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Mazaika In Cabaret at The Bongo Club on 12 Aug
It's rare to see a two-person band fill a room quite like Mazaika. In little under an hour, they took the small but appreciative audience on a dizzying musical world tour, beginning with Russian folk music and taking in tango, jazz, gypsy and even Italian opera along the way. Igor Outkine's versatile work on the electric accordion was impressive, but Sarah Harrison's fiendishly quick work on the violin provided the real highlights of the evening; the finale of 'Lark', where her violin seemed to burst into birdsong and be on the verge of taking flight, was exquisite. To listen to Mazaika is to hear a triumphant celebration of world music, played with wit, passion and virtuoso skill.
tw rating: 4/5
reviewer: Tim Leach

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Soweto Gospel Choir at Assembly @ Assembly Hall - daily until 31 Aug
From South Africa, the Soweto Gospel Choir is well-established on the international circuit and for good reason. Their music celebrates African Gospel music in a truly inspirational way, magically combining the earthy sounds of their percussion and the wondrous harmony of their a cappella voices. As spiritually bereft as I am, I was left awestruck by the choir's majestic and moving performance, such is its universal appeal. I have never experienced any other concert that can hold you at the verge of tears only to uplift you in witnessing the infectious euphoria on stage, in the space of one hour. You have to see this choir live to properly appreciate their appeal; there is no equal to their passion and power.
tw rating: 5/5
reviewer: Daniel Bjelis

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Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers at The Jamhouse on 2 Aug
At midnight on the night of a full moon, so I've heard, a musician can meet the Devil at a crossroads and strike a Faustian bargain for inhuman musical skill. Should this legend be true, then I fear for Dwayne Dopsie's immortal soul. His infernal skill on the accordion was at the centre of this storming blues gig, and with his slick showmanship and the band's superb ensemble numbers, the show couldn't be faulted. They were let down by both the venue, which was all seated, and an audience that seemed sedated - I felt ditching the seats would have helped energise the lukewarm crowd. But in the face of these obstacles, the band played a triumphant set, led by Dopsie's earthy vocals and truly fiendish accordion playing. Someone better call a priest.
tw rating: 4/5
reviewer: Tim Leach

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LEYLINE PUBLICITY
Innovative ideas + meticulous planning + meeting deadlines & budget = a Leyline Publicity campaign

Established in 2001, Leyline lists a catalogue of successful PR and marketing campaigns spanning almost ten years on behalf of record labels (major and independent), festivals, radio stations, major club nights, venues and artists. As a small but highly skilled company, Leyline Publicity deliver challenging and intelligent PR campaigns across a variety of platforms including; Regional and national press, online and viral marketing, blog engagement and online video placement. In addition, drawing upon years of experience working within the live sector as one of the capitals leading independent promoters, Leyline offers much more than other traditional music PR company's can in terms of facilitating live placements for album launches, tours and festivals including an in depth knowledge of live marketing, promotions and production.

Clients including Xfm, Red Bull, EA Games, Standon Calling, The Holloways, Bent, Hervé, My Toys Like Me, The Glade Festival, Sony Ericsson have chosen Leyline because of our reputation for innovative ideas, meticulous planning and ability to deliver on time and in budget! If you have any PR, marketing or promotional requirements in the near future, please do not hesitate to contact us! Email adrian@leylinepromotions.com or call 020 7575 3285

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DESK SPACE TO RENT IN SHOREDITCH
A bright Shoreditch third floor 4 desk unit, ideal for a start-up. You'll be sharing with 4 other small media enterprises (film, publishing, PR and design). The space comes with four desks, chairs and shelving units and is ready for you to move in today. Office has internet, wifi and is fully air-conditioned. In a very desirable location 5 minutes from Liverpool Street station and 10 minutes from Old Street station. Rent is £250 per desk, per month, including rates and service charge. Please contact  rachel@devenportpr.com

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FILM PRODUCTION STUDIO TO RENT IN SHOREDITCH
A fully equipped film production studio in the heart of Shoreditch. An ideal temporary studio to meet all your freelance and overspill needs, with access to 2 cameras (Z1E and HC1E) with 2 sound kits, an HD edit suite with FCP Studio 2, HD deck, HD monitor and sound station. Full specs available on request. Includes a working space for up to four people. The space with production and post-production equipment is £200 per day, minimum hire of three days; 7 days is charged at 5 days. Discounts available for hire of 4 weeks plus. Please contact jobeda@fairknowledge.co.uk or 07809601366.

