen to. The first of the two "No Way Out" is 7 minutes and 21 seconds of goodness accompanied by the gold that is "I'll Start Believing". I know they gave us a new album just last year but another one would not go amiss.


DJANGO DJANGO NEW SINGLE "REFLECTIONS" 
The second single from the new Django Django album and I actually didn't really like it on first listen but now that I've listened a few more times I like it much more. However, I still feel like I might not like this upcoming album as much as the debut. The novelty may have worn of a little bit for me. Anyway, have to listen to the latest track here.


ALL TIME LOW NEW MUSIC VIDEO "KIDS IN THE DARK"
These guys just seem to be on tour 24/7 this year. First their joint tour with YMAS and now I see them playing at Wembley Arena with Neck Deep and all sorts. It's a wonder that they had time to drop a new single and music video. I've never been a big ATL fan but I must admit, I really like this song/video. Check them both out here.


WIZ KHALIFA NEW MUSIC VIDEO "DECISIONS"
As looney as Wiz is, I must admit, he is incredibly entertaining - he just makes me laugh. This song however, is definitely not even close to being one of his best. Very lazy bars but already at 2 million+ views, I know this will still be big. Have a listen here.


BRAIDS NEW SINGLE "TASTE"
Heard about BRAIDS last year and have been keeping an eye out for any new material that they were bringing out. I may have missed some stuff but I'm glad I caught this new single here. The intro sounded to me a little bit like something Lxury would put out but the addition of vocals really switched it up a little - cool tune.


EAVES NEW MUSIC VIDEO "PYLONS"
Another artist that I heard about late last year/earlier this year and have been meaning to check out. This new video is super interesting, I'm very excited to get my hands on the new album out on the 27th of April. Similar sounding to Ben Howard and Nick Mulvey - have a listen to Eaves' new track here.


FUTURE NEW SINGLE "MARCH MADNESS"
Future is really coming up these days! After his last record Honest a lot of people really started to take notice. This new track here, is a cool tune and with trap music blowing up these days, I know that this will be played by quite a lot of people in the coming weeks.


MIA NEW SINGLE "CAN SEE CAN DO"
MIA has hinted at a new record coming our way this summer and I am stoked. The last record Matangi was LONG awaited and even though it was worth the wait, it'd be great to have this one in my possession asap. One of the most entertaining and real artists out at the minute - get involved here.

ELLA HENDERSON NEW MUSIC VIDEO "MIRROR MAN"
Fast blowing up after that track "Ghost" and Ella Henderson is back with some more pop goodness for us. I must admit that I thought she'd be sort of a one-hit wonder with that first track but she is fast proving me wrong. This song is quite the banger.


THE VAN T'S NEW SINGLE "FUN GARCON"
I just happened upon this band by chance a few days ago and had a listen to this track here and the first 30 seconds alone sealed the deal for me. This is a BIG tune. They remind me of several bands but are so unique that I still can't put my finger on just one. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for live shows! The Van T's are ones to watch.


JILL SCOTT NEW MUSIC VIDEO "YOU DON'T KNOW"
This is Jill Scott's first official release in about 4 years! And it's just as soulful as I'd expect. Hopefully this means a new album from the amazing songstress but I have yet to hear confirmation. Bless your ears here.


FLORENCE + THE MACHINE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "ST. JUDE"
I am so unbelievably excited for this new album! Florence is just so intriguing and passionate, there has never been one thing that she's released that I've felt was half-hearted or even sub-par. Everything she puts out makes it's way to my iTunes, just like this new single here will - beautiful.


MAJOR LAZER & DJ SNAKE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "LEAN ON (FEAT. MØ)"
I've been keeping up with MØ for ages now and it's really good to see her collaborating with bigger artists like Major Lazer and DJ Snake now. I'm sure I'll hear this playing in every department store, radio station, gym, local supermarket, etc, etc for the next few weeks. Great tune and equally interesting video. Be ahead of the game here.

Another busy month in music and it's as expected after last months first ever two part series of Music News. Let's see what February has for us...

CHARLOTTE OC NEW MUSIC VIDEO "IF MY HOUSE WAS BURNING"
I only had one question after watching this video here - "WHERE IS YOUR DEBUT ALBUM PLEASE?!" Over the past couple years, Charlotte OC has put out a myriad of fabulous singles and even some EPs but I'm gonna need a full length to accompany these sometime soon. 


