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Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward threatens to pull out of reunion

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward threatens to pull out of reunion

Bill Ward – drummer with Black Sabbath – has threatened to pull of the legendary heavy metal band's latest reunion. Ward has stated that he is unhappy with the contract for the band's new album and world tour, and has said that he will not take part in the new album sessions and shows if a 'fair agreement' is not met. Posting a statement on his Facebook page earlier today (February 2), Ward wrote: "I am unable to continue unless a 'signable' contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band." He continued to express his dissatisfaction, writing: "Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another "unsignable" contract was handed to me... The place I'm in feels lousy and lonely because as much as I want to play and participate, I also have to stand for something and not sign on. If I sign as-is, I stand to lose my rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician. I believe in freedom and freedom of speech." Ward does not detail the exact terms of the contract, but added that he "definitely want[s] to play on the album, and I definitely want to tour with Black Sabbath" but explained he feels he cannot do so until he is handed a different contract. He also said that he was not motivated by 'greed'. "My position is not greed-driven," he wrote. "I'm not holding out for a "big piece" of the action (money) like some kind of blackmail deal. I'd like something that recognizes and is reflective of my contributions to the band.” To see the full statement, visit: Facebook.com/billward Black Sabbath are set to headline the closing night of Download Festival this June and will then embark on a world tour and release a new, Rick Rubin produced album.

Bill Ward – drummer with Black Sabbath – has threatened to pull of the legendary heavy metal band’s latest reunion.

Ward has stated that he is unhappy with the contract for the band’s new album and world tour, and has said that he will not take part in the new album sessions and shows if a ‘fair agreement’ is not met.

Posting a statement on his Facebook page earlier today (February 2), Ward wrote: “I am unable to continue unless a ‘signable’ contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band.”

He continued to express his dissatisfaction, writing: “Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another “unsignable” contract was handed to me… The place I’m in feels lousy and lonely because as much as I want to play and participate, I also have to stand for something and not sign on. If I sign as-is, I stand to lose my rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician. I believe in freedom and freedom of speech.”

Ward does not detail the exact terms of the contract, but added that he “definitely want[s] to play on the album, and I definitely want to tour with Black Sabbath” but explained he feels he cannot do so until he is handed a different contract.

He also said that he was not motivated by ‘greed’. “My position is not greed-driven,” he wrote. “I’m not holding out for a “big piece” of the action (money) like some kind of blackmail deal. I’d like something that recognizes and is reflective of my contributions to the band.”

To see the full statement, visit: Facebook.com/billward

Black Sabbath are set to headline the closing night of Download Festival this June and will then embark on a world tour and release a new, Rick Rubin produced album.

Bruce Springsteen to perform at Grammy Awards ceremony

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Bruce Springsteen to perform at Grammy Awards ceremony
Bruce Springsteen is set to perform at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on February 12. The American rock legend will be joining Adele – who makes her live comeback following last year's vocal chord surgery – at the event. Other artists appearing at the 54th annual Grammy Awards are ...

Bruce Springsteen is set to perform at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on February 12.

The American rock legend will be joining Adele – who makes her live comeback following last year’s vocal chord surgery – at the event. Other artists appearing at the 54th annual Grammy Awards are Katy Perry, Glen Campbell, Coldplay, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney and Nicki Minaj, reports Rolling Stone.

Bruce Springsteen‘s 17th studio album will be titled ‘Wrecking Ball’ and released on March 5. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band first played the album’s title track live on their 2009 world tour. The first single from the album, ‘We Take Care of Our Own’, is out now.

The album follows 2009’s ‘Working On A Dream’ and 2010’s outtakes collection ‘The Promise’. Springsteen is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas on March 15 and he then begins his European tour on May 13 in Sevilla, Spain.

US dates are still to be announced, but he plays Sunderland Stadium of Light (June 21), Manchester Etihad Stadium (22), Isle Of Wight Festival (24) and London Hard Rock Calling (July 14) this summer.

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon: ‘It might be five years until our next album’

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon: ‘It might be five years until our next album’

On the road DVD Trailer from Rogcity Fitness on Vimeo.

Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon has said he might not release another album for five years.

In an interview with USA Today, the singer revealed that he had not yet started work on the follow-up to the band’s self-titled second studio album, which was released in June last year, and said it could take as long as half-a-decade to put out his next LP.

He said: “I don’t have any songs written yet. I’m guessing three years. But it could be five. It could be only one more. It just depends when the songs come about. I sort of have to wait till they reveal themselves.”

However, Vernon did say that he was planning on working on other projects away from Bon Iver, including records with his other groups Shouting Matches and Volcano Choir, and was also collaborating with Alicia Keys. “I have a big idea to do an American songbook of the greatest women singers,” he added. “There are so many: Casey (Dienel) from White Hinterland, Bonnie Raitt, Alicia.”

Earlier this month, the frontman announced that he had launched his own record label, called Chigliak Records, which will release ‘lost’ albums and new music.

Last December, meanwhile, it was reported that Bon Iver were set to appear in a new workout DVD called On The Road. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to watch the trailer.

On the road DVD Trailer from Rogcity Fitness on Vimeo.

New Order extend their April UK tour

Tom Goodwyn
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0
New Order extend their April UK tour
New Order have added second shows in Manchester and London to their April UK tour. The band will play two hometown shows at Manchester's O2 Apollo on April 26 and 27, two shows at London's O2 Academy Brixton on May 2 and 3, and gigs in Birmingham and Glasgow on the tour. New Order, who are also...

New Order have added second shows in Manchester and London to their April UK tour.

The band will play two hometown shows at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on April 26 and 27, two shows at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on May 2 and 3, and gigs in Birmingham and Glasgow on the tour.

New Order, who are also set to play a series of European festivals during this summer, announced in late 2011 that they had reformed, but that founding member and bass player Peter Hook would not be part of their line-up.

