News

EMPIRE, the leading independent record label, announces its first-ever Africa compilation album Where We Come From (Vol. 1). Alongside this announcement today, award-winning Nigerian singer-songwriter Kizz Daniel drops the first offering from the project ‘Cough (Odo).’

And then there were nine. US heavy metal titans Lamb of God have triumphantly returned with a no-holds-barred, ear blasting, head banging piece of musical history. Their ninth studio album release is no more forgiving than any of their previous work. But what did we expect? This is not a band that goes quietly, nor gently into any dark night. They storm, they rage, and they are loud with a capital L.

How many times have you heard a great classic song that’s let down by poor recording and sound production? Many top names in the game have fallen short to low quality sounding tracks, with instrument levels much to be desired for. Perhaps most of the blame can be leant to the lack of technology in those golden eras, but, imagine having today's recording and production technology with some of that sixties and seventies rock magic. 

Michael Necosso (aka Necosso) is an artist who recently released a single named Summertide. 

Today, GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster has announced that her ninth studio album Healing Time will be released on November 18 via Blue Corn Music. Foster has also just shared her new single “Soul Searching,” the bright, propulsive opening track from the forthcoming record. Healing Time is now available for pre-order.

MIYA MIYA are emerging as next up contenders on the British pop scene. Between their own tracks and co-writes for artists including Jonas Blue and RetroVision, they’ve exceeded 100 million streams at Spotify so far, as well as over 55 million views at TikTok just for their previous single ‘H8 Me 2’. Their rise has been heralded with Radio 1 airplay from Jack Saunders (Future Artists), Mollie King (Best New Pop) and Gemma Bradley as well as tastemaker tips from Rolling Stone, Clash, Wonderland and The Independent.

Nashville's all-female singer-songwriter collective, Song Suffragettes, is making its way to the UK for the first time later this month as part of Country Music Week. With shows in Glasgow, London and Manchester, presented officially by the Academy of Country Music, it will feature founding member Kalie Shorr alongside Carter Faith, Robyn Ottolini and Twinnie. Full dates can be found below, and tickets can be bought here:

Brace yourselves, Blink-182 fans. We hope you are ready for some good news. After almost ten years, Tom DeLonge is officially back! That’s right, founding member, guitarist and vocalist DeLonge has made a triumphant return to our favourite punk rock pop band.

If you want to be successful as a TikTok creator, you need to know what the most popular songs are on the platform. If you use tracks that are popular right now, it will be easier for your videos to show up on the "For You" tab. This is true as long as the tracks are good enough quality and the app can handle them. The songs that were the most popular on TikTok in 2022 can be found on the list below.

Today DOC BACKER, the 24 year old neoteric musician, released “Care Has Left The Room”, the second album in a one week release sprint following “Serrated”’s release on September 29, 2022. The two new albums are independently produced in partnership with art collective and music label, downandsmiley.art.

Singer-songwriter Cory Singer is among a new wave of artists using the relatively fresh platform of TikTok to express their singing and songwriting talents. With over 1 billion users across 150 countries the short-form video hosting service has become a serious player in gaining recognition for musicians alike.

Hot on the heels of the successful Lead Me On release three weeks ago, Jade Helliwell is finally sharing her new EP - Woman, this Friday (7th October).

Latin-GRAMMY nominees Mariachi Herencia de México are on tour with a brand-new album, Herederos (The Heirs), which pays tribute to the past while looking to the future. Their fifth studio album will be available starting September 30 across all digital platforms.

Simone made the jump and changed her name from Late July to her given name Nicole Simone. "I think I'm just becoming myself after three years of being Late July and trying to hide all these pieces of who I am, I'm ready to coalesce with my music." Simone has a busy fall with a steady stream of releases including a full six song EP entitled "Green Eyes".

This summer has seen AR/CO emerge as major new contenders in the UK dance scene. Their Franky Wah collab ‘Under The Sun’ hit Radio 1’s B-list, #19 on the UK Dance chart, and #61 on the Shazam chart, and saw the duo join him for Radio 1 Skyline Session on top of Broadcasting House. Their track ‘Call Me By My Name’ received airplay from Sir Elton John and Gemma Bradley (Radio 1 / BBC Music Introducing), and they continued to win new fans by teaming up with The Stickmen Project for ‘Tears In Ibiza’.

Eb&Flow is a rising rapper, producer, and animator whose upcoming track, ‘Rap Grifters’, is out 11/1 and will be available to stream on all major streaming platforms.

Kuti family scion Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 have been relentlessly touring the globe for the first time in years, with an ongoing US, UK, and European tour that has hit stops at major festivals like Glastonbury. The tour is currently booked through October 1 in the US, at the tenth annual Desert Daze in Moreno Valley, California, and through November 7 in Europe, at Villanos del Jazz in Madrid, Spain. Along the way, they have been performing classic anthems from their catalogue alongside new material from their upcoming album, like singles “Love and Revolution” and “Emi Aluta.” These two tracks were recorded live at Clout Studio, the legendary premises of Cool FM 96.9 on Victoria Island in Lagos and are out now.

After completing a UK and Ireland headline tour as well as collaborating with Swedish dance star Oliver Nelson on ‘Long Summer Nights’, Lilla Vargen today releases ‘The Lucky One’, her first solo track of 2022. The Northern Irish singer-songwriter has previously toured arenas with Dermot Kennedy, picked up Radio 1 and RTÉ airplay, and hit numerous New Music Friday playlists on the way to exceeding 30 million streams to date.

Celebrated pianist Ricardo Bacelar releases his third video, "She Walks This Earth," from his latest album, Congênito (August 5, 2022). It is based on the song "Soberana Rosa," composed by Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins; Brenda Russell and Chico Cesar originally recorded the English version.

Los Angeles-based CARRÉ, who approach making music like Dali approached his paintings, have released an innovative track, “Brothers”, on September 2nd. The French group creates boundary-crossing and genre-blending music that amplifies feelings of surrealism and curates an attitude of questioning our surrounding world in the listener. With emphasis on audiences having their own unique perception, CARRÉ blends aggressive, dark, and provocative elements with hypnotic lyrics to create a truly mind-bending musical experience.

Last weekend saw the return of The British Country Music Festival at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. According to reports, guest attendance figures doubled in 2021, and this year marked its third anniversary since it launched in 2019. TBCMF is described as supporting contemporary, country-leaning songwriters from the UK and Ireland.