Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 210
October 23, 2024
Sophie Jamieson Unveils “Camera” Single/Video | LP out Jan 17 via Bella Union
Sophie Jamieson
Unveils “ Camera ” Single/Video
Available across platforms here
I still want to share LP due out Jan 17, 2025 via Bella Union
I still want to share album preorder
“’Enthralling... a remarkable match of intimacy and intensity... consistently startling and affecting.”
- Uncut: 9/10
“A raw, intimate, brilliant debut, falling somewhere between Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Germano and PJ Harvey... Her torch-song voice is often exposed by spare arrangements, but songs also burst into euphoric life, like exorcisms... every second is disarming and beautiful.” - MOJO: 4*
Singles: “ I don’t know what to save ” “ Camera ”
Credit: Tatjana Rüegsegger
London-based songwriter Sophie Jamieson will release her highly anticipated second album I still want to share on January 17, 2025 via Bella Union. Already earning acclaim spanning The Needle Drop, Guitar Girl Magazine, Northern Transmissions, The Line Of Best Fit and more, the album was co-produced in London by Sophie Jamieson with the Grammy Award-winning Guy Massey (Spiritualized, Manic Street Preachers, The Beatles’ back-catalogue remastering). The new collection is a deeply personal reflection on the cyclical nature of loving and losing, the anxiety we cannot keep out of our relationships, and the perpetual longing for belonging that drives us to keep trying, and failing, to find home in other people. Today, brooding album opener “Camera” is revealed, a stunner which gently shifts into focus as guitars build, the drumbeat shuffles in and Sophie’s layered vocals bring a sense of dramatic unraveling, eventually swelling to a noisy, coruscating finale.
Sophie shares, “I wrote this song when my heart was broken and I was trying to hold everything when it didn’t want to be held. I wanted to be able to draw an outline around the pieces, fit them into a frame. Something in me knew that I’d find some peace if I just let things stay blurry, but everything in me wanted to find some focus. This song is the yearning, wrenching of trying to define a love that was less simple, more layered and less graspable than I could accept.”
If Sophie’s debut LP Choosing explored the self-destructive urge that swells from running away from one’s whole self, I still want to share muscles through, song by song, doing its best to face it. It lifts the lid on the roots of how we love and digs in even deeper, leaning into our deficiencies but doing so from a stronger, healthier place that is much less afraid of the pain that inevitably comes with feeling everything.
I still want to share also feels more exploratory, playful, and detailed with a richer palette. All the raw emotion of Sophie’s songwriting and vocal delivery is joined by some new characters: twinkly, toy-like omnichord, brooding layers of harmonium and sub-bass, as well as rich string arrangements - courtesy of Josephine Stephenson (Daughter, Ex:Re, Lisa Hannigan) - that weave a yearning connection through the beating heart of the record. “There’s a lot of warm autumnal colors, and then more glittery, dark, starry skies. Something about it all has really come together to illustrate some things that I didn't know I needed to articulate in this way”, Sophie explains.
October 22, 2024
Suzanne Vega adds spring tour dates to Old Songs, New Songs and Other Songs tour
Photo credit Ebru YildizOctober 22, 2024—Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation or any other, Suzanne Vega is adding a run of North American dates to her Old Songs, New Songs and Other Songs tour in March. Stops include the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, and multiple nights at Toronto’s Lula Lounge and the Dakota in Minneapolis. See below for a list of dates; tickets for all upcoming shows are available for purchase at suzannevega.com/tour.The upcoming 2025 tour dates follow two years that saw Vega perform extensively across the U.S. and Europe. Her new 2025 dates will treat audiences to a career spanning evening that will include a first listen to several songs from her forthcoming album.Of Vega’s performances
The New York Times
notes that she “is attentive to the realm of the unseen.”
Finding Connecticut
lauded a recent concert as “nothing short of mesmerizing, weaving tales through her soulful songs in a cozy setting that allowed for a deep connection with the audience.”Most recently Vega shared a new single, “Rats,” with a music video directed by acclaimed animator and filmmaker Martha Colburn. Stream/share the video
HERE
and listen to the track
HERE
. Of the new single,
Paste
raves, “There’s a little bit of everything from each sonic era that Vega has witnessed…it feels like a quirky soundtrack to the end of the world, as Vega leads her prancing pack of beloved animals up and down the sidewalks of 6th Avenue.”