Instead keyboard player Gillian Gilbert, who hadn’t performed with the band for over 10 years, rejoined and bass duties were taken up by Tom Chapman, who was part of frontman Bernard Sumner’s recent project Bad Lieutenant.

The tour is the band’s first in the UK for over five years.

New Order will now play:

O2 Apollo Manchester (April 26, 27)

Birmingham Ballroom (29)

O2 Academy Brixton (May 2, 3)

O2 Academy Glasgow (5)

Arbouretum & Hush Arbors: “Aureola”

John Mulvey
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0
Arbouretum & Hush Arbors: “Aureola”

A bit of a misunderstanding with regard to this album from Hush Arbors and Arbouretum, “Aureola”, which at first looked to be a collaboration between two acts I’ve written a fair amount about over the years. As it turns out, “Aureloa” ia, quaintly, a split album, with five songs from Hush Arbors (aka Keith Wood) and three longer ones on what must be the flipside from Arbouretum. Wood – last seen, I think, as part of Thurston Moore’s band - has been following a path between a fulsome, slightly fey kind of Byrds-rock and more abstract work for a few years, and his contributions here fall very much into the former category. Nice, rich, with my usual caveat that Wood’s voice can sound a bit thin when exposed. But very much worth listening to alongside his Ecstatic Peace albums “Hush Arbors” and “Yankee Reality”(follow the links to my old blogs on each, where I’ve possibly been more articulate and considered). Some danger of repeating myself on the subject of Dave Heumann’s mighty Arbouretum, too (here’s a piece on “The Gathering”, their last album, with a lot of other links; and one on the Uncut show they played a year ago). Worth reiterating, though, that I can’t think of many contemporary rock bands that impress me as much as Arbouretum, or who execute a good idea – in this case, Anglo-style folk-rock played with unusual heft – so brilliantly. All that is crystallised on their three “Aureola” tracks, which mostly follow a familiar pattern of churning bass and drums (halfway between Crazy Horse and Om, as discussed), with an ancient-sounding vocal melody and some frictional guitar activity to top it off. If anything, these songs – “St Anthony’s Fire” especially – move closer to the ritual abandon of Arbouretum’s live show, in that Heumann’s vocal (melodically closer to Steeleye Span than the usual touchstone of Fairport Convention, perhaps) seems stronger and looser, and his solos have even more exploratory zeal than ever. Can never recommend this band enough: rather weird to link to a Myspace page in 2012, but there’s a bunch of stuff at the Arbouretum site if you’ve never heard them before. Please give them a go. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRMulvey

A bit of a misunderstanding with regard to this album from Hush Arbors and Arbouretum, “Aureola”, which at first looked to be a collaboration between two acts I’ve written a fair amount about over the years.

As it turns out, “Aureloa” ia, quaintly, a split album, with five songs from Hush Arbors (aka Keith Wood) and three longer ones on what must be the flipside from Arbouretum. Wood – last seen, I think, as part of Thurston Moore’s band – has been following a path between a fulsome, slightly fey kind of Byrds-rock and more abstract work for a few years, and his contributions here fall very much into the former category. Nice, rich, with my usual caveat that Wood’s voice can sound a bit thin when exposed. But very much worth listening to alongside his Ecstatic Peace albums “Hush Arbors” and “Yankee Reality”(follow the links to my old blogs on each, where I’ve possibly been more articulate and considered).

Some danger of repeating myself on the subject of Dave Heumann’s mighty Arbouretum, too (here’s a piece on “The Gathering”, their last album, with a lot of other links; and one on the Uncut show they played a year ago). Worth reiterating, though, that I can’t think of many contemporary rock bands that impress me as much as Arbouretum, or who execute a good idea – in this case, Anglo-style folk-rock played with unusual heft – so brilliantly.

All that is crystallised on their three “Aureola” tracks, which mostly follow a familiar pattern of churning bass and drums (halfway between Crazy Horse and Om, as discussed), with an ancient-sounding vocal melody and some frictional guitar activity to top it off. If anything, these songs – “St Anthony’s Fire” especially – move closer to the ritual abandon of Arbouretum’s live show, in that Heumann’s vocal (melodically closer to Steeleye Span than the usual touchstone of Fairport Convention, perhaps) seems stronger and looser, and his solos have even more exploratory zeal than ever.

Can never recommend this band enough: rather weird to link to a Myspace page in 2012, but there’s a bunch of stuff at the Arbouretum site if you’ve never heard them before. Please give them a go.

Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRMulvey

Lou Reed announces ‘From Vu To Lulu’ European tour

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Lou Reed announces ‘From Vu To Lulu’ European tour
Lou Reed has announced a full European tour for this June. The singer, who has most recently collaborated with Metallica for the much-discussed album 'Lulu', will play 17 dates across Europe during June and early July. The gigs begin in Luxembourg at the Rockhal on June 6 and run until July 5 w...

Lou Reed has announced a full European tour for this June.

The singer, who has most recently collaborated with Metallica for the much-discussed album ‘Lulu’, will play 17 dates across Europe during June and early July.

The gigs begin in Luxembourg at the Rockhal on June 6 and run until July 5 when Reed will play the Trencin Pohoda Festival in Slovakia.

Reed will be joined by a 4-piece band which will feature Tony ‘Thunder’ Smith on drums, Rob Wasserman on bass, Kevin Hearn on keyboards and Aram Bajakian on guitar.

The tour is titled ‘From Vu To Lulu’ and will see Reed play a set list that includes material from his days in the Velvet Underground right through to material from ‘Lulu’.

