Archangel "Hero's Welcome"

Archangel "Hero's Welcome" by Tomorrow Never Knows

First new Archangel since the fantastic debut album "How To Lose Your Best Friend" - this is "Hero's Welcome" and it'll be featuring in Grey's Anatomy, in the episode "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" transmitting in the US on Thursday 3rd February, and available on iTunes here. A newly repackaged album "How To Lose Your Best Friend" also featuring "Hero's Welcome" is available on iTunes here.

Archangel is the brainchild of Nick Webber, a young man from Oxford with a strong will and a warped imagination who spent a year and a half going quietly mad in the wilds of Wiltshire as he recorded his masterpiece aka the soundtrack of his life. The collection of tracks in question are magnificently overwrought and dramatically fashioned songs that explore the lexicon of love with an epic sweep and neon glow that will remind you of all your favourite 70s and 80s groups while sounding utterly contemporary. Archangel are where ABC meet Arcade Fire.

Nick’s obsessive determination to handle the production as well as vocal, guitar, piano, electronic keyboard, synth-bass and percussion duties, which meant he’d have to literally press “record” and run to the drum kit or the guitar and start playing.

Debut album “How To Lose Your Best Friend” originally released in early 2010, now features a brand new track “Hero’s Welcome” as heard in the TV Show Grey’s Anatomy.

“Inventive heartfelt electro pop” The Guardian, critics gig of the day

“brooding, tetchy art-rock – it’s warm and infectious” NME’s “10 Tracks You Must Hear This Week”

“If he can stick to this formula, a winning one, and add the more complex twists that distinguish the good artists from the great, he’s a big future on the horizon. 4or The Record

“A twisted little genius of a band that are well worth looking out for” The Beat Surrender

“If you're ever feeling a bit apathetic and a bit down because you're lacking creativity, then you'd be best advised not to listen to this record because it would probably only make it worse. Archangel is the offspring of Nick Webber, who devised and performed this entire debut album, and consuming this beast will probably make the best of us feel slightly useless and insignificant. Saying that, the ingenuity of this possible magnum opus-to-be deserves to be celebrated” Click Music

Nick Lloyd Webber, the eldest son of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, is currently developing a new English-language stage musical based on the French literary classic The Little Prince, due to open in 2011.

GuilFest 2011 - Razorlight

GuilFest organisers are delighted with their latest ‘Golden Touch’: confirmation that this year’s Saturday night headliners will be maverick indie rock outfit RAZORLIGHT!

Fronted by outspoken lead singer Johnny Borell, Razorlight are one of the key guitar bands of the last decade, having sold over 4 million albums, performed to sell-out crowds on arena tours and festivals, and featured on the front cover of magazines from NME to Vogue. Formed in London in the summer of 2002, the band shot to fame with their critically acclaimed 2004 debut album, ‘Up All Night’, reaching number 3 in the UK charts, and spawning no less than 5 UK top 40 singles including seminal classics “Somewhere Else” and “Golden Touch”.

Continuing their incredible success story, the bands’ self-titled second album debuted at number 1 in the UK, and featured the number 1 single “America”, leading to NME award nominations for ‘Best Band’ and ‘Best Album’, as well as BRIT Award nominations for ‘Best Song’ and ‘Best British Band’. ‘Slipway Fires’, Razorlight’s third album, got to number 4 in the UK album charts, featured the hit single “Wire to Wire”, and was awarded album of the month by Q magazine.

2011 sees Razorlight releasing their fourth studio album, a few weeks before their sure-to-be spectacular performance on GuilFest’s Main Stage on Saturday night this July.

Razorlight join already announced superstar James Blunt, who will be headlining the Main Stage on Sunday 17th July. Over the coming weeks, many more announcements will be made about who you can see on all the stages at GuilFest 2011, including the Rock Cave and Dance Tent, as well as the top performers you can see in the Comedy and Theatre Tents and everywhere else at the festival this year.

