Thursday 6 April 2017

JUDAS PRIEST & Parliament Tattoo Present HELL BENT FOR LEATHER: AN ART EXHIBITION



PARLIAMENT TATTOO STUDIO have joined forces with the iconic metal band JUDAS PRIEST to bring you HELL BENT FOR LEATHER: An exhibition of hand painted leather biker jackets inspired by the band’s albums and song titles by some of the worlds greatest tattoo artists.

The first exhibition of its kind featuring tattooing nobility such as Grime, Jondix, Scott Move, Gregory Whitehead, Xam, and more, the landmark exhibition is set to make waves in both the music and tattoo art communities. Each artist taking part in the exhibition has selected their favourite JUDAS PRIEST song or album title from which to create their artwork - painting directly onto the back of biker jackets using specially designed acrylic leather paint - each piece represents hours of meticulous work resulting in some of the most exciting heavy metal artwork ever produced.

Kicking off with a bang the Metal God ROB HALFORD will take time out of the studio where he is working with JUDAS PRIEST on their new album, to open an exclusive showcase exhibiting the leather jackets to press, influencers and celebrities.

Hosted at Parliament Tattoo in London, guests of the private view will also have the opportunity to take home a piece of artwork of their own that will last a lifetime - a tattoo by one of Parliament’s resident artists. The studio will release JUDAS PRIEST themed tattoo flash, which guests can select from should they wish to make the ultimate homage to the legendary band.

Following the private view, the one off pieces will be displayed publicly in London this May, at a free exhibition in the heart of Camden. A drinks reception will launch the week long event on Friday 5th May at the Provender Building, right in the subculture epicenter that is the Stables Market.

Moving on from its stint in London, the jackets will head south to the prestigious Brighton Tattoo Convention on 13th & 14th May where they will exhibit alongside more than 300 world class tattooists, including several of the artists participating in the Hell Bent for Leather exhibition.

Following the events, the jackets will be auctioned off online to benefit both The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund - both extremely worthy causes close to the hearts of JUDAS PRIEST - the exhibition hopes to raise as much money as possible for the two charities

FULL LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Abby Drielsma (AUS), Elliot Wells (UK), Gregory Whitehead (USA), Grime (USA), Joao Bosco (BR), Jondix (UK). Kelly Violet (UK), Liam Sparkes (UK), Rafel Delalande (FR), Robert Borbas (HU), Scott Move (UK), Tamara Santibanez (USA), Tas Danazoglou (CY), Tony Hundahl (USA), Uncle Allan (DE), Wendy Pham (DE), Xam (UK).

PUBLIC EXHIBITION:

5th - 10th May 2017 Opening Party: 5th May, Times TBC Location: Provender Building

The Brighton Tattoo Convention 13th & 14th May 2017 Location: The Brighton Centre Kings Road Brighton, BN1 2GR For more Information visit www.brightontattoo.com

The Stables Market Chalk Farm Road London NW1 8AH

Wednesday 5 April 2017

IMELDA MAY RELEASES EMPOWERING NEW VIDEO FOR FEMALE ANTHEM ‘SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU’



Yesterday Irish superstar Imelda May has released a powerful music video for her new single, ‘Should've Been You’. Inspired by the recent Women’s March, Imelda herself created the concept for the video, which was filmed in Brixton, London, by director Laura Scrivano. Shot in one continuous take, the video sees Imelda and a group of everyday 'superwomen' – real Imelda May fans who responded to a Facebook post – march through Brixton Market holding placards with messages of solidarity and empowerment. It follows Imelda’s appearance at the Brit Awards wearing her #dresslikeawoman outfit.

Imelda reveals, “I wrote Should've Been You as a personal story of heartbreak, regret and eventual empowerment but when making this video I wanted it to reflect current feelings of solidarity amongst lots of women worldwide in response to events unfolding around us such as the Trump administration’s approach to affordable health and maternity issues. I wanted to ask the question 'who takes care of us? We are 50% of the world and it’s the people in power’s responsibility to take care of women as well. It still seems like it’s a man’s world and in 2017 that’s shocking. And I have a young daughter, which changes your perception of how you want things to be. You want to leave her a better world, you think ahead that way.”

Imelda continues, “The women in the video, who were predominately made up of my fans, represent a cross section of wonderful everyday women – superwomen from all walks of life. They are not victims or aggressive towards men but are powerful and positive representations of the female spirit and solidarity. I am very proud of it. We worked hard, had fun, had many laughs and all before most ran off to do the school run! They all made me feel proud to be a woman!”

The track is taken from her hotly anticipated forthcoming fifth studio record, ‘Life. Love. Flesh. Blood’ - produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett and featuring musical contributions from guitar hero Jeff Beck (on ‘Black Tears’) and piano legend Jools Holland – it is fast becoming one of the most anticipated albums of this year. Praised by publications including Mojo (“A powerful new direction”) Uncut, The Mirror (who described her new music as “Raw and real”) to the Mail On Sunday (who made it Album Of The Week, gave it four stars and stated: "Great albums tend to be growers, but this one grabs you at first acquaintance"), The Daily Telegraph (comparing it to Bob Dylan’s classic album ‘Blood On The Tracks’) alongside support from US industry publication Billboard Magazine as well as UK tastemaker music publications from Foxes Magazine to The Four Oh Five.