Lou Reed will play:

Luxembourg Rockhal (June 6)


Caribana Festival, Switzerland (8)


Montereau Festival, France (9) 


Paris Olympia (11) 


Lille L’Aeronef (12) 


Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall (14) 


Brussels Ancienne Belgique (15) 


Copenhagen Falconer Salen (18) 


Berlin Citadel Music Festival (20) 


Mainz Zollhafen/Nordmole (23) 


Clermont Ferrand Cooperative de Mai (25) 


Bordeaux Fete le Vin (26) 


Bonn Kunst! Rasen (29) 


Dresden Filmnächte am Elbufer (30) 


Munich Tollwood Festival (July 1) 


Trencin Pohoda Festival, Slovakia (5)

Calexico – Selections From Road Atlas 1998-2011

Michael Bonner
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0
Calexico – Selections From Road Atlas 1998-2011

A fine digest of Calexico in a handsome, limited edition box set... Fifteen years into their career, we have an idea what Calexico are supposed to sound like. Broadly, you may expect desert dust, a bit of Ennio Morricone twang, occasional trumpets. Since the group is headquartered in Arizona, we may employ critical shorthand to signpost these expectations: desert rock doesn’t quite do it, so let’s settle for “Southwestern soundscapes”. And it’s true, on most of their records, the musical collective which has coalesced around Joey Burns and John Convertino will deliver something to fit that template. But, more often than not, their music will explore uncharted territories. Yes, there will be a hint of Sergio Leone carried on the hot, dry air, and the lyrics may be specific to the troubled terrain which connects the US to Mexico, but the essence of the songs will be broader. To extend the film metaphor – Calexico don’t really sound like a spaghetti western; their songs are John Sayles micro-dramas, examining the politics of emigration and borderlands on a human scale, finding the universal in the particular. (With occasional twang.) But away from their official releases, there is another Calexico. The group’s ‘tour only’ albums are sold at gigs, and showcase a more playful, experimental side to their creativity. There are eight albums in all, and they have now been collected in a handsome, limited edition, 12 x LP box set called Road Atlas. Two of these are live sets, and there are six albums of original material. Some of these are very fine indeed; Travellal (from 2000) is a beautifully evocative, ambient jazz album, in which Calexico make a sideways nod to Charles Mingus (a native of Nogales, on the Arizona border); and the soundtrack from Aaron Schock’s Mexican circus documentary Circo (from 2010) makes effective use of their cinematic sense of atmosphere. For those who are nervous of investing in the box, the tour albums are available individually on the Touch & Go/Quarterstick website) but, short of that, Selections is well-curated compilation which stands comparison with any of the band’s official label releases. Those in search of the twang will be reassured by “Glowing Heart of The World” (from 98-99 Road Map), which is almost like a re-imagined “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, starting gently, and cantering into a western melody that couldn’t be more Morricone if it featured Eli Wallach on maracas. There’s some lovely slide guitar on ‘El Morro’ (from 98-99 Road Map), a dusty desert instrumental which channels Ry Cooder. And “Waitomo” (from 2007’s Tool Box) has some of the instrumental snap Burns and Convertino first located on their pre-Calexico lounge band, Friends of Dean Martinez. Then there is their beautiful re-styling of “All The Pretty Horses” (from 2001’s Aerocalexico), which adds campfire melodies and some eerie steel guitar to the children’s lullaby, making it bleaker than it has any right to be (buried beneath the sweetness of Burns’ singing is a line about a poor little child having its eyes pecked out by bees and flies). Also from Aerocalexico is the original version of “Crystal Frontier”, delivered here with greater percussive spring, and outer space sound effects. Sadder yet is “Gift X-Change”, an existential Christmas song seemingly-fashioned from an old Scottish lament. “I trust you’ll find some inner peace through times that are rough,” sings Burns, sounding far from convinced. But it’s the more marginal pieces which make Selections work as an album. “Entrenando A Los Tigres” is little more than a percussive sketch, but is jammed with atmosphere. “Inch by Inch” is like a Neil Young blues, condensed into a minute. And “Boletos” is 90 seconds of Top Cat jazz, with taco seasoning. If that sounds fragmented, it isn’t. In another life, not entirely dissimilar to this one, Calexico would be a jazz band. In this life, they make the music that leaks through the walls of abandoned motels. It is majestic music; sometimes futuristic, often traditional. It’s a soundtrack for now, which accounts for the tears. Alastair McKay Q&A with Joey Burns What is the idea behind the Tour Only albums? “They were our way to give something back to the fans at our concerts. Hopefully they give another perspective to our identity. So we experimented a lot, and mashed the lo-fi recordings together with proper studio recordings as well as instrumentals and songs. There are no rules to the construction of our Tour Only albums.” How does the material differ stylistically from your official releases? The Tour Only material seems to lean more on the spontaneous and dares to be as different as we can make it within our general sense of style and aesthetic. I guess we do have some limits, but at the same time there are some huge leaps here and there. When can we expect new material from Calexico - and what will it be like? We are setting our sights on releasing a new Calexico record in 2012 to help ramp up to the celebration of the Mayan calendar's changing of the guard. The world news has been so bizarre and crazy that I have become a full-on news junkie, tuning in my radio dial to the 7am broadcasts. INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR McKAY

A fine digest of Calexico in a handsome, limited edition box set…

Fifteen years into their career, we have an idea what Calexico are supposed to sound like. Broadly, you may expect desert dust, a bit of Ennio Morricone twang, occasional trumpets. Since the group is headquartered in Arizona, we may employ critical shorthand to signpost these expectations: desert rock doesn’t quite do it, so let’s settle for “Southwestern soundscapes”.

And it’s true, on most of their records, the musical collective which has coalesced around Joey Burns and John Convertino will deliver something to fit that template. But, more often than not, their music will explore uncharted territories. Yes, there will be a hint of Sergio Leone carried on the hot, dry air, and the lyrics may be specific to the troubled terrain which connects the US to Mexico, but the essence of the songs will be broader. To extend the film metaphor – Calexico don’t really sound like a spaghetti western; their songs are John Sayles micro-dramas, examining the politics of emigration and borderlands on a human scale, finding the universal in the particular. (With occasional twang.)

