Q1 How did you start out making music?
The ancient manuscripts we found in the lake were useful.

Q2 What inspired your latest single?
Misanthropy.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Two of us write the bones of the song in our bedrooms. The band put a flesh suit on it in a bigger room, with space to move around and look in mirrors.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Faith No More, ELO, Pounder, White Zombie, Death From Above 1979.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
We like to make a big noise with us moving around and shouting and looking at people, and jumping on them, and with lots of lights and smoke and dark and more noise and big riffs and sweating and sometimes bleeding and making people excited a lot. Mostly.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
Mass panic. And we would like eyes to be removed and the blood that comes out to be drunk by lizards and the snakes that you left in our basement and never came to pick up even though we called you about it and sent you letters. Have you moved?

TURBOWOLF AT THE GREAT ESCAPE>> 16 May at Concord 2

MORE>> turbowolves.blogspot.com and www.myspace.com/turbowolfband

TGE-SSQ: What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
From the SSQ archives, bands playing TGE tell us what they'd say to people hearing their tunes for the very first time.

Marnie Stern: "To try and keep an open mind. It may seem jarring at first, but if you keep listening, the chaotic nature of the songs will abate and the hooks will become clearer"
Po Na Na, 14 May; The Honeyclub, 15 May.

Metric: "Be open minded. Every word has three meanings"
The Honeyclub, 15 May.

Metronomy: "It's probably best to say nothing, I might just confuse them otherwise, in my normal rambling style"
The Corn Exchange, Club NME, 15 May.

Official Secrets Act: "Enjoy it, question it, take it into your arms and give it a big hug, but then treat it bad, treat it mean and keep it keen, then dance with it all around your room"
The Hope, 16 May; Po Na Na, 16 May.

THREEWEEKS BRIGHTON FESTIVAL MUSIC REVIEWS
Don't forget, The Great Escape is one part of the wider Brighton Festival, that is taking place in the seaside city all this month, offering an urivalled programme of theatre, comedy, dance, literature, art and, of course, music. CMU's sister publication ThreeWeeks is reviewing it all once again, with a team of 45 reviewers hitting the streets every day. You can check the ThreeWeeks preview guide to the Brighton Festival here, read our coverage of it here, and check out a selection of our Brighton music reviews here each day in the Daily...

Lea DeLaria at The Old Market on 7 May
Though the ticket for Thursday evening's show at the Old Market was billed as 'up-beat jazz/swing', the unlikely Lea DeLaria provided much more. The internationally acclaimed singer/comedienne not only played two sets of jazz standards with her trio for a somewhat sparse audience, but put her twenty-five years of stand-up comedy experience to use, leaving no piece without its anecdote. Unfortunately, for those audience members coming to listen to a night of pure jazz, the jokes and impromptu rants managed to infiltrate every corner of her show, even the pieces themselves. The boisterous DeLaria, however, made up for any over-long ramblings, even for the purists, with a flawless musicality and decided personality. An excellent performer, DeLaria turned the Old Market into a gathering of old friends telling stories and singing songs. tw rating 4/5; reviewer: [Clearhos Papanicolaou]

Estrondo at Volks Bar and Club on 9 May
Dressed in day-glow orange and black, Estrondo, a 22 piece live percussion band, made a booming big impact; the infectious Brazilian-infused rhythms made even the most reluctant get up and get down. It did get a bit repetitive but who cares when you're having this much fun? Reminiscent of drum and bass fused with samba, it felt like the carnival vibe was brought to a rave scene complete with green strobe lights. Their energy was infectious and high throughout the performance and when you thought they were finished they just kept on going. Great for lovers of dance music, or anyone looking for a fun and funky vibe, Estrondo definitely never missed a beat. tw rating 4/5; reviewer [Sophie Tanner]