Photo credit Ebru Yildiz“Rats” was written by Vega with music and production by her long-time guitarist and musical director, Gerry Leonard. Of the track, which hails from sessions for a forthcoming album, Vega notes, “I was talking to Jimmy Hogarth, the producer of my 2007 album Beauty and Crime. We were discussing who had seen the biggest rat. After that conversation, I kept reading about or hearing various rat stories, all of them true. I took careful note and set it all to music, inspired by The Ramones and Fontaines D.C.”Video director Colburn blends surreal stop-motion with distinctive collage elements. Her films are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka,” “Marlene on the Wall” and “Tom’s Diner,” an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. It remains an oft-sampled and covered standard by artists across the musical spectrum. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies worldwide.Vega’s most recent release, the career-spanning album
An Evening of New York Songs and Stories
(Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl) was hailed by the Associated Press as “an excellent Vega primer, an artist who still merits being on your radar no matter what your hometown may be,” while Stereogum raves that the album is “a stripped-down, intimate tour through her songbook, highlighting her rich voice and novelistic approach to lyrics.”SUZANNE VEGA, OLD SONGS, NEW SONGS AND OTHER SONGS TOURMarch 6—East Greenwich, RI—Greenwich OdeumMarch 7—Turners Falls, MA—The Shea Theater
March 8—Homer, NY—Center for the Arts of Homer
March 10—Buffalo, NY—Asbury Hall
March 11—Toronto, ON—Lula Lounge
March 12—Toronto, ON—Lula Lounge
March 15—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota
March 16—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota
March 20—Bloomington, IL—Castle Theatre
March 21—St. Louis, MO—The Sheldon Concert Hall
March 23—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music
March 24—Indianapolis, IN—The Tobias Theater
Mercury Rev Announces 2025 North American Tour
Mercury Rev
Announces 2025 North American Tour
General On-Sale : Friday, October 25 at 10am local
2/24/25: Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theater
2/25/25: Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's
2/26/25: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
2/28/25: San Francisco, CA @ Noise Pop Festival / Rickshaw Stop
3/1/25: Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
3/2/25: Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
3/4/25: San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
4/12/25: Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
4/13/25: Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
4/15/25: Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
4/16/25: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
4/17/25: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
4/18/25: Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Outremont
4/19/25: Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall
4/22/25: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Born Horses LP Out Now via Bella Union
Born Horses album purchase link
“an atypical orchestral-pop delight” - Pitchfork
Singles: “
A Bird of No Address
” “
Ancient Love
” “
Patterns
” “
Born Horses
”
Credit: Mic Stand
Last month, legendary psychedelic rock band Mercury Rev released their brand new studio album Born Horses via Bella Union to acclaim spanning Pitchfork, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Consequence, Under The Radar, Talkhouse, Uproxx, NME, FLOOD Magazine and Clash. Currently on tour overseas, the band is thrilled to announce that they will bring their riveting live show stateside in 2025. Mercury Rev’s North American tour will kick off February 24 in Vancouver with stops in NYC, LA, Seattle, Boston, DC and more. Tickets on-sale Friday, October 25 at 10am local.
Recently hailed by Pitchfork with a 9.3 for their 1991 classic Yerself Is Steam, Mercury Rev has been revered for their experimental artistry and challenging the status quo throughout their career. The new collection is a glistening psych-jazz-folk-baroque-ambient quest highlighting the band’s sophisticated instrumentation, met with heroic indie rock chops and offering a fresh new poetic perspective.
Born Horses is vocally inspired by the spirits of art minimalist Tony Conrad (LaMonte Young’s Dream Syndicate w/ John Cale and a close friend to The Velvet Underground) and beat poet Robert Creeley (one of the most influential American poets of the 20th century and an associate of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and the Black Mountain poets), acolytes of progressive thought and action who both taught at the University at Buffalo, the city where the band was formed.
