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apureniallsource · 11 months

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Ahead of new album, The Show, Niall Horan on how he 'lives' for touring, his desire to connect with fans through his songs, and the challenge of going out for chips in his Irish hometown

It’s almost a cliché to call Niall Horan a “super-nice guy”, but really, there’s no getting away from it. He may have named his new album The Show, but Horan feels no need to put one on for a journalist. In fact, the Irish singer-songwriter is so laid-back and likeable when we meet at a smart London hotel – fresh flowers everywhere, bottled water waiting on the table – that I ask how he’s stayed so well-adjusted. “It’s probably a combination of the upbringing I had and the fact I already had enough character at 16 [to deal with it],” he says. “It might have been a different story if I’d started doing this when I was 10.”

Now 29, he has been scarily famous for almost half his life. After auditioning for The X Factor in 2010 as a solo artist, 16-year-old Horan was eliminated at the boot camp stage, then given a spectacular second chance as one fifth of a hastily assembled group called One Direction. He and his new bandmates – Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – didn’t win that year’s show, but still used it as a springboard to become a chart-topping global phenomenon. By the time One Direction announced an indefinite hiatus in January 2016, they had sold 70 million records and debuted at number one in the US with their first four albums – something not even The Beatles achieved. When asked what he would say to his pre-1D, 16-year-old self, Horan replies: “Get ready. Your life’s about to change on a level that most of the world can’t even quantify.”

Horan says he still speaks to “the lads” on a regular basis, but like all of them, he has worked hard to carve out an identity as a solo artist. If Horan’s individual achievements still feel slightly underrated, that’s probably only because his flashier bandmate Styles is now a stadium-filling superstar. Released in 2017, Horan’s debut album Flicker was a deft blend of soft rock, folk and country that debuted at number one in the US and Ireland. His 2020 follow-up Heartbreak Weather added a dash of swagger to the mix – particularly on the Brit-poppy single ‘Nice to Meet Ya’ – and became his first UK chart-topper. Because it dropped in March 2020, just as Covid-19 was taking hold, Horan never got to take the album on the road. “I haven’t toured since 2018 – that’s wild,” he says. “I love live music and I love touring – I live for it. So, it’s sad that I haven’t done that.”

Happily, a few weeks after this interview, Horan announced The Show: Live on Tour, a 50-date trek across Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand that will keep him busy from February to July of next year. When Horan last toured five years ago, he mainly played large theatres, but now he is aiming to pack out arenas from Birmingham to Brisbane. During our conversation, he hinted that he was ready for the step up. “In my eyes, the bigger the venue, the better, because I fucking love looking out at an ocean of people,” he says. “For me, it feels like the bigger the venue, the better the show is gonna be.”

Horan also makes no bones about wanting The Show to become another UK number one after it drops on 9 June. “There’s nothing better than getting that little statue sent to your house,” he says with an impish grin. At the time of writing, he seems well on course for another express delivery from the Official Charts Company. The album’s breezy lead single ‘Heaven’ cracked the UK Top 20 in February, and its sprightly follow-up ‘Meltdown’ is now climbing the charts. A few hours before this interview, I watch him perform both songs in the Radio 1 Live Lounge. Horan is just as relaxed with his band during rehearsals, but when he spots that his vocals are getting buried in the mix, he quickly and calmly gets it corrected.

Horan began working on ‘The Show’ while holed up at home during the summer of 2020. The album title had come to him earlier in the year, but he “didn’t really know what it meant until the pandemic”. When he sat down at the piano that August, the lyrics that came out seemed to capture the confusion of the Covid era: “If everything was easy, nothing ever broke / If everything was simple, how would we know? / How to fix your tears? How to fake a show?” At this point, Horan says he realised ‘The Show’ was both “a metaphor for life” and an overarching concept he could run with. “When there’s no heartbreak [to write about], you have to come up with a different concept,” he says. “I realised quite quickly that what I wanted to talk about was the ups and downs and good and bad of life. That’s ‘The Show’.”

Having “no heartbreak” is about as much as Horan will say about his personal life. “Keeping that stuff quiet”, he believes, is one reason he remains so grounded. Since 2020, he has been dating Amelia Woolley, a designer shoe buyer who never appears on his work-focused Instagram. But when we discuss ‘You Could Start a Cult’, an idiosyncratic folk ballad from the album, Horan does offer a teasing glimpse into their home life. He says the song’s eye-catching title was inspired by the true-crime series they like watching. “I always try and write weird stuff like that, then see if I can flip it on its head and make the song [itself] not as dark as the title,” he says. In this case, Horan flipped it into a “love song, effectively”, albeit an intense one. “It’s about… not the desperation feeling, but the ‘I think you’re the best fucking thing in the world’ feeling,” he explains. “And if you started a cult, I’d follow you into the fire. You know, that kind of angst, though I don’t know if ‘angst’ is the word I’m looking for!”

Horan spends a lot of time in LA because his record label and producers are based there. His main collaborators on The Show were Joel Little, who he brought in because he liked his work with Taylor Swift, indie artist Noah Kahan, and long-time co-writer John Ryan, a veteran of four One Direction albums. “I think it’s really important first of all to be loyal,” he says of his enduring partnership with Ryan. “And you know, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Still, working with Little felt just as comfortable, partly because they could pick things up at a moment’s notice. “If I get the green light at the top of my street [in LA], I can be at Joel’s house in less than a minute,” Horan says. “It’s a fucking dream!”

But during the pandemic, Horan was grounded at his main base in southwest London. “I’ve never been fitter in my life because I was cycling 80 or 90 miles around Richmond Park every week – it’s gorgeous out there,” he recalls. Like many of us, Horan has conflicting feelings about the way Covid placed our lives on hold. “I don’t want to say I enjoyed it because I didn’t – it was such a horrible time,” he says. “But I got to a point about two or three months in, where I was like: ‘This is the longest I’ve ever had off.’ He particularly appreciated having to stay in one place for a sustained period of time. “Normally, I’m packing a suitcase every three or four days,” he says. “At Heathrow Airport, the guards at the [security] desk just laugh when they see me coming. They’re like, ‘How do you do this?’”

Having lived in London since he was 16, Horan says “it’s definitely the best city on the planet”. But at the same time, he still regards Mullingar, the Irish market town where he was born and raised, as home. His debut solo single ‘This Town’, a UK top 10 hit in 2016, was incredibly charming because it harnessed his ineffable longing for the place. Horan reckons he returns to Mullingar “seven or eight times a year”, although walking down the high street is pretty tricky. “I can’t just pull up outside the chip shop, run in and get the chips, then run back to the car,” he says. “Everything has to be thought through. Like, where am I going to park? How many streets am I going to have to cross? What am I going to wear?” Horan says all this with no hint of frustration: by now, he knows what is expected of a homecoming hero.

Horan knew he wanted to be a musician from a young age and says he “tried to make this as clear as possible” to his parents. They were “supportive up to a point”, but because the family didn’t have much money and Mullingar wasn’t a creative hub like Dublin, his mother urged him to “get some sort of qualification”. “I still don’t have any,” Horan says with a laugh, “I didn’t do GCSEs or anything like that because I didn’t finish school.” At 16, Horan made the 50-mile journey to Dublin to audition for The X Factor and grabbed hold of the One Direction rocket with both hands.

Did his parents come up with any ideas for a Plan B? “We didn’t get that far. Honestly, I just packed my bag and never came back – that’s the way they look at it,” says Horan. “My father worked in Tesco for 35 years and my mother worked at a pewter genesis company making little bits and pieces – clocks and things like that. They both had very regular jobs.” Horan notes astutely that some kids from a working-class background “like to spread their wings and leave the nest” – as he did, quite spectacularly – whereas others “like to stay in their hometown, or maybe can’t get out”. Horan pauses for a second, perhaps to ponder what might have been. “I don’t know what they would have wanted me to do, but I’m sure it would have been a good life,” he continues. “Like, my parents are having a good time.”