Tudo Bem! At The Brunswick
True to their name (meaning "all good" or "all right" in Portuguese) this Brazilian samba funk band gave a smooth, laid-back performance for their Friday night slot at The Brunswick in Hove. The relaxed atmosphere created by easygoing, steady rhythms and gentle melodies was personified by the oh-so-casual gum-chewing lead guitarist, who nonetheless displayed bursts of enthusiasm with his intermittent backing vocals. At times the cool-jazz beats threatened to become just that bit too cool, but this was soon remedied by the talents of the flautist/saxophonist as she wowed the audience with a number of breathtaking solos. That, coupled with the energy of the nimble bassist and the charisma of the female lead, made this an enjoyable night that got an audience of mixed ages dancing along. tw rating 3/5; reviewer [Maura Hamer]

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CONTENT INDUSTRIES PUSH FOR THREE-STRIKES IN THE UK
A whole string of trade bodies representing content owners and cultural types - including the record industry's BPI, the UK Film Council, actors' union Equity and those slightly scary Federation Against Copyright Theft people - stepped up their campaign against the internet service providers yesterday, using a London Creative Economy conference to pile more pressure on government types to force ISPs to take a more proactive role in policing online piracy.

As much previously reported, the music and movie industries want the ISPs to take on a proper role in policing casual online copyright infringement, ultimately cutting off those individuals who persistently upload or download large amounts of unlicensed content. Although the BPI et al don't use the term 'three-strike', they talk about introducing a "graduated response" system, which is basically the same thing. Online infringers are sent increasingly stern warnings by their ISP and, if they don't respond or appeal, would ultimately be disconnected from the net.

Content owners argue that without the prospect of disconnection piracy warnings will go unheeded. True, said content owners could sue the infringers - and there are active proposals to make it easier for record labels etc to access the names and addresses of suspected infringers - but music and movie companies would prefer to keep the whole thing out of the courts. Partly because of the cost and time involved in litigation (especially when the defendants are likely to have modest wealth with which to pay damages), partly because of the PR challenge of being seen to sue your customers, and partly because such legal action, even on a rampant scale, hasn't proven to be much of a deterrent in the past.

Beyond sending on warning letters to their infringing customers, the ISPs are not in favour of any three-strike or "graduated response" system, while some consumer groups have expressed concern at any process that could see people losing internet access without the opportunity for a court hearing (concerns also expressed by the European Parliament last week). As much previously reported, moves are afoot in France to make the three-strike system law, to be administered by a government agency. Here in the UK ministers have seemed much less keen, however, to introduce anything quite as draconian as a disconnections programme.

With that in mind the various trade bodies at yesterday's meeting were keen to call for more government action now here in the UK to force ISPs to act. BPI boss Geoff Taylor told the event: "An endless free lunch for consumers when it comes to digital content is unsustainable. Unless ministers strengthen proposals for ISPs to deal with illegal behaviour online a 'creative crunch' will follow - investment in new British talent will ultimately dry up. The internet cannot be a place where respect for the law is abandoned. Even though the music business is creatively fit and strong, free-loading reduces investment in new music and in turn threatens the jobs of thousands of young people working in A&R, recording, marketing and promotion".

He called on the government to do three things in the final draft of its much previously reported 'Digital Britain' report. "To recognise that the music sector has already transformed its business models online; to take seriously the argument that a "write and sue" policy will not be effective; and to use the time available in this parliament to introduce legislation requiring ISPs to act against persistent illegal downloaders".

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ISP TRADE BODY SAYS "YOU'RE ALL INSANE"
Needless to say, the UK trade body for the internet service provider sector wasn't impressed by anything Geoff or his colleagues in the movie industry had to say, again arguing that any "graduated response" system is unfeasible, unviable, unworkable, unfair, undesirable, ungroovy and uncool. Or something like that.

The Internet Service Provider Association issued the following statement yesterday: "ISPA continues to dispute calls from some elements of the creative industries for the disconnection of users or technological measures as a method of dealing with potential infringers of copyright online. ISPA members have consistently explained that significant technological advances would be required if these measures are to reach a standard where they would be admissible as evidence in court. ISPs and consumer groups consider disconnection of users to be a disproportionate response, a view that was recently supported by the European Parliament".