ELLIE GREENWICH DIES
Songwriter Ellie Greenwich has died aged 68 from a heart attack, following a bout of pneumonia, her niece told reporters yesterday.

Born in Brooklyn in 1940, Greenwich, with her husband Jeff Barry, became known as one of the most successful pop songwriters of the 60s, working out of the Brill Building in Manhattan, which also provided working space for other songwriters, including Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Hal David and Phil Spector.

Amongst a string of hits, she and Barry penned songs such as 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Then He Kissed Me' for The Crystals, 'Chapel Of Love' for The Ronettes (written with Phil Spector), 'Doo Wah Diddy Diddy' for Manfred Mann, and 'River Deep, Mountain High' for Ike & Tina Turner. One of the couple's most famous songs was 'Leader Of The Pack, a collaboration with producer Gordon 'Shadow' Morton, which was a hit for The Shangri-Las in 1965. The couple were inducted into the US Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1991.

Greenwich had begun writing songs as a teenager, and her first commercially released work was 'Silly Isn't It' in 1958, which she performed herself under the name Ellie Gaye for RCA. She released her first solo album, 'Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces And Sings' ten years later, as an early project for Pineywood Music, the writing and production company she set up with Mike Kashkow in 1967, following her divorce from Barry. She also provided backing vocals for artists such as Dusty Springfield, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra in the 60s and 70s and continued to produce other artists, including Neil Diamond.

In 1984, many of her 60s songs were given a new lease of life by the musical 'Leader Of The Pack', written by Anne Beatts, with a story based on Greenwich's life.It transferred to Broadway's Ambassador Theater in 1985 and ran for 120 performances.

Greenwich is survived by a sister.

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FALL OUT BOY MAN ARRESTED
Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump was arrested in LA on Tuesday night for driving without a licence. He was released on $15,000 bail on Wednesday.

The arrest is not expected to affect that band's appearance at this weekend's Reading and Leeds festivals.

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CYRUS STALKER "A DANGER", SAYS JUDGE
A man accused of stalking pop star Miley Cyrus has had a request to lower his bail bond refused at a court hearing in Georgia.

As previously reported, Mark McLeod, who is 53, was arrested after trying to get onto a film set in Savannah, Georgia, where Cyrus is filming a new movie for Disney, called 'The Last Song'. McLeod was previously arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction after trying to gain access to the same set in June.

He told police that he met the singer 18 months ago, and that she then accepted a proposal of marriage from him. He added that her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, approves of the relationship and that she sends him "secret messages" via her TV show.

McLeod is currently in prison awaiting trial, as he is unable to pay the $55,200 bail bond set at an earlier hearing. Judge Steven Scheer refused a request to reduce the bond at Tybee Island Municipal Court on Tuesday, saying: "I can't deny him bond, but if I could I would, because I do feel he's a danger".

Outside the court, his lawyer James Byrne said: "He's not a danger. He's been painted as this monster, but he's got a family. What he said I understand was unsettling to a lot of folks. But it doesn't make him a stalker".

The case will now be heard at the Chatham County State Court in Savannah at a later date.

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HOWIE GOODMAN DIES
Prominent US music promotions man Howard 'Howie' Goodman died earlier this month after losing his battle with cancer, Billboard has confirmed. He as 59.

Goodman first started dabbling in the music industry while studying at the University Of Memphis in the early seventies, where he worked at two clubs. Using the connections he built there, he set himself up as an independent record promoter, subsequently launching his company Good Choice Promotion. He continued with his promotions work within the record industry at the same time as setting up a restaurant business.

Paying tribute to Goodman, Sony Music's Senior VP of A&R told Billboard: "Howie Goodman promoted music with such great energy. When he got hold of a good song he never let go".

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BEYONCE NAMED WOMAN OF THE YEAR BY BILLBOARD
Beyonce has been named Billboard's Woman Of The Year for "inspiring the music business with her success".

The magazine's editorial director, Bill Werde said: "Beyonce is a multi-platinum artist and a multi-talented woman who clearly embodies the qualities of excellence and achievement the award was created to honour. She has inspired women everywhere with her unique style and business savvy".

She will collect the award at a ceremony in New York on 2 Oct.

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SLIPKNOT NOT SPLITTING, DRUMMER NOT DEAD
Slipknot have cancelled all remaining US tour dates in August and September. This follows the previously reported cancellation of shows last weekend after drummer Joey Jordison was admitted to hospital due to a "severe medical emergency".