Thirteen years after he left to become a pop star, Horan’s own ambition remains undimmed. “I’ve achieved a lot in my young life, but I’m still fired up to do as much as I can,” he says. “My career has felt so good because it reminds me of everything I thought the music industry would be when I was a kid. I got the good end of the stick [in terms of] travelling the world and playing to millions. And I still want more of that.”

For this reason, the audience is always at the forefront of his mind. “When I’m writing, I ask myself, ‘Have I gone too specific to the point where it only makes sense to me?’” he says. “And then I try and broaden the thought to make it as relatable as possible.” ‘Never Grow Up’ from Horan’s new album was partly inspired by his girlfriend’s parents, who are “still madly in love”, but its lyrics will chime with One Direction fans who, like him, are close to turning 30. “Hope we still drink like we’re back in the pub,” Horan sings. “Hope we grow old, but we never grow up.”

In Horan’s eyes, the songs that fully stand the test of time – from Simon and Garfunkel to Whitney Houston and Adele – are “the ones that really mean a lot to the people”. It’s this kind of universal connection that he is always striving for. “These are the things that go on in my head when I’m writing,” he says. “I don’t want to alienate anyone, and I don’t want to be introspective to the point where I ruin it for everyone. So, if they can connect to it too, then we all get what we want out of this.”

#niall horan #rolling stone uk #01june

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randomvarious · 2 months

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Fiction Factory - "(Feels Like) Heaven" Steve Masters Presents: A Trip Back to the 80's Song released in 1983. Compilation released in 1995. Synthpop / New Wave

For a pretty brief moment there in the mid-80s, right in the middle of the whole synthpop boom, the Scottish group of Fiction Factory really appeared to be onto something that was quite good. And the funny thing about them was that they actually, at first, had no intention of being a band themselves. Members had tried that in the past and had grown weary of having to play too many concerts, so when the group was officially formed, what they really wanted more than anything else was to be one of those behind-the-scenes songwriting outfits who could work on and make music for other people. In fact, that idea is what had inspired their whole name in the first place: they would be ardent songwriters, whose constant output would resemble that of a factory, but the notion that they were an actual band would be pure fiction.

However, once CBS Records heard their demo, that dream of relative anonymity had been dashed. Despite Fiction Factory's protestations to the contrary, the label saw a band in front of them that could potentially make it. And so the trio of Kevin Patterson, Eddie Jordan, and Chic Medley ultimately relented and decided to enlist two more members in order to fill out their ranks: a bassist named Graham McGregor and a former drummer from the already pretty successful Simple Minds—although "Don't You (Forget About Me)" had yet to drop—Mike Ogletree.

And things ended up starting out okay for them. Fiction Factory would make their debut in 1983 with a single called "Ghost of Love," which would manage to chart at #64 in the UK and #49 in Germany. But then directly after that, they caught lightning in a bottle with "(Feels Like) Heaven," an absolute feelgood, nostalgia-inducing, sweet and sentimental-sounding, middle-of-the-road, massive, and classic 80s triumph that they had actually crafted in the span of about 36 hours.

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Now, if you're an American, chances are that you may have never heard of Fiction Factory before, because despite "(Feels Like) Heaven" earning itself some burn on both US radio stations—tastemaking San Francisco DJ Steve Masters was a huge proponent of it, especially—and MTV, nothing that this band ever made sold all that well Stateside, and as a result, they never charted here in any capacity.

But over in the UK, and also throughout parts of Europe, "(Feels Like) Heaven" fared extremely well: it was #2 in Switzerland, #4 in Ireland, #6 in the UK, and #10 in both Belgium and West Germany too.

And it's just such a tasty little morsel of unbeatably dreamy 80s synthpop, driven by a perpetually fluffy string synth backdrop that gets some simple, lovely, catchy, chiming keyboard melodies that attempt to emulate the sound of a music box to float atop it; and Kevin Patterson offsets his deep vocal tone on the verses with very different falsetto choruses too.

But while this song's overall vibe might leave you thinking that it'd be a perfect fit for any sort of 80s coming-of-age scene where the typically shy teenage boy main character finally gets up enough courage at the prom in order to ask his crush for a dance, "(Feels Like) Heaven" is actually one of those songs whose lyrics tell a completely different story. It may give off an appearance that it's about being comfortably and deeply in love with someone, but a more careful scan of the lyrics actually reveals the song's subject matter to be the exact opposite. What it's really about is that exhilarating feeling of liberation that one might get after a bad relationship has finally come to a close.

Twisting the bones until they snap I scream but no one knows You say I'm familiar, cold to touch And then you turn and go, 'Feels like heaven'

And I don't know how many people have actually picked up on the winking irony that's within this song, but you can apparently find it on a whole bunch of comps that claim to be comprised exclusively of love songs. And I bet some wedding couples have chosen it for their first dance too 😅.

Unfortunately, Fiction Factory weren't able to really succeed with anything that came after this bop, though; no other song on their 1984 debut album really seemed to sound like "(Feels) Like Heaven" itself, and because of that, I think people who'd bought it were a bit turned off. And CBS were also probably left unsure of how to market them successfully too. The group would return the following year with Another Story, but neither it nor its corresponding trio of singles were able to chart anywhere, and in 1987, they decided to go their separate ways.

Synthpop bands were about as prevalent as oxygen throughout the entirety of the 80s, and while Fiction Factory probably aren't the ones who first come to mind when you think of that era's top groups, there's no doubt that, for a whole lot of Europeans, "(Feels Like) Heaven" is still one of the genre's most fondly remembered hits, overall. And while Fiction Factory may not have had much longevity as a group, this one big hit of theirs still seems to land them pretty healthy residual checks to this very day, which is probably a whole lot more than most other bands of their ilk can continue to say.

Listen to it on Spotify too:

#synthpop #synth pop #pop #new wave #music #80s #80s music #80's #80's music #classic pop #Youtube #Spotify

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onlinein · 2 years

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Knock knock on heavens door

Gabrielle's single " Rise" (2000) sampled from this song. In addition to the versions already mentioned above, other notable covers include those by Neil Young, Lana Del Rey, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, Bono, Antony and the Johnsons, Warren Zevon, Cat Power, Roger Waters, Tanya Donelly, Jerry Garcia, Avril Lavigne, Wyclef Jean, Television, Nina Hagen, Mudcrutch and Low. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" has been covered by over 150 artists. The song was featured on the compilation album Hits 97, where all royalties from the song were given to three charities. The proceeds went to charities for children. 1 on the UK and Scottish Singles Charts, as well as No.

This version of the song, featuring children from the village singing the chorus with the guitarist and producer of Dylan's album Infidels (1983), Mark Knopfler, was released on December 9, 1996, in the United Kingdom and reached No. This has been, according to some sources, one of the few times Dylan has officially authorized anybody to add or change the lyrics to one of his songs. In 1996 and with the consent of Dylan, Scottish musician Ted Christopher wrote a new verse for "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in memory of the schoolchildren and teacher killed in the Dunblane school massacre. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.ĭunblane tribute "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, pianoĭecade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) The music video for this version of the song was directed by Andy Morahan. Another version was released on the video Use Your Illusion World Tour - 1992 in Tokyo II. Their performance of the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 was used as the B-side for the single release and was also included on their Live Era: '87–'93 album, released in 1999. 1, it became Guns N' Roses' third (and to date last) number-one single as well as their ninth consecutive top-five hit. In Ireland, where the song also reached No. Elsewhere, the single topped the charts of Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands it was the best-selling song of 1992 in the latter country. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. This version was slightly modified for the band's 1991 album Use Your Illusion II, discarding the responses in the second verse. 18 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and No. They recorded and released a studio version in 1990 for the soundtrack of the film Days of Thunder that reached No. A live version of the song was released on the 12-inch single of " Welcome to the Jungle" the same year. In 1987, American hard rock band Guns N' Roses started performing the song. Guns N' Roses versions "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"įrom the album Days of Thunder (soundtrack) Several Clapton compilation albums also feature the song. There were also performances of the song included on the Journeyman (1990) and the One More Car, One More Rider (2003) world tours. Clapton's 1996 boxed set Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies features a performance of the song recorded in London in April 1977. 38 on the UK charts, but the single was less successful in the U.S where it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (although it reached on No. After the recording sessions with Louis, Clapton recorded his own version of the song which was released as a single in August 1975 two weeks after Louis's version. In January 1975 Eric Clapton played on Arthur Louis's recording of " Knockin' on Heaven's Door" which was arranged in a cross-over reggae style.

Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert PerformancesĮric Clapton and Arthur Louis versions.

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration.

Some of these versions have appeared on Dylan's live and Bootleg Series albums including: Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.Īccording to his website, Dylan has performed the song in concert 460 times between its live debut in 1974 and its last outing in 2003. Note: When you embed the widget in your site, it will match your site's styles (CSS).West Germany ( Official German Charts) Get the embed code RAIGN - Knocking On Heavens Door - EP Album Lyrics1.Don't Let Me Go2.Empire of Our Own3.Knocking on Heavens Door4.Wicked GamesRAIGN Lyrics provided by And I'm feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's doorĪnd I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

#Knock knock on heavens door

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zot3-flopped · 1 year

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Meltdown is below 100 on the UK itunes too. There's no way this song can chart inside the top 100 in the UK official charts. Unless ofc the chart numbers are low.

Its streams might be enough for it to squeeze into the 90s, but I hope not. Heaven did much better in the UK.

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niamflopped · 1 year

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The mid week UK chart update is out and Meltdown by Niall Horandog isn't in the top 100!

It's the first time one of his pre album singles hasn't charted in the UK, so he'll be devastated and will probably go on a begging spree.

As It Was is predicted at #7 and Heaven at #31.

#niall horan #meltdown #the show #niall tour

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brn1029 · 1 year

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On this date in music. Leaning heavily toward Classic Rock…

April 12th

2016 - Led Zeppelin

A US court ruled that Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a copyright row over the song 'Stairway to Heaven'. The copyright infringement action had been brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s, and claimed he should be given a writing credit on the track.

2000 - Metallica

Metallica filed a suit against Napster, Yale University, The University of Southern California and Indiana University for copyright infringement.

1990 - The Beatles

The Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre announced that Asteroids 4147-4150, would be named Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr after the four members of The Beatles.

1975 - David Bowie

During an interview with Playboy Magazine David Bowie announced his second career retirement, saying, 'I've rocked my roll. It's a boring dead end, there will be no more rock 'n' roll records from me. The last thing I want to be is some useless f—ing rock singer.'

1969 - 5th Dimension

The 5th Dimension started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In', a No.11 hit in the UK.

1968 - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd released their fourth UK single 'It Would Be So Nice', written by Richard Wright with Roger Waters' 'Julia Dream' on the B-side. Pink Floyd were on tour in Europe on this day, and played their second night at the Piper Club, in Rome, Italy.

1967 - Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger was punched in the face by an airport official during a row at Le Bourget Airport in France. Jagger lost his temper after The Rolling Stones were being searched for drugs resulting in them missing their flight.

1966 - Jan Berry

Jan Berry (Jan and Dean) was almost killed when he crashed his car into a parked truck a short distance from Dead Man's Curve in Los Angeles. Berry was partially paralysed and suffered brain damage. Berry was able to walk again after extensive therapy.

1963 - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan performed his first major solo concert at the Town Hall in New York City. Dylan played a 24 song set including 'Blowin' In The Wind', 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall', 'Highway 51' and 'Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie'.

1957 - Lonnie Donegan

The 'King of Skiffle' Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cumberland Gap.' The Scottish musician was a former member of Chris Barber's Jazz Band.

1954 - Bill Haley

Bill Haley recorded 'Rock Around the Clock' at Pythian Temple studios in New York City. Considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map around the world. The song was used over the opening titles for the film 'Blackboard Jungle', and went on to be a world-wide No.1 and the biggest selling pop single with sales over 25 million. Written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, 'Rock Around The Clock' was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights.

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chasenews · 1 year

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ELLIE GOULDING RELEASES NEW SINGLE “BY THE END OF THE NIGHT”

pop superstar Ellie Goulding release her new single “By the End of the Night”. Ellie’s hotly anticipated fifth studio album Higher Than Heaven is due for release this April 7th. “By the End of the Night” follows the recent release of trance banger “Miracle” with Calvin Harris – Miracle, which entered the UK Official Chart at #3 and has been met with a huge response from fans and critics…

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26/11/2022 (Clavish/D-Block Europe, RAYE/070 Shake, Meekz’s ‘Respect the Come Up’)

For a fifth week, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift sits at #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It’s our first Christmas week – yes, this early, and it’s in full force – so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, given the first Christmas surge, was kind of a massacre? We say farewell to “I’m Back” by Fredo, “Die for You” by Joji, “Delilah (pull me out of this)” and “Turn Off the Lights again..” with Swedish House Mafia and Future both by Fred again.., “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me at All)” by Omar Apollo, “All These Nights” and “Not Over Yet” with KSI both by Tom Grennan, “Doja” by Central Cee, “For My Hand” with Burna Boy and “Shivers” both by Ed Sheeran, “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra and finally, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals.

Now this last month of the year is always great for when you just need a list of songs typed out in succession alongside numerical chart placements, as there are a total of 10 returns this week, some being pretty high. However, they’re mostly Christmas songs, so we’ll cover those separately. Instead, we can focus on our notable gains, those being similarly scarce but we do see “Kiss Me” by Dermot Kennedy at #15 thanks to his #1 album and “Out of Nowhere” by Bugzy Malone and TeeDee at #13 off of the debut. That’s really it other than the return for “Three Lions” by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner with rock group the Lightning Seeds at #20 – it’s essentially the England football anthem and it always arrives amidst World Cup time, peaking at #1 three separate times as a result, in 1996, 1998 and 2018. I think the song is lousy but its big boost from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar will see it surviving the Christmas frost even with ACR.

Speaking of said Christmas frost, we saw nine Christmas songs return and a switch-up in the canon also. First of all, the list, with “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms at #69, the dreadful “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid at #63, the joyful “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #62, “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl surprisingly low at #57, “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande at #55, “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens at #54, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #49 and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee at #42. With the increased power of streaming playlists, we may start to see our traditional UK Christmas songs fade in popularity compared to the more worldwide classics, with a more streamlined chart that looks kind of like the US Christmas chart a bit more likely. Oddly enough, probably thanks to playlisting, we get the third most popular Christmas song on the chart not being the Pogues or Brenda as usual... but rather the recent #1 “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John returning at #40. Given that the song is, you know, terrible and may become an immediately dated downer in the post-COVID years considering the lyrics, I have my doubts about this entering the canon but it just might end up as one of the highest-charting holiday tracks for the next few years. At least it’s not the sausage roll version.

Oh, and of course, “Last Christmas” by Wham! is at #23 and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey at #18. As for the top five on the UK Singles Chart, it currently consists of “messy in heaven” by venbee, goddard. and ArrDee at #5, “Miss You” by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz at #4, “Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor at #3, “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras at #2, and of course, “Anti-Hero” at the very top, being mostly unchanged from last week. Now as for the songs that weren’t on the chart last week, prepare for a semi-album bomb or as much as the Official Charts Company allows as we start with our newest entries.

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Say Less” – Meekz

Produced by M1OnTheBeat and Chucks

UK rapper Meekz has released his newest album, Respect the Come Up, with three tracks from it charting this week. I’ve never liked Meekz as much as other British rappers largely because of how devoid he is of any real unique characteristics in his delivery, and how little his beat choice has ever impressed me, so the fact that half of this week’s batch of new songs are just Meekz is pretty disappointing. This is the opening track, which also got a video, and I’m not really impressed with this at all. Meekz drones on a piano loop before more gets layered onto it without a real build up, and the beat cuts out constantly so it feels a bit awkward. Sure, Meekz isn’t offensive, but the delivery is mostly flexing and gangplay that sounds particularly dull coming from his deadpan delivery. Once the trap beat comes in, it’s pretty rote, and Meekz has barely any control over the rhythm with his meandering flow through one, overly long verse. It trails off and ends as if nothing ever occurred, and I’ve yet to find a counter to the argument that nothing in fact did ever happen.

