The Smashing Pumpkins have shared two new songs, ‘Anno Satana’ and ‘Birch Grove’. They’re taken from the band’s forthcoming double album, CYR. Check them out below.
The new tracks coincide with the release of the third episode of the band’s five-part animated series, In Ashes, which was created and written by frontman Billy Corgan. ‘Anno Satana’ serves as the soundtrack to the episode, which doubles as a music video.
Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, has announced a new MasterClass series focusing on creativity and songwriting. Throughout her 16-part series, the Grammy-winning musician will unpack her creative process, sharing tips on building a home studio, performing live, collaborating with artists, and more. Find more information here, and watch the trailer for St. Vincent’s MasterClass below.
“I think the reason I wanted to do it was that I’d seen other MasterClasses and I love process. I really do,” Clark explained. “I don’t think you have to be trying to necessarily excel in the particular arena of the MasterClass that you’re watching in order to get something interesting from it.”
“All you need are ears and ideas and you can make anything happen,” she added. “In my MasterClass, I will share with you performance tips, songwriting tips, studio tips and give an inside look into my creative process so you can use your own creativity to move the needle in a more empathetic direction for the world.”
St. Vincent’s most recent studio album, Masseduction, was released in 2017. A stripped-down version of the album, called MassEducation, came out a year later.
Lykke Li has released a new song called ‘BRON’. Sung entirely in Swedish, it marks the singer-songwriter’s first new original solo track in two years. Li wrote ‘BRON’ in collaboration with fellow Swedish artists Little Jinder and Childish Gambino collaborator and composer Ludwig Göransson. Check it out below.
Lykke Li’s last album, so sad so sexy, was released in June of 2018. She followed it up a year later with the still sad still sexy companion EP. Earlier this year, she released a piano ballad cover of ‘I Will Survive’.
CupcakKe has dropped a new song called ‘Elephant’. The Chicago rapper’s latest follows her previous single ‘Discounts’, which was released back in June. Listen to it below.
Referencing the likes of Nicki Minaj and Tory Lanez, ‘Elephant’ marks CupcakKe’s fourth single of the year so far. Before ‘Discounts’, she put out the track ‘Lemon Pepper’ in support of the Minnesota Freedom Fund. Earlier this year, the rapper released ‘Lawd Jesus’. Her most recent album was 2018’s Eden.
London singer-songwriter Rose Gray has unveiled a cover of Saint Etienne’s ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’. It comes with an accompanying music video directed by GOODHOUSE. Check it out below.
“Saint Etienne is my favourite band,” Gray said in a press release. “I’ve fallen in love with their music. ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’ was originally released in 1991, when the UK 90s dance scene was just being born. It’s an era of music I am fascinated by; I wasn’t born but maybe somehow through my mother’s eyes I partied to it. This song entwines dance music, 60s samples and incredible melody and melancholy. The break beat, orchestra 60s samples similar to Burt Bacharach and the spoken word melody of Sarah Cracknell – are all magic to me. I wanted to cover this song because it feels like an ode to this incredible era for UK dance music. I want to bring back this sound but … 2020 style!”
Speaking about the video, Gray added: “I wanted to create a video that captured mid lockdown, being at home, being weird in a little flat. My best friend was housesitting at this beautiful quirky flat in Covent Garden. the walls bright yellow, 360 views of London town. We filmed all day, I danced around and ate loads of pasta. The original concept came from my favourite film, ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’ with beautiful Sophia Loren. The ‘Today’ part of the film Loren’s character spends days lounging around at her penthouse flat, looking after her cat. Hopefully it brings a bit of joy to the world in this bizarre time.”
Rose Gray’s cover of ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now’ follows on from her recent single, ‘Same Cloud’.
Stevie Nicks has shared her first new music in six years, ‘Show Them the Way’. Produced by Greg Kurstin, the track features Dave Grohl on drums and Dave Stewart on guitar. A music video directed by Cameron Crow is set to come out later today. For now, listen to the track below, along with a stripped-back acoustic version.
‘Show Them the Way’ includes references to Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and John F. Kennedy. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nicks revealed that the new song was inspired by a dream she had in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election where she was playing a political benefit concert in the Hamptons. It was only this year that she decided to record the track, seeing it as a hopeful balm during this “very strange and dangerous time.”
In 2014, Nicks released the LP 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. A companion live album and concert film to that album is set for release on October 30th.
Bakermat, a Dutch DJ and music producer, today released his latest ten-track album The Ringmaster. The album features several big tracks including the highly-streamed ‘Baianá’ which has over 100 million streams and features on the popular football game FIFA 21. To talk about his past, the album, and the impact COVID-19 has had on his album, he joined us for an interview.
Hi, how are you?
I’m doing very well!
Give us an insight into how your journey into music production began?
I started out pretty young, making electro music and posting it on blogs. I did it purely for fun and never really intended to make a career out of it. It’s really cool though that it turned into something I can make a living off now!
With COVID-19 affecting touring for many artists, what has been the most significant thing you’ve missed since not being able to perform?
Well I really just miss the excitement, my life is quite relaxed and regular right now, which is great, but I do miss the travel, going to places that surprise me and meeting strange people. Also performing is something that’s really necessary for an artist to connect with his fans in real life. Comments and likes are nice, but nothing beats partying together in a crowded room or festival.
You’ve had quite the success with ‘Baianá,’ reaching over 100 million streams via Spotify alone and now being included on FIFA 21, what inspired the song and what do you think made it such a success?
I tour a lot in Brazil, and with every trip I appreciate the culture more and more, especially the music. At one point my brother in law sent me this piece of music from traditional Brazilian choir Barbatuques, and I fell in love with it straight away. I think combining the traditional choir with chords and saxophone is what makes the track stand out and successful.
