Oumou Sangaré shares video for ‘Yere Faga ft. Tony Allen’

31 March 2017

Oumou Sangare - Yere Faga ft Tony AllenLast month we heard the warm and glowing ‘Yere Faga’, the first single lifted from Oumou Sangaré‘s long-awaited new album Mogoya. Now the Malian diva has unveiled a video to accompany the song, directed by Chris Saunders. The effort was shot in Johannesburg’s Hillbrow area and it features dancer Maipelo Gabang. “Oumou’s powerful Wassoulou lyrics needed to be translated through the movement in the video – to reflect her message of never giving up, of finding mechanisms to succeed”, explains Saunders. “The video is a story of an empowered young African woman, one comparable to the great Oumou herself”.

Preceding the album’s release on May 19th via Nø Førmat!, the video comes paired with the Yere Faga Remix EP out today with mixes by Natureboy Flako, Marimba, Malik Djoudi and Ghetto Vanessa.

Watch the video for ‘Yere Faga’ below, featuring Tony Allen on drumming duties.

Oumou’s originally scheduled show in London’s Scala on May 16th has now moved to Village Underground on May 17th. Oumou has also announced a string of festival appearances this summer including Citadel, WOMAD and Shambala.

Explosions In The Sky announce new tour, share video for ‘The Ecstatics’

30 March 2017

Explosions In The Sky - The EcstaticsExplosions In The Sky have been busy on the road supporting their latest record, The Wilderness, since its release a year ago. Now they have announced another extensive string of shows on the back of the album, with live dates across North America throughout April. The quartet has also confirmed a couple of festival appearances in Europe this summer, including a show at ArcTanGent in Bristol in August. The news comes paired with a stop-motion video for the album track ‘The Ecstatics’,  directed and animated by Hayley Morris. Watch it now.

The Wilderness is out now through Temporary Residence.

The Comet Is Coming’s new Death To The Planet EP out on Record Store Day

29 March 2017

The Comet Is Coming - Death To The PlanetRecord Store Day 2017 is just around the corner with a plethora of incredible releases coming out on April 22nd. Death To The Planet, the new EP from The Comet Is Coming, is one of the releases we’re keen to get our hands on. Featuring four tracks, Death To The Planet follows the trio’s Prophecy EP and Channel The Spirits, which was one one of our Album Picks of 2016. The EP comes for the first time in “Comet Fire” orange vinyl, limited to 700 copies worldwide.
For a vivid cosmic experience, check out the live video for the joyful and infectious single ‘Final Eclipse’, one of tracks previously lifted from their upcoming EP.


Prescott announce second album, share video for first single ‘Rubberised’

28 March 2017

Prescott - RubberisedThree years on from the release of One Did, London based outfit Prescott have announced its follow-up, Thing Or Two. The record drops on May 1st and pre-order is now available through their bandcamp. ‘Rubberised’ serves as the first taste from it and it comes with an accompanying video by Ashley Jones. Here it is.


Colin Stetson shares new track ‘In the Clinches’ from upcoming solo album

26 March 2017

Colin Stetson - In The ClinchesSax super-hero Colin Stetson gets us every time with his extraordinarily staggering and powerful compositions. After teasing his new solo album, All This I Do For Glory, with the sublime and breathtaking ‘Spindrift’, Stetson got us even more excited offering a new track called ‘In the Clinches’. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“For those who have heard ‘Spindrift,’ this track is in all ways it’s antithesis. I always try to build into the arc of an album some point of juxtaposition, and this one is where that happens. Whereas ‘Spindrift’ is serenity and expanse, ‘In The Clinches’ is violence and immediacy. I wanted the experience of the song to be one of total immersion like the listener is inhabiting the instrument itself, hearing and feeling it from the inside out. There’s this hyper-realised, exaggerated character to the percussive sounds and a brute brashness to the sound of the horn. If ‘Spindrift’ is a memory of a peaceful past then ‘Clinches’ is the fear of a future of struggle. The present is that point of silence between the two.”

‘In the Clinches’ also comes with a live video shot and edited by Derrick Belcham. Watch it now.


All This I Do For Glory is out on April 28th through Stetson’s own 52Hz label via Kartel Music Group.

Secret Chiefs 3 tease three albums with new tracks ‘The System of Antichrist’ and ‘Bereshith ‘

22 March 2017

Secret Chiefs 3 - THE SYSTEM OF ANTICHRIST BereshithSecret Chiefs 3 had previously announced the release of two new albums and as if that wasn’t exciting enough, they have now upped the offer. The revolving ensemble of musicians led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance are gearing up to release three new albums and they’ve just released two new monumental songs to help fundraise the records. The band, whose musical explorations span genres as diverse as Middle Eastern music, surf rock, death metal, classical and electronic music, have existed in a number of different incarnations. Each of the songs they are sharing are from one of these different formations. ‘The System of Antichrist’ is lifted from Secret Chiefs 3: Traditionalists and ‘Bereshith’ is tied to Secret Chiefs 3: Ishraqiyun.

In an accompanying note, Spruance writes the following:

“Secret Chiefs 3. “Upsizing” when we should be “downsizing”…
We find ourselves in an era where all logic says “simplify, streamline, make a duo or trio version of the band” or “let technology carry the heavy weight”, but we refuse this line of thinking… totally REFUSE!
While it may be sad that musical ensembles made up of multiple humans might be going the way of the dodo, for an audacious spirit there is nothing better than a LOST CAUSE…
The perfect time to defy all of it is NOW.
So let’s go big, not small…”

Spruance ends inviting us to lend our ears to ‘The System of Antichrist’ and ‘Bereshith’.  Listen to both below and head over to their bandcamp to download the tracks and see further info on these releases.