The net body also returned to its other main argument in this debate, their claim that the really big issue is the alleged lack of compelling licensed music, movie and video services online. They say that's because record, movie and TV companies are making unreasonable financial demands for the use of their content by web companies, whether that be the ISPs themselves, or the likes of YouTube. Because the content owners are preventing the web firms from offering engaging and affordable legit content services, the ISPs argue, people choose to access the illegal free services instead.

The ISPA added yesterday: "Internet companies remain extremely frustrated by the ongoing difficulties in securing licensing that is needed to offer consumers legal alternatives through new models of online content distribution. It is our view that legislation on enforcement should only be introduced on the condition that the rights holder industry commits to significant licensing reform. ISPA is disappointed that the creative industries continue to advocate legislation on enforcement without considering how the complicated licensing processes that many stakeholders believe are at the root of the problem can be reformed".

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CMU SAYS: THE ISPS' ARGUMENTS AREN'T STRONG, BUT THEY DON'T NEED TO BE
The ISPs' argument that the content companies are hindering the development of legit content services, and that that is behind the continued growth of illegal file-sharing, becomes harder to justify as the months go by, given the ever increasing number of very compelling, and actually quite affordable download stores and on-demand streaming content services that are now available online. The music business is now offering numerous such services, while the TV industry has also started to really hone its on-demand players. The movie industry is playing catch-up, but has made a start, especially in the US.

True, five years ago the content companies were wasting their time on pointless DRM and litigation instead of experimenting with innovative new online services that could reap long term rewards revenue wise.

True, many of the current success stories in the online content sector are currently funded by start-up capital, and are probably enjoying favourable start-up royalty rates, and may struggle once those rates go up, and they start to actually rely on advertising and subscription income.

True, the amount of major label content not yet digitised is a disgrace, and record companies should be investing all they can into getting every single track they ever released online, because comprehensiveness of catalogue remains the illegal content network's second greatest selling point (after freeness).

It's also true that the collecting societies, and the major labels in particular, probably do ask for too big an upfront payment and per-listen royalty fees from web firms, and negotiating terms can be tedious.

But it's also true that internet service providers and big web players have a long history of under-valuing the cost of good content, often professing ambitions to become the TV networks of the future, but without any commitment to invest the millions, and sometimes billions, that TV (and music and movie) companies invest in making new content, sometimes from unproven talent that may or may not return on investment.

Given that both sides are probably taking the piss in royalty discussions, it is also true to say that elements of the more established radio royalties system - which obliges certain companies to licence their content to other companies at a fair price - probably should be adopted in the digital domain. And the Copyright Tribunal, which steps in when there's a royalty dispute, should be honed to better cope with digital issues.

But the fact is that most mainstream music is now available to buy via legit download stores in a usable format, and most of it is also available to stream for free via ad-funded services. And yet millions of people continue to access content illegally, some ignorantly, some not, from unlicensed sources, utilising file-sharing networks, BitTorrent trackers and other content search facilities along the way. Can that ever be stopped? Digital rights management technology can't and didn't stop it. Direct consumer litigation can't and didn't stop it. Could the three-strike system have any possible impact? If it could, shouldn't it be something we should try? After all, the intellectual property rights on which the content industries rely aren't really rights at all if there's no way to protect them.

Questions, questions. Three-strikes may not be the answer, and it's certainly not a panacea. But the ISPs' arguments sound increasingly weak as this debate develops. Though, to be fair, they probably know that the current government is unlikely to introduce a copyright protection system that could result in unpopular disconnections before the next General Election, and so for the time being they don't really need any better reasons why rampant online copyright infringement really isn't their problem.

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FRENCH ASSEMBLY PASS THREE-STRIKES
Meanwhile, on the other side of the water, the French Assembly has finally passed the country's controversial 'Creation & Internet' law, which is the legislation that will make 'three-strikes' law there.