Midge Ure To Release Live Album Nov. 8 + Announces Cruel World Performance
Midge Ure To Release Live Album Nov. 8: Midge Ure Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23
27-Track 70th Birthday Celebration, Featuring Career Spanning Material
Cruel World Festival In Pasadena, CA May 17
October 22, 2024 - New York, NY: Midge Ure will release a live album Midge Ure Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23 on November 8 (Pre-Order - https://midgeure.lnk.to/LRAHPR.) Ure celebrated his seventieth birthday in October of last year with a one-night only concert at the iconic venue celebrating his entire catalogue including playing Ultravox's Vienna album in full. Joined by his long-time Band Electronica and special guests, cellist Caroline Dale (London Metropolitan Orchestra, Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour, Sinéad O’Connor), and composer Ty Unwin who worked with Midge on his 2017 Orchestrated album. Midge talks about the recording: "This album was never meant to happen. The restrictions involved when playing a prestigious venue like the Royal Albert Hall were so great that recording audio or video was out of the question, or so I thought. Modern mixing desks have the capability to multitrack record these days so we tend to record most shows, so finding out we had a recording of that magical evening was a relief. A deal was struck with the venue and this is the result. A little moment captured forever."
Listen to 'Fade To Grey' on YouTube:
Midge Ure has also been added to the 2025 Cruel Fest Line-Up, taking place in Pasadena, California May 17. "Having seen most of my musician friends play Cruel World I was feeling a little ‘left out’ but with the success of my ‘Band in a Box Tour’ of North America this year I felt this was the right performance format and the perfect time to step up and play some of those Ultravox, Visage and solo tunes.” He adds "‘Band in a box’ is me and long time keyboard sidekick Charlie Round Turner jumping between guitars and synths, loops and samples to bring the audience the sound and feel those classic tunes deserve."Midge Ure is also still hosting his Backstage Lockdown Club giving fans exclusive access to a series of intimate, musical events on a monthly subscription basis.
Midge Ure Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23 Tracklist:CD1/LP 1:Dear GodLamentBreatheThe MakerGuns And ArrowsYellow PearlIf I WasGloriousReap The Wild WindThe Thin WallNo RegretsRage In Eden
CD2/LP2: (Vienna album in full) AstradyneNew EuropeansPrivate LivesPassing StrangersSleepwalkMr. XWestern PromiseViennaAll Stood Still
CD3/LP3: I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)Fade to GreyDancing With Tears In My EyesSerenadeThe VoiceHymn
Midge Ure has an impressive catalogue fronting the groundbreaking electrorock band Ultravox as well as being a member of such notable bands as Visage and Thin Lizzy. He helped form Band Aid where he produced and co-wrote the smash charity single 'Do They Know It's Christmas,' still one of the biggest singles in UK music history. He was also one of the principle creators of Live Aid and Live 8 along with Bob Geldof. Ure has spent most of his career touring the globe playing solo and with Ultravox who reformed in 2009. He served the notable role of MD for the Princes Trust at the Royal Albert Hall with a cast of the usual suspects including Queen, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Mark King. Ure is now working on three albums including a follow-up to
Fragile
, an
Orchestrated Pt. 2
in addition to a totally instrumental album.
Photo credit: Nathan Roach Website: http://www.midgeure.co.ukFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/midgeure1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midge_ure/
urika's bedroom shares new single + debut album due Nov 1st
URIKA'S BEDROOM SHARES NEW SINGLE & MUSIC VIDEO "VIDEO MUSIC"
DEBUT ALBUM BIG SMILE, BLACK MIRE DUE NOV 1ST
VIA TRUE PANTHER
ANNOUNCES 2025 US HEADLINE SHOWS + EMBARKING ON UK/EU TOUR NEXT WEEK WITH CHANEL BEADS
urika’s bedroom by Khari Cousins
Big Smile, Black Mire
PRE-SAVE/ORDER:
“Video Music”
LISTEN: https://found.ee/ub-bsbm
WATCH: https://youtu.be/UGd3K3e3t-g
(October 22nd, 2024) - Following the announcement of their debut album Big Smile, Black Mire, set for release on November 1st via True Panther, urika’s bedroom drops a second single, “Video Music,” along with a self-directed music video that captures distorted clips of ub performing in a nondescript location. The new single embodies the album’s masterclass in scene-setting through evocative and powerful arrangements.
Leading into the album release, urika’s bedroom will be playing London Calling Festival in Amsterdam this Saturday before heading on tour with Chanel Beads for a string of EU and UK dates and festivals kicking off next week. Grab tickets here and full tour routing can be found below.