But away from their official releases, there is another Calexico. The group’s ‘tour only’ albums are sold at gigs, and showcase a more playful, experimental side to their creativity. There are eight albums in all, and they have now been collected in a handsome, limited edition, 12 x LP box set called Road Atlas. Two of these are live sets, and there are six albums of original material. Some of these are very fine indeed; Travellal (from 2000) is a beautifully evocative, ambient jazz album, in which Calexico make a sideways nod to Charles Mingus (a native of Nogales, on the Arizona border); and the soundtrack from Aaron Schock’s Mexican circus documentary Circo (from 2010) makes effective use of their cinematic sense of atmosphere.

For those who are nervous of investing in the box, the tour albums are available individually on the Touch & Go/Quarterstick website) but, short of that, Selections is well-curated compilation which stands comparison with any of the band’s official label releases. Those in search of the twang will be reassured by “Glowing Heart of The World” (from 98-99 Road Map), which is almost like a re-imagined “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, starting gently, and cantering into a western melody that couldn’t be more Morricone if it featured Eli Wallach on maracas. There’s some lovely slide guitar on ‘El Morro’ (from 98-99 Road Map), a dusty desert instrumental which channels Ry Cooder. And “Waitomo” (from 2007’s Tool Box) has some of the instrumental snap Burns and Convertino first located on their pre-Calexico lounge band, Friends of Dean Martinez.

Then there is their beautiful re-styling of “All The Pretty Horses” (from 2001’s Aerocalexico), which adds campfire melodies and some eerie steel guitar to the children’s lullaby, making it bleaker than it has any right to be (buried beneath the sweetness of Burns’ singing is a line about a poor little child having its eyes pecked out by bees and flies). Also from Aerocalexico is the original version of “Crystal Frontier”, delivered here with greater percussive spring, and outer space sound effects. Sadder yet is “Gift X-Change”, an existential Christmas song seemingly-fashioned from an old Scottish lament. “I trust you’ll find some inner peace through times that are rough,” sings Burns, sounding far from convinced.

But it’s the more marginal pieces which make Selections work as an album. “Entrenando A Los Tigres” is little more than a percussive sketch, but is jammed with atmosphere. “Inch by Inch” is like a Neil Young blues, condensed into a minute. And “Boletos” is 90 seconds of Top Cat jazz, with taco seasoning. If that sounds fragmented, it isn’t. In another life, not entirely dissimilar to this one, Calexico would be a jazz band. In this life, they make the music that leaks through the walls of abandoned motels. It is majestic music; sometimes futuristic, often traditional. It’s a soundtrack for now, which accounts for the tears.

Alastair McKay

Q&A with Joey Burns

What is the idea behind the Tour Only albums?

“They were our way to give something back to the fans at our concerts. Hopefully they give another perspective to our identity. So we experimented a lot, and mashed the lo-fi recordings together with proper studio recordings as well as instrumentals and songs. There are no rules to the construction of our Tour Only albums.”

How does the material differ stylistically from your official releases?

The Tour Only material seems to lean more on the spontaneous and dares to be as different as we can make it within our general sense of style and aesthetic. I guess we do have some limits, but at the same time there are some huge leaps here and there.

When can we expect new material from Calexico – and what will it be like?

We are setting our sights on releasing a new Calexico record in 2012 to help ramp up to the celebration of the Mayan calendar’s changing of the guard. The world news has been so bizarre and crazy that I have become a full-on news junkie, tuning in my radio dial to the 7am broadcasts.

INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR McKAY

New Order’s Bernard Sumner hints they could record new material

Tom Goodwyn
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0
New Order’s Bernard Sumner hints they could record new material
New Order frontman Bernard Sumner has hinted that the band could record new material this year. In an interview with XFM, Sumner revealed that although he and his bandmates were focused on their forthcoming UK live tour, they hadn't ruled out the possibility of hitting the studio to work on new s...

New Order frontman Bernard Sumner has hinted that the band could record new material this year.

In an interview with XFM, Sumner revealed that although he and his bandmates were focused on their forthcoming UK live tour, they hadn’t ruled out the possibility of hitting the studio to work on new songs.

“Not even thinking about [writing and recording] at the moment because our heads are really on playing live,” he said. “It really is one day at a time – or one year at a time – and this year is playing live.”

However, he then went on to add: “Let’s see [about working on new material]. Hopefully there’ll be some recorded music as well.”

Earlier this week, New Order announced details of a four-date tour of the UK to take place this April. The band reformed in late 2011 but without founding member and bass player Peter Hook – instead, keyboard player Gillian Gilbert, who hadn’t performed with the band for over 10 years, rejoined and bass duties were taken up by Tom Chapman, who was part of Sumner’s recent project Bad Lieutenant.

Although the band have made it clear that they have every intention of continuing to perform under the name New Order, Peter Hook revealed to NME last week that he has instigated legal proceedings against his former bandmates to stop them doing so.

He told NME of his situation with the band: “It’s in the hands of the lawyers. The point is that they shouldn’t be using the New Order name without me and it’s up to the lawyers.”

New Order will play:

O2 Apollo Manchester (April 26)

Birmingham Ballroom (29)

O2 Academy Brixton (May 2)

O2 Academy Glasgow (5)

Blur’s Damon Albarn to headline April’s Honeyfest event

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Blur’s Damon Albarn to headline April’s Honeyfest event
Blur's Damon Albarn will headline this year's Honeyfest with his opera Doctor Dee. The opera, which ran in Manchester earlier this summer as part of the Manchester International Festival and received considerable praise from critics, details the life of 16th century scientist John Dee. The show...

Blur‘s Damon Albarn will headline this year’s Honeyfest with his opera Doctor Dee.

The opera, which ran in Manchester earlier this summer as part of the Manchester International Festival and received considerable praise from critics, details the life of 16th century scientist John Dee.