As previously reported, the French government's proposals for the country's copyright laws hit a setback when a low pre-Easter turnout in the Assembly meant there were not enough government-supporting MPs on hand to make sure the new legislation got voted through. The no vote forced the government to reintroduce the proposals into parliament anew.

Because of that the upper house, the Senate, which had already passed the first lot of proposals, will have to vote on them all for a second time. That should happen today. The new laws would then just need the approval of the country's Constitutional Council. I'm not sure at what point the European Parliament's efforts to make disconnection without a court hearing illegal would be discussed - though those proposals would still have to make it through the European Council Of Ministers where French representatives will presumably object loudly.

Assuming the three-strike system does become law in France, the content industries the world over will be watching closely how it all goes. Although already law in New Zealand, there the lack of any administrative system to manage warning letters and disconnections have led to the whole thing being shelved for the time being.

The French system is better thought out, though will still have to contend with the inevitable false accusations that will no doubt be made by content owners against some innocent web-users, or internet connection owners who are unknowingly letting others infringe via their unprotected WiFi connection. And, of course, the new laws are sure to send hardcore file-sharers deeper into the hidden internet, using networks and software that hide file-sharing activity. But if challenges and concerns raised by ISPs and consumer groups over here do not prove to be insurmountable or justified in France, there will be a much stronger case for a three-strike system over here.

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EX-COLDPLAY MANAGER DISCUSSES MENTAL HEALTH WORK
Former Coldplay manager, now the band's "mysterious" fifth member and creative director, Phil Harvey has discussed the breakdown which caused him to stand down from his management role, and his subsequent work with music-based mental health charity Upbeat, with PsychMinded.co.uk.

A school friend of Chris Martin, Harvey dropped out of Oxford University to manage the band and by 2001 was single-handedly working 16 hours a day to promote them. Although the hard work was paying off, as Coldplay picked up Brit Awards for Best British Band and Best British Album that year, it had taken its toll on their manager. His mental health had slipped so low that his GP reportedly feared he might slip into a coma. Which doesn't quite sound believable, but there you go.

Harvey told the website: "I remember this all as being an isolating experience. I normally think of myself as, literally, an upbeat kind of person - it was all quite a shock. Regardless of how the world might perceive it [a mental health problem] can strike any person".

Taking time off from the band, who moved to Propaganda Management and then, in 2006, 3-D Management, Harvey spent the next months recovering and afterwards began studying Psychology, with a long term goal to become a Clinical Psychologist. During his training he began working with Upbeat on a voluntary basis.

The charity provides musicians suffering from mental health issues with recording equipment, workshops, lessons and help with promotion, recordings and performing. He also donated £40,000 of his own money to it and convinced the members of Coldplay to become patrons of the charity. "The other members of the band were very happy to support something I was so enthusiastic about", he said.

For more information on Upbeat, go to www.upbeatmusic.org

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CHUCK D ON THE GIRLS AGAIN
Chuck D has been again talking about supporting women in hip hop, in particular all-female groups, which is nice. The former Public Enemy star is, as previously reported, promoting girl trio Crew Grrl Order via his SLAMjamz label, so he's a little biased on this issue, but it's still nice. I like Chuck D.

The veteran hip-hopper told Metro: "I come from a time when you had groups in the US and the UK who knew that to cut through the testosterone you had to team up. That I really respect. Ever since that period in the 1980s it seems like not only have women been reduced to individuals but they are dictated to about how to go about the game of hip hop. That chased a lot of women away. But I feel new female groups could be a revolution."

Chuck D added that "hip-hop is full of infantile 35-year-olds" and the genre "cannot afford to be lazy".

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BOY GEORGE HAPPY TO BE OUT OF KLINK SHOCKER
Boy George is really happy to be out of prison, which is probably not altogether surprising. He adds that it all went 'fine' on the inside, despite reports which claimed that he had been the subject of taunts and harassment from other inmates.

As previously reported, the singer, real name George O'Dowd, was sentenced to fifteen months in jail after being convicted of assault on and the false imprisonment of Norwegian male escort Auden Carlsen, but has served just four months of that sentence.

