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Artist News Deals Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Releases
One Liners: Jessie Ware, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Machine Gun Kelly, more
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 9 February 2023
DEALS
Universal Music’s Decca Classics has signed composer Tan Dun to a new record deal, following the recent premiere of his latest work ‘The Buddha Passion’ at Royal Festival Hall in London. “Decca has always been a dream for me”, he says. “As a young artist, I could never have imagined that one day we would embrace each other. I’ve worked with many recording labels over the years, but now, connecting with Decca, I understand. It is so pure and classical, and yet cool and fresh and open to all sorts of music and cultures, it is a very special place. I feel deeply honoured to be part of it”.
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APPOINTMENTS
Universal Music’s Polydor has promoted Karen Dagg and Jade Bradshaw to Marketing Directors. “Karen is an exceptional and highly experienced marketeer who approaches every campaign with passion, care and an unrivalled critical eye”, says the label’s co-MD Stephen Hallowes. “Jade has been a rising star in Polydor since she joined the label in 2018. I look forward to working with both of them even more closely moving forward and congratulate them on their well-deserved new roles”.
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RELEASES
Jessie Ware has announced that she will release her fifth album ‘That! Feels Good!’ on 28 Apr. Out now is new single ‘Pearls’. Of the Stuart Price produced album she says: “’That! Feels Good!’ is a record to be enjoyed, to sing and shout the words back at me and to each other. It’s a culmination of hard work and total pleasure appreciating the job I have and the worlds I get to dive into. I have never felt so ready for people to hear something I’ve made”.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has released new single ‘Breaking The Circle’ and announced that she will release new album ‘Hana’ on 2 Jun. “’Breaking The Circle’ is inspired by those late-night moments you have, where you question everything and feel a buzz of adrenaline about what tomorrow might bring”, she says. “It’s urgent and dramatic and optimistic… the perfect introduction to the new album”.
Slowthai has released new single ‘Feel Good’. The track is taken from his upcoming album ‘UGLY’, which is out on 3 Mar.
Sleaford Mods have released new single ‘Force Ten From Navarone’, featuring Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw. “We’re big fans of Dry Cleaning and knew Flo would be perfect for the track”, says the duo’s Jason Williamson. “She’s the real deal and conjures the inspiration I get from the likes of Wu-Tang in the way she uses one word to convey a whole story”.
Enter Shikari have released new single ‘It Hurts’. “Lyrically, ‘It Hurts’ is about perseverance, and the importance of reframing failure as a fruitful and, in fact, pivotal route to progress”, says frontman Rou Reynolds. “Society teaches us we should avoid and criticise failure, when defeat and honest mistakes can actually present us with insights that light our way forward. In reality, we should be taught that simply to try makes us more than enough”. The band’s new album ‘A Kiss For The Whole World’ is out on 21 Apr.
Radiohead’s Philip Selway has released the title track from his upcoming solo album ‘Strange Dance’. The album is out on 24 Feb.
Daughter have released new single ‘Party’. The band’s new album ‘Stereo Mind Game’ is out on 7 Apr.
Squid have announced that they will release their second album ‘O Monolith’ on 9 Jun. First single ‘Swing (In A Dream)’ is out now. “This [song] was inspired by a dream I had about a painting called The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard”, says frontman Ollie Judge. “In my dream I was in the painting but it was flooded and everything was floating away”.
Static X have announced that they will release a new album featuring the newly discovered final recordings of vocalist Wayne Static, who died in 2014. ‘Project Regeneration: Vol 2’, featuring newly recorded instrumentals, will be released on 2 Nov. The first track from it, a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Terrible Lie’, is out now.
The Ligeti Quartet has announced a new album ‘Nuc’, featuring new performances of work by Anna Meredith, which is set for release on 14 Apr. Out now is their version of ‘Tuggemo’, which was originally commissioned by the Kronos Quartet in 2016.
Indigo De Souza has announced that she will release new album ‘All Of This Will End’ on 27 Apr. New single ‘Younger & Dumber’ is out now. “This song is a love letter to everyone’s inner child”, she says. “No one can prepare us for how insane it is to be alive. How many times we will have to rise from the ashes and what courage it will take”.
Miss Grit has released new single ‘Nothing’s Wrong’, taken from her new album ‘Follow The Cyborg’, which is out on 24 Feb.
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GIGS & TOURS
Machine Gun Kelly has announced that he will play the Royal Albert Hall in London on 31 May. Tickets go on general sale tomorrow.
Fall Out Boy have announced UK tour dates this autumn, finishing off with a performance at the O2 Arena in London on 2 Nov. Tickets go on general sale on 17 Feb.