#68 – “AVA” – Natalie Jane

Produced by Doc Daniel, Pink Slip and Inverness

This is a largely rap-focused episode, so it’s good to get some diversity here but who is Natalie Jane? Well, as a teenager, she was an American Idol contestant in 2020, and this song is her breakout track... and it really is just Billie Eilish. She sounds pretty close to her, even closer than your typical smoky indie-girl voice, and there’s a mix of the elegant piano with bassy industrial blasts and trap-esque rattling. Jane is definitely less subtle as she tears through this guy’s cheating, making links between the affair and the seemingly manipulative relationship Jane had with this partner. I actually like the songwriting but in terms of production, it has a bit too much bombast, with the strings and horns alongside the tight drum fills and shrill vocal mix making the post-chorus seem a bit too triumphant instead of frustrated. With that said, the incomprehensible blend of vocal layers in the outro is kind of inspired, and I have to appreciate the vocal talent on display, so I’m sort of torn on this one. Tonally, it’s a bit of a nightmare, but that’s probably what works about it, and it’s almost definitely the appeal.

#66 – “Don’t Like Drill” – Meekz featuring Central Cee

Produced by Chucks, M-1 and Riddle

Welp, we’re back with Meekz this time and for whatever reason, this brings a lot more energy. He’s still not interesting and his flow is barely there on a rumbling drill beat, but at least he’s projecting his voice and going for newer flows throughout, despite the fact that most of them are way too slippery for a tighter drill track. Again, the content is what you’d expect, although the chorus about being not a fan of drill music even though his life reflects its content would kind of be an interesting concept if he wrote anything actually regarding it in the verses. The eerie loop under the occasionally clipping 808 is a pretty solid foundation, and with Central Cee’s energy and vague attempts at wordplay, he definitely maintains himself over this pretty good beat a lot better. In fact, Cench kind of kills this and honestly put more of himself into this track than Meekz does on like 90% of the songs I’ve heard from him. I wish the song ended naturally instead of the meandering instrumental outro but it does show off some of the odd distorted loops that are used for atmosphere’s sake, and I kind of like how jarring they are. With a better rapper than Meekz, this could really be something.

#35 – “Fresh Out the Bank” – Meekz featuring Dave

Produced by Clonez, Elevated and HONEYWOODSIX

I really wanted to like this last Meekz track. The watered-down melody feels like it’s coming in and out of existence and I love how driving it gets by the end of the loop, but Meekz just had to be as awkward and stodgy as possible on the damn chorus! That’s not to say that his verses are any better, but unmemorable verses can be forgiven by him just getting someone with actual groove and rhythm on the chorus like, I don’t know, Dave himself? The beat has an almost West Coast groove to it with wonderful pianos and an overwhelming bass, and personally, I love it... but neither Meekz nor Dave unfortunately do it justice. Dave is best when he’s lighthearted and casual, and many of his more serious tracks end up dubious or heavy-handed, but he can always run the risk of being very boring and here, there’s like no wordplay to speak of that isn’t slightly embarrassing. Dave leads into a beat switch with a soaring string arrangement, but the climax never really comes because it devolves back into Meekz’s chorus. I’m pretty disappointed with how neither of these artists can effectively ride what is probably the best beat I’ve ever heard Meekz on.

#31 – “Escapism.” – RAYE featuring 070 Shake

Produced by Mike Sabath

RAYE’s latest era hasn’t seen as much success as it could have, and I think that’s mostly down to a change in sound, since her big crossover hits with EDM producers aren’t entirely as accurate to her darker, R&B-inspired brand of edgy pop that she’s working with on recent tracks. I liked it on “Black Mascara”, and it’s no mistake to bring 070 Shake’s unique voice on board for this new track “Escapism.”... and yeah, it’s great. RAYE is practically rapping over a tonal shriek ripped into by the lively trip hop drums, which sound really organic and hit really hard against the drizzle of pianos and strings that separate RAYE’s badass, sensual revenge and her genuinely heartbroken response to a breakup. It’s a tad heavy-handed and drowning woes in drink and drugs is far from a new concept, but RAYE of all people sells it in a way that feels honest albeit as melodramatic as possible (which for the record, is a plus in this kind of pop). I love how the bass warps in the verses, and how the flows trail off in harmony in each verse. It sounds like over-thinking, which is somewhat ironic in how careless and chaotic the decadence can be, but the stream of consciousness of the second verse acts as a retrospection, retelling the events that she didn’t get to fully comprehend and contextualise when it was happening. 070 Shake’s bridge is bloody gorgeous also, with the synths flooding her cryptic murmur alongside pointed shrieks she lets out so brutally in the background, and if there’s a moment of true resonance and defeat, it’s when RAYE comes back in for the final refrain amidst the strings and mix that feels perfectly compressed enough for the dark places that this song is going. The song has energy but it restrains it all for the brief interlude where RAYE’s vocals are manipulated to the point of not being recognisable yet still carrying the same floaty harmonies over the trickling rain. It’s the tough sleep the next day or even the same night, where the worthlessness of the vengeful sex and substance abuse becomes even clearer. That looping vocal of “night” rings like an alarm through the final verse where we get a sneak peek of where this narrative could be going next. To cut it short for a surprisingly long and progressive song for the charts, I think this is excellent, and I’m actually very excited to hear where RAYE goes next with both this sound and the content itself. This album could shape up to be really cohesive if she sticks to this narrative, and Sabath’s detail on the production side cannot be overlooked as this is intricate. If this opens the door for more mainstream success for 070 Shake also, I’m all the way for it because she’s the future. Without a shortened edit, I’m not sure if this’ll last that long, but for a song to have fleeting success during the holiday season and disappear afterwards, you could do a Hell of a lot worse. Like...

#9 – “Rocket Science” – Clavish featuring D-Block Europe

Produced by Kazza and Madz Thomas

Sometimes I forget how big DBE actually are. They can propel a song by Clavish, who had yet to even touch the top 40, to a #9 debut by just their presence in his song and video alone... or more accurately, Young Adz’s presence, but there must be some reason why neither rapper has gone solo yet. I wish I liked this new track more, because I’m kind of gunning for DBE to survive the Christmas movement like they did last year. The production is fine enough, with the creeping keys and the skittering percussion but it’s a pretty standard trap track, although with the extra reverb that you can expect from DBE. Regardless, Clavish clearly upped his budget when it comes to production quality and vocal mix, and all three rappers end up flowing pretty confidently on their verses alongside a pretty infectious chorus. If there’s a problem that I have, it’s mostly with the content as Clavish and Adz both sound like really annoying boyfriends, but that’s nothing new. Surprisingly enough, Dirtbike LB is probably the best rapper here, since he mixes the melody with a faster paced flow and it sounds really convincing in his typical Auto-Tuned warble. Oh, and he doesn’t say a lesbian slur like Youthful Advertisements over here. Sigh, it’s fine for what it is, but I definitely don’t see it having much lasting potential.

Conclusion

Well, obviously, RAYE and 070 Shake get Best of the Week for “Escapism.”, with a reluctant Honourable Mention for “Don’t Like Drill” by Meekz featuring Central Cee, though trust me, one washes out the other in no competition. As for the worst, nothing here is actively offensive, but I’m really not a fan of the lazy “Say Less” so Meekz can take both Worst of the Week for that and also for butchering good production on “Fresh Out the Bank” with Dave, which gets the Dishonourable Mention. As for next week, I suppose we’ll see how Stormzy impacts the chart amidst more Christmas flurry, in what will be our first December chart. For now, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!