George says: "It's great to be out. It's a bit daunting, but it's nice. It went fine".

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TI SORRY ABOUT GUNS AND VIOLENCE
Rapper TI, aka Clifford Harris, has spoken about his dodgy past whilst hosting an anti-gun rally in Harlem alongside Al Sharpton and Kevin Liles.

The rapper is quoted as saying: "I owe us an apology. The same violence and gun activity that I'm attempting to stop, I once was a part of it and played a huge part in promoting [it]. A lot of people did it as a fashion statement. For me, it was more so a way of life. It was the lifestyle I was raised in. I carried guns and sold dope as a 13, 14, and 15 year old. All the experiences I gathered in that time [are] exactly the tools I need to get out here and reach the people that are doing what I used to do".

He continued: "These kids know I lived the life they're now living. I've seen the outcome of their mistakes. I've caught cases, I've been to jail, and had attempts on my life. I'm standing [and] I've learned from it...I have the experience of living this life of crime, I know where they're headed and I can tell them. And they'll listen to me because they'll know it's the truth. Anybody who thinks I'm talking just to hear myself talk, google Clifford Harris. My record is public record," he declared. "Now that I'm T.I. there's nothing I can do to hide my past. But I'm not ashamed of my past, I embrace my past. The same thing you may frown upon, it's the same thing that will make me proud when I'm able to turn your son, your daughter, nieces, and nephew's life around".

Speaking about the impact of the death of his friend Philant Johnson, shot dead back in 2006, TI went on: "I was so hurt at the loss of his life, that I didn't even take knowledge of the fact that I still had mine. I had to deliver the news to a hurt mom that 'your son left with me, but because of me he ain't coming back.' A lot of times when we shoot guns, we only understand what is going on between the person that has the gun and person that's being shot at. We don't understand the pain that goes on with mothers, father, sisters, and brothers. There are household being destroyed. You're not just killing a man, you're killing a family. But just like we can destroy, we can rebuild. That's what I'm here to do".

The rap star is still to serve a year and a day in prison following a conviction over weapons charges, and will report to jail this month.

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SONY SUE EMI
Sony Music are suing EMI Music, which is fun. The legal dispute is over Ron Werre, EMI's recently promoted Co-Chief Operating Officer.

Werre, possibly most notable for the fact Word insists on auto-correcting his name to 'were' whenever I type it, was and still is head of EMI's busily growing Music Services division. Sony say that Werre's previous contract with EMI was due to run out in 2010, and they already had a deal done to headhunt the exec once he was free of his commitment to their rival. They were seemingly so certain they'd be getting Werre next year, they'd already fired the guy doing the job he'll take over, which seems a little premature, but whatever.

Anyway, it seems Werre's promotion at EMI, so he becomes COO as well as Music Services chief, locks him into more years with the London-based major, stopping him from going to Sony, which has pissed them off. Sony say they now think Werre only agreed to his contract with them so to bully a better financial package out of EMI. Legal action has now begun, against both EMI and Were, though quite why EMI should be held liable for any cheeky wheeling and dealing done by their COO in a personal capacity I'm not sure, but whatever.

EMI are yet to comment.

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PETE BURNS ARRESTED AFTER BOYFRIEND SQUABBLE
Pete Burns was seen being bundled into a police van in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Some say officers were called after Burns and his civil partner Michael Simpson started scrapping in the street. Others say Burns had a run in with a persistent fan. We're not sure which, if either, is true.

But we assume this means that Burns, who was in hospital after suffering a kidney failure the last time we reported on him, is feeling a bit better of late.

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DEPECHE MODE'S GAHAN HOSPITALISED IN GREECE
According to reports, a Depeche Mode concert scheduled to take place in Athens yesterday was cancelled after frontman David Gahan was admitted to hospital shortly before the gig was due to take place, and was apparently suspected to be suffering from gastroenteritis.