Big Smile, Black Mire sculpts an expansive universe of timbres and tones, ranging from trashy and lived-in skronks to liquid beams of melody. ub renders a lucid depiction of longing, alienation, and multivalent emotional experiences powered by an avant-garde creative direction. Self-produced and engineered by urika’s bedroom the album is built upon the modern art of guitar processing and recontextualization. The album includes previously released singles “Circle Games,” debut single “Junkie,” and follow-up track “XTC.”
urika’s bedroom began playing in various genre-fluid bands in Los Angeles, leading to fruitful creative relationships and producing for like-minded artists such as untitled (halo) and Ded Hyatt. In fall 2023, ub invited audiences into an intimate artistic space while heading on tour with Youth Lagoon and Nourished By Time.
Pre-save/order Big Smile, Black Mire and listen to “Video Music” above, find urika’s touring details below, and stay tuned for more from the Los Angeles-based artist coming soon.
Upcoming Live Dates
# = supporting Chanel Beads
Tickets: https://www.urikasbedroom.net
10/26/24 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
10/28/24 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar #
10/29/24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Ideal Bar #
10/30/24 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus # (SOLD OUT)
10/31/24 – Munich, DE @ Giesinger Bahnhof #
11/03/24 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Weekender
11/07/24 – Nantes, FR @ Catapult Festival
11/08/24 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Paris
11/09/24 – London, UK @ Pitchfork London
11/11/24 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana #
11/13/24 – London, UK @ The Great Escape First Fifty - Paper Dress Vintage
11/14/24 – Manchester, UK @ YES # (SOLD OUT)
11/15/24 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House #
11/17/24 – Dublin, IE @ Bello Bar # (SOLD OUT)
01/15/25 – Chicago, IL @ Tomorrow Never Knows
02/21/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
02/28/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Big Smile, Black Mire album artwork by Jan Gatewood
urika’s bedroom
Big Smile, Black Mire
True Panther Records
November 1, 2024
1. ✱66
2. XTC
3. bsbm
4. Video Music
5. Junkie
6. Exit
7. Post-War Everything
8. Circle Games
9. Metalhead
10. If I Cut The Wings Off A Fly
11. Darcy’s Rave Hour
12. Century Love
Connect with urika’s bedroom
Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | TikTok | Bandcamp
St. Lenox Unveils New Single | NPR "Into Music", Rolling Stone | LP out Fri on Don Giovanni
St. Lenox
Ten Modern American Work Songs LP out this Friday
on Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records
Ten Modern American Work Songs album pre-order
Unveils “ Your Local Neighborhood Bar ” Single/Video
NPR Into Music podcast | Rolling Stone | Stereogum
FLOOD | No Depression | GLAAD | Northern Transmissions
"Andrew Choi is one of the most intense and expressive vocalists in indie rock." - Stereogum
"St. Lenox Offers a Rebuttal to J.D. Vance on New Single ‘Courtesan’" - FLOOD
"He belts out his regrets with uncanny melisma, like John Darnielle channeling Tony Clifton.
As odd as it sounds, it's a genuinely affecting affect." - NPR
"sharply evocative and richly imagined tales that … form part of Choi’s larger artistic project of expanding the definition of what gets to be considered an American narrative in the singer-songwriter tradition.”
Singles: “ Rudy ” “ Quasi-Nichomachean Ethics (Drunk Uncle Advice) ”
“ Courtesan ” “ Lust For Life ” " Your Local Neighborhood Bar "
Photo credit: Aaron Cansler
St. Lenox has unveiled "Your Local Neighborhood Bar", the final single off new album Ten Modern American Work Songs due out this Friday, October 25 via Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records. This is Korean-American artist Andrew Choi’s fifth album under the musical moniker. Dropping just before the U.S. Presidential election and dedicated to the NYU Law Class of 2014 on its 10th anniversary, the new collection showcases his unique brand of humor (recently toured with Paul F. Tompkins, Matt Besser and others) and political prowess while harnessing his life experience to raise questions about the definition of success and the journey through higher education and the American workforce.
With his singular combination of tight pop melodies, topical and confessional lyrics, and his cathartic vocal howl, Andrew takes the journey full circle with "Your Local Neighborhood Bar" in which the protagonist, now an attorney in New York, recounts his previous after-work musical pursuits, at the open mic at Andyman's Treehouse in Columbus, OH, with the open-mic host, Joe Peppercorn.
