Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Paul Weller releases his tenth studio solo album “ Wake Up The Nation ” on April 12th on Island Records. After an unparalleled career, characterised by constant musical experimentation, we should be used to Paul Weller’s relentless desire to chop and change his musical pack. But after the triumphant, Brit-bagging success of 22 Dreams (his third solo number one) Wake Up The Nation album sees rock’s most iconic songwriter come up trumps once more. Lean, mean and as uncompromisingly focused as it’s maker, Wake Up The Nation also brings Paul Weller full circle: twenty-eight years on from The Jam’s split, two tracks feature the former bassist Bruce Foxton . The album also sees contributions from My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields , The Move’s Bev Bevan and legendary session drummer Clem Cattini. Passion, progression, and, as ever, spine-tingling rock’n’roll –Paul Weller has, yet again delivered the perfect soundtrack as we embark on a new decade. Buy Wake up the Nation from Paul Well...

Multi-platinum selling global artist, Gabriella Cilmi will join Leona Lewis on her forthcoming UK tour . The recently turned 18 Australian-Italian songstress burst onto the scene in 2008 with her critically acclaimed debut album ‘Lessons to be Learned’, featuring the worldwide mega hit, ‘Sweet About Me’, and has recently scored a top 10 hit with her infectious dance-floor anthem, ‘ On A Mission ’. ‘On A Mission’ was the first release from Gabriella Cilmi’s second album ‘Ten’, which sees her discovering her inner disco diva. Inspired by the likes of Giogrio Moroder, Blondie and Donna Summer, and working alongside the likes of uber producers Dallas Austin (TLC, Gwen Stefani, Michael Jackson), Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys), and Greg Kursten (Lily Allen, Little Boots, Flaming Lips), Gabriella has created a body of work that takes new wave and classic dance influences into poptastic future disco for the 21st century. Gabriella is set to release her ‘Hearts Don...

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals Debut UK single ‘Tiny Light’ Released June 6th on Island Records. The act named as one of Rolling Stone’s Best New Bands of 2010 will release their debut UK single on June 6th. The powerful, spine-tingler of a track, ‘Tiny Light’, comes from Grace Potter and the Nocturnal’s forthcoming, self-titled album. Produced by Mark Batson (Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z), the song kicks off with a moody AOR tinged kind of melancholy that wouldn’t seem out of place next to the more downbeat moments on Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tusk’ . Hope and redemption come in the shape of a soaring chorus as well as through Grace’s cathartic, powerhouse wails at the climax of the song. Inspired by the worldwide financial crisis of the past few years, the song’s intensity should come as no surprise, but what is a shock - albeit a pleasant one – is the way Grace’s vocals morph from honeyed huskiness into a full throttle, Janis Joplin -worthy siren screech. Impressively howling and crooning h...

Ed Sheeran releases the hip-hop infused folk song ‘Let It Out’ on June 7th, produced by Jake Gosling of Wiley and Crookers fame and follows in a trail of brilliant self released records. Ed has written more than 100 songs and last year he played over 300 gigs. His live performance featured on SBTV has already clocked up more than 30000 hits and whilst nurturing a loyal fan base he has caught the attention of high profile musicians, songwriters and producers. These include producers Jake Gosling, Si Hulbert (Sugababes/Lemar) and drum and bass legend Goldie, who was suitably impressed after seeing Ed play live in London. ‘ Ed will soon be giant’ screamed Goldie. Not only did he then go on to write with Goldie but he has managed to garner the support of the hard-to-please grime scene, recently collaborating with Scorcher, Thomas Jules, Slix and Wretch 32. Ed released his first EP at the tender age of fifteen and then went on to release two albums and another EP, all before the age of t...

