Jonathan Hatchman (@JonHatchman) picks out the sounds and stories that have been making headlines over the last seven days… and presents them all as a handy playlist
It’s been a week for surprise returns. Not only have Blur dropped the fact they’re finally doing an eighth studio album together, but Canadian Hip-Hop sensation Drake also made an unexpected return this week, this time in the form of an unannounced album release. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late appeared online earlier this week, and although described by the artist as a “mix tape”, the album has already become one of the year’s most successful releases, having set a new Spotify first week streaming record with over 17 million listens, thus far.
Already set to embark upon a series of UK dates beginning in May and running into June, Foo Fighters have finally been announced (albeit by themselves during a recent awards ceremony) as the Friday night Pyramid Stage headliners at this year’s Glastonbury Festival (24-28 June).
In other Festival news, set to appear alongside The Libertines, T In The Park (10-12 July) have announced another wave of headliners: Kasabian, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Avicii.
Following Beck and Kanye West’s stage invasion/ artistic respect incident at this year’s Grammy Awards, Arcade Fire’s Wil Butler under his name DJ Windows 98 has taken to the production booth to provide a pretty comical mash up of Kanye’s Jesus Walks and Beck’s Loser. And what’s more, the strange union works pretty well, quite unexpectedly.
After Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis’ former was home put up for sale, a campaign has started online rallying fans of the band to donate money to help buy the property and turn it into a museum. Curtis’ Macclesfield house is currently on sale for £115,000 and is at threat of being bought by developers with an insecure future for the pop culture landmark. More details about the campaign, including instructions on how to donate can be found at Iindiegogo.com/projects/ian-curtis-museum.
Jonathan’s pick Of The Week
It’s plain to see just why it is that Hertfordshire’s Rhodes has been garnering much appraisal of late. Having released three EPs over the past couple of years, gradually displaying a sonic improvement along the way, the artist has recently revealed his brand new single – Turning Back Around – which is taken from his fourth EP and is set to feature upon his forthcoming debut album. Produced as a joint effort by Rhodes and James Kenosha, the new single features a racing percussion element that adds a whole new dimension to the artist’s emphatic vocal delivery. Providing even more proof of Rhodes’ capabilities as an exciting new British artist to keep at least one eye upon.