Watch / Share: “Your Local Neighborhood Bar” video
Like many Millennials and Gen-Xers, Andrew grew up with the narrative that quality work and education would eventually lead to personal salvation and provide a path to upward mobility. To that end, Andrew became a pillar of achievement: flying to New York City to study violin at Julliard on weekends as a teenager, graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University, earning a PhD in philosophy in his 30s, attending law school at NYU Law and working in Manhattan at a law firm, while simultaneously grappling with the struggles of modern working life: low wages, massive student debt, and burnout. This tremendous amount of experience—and all of the observations therein—is channeled into Ten Modern American Work Songs. “I want the record to be a snapshot of work life in modern times,” he says. “I try my best in these records to provide a kind of realism. I want the listener to come away with a vivid feeling of what it's like to work these days. Because ultimately that kind of realism is motivating to people on an ethical and political level.
Anyone who has ever paused to wonder “What’s this all for?” as they climb the next rung in capitalist America will find solace in these stories, which, taken together, paint an evocative portrait of 21st century work life.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | X
Apple Music | Spotify | Bandcamp | YouTube
BUÑUEL (feat.Eugene S.Robinson) Shares New Single “American Steel” ft. The Jesus Lizard's Duane Denison
Photo credits: Annapaola MartinToday BUÑUEL shares “American Steel" becoming the forth single released by the noise-rock project in support of the upcoming 'Mansuetude' LP. Commenting on the concept of the song, Eugene S. Robinson marks that it’s nothing if not a documentarian of a certain kind of power madness. Here best exemplified by “American Steel,” a song that pays tribute to one of the single things that most enlarged American coffers while at the same time drawing the most and worst kind of blood. Tanks, big bore hemis, assault weapons and the Harley’s they rode in on. Fiction? Not here they’re not.“Eugene Robinson's vocals have the effect of listening to a desperately flailing drowning man”. – explains Duane Denison(The Jesus Lizard,Tomahawk,The Denison/Kimball Trio) talking about his collaborative part with the band. “My guitar serves as a malfunctioning floatation device--it never quite makes it long enough to provide actual safety".
TRACKLIST:1.Who Missed Me2.Drug Burn3.Class4.Movement No. 2015.Bleat (feat.Jacob Bannon)6.A killing on the beach7.Leather Bar (feat.Andrea Beninati)8.High.Speed.Chase9.American Steel(feat.Duane Denison)10.Fixer (feat.Megan Osztrosits)11.Trash (feat.David Binney)12.Pimp13.A Room In BerlinThe digital version of Mansuetude will be available on October 25, 2024, while the release date for the physical version has been moved back to November 15, 2024.Also highlighted today is a retail exclusive “Primeval Green” colored vinyl variant edition, which will only be available from participating retailers. The “Primeval Green” edition joins the general release “Hard Smoked” colored vinyl offering. Both variations will be packaged inside a gatefold vinyl sleeve, include a poster-lyric sheet, a wraparound “Footlong” Obi and are topped off by side four's etched vinyl disc. Mansuetude will also be available on CD and cassette.Listen to 'American Steel' available from now here.Pre-order 'Mansuetude' from now on here.FOLLOW BUÑUEL VIA:Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook
ska legends Hepcat announce collab LP w/ dub forefather, Scientist + reissue. Share new audio & lost video. Out Dec 6th
Ska Legends Hepcat Announce Remix Album By Dub Forefather, Scientist – Scientist Meets Hepcat: Scientific Dub Special
Out December 6 via Trust Records - Pre-Order / Pre-Save Here
Alongside Deluxe Reissue of Scientific - Pre-Order / Pre-Save
Release Lost Music Video “Bobby and Joe” - Watch / Share
& New Audio "Bobby and Joe (Rambo Dub)" - Listen / Share
Hepcat’s Alex Desert Sits Down w/ Scientist In Trust Records’ One Two Me You Interview Series - Watch / Share
Hepcat was formed in 1989 by the late vocalist Greg Lee and keyboardist Deston Berry. Their soulful harmonies and mellow rhythms were unlike those of contemporaries and more akin to musicians from the heyday of 1960s Jamaican ska. Mixed with elements of soul, jazz and R&B, their singular sound quickly cemented them as staples in Los Angeles’ burgeoning ska scene in the early 90’s.
Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut Out of Nowhere on legendary label Moon Ska Records, Hepcat released their signature sophomore effort in 1996, Scientific. “It’s the album in which we all got together and figured sh*t out, tweaking controls and dialing in the perfect vibe, like a chemistry set—hence the name. We spent so much time and energy on that album. Labor of love, worth every moment,” Hepcat tell.
Fast forward to 2021, archival label Trust Records purchased controlling interest of the BYO catalog, including Hepcat’s Scientific. While in discussions with late founding member and lead vocalist Greg Lee on how he would like to see the album re-released, he let it be known that his dream of all dreams was to have legendary dub producer Scientist create a dub version of the album.
Hopeton Brown, known as Scientist, is the legendary electronic and studio engineer, considered to be one the forefathers of Dub Music. He developed his skills in the late 70’s and 80’s at the legendary King Tubby Studios with the revolutionary use of reverb, delay, and other effects to transform traditional reggae tracks into groundbreaking dubs. To date, Scientist has over 50,000 song credits, and he is still creating today.
“Greg Lee believed it would be cool if Scientist would dub ‘Scientific’. He liked the play on names and the historic implications. Like a true fan, Greg sought out information from various sources and finally was introduced to Scientist by Brian Wallace aka: Dub Robot at the legendary Dub Club in Los Angeles. Greg worked his magic and Scientist agreed to create dub’s of ‘Scientific’. The rest is now history,” Hepcat explain.
Those final dub mixes of Scientific were approved by Greg Lee and the band in January of 2024, just before Greg tragically died two months later of a brain aneurysm.
“Greg Lee is Hepcat personified. One of the strongest and greatest songwriters of Hepcat’s history. A mastermind. A positive source of inspiration. A leader. An eternal flame. The member who kept it fun and enjoyable, while being strong, and powerful at the same time,” Hepcat commemorates.
Scientist Meets Hepcat: Scientific Dub Special and the deluxe reissue of Scientific will be released across digital retailers on December 6 via Trust Records. The vinyl version of Scientist Meets Hepcat: Scientific Dub Special is limited to 500 copies and will be included as a bonus record for fans who purchase the Scientific deluxe reissue. Scientific arrives in-stores on December 6 and is the first time the classic is available on vinyl in years. All audio from Scientific was remastered from the original analog tapes by Pete Lyman. Pre-order Scientific and Scientist Meets Hepcat: Scientific Dub Special on vinyl here - pre-save on digital here.
Today Hepcat share Scientist’s remix of “Bobby and Joe (Rambo Dub)” alongside the lost video for the original single. Director Jamie Stern tells, “I found two masters of the ‘Bobby and Joe’ video. One was ‘censored’ for MTV. I remember they wanted certain things edited and so I made a ‘f*ck you’ version that had big black bars that said censored across the screen. It was in a competition on MTV called 12 Angry Viewers. They would watch 3 videos in an episode and vote on the best one. I was in NYC shooting a video for the bouncing souls and we saw it. We had no idea it was going to be in this competition. It was up against like Alanis Morissette and another big top 40 band or something and Hepcat won! We were all so excited! Then it moved up in the competition and beat out some other huge big budget videos! Our little $2500 ska video! Not too shabby.”
Scientist has also curated an essential dub tracks playlist in celebration of his collaboration with Hepcat - Listen / Share Here.
Watch / Share “Bobby and Joe” Official Music Video
Listen / Share “Bobby and Joe (Rambo Dub)”
Photo By Jiro Schneider
Scientist Meets Hepcat: Scientific Dub Special - Deluxe Reissue Track Listing:
01. Caribbean Tiger
02. Country Time (THC Rum Dub)
03. Bobby and Joe (Rambo Dub)
04. Black Sky (Moonbase Alpha Dub)
05. Keep On (Keep on Dubbing)
06. Home (Eye Ten East Dub)
07. Caribbean Tiger 2 (Radio Promo Calls Annete)
08. Marcus Garvey (The Ark)
09. Dollar Dance (Wedding Dub)
10. Come Out (Dancing Shoes)
11. Caribbean Tiger 3
12. Positive (Double Negative Dub)
13. Caribbean Tiger 4
14. Lovin' Man (Born to Lub Dub)
15. The Fool (Foolish Dub)
More About Hepcat:
Hepcat, based in Los Angeles, California, has created a musically complex sound that combines ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, Caribbean melodies, deep rich harmonies, and latin and jazz elements that appeals to Rastas, skate punks, mods, and jazz enthusiasts alike. The term “Hepcat” originated from the word “Hep” which was early 1930’s slang pertaining to a devotee of jazz, especially swing. It was also the name of vocalist Alex Désert’s cat – “Hep-Cat”.