Bob Dylan also recently revealed he is a fan of Imelda, including her alongside Iggy Pop and Valerie June as his favourite recent artists, in a rare interview with Bill Flanagan, published on his website.

Imelda May, born and raised in The Liberties area of Dublin, has become one of Ireland’s most celebrated female artists in history. Discovered by Jools Holland, who asked Imelda to support him on tour, Imelda has gone on to perform alongside legendary artists including Lou Reed, Bono and Smokey Robinson and can count high profile artists including Bob Dylan and Bono amongst her fans. Her previous album ‘Tribal’ debuted at #1 in Ireland and #3 in the UK.

Imelda has also announced her extensive 2017 UK Headline Tour in May, including a night at The London Palladium. A string of shows in the U.S. and Canada in June follows, including three dates as support for ‪Elvis Costello.

MAY 2017 UK & IRELAND TOUR DATES: THU 04 IPSWICH REGENT THEATRE FRI 05 CARDIFF ST DAVID’S HALL SAT 06 CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE MON 08 SOUTHEND CLIFFS PAVILION TUE 09 GUILDFORD G LIVE THU 11 READING HEXAGON FRI 12 BOURNEMOUTH PAVILION THEATRE SAT 1 NOTTINGHAM ROYAL CONCERT HALL MON 15 LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC TUE 16 YORK BARBICAN THU 18 LONDON PALLADIUM FRI 19 BRISTOL COLSTON HALL SAT 20 MANCHESTER BRIDGEWATER HALL MON 22 BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY HALL TUE 23 EDINBURGH USHER HALL WED 24 GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL FRI 26 GATESHEAD THE SAGE SAT 27 BELFAST WATERFRONT HALL MON 29 DUBLIN, BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE TUE 30 DUBLIN, BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE WED 31 DUBLIN, BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE

JUNE 2017 USA TOUR DATES: ‪TUE 20 RICHMOND, VA - RICHMOND RACEWAY COMPLEX* WED 21 CHARLOTTE, NC - CHARLOTTE METRO CREDIT UNION AMPHITHEATRE* ‪THU 22 VIENNA, VA - FILENE CENTER AT WOLF* ‪SAT 24 BOSTON, MA - PARADISE ROCK CLUB ‪SUN 25 PHILADELPHIA, PA - UNION TRANSFER ‪TUE 27 NEW YORK, NY - WEBSTER HALL ‪WED 28 TORONTO, ON - DANFORTH MUSIC HALL ‪FRI 30 CHICAGO, IL - PARK WEST

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Psychedelic Norwegian alt-country troupe DIG DEEPER share new single "Stars Tonight" / New EP out May 19



“When we realised we were stuck in a northern outpost, where those elected to political power were working to close borders, refuse people in need basic rights and brag about having the strictest policies on immigration in Europe, we decided to make this record.”

These are the words of Norway’s Dig Deeper about their new “Stars tonight” EP, which they use as a way to highlight and criticise their government’s inhumane policies on immigration, and tell stories in the tradition of American alt-country from a European perspective – think Richmond Fontaine or Son Volt. This was somewhat of a turn for Dig Deeper; a band that originally set out to focus on having a good time playing trippy guitar music, described as “Norwegian mountain rock with a touch of War On Drugs and paisley underground.”

Dig Deeper seeks into the Norwegian mountains with their spacious, glacial sounds, long, layered grooves and singer Einar Kaupang´s heartfelt honesty. Their electric Norwegian road rock has a prominent psychedelic prefix and sets itself out with a clear storytelling approach. The songs here draw up the outlines of a man trying to “make it” in today´s Europe. These are songs of escape, distance, travel, identity, loss, and the search for freedom.

Dig Deeper are: Einar Kaupang (vocals, guitars) Øystein Braut (guitars, sitar, backing vocals) Jørgen Knutsen (bass, backing vocals) Raymond Tungesvik (drums, backing vocals)

LEFTFIELD Ready to Release "Leftism 22", A Very Special Reissue of Their Seminal Debut "Leftism" on May 5th



Photo Credit: Rick Guest

LEFTFIELD - Neil Barnes and Paul Daley - one of electronic music's all time greatest acts - has announced the release of Leftism 22, a very special reissue of their seminal debut album Leftism, which will be available to May 5, 2017 via Sony CG.

Leftfield was formed in 1989, before emerging publicly in 1990 with "Not Forgotten," a song that established a template for a new strain of British house music, leaning away from American styles dominating UK clubs. Released in January 1995, their debut album Leftism remains one of the defining statements of dance music, a gloriously inter-woven bombardment of musical styles and immaculate grooves, nominated for a Mercury Prize and later voted in the top ten greatest albums of all time by readers of Q Magazine. The album spawned numerous hit singles in "Open Up" - their now legendary collaboration with John Lydon, "Original" featuring Curve’s Toni Halliday, "Release the Pressure" featuring Earl Sixteen, and "Afro-Left" with vocals by Neil Cole a.k.a. Djum Djum.