Although a statement on the website of the band's label, Roadrunner, says that the cancellations are "due to illness", it is not entirely clear if this relates to Jordinson's condition, or if it is in fact the whole story. Nonetheless, the band have assured fans that they will still complete their October tour, with frontman Corey Taylor urging fans to hold onto tickets for the cancelled shows in Seattle and Kennewick "because we are coming back to do this".

Of course, there's nothing like a tour cancellation to spark rumours that a band are about to split up (except perhaps a greatest hits package, or an official statement insisting a band isn't splitting). So bassist Paul Gray has taken to his MySpace blog to deny any such rumours, as well as any wilder rumours that Jordinson has died, but he did hint that there might be some other "personal issues" that were to blame for the cancellation.

He said: "We are very sorry we had to cancel this leg of the tour. As you know touring is our life. Getting in front of you guys and playing keeps this band alive, so it hurts us and much as you that we had to do this. There are personal issues in the band that need to be taken care of for us to continue touring. Let me emphasize Joey is not dead/dying, he is fine. We have been working hard for the last year and a half on the 'All Hope Is Gone' touring cycle and it catches up to you".

He added: "We are not cancelling our October tour, the band is not breaking up, we are all alive. I am setting the record straight, if you don't hear it from one of us in this band then it is bullshit. We are human and shit happens and that's how life goes but we are making the best of it right now as should you".

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MADONNA ANNOUNCES GREATEST HITS TRACKLIST
Madonna has announced the tracklist for her forthcoming greatest hits compilation, 'Celebration'. Amongst the likes of 'Like A Virgin', Like A Prayer', 'La Isla Bonita', 'Hung Up' and her 1982 debut single, 'Everybody', is a new track featuring Lil Wayne called 'Revolver'. News of the greatest hits package has prompted rumours that Madonna is about to split up. Expect the official statement denying it any day, then we know it's true.

Here's that tracklist:

CD 1:
Hung Up
Music
Vogue
4 Minutes
Holiday
Everybody
Like A Virgin
Into The Groove
Like A Prayer
Ray Of Light
Sorry
Express Yourself
Open Your Heart
Borderline
Secret
Erotica
Justify My Love
Revolver

CD 2:
Dress You Up
Material Girl
La Isla Bonita
Papa Don't Preach
Lucky Star
Burning Up
Crazy For You
Who's That Girl
Frozen
Miles Away
Take A Bow
Live To Tell
Beautiful Stranger
Hollywood
Die Another Day
Don't Tell Me
Cherish
Celebration

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RIVAL SCHOOLS ANNOUNCE SECOND ALBUM
Post-hardcore band Rival School will release their second album next year, almost a decade after the release of their 2001 debut, 'United By Fate'. This will be their second attempt at a follow-up to that debut; they began recording one in 2002 but split before it was released (it later appeared in unfinished form on the internet).

The band reformed last year and have recorded a new album, produced by guitarist Ian Love and Grammy-nominated producer Joel Hamilton, the latter of whom is now mixing the tracks for the as-yet-untitled album, which is due for release early next year.

You can catch the band live at this weekend's Reading and Leeds festivals, and tonight at The Forum in London, supporting Deftones.

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SPEECH DEBELLE ANNOUNCES UK TOUR
Mercury nominee Speech Debelle has announced her first full UK tour, which will wend its way around the UK and Ireland in September and October.

She will also release a new single, 'Spinnin' on 14 Sep, via Ninja Tune. You can watch the video for that here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Bd8d8DSDo

Tour dates:

25 Sep: Bristol, Colston Hall (supporting Roni Size)
26 Sep: Sheffield, Plug
27 Sep: Manchester, Night & Day
28 Sep: Leeds, University
1 Oct: Glasgow, Arches
2 Oct: Belfast, Stiff Kitten
3 Oct: Dublin, Academy 2
4 Oct: Liverpool, Masque
5 Oct: Morecambe, Library
7 Oct: London, The Scala
8 Oct: Brighton, Coalition

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GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Gay For Johnny Depp have announced UK tour dates in November and December, which is very good news indeed. Let's all just stop for a moment to celebrate. No, don't read on yet, a moment longer please. Okay, now let's carry on. Support will come from fellow hardcore types Outcry Collective and Blakfish.