BRIGHT CITY NEW MUSIC VIDEO "COLOUR"
Bright City are a collective a talented people based in St. Peter's Church, Brighton. Find out more about the project and the talent involved here, but before that, give their new video a watch here. This is just the first single and you can already tell that this album is going to be brilliant. The production is great and the vocals on this song alone... well! Listen out for Lydia McAllister's (Wayward Daughter) vocals on the album too.


ALBOMBS
As per, there are a bunch of new and exciting albums on the horizon for the coming months. To name a few - Slaves, DIIV, Ghostpoet, Jamie T (new EP), Kanye West, Django Django, The Maccabees, Everything Everything, Florence + The Machine, Wondaland Records and Blur (first in 16 years!) and I'm sure more. 2015, you're spoiling us!


BLUR NEW SINGLE "GO OUT" 
Speaking of Blur releasing a new album, here's the first new single to go along with it! Although it's not mind-blowing in anyway it is however very catchy. I right now that is the perfect way to keep people interested in their comeback. I'm glad to finally have them back... April never seemed so far away!


JIDENNA NEW MUSIC VIDEO "CLASSIC MAN"
Again, having mentioned Wondaland (Janelle Monae's new star studded record label) releasing an EP - Eephus - later this year, I'd better mention the new single/music video that one of her artists, Jidenna, has just put out! So much sass and so much flare, this track is BIG and I suspect that this upcoming EP will be ever bigger.


MNEK NEW MUSIC VIDEO "THE RHYTHM"
I haven't really heard much from MNEK recently if I'm honest, well until now. This song just reminded me of how talented he is! Another huge hit; I expect to be hearing this track played everywhere for quite some time. Let 'the rhythm' get to you here.


JACK Ü FEAT. MISSY ELLIOTT REMIX "TAKE Ü THERE"
After her Superbowl performance with Katy Perry everybody has been waiting to hear Missy Elliott's first comeback track after all of these years. Well, technically we're still waiting, but not without this cool remix with Jack Ü (Diplo and Skrillex). Check it out here. It's clear she still has bars and with the help of Timbaland and Magoo, this should be a comeback you'll remember clearly.


TURBOWOLF NEW SINGLE "NINE LIVES"
Turbowolf continuing to impress me with their riffy goodness. I have to admit that this isn't my favourite single that they've put out to date but it still packs a punch and even more so live. They're touring in April so if you like this track here get along to one of the dates - it'll be big.


WHILE SHE SLEEPS NEW SINGLE "OUR LEGACY"
Okay While She Sleeps, no more singles now until the full album please! I don't want to lose all my excitement on all these singles before I heard the full thing. However, this is a banger! I actually feel like Brainwashed might be better than This Is The Six. Have a listen to the new one here. Roll on the 23rd of March!


EVERYTHING EVERYTHING NEW MUSIC VIDEO "DISTANT PAST"
It is so good to have Everything Everything back! This track has got a little bit of an old school disco vibe about it. It's super catchy and I love this video - very engaging. I look forward to hearing more from them before the release of Get To Heaven on the 15th of June. Give the new video a watch here.


SPIRIT CLUB NEW MUSIC VIDEO "DUSTER"
So, if you haven't already heard, Spirit Club are a new band featuring WAVVES' Nathan Williams. As well as announcing the release of their debut LP - Still Life (listen to the awesome title track here), they've also put out this corker of a track and accompanied it with a music video - awesome! Check out the eery new video/single here.


STATE CHAMPS NEW MUSIC VIDEO "IF I'M LUCKY"
Another band that I've been looking out for since seeing them live here. State Champs actually have a habit of just making me smile. When it comes to pop punk supporting labels, Pure Noise and No Sleep are both fighting for my attention. Well, here's one point to Pure Noise for this very sweet single/video.


TORO Y MOI NEW MUSIC VIDEO "EMPTY NESTERS"
Well, I'd say there was no better time for me to start listening to Toro Y Moi because this new single and video have definitely grabbed my interest. This is really, feel good summer time music! I can't wait to listen to this and watch this video here in a few months when the weather is nice. The new record drops on the 7th of April... good timing.


HEEMS AND DEV HYNES NEW SINGLE "HOME"

So, Notting Hill Arts Club is fast becoming one of my favourite places in London and it's all thanks to New Shapes. They've gone two for two, first Superfood and now Mapei - might have to start looking for apartments in the area!

