Bloc Party have released another single from their upcoming LP Alpha Games. Following November’s ‘Traps’, ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ arrives with an accompanying video featuring the band that takes place in the Repton Boxing Club, an old Victorian Bath House in East London’s Bethnal Green turned boxing club. Check it out below.
“There was no specific incident that inspired this song – it was more a composite of lots of things I’ve seen over the years when being in clubs and seeing violence erupt with feuding love rivals,” Kele said of ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ in a statement. “I’ve always had a slight obsession with those sorts of moments; like a fuse being lit, when actions turn from words into violence. You can learn a lot about who people really are in those moments. I think ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ is kind of self-explanatory – someone’s been selling dreams to someone they shouldn’t have and it’s caught up with them. I just wanted to capture that moment of going from naught to ten in an evening, in a sweaty nightclub. I’m really pleased with the arrangement for this track because it has this 1970s glam rock feel meets Adam Ant feel. I love what Louise is doing on the tom toms.”
Alpha Games is due out April 29 via Infectious/BMG.
Pivot Gang co-founder Saba has enlisted fellow Chicago rapper G Herbo for ‘Survivor’s Guilt’, the latest single from his upcoming album Few Good Things. The track was co-produced by Daoud and daedaePIVOT. Give it a listen below.
Few Good Things is set to land on February 4. It includes the previously released singles ‘Fearmonger’, ‘Stop That’, and the Krayzie Bone collaboration ‘Come My Way’, as well as collaborations with Pivot Gang, Black Thought, 6LACK, Smino, Mereba, Fousheé, Benjamin Earl Turner, and more.
Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul have shared a new track, ‘Ceci n’est pas un cliché’, the latest offering from their forthcoming debut album. Check it out below.
“This song is an accumulation of all the cliché lyrics so often used in pop music,” Adigéry explained in a press release. “It came about when we were touring and heard a song on the radio opening with “I was walking down the street” which made us strongly cringe. But the thing is, cringing is a shared passion of Bolis and I. So we passionately made a song out of it called ‘Ceci n’est pas un cliché’. Even more passionately we performed ourselves into a video about all the clichés we see in the magic world of musical genres. The musician in all it’s glory, capturing momentum and delivering a top notch performance, gazing into the light that’s called inspiration. And so for once and for all, please leave Magritte alone…!”
Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul’s Topical Dancer arrives on March 4 via Deewee, the label run by Soulwax, who co-wrote and co-produced the LP. The duo previously shared the singles ‘Blenda’, ‘Thank You’, and ‘HAHA’.
So this year you have planned to host a party in your restaurant. If you are already panicking with the thought of all planning and making arrangements and deciding to quit. Do not just scream as yet; here, we have listed all the party hacks you need to know for sailing through all the hassles of planning an awesome and rocking party in your restaurant.
Launch early
Instead of starting at the last moment, play smart and start early. Make a rough plan of different things you want to include in the party. Planning will give you ample time to avoid any last moment hindrances and make all the necessary bookings on time. Make a list of food you would be providing your guest, band or celebrity you want to bring in and other essential party entertainment. This will work as a party itinerary.
Make use of social media.
Instead of calling everyone and inviting them, post your party invites on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. Keep posting all the updates, when the party will start, location, entry charges, party packages you are offering and other important details.
Everyone should be updated about your party, offer tickets at a minimal price, free or some discounts. You can even request various social media influencers to post about your party in exchange for free tickets, start hashtags contests and other interesting ways of spreading the word about your party.
Create a party event page for your restaurant party so that other people can share it.
Choose some theme
Choose a theme that can help set the tone of the party. Choosing pieces will give you a better idea about decor, food and lighting to make the ambiance of your party special. This will make your party even more interesting and enjoyable. Add selfie points or decorated backdrop to have Instagram-worthy pictures to share.
Plan an exclusive menu for the party
Plan something exclusive at the party, the food you usually don’t serve regularly. Add some quick munchies and easy-to-eat food items such as pizza or burgers.
Entertainment
Since you are planning a casual affair, you need to schedule an entertainment that keeps people hooked to the party. Music is a soul for any party; that is why not just food, focus on providing your guest with good music.
Hire a live bands that can customize music according to your party and entertain your guests.
Use technology
Parties can get crowded, and you don’t want your guest to wait in a queue to place orders for drinks and food. It’s better to handle everything digitally and use applications to make it easy for guests to order. This will also reduce your waiter’s stress to run around attending to each table and guest instead; all they have to do is deliver their food and drink orders to their tables.
Plan something special for the party
Apart from food and entertainment, plan something in-between the party to make it more interesting. For instance, you can plan lucky draws, a performance by a celebrity or a stand-up comedy for your guest. Do not forget to hire a photographer to capture all moments of the party.