As regular GuilFest visitors will know, you can expect a massively eclectic variety of music and entertainment across the many different stages at the festival, as well as great facilities such as the Kidzone - easily one of the best festival children’s areas in the whole country!

GuilFest is an award winning, family-friendly festival with a wonderful atmosphere by which other festivals have come to be judged. 2011 is sure to be the biggest and best year yet – don’t miss out. Tickets are now on sale and are available on-line at www.guilfest.co.uk or by calling See Tickets on 0871 230 1106

For up to date news and information as it happensfollow GuilFest on Twitter here, or become a fan on Facebook here

UPDATE:
Fantastic coverage for the festival and the band, as this photo was the first to show the new line up - the reaction on Twitter was enough to make it a trending topic on 26th Jan, and make them one of the most talked about Festival headliners of 2011 so far!! The coverage included NME.com, The Guardian, BBC Radio One's Newsbeat, Gigwise, The Fly, Subba Cultcha, I Like Music, The Quietus, XFM, CMU Daily, Metro, Clash Music and The Sun

#GuilFest2011

Edei Interviewed By Thunderbolt Kid Music

Fresh from touring with JLS, Edei was nice enough to answer a few questions that some of you guys had sent to me via Twitter. Her single, Loved, has just been released so pop onto iTunes and get it. Be sure to check out some of her acoustic covers on Youtube, especially the cover of Forget You by Cee-Lo Green. Good stuff. (Also, she went to the same school as me, sooo yeah.)

How did you find touring and spending time with JLS? Any highlights? It was so much fun… the boys are awesome and they made everything so easy and fun! We also got on with the other support acts so well, so it was just an amazing vibe every day! My highlight was definitely playing Wembley!

When’s your album being released? The single “Loved” is out now and the album will be out soon… that’s all I can say as we don’t have a date yet!

Will you be touring soon? I hope so! That’s all I ever want to do… I love being on the road and performing every night, it’s such an adrenaline rush! So yeah, I hope I will be… I’m just waiting to hear on another support acts and we’re also trying to put together a university tour which would be really fun.

Read the full interview (this is just an extract) on Thunderbolt Kid Music here

Edei's new single 'Loved' is out RIGHT NOW, get it from iTunes here!!

Visit Edei's Website here www.edei.co.uk/, become an Edei fan on facebook here and follow Edei on Twitter here

ElectroQueer Interview MartinSolveig

Martin Solveig is one cool cat. His latest track "Hello" sees the famous French DJ team up with Dragonette on one of the catchiest dance jams of the year - seriously it get's the crowds moving. EQ caught up with Martin to talk about how he ended up collaborating with Dragonette, how he manages to maintain life as an international DJ, getting his grandmother to do promo for him and why the UK has always been a tricky area for him.

EQ: Hi Martin - how are you today?
Martin Solveig: Good, thanks, it’s a pleasure to be here with you. I’m in Italy, just performed “Hello” yesterday with Martina from Dragonette for a huge TV show here! And I’m also in Milano to play for the Fashion week.

So I love the whole idea of the tongue-in-cheek tennis story around your new releases like "Smash" and "Hello". Why did you decide to do webisodes for your new music videos?
Thanks! I’ve always been very interested by cinema and that’s how I decided to direct most of my music videos. But with the new SMASH project I wanted to take it to the next level as my ‘manageur’ Lafaille would say – it’s a very different approach from my previous albums, combining music and video at the same time, as I feel nowadays that you really have to give people more than just records. With SMASH I’m telling a whole story that would be a distortion of my reality with a mix of real characters, situations and absurd elements and figures. The episodes and the records all work together, the videos bringing people into my universe with at the end the release of the SMASH album.

As someone who is immersed and originates from the French music scene - how is it different than the UK music scene?
The UK has always been a tricky territory for me. I believe it works around the music you produce and some years ago I did experience a burst of interest when "Rocking Music" and "Everybody" did well. We’ll see what happens with "Hello", it’s doing well and it seems the UK is ready to welcome me back. Obviously I am excited to be doing things there again.