A spokesman announced to the audience: "Dave is not well, we have had a doctor in to see him backstage and unfortunately the advice from the doctor is that Dave cannot perform. He is on his way to the hospital now for a check-up. I apologise on behalf of Dave and Depeche Mode - Dave really wanted to be well enough to perform. I am very sorry there is nothing we can do - he is genuinely ill. He asked me to pass on my apologies to you all".

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JIGSAW'S CLIVE SCOTT DIES
Clive Scott, songwriter, producer, and former member of the band Jigsaw, has died in hospital at the age of 64. Scott suffered from a stroke following brain surgery to correct injuries sustained when he fell from a ladder at the end of last month.

Jigsaw formed in 1966, and keyboardist Scott was the co-composer with singer Des Dyer of most of the band's recordings. Their heyday came in the mid seventies, when their 1975 single 'Sky High' became one of the biggest selling English language records in Japan of all time. The group split up in 1981, and Scott went to writing songs and producing for other artists, working predominantly with Ian Levine on tracks for the likes of Blue, Nicki French and Boyzone.

Levine has paid tribute via his MySpace page, saying: "It is with a painfully heavy heart, and with the deepest of sadness burdening my soul, that I have to tell you all that my wonderful and brilliant and irreplaceable songwriting partner of the last sixteen years, Clive Scott, passed away last night... The world will never be the same".

Scott is survived by a wife and one son.

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EMINEM SIGNS TO UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING
Eminem has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing beginning with his upcoming new album 'Relapse'. Universal Publishing already has an administration deal over some of Slim Shady's earlier catalogue and, of course, the major's recordings division release his records via their Interscope/Aftermath/Shady Records imprint.

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MEW ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM
Hurrah! CMU favourites Mew have announced that they will release their fifth album, 'No More Stories', on 18 Aug. The album is the follow-up to 2005's 'And The Glass Handed Kites' and is the band's first since the departure of bassist John Wohlert. The first single from the album, 'Repeater Beater', is set for release on 1 Jun.

The band were also recently confirmed as support on the European leg of Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction's world tour.

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ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE
Italo disco pioneer Alexander Robotnick has announced a new single release, 'Obsession For The Disco Freak', a tribute to the original DJs, producers and fans of that genre, which will be released via This Is Music on 18 May. The single is backed with remixes from David Caretta, Rory Philips, HeavyFeet and Andy Blake.

You can watch the video for the track, which features a few familiar faces from the Italo disco scene, here.

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SHONEN KNIFE RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN OZ
Shonen Knife are to release their latest album 'Supergroup' in Australia shortly, and plan to tour the country to promote it. The LP, the band's fifteenth, was released in their native Japan last year. And, er, that's all the news, really.

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NEWISLANDS ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Recent SNAP Of The Day and one of CMU's favourite new bands of the moment, NewIslands have announced a UK tour, starting this Friday.

Tour Dates:

16 May: London, Mat Horne Sessions @ Queen of Hoxton
19 May: London, Proud Galleries
24 May: Northampton, Picturedrome
28 May: London, The Lexington
1 Jun: London, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
3 Jun: Reading, BBC Introducing live @ Oakford Social Club
4 Jun: London, The Windmill
5 Jun: Chelmsford, Club NME @ Barhouse
27 Jun: Exeter, Cavern Club
30 Jun: Cardiff, 10 Ft Tall
2 Jul: Bristol, Start The Bus
3 Jul: Kettering, Sawyers
5 Jul: Coventry, Inspire
16 Jul: Northampton, Roadmender
20 Jul: London, Exposé @ The Old Blue Last
9 Oct: Winchester, The Railway

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LATITUDE FESTIVAL, Southwold, Suffolk, 16 - 19 Jul: Patrick Wolf is among the latest acts to be confirmed for this year's Latitude, as well as The Airborne Toxic Event, Lisa Hannigan, Amazing Baby and Wild beasts. Chairlift and The Mummers have also been announced and are set to play the Uncut Arena along with White Belt Yellow Tag and The Invisible. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