Earlier this week (12/08/14) I headed over to the venue ready for another cool set but this was way more than I could've ever expected. First of all, I was actually under the impression that it was Charlotte OC's headlining show and Mapei was supporting. However, when I walked in and saw Charlotte walking around the club getting ready to go up, I figured that she was the support. Having seen her a couple of months ago at Field Day here, I already knew how fabulous Charlotte was, but even still, she blew me away. Opening with one of my favourite songs of hers "Hangover" and playing through the rest of her huge hits, again she had the crowd screaming by her final song "Colour My Heart" - I'm sure she made a lot of new fans that night. Generally it was a pretty intense set, she is consistently great live - absolute marvel! Tough support to follow. Quick shout out to Dashy Dashy DJs again - absolutely smashed it! Tune after tune and no time to rest. Love these guys.

Originally I was going to write about Mapei as a "new discovery" but when I found out about this gig I thought I'd just wait until afterwards to write about her in this gig review. I'd only heard her two songs "Don't Wait" and "Change" before coming to the gig and they didn't the least bit prepare me for the awesome show I was about to witness. Mapei stepped onto the tiny stage with her two back up dancers joining her bassist and drummer and already the atmosphere was heated. Her dancers were great - seriously added to the atmosphere. Even though I was on my own after a few songs I found myself full out dancing as if I was up there on stage with them. Also, I didn't know that she rapped so much, she really reminded me of old school artists like Lauryn Hill throughout the set and her outfit was very Erykah Badu inspired. Amazing stage presence and a really calm aura. And then of course there's her band.  Her band were on FIRE! Her bassist was amazing, switching between his bass (a very nice bass at that) and his keyboards and playing both fantastically. Then her drummer shone when given chance for a solo - the crowd couldn't blink as fast as his hands were moving! I had such a good time - extremely enjoyable set! Every song that she performed, I liked - I just can't wait until her debut record Hey Hey out on the 23rd of September. The best first impression of USA's new star, Mapei.

Overall Rating - 8.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

It's been a good few days for new music! I can't seem to update my iPod fast enough, but here are a few tracks that you might find yourself playing over the next few days.


GARDEN HEART - Cure
I watched a live session of this a while ago here and it's awesome seeing this realised in video format. Very nice touch with the explosive powder paint to match the breakdown at the end. So excited for the September release. These guys have something special.


THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE - Tame
I haven't heard much from this band since early last year with their record Out Of View and because that album didn't really do much for me I wasn't really listening out too much but I'm glad that I caught this track.

CHARLOTTE OC - Strange
After seeing her live for a second time last week (review coming very soon) I just like her even more and I am so so so excited for her debut album! This is one of my favourite of her live songs and I'm just glad that she's chosen to release it as her next single.


ALT-J - Every Other Freckle
Alt-J have been knocking it out of the park with their last few single releases - so much so that they've just announced their biggest headline show to date on the 24th of January at The O2 Arena showcasing their upcoming record This Is All Yours. Hearing this track played to 20,000 people will definitely be something to remember...

Superfood had about 5 or 6 free residencies lined up over the past month and for one reason of another I had missed all the first ones and so when it came to this final show, although it cost £5, I said that I had to go. So a few days ago (06/08/14) I headed over to Notting Hill Arts Club to see Superfood with EKKAH supporting. To tell you the truth, when it actually came down to the day I really couldn't be bothered to go but I forced myself to get on the train...

I hadn't heard of EKKAH before the gig and didn't know anything about them but I was hoping that they'd be able to get me excited to see Superfood. They started up with an upbeat electronic track but what too me aback was their choreography. As much as I wanted to hate it for being a little bit cheesy I actually really enjoyed it. Even found myself wanting to join in a couple times. Their songs overall were good - their bassist was super funky. Just an all round tight band. I really liked their last two songs "Home Alone" and "7am". A nice chilled but fun opening act.

Their resident DJ Dashy Dashy was playing tunes all night too! Half the songs I felt like he was just playing from my iTunes and the other half I felt like I wanted to put on my iTunes. New Shapes put on an awesome event, at a really cool venue. If you get a chance, check out their next event on Tuesday (12/08/14) at Notting Hill Arts Club, with Charlotte OC.