Leftism 22 arrives 22 years on from the release of the acclaimed original, in a remastered version overseen by Leftfield’s Neil Barnes (who now runs the band solo) and Paul Daley. It will be available in a limited edition 3xLP vinyl, mirroring the original release and will include download codes for the remastered album and new mixes will be included. Plus digital and 2xCD editions that will feature the original album remastered, as well as all 11 original tracks remixed by a host of artists, including Skream , Adrian Sherwood, BodyJack and Voiski, making 22 tracks in total.

“I suppose Leftism was completely different to anything else at the time,” says Paul Daley, looking back. “We tried to push sonic boundaries and used every inch of the speakers available, and then tried to push it a bit more. It was like pop music sticking two fingers up to pop music at the time and people seemed to take notice.”

“We came together in a quest to make the best record we could,” says Neil Barnes. “I remember all of the epic days in the studio, and I remember moments of satisfaction when we knew we'd nailed it. Tracks developed organically as we continually changed elements to make them work. It was an exhilarating experience, a special time.”

“There has been so much music and new genres since we made Leftfism,” continues Daley. “The baton has been passed on four or five generations but i like to think our record gave music and pop culture a little nudge at the time. It was part of a movement and musical revolution that came from a DIY mentality born from the technology available. The album is like part of me that represents my youth and energy of a more innocent and quite different time both socially and musically. When I listen to it now i think: yeah, nice one, that was definitely worth all the effort and late nights.”

“Paul and I really worked well together,” says Barnes. “We each respected the other’s opinion. It was all about the music. And now, I've come to enjoy it again. I appreciate that it means a lot to so many people. I'm really honored and often deeply moved by all the amazing things that people say about the record. Having Matt Colton re-master the album was a real pleasure, and I realized that Paul and I had created something really special.”

Throughout the 90s Leftfield were untouchable live and on record, starting a snowball rolling for British dance music alongside outfits like Orbital, Underworld and the Dust / Chemical Brothers in breaking electronic music from the underground, onto the stage and into the charts.

They have always been regarded as one of electronic music’s defining live acts. The now-infamous Liveism tour that followed Leftism’s release set a new precedent in sonic presentation as the behemoth sound system, which aimed to replicate the cataclysmic bass effect of reggae sound systems, incurred more complaints than Motörhead, and a ban from Brixton Academy when plaster started flaking from the ceiling. The tour elevated dance music from anonymous club PA to major event, with guest vocalists joining the party.

Monday 3 April 2017

GOLDIE Releases 'PRISM’, The Latest Track From His Forthcoming Album



GOLDIE has released a brand new track, "Prism," taken from his forthcoming double LP THE JOURNEY MAN. The track showcases the darker and more underground sounds of Goldie’s repertoire, is available to stream and download now on all digital platforms upon purchase of the album.

Goldie says: “This is one of my favourite drum‘n’bass tracks on the album. I wanted to reach back into the 1980s…to capture that feeling when you melt gold in a crucible. When it’s at its hottest point, to create something precious from the raw materials – drum breaks, basslines. But the most important element for me is the melody”.

"Prism" follows Goldie’s previous single "I Adore You", the dramatic and cinematic video for which starred Stephen Graham. Goldie will release his brand new double album, The Journey Man, on June 16, 2017, via Cooking Vinyl and Goldie’s own record label, Metalheadz. The album comprises two parts, 16 brand new tracks in total, all written and produced by the MOBO Award-winning songwriter, DJ, producer, visual artist and actor Goldie (MBE). It also features a host of collaborators handpicked by Goldie to help realize his vision for the album.

Goldie by Chelone Wolf“In my music,” says Goldie “is everything I’ve learned, everyone I’ve met, everything I’ve experienced.” And it’s been an incredible trip. The maverick innovator - who rewrote the future of the jungle scene with several landmark releases - has a unique story to tell. From children’s homes in the West Midlands through stints in New York and Miami as one of the UK’s most celebrated exponents of graffiti art to rubbing shoulders with an exceptional list of musical collaborators including David Bowie, Noel Gallagher and KRS One, Goldie has always been one of a kind.

Collaborators on The Journey Man album include vocalist and songwriter Natalie Duncan, who was discovered when chosen in the three-part BBC series Goldie's Band By Royal Appointment and later provided the vocals for Goldie’s 2012 single "Freedom". Other featured vocalists on the album include Terri Walker, Tyler Lee Daly, Natalie Williams, José James, Naomi Pryor as well as Goldie’s wife, Mika Wassenaar Price.

Goldie recently played four triumphant sold out shows at iconic London jazz venue Ronnie Scott’s earlier this month. Performing tracks from The Journey Man as well as classics from his repertoire, he was joined on stage by the Heritage Ensemble as well as many of the collaborators on the forthcoming album and was met with a rapturous response from the audiences.