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infinitemmorg · 2 years

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Over the sound of G-Funk, the two then-biggest rappers in the world displayed all of their thug bravado. Snoop Dogg Tupac traded verses with fellow Deathrow label-mate Snoop Dogg on one of the standout songs from his 1996 album 'All Eyez On Me'. The song which introduced Tupac to the world, was about a 12-year-old girl who became pregnant by her cousin and threw the baby in the trash. 'Brenda's Got A Baby' Taken from his 1991 debut album '2Pacalypse Now', the thought-provoking 'Brenda's Got A Baby' was actually inspired by a real story he read in the New York Times. The track, which was released as a posthumous single from his 2001 album 'Until The End Of Time, features powerful interview excerpts from the rapper. 'Letter 2 My Unborn' Tupac displayed his amazing storytelling over a fast-paced song dedicated to his unborn child. The piano-based instrumental later became iconic in Hip-Hop and soundtracked countless freestyles. 'Ambitionz Az A Ridah' When Tupac was released from prison in 1995, he reportedly went directly to the studio and recorded his hard-hitting single 'Ambitionz Az A Ridah'. As a result of his impending incarceration for rape, he released his most thoughtful and personal album yet - 'Me Against The World' - which included a song dedicated to his mother. 'Dear Mama' In 1995, Tupac made history as the first ever artist to top the Billboard Charts while in prison. Chillingly, the official music video showing himself getting shot and going to heaven, was recorded one week before he was actually shot and killed in Las Vegas. 'I Ain't Mad At Cha' Sampling 1983 song 'A Dream' by DeBarge, the track was actually recorded on the same day Tupac was released from prison in 1995. The track, which samples Elton's 1981 song 'Indian summer', features the rapper discussing social politics over powerful production. Elton John Pac's only UK No.1 single came courtesy of a posthumous collaboration with Elton John in 2005. The rappers dream about a hypothetical heaven dedicated to thugs and gangsters, on the track taken from his posthumous 2002 album 'Better Dayz'. Phoenix Tupac showed his soulful, introspective side on acoustic classic 'Thugz Mansion' featuring Nas.

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Check all videos related to tupac dear mama mp3 freeload. His crew The Outlawz also provide hard-fitting feature verses. 'Hail Mary' The final track from Tupac’s fifth album ‘The Don Killuminati’, hears the rapper torn between the street life and salvation, over chilling graveyard bells and a heavy bass line. Intended as a response to Biggie's 'Who Shot Ya', Pac displayed his signature aggression on the track. The Outlawz After being shot in 1994, Tupac retaliated by releasing one of the biggest diss tracks in Hip-Hop history, directed at Biggie Smalls and The Junior Mafia. The pair rap about Tupac's adopted city of California over some classic bass-lead production. Dre for one of the most iconic Hip-Hop songs of the 1990s. Dre Tupac linked up with fellow Deathrow label-mate Dr. The iconic song, which is an interpretation of Bruce Hornsby's 1986 hit 'The Way It Is', hears Pac rhyme about social justice over a piano sample. Talent Despite being released after Tupac died, 'Changes' remains one of the biggest hits in his catalogue. We have attempted to narrow down 20 of Tupac Shakur’s greatest songs, spanning albums such as ‘Me Against The World’, ‘All Eyez On Me’, ‘The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory’ and more. And despite being tragically murdered at the age of 25, the ‘California Love’ rapper left behind an unrivalled collection of music, including an astonishing 11 platinum albums.

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nhcharts · 9 months

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Chart Update 2023-07-20 23:04 UTC

Heaven:

UK Official Charts: no longer on chart

View all the current chart positions for Heaven

#Heaven #Heaven UK Official Charts

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vinylfromthevault · 2 years

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Led Zeppelin “IV” released 50 years ago today, November 8th, 1971. IV is not the album’s true title: it is officially untitled and was supposed to be simply referred to by the four symbols pictured on the LP label. The band’s name does not appear on the cover and there is no catalog number on the spine. Despite this, it is probably one of the easiest recognizable, best-known and best-selling records of all-time (charting at #1 and #2 in the UK and US) and is considered one of the best albums ever recorded, landing at or near the top of a zillion best-of lists.

IV is definitely early heavy metal and certainly hard rock but Led Zeppelin always interwove elements of Celt/Anglican folk and Lords of the Ringsy imagery and IV’s iconic “Stairway to Heaven” is the epitome with its bustles in hedgerows, May queens and pipers piping. It was also the most confusing song to be confronted with at awkward junior high dances, starting as a slow dance (oh my God he wants to dance with me!!) and then breaking into an upbeat metal jam where we’d kind of drop our arms and sway self-conciously. Or maybe that was just me? Also I’m realizing that particular junior high dance occurred only 15 years after IV’s release and oh my god I’m also feeling very old. Anyway, I love “Stairway” (and many of its covers/parodies, including the one by Little Roger and the Goosebumps “Gilligan’s Island (Stairway)” which Robert Plant declared his favorite cover of the song) but even better are the absolute ripping opener “Black Dog” (#15 US), “Misty Mountain Hop” (more mixing of Tolkien imagery with modern day youth culture), “Rock and Roll” (released as a single in early ‘72, hitting #47 in the US) and the supremely beautiful “Going to California.”

*reblogged and revised from my post in 2017

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#led zeppelin #led zeppelin iv #stairway to heaven #70's rock #1971 #hard rock #vinyl

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twentythousandvolts · 3 years

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Skrillex From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Skrillex Skrillex in 2011 Skrillex in 2011 Background information Birth name Sonny John Moore Born January 15, 1988 (age 33) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Genres EDM[1]brostep[2]dubstepelectro houseEDM trap moombahtonpost-hardcore Occupation(s) DJrecord producermusiciansingersongwriter Years active 2004–present Labels AtlanticBig BeatOWSLAAsylummau5trapSumerian Associated acts From First to LastJack ÜDiploDog BloodBoys NoizeForeign BeggarsEllie GouldingHikaru UtadaZedddeadmau5IncubusJustin BieberPoo BearTHEY. Website skrillex.com Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer and songwriter. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and in Northern California, he joined the American post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead singer in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band (Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count, 2004, and Heroine, 2006) before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007.[3][4] He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and The Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press' annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.[5]

After releasing the Gypsyhook EP in 2009, Moore was scheduled to record his debut studio album, Bells, with producer Noah Shain. He ceased production of the album, however, and began performing under the name Skrillex, distributing the My Name Is Skrillex EP for free download on his official MySpace page. Subsequently, he released the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP in late–2010 and More Monsters and Sprites EP in mid–2011, both of which have since become moderate commercial successes. On November 30, 2011, he received five Grammy Award nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and won three: "Best Dance/Electronica Album", "Best Dance Recording", and "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical".[6] On December 5, 2011, the BBC announced that he had been nominated for their Sound of 2012 poll.[7] On December 12, 2011, he was also named MTV's Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year.[8]

Skrillex has won eight Grammy Awards, more than any other electronic dance music artist.[9] Skrillex has collaborated with Diplo and Boys Noize to form the groups of Jack Ü and Dog Blood respectively. It was announced on Moore's 29th birthday, he reunited with From First to Last and released a single named "Make War". In 2017, Skrillex produced and mixed 8, the eighth studio album by rock band Incubus.[10] In July 2017, Skrillex released another single featuring debuting solo artist Poo Bear.[11]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 From First to Last 2.2 Dog Blood 2.3 Jack Ü 2.4 2004–2007: From First to Last 2.5 2008–2013: Solo career and extended plays 2.6 2014: Recess 2.7 2016–present: Collaborations and return to From First to Last 3 Influences 4 Personal life 5 Discography 6 Filmography 7 Awards and nominations 7.1 Grammy Awards 7.2 Kids Choice Awards 7.3 MTV Video Music Awards 7.4 Annie Awards 7.5 DJ Magazine top 100 DJs 7.6 Electronic Music Awards 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Early life Moore lived in the Highland Park neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles,[12][13] but was brought to the Forest Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at the age of 2, where he attended elementary school. At the ages of 9 and 10, Moore attended a boarding school in the Mojave Desert LV, but eventually moved back to Northern California. Both of his parents were Scientologists.[14][15] He was adopted at birth by family friends of his biological parents and did not find this out until he was 15.[16] By the time he was 12,[citation needed] his family moved back to his birthplace of Northeast Los Angeles. There he enrolled in a private academy school specializing in arts, the school used some of L. Ron Hubbard's teachings.[17] Later he was home schooled at the age of 14 due to bullying. In 2004, he learned he was adopted[18] and dropped out of the program when he was 16.[19][20] While a young teenager in Los Angeles, Moore would attend punk gigs in Mexican American neighborhoods in East and South Los Angeles, and later at electro club raves in the downtown's Silver Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods.[21][22]