Giving your guest a souvenir or something to remember by the end of the party would leave your guest surprised and happy. Do not forget to ask for feedback from your guest after 2-3 days. This will give you an idea of how the party went and what elements you should focus on next time you plan a party.
Summary
These tips will help you in planning a party with ease in your restaurant. Food and entertainment are the essences of any party. Focus on keeping things simple, easy and relaxing for your guests.
Amber Mark has released her debut album, Three Dimensions Deep, via PMR/Interscope. Arriving four years after the singer-songwriter’s second EP Conexão, the record includes the previously released songs ‘Softly’, ‘What It Is’, ‘Worth It’, ‘Competition’, and ‘Foreign Things’. “Three Dimensions Deep is a musical journey of what questions you begin to ask yourself when you start looking to the universe for answers,” Mark explained in press materials. “I can only go as deep as the third dimension as that’s how we see the world, but what about when you start looking to the universe within for answers.”
Having written for the Broadway musical Hadestown, Bonny Light Horseman, and Big Red Machine, Anaïs Mitchell is back with her first solo album in a decade. Out now via BMG, the self-titled record was produced by Josh Kaufman and features contributions from Michael Lewis, JT Bates, Thomas Bartlett, and Aaron Dessner, as well as string and flute arrangements from Nico Muhly. “During the first pandemic summer I was staying on the family farm where I grew up, in a little house that belonged to my grandparents when they were alive. I could see the stars for the first time in a long time,” Mitchell said of the inspiration behind the album in press materials. “I wasn’t traveling anywhere, or even doing much of anything, for the first time in a long time.”
Thyla have put out their debut self-titled album via Easy Life. Ahead of the release, the Brighton trio – vocalist Millie Duthie, bassist Dan Hole, and drummer Danny Southwell – unveiled the tracks ‘Gum’, ‘3’, and Flush’. The record follows two EPs, 2019’s What’s On Your Mind and 2020’s Everything at Once. “The social contract has been broken and now our music and what we write about makes even more sense,” Thyla explained in press materials. “Our album began as a progression of the inward journeys we’re all on and right now, it has never been more relevant to the individual who may be looking for help with whatever they’re going through.”
Katie Dey has a new album out called forever music. Recorded entirely by Dey, the follow-up to 2020’s Mydata is available as a Bandcamp exclusive, although she noted in a press release that “it may be released on streaming services in the future if i feel like it.” Calling it the “most vulnerable and straightforward music i’ve ever made,” she said of the album in a statement: “forever music is about the eternal power of music and genuine love between women. its about staying alive as long as possible, in defiance against all odds, through life-threatening sickness in world made to hurt u, doing what little things possible to care for the people you love the most.” Dey previewed it with the singles ‘unfurl’ and ‘real love’.
London slowcore four-piece deathcrash have issued their debut LP, Return, which is out now via untitled (recs). The album, which the band recorded live with an emphasis on collaboration, was preceded by the singles ‘Doomcrash’, ‘Unwind’, ‘Horses’. Since forming in 2019, deathcrash – comprised of vocalist/guitarist Tiernan Banks, bassist Patrick Fitzgerald, guitarist Matthew Weinberger, and drummer Noah Bennett – have shared two EPs, 2019’s Sundown (A Collection of Home Recordings) and last year’s People thought my windows were stars.
Cloakroom have returned with a new LP called Dissolution Wave, out now via Relapse. In press materials, the band described the album – which follows 2019’s Time Well and 2015’s Further Out – as “a space western in which an act of theoretical physics – the dissolution wave –wipes out all of humanity’s existing art and abstract thought…. Written from the perspective of the album’s protagonist—an asteroid miner who writes songs by night.” Cloakroom guitarist/vocalist Doyle Martin added: “We lost a couple of close friends over the course of writing this record. Dreaming up another world felt easier to digest than the real nitty-gritty we’re immersed in every day.”
Pinegrove’s new album 11:11 is out today via Rough Trade. The follow-up 2020’s Marigold was mixed by Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, and it includes the previously shared tracks ‘Alaska’, ‘Orange’, and ‘Respirate’. “Calling the record 11:11 should be a heartening statement, though there’s certainly a range of emotion across the album,” frontman Evan Stephens Hall explained in a statement. “There’s much to be angry about right now, and a lot of grief to metabolize. But hopefully, the loudest notes are of unity, collectivity, and community. I want to open a space for people to feel all these things.”
Other albums out today:
Eels, Extreme Witchcraft; Black Flower, Magma; MØ, Motordrome; Modern Nature, Island of Noise; Ghostly Kisses, Heaven, Wait.
Alice Glass has shared ‘Love Is Violence’, the latest single from her debut solo LP Prey//IV. Originally set for release today (January 28), the album will now come out on February 16 via her own Eating Glass Records. Check out the new track below, alongside a music video directed by Bryan M. Ferguson.