In terms of The Ringmaster, what is the ideas and themes that hold the album together?
Well the main strength of the album is the diversity. As a producer I really love making songs in different styles and genres, whilst still maintaining my own sound. Because I make everything myself, it will always sound like ‘Bakermat’. In this album I go from sad ballads to high tempo rock to dancefloor house. And even though the tracks are different, they really fit together!
Your song ‘Bad Dreams’ leads the forthcoming album The Ringmaster, how did meaning for the song come about?
My music is usually very happy, but life doesn’t just consist of happy moments, it also consists of sad ones. I wanted to make a tune that’s sad for once, because it broadens your spectrum as an artist. The lyrics by 7Chariot really moved me and I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to produce a sad ballad kinda song when I first heard it.
Did you find any difficulties creating the album, especially with the impact of COVID-19?
Actually, everything that’s going on at the moment with COVID made it a bit easier because I didn’t have a time-consuming tour. I had all the time in the world at home to finish everything. So, it definitely sped up the process!
Having produced for quite a few years, how has the process changed over time? Do you find new techniques more reliable, and do you feel you have more freedom now with the vaster knowledge gained over time?
The more I got to know about producing, the simpler I work. For example, I used to use a ton of effects and complex techniques, but I now know that these are usually unnecessary. It’s all about the basic stuff in the end. Also, as you get more experienced you’re way more aware of what specific thing you’re really good at, and what you suck at. I really only focus on the things I’m really good at now!
Finally, what do you hope to achieve with the album, is there a set goal?
I hope for the music to become a soundtrack in special moments in someone’s life. I want my music to comfort people during rough times, and cheer people during happy times. I want someone to get that feeling in their chest when they hear the first couple of notes. Most of all; it should make people feel something.
Clairo has teamed up with Jake Passmore of the London-based indie outfit SCORS for a cover of the Strokes’ ‘I’ll Try Anything Once’. Check out their lo-fi rendition of the band’s 2006 B-side below.
‘I’ll Try Anything Once’ served as the demo for the Strokes’ ‘You Only Live Once’, the opening track of their 2005 album First Impressions of Earth. It was then released as a B-side to the band’s ‘Heart in a Cage’ single. Listen to the original below.
070 Shake was the musical guest on Wednesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Performing outside surrounded by rock formations and two actors dressed up like blue alien creatures, the G.O.O.D. Music artist played a previously unreleased song called ‘History’, as well as her Modus Vivendi track ‘Guilty Conscience’. Check out her performance below.
Modus Vivendi, Shake’s debut studio album, came out in January and made our Best Albums of the Year (So Far) list. In July, Tame Impala unveiled a new remix of ‘Guilty Conscience’.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on October 9th, 2020:
Touché Amoré, Lament
Touché Amoré have come through with their fifth studio album and first in over four years, Lament, out now via Epitaph. Produced alongside Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn, At The Drive-In), the album was described by a press release as “the light at the end of the tunnel” following years of “working through darkness.” The whole album is accompanied by visuals animated by guitarist Nick Steinhardt, while a deluxe physical edition of the LP also includes a 72-page art book. Featuring the singles ‘Limelight’ and ‘I’ll Be Your Host’, Lament follows the band’s 2016 album Stage Four.
METZ,Atlas Vending
METZ have returned with their fourth studio album, Atlas Vending, via Sub Pop. Containing 10 tracks, the new album was recorded at Machines with Magnets in Rhode Island and was co-produced by Ben Greenberg (Uniform) and engineered and and mixed by Seth Manchester (Daughters, Lingua Ignota, The Body). As METZ’s Alex Edkins explains, the new album is “about leaving a bad situation behind. About overcoming obstacles that once held you back, rising above, and looking to a better future. The title refers to immersing yourself fully into what you love and using it as a sanctuary from negativity and a catalyst for change.” He added: “Our goal is to remain in flux, to grow in a natural and gradual way. We’ve always been wary to not overthink or intellectualize the music we love but also not satisfied until we’ve accomplished something that pushes us forward.”
Future Islands,As Long As You Are
Future Islands are back with their sixth studio album, As Long As You Are, out now via 4AD. Following 2017’s The Far Field, it marks the first album by the band to include a fourth member, drummer Mike Lowry, in addition to the three-piece lineup featuring frontman Samuel T. Herring, William Cashion, and Gerrit Welmers. The band also handled some of the production for the first time in a their decade-and-a-half-long career, working alongside producer and engineer Steve Wright at Baltimore’s Wrightway Studios. The album includes the previously released singles ‘Moonlight’, Thrill’, and ‘For Sure’.
Mary Lattimore,Silver Ladders
Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore has released her new album, Silver Ladders, via Ghostly International. The follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Hundreds of Days, the 7-track LP was recorded with over nine days at Slowdive’s Neil Halstead’s studio stationed on an old airfield. There, the two artists reformed three existing demos and improvised the remaining four songs. “Neil has this poster of a surfer in his studio and I’d look at it each day, looking at the sunlight glinting on the dark wave,” Lattimore said in a statement. “In these songs I like the contrast between the dark lows and the glittering highs. The gloom and the glimmer, the opposites, a lively surfing town in the winter turned kinda rainy and empty and quiet.”
Other albums out today:
Andy Bell, The View From Halfway Down; Dizzee Rascal, E3 AF; Travis, 10 Songs; Mina Tindle, Sister; Sun Ra Arkestra, Swirling.
Touché Amoré
METZ
Future Islands
Los Angeles-based harpist 