Hepcat’s debut album, Out of Nowhere, was released on Moon Records in 1993, displaying its creative abilities as well as tight vocal and instrumental performance. Three years later, Scientific was released on BYO Records, which fueled the band’s rising local notoriety. Hepcat’s 1997 album, Right On Time, and 2000's Push ’N Shove, both released on Rancid’s Tim Armstrong’s Hellcat label, established the group as a pioneer of modern ska in the 1990s - one that was primarily influenced by the retro Jamaican rhythms of the 1960s.
Hepcat has been awarded an ASCAP award for excellent achievement, and two California Music Awards (1999). “Right on Time” spent 30 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Top Reggae chart. It was also ranked among Time Magazine’s top ten albums of 1998.
Hepcat has previously appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, has opened for such acts as Desmond Dekker, The Skatalites, The Wailers Band, The Specials, Madness, Rancid, Ben Harper, Flogging Molly, and The Interrupters, to name a few. Hepcat's video “Bobby & Joe” and “No Worries” have received significant airtime on MTV and MTV2, and the band has appeared on several movie soundtracks such as Meet the Deetles, Deuce Bigalow, and Glory Daze, as well as a Heineken commercial.
Hepcat’s signature style, sound and live performance continue to impact new generations of music enthusiasts worldwide.
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS ANNOUNCE NEW TRACK “JERKIN”
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS
ANNOUNCE NEW TRACK “JERKIN”
WATCH PHC DIRECTED VIDEO HERE
Photo by John Angus Stewart 2024 @phcfilms
“Amyl & The Sniffers have released the album of the Year”––Clash
“Smart, funny, characterful, there’s virtually nothing not to like about this record”––Mojo
“Cartoon Darkness sees them poised for the Big Time, one of the best albums of the year”––NME
“A level-up in every way” ––Brooklyn Vegan (43 Albums We’re Anticipating for Fall 2024)
“ A layered approach to the world’s current status…kicking the door open to the band’s new era”––Grammy.com (15 Must-Hear Albums in October)
Amyl and The Sniffers are pleased to share “Jerkin,” the final track and video to be released in advance of their forthcoming third album Cartoon Darkness, out this Friday, October 25th 2025 via B2B Records / Virgin Music Group.
Following the previously released “jubilant slow-burn of victory” (PASTE Best New Songs) “Big Dreams,” “Jerkin” is the third single off the forthcoming album named Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1––this is alongside 2 x Radio 1 playlists and 3 x 6 music A lists, as well as Top 10 album and single on the SubModern radio chart in the U.S.
The new X-Rated video was directed by long-time Sniffers collaborator John Angus Stewart of PHC Films. While a censored version will appear on streaming platforms, the full, uncensored version is only available to watch on amylandthesniffers.com (for viewers 18 and older only).
Amy Taylor on “Jerkin”
“It’s good to express your anger when someone’s been pissing you off and it’s good to have humor in life, especially as a woman, when you’re meant to just passively say ‘everything’s good’ to keep everyone else comfortable. The best part about this song is that a squirter can be anybody’s genitals. I wanted to write a song to big-up “the self” while putting down the “other” because sometimes, even if it’s just for a small window, that’s the best way to laugh something off and empower yourself. World’s pissing me off and breaking my heart more than ever right now, might as well poke it back. It’s pointless but it’s cathartic.”
Director John Angus Stewart
“The level of offense that a vagina or penis can generate is absolutely bizarre. Once, Amy said to me, “If the world wasn’t so fucked up, I’d never wear clothes.” It’s the context we stamp onto our sex organs that makes them innately “offensive.” This is why we wanted to strip away the artifice and examine the body in an open, conversational way. We approached the project as if it were a performance in itself. From concept to crewing to casting, we (the production) let the project evolve in the most natural way possible, allowing our subjects to dictate their level of input based on their comfort on the day. We were learning what it was as we were making it, which is basically the opposite approach I’m used to. But because this idea was driven by people’s personalities, it felt wrong to do it any other way. We just kept pulling things further and further back until we were left with just a white wall and the human body. I want to come out of everything I do with a different perspective. Just as one’s perspective changes with an Amyl song, I want to change in the same way. I think we all walked away from the shoot with an innate need to be less prudish and give less of a shit.”