Tour dates:

13 Nov: Plymouth, White Rabbit
14 Nov: Bristol, Louisiana
15 Nov: Southampton, Talking Heads
16 Nov: Birmingham, Flapper
17 Nov: Nottingham, Seven
18 Nov: Brighton, Engine Rooms
20 Nov: Oxford, Bullingdon Arms
21 Nov: High Wycombe, Nag's Head
22 Nov: Southend, Chinnerys
23 Nov: Bournemouth, iBar
24 Nov: Derby, Royal
25 Nov: Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
26 Nov: Manchester, Satan's Hollow
27 Nov: Luton, Sub Club
28 Nov: Sheffield, Leadmill
29 Nov: York, Fibbers
30 Nov: Newcastle, Cluny
1 Dec: Leeds, Cockpit
2 Dec: Cardiff, Barfly
3 Dec: Exeter, Cavern
4 Dec: London, Borderline

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PETER BRODERICK LIVE DATES AND ALBUM REISSUE
Folk musician and member of Efterklang's live band Peter Broderick, who, if you didn't already know, is some kind of genius and an amazing live performer, has announced some live dates. Yay! He's also going to be reissuing his solo album 'Home' via Bella Union in a limited edition double disc style. Yay again!

Tour dates:

4 Sep: Electric Picnic
8 Sep: Brighton, Audio
9 Sep: Manchester, Academy 3
10 Sep: London, Bush Hall (Bella Union 12th anniversary show)
12 Sep: End Of The Road
13 Sep: Cardiff, The Globe

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GLASTONBURY NOT BANNING FLAGS
So, there's been much debate over this whole flag-banning at festivals thing in the last 24 hours, with many agreeing with it and many saying that banning things like flags is not in the spirit of festivals. But then, you could argue that having an arena which is closed to the public between 11pm and 11am isn't really in the spirit of festivals either, and Reading and Leeds still do that. Being able to actually see bands play is quite a festival-y thing too.

But anyway, it's good news for lovers of flags today, as it looks like they're there to stay at Glastonbury. Emily Eavis said via Twitter that the festival would not ban flags next year, and a spokesperson confirmed this to the NME. As previously reported, Festivals Republic boss Melvin Benn, who has banned flags at Reading and Leeds, is Operations Director at Glasto and admitted he was trying to persuade the Eavis clan to do the same there.

It is fairly difficult to see how they would stop people waving flags around at Glastonbury, not having a Reading and Leeds-style sealed arena. Unless they set fire to them using flame throwers on the front of the main stage, which, if you ask me, would only add to the festival experience. Emily, if you're reading this, that's something I'd seriously consider.

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BEACHDOWN CANCELLED
Beachdown Festival, which was due to take place this weekend, has been cancelled due to slow ticket sales and a lack of financial support, according to a statement posted on the event's website.

Organisers said: "It is with immense personal regret that the directors of Beachdown Festival have been advised that they must announce that due to slower than forecast ticket sales and lack of support at a critical time from our bank and certain suppliers that despite being so so close to being able to deliver Beachdown Festival we are unable to do so. Very simply we were unable to meet the demands that the current economic climate put against us and at the eleventh hour despite having most of the infrastructure in place we have been forced to cancel the event".

As ever, there are options for people who had already bought tickets for the festival. Offset Festival's organisers have stepped in and offered a ticket exchange to get into their event on 5-6 Sep for an extra £35. More details on that here.

Brighton's Concorde 2 venue is also planning to move the line-up of the stage it was due to host at Beachdown over to the venue itself. Further details on that are due to be announce shortly, here.

And finally, if you're more keen on just have a good old sing-song, karaoke company Lucky Voice are offering a free hour in their Brighton venue to Beachdown ticket-holders until 1am on Sunday. For more details on how to book that, go here.

Refunds should be sought from the point of sale, further information will be made available via www.beachdownfestival.com

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ALBUM REVIEW: Squarepusher - Solo Electric Bass 1 (Warp)
Squarepusher, aka Tom Jenkinson, is of course known mainly for his brain melting jazz-influenced drum n bass (or possibly drum n bass-influenced jazz), but he is also known as something of a bass guitar virtuoso. This live album, recorded at the Cité de la Musique in Paris in September 2007, collects some of his work in that field on record for the first time - as the album's title would suggest. So, with nothing more than a bass guitar and an amp, Jenkinson spends 40 minutes creating sounds that frankly aren't human, but at the same time have a warmth and accessibility often lacking on things like this. It's not all blistering slap bass, either (although there is a lot of that). He keeps the volume and texture varied to stop the listener from drifting into a trance induced by continuous thwapping sounds. One of the highlights of the album is a reworking of Jimi Hendrix's 'Castles Made Of Sand', here listed as 'SEB 8', on which he spends five minutes drifting in and out of recognisable riffs. This release is a strictly limited edition affair, so if you have any interest in hearing those distinctive Squarepusher bass lines stripped of the harsh electronics, or are a lover of impressive bass playing, you should snap this up fast. AHM
Release Date: 17 Aug
Press Contact: Warp IH [NP], Bang On [O]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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WORLD'S FAIR IS NO MORE
US-based label services company World's Fair, which provided independent labels and artists with press, promotions, sales, design and finance services, has folded. The company's CEO Kevin Wortis has confirmed the company is no more to Billboard.

