| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 16th August |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- CMU at the Edinburgh Festival
- YouTube planning major music video service
- Beyonce tops MOBO nomations
- Interpol sign to Capitol
- Lil Wayne arrested over drugs possession
- Basement Jaxx tour
- Rizla night comes to Manchester
- Jamie T dates
- Madonna crucifix sequence may break German laws
- Kazaa companies sue rival P2P
- Emap launch interactive Q DVD
- Darkness man goes into rehab
- eMusic update
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CMU AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL>>
The Fratellis play T On The Fringe tomorrow night, which is very exciting, because we love The Fratellis. So much so, we interviewed them, and you can read the interview at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk. Don't forget that as well as reading our incredibly extensive coverage of the Edinburgh Festival on that website, you can also listen to the ThreeWeeks radio show online every day at 11am at http://www.festivalfm.net. We're joined by DJ Danny tomorrow, the Edinburgh Fringe's own 'music therapist', so you should all make an effort to tune in. Meantime, here's some T on the Fringe reviews.
Iain Archer at Cabaret Voltaire at T on the Fringe on 10 Aug
Iain Archer is a pretty good singer-songwriter, but he's not a great one. He has a good voice and some good songs with good lyrics. But he's not great. A great singer-songwriter will pull you in with the sheer force of his talent and won't let you go until the last note. During Archer's set you find yourself fading in and out, with some stand-out tracks grabbing your attention while others simply pass you by. Maybe he'd be better off abandoning some of the looped sound effects and drum beats, opting instead for the stripped-down sound of voice and guitar. Finally, during his encore he does this, and we see his true potential. It was just for one song, but I swear it gave me shivers. AMC
tw rating 3/5
The Bees at The Liquid Room at T on the Fringe on 9 Aug
You can't see The Bees without wishing you were outside in the sun. With their bouncy hippy pop music they're the perfect summer festival band, with enough energy to get even the calmest punter going. Lucky for them they can carry this atmosphere across to the dark, clammy Liquid Room, where they entertained a sell-out crowd with full-fledged festival enthusiasm. The Bees are lovers of the kind of carefree pop that's now popular thanks to bands like The Zutons but they also add their own rock stylings in the form of virtuosic guitar solos. It's frankly impossible not to enjoy such an impassioned performance, especially when the band themselves are having such fun. Pity it wasn't outside, but hey, you can't have it all. AMC
tw rating 4/5
The Sunshine Underground at Cabaret Voltaire at T on the Fringe on 9 Aug
From the opening chords The Sunshine Underground had the audience in the palm of their hand, and they held on for the entire set. Their sound is hard to define: a cross between The Killers and Kasabian perhaps, but this doesn't do justice to the powerful, melodic four-piece from Leeds. Thumping drums, driving bass and harmonious guitars lend this polished, professional act a real crowd-pleasing sound; every single person in the room was moving and by the gig's rousing climax the crowd was going mental. Front man Craig Wellington seemed touched and genuinely surprised at the presence of "proper fans" at the front, who knew and sang along with their favourite tracks. He should get used to it; The Sunshine Underground are going to be massive. AL
tw rating 5/5
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YOUTUBE PLANNING MAJOR MUSIC VIDEO SERVICE
After talk about record labels not being able to decide whether to love or loathe YouTube (they love the fact it's a free platform for distributing promotional videos, they loathe the fact fans keep uploading copyright material without their permission), the bosses of the video upload service are hoping to win over the music companies by officially licensing pretty much every music video ever made and making them available via what would be the uber online video jukebox. Quite how the whole thing will be funded (they are talking about making it a free-to-use service) we're not sure, but both EMI and Warner have confirmed to Reuters that they are negotiations with YouTube about the proposal. US TV network NBC has previously reached a deal with YouTube which has seen the site promote new NBC programmes to its subscribers - the TV company had previously had legal wranglings with YouTube when, like the record labels, they got pissed off about the amount of their content being uploaded unofficially.
