Indie Experimentalists & Fantasy Island Rock

NMU News

On 25th June 2009 The King of Pop, Michael Jackson died of a heart failure. New Music Upfront would like to pay its respects to an artist who helped shape music as we know it today. His music will live on forever as some of the greatest ever made. R.I.P Michael Jackson.

• Two of the year's most hyped female singer-songwriters breaking out of Little Boots' media shadow, La Roux and Florence + The Machine (NMU 31/10/08), have released their albums this month. 'La Roux' and 'Lungs' have had rave reviews and entered at number 2 behind Michael Jackson's 'The Essential' on the week of their releases.
• Last blog post's 'Animal' by Miike Snow was previously a Jo Whiley 'Record Of The Week' on Radio1 and is now on the station's B-List. The single will be released 10th August.
• Steve Appleton's (NMU 7/5/09) next single will be out 16th August and is called 'City Wont Sleep'. The album follows with an end of summer release on 31st August under the title 'When The Sun Comes Up'.
  
• As if a collaboration filled album for Tinchy Stryder (NMU 23/12/08) wasn't enough, he's recently put in a contribution to the charity single cover of The Killers- 'All These Things I've Done'. The August single set to raise money for War Child also features Chipmunk, N-Dubz, Pixie Lott and V V Brown. Available to download very soon.

Chart News (chart as of 26/7/09)

X Factor runners up JLS get a second week at the top of the singles chart with 'Beat Again' as Mr Hudson's first solo single 'Supernova' featuring Kanye West fails to topple them. 'Supernova', shockingly one of only two new entries in the top 40 this week is at number 2, whilst Frankmusik's electro pop song 'Confusion Girl' makes 29. Michael Jackson fever is now fading away as 'Billie Jean' drops nine places to 37, the biggest fall this week. La Roux's first single 'In For The Kill' on the other hand is still popular as it rises six places to 17, the highest riser this week.

The number 1 and 2 position in the album chart stays the same this week as Michael Jackson's 'The Essential' and Florence + The Machine's (NMU 31/10/08) 'Lungs' respectively. Number 11 is home to Jordin Sparks who is the highest new entry this week with her sophomore album 'Battlefield', followed by another Michael Jackson best of album 'The Collection' at 14. Highest risers are Noisettes' 'Wild Young Hearts' at 9 and Green Day's '21st Century Breakdown' at 20, both gaining seven places.

This week I bring you...

Song Of The Week



Bloc Party- One More Chance
www.myspace.com/blocparty
Indie, Dance, House

Bloc Party are a band never afraid to experiment and push the boundaries of indie music, never more so than with their next 'in between album single' 'One More Chance'. This time around the band are continuing with their attention grabbing indie/dance music in the wake of big chart hit 'Flux'. However, instead of trance type synths this single takes influence from early nineties house music with repetitive chyming piano chords. Proving the production duties of Jacknife Lee never cease to fail, this record blows previous Arman Van Helden collaboration remix single out of the water with an almighty smash. Imagine this song blasting out your car stereo as the sun sets after a hot Summer's day and you'll understand a great setting for such a tune. 'One More Chance' was actually recorded in April because there was 'still some creative energy left', lead singer Kele Okereke explains. Although Bloc Party haven't been a singles band in the past, this song has a club beat giving it potential to be as big as 'Flux''s number 8 chart position. The odd retro video includes a madman on keyboards, a tap dancer in a garage and an attempt to contact the dead with an ouija board.
'One More Chance' is released on 10th August.



Hear Tiesto's trance reworking of 'One More Chance' here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwfAvDlmWF8

New Artist

Magic Wands
www.myspace.com/themagicwands
Indie, Rock/Pop, Punk

No this isn't a childrens TV programme turned pop group out to scare you as the name may suggest, but an ultra cool indie male/female duo only the hippest kids are following (that includes Little Boots). Meeting outside a gig in not too distant 2007, Chris and Dexy Valentine became friends and started making music together over myspace including their first track 'Teenage Love'. The band produce songs that send you to a typical hot, sunny U.S. setting i.e. the never ending blue Long Beach coastline or a bustling Los Angeles street, whilst wearing your fashionable shades and short summer get-up of course. Heavily influenced by the 80's, the band create a hippy aura similar to that of MGMT with their steady beats, apathetic echoing vocals and demanding guitar riffs. Image-wise, artwork from the band draws in dreamy animal fantasy and space like scenes, which compliments their music perfectly.They have already toured with Black Kids and The Virgins and are now heading out across America this Autumn with another up and coming band School Of Seven Bells. A debut EP from the band was recently put up for downloading on UK iTunes featuring five hot tracks that can also be heard on their myspace. A scheduled album release date has not been stated in the press, but look at NMU News for when the information is out. The video for which was their first single (June 08) and arguably their most catchy song, 'Black Magic', can be seen below:



A video of Magic Wands performing 'Kiss Me Dead' live can also be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIx8OpHPtq4

Recent iTunes Uploads:
Florence + The Machine- Lungs
La Roux- La Roux
Jackson 5- Who's Lovin' You