“Almost everyone can relate to the sometimes unbearable ups and downs that occur in relationships,” Glass said of the inspiration behind ‘Love Is Violence’ in a statement. “But for those of us who have dealt with manipulative or toxic partners, there is a whole other layer of pain. Any person who uses their partner’s “love” to control, use, and hurt them is using one of the most cruel and disgusting manipulative tactics in human experience. Disguising power struggles and calling it “Love” it’s a form of violence against a partner. I want to help people to see those red flags and encourage them to remove themselves from those types of toxic situations.”
Raveena has detailed her sophomore album, Asha’s Awakening, which arrives February 11 via Warner. Along with the announcement, the singer-songwriter has shared a new single called ‘Secret’, which features Vince Staples and arrives with an accompanying video directed by Raveena herself. Check it out below.
According to a press release, Asha’s Awakening is a concept album that tells the story of a space princess from ancient Punjab who learns about love, loss, healing, and destruction through a fantastical journey across centuries. In addition to Vince Staples, the LP includes contributions from Rostam, Indian singer-songwriter Asha Puthli, and Los Angeles IDM artist Tweaks. Raveena previously shared the album single ‘Rush’.
“To me, ‘Secret’ is a song about love that traverses through different dimensions,” Raveena said of the new single in a statement. “People on Earth are starting to have sensual dreams ignited in them by a space princess – someone they feel like their body knows, but whom they also do not know and cannot reach in this dimension. What if your lover was enticing you from space and you couldn’t reach them in this realm? What if a spirit from an outer dimension ignited your sacral chakra? This is what ‘Secret’ explores.”
Raveena’s debut album, Lucid, dropped in 2019. The following year, she released the Moonstone EP.
Asha’s Awakening Cover Artwork:
Asha’s Awakening Tracklist:
1. Rush
2. Secret [feat. Vince Staples]
3. Magic
4. Kismet
5. Kathy Left 4 Kathmandu
6. Mystery
7. Circuit Board
8. The Internet Is Like Eating Plastic
9. Arrival to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation
10. Asha’s Kiss [feat. Asha Puthli]
11. Time Flies
12. Love Overgrown
13. Endless Summer
14. New Drugs [feat. TWEAKS]
15. Let Your Breath Become a Flower (Guided Meditation)
Migos rapper Quavo has dropped his first solo single of the year, ‘Shooters Inside My Crib’. Produced by Money Montage, Ayo B and CTP, the track arrives today alongside a music video. Check it out below.
Quavo’s latest follows a series of collaborations with other artists, including Bobby Shmurda on ‘Shmoney’, Lil Wayne and Jack Harlow on the remix of City Girls’ ‘Pussy Talk’, and an appearance on the late Pop Smoke’s ‘Aim for the Moon’. His most recent solo album was 2018’s Quavo Huncho. Last year, Migos put out Culture III.
Benny the Butcher and J. Cole have joined forces on a new song called ‘Johnny P’s Caddy’. It’s lifted from Tana Talk 4, the Buffalo rapper’s forthcoming project that’s produced by Alchemist and Daringer and is due for release later this year. Check it out below.
“Any rapper will tell you when you’re working with someone like Cole, it’s like a match of wits,” Benny said in a statement about the collaboration. “You gotta go crazy, because you know he is. Iron sharpens iron. You want it to be an environment where someone has the presence to push you.”
Benny the Butcher’s latest record Pyrex Picasso arrived in 2021. J. Cole released The Off-Season last year. He also dropped the track ‘Heaven’s EP’ and teamed up with Wale for ‘Poke It Out’.
Charli XCX has teamed up with Rina Sawayama for the new song ‘Beg for You’. Produced by London-based musician Digital Farm Animals, the track is the latest offering from her forthcoming album Crash. Check it out below.
‘Beg for You’ follows last year’s singles ‘Good Ones’ and ‘New Shapes’, a collaboration with Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens. They were scheduled to perform the track together on Saturday Night Live, but the performance was canceled due to concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Crash, the follow-up to 2020’s how i’m feeling now, is March 18. The new single comes ahead of her upcoming documentary Alone Together, her documentary about the process of making that album during quarantine, which premieres in theaters and on-demand this Friday, January 28.
Amber Mark has released her debut album, 
Having written for the Broadway musical Hadestown, Bonny Light Horseman, and Big Red Machine, Anaïs Mitchell is back with her first solo album in a decade. Out now via 
Thyla have put out their 
Katie Dey has a new album out called forever music. Recorded entirely by Dey, the follow-up to 2020’s Mydata is available as a 
London slowcore four-piece 
Cloakroom have returned with a new LP called Dissolution Wave, out now via 
Pinegrove’s new album 
