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One Liners: Cirkut, Little Mix, Grimes, more

By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 12 November 2021

DEALS

Universal Music Publishing has signed producer and songwriter Cirkut to a worldwide deal. “I’m THRILLED to be working with such an awesome group of people at UMPG”, says Cirkut. “We are so THRILLED to welcome the talented Cirkut to our UMPG family”, adds SVP A&R Lillia Parsa.

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EDUCATION & EVENTS

UK record industry trade group the BPI has announced that the next edition of its Equality Sessions on 2 Dec will focus on disability and the music industry, in partnership with Attitude Is Everything. The two hour seminar is free to all. Sign up here for access.

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RELEASES

Little Mix have released new single, ‘No’, co-written by Kamille, MNEK and Tre Jean-Marie. “We knew this song had to be a single”, says the group’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock. “It feels like a classic Little Mix track, but also fresh and new at the same time”.

Grimes has launched a new “AI girl group” – a virtual band whose members can be voted in or out of the core group by fans, similar to real life J-pop act AKB48 – called NPC. Their first track, ‘A Drug From God’, which is a collaboration with Chris Lake, is out now.

Who’d like to hear a new Jack White album in 2022? How about two? Because that’s what’s happening. Jack White is releasing two albums in 2022. ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ on 22 Apr and ‘Entering Heaven Alive’ on 22 Jul. Here’s the video for ‘Taking Me Back’ from ‘Fear Of The Dawn’.

Let’s Eat Grandma will release their third album, ‘Two Ribbons’, on 8 Apr. The title track is out now. “‘Two Ribbons’ is a song I wrote to, and about, two of the closest people in my life, and how my relationships with them shifted over time through loss and life changes”, says the duo’s Jenny Hollingworth. “It touches on the isolating experience of grieving, our powerlessness in the face of death, and the visceral emotions of grief”.

Confidence Man will release their second album, ‘Tilt’, on 1 Apr. No joke. New single, ‘Holiday’, is out now. “We’ve been trying for the most epic, hands up, euphoric anthem for a while and this is the first time we’ve come close”, says the band’s Sugar Bones of the track. “Turns out it’s pretty difficult, but nothing’s too hard for con man”. The band will be touring the UK in May next year too.

The latest single from the new Bonobo album is out. ‘Otomo’ features O’Flynn, and that album, ‘Fragments’, will be out on 14 Jan.

Berwyn‘s latest track, ‘MIA’, is out now. “This song means the absolute universe to me”, he says. “It’s a dedication to all the missing pieces that aren’t here anymore. I titled it ‘MIA’ because it does what it says on the tin, it’s a time to think and to honour the people that aren’t with us now … and to acknowledge the fact that there is still a lot of violence outside”.

Murakage Dave has released new single ‘Awful Things’, featuring Caroline Polachek. He’s also released another track called ‘Don’t Move To London It’s A Trap’. Caroline Polachek’s not on that one. Maybe she heeded his advice.

Daði Freyr has released Christmas single ‘Something Magical’. “Making a Christmas song is really freeing in a way because I feel like I can get away with anything”, he says. “It’s a Christmas song so of course I’m going to say baby fourteen times in a row”.

Mellah has released new single ‘Yesterday’, alongside new EP ‘333 (Them)’. “‘Yesterday’ is about small talk”, he says. “The niceties we perform to avoid silences or even worse being honest with each other. ‘How are you’ has always seemed like such a strange question to be asked or to ask. It never invokes a genuine response and is virtually impossible to answer”.

Rudi Zygadlo is back with new single ‘Athens Love Boat’. “As the general sound of the album began to take shape, becoming more raucous and unapologetic, so too this song”, he says of the track, which started out as a piano ballad. “I suppose the question could be asked of this song – what remains of the original? I’m not really sure”.

Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.