Career From First to Last

Skrillex's logo Main article: From First to Last From First to Last is an American post-hardcore band based in Los Angeles Area and Tampa, Florida. The band is composed of lead vocalist Moore, lead guitarist Matt Good, rhythm guitarist Travis Richter, bassist Matt Manning, and drummer Derek Bloom.[citation needed]

Dog Blood Main article: Dog Blood Dog Blood, a side project by Skrillex and Boys Noize, was formed in 2012. Their debut single, consisting of the songs "Next Order" and "Middle Finger", was released on August 12, 2012, on Beatport and iTunes. The song "Next Order" managed to top Beatport's Techno chart.[citation needed]

Jack Ü Main article: Jack Ü Jack Ü is a duo made up of Skrillex and Diplo. Jack Ü's debut performance took place at the Mad Decent Block Party in San Diego on September 15, 2013, which is a nationwide tour that record label Mad Decent puts together to showcase different artists signed to the label.[23] Diplo announced the project by releasing the Mad Decent Block Party lineup with Jack Ü playing at multiple stops on the tour. After some guessing by many of who Jack Ü was, Diplo finally came out to reveal that "Jack Ü ... means Skrillex and Diplo together".[23]

2004–2007: From First to Last

Sonny Moore in 2008 In 2004, Moore contacted Matt Good of From First to Last about playing guitar for the band on their debut album. After flying out to Georgia, Moore was heard singing by three studio producers, Derrick Thomas, Eric Dale, and McHale Butler, and was then made lead singer, with Good playing guitar. In June 2004, Epitaph Records released the band's first full-length record with their new bandmate, Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count. After performing on several successful tours, two being the Vans Warped Tour and Dead by Dawn tour, they began recording their second album, Heroine with producer Ross Robinson. The album was released in March 2006 on Epitaph. With high record sales once again, the band found themselves part of many successful tours, until Moore started suffering vocal problems, causing the band to resign from several tours. After going through a successful vocal surgical procedure, Moore informed the band he would be permanently resigning to work on a solo career. FFTL's last show performed with Moore was in their hometown of Orlando at The House of Blues while touring with Atreyu.

Moore announced he had left From First to Last to pursue a solo career. He then launched a Myspace page displaying three demos ("Signal", "Equinox", and "Glow Worm"). This led to Moore's first performance since his leaving From First to Last. On April 7, 2007, alongside harpist Carol Robbins, Moore played several original songs at a local art building. After months of releasing demos via Myspace, Moore played on the Team Sleep Tour with a full band. The tour also featured supporting acts Monster in the Machine and Strata. Moore made several demo CDs available on this tour, limited to about 30 per show. These CDs were tour exclusive and were packaged in "baby blue envelopes", each with a unique drawing by Moore or bandmate.[24]

2008–2013: Solo career and extended plays

Skrillex in 2012 In February 2008, Alternative Press Magazine announced the second annual AP Tour, with All Time Low, The Rocket Summer, The Matches, and Forever the Sickest Kids, as well as Sonny Moore. The tour started in Houston, Texas on March 14 and went through North America, ending in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2, with the majority of the shows being sold out. All bands playing the tour would be featured on the cover of Alternative Press Magazine's annual 100 Bands You Need to Know special, and would be interviewed on the Alternative Press Podcast. During this tour, Moore's line-up consisted of Sean Friday on drums, Christopher Null on guitar, and Aaron Rothe on keyboards. On April 7, 2009, he released Gypsyhook, a digital EP, which featured three songs and four remixes. Also included was "海水" ("Kaisui"), a Japanese version of "Mora". Physical copies of the EP were available at his shows. After going on tour with Innerpartysystem and Paper Route and opening for Chiodos on their European tour, Moore performed at Bamboozle on May 2. He performed on Bamboozle Left's Saints and Sinners stage on April 4. He toured with Hollywood Undead in April 2009 performing under the band name Sonny and the Blood Monkeys, with Chris Null (electric guitar), Sean Friday (drums, percussion, and beats) and Aaron Rothe (keyboards, synthesizers, programming, and turntables). Moore has stated that the album Bells will not be released.[25]

In 2008, Moore began producing and performing under the alias Skrillex at clubs in the Los Angeles area.[26] The name, according to Moore, has no meaning and was "a stupid old online AOL screen name".[27] Previously, he had been known on the Internet as Twipz.[28] On June 7, 2010, Moore released his official Skrillex debut EP, My Name Is Skrillex as a free download.[29] Moore provided programming and vocals for UK metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon on their third studio album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret.[30] Later in the year, Sonny began a nationwide tour with deadmau5 after being signed to mau5trap recordings and released his second EP, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

(L to R:) Porter Robinson, Zedd, and Skrillex performing at SXSW on March 16, 2012 Moore kicked off the "Project Blue Book Tour" in 2011 with support from Porter Robinson, Tommy Lee and DJ Aero as well as appearances from Sofia Toufa for a new song, "Bring Out the Devil". Skrillex unveiled several new songs on this tour including "First of the Year" (formerly known as "Equinox"), "Reptile", and "Cinema" (remix of a Benny Benassi track). "Reptile" was featured in the TV commercial for Mortal Kombat 9, and "First of the Year (Equinox)" is featured on More Monsters and Sprites, his follow-up EP and remix companion to Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. In April 2011, Spin premiered "Get Up", an exclusive new track from Korn that was produced by Skrillex. Korn made the track available for free download via their Facebook page.[31] On April 15, 2011, KoRn joined Skrillex on stage for his set at Coachella 2011. On April 18, 2011, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) development studio Naughty Dog released a trailer[32] for the multiplayer component of their PlayStation 3 game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, featuring "Kill EVERYBODY" from Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

In June 2011, "More Monsters and Sprites" was released on Beatport, an EP consisting of three original tracks, including "First of the Year (Equinox)" and two versions of his original track "Ruffneck". The track "Ruffneck Bass" had been leaked on the internet months prior which used the same sample as in the new "Ruffneck" tracks on the EP. Skrillex released a music video for "Rock n' Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)" on his official YouTube page on June 20, 2011.[33] On August 17, 2011 Skrillex announced his label, OWSLA.[34]

Skrillex performing live at the 2011 Ottawa Bluesfest "The label's first releases will come from Bristol-based dubstep producers KOAN Sound, electro-house newcomer Porter Robinson from North Carolina, singer-songwriter Alvin Risk, and San Francisco-based M Machine (formally Metropolis)."[35] Skrillex released a music video for "First of the Year (Equinox)" via Spin.com on August 19, 2011. In late August 2011 it was released that he would be appearing Knife Party's first release, collaborating on "Zoology", a Moombahton style track. A preview was released on YouTube. In late September 2011 he created the track "Syndicate" as promotion for the video game of the same name. Kaskade's 2011 album Fire & Ice features "Lick It", a collaboration between Kaskade and Skrillex. The video for Skrillex's song "First of the Year (Equinox)" appears on the first episode of the Beavis and Butt-head revival.

On November 8, Skrillex stated that he intended to release an album, Voltage. Skrillex gave fans more info about Voltage in RockSound Magazine after a photoshoot for the cover and doing an extensive interview on his tour.[36] For unknown reasons, however, the album was never released, however on December 21, 2011, Skrillex unveiled the Bangarang EP for a Beatport release on December 23, then on August 12, 2012, his new side-project formed with Boys Noize called Dog Blood released an EP called Next Order/Middle Finger. On November 6, 2012, Skrillex released a limited edition triple vinyl box set.[37] Skrillex composed the song "Bug Hunt" for the 2012 animated film Wreck-It Ralph, as well as making a brief cameo as a DJ in the film's first act, and in December 2012, "Make It Bun Dem" is used in as a looped variant during the single-player mission 'Kick the Hornets Nest' in the video game Far Cry 3. He composed the score for Spring Breakers with Cliff Martinez.