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BEYONCE TOPS MOBO NOMATIONS
Beyonce has topped the nominations lists for this years MOBO Awards, the awards event that celebrates the best 'music of black origin' (I know you all know that, but it's traditional that I remind you). Ms Knowles is up for four awards, including Best International Female, Best Song, Best Video and Best R&B Act.
It is the first year that the MOBOs have had best male and best female catagories - with one set of awards for Best UK Male and Female, and one for Best International. Mary J Blige and Nelly Furtado are also up for the Best International Female prize.
UK artists Corinne Bailey Rae and Kano both also performed well in the short list, both being nominated for three awards. Other acts shortlisted included Nate James, Alesha Dixon, Sway, OutKast, Gnarls Barkley and Beverley Knight.
The actual awards will be presented at an event at London's Royal Albert Hall on 20 Sep. I was going to publish the full nominations list, but I got very sidetracked by the MOBO Awards very flash website, and forgot to. In fact, that's why the Daily is so late today. I've spent all day playing with the MOBO Awards very flash website. I did not sleep in again this morning. Repeat, I did not sleep in (though, it is very tiring being at the Edinburgh Festival).
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INTERPOL SIGN TO CAPITOL
Interpol are going all major label on us, splitting off from Matador and signing up to EMI division Capitol. According to the always reliable Billboard they will go back into the studio in the Autumn (well, Billboard say "fall", but we've translated it for you) to work on a new album, due for release mid next year. Apparently the band had been courted by most of the majors since their Matador deal came to an end though, given that they are managed by Dave Holmes, who also manages Coldplay, one of EMI's flagship artists (of course), the London based major probably had a head start.
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LIL WAYNE ARRESTED OVER DRUGS POSSESSION
Rapper Lil' Wayne was banged-up for possession of a controlled substance in Atlanta on Monday night after a hotel employee noticed a "heavy odour" (which may well be the name of his next album) coming from his room. Wayne's stash of marijuana was subsequently found by police, along with 60 pills of generic Xanax and 59 hydrocodone pills, whatever they are. The news is unlikely to harm his platinum status. Though he was released on bail so may not get that useful hip hop sales booster - the jail sentence.
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BASEMENT JAXX TOUR
Basment Jaxx will be bringing the funk to arenas the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland this Autumn in support of their new album. The dates begin in Glasgow on 1 Sep ahead of the release of new the long player 'Crazy Itch Radio' on 11 Sep, dates are as follows:
1 Sep: Glasgow Hampden Park
3 Sep: Stadbally, Electric Picnic
8/9 Sep: Leeds, Roundhay
14, 15, 16, 18, 19 Sep: Milton Keynes Bowl
25 Nov: Dublin, The Point
28 Nov: Devon, Plymouth Pavilions
29 Nov: Brighton, Centre
30 Nov: Bournemouth, International Centre
2 Dec: London, Wembley Arena
5 Dec: Birmingham, NEC Arena
6 Dec: Newcastle, Arena
7 Dec: Manchester, MEN Arena
8 Dec: Glasgow, SECC
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RIZLA NIGHT COMES TO MANCHESTER
You may have noticed the CMU Club Tip is taking a summer break. Quite how you are planning your clubbing lives without it, I'm not sure, but rest assured a fully rested Vigsy will return on fine club tipping form in September. In the meantime, if you must have a tip, have this one.
The Rizla Silver Tour lands in Manchester this Friday, 18 Aug, with a special night at One Central Street. Headlining will be Ivan Smagghe, with a three hour set presenting his very innovative and original electro sound, while support with come from Slippery People. Tickets are available from http://www.rizla.co.uk at four quid a time.
The Rizla Silver Tour will visit Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Bournemouth, London, and Sheffield in the coming months, we'll try and remember to keep you in the loop on all that. You'll get press info on it all from those lovely Xposure people.
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JAMIE T DATES
Jamie T has announced a UK tour for this autumn. The urban singer-song-writer-storyteller will tour the UK this October. Dates coincide with of the release of new single 'If You Got The Money' on 16 Oct.