SUMMER SUNDAE WEEKENDER, De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicestershire, 14 - 16 Aug: Easy Star All Stars, Idlewild, Jenny Lewis, The Airborne Toxic Event, Mr Hudson and the New Beautiful South have all been confirmed for the Leicestershire event this summer. Filthy Dukes, Flashguns, Emmy The Great, Devon Sproule and Kid British have also been added to the line up, along with The Cheek, The Dykeenies, Monotonix, Jeremy Warmsley and Beth Jeans Houghton. www.summersundae.com

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MORE NAMES ADDED TO CMU INSIGHTS BRIGHTON
The full line up has now been confirmed for the first ever edition of CMU Insights, which will take place at The Great Escape in Brighton on Friday at midday.

CMU Co-Editor Chris Cooke will conduct insightful one-to-one interviews with four leading music industry practitioners. Already confirmed were 7pm management and publishing boss Seven Webster and legendary producer John Leckie. Added to that line up today are former label and artist manager, and now Beijing-based music consultant and journalist Ed Peto, a leading expert on the Chinese music industry, and artist and producer manager and Urban Music Seminar founder Kwame Kwaten.

These insightful in-conversation events take place between midday and 3pm on Friday, 15 May, in the Thistle Hotel atrium. If you're in Brighton, make sure to drop by.

And don't forget the CMU 'Music Business in 2009: An Inside Guide' event taking place in the Great Escape's Artist Village tomorrow (14 May) at midday, nor that both the 'Inside Guide' and 'Insights' will also take place at Liverpool SoundCity on Friday 22 May. Hurrah!

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ALBUM REVIEW: Kap Bambino - Blacklist (Because)
Kap Bambino are a hip French duo (Orion Bouvier on electronics, Caroline Martial on, er, shouting) who sound exactly as their name suggests - feisty, deliriously unhinged, yet slightly cute (though cute in the same way as a tiger about to maul you to death). Packed with uncompromising synths, tinny drum machine beats and hellishly intense vocals, Kap Bambino assault your senses with their pure energy alone... sounding like the schizophrenic offspring of Miss Kittin and Helen Love in a 100mph motorway pile up with Sheep On Drugs, Alec Empire, early Bis, some gabba ravers on crack and a truckload of Giorgio Moroder's knackered old synths. Thankfully there's enough melodic suss at hand to elevate the angry, turbo-charged DIY electro punk into the realms of pop - it's more hyperactive neon than white noise, really. There's barely a track over two minutes in length, and whilst some are less frenetic than others (and tracks like 'Batcaves' are ultimately more electroclash than punk), we're not exactly in chill-out mode anywhere. Very entertaining then, but unless their sounds develops it may not be enough to sustain a career. Though such a comment may well be of no concern to the duo - you suspect that being called a fad would be taken as a great compliment. MS
Release Date: 18 May
Press Contact: Bang On [O]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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TICKETMASTER PROFITS DOWN DOWN DOWN
Ticketmaster profits for the first quarter were down 78%, which is rather a lot, though I think we were expecting that. First quarter financials were released on Tuesday, with the slump blamed in part of the loss of Live Nation's ticketing business, which the mega concert promoter took in house at the start of the year. Ironically, of course, Ticketmaster is now trying to merge with Live Nation, and costs relating to the merger also hit the ticketing giant's profits.

The much previously reported merger still needs regulator approval in the US and probably in Europe too. Some say that the merger will give the combined Ticketmaster/Live Nation too big a hold over the live music sector. Though given the impact the loss of Live Nation as a client has clearly had on Ticketmaster, you can see why they want the merger to go ahead. It's also worth noting that the only bits of the ticketing company to see revenues rise are those that aren't involved in ticketing, so any deal which sees the company further diversify is obviously attractive. To shareholders if not competitors.

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OFCOM MAKES ITS OWN LOCAL RADIO PROPOSALS
Media regulator OfCom says it supports a radical overhaul of the way commercial radio is regulated, in its submission to Communications Minister Stephen Carter's much previously reported Digital Britain report.