2014: Recess Skrillex confirmed at a show in January 2013 that he would release a new LP in the summer.[38] On January 2, 2013, Skrillex released his 7th EP, Leaving, on the OWSLA subscription service, Nest IV.[39] He later released the single "Try It Out" with Alvin Risk.

On March 7, 2014, an App titled "Alien Ride" was put up on Apple's App Store which contained a secret folder with 11 hidden objects and a countdown ending March 10 at 6:30EST. Moore's website was updated with the App's picture on the front page and it was later revealed the folder contains Google Play and iTunes url's which eventually were revealed to be 11 new songs available to stream that comprised his debut LP, titled Recess. The album was made available for pre-order at midnight and was released on March 18, 2014.

2016–present: Collaborations and return to From First to Last Skrillex was getting into the K-pop industry by collaborating with the girl group 4Minute. On January 25, 2016, Cube Entertainment released the tracklist and individual teaser images for the members. The first track, "Hate", was composed and arranged by Skrillex.[40]

On January 15, 2017, Moore tweeted "Happy Birthday" with a link to a new From First to Last song which featured Moore on vocals.[41] He later joined the band in Emo Nite LA for the first time in nearly a decade.[42] In 2017, he released the songs "Chicken Soup" with Habstrakt, "Would You Ever" with Poo Bear, "Saint Laurent" with DJ Sliink and Wale and "Favor" with Vindata and NSTASIA.

In July 2018, Skrillex teased fans by collaborating with Missy Elliott on a snippet nicknamed "ID", a release date for the single has yet to be announced.[43]

On October 8, 2018, Skrillex uploaded a photo to Twitter showcasing a collaboration between him and English DJ and producer Joyryde, later posting a video teaser of the song to Instagram.[44][45] The collaboration, "Agen Wida", was officially released on October 19, 2018.[46][47] On October 24, 2018 on Instagram, he previewed the song "Arms Around You", a collaboration featuring XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Maluma and Swae Lee. The full single was released on October 25, 2018.[48]

Skrillex, Poo Bear, and Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada collaborated on "Face My Fears", an opening song for the video game Kingdom Hearts III. The single was released on January 18, 2019.[49][50]

On July 18, 2019, Skrillex released a two-track EP, Show Tracks, consisting of "Fuji Opener" featuring Alvin Risk and "Mumbai Power" featuring rapper Beam.[51][52]

Influences Moore has cited Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails[53] and the Doors[54] as early influences. Moore stated in an online interview that he is a longtime fan of Warp, a label whose roster includes notable electronic artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.[55] In an interview for Daft Punk Unchained, a 2015 documentary about the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, Moore said he was first exposed to electronic dance music after attending the duo's highly praised 2006 Coachella set.

Personal life In a 2015 interview, Moore stated that although his parents practiced Scientology, he does not. He explained that music consumes most of the time he could theoretically devote to religion.[14] His mother died in June 2015.[15]

Discography Main article: Skrillex discography Studio albums Recess (2014) Filmography Let's Make a Spaceship (2014) Moore partnered up with Red Bull to produce a documentary titled "Let's Make a Spaceship". It premiered on October 11, 2014, at 10 p.m. CT at the ACL Festival after his headline performance.[56] His performance and documentary, and others' performances are available for stream at Red Bull TV's website.[57]

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2012[58] Himself Best New Artist Nominated "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" Best Dance Recording Won Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites Best Dance/Electronica Album Won Benny Benassi featuring Gary Go – "Cinema (Skrillex Remix)" Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical Won "First of the Year (Equinox)" Best Short Form Music Video Nominated 2013[59] "Bangarang" Best Dance Recording Won Bangarang Best Dance/Electronica Album Won Promises (Skrillex & Nero Remix) Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical Won 2016[60] "Where Are Ü Now" (with Diplo and Justin Bieber) Best Dance Recording Won Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü (with Diplo) Best Dance/Electronic Album Won 2017[61] Purpose (as a featured artist, producer & engineer) Album of the Year Nominated "Purple Lamborghini" (with Rick Ross & Beat Billionaire) Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated 2019[62] "Midnight Hour" (with Ty Dolla Sign & Boys Noize) Best Dance Recording Nominated Kids Choice Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2017 Himself Favorite DJ/EDM Artist[63] Nominated MTV Video Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2012 "First of the Year (Equinox)" Best Electronic Dance Music Video[64] Nominated Best Visual Effects[65] Won 2013 "Breakn' a Sweat" Best Visual Effects[66] Nominated 2015[67] "Where Are Ü Now" (with Diplo featuring Justin Bieber) Best Visual Effects Won Best Art Direction Nominated Best Editing Nominated Song Of The Summer[68] Nominated Annie Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2013 Wreck-It Ralph Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production[69] Won DJ Magazine top 100 DJs Year Position Notes Ref. 2011 19 New Entry [70] 2012 10 Up 9 2013 11 Down 1 2014 9 Up 2 2015 9 No Change 2016 9 No Change 2017 16 Down 7 2018 21 Down 5 2019 21 No Change 2020 15 Up 6 Electronic Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2017 "Purple Lamborghini" (with Rick Ross) Single of the Year[71] Nominated See also List of Billboard Social 50 number-one artists

#epic post compilation #long post

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discofreaks · 3 years

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George Michael: The Middle Eight Champion of the World

As Wham kicked off 2021 at the top of the UK single charts, I’ve been thinking about why I love George Michael and his music so much. I also, more importantly, thought of a pun I was really proud of and felt compelled to share.

We all know this time of year is famous for a few things. You’ve experienced your Christmas and your Hootenanny, you may now, for some reason, be experiencing a dry January, but for me it’ll always be George Season™.

This is partly due to the fact he passed away on Christmas Day, just hours before my birthday on 26th December, which at the time felt like a sign of some sort. But, it was mostly just upsetting for me and my mum to be honest. Following the sad news, as soon as I got back to London in January 2017, I did the unhinged thing that fans do and visited his Highgate shrine, created around his house and black Range Rover. All these memories make listening to his tunes at this time of year all the more poignant than usual.

Another reason these freezing months will always be George Season™ is Last Christmas, not the Oscar worthy film, but the song that got him boom-booing to Number 1 with Wham in 2021. The snowy video with the love triangle, iconic skiwear and a look to camera that’s now a gif, has been played on YouTube in fancy 4k over 600 million times. Add in the amount of streams and there has been over a billion listens to this 80s classic. Wowzers indeed. Oh and this time of year is when my loved ones and I traditionally head to west London to witness the best tribute act in the world, Rob Lamberti and his ‘George Michael: Relived’ show.

[Rob Lamberti and friend pictured in 2016]

I decided to conduct some forensic analysis as to why his classics just hit differently to the others for me. After mass testing and plenty of chin scratching I came to the conclusion that my love for his music is because of the unique way he (George, not Rob Lamberti) writes his songs. More specifically though, the way George writes memorable, incredible or what’s now known as ‘top tier’ middle-8s. You know, what Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney might describe as ‘the bit of the song before the last chorus that is not the verse’. The BBC official songwriting guide defines the middle-8 as: “A new chord sequence and melody, maybe a big change in the arrangement of the song, or even an instrumental solo.”

Ray Davies, the songwriting legend of the Kinks, charmingly said: “If after two weeks you still can’t write your middle-8, the best course of action is to see a psychiatrist”. Now it may take two weeks to work out what he meant by that, but basically we are talking about the part of a song George Michael absolutely nailed.

The first hit that sparked this niche search (and justified my pun) was Fastlove, “In the absence of security, I made my way into the night / Stupid Cupid keeps on calling me / And I see lovin' in his eyes / I miss my baby, oh yeah’. Decent isn't it. Anyone reading this would have wailed those words in perfect harmony, perhaps in a living room, an ‘afters’ venue or maybe in a past life - even a nightclub. After that part of his 90s boogie-banger you may choose to complete the section, at the peak of a kitchen disco with, “I do believe that we are practicing the same religion. Thats right.”