5 Oct: Preston 53 Degrees
8 Oct: Aberdeen Tunnels
9 Oct: Glasgow King Tuts
10 Oct: Newcastle Global
12 Oct: Leeds Mine @ Uni
13 Oct: Sheffield Plug
15 Oct: Liverpool Barfly
16 Oct: Manchester Club Academy
17 Oct: Birmingham Academy
19 Oct: London Scala
20 Oct: Cardiff Barfly
22 Oct: Bristol Thekla
23 Oct: Nottingham Rescue Rooms
24 Oct: Stoke Sugarmill
27 Oct: Tunbridge Wells Forum
28 Oct: Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
29 Oct: Oxford Zodiac
30 Oct: Brighton Audio
1 Nov: Exeter Cavern Club
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MADONNA CRUCIFIX SEQUENCE MAY BREAK GERMAN LAWS
That sequence in Madonna's current tour which sees the singer attached to a crucifix style construction has, of course, caused controversy in a number of countries, but might lead to actual prosecution in Germany.
Prosecutors there have confirmed they will monitor Madonna's shows there this week to ascertain whether the mock crucifixion scene amounts to "insulting religious beliefs", which is a crime according to German law.
However, authorities do not seem to be taking the routine too seriously. They have said they plan to rely on media reports of the event rather than sending their own officials, and it is doubtful whether such reports would actually be sufficient to pursue legal proceedings.
As previously reported, the routine has already caused protest from a number of religious leaders, though Madonna continues to defend it. Her spokeswoman told reporters recently: "The context of Madonna's performance on the crucifix is not negative nor disrespectful toward the church".
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KAZAA COMPANIES SUE RIVAL P2P
With more and more P2P companies going legit and reducing the chances of record-label-versus-P2P lawsuits, the file sharing companies are having to resort to suing each other to keep their lawyers in work. So, Brilliant Digital Entertainment and Altnet, both of whom are affiliates of P2P network Kazaa, have announced they are suing StreamCast Networks, the makers of rival P2P system Morpheus, over allegations they have infringed their patents relating to P2P technology.
Brilliant and Altnet say StreamCast have violated their so called 'TrueNames' patents within the Morpheus system. A spokesman for the claimants, Michael Speck, told reporters this week: "StreamCast has been given ample opportunity by all to mend their ways. Their determination to continue distributing infringing material has left us with no choice but to prosecute them."
As previously reported, the Kazaa related companies recently reached a settlement with the record labels after years of fighting copyright infringement lawsuits. StreamCast, who are yet to comment on the new lawsuit, are still awaiting a court ruling on past litigation pursued against them by the record labels.
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EMAP LAUNCH INTERACTIVE Q DVD
EMAP are working with Demon Vision to launch an interactive DVD called 'Q: The Essential Music Quiz'. It will be, erm, an essential music quiz. From Q magazine. It'll be released on 27 Nov, with an official launch alongside the Q Awards on 27 Nov.
Demon's Head Of DVD, Sophie Coolbaugh, said this: "This is a unique step into the interactive DVD sector. It's the first time a leading independent record label has joined forces with one of the UK's biggest magazine publishers to exploit a brand name magazine via an interactive DVD quiz game."
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DARKNESS MAN GOES INTO REHAB
Rumour has it Justin Hawkins has checked himself into rehab - and with The Darkness website reporting that all of his upcoming public appearances have been postponed, there may well be an element of truth in that rumour. Whether there's any truth in the rumour that Warner are about to drop the band following the disappointing performance of second album 'One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back', we don't know, but it may explain why Hawkins is feeling down. Personally I think he should get a career in telly - I seem to remember him being rather good on his guest host stint on The Friday Night Project.
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EMUSIC UPDATE
A quick quick update on our story yesterday regarding the launch of eMusic - the independent MP3 download platform - here in the UK. We should stress that what has launched is a beta version of a new European service which will be fully launched sometime soon. We'll let you know as soon as we hear any more.
And while we are clarifying things from yesterday, Sarah Lowe, the press contact on the new Moby album, is now Sarah of Fifth Avenue PR (and not Sarah of Mute IH, as we may have foolishly written). You'll get here at this here email address: [email protected]