The show features Albarn singing 10 songs from a position a third level above the stage and will be performed at the close of the event, which takes place on April 14 in Tumuli Field in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Also confirmed to appear at the event are BBC Sound Of 2012 nominees Dry The River, Rae Morris, Nick Harper, Cut A Shine and Kidnap Alice

Doctor Dee is also set to be performed at London’s Coliseum during this summer. The opera will open at the UK capital venue on June 25 and will then be performed on June 26, 28, 29, July 4, 6 and 7. All the performances begin at 7.30pm, with a matinee performance also booked for July 7 at 2.30pm.

For more information about Honeyfest, visit Honeyfestuk.com.

Richard Hawley, Dirty Three, Andrew Bird to headline No Direction Home festival

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Richard Hawley, Dirty Three, Andrew Bird to headline No Direction Home festival
Richard Hawley, Andrew Bird, The Low Anthem and Dirty Three have been confirmed as the headliners of the brand new No Direction Home Festival. The event, which is the sister festival of End Of The Road Festival, will take place from June 8 – 10 at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Dirty Three...

Richard Hawley, Andrew Bird, The Low Anthem and Dirty Three have been confirmed as the headliners of the brand new No Direction Home Festival.

The event, which is the sister festival of End Of The Road Festival, will take place from June 8 – 10 at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire.

Dirty Three will co-headline the event’s opening night (June 8) with The Low Anthem, while Andrew Bird will headline the Saturday (June 9), with Richard Hawley closing proceedings on the Sunday (June 10).

Also confirmed to play across the weekend are Austra, Gruff Rhys, Django Django, Veronica Falls, Slow Club, Spectrals and a whole host of other artists.

For more information about the event, visit Nodirectionhomefestival.com.

The line-up for No Direction Home Festival so far is as follows:

Andrew Bird

Austra

Beth Jeans Houghton & the Hooves of Destiny

Cold Specks

David Thomas Broughton

Diagrams

Django Django

Dirty Three

Gruff Rhys

Lanterns On The Lake

Liz Green

Martin Carthy

Martin Simpson

Moon Duo

Other Lives

Slow Club

Spectrals

The Low Anthem

The Unthanks with the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band

Veronica Falls

Wet Nuns

Ringo Starr: ‘There’s no rivalry between me and Paul McCartney’

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Ringo Starr: ‘There’s no rivalry between me and Paul McCartney’

Ringo Starr has insisted that there is no rivalry between him and Paul McCartney, even though they are both releasing albums within a week of each other. The drummer's new LP 'Ringo 2012' was officially released yesterday while McCartney's latest effort, 'Kisses On The Bottom', will be available from next Monday (February 6). However, in an interview with Spinner, Starr claimed that he didn't feel as if he was in competition with his fellow former Beatles member. "In all honesty, we had dinner just after Christmas together and I didn't know he had one coming out," he said. "I didn't know that it was going to come out within weeks of each other." He went on to add: "No, there's no rivalry. Paul is Paul, Ringo is Ringo and this is what we do. We don't phone each other and say, 'You can't you bring your record out because I've got one!'. We live our lives, we make our music and pick a release date. This was the date we picked and that's just how it is." Starr also had some words of his encouragement The Rolling Stones and said he hoped they would tour this year to mark their 50th anniversary. Following reports last year that that Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were set to put aside their differences to discuss the possibility of playing live together, he said: "I only advise everybody to get out there and play and I hope The Rolling Stones pull it together and I hope Keith and Mick pull it together and stop squabbling and get out there and do it – says Ringo!"

Ringo Starr has insisted that there is no rivalry between him and Paul McCartney, even though they are both releasing albums within a week of each other.

The drummer’s new LP ‘Ringo 2012’ was officially released yesterday while McCartney’s latest effort, ‘Kisses On The Bottom’, will be available from next Monday (February 6).

However, in an interview with Spinner, Starr claimed that he didn’t feel as if he was in competition with his fellow former Beatles member. “In all honesty, we had dinner just after Christmas together and I didn’t know he had one coming out,” he said. “I didn’t know that it was going to come out within weeks of each other.”

He went on to add: “No, there’s no rivalry. Paul is Paul, Ringo is Ringo and this is what we do. We don’t phone each other and say, ‘You can’t you bring your record out because I’ve got one!’. We live our lives, we make our music and pick a release date. This was the date we picked and that’s just how it is.”

Starr also had some words of his encouragement The Rolling Stones and said he hoped they would tour this year to mark their 50th anniversary. Following reports last year that that Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were set to put aside their differences to discuss the possibility of playing live together, he said: “I only advise everybody to get out there and play and I hope The Rolling Stones pull it together and I hope Keith and Mick pull it together and stop squabbling and get out there and do it – says Ringo!”

Pearl Jam Twenty

Michael Bonner
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Pearl Jam Twenty