Read the full interview (this is a mere extract) on the fantastic EQ here!

Rob Cowen And The Dissidents "Joyriders"

After enjoying air time on BBC6 Music, the band have added a stripped down rendition of the track 'Joyriders'.

Catch the band live at the following dates;

17th February 2011 CARGO, Shoreditch, London
10th March 2011, Water Rats, King's Cross, London

Find out more about them on their blog here, follow them on Twitter here, and become a fan on Facebook here

The Little Prince : Gordon / Lloyd Webber / Reid collaboration at Lyric Belfast Christmas 2011

THE LITTLE PRINCE joins opening season at the Lyric Belfast
Gordon / Lloyd Webber / Reid collaboration to be staged for Christmas 2011

The world premiere of a new musical adaptation of Saint-Exupéry’s THE LITTLE PRINCE by director Mick Gordon and composers Nicholas Lloyd Webber and James D. Reid will be the Christmas production in the opening season of The Lyric, Belfast’s new flagship theatre, announced at a press launch at Belfast City Hall today. THE LITTLE PRINCE is scheduled to preview from 1st December and run until 15th January 2012 at the new venue, which opens to the public on May 1st after a two year, £18.1 million rebuild, and will be presented by The Lyric Belfast and new production company Lamplighter Drama.

After receiving the approval of the Saint-Exupéry estate and the French publishers Editions Gallimard for the project, the creative team, including Belfast native Gordon, have been working on the book and score since last summer while they were collaborating on THE TEMPEST for Oxford Shakespeare Company. Casting details for THE LITTLE PRINCE have yet to be announced.

THE LITTLE PRINCE was published in 1943, a year before the aviator author died in the Second World War, and became an instant classic that appeals to adults and children alike and has been translated into 180 languages. It tells the story of a pilot crash landing in the desert who encounters a boy from an asteroid who tells him his adventures through the solar system and the characters he has met on the way.

LAMPLIGHTER DRAMA has been founded by Emma Randle (Executive Producer) and Charlotte Lloyd Webber (Executive Director) and is dedicated to the creation and production of new and imaginative theatre of many genres. Their name is inspired by their first production:

“Perhaps, the lamplighter is absurd. However… at least his work has some meaning. When he lights his streetlamp, it is as if he brought one more star to life, or one more flower. It is a beautiful occupation. And since it is beautiful, it is truly useful” (from The Little Prince, translated by Irene Testot-Ferry).

More info:
Lamplighter Drama and the Lyric Theatre Belfast present the World Premiere of
THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Music & Lyrics by Nicholas Lloyd Webber and James D. Reid
Book by Mick Gordon
Directed by Mick Gordon
Stage Design by Igor Vasiljev
Costume Design by Maja Mirkovic
Sound Design by Linus Fellbom
At the Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast, BT9 5FB
Run: 1st December 2011 – 15th January 2012.
Box Office (tickets on sale from Monday 24th January, 10am): (028) 9038 1081

Find out more about The Little Prince from Wikipedia here

Introducing The Plea "Praise Be"

The Plea - Praise Be by Planet Function

Edei Interview Featured On Entertainment Focus Homepage

"First catching our attention with the monster pop ditty, In My Bed, rising pop sensation Edei is back with her latest Motown infused single, simply titled, Loved.

Discovered by the team who developed fellow Brit superstar Joss Stone into a globally recognised artist, 22 year old Londoner Edei is a force of talent to rival the best on the British scene at the moment and the singers latest release is a testiment to that.

Edei's booming vocals resonate throughout Loved like a soul diva in the making with just the right touch of pop commercialism to get the songbird recognised on the mainstream chart scene. Enigmatic harmonies are delivered courtesy of Mary J Blige's Motown influenced backing singers bringing a funky, nostalgic vibe to the song which sets it apart from the singers pop counterparts.

Edei can definitely sing, there is no doubt about that. Loved provides the perfect arena for the songstress to give her talents a full workout trading belting vocals and whispery tones similar to that of Leona Lewis."