When I found that he actually did pen more than a few iconic middle-8, I dived into his huge discography to see if there were more and thank the bass of Andrew Ridgeley there was. Naturally its only right to pull out these iconic moments and pop them in an a list isn't it? Also, I really have been sat on this pun forever and I need to validate it with something.

Now, please enjoy this list (complete with links) of the ex-Wham man’s most iconic middle-8s. Or as he may now forever be known, George Michael, The Middle-Eight Champion of the World. Sorry.

The List (and the iconic bit I have been going on about):

◦ Fastlove ‘That’s Right.’

◦ Careless Whisper - ‘Tonight the music feels so loud I wish that we could lose this crowd’

◦ Last Christmas - ‘A face on a lover with a fire in his heart. A man under cover but you tore him apart.’

◦ Freedom 90’ - ‘Feels like the road to heaven, feels like the road to hell.’

◦ Everything She Wants - ‘My situation never changes.’

◦ Flawless (Go To The City) - ‘Sometimes it brings you down, sometimes it keeps you up. Doesn’t it doesn’t it make you feel better. Better. Better.’

◦ Club Tropicana -’Pack your bags and leave tonight”

◦ Spinning the Wheel - ‘How can you love me, you are playing with my life. You said ‘give me time and I’ll be better I swear.’

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#Wham #George Michael #andrew ridgeley #Last Christmas #FastLove #80s #Wham!#80smusic #popmusic #legends #songwriting #middle8

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randomvarious · 4 years

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Freddie Fresh feat. Fatboy Slim - “Badder Badder Schwing” Big Beat Song released in 1998. Compilation released in 1999. Big Beat / Breaks

Let's start this post off with a graf from the preamble of a 2018 Freddy Fresh interview, conducted by Matt Lush in Decoded Magazine:

Freddy Fresh is a name that shouldn't require an introduction. From the vast output of his multiple genre-spanning labels; Analog USA, Electric Music Foundation and Howlin' Records, to winning the ARSC Journalism Award for cataloguing every hip-hop release ever made in a single book, crafting timeless acid and electro under over 15 aliases with the likes of Thomas Heckmann, Woody McBride, Tim Taylor and Paul Birkin, and the rest, big beat with Fat Boy Slim, his soundtrack work...it goes on... yet ironically, in my experience anyway, Freddy Fresh seems to be so often underrated, unconsciously ignored, or even completely unknown in the modern electronic world.

Over the course of his career, Freddy Fresh has had his fingers lodged in many different pies. In fact, those pies are sometimes stacked on top of each other so a single finger can penetrate multiple pies at once. Fresh is a DJ's DJ who can patch together eclectic mixes of house, techno, funk, disco, breaks, hip hop, electro, and more; he's produced music across a panoply of dance genres; he's founded a bunch of different record labels; he's opened for blink-182 on tour; his music has appeared in multiple films, TV shows, and commercials; he's authored indispensable books that document hip hop's early history; he's taught DJing at a local college; and he also sells rare records. Put simply, if you're not familiar with Freddy Fresh, you should be.

Freddy Fresh first found his initial passion for music in hip hop culture, entirely thanks to a 1984 trip from his hometown of St. Paul to the Bronx. From then, he would try to ingratiate himself into the Big Apple's hip hop scene, returning once every year with hopes of impressing the right people. He wasn't all that successful, but he did land a track on a 1988 Boogie Down Productions remix album, which honored the memory of BDP's recently slain co-founder, DJ Scott La Rock. Another fun fact that links Freddy to BDP is that if you look at the cover of BDP's landmark debut album, 1987's Criminal Minded, you'll see a plaque towards the bottom lefthand corner. Know who furnished that plaque for them? Freddy Fresh. His dad owned a trophy shop and Freddy gave them the plaque during one of his yearly New York pilgrimages.

But Freddy would soon find himself gravitating towards other genres, too, like house and techno. From that Decoded interview:

I sent demos to Strictly Rhythm [top tier New York-based house label] and various labels and was always rejected. It was years later that labels like Adrenalin and Experimental stood up and took me under their wings. My first techno 12 inch was on Experimental, under my Modulator name. Maximum Pulse / Timmy's Trance in 1992, that got me into the techno scene and also got me my first international DJ gig in Paris 1993 where I played with Jeff Mills, Joey Beltram and Damon Wild... Damon Wild was the man mainly responsible for my early techno career, God Bless Him.

Freddy Fresh then became a big German techno guy. He played sets at Tresor in Berlin (the techno club of techno clubs) and released records on the legendary Frankfurt-based label, Harthouse.

However, a new current started to emerge in the UK in the mid-90s called big beat, which appeared to match with Freddy Fresh's own hip hop sensibilities. It was a strain of dance music that fused together sampled soul, funk, jazz, and rock breaks, which, along with disco, is what hip hop producers largely used to make their own beats. And when those breaks were properly combined with contemporary electronic sounds, like, for example, Roland TB-303 acid squelches, it yielded a newfangled and fun brand of BIG and brash dance tunes. Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, would emerge as the genre's rightful king, with his uniquely liberal use of bouncy and surf-twangy 50s and 60s guitar samples. And although Freddy Fresh was still an absurdly prolific techno producer in 1996, his Harthouse album, Accidentally Classic, along with a couple Harthouse 12-inches that were licensed from his own Butterbeat label, saw him trying his hand at the big beat sound, which would eventually lead to him teaming up with Norman Cook in 1998.

A March 2020 profile in Mixmag has more:

While he may have been known in France for techno releases on his Analog label, it was Freddy Fresh's releases on Butterbeat that caught the ears of Norman Cook in Brighton. He was an avid supporter of Fresh's perky updates on the hip hop sound, and that's what brought him over to the British seaside. "I got invited to play the Big Beat Boutique. That's when I first met [Cook] and then he ends up sampling my voice [for 'Fucking in Heaven'], then we worked on 'Badder Badder Schwing' together. I loved Norman because he was authentic. He did everything himself. I was like, 'this fucking guy's just like me!'. He collects breakbeats, he's an amazing DJ, he knows how to put shit together and he knows how to run 303s - and Roland 303s are really hard to program.

That co-production with Cook, "Badder Badder Schwing," would originally appear on Freddy Fresh's album, The Last True Family Man, before being released as a single the following year. The single would then turn into an unexpected British hit, earning the mostly techno producer some well-deserved commercial appeal by reaching #34 in the UK charts. "Badder Badder Schwing" can also be heard in 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember, although it didn't end up being included on the commercially released official soundtrack.

Dipping into that Decoded interview once again for a tad more backstory to "Badder Badder Schwing":

I did have 90% of that track finished when Norman joined in and took it from a 7 to a 10 with his sheer genius.

By sampling a bunch of 60s songs, including horns and drums from Helen Reddy's "One Way Ticket," vocals and hand claps from The Routers' "Let's Go (Pony)," and more drums from Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea," Freddy Fresh and Norman Cook were able to cobble together a fantastic piece of late 90s, dancefloor-igniting big beat. However, it would be interesting to know which 90% of the track Freddy Fresh had finished before passing it off to Cook, because the whole thing really sounds like a Fatboy Slim track from start to finish. And that's not to discredit Freddy in any way, because despite what dance music's detractors might think, it's not an easy task to make a good dance tune. But the entirety of "Badder Badder Schwing" appears to have Cook's fingerprints all over it, from his glitching, jammed-up, calling card stutters, to the way the combined horn and drum sampling sounds, to the brief, guitar-sampled detour, to the eerie and overdriven background yowling. The song's main riff is when those Helen Reddy horns play, and you'd have to assume that was part of Freddy's contribution, since according to him, the song was virtually done before he let Cook put on the finishing touches. But still, that part sounds like something Fatboy Slim would make, doesn't it? 🤷‍♂️ 🧐🤔

Then again, Freddy Fresh did say about Cook in that recent Mixmag profile, "the fucking guy's just like me!" so maybe they were on the same exact letter within the same exact word on the same exact page in 1998. In the end, it doesn't really matter all that much. Big beat's passed us by, but throw this on at a party (when we're allowed to party again, of course) and it's guaranteed to still go.

Check out the music video, too, which features a kid magician doing a series of tricks:

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