As much previously reported, the local radio sector has been calling for a reduction in the obligations put on stations by their licenses, especially regarding the amount of content generated locally. A recent report by former commercial radio exec John Myers proposed replacing the current box-ticking localness test with a "local impact test", where stations would be required to be seen to be providing local services by listeners, rather than being obligated to base staff locally or provide certain minimum hours of local content each week.

OfCom think Myers' test would be too hard to manage because of "its lack of legal robustness and regulatory". But they have proposed their own alternatives for new less restrictive localness rules, including removing all local programming restrictions from smaller stations aside from news and information provision, or the creation of a measurable 'localness charter', or the expansion of local listening areas, allowing companies with a number of small stations operating in neighbouring localities to syndicate more programming.

The commercial radio sector is yet to respond to OfCom's proposals.

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UKRD IS NOW MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER IN TLRC
Talking of owners of smaller local radio stations, one of those companies, UKRD, has successfully got itself a controlling share in another, The Local Radio Company.

As previously reported, UKRD has been trying to buy its rival for weeks, but faces competition from TLRC's previous largest shareholder Hallwood, who keep offering a higher per-share price everytime UKRD make a bid. Nevertheless, UKRD now has commitments in place from other smaller shareholders that would give it 50.09 per cent of the company. It is now offering 4p per share to get the rest of the firm, Hallwood is offering 5p.

It remains to be seen if UKRD can successfully force Hallwood out of the company altogether. Presumably if they do they'll instigate a full merger of the two radio firms.

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MTV2/MYSPACE CHART
It's the MTV2/MySpace chart, based on votes by MTV2 viewers on MySpace. The top ten this week is as follows...

1. [NE] The Blackout - Children Of The Night
2. [NE] Enter Shikari - Juggernauts
3. [1] Placebo - For What It's Worth
4. [3] Baddies - Holler For My Holiday
5. [NE] Everything Everything - Photoshop Handsome
6. [4] Maximo Park - The Kids Are Sick Again
7. [NE] Little Boots - New In Town
8. [5] The Maccabees - Love You Better
9. [9] You Me At Six - Finders Keepers
10. [8] Magistrates - Heartbreak

Meanwhile, added to the list for viewer voting this week are...

La Roux - Bulletproof
N.A.S.A ft Kanye West & Santigold & Lykke Li - Gifted
Papa Roach - Lifeline
The Chapman Family - The Kids Are Not Alright
The Joy Formidable - Whirring

More at www.myspace.com/mtvtwo

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IF NOEL GOES SOLO, OASIS WOULD END, SAYS LIAM
Liam Gallagher has said that he wouldn't want to stay in a band where everyone was off having solo careers as well. Which basically means, given Noel Gallagher's recent talk of one day putting out a solo album, that Liam is claiming that he would walk if his brother actually did that. If you see what I mean.

Asked if he had his own solo plans, Liam said: "I could do that, but I don't want to do that. I'm in Oasis, you know what I mean. If everyone starts going off doing solo records then you might as well just fucking split the band up. I'm not about that. I don't need to be told that I'm the greatest, 'Look at me, I do everything'. That's for small people. I'm part of a band and that's the way it is. If everyone's going to go off doing solo records then there's no Oasis. Someone's gotta be here keeping it together".

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RIHANNA PENS SPLIT SONG
Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna; this writing songs about your ex thing is really getting popular. Surely not since the days of Eamon vs Frankee have we seen such a proliferation of break-up songs. Perhaps it's because pop stars are getting younger, or something.

Anyway, Rihanna probably has more reason than most to vent spleen in a single, and has reportedly written a track about her split from Chris Brown (who allegedly beat her up, of course) called 'Silly Boy', which features vocals from Lady Gaga and has been uploaded to t'th'internet by one Kanye West.

The lyrics apparently go like this: "I said I'm not coming back. You fooled me once but you can't have that ego turning. Just too bad for you, that when you had me. Didn't know what to do, she's over you. Cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl. That's a keeper. You had a good girl, good girl but didn't know how to treat her. So silly boy get out my face. Why do you like the way regrets taste?"

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