Anyway, after such a great build up, Superfood stepped on stage. They are just so effortlessly cool, both on and off-stage. Also, they so so SO much better live, it's actually not even close. Each of them are great musicians and even though I've heard quite a few similar artists, somehow this set felt quite different. Their upcoming single "Mood Bomb" was one of the best of the night, closely followed by "Bubbles". I'm so glad that I forced myself to come in the end because it should have been something that I was excited for, they killed it. Really enjoyable set and really cool band. Excited to hear a debut record from them sometime soon.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some of the pictures from the night...

A couple of weeks ago (7/6/14) I went to Field Day Festival in London. Some of you might be wondering why I didn't just go to Parklife on that weekend and the reason is - this was Pixies only performance in London this year and I'm sure that you've seen enough Foals gig reviews from me this year to tide you over. Either way, here is my short, sweet and slightly late take on the first of the two days...

MOXIE
I hadn't heard of her prior to the festival but as not much had started whilst her set was on, we managed to catch some of her DJ set. This was actually the first on many DJ sets this weekend and the that actually surprised me in all of them, was how little people were dancing. I know it was early but c'mon?

PAWWS
In contrast to Moxie, I'd actually heard a lot about Pawws before coming to the show but hadn't heard a lot of her material yet. So of course I went to check her out. I have to say, I definitely don't think that she lived up to the hype completely but she had a few shining moments. One song  particular - "Give You Love" had me dancing and swaying, whilst the rest of the performance stayed fairly safe and predictable. All in all, not the most exciting opening to the live acts.

ECLAIR FIFI
The best of the DJs that we saw this weekend actually. She slayed her set and I think this was the most we saw people dancing too which was nice. I love DJs that aren't afraid of the bass, in the society of techno/electronic, a girl's gotta have a little bass now and again.

CHARLOTTE OC
One of the best performances of the entire weekend, and so unexpected too! As we were walking up to tent we could hear Charlotte take the mic and from the first note I was impressed! We ran into the tent only to be transported into a smokey room somewhere in Europe where Charlotte was crooning about lost loves. Eyes were wide throughout the whole set - best new find this month! Favourite track right now - "Hangover".

ONLY REAL
The first artist of the day that I'd actually listened to before coming. However, after Charlotte's killer performance, I don't think that I was as impressed as I expected I'd be. I really like his recorded stuff - very reminiscent of Jamie T. However, I just don't think that it transferred too well live.

SKY FERREIRA
Where Only Real disappointed, Sky Ferreira actually really impressed me. Whilst queuing for some food I could hear something good coming from the main stage and so I checked my clash finder to see who was on and lo and behold... it was Sky Ferreira! I'd heard some of her stuff before coming and was less than excited by her name on the bill but she actually sounded great live. May have to have another listen.

DUSKY
Upon recommendation from some other festival-goers earlier in the day, we headed over to the dance stage to catch Dusky DJ-ing. It was a cool set, the two played a predominantly house packed set and it was good fun. Shapes were cut and arms were waved.

SEUN KUTI
I had actually not heard of Seun before coming to festival and the first thing I thought was "this really sounds like the kind of music they play at Nandos". But who's complaining? Highly entertaining set getting the crowd pumped for the set to come...

BLOOD ORANGE
Another stand out performance from the weekend. The late afternoon sun was beaming down and Dev Hynes and co. were on top form. Dev's sprinkling of guitar solos throughout the set kept everyone in high spirits - namely Florence Welch who was dancing along side stage. Particular shout out to his bassist who clearly defied some laws of physics during this performance. This show set the bar for the rest of the main stage performances that weekend.

WARPAINT
The girls in Warpaint easily reached that bar, drawing a huge crowd and managing to fill the entire park with their hazy rock music. Being my first time seeing the ladies live, they even surpassed my expectations - everything about their set was amazing. They kept the crowd just as interested (if not more interested), til the end of the set as when they began.

JAGWAR MA
As I'd already seen Jagwar Ma under festival conditions at Glastonbury last year, I actually wasn't too fussed about seeing them but we went along anyway. To be honest, thank God that we did because they were not the same band we saw at Glastonbury! They absolutely smashed it! Huge improvement, from the first song to the last, the atmosphere was perfect!

METRONOMY
And of course the headliners. Although it was like 'Sophie's choice', choosing between Metronomy and SBTRKT, I had to give in a watch the Main Stage headliners because it was set to be something really special and it definitely was. Crowd spirits rose as the band stepped on stage and didn't dampen even during the long journey home. The crowd left, some singing Metronomy along Victoria Park's surrounding areas. Perfect end to the first day...