Cameron Crowe's feature length documentary celebrates the grunge legends... This is not the first time Pearl Jam have featured in a Cameron Crowe film. In Crowe’s affectionate Seattle rom-com Singles, released at the peak of the grunge boom in 1992, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard appeared as members of Citizen Dick, a hapless fictional group fronted by an epically gormless Matt Dillon. In Pearl Jam Twenty, essentially Crowe’s present to a band he has long loved, the same musicians are altogether more businesslike. The key theme of the film – young men learning to cope with sudden fame – is also its key drawback. What Pearl Jam learnt on their journey from wannabes to megastars is that you only stay sane during that supremely head-messing trip by setting parsiomonious limits on how much of yourself you give away, whichever old friend and distinguished rock journalist turned Oscar-winning director is asking the questions. “At some point,” says Stone Gossard, reflecting on Pearl Jam’s early ascent, a rise so vertiginous that it threatened to cause breakups and breakdowns, “you have to say no.” It’s possible to see that this is a good thing for the members of Pearl Jam, who all appear to have arrived in middle age thoughtful, grateful, businesslike – and, above all, content. As Crowe’s insightful illustration of the 80s/90s Seattle milieu that spawned Pearl Jam reminds, this was never guaranteed. Though the scene was unusually mutually supportive, it was also somewhat self-destructive. Pearl Jam might never have existed had Andrew Wood, who sang in Gossard and Jeff Ament’s previous group, Mother Love Bone, not overdosed. One of the most affecting of the archive clips is of Pearl Jam performing the night they learnt of the self-inflicted death of their inspirational rival Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder gripped by a rare struggle for words. Intriguingly, Pearl Jam Twenty suggests that what saved the group was their friendship and collaboration with Neil Young, who seems to have served as a sort of gnarled spirit guide. Young’s voice is heard in the portion of the film that deals with Cobain’s death, sighing that he’d wanted to call the kid and remind him that he was under no obligation – that if he found being a rock star that much of a hassle, he could cease being one, or continue on whatever terms suited him. Pearl Jam are eternally grateful for his counsel. “I was happy,” recalls Vedder, “to finally have an adult in my life who leads by example.” If Pearl Jam Twenty is shortish on personal revelations, it is gratifyingly long on exceptional live material. The early footage is especially astonishing. At their second ever show, barely a week after they first convened, Vedder hides behind his hair. Within months, as the Ten tour rolls across America and Europe, he has blossomed into an exhibitionist as thrilling as he is dangerous, regularly vaulting into Pearl Jam’s burgeoning crowds from stages, crash barriers and lighting rigs. McCready, Ament and Gossard all attest that at various points they worried about him killing himself. earl Jam Twenty is the story of a man and a band finding a way to return gently to Earth. Andrew Mueller

Cameron Crowe’s feature length documentary celebrates the grunge legends…

This is not the first time Pearl Jam have featured in a Cameron Crowe film. In Crowe’s affectionate Seattle rom-com Singles, released at the peak of the grunge boom in 1992, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard appeared as members of Citizen Dick, a hapless fictional group fronted by an epically gormless Matt Dillon.

In Pearl Jam Twenty, essentially Crowe’s present to a band he has long loved, the same musicians are altogether more businesslike. The key theme of the film – young men learning to cope with sudden fame – is also its key drawback. What Pearl Jam learnt on their journey from wannabes to megastars is that you only stay sane during that supremely head-messing trip by setting parsiomonious limits on how much of yourself you give away, whichever old friend and distinguished rock journalist turned Oscar-winning director is asking the questions. “At some point,” says Stone Gossard, reflecting on Pearl Jam’s early ascent, a rise so vertiginous that it threatened to cause breakups and breakdowns, “you have to say no.”

It’s possible to see that this is a good thing for the members of Pearl Jam, who all appear to have arrived in middle age thoughtful, grateful, businesslike – and, above all, content. As Crowe’s insightful illustration of the 80s/90s Seattle milieu that spawned Pearl Jam reminds, this was never guaranteed. Though the scene was unusually mutually supportive, it was also somewhat self-destructive. Pearl Jam might never have existed had Andrew Wood, who sang in Gossard and Jeff Ament’s previous group, Mother Love Bone, not overdosed. One of the most affecting of the archive clips is of Pearl Jam performing the night they learnt of the self-inflicted death of their inspirational rival Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder gripped by a rare struggle for words.

Intriguingly, Pearl Jam Twenty suggests that what saved the group was their friendship and collaboration with Neil Young, who seems to have served as a sort of gnarled spirit guide. Young’s voice is heard in the portion of the film that deals with Cobain’s death, sighing that he’d wanted to call the kid and remind him that he was under no obligation – that if he found being a rock star that much of a hassle, he could cease being one, or continue on whatever terms suited him. Pearl Jam are eternally grateful for his counsel. “I was happy,” recalls Vedder, “to finally have an adult in my life who leads by example.”

If Pearl Jam Twenty is shortish on personal revelations, it is gratifyingly long on exceptional live material. The early footage is especially astonishing. At their second ever show, barely a week after they first convened, Vedder hides behind his hair. Within months, as the Ten tour rolls across America and Europe, he has blossomed into an exhibitionist as thrilling as he is dangerous, regularly vaulting into Pearl Jam’s burgeoning crowds from stages, crash barriers and lighting rigs. McCready, Ament and Gossard all attest that at various points they worried about him killing himself. earl Jam Twenty is the story of a man and a band finding a way to return gently to Earth.

Andrew Mueller

Noel Gallagher to release first track from Amorphous Androgynous sessions next month

Tom Goodwyn
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Noel Gallagher to release first track from Amorphous Androgynous sessions next month
Noel Gallagher will release the first new material from his collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous next month. The former Oasis man, who has been working on the follow-up to his '… High Flying Birds' album with the Manchester production duo, will put out the track, titled 'Shoot A Hole In The...

Noel Gallagher will release the first new material from his collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous next month.

The former Oasis man, who has been working on the follow-up to his ‘… High Flying Birds’ album with the Manchester production duo, will put out the track, titled ‘Shoot A Hole In The Sun’, as the B-side to his latest single ‘Dream On’.

Due for release on March 12, the single is being put out on Gallagher’s own Sour Mash label.

Speaking about the collaboration last year, Gallagher told fans to expect some “fucking far out” material on the album. He commented: “It’s got like 18 tracks on it, some of it’s krautrock, some of it’s soul, some of it’s funk and that’s just the first song.”

Last week (January 23), it was announced that Noel Gallagher will be presented with the Godlike Genius Award at this year’s NME Awards. Gallagher, who will pick up the gong at the ceremony on February 29 at London’s O2 Academy Brixton, said of his win: “I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God.”

Blur’s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon to play pre-Brit Awards charity gig

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Blur’s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon to play pre-Brit Awards charity gig
Blur's Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon have been announced as special guests for this year's pre-Brit Awards fundraising gig. The pair will join headliner Ed Sheeran and BBC Sound Of 2012 nominees Dry The River for the bash, which takes place at London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on February 19 and i...