The company's demise is seemingly quite sudden, which the World's Fair press team sending out a press release on behalf of rapper Lyrics Born as recently as Tuesday. The firm had 12 full time staff and worked with labels like Daptone, Nat Geo Music, and Quannum, and artists including Dizzee Rascal and British Sea Power.

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NEW COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR AT DIGITAL STORES
Digital Stores, who run recordstore.co.uk and power a load of other download and merchandise stores, have announced that Simon Coates has been promoted to the new position of Commercial Director. Coates, who joined Digital Stores from HMV in 2005, was previously Product Director for the etail firm.

Coates told CMU: "This is a great opportunity for me. The new commercial director role means I can really spread my wings at Digital Stores and fully explore all new revenue streams and e-commerce development areas. I've been working in online retail for over ten years now and it amazes me that there's still so much we can do. What we have now is just the start and I'm going to make sure we're right at the front of all innovation and development".

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RECORD COLLECTOR TO PARTNER ON SECRET RE-ISSUES
Record Collector magazine has teamed up with independent label Secret Records to reissue "classic lost albums" originally released in the sixties by a label called Morgan Blue Town.

Described in Music Week by Secret Records' Mike Mastrangelo as "a classic old British psychedelic label whose records command vast sums of money", Morgan Blue Town was set up by Monty Babson and Barry Morgan and released a number of singles and albums which, despite having little commercial success at the time, have since developed a cult following.

Among the acts released by the label were The Academy, The Smoke, Red Dirt and Cliff Wade, though the first re-issue will be a limited edition release of 'Pussy Plays' by Pussy, released on 180 gram vinyl and available exclusively to Record Collector readers.

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SONY'S WEBSITES TENTH MUSIC DESTINATION
Sony Music's network of websites has been rated as the tenth most popular music destination online.

I'm not 100% sure which of Sony's websites this statement includes, they all seem pretty rubbish to me, and I never go to the UK ones because I have a rule of not visiting websites where music plays without user permission. And these stats are for June, so it's possible the major's web traffic received what I believe is known in the trade as a 'Jacko boost', the late king of pop being famously signed to Sony's Epic label. But still, well done Sony for drawing 20 million unique users to their online operation in June, and scoring a total of 33 million visits (according to the comScore Media Metrix).

The majors, of course, have long had ambitions to have direct relationships with music fans through their own web portals rather than via other music sites, or management-controlled artist sites, which is why it's a shame most of their websites are rubbish.

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JACKSON REALITY SHOW ANNOUNCED
What better way to mourn the loss of a loved one than by appearing in a reality TV, that's what I always say. The remaining members of the Jackson Five - Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson - are to do just that, with a documentary filmed for US network A&E prior to their brother's death now being expanded to a series.

The original documentary, which has not yet aired in full, followed the group as they prepared to reunite for a new tour. Footage from it was aired on CBS show 'Entertainment Tonight' on Tuesday. However, a spokesperson for A&E has said that these clips had been leaked and shown without their consent.

Full details of what the series will cover are not clear, though when the original film was announced in May, it promised "unprecedented access" to the Jackson family. It has not yet been announced when the show will air, either.

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KRS-ONE FOUNDS RELIGION
Legendary rapper KRS-One has founded his own religion based on hip hop. He's even gone so far as to write a 600 page holy text for it, called 'The Gospel Of Hip Hop: The First Instrument'. Which, if nothing else, is dedicated.

KRS-One told AllHipHop: "It explores the spirituality of hip hop, the divinity of hip hop. I'm suggesting that in 100 years, this book will be a new religion on the earth. Now you talk about controversy, there's some Christian ministries if you go online, look up some ministers, they dissing right now. 'Who the hell does he think he is?' Well, I think I have the authority to approach God directly, I don't have to go through any religion [or] train of thought. I can approach God directly myself and so I wrote a book called 'The Gospel Of Hip Hop' to free from all this nonsense garbage right now. Respect [to] the Christianity, the Islam, the Judaism but their time is up".

And verily, I do say unto you, whoop whoop - that is the sound of the police.

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