Florence + The Machine Cosmic Love  Single released - July 12th Island The final single to be taken from the million selling album ‘ Lungs ’ is Florence’s personal favourite - Cosmic Love . A wildly impassioned hymn to the overwhelming supernatural power of love, the epic Cosmic Love has been a show stopping favourite at Florence’s gigs ever since it was first written. Florence is currently on tour in America and played to an ecstatic crowd at the Coachella Festival . She heads back to the UK in May for her sold out Cosmic Love tour as well as a Somerset House show (July 15th) and a headline slot at this years Latitude Festival (July 16th). Cosmic Love May Tour - Florence + The Machine supported by the Drums 05 Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
 06 Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
 07 Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
 09 Empress Ballroom, Blackpool
 10 Civic Theatre, Wolverhampton
 11 Civic Theatre, Wolverhampton
 13 HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
 14 HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
 15...

Kylie Minogue returns to the charts at the end of June when her highly anticipated brand new single “ All The Lovers ” is released June 28 on Parlophone. The single, set to be a huge summer anthem, previews her new studio album “ Aphrodite ” scheduled for release a week later, on July 5. The album, Kylie’s fifth studio album on Parlophone, sees her celebrate her dance-floor roots and features Stuart Price as executive producer. The list of songwriters includes Kylie, Stuart Price, Calvin Harris, Jake Shears, Nerina Pallot and Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley. Kylie said today: “The single was one of the last tracks to be written for the album. As I was recording it I knew that All The Lovers had to be the first single; it sums up the euphoria of the album perfectly. It gives me goose-bumps, so I’m really excited to hear what everyone thinks of it”. Stuart Price , who mixed the track and was executive producer on the album said: “ All The Lovers is a magical song and sums up everything tha...

Mumford & Sons release their new single, ‘Roll Away Your Stone’ through Gentlemen Of The Road / Island Records on the 7th June 2010. It is taken from the band’s critically acclaimed, platinum selling Top 5 debut album, ‘ Sigh No More ’. It's turning out to be Mumford & Sons ' year. Spurred on by glowing word-of-mouth recommendations and a fearsome live reputation, their debut album, 'Sigh No More', has spent the first three months of 2010 in the Top 20 of the UK's album chart, soaring beyond 350,000 sales in the process. The four friends have been on the cover of the NME, sold out a triumphant British tour and secured some great slots at the summer's biggest festivals. And it's not just in the UK where things are sky-rocketing for them. The band were in Australia at the beginning of the year, where 'Sigh No More' knocked Susan Boyle off the top of the album chart and stuck around at the summit for four weeks, achieving double platinum status...

Violent Soho ‘Bombs Over Broadway/ Son of Sam’ Monday 3rd May 2010 Violent Soho have gone from self-releasing their debut in their native Australia to signing to Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label, home to Be Your Own Pet, Free Kitten, Awesome Color and other freak-rockers. Ecstatic Peace! step out of their usual modus operandi with Violent Soho to release it on new UK imprint Defacto through Island/Universal . They are the most visceral, mushroom-munchin’, bong-tokin’ slacker guitar foursome to be punishing their amps in a long time and have impressed rawk royalty wherever they park their van. They played for Rick Rubin at his Malibu Condo. Thurston Moore was at the front at their first NY show at Lower East Side hang out Pianos. And passing the grunge baton on a generation their album was produced by The Pixies/Foo Fighters/Distillers producer Gil Norton at his Rockfields studio in the Welsh countryside (in between playing darts on Black Sabbath’s favourite d...

Night Bus ‘I Wanna Be You’ Monday 17th May 2010 Newcomers Night Bus have concocted a sleek, sexy nocturnal anthem. A love song breathing sweet-nothings into the late-night ether. Formed in the after-hours haunts of Hackney and channeling the spirit of Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better with You’ if Blondie were playing it, Night Bus have re-skinned pop for a disco bloodbath in the new decade. With their glittering looks and glam hooks, Night Bus are the house band from Studio 54 entertaining the terrace at Space, Ibiza. Lead by Anglophile LA-emigré Jackson Kennedy , Night Bus are in a four-way relationship with each other. Jackson met drummer Laura Conway when she was living in Hollywood, then they moved back to London together and slept in the same bed for months. Co-vocalist Hannah Melbourne is fashion-worker by day and a dazzling disco-chanteuse at night. Meanwhile they stole dark-featured heart-throb Ben Tarrant-Brown from a Camden indie band. ‘You can turn me on like a drug, I...