Blur‘s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon have been announced as special guests for this year’s pre-Brit Awards fundraising gig.

The pair will join headliner Ed Sheeran and BBC Sound Of 2012 nominees Dry The River for the bash, which takes place at London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on February 19 and is being hosted by O2 and War Child.

Albarn and Coxon will also be appearing at The Brit Awards at London’s O2 Arena on February 21, with Blur set to receive the Outstanding Contribution To Music award at the 2012 event. Bassist Alex James recently revealed that the Britpop legends would definitely be performing at the event, stating: “We’re going to play, which is brilliant, it’s like putting the Blues Brothers back together.”

James had also previously hinted that the band were likely to record new music together again, although suggested that they wouldn’t release the songs as a full studio album.

Music Director of War Child Ben Knowles added: “War Child’s annual BRIT Awards show has become a unique and important date in the music calendar, with some of the biggest and best musical talent coming together to support War Child.”

He continued: “We believe music can make a difference, it can change lives. This year’s amazing line-up will prove that – it will make for a stunning, unforgettable night and one that will raise money to help thousands of children affected by war. We’re very grateful to all the acts and O2 for their fantastic support.”

AC/DC delay new album recording sessions after band member falls ill

Tom Goodwyn
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AC/DC delay new album recording sessions after band member falls ill
AC/DC's recording sessions for their new studio album have been delayed as one of their members has fallen ill. The band released their 15th studio album 'Black Ice' in 2008 and their frontman Brian Johnson has said that the stadium rockers are keen to start work on the follow-up, but can't at pr...

AC/DC‘s recording sessions for their new studio album have been delayed as one of their members has fallen ill.

The band released their 15th studio album ‘Black Ice’ in 2008 and their frontman Brian Johnson has said that the stadium rockers are keen to start work on the follow-up, but can’t at present as an unnamed member of the band is ill.

Speaking on The Cowhead Show, Johnson said of the band’s plans: “Hopefully this year we can get back together again. One of the boys is a little sick. I can’t say anything, but he’s getting better.”

Johnson then denied that the illness was terminal and was confident that the band member would make a full recovery. Asked if the illness was life-threatening, he replied: “No, but just bad. He’s doing wonderful. A full recovery is fully expected.”

The singer had been due to undertake a solo tour this month, but had to cancel the trek after he was told that he must undergo wrist surgery.

The singer had scheduled a 10-date US tour which would have seen him recounting stories from his recently released book Rockers And Rollers: A Full-Throttle Memoir as well as performing songs, but he was forced to shelve the dates.

LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy to launch coffee line

Tom Goodwyn
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LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy to launch coffee line
LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy is set to launch his own line of coffee, according to reports. Culinary website Grubstreet.com reports that Murphy, who recently signed on to play an "ageing hipster" in new film The Comedy, wants to market his own espresso brand now that he's closed the curtain on ...

LCD Soundsystem‘s James Murphy is set to launch his own line of coffee, according to reports.

Culinary website Grubstreet.com reports that Murphy, who recently signed on to play an “ageing hipster” in new film The Comedy, wants to market his own espresso brand now that he’s closed the curtain on his band.

Murphy, who claimed that he was going to “just go to a roaster who lives near me and start tweaking beans and temperatures” as preparation, said: “I make a lot of coffee. For my birthday, my girlfriend got me a training course with the world champion. That’s what I’m going to do when I get back to London.”

He refused to divulge exactly when and where people could expect to find LCD Soundsytem coffee, however, adding: “I can’t talk about that because I’m still in negotiations.”

James Murphy isn’t the only rock star to have tried their hand at the caffeinated drinks market. Last month (December 30), Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan announced his plans to open a teahouse in his hometown of Chicago.

In addition to his turn in The Comedy, Murphy will also star in another forthcoming big-screen project – Shut Up And Play The Hits, a film which documents LCD Soundsystem’s last show at New York’s Madison Square Garden in April 2011. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to watch the trailer.

Ringo Starr: ‘I will never write an autobiography’

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Ringo Starr: ‘I will never write an autobiography’

Ringo Starr has said that he will never write his autobiography. During a live radio interview in Los Angeles with comedian and actor Russell Brand for SiriusXM yesterday (January 30), the drummer said that he's been asked to write his memoirs, but that publishers are only interested in his time with The Beatles. He said: "I've been asked to write an autobiography of myself, but they really only want those eight years... And I say, 'But there are 10 volumes before we get to that, and 20 afterwards.'" Rolling Stone reports that during the interview Ringo was told that it was the 43rd anniversary of The Beatles' final live show in London, on the rooftop of their Apple studio. Of the performance, Ringo remembered: "The police came to stop us, and I was on the roof: 'Come on, drag me off!' It would be so dramatic, and the damn cop wouldn't drag me off!" Of living in the digital age, Ringo said: "I love the modern technology now. I was a little opposed to it – 'Oh, in my day, we used to have a donkey turning the wheel, and two guys chewing tape to make it soft.'" Ringo Starr's new album 'Ringo 2012' was officially released on Monday. It is the sticksman's 17th solo effort and features nine tracks in all. It includes guest performances from The Eagles' Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers and the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart. 'Ringo 2012' has been produced by the drummer himself and also features collaborations with Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks and Alanis Morissette co-writer Glen Ballard. It is the follow-up to his 2010 album 'Y Not', which featured collaborations with Joss Stone, Ben Harper and his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney on the track 'Walk With You'.

Ringo Starr has said that he will never write his autobiography.

During a live radio interview in Los Angeles with comedian and actor Russell Brand for SiriusXM yesterday (January 30), the drummer said that he’s been asked to write his memoirs, but that publishers are only interested in his time with The Beatles. He said: “I’ve been asked to write an autobiography of myself, but they really only want those eight years… And I say, ‘But there are 10 volumes before we get to that, and 20 afterwards.'”