Click here to see the full feature and interview on Entertainment Focus

Edei's new single 'Loved' is out RIGHT NOW, get it from iTunes here!!

Visit Edei's Website here www.edei.co.uk/, become an Edei fan on facebook here and follow Edei on Twitter here

Rob Cowen And The Dissidents (1000th TNK Post!)

This is our 1000th blog post - and a fitting band to write about - Rob Cowen And The Dissidents - this is Sleeping In The Woods, taken from the forthcoming 5-track 'The Heartlands EP', a free download of the track is available here

“Like The Boss circa Born To Run, pounding and big guitars layered underneath big choruses, bigger harmonies and a well-placed glockenspiel on this heartfelt track of stadium-sized, singalong-friendly and intoxicatingly engaging anthems" Q Magazine



Catch Rob Cowen And The Dissidents live at the following dates;
17th February 2011, CARGO, Shoreditch, London
10th March 2011 Water Rats, King's Cross, London
22nd March 2011 Cafe 1001, Brick Lane, London
2nd July 2011 Nibley Festival, Cotswolds

James Blunt Confirmed For GuilFest Sunday 17th July 2011

Sensational singer/songwriter James Blunt is confirmed for a headline performance at GuilFest 2011 on Sunday July 17th. James last entertained Guildford crowds as a little known artist back in 2004, and now three huge albums, two world tours and a string of prestigious awards later, organisers are delighted to welcome him back to GuilFest, this time taking his rightful place as headliner and closing the festival on the Main Stage.

James was catapulted to international superstardom with his incredibly popular 2005 album ‘Back to Bedlam’. The biggest selling album of the noughties, the record was bursting with massive anthems such as “You’re Beautiful”, “High” and “Goodbye My Lover”. This early success was replicated with his follow up album, 2007’s ‘All the lost souls’; which sold nearly 5 million copies globally, and featured such seminal hits as “1973”, “Same Mistake” and “Carry You Home”. 2010’s ‘Some Kind of Trouble’ debuted at number 4 in the UK, selling over 100,000 copies in its first week and its first two singles “Stay The Night” and “So Far Gone” have both been featured on BBC Radio 2’s A list.

With a catalogue of awards under his belt, including two BRIT awards for best pop act and best male vocalist, a Q award for best new act, 3 MTV awards, 5 Grammy nomination and many, many others, Blunt looks set to continue his amazing success well into 2011 and beyond and his appearance at GuilFest 2011 will most definitely be a show to remember.

Taking place over three days on the weekend of July 15th, 16th and 17th, GuilFest 2011 will feature 7 stages of live music, hosting an incredible 200 acts. Consistently voted as one of the UK’s top family festivals, GuilFest is known for its fantastically eclectic line ups and wonderfully laid back atmosphere. Famous stages such as the Rock Cave, the Dance Tent and the Acoustic Lounge will all be returning for the 2011 festival, cementing the fact that at GuilFest , there really is something for everyone.

And it’s not just about the music; all around the site you can find great attractions such as the hilarious Cosmic Comedy Zone, Man in the Moon Theatre tent, Farmer Giles Barndance, street theatre, delicious food and drink from around the world, enormous 150ft bar, cocktail bars and much more besides. For the younger guests there is the Kidzone, which last year featured performances from the one and only Peppa Pig! If you fancy a dip or a shower, right next door is Guildford Lido – a 50m outdoor swimming pool set in beautiful park lands, and Guildford Spectrum, a fully featured leisure centre with indoor swimming pools, ice rink, bowling alleys and lots more.

GuilFest – the perfect way to enjoy 3 days of great entertainment, sunshine and laughter this July.

Tickets are available now from GuilFest.co.uk / seetickets.com or by calling the ticket hotline on 0871 230 1106.
www.Guilfest.co.uk

Edei Featured On Hello Magazine's Homepage

Edei's new single "Loved" (out 16th Jan, pre-order here) and her Behind The Scenes video from her JLS Tour support currently featured on Hello! Magazine's Home and Celebrities pages