In addition to the explosive new single and video for “Jerkin,” the band has kicked off an exciting release week with an astounding 150 listening parties all across the U.S. at local indie retailers. Having already conquered North America with a slew of dates ranging from sold-out headlining club and theater gigs––including a two-night blow out at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles––to stadium shows as special guests of Foo Fighters, which included stops at New York’s Citi Field and Boston’s Fenway Park, Amyl and The Sniffers will head out next month on their sold out UK and EU tour. The band has also confirmed their biggest ever headline show at London’s Alexandra Palace, tickets now on sale.
UK 2024/ 2025
NOV 5TH – DUBLIN – NATIONAL STADIUM SOLD OUT
NOV 6TH – GLASGOW – 02 ACADEMY SOLD OUT
NOV 7TH – NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE – NX SOLD OUT
NOV 9TH – MANCHESTER – MANCHESTER ACADEMY SOLD OUT
NOV 10TH – BIRMINGHAM 02 – ACADEMY SOLD OUT
NOV 11TH – BRISTOL – 02 ACADEMY SOLD OUT
NOV 13TH – LONDON – ROUNDHOUSE SOLD OUT
NOV 14TH – LONDON – ROUNDHOUSE SOLD OUT
NOV 15TH – LONDON – ROUNDHOUSE SOLD OUT
JULY 5 – 2025 – LONDON – FINSBURY PARK SUPPORTING FONTAINES DC
NOV 15 – 2025 – LONDON ALEXANDRA PALACE
LALA HAYDEN releases transfixing synth-pop single "baby you're the best!"
LALA HAYDEN releases transfixing new single"baby you're the best!"
Stream HERE
– Working with producer Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes, Françoise Hardy, Nakhane)
– Festivals this year: Eurosonic, The Great Escape, Beyond The Music, Liverpool Sound City
Photo credit: Hanna L HaydenLISTEN, new single "baby you're the best!":
YouTube | Spotify | Smartlink
(22 October) British-Spanish artist LALA HAYDEN today releases her transfixing new single "baby you're the best!".
Having begun this year with notable festival appearances at Eurosonic, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Beyond The Music & more, LALA HAYDEN has solidified herself as a fascinating proposition on the live stage. With "baby you're the best!" she is putting down her marker as one of the most exciting prospects in music for 2025.
Made in collaboration with producer Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes, Françoise Hardy, Nakhane), on "baby you're the best!", LALA delves into the themes of emotional neglect, societal expectations, and the desire for authentic connection - all set to a backdrop of foreboding, enticing synth-pop.
Currently adding the finishing touches to a new project due for release next year - LALA HAYDEN (real name Laura Hayden) commented on the lyrical inspiration behind her new single:
''I keep feeling triggered when I see older men with much younger women (women who could be their daughters). It's like these grown men don't want to be challenged, they just want to be praised...and nothing evolves or changes. I wanted to write the song from the perspective of the first wife, who is desperate to feel seen, she wants her man to grow with her instead of disengage when it feels too difficult."
Splitting her time between Barcelona and London, LALA HAYDEN is an artist revitalised, reinvigorated and ready to take on the world. Releasing her debut EP 'Girl Becomes' in the summer of 2023, LALA has taken the time since to finesse her artistry, with her new music drawing from the work of strong female voices such as Kate Bush, Ladyhawke, Self Esteem, Robyn, Róisín Murphy, Donna Summer, Jessie Ware and Lykke Li.
Alongside her music, LALA created a coaching platform for women in 2023 - with those two worlds colliding within her songwriting. Themes of womanhood, female empowerment; self love and interdependence are explored with passion and purpose, with her lyrics and unique live performances conveying strength and confidence, as she told Vogue - “The goal of my music is to make you walk with your back a little straighter, your chest a little more open and your head a little higher".
LALA HAYDEN's new single "baby you're the best!" is out now. LALA plays Live at Leeds in November and will share more new music in 2025.
"baby you're the best!" - single artworkLIVE DATES
16th November, Leeds - Live at Leeds
Follow, LALA
Instagram: @lauralalahayden
X / Twitter: @lauralalahayden
TikTok: @lauralalahayden