Rolling Stone reports that during the interview Ringo was told that it was the 43rd anniversary of The Beatles‘ final live show in London, on the rooftop of their Apple studio. Of the performance, Ringo remembered: “The police came to stop us, and I was on the roof: ‘Come on, drag me off!’ It would be so dramatic, and the damn cop wouldn’t drag me off!”

Of living in the digital age, Ringo said: “I love the modern technology now. I was a little opposed to it – ‘Oh, in my day, we used to have a donkey turning the wheel, and two guys chewing tape to make it soft.'”

Ringo Starr’s new album ‘Ringo 2012’ was officially released on Monday. It is the sticksman’s 17th solo effort and features nine tracks in all. It includes guest performances from The Eagles‘ Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers and the Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart.

‘Ringo 2012’ has been produced by the drummer himself and also features collaborations with Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks and Alanis Morissette co-writer Glen Ballard. It is the follow-up to his 2010 album ‘Y Not’, which featured collaborations with Joss Stone, Ben Harper and his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney on the track ‘Walk With You’.

Feist plays mini UK tour this March

Tom Goodwyn
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Feist plays mini UK tour this March
Feist is set to play a trio of UK dates as part of a newly announced world tour. The Canadian artist will be appearing with M Ward - pictured below - at London's Royal Albert Hall on March 25, Manchester's O2 Apollo on March 26 and Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall on March 27 after a host of European...

Feist is set to play a trio of UK dates as part of a newly announced world tour.

The Canadian artist will be appearing with M Ward – pictured below – at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 25, Manchester’s O2 Apollo on March 26 and Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on March 27 after a host of European shows and before playing California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April.

Feist will also headline this year’s Green Man festival. The singer songwriter, who released her fourth album ‘Metals’ last year, will headline the festival’s closing night on August 19.

Also among the first names confirmed for the Welsh festival are The Walkmen, The Felice Brothers, Yann Tiersen, Jonathan Richman, Damien Jurado and Slow Club.

The event takes place in Wales’ Brecon Beacons from August 17-19. It was headlined by Explosions In The Sky, Iron And Wine and Fleet Foxes in 2011 with the likes of Laura Marling, The Low Anthem, Noah & The Whale, James Blake, Gruff Rhys and Bellowhead also playing sets.

Orbital to headline Secret Garden Party and Beatherder festivals

Tom Goodwyn
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Orbital to headline Secret Garden Party and Beatherder festivals
Orbital have announced that they will be headlining this summer's Secret Garden Party and Beatherder festivals. The dance duo will release their new album 'Wonky', which is their first since 2004's 'Blue Album' and their first release since they returned from an indefinite hiatus, on April 1. T...

Orbital have announced that they will be headlining this summer’s Secret Garden Party and Beatherder festivals.

The dance duo will release their new album ‘Wonky’, which is their first since 2004’s ‘Blue Album’ and their first release since they returned from an indefinite hiatus, on April 1.

The band have also confirmed that they will be playing a slot at this year’s Bestival, headlining the event’s Big Top Stage. They will also play London’s Bloc weekender, which takes place in the UK capital’s Pleasure Gardens on July 6 and 7.

Bestival will take place from September 6–9 at Robin Hill Park on the Isle Of Wight. Organiser Rob da Bank has said that the festival will be announcing one act per day until mid-February.

Secret Garden Party will take place at Mill Hill Field in Abbots Ripton between July 19- 22. For more information about the festival, visit SecretGardenParty.com.

Beatherder Festival will take place in Gisburn in Lancashire from June 29–July 1, with Orbital headlining the festival’s second night (June 30). For more information about that festival, visit Beatherder.co.uk.

Orbital will tour the UK in support of the album in early April and play six shows. The trek begins at Manchester’s Academy on April 5 and runs until April 10, when the duo headline London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Neil Young: ‘Steve Jobs would have helped preserve vinyl’

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Neil Young: ‘Steve Jobs would have helped preserve vinyl’
Neil Young has claimed that late Apple boss Steve Jobs would have helped preserve the sound quality of vinyl. The legendary rocker, who was speaking at the D: Dive Into Media Conference in California, said he wanted to try and save the quality of music recordings as digital downloads were "degrad...

Neil Young has claimed that late Apple boss Steve Jobs would have helped preserve the sound quality of vinyl.

The legendary rocker, who was speaking at the D: Dive Into Media Conference in California, said he wanted to try and save the quality of music recordings as digital downloads were “degrading” the standard of audio.

“My goal is to try and rescue the art form that I’ve been practicing for the past 50 years,” said Young according to Rolling Stone. “We live in a digital age and, unfortunately, it’s degrading our music, not improving it.”

The Crazy Horse man went on to outline why he thought he would have had an unlikely ally in Jobs, who is synonymous with the iPod and the digital music market. He said: “Steve Jobs [was] a pioneer of digital music, and his legacy is tremendous. But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you’ve got to believe that if he’d lived long enough, he would have done what I’m trying to do.”

Young also went explained his distaste for music downloads by claiming that they hade prioritized ease-of-access and immediacy over quality, adding: “It’s not that digital is bad or inferior, it’s that the way it’s being used isn’t doing justice to the art… The convenience of the digital age has forced people to choose between quality and convenience, but they shouldn’t have to make that choice.”

Earlier this month (January 23), Young hit out at the sound quality of 21st century recorded music, revealing that listening to it makes him “angry”. The Canadian singer songwriter, who released his 33rd studio album ‘Le Noise’ in 2010, has said that the sound quality of music is the “worst sound we’ve ever had”.

Young also revealed yesterday (January 31) that he had completed work on his 34th studio album and has handed over the record to his label Reprise Records.

Speaking at the D: Dive Into Media Conference, he said: “Yesterday I handed in a new brand record to Reprise Records. That is a concept record that everybody loved because they hadn’t heard anything like it in a long time”.

The album is the follow-up to the rocker’s 2010 album ‘Le Noise’.

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