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

Jon Fratelli’s debut solo album Psycho Jukebox will be released on the Island label on July 25th ’11. Like any jukebox worth its salt it’s chock full of the kind of solid gold easy action that makes you want to smile, chant, dance, sing, drum, shout, and throw the windows wide to annoy the neighbours. Psycho Jukebox marks something of a new beginning for one of Scotland’s most prolific and talented songwriters. Psycho Jukebox was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck , Air, Depeche Mode), who first worked with Jon in 2006 on The Fratellis’ debut album, Costello Music, which spawned the rousing, witty hits ‘Chelsea Dagger’, ‘Henrietta’ and ‘Flathead’ which established The Fratellis’ reputation as a band with crunching, dynamic rock songs, clever lyrics populated with intriguing, Kinks-y characters, and an uncommonly sharp ear for melody. When touring for second Frats album Here We Stand ended in 2008, the band took a much-needed break, and Jon threw himself into Cod...

Nicki Minaj, the hottest new artist on the planet, has her brand new Young Money/Cash Money single “Super Bass” released on June 20th. The brilliant video for “ Super Bass ” went online last week and has rocketed to a staggering 11 million views! The track has already been a massive internet sensation with virals of versions by Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez racking up over 4.5 million views. “Super Bass” is taken from Minaj’s wildly acclaimed 2 million selling debut album “Pink Friday”. Nicki has just finished slaying audiences across the US co-headlining with friend and mentor Lil Wayne on the sold–out “I Am Music II” tour and is confirmed as the special guest on Britney Spear’s forthcoming US tour. With 2 million albums sold globally, Nicki’s latest feature on David Guetta’s “Where Them Girls At” topping the charts worldwide, 8 million likes on Facebook, 3 million followers on Twitter, a gold album in the UK and a profile that is rising by the day, here are some of the things the U...

Mona have announced ‘Shooting The Moon’ as their new single, the track is available to download now. To coincide with the release a brand new track, ‘No Sunshine’, will be made available from July 18th. The single is the third to come from the Nashville based bands debut album ‘Mona’, which was released on May 16th. Shooting the Moon - Mona -  Album  Mona - Mona WHAT THE PAPERS SAY “Mona have created an epic, impassioned and downright gusty debut that could propel them not just into stardom but into absolute veneration” Artrocker “Mona are reaching for the skies - and taking you with them!” Clash “Take heed lovers, fighters, poppers, rockers, godless, God-fearing... Mona are coming for your souls” NME

‘Live For What I’d Die For’ is the first single from our newest star in the making, Jess Mills. Having signed to Island records earlier this year, Jess introduced us to her enticing solo material in April with her ‘Vultures EP’. This impressive package came complete with her cover of The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ and a heavyweight line up of remixes from MJ Cole, Nu:Tone and Photek. Also produced by Breakage, ‘Live for What I’d Die For’ goes further to illustrate Jess’s desire to combine classic song writing with her experiences and influences from her love of dance music, long summers spent in Ibiza and her many trips to the likes of Glastonbury from a very early age.Working together on her solo material, Jess and Breakage drew up a widescreen list of reference points that included The Cure, Portishead, Massive Attack and Radiohead – but knew from the start that Mills's songs would inevitably, absolutely, contain two feelings any seasoned club kid would understand on a cellular level: a s...

Music megastars, the Black Eyed Peas are set to play at the Alton Towers Resort on 6th July, and tickets are buy one get one free ! The event is a fantastic opportunity to see the Grammy Award winning group in 2011 play a full length 90 minute set performing alongside a selection of recently announced support artists including multi-talented musician Labrinth, electro hop duo LMFAO and brand new five piece girl band Parade! Music fans will be able to enjoy an action-packed day full of adrenalin-pumping rides at the Alton Towers theme park before seeing will.i.am, Fergie and co. take the stage on the Resort's front lawns, set in front of the iconic Towers. Make sure you make the most of this incredible deal! FIND TICKETS Offer: Buy 1 get 1 free(normally up to £62 each). Tickets must be bought in pairs.

Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne has his brand new single “How To Love” released this week via Cash Money/Young Money. The single is taken from the Weezy’s forthcoming hugely anticipated album, THA CARTER IV. THA CARTER IV follows Wayne’s ninth album, 2010’s I Am Not A Human Being which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, but is really the official follow-up to his game-changing 2008 set “Tha Carter III”.The last decade has seen Lil Wayne establish himself as arguably the most influential artist hip hop has seen in years, with more than 10 million records sold, a staggering eight Grammy nominations for the seminal Tha Carter III, and shattering records by selling over one million copies in its first week of release. The New Orleans native who hails from the rough streets of Hollygrove is a veteran artist who released his first tracks at age of 12 after he was introduced to Cash Money CEOs Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Birdman” Williams. He released...

Jon Fratelli will release his new single ‘Baby We’re Refugees’ on the Island label on July 11th. Taken from his forthcoming new album “Psycho Jukebox”, it rocks, rolls and rumbles and builds to a big singalong chorus: “Carry me home, carry me home, won’t somebody chase this pain from my door!” . Prepare to hear it ringing out across the land! Says Jon: “’Refugees’ was the last song I wrote for the album and we recorded it at the eleventh hour, but it’s one of my favourites.” Jon Fratelli’s debut solo album is called Psycho Jukebox and like any jukebox worth its salt it’s chock full of the kind of solid gold easy action that makes you want to throw the windows wide to annoy the neighbours. It was recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck , Air, Depeche Mode), who first worked with Jon in 2006 on The Fratellis’ debut album, Costello Music, which featured ‘Chelsea Dagger’, ‘Henrietta’ and ‘Flathead’, and established Jon as a writer of crunching, dyna...

Five years on from his acclaimed debut album, Tom Vek is back. The self-taught recording artist's process and musical output is loaded with cryptic contradictions; his scrappy, chopped-up, beat rock sounds are housed in contrasting clean and precise artwork; this new era's trademark, the obsessively refined pair of British made Anglo American glasses, sit unworn on the cover of the focused new 12-track album. Even its title, Leisure Seizure, is an intriguing juxtaposition.Vek spontaneously released his first album just as the digital age was dawning, guest starred on The O.C. and then disappeared. British-born, his references are rooted in American culture, ranging from mid 90s alt-rock, cable access TV shows and post-war fiction. Raised in south-west London, Vek originally trained in graphic design at Central Saint Martin’s. During this time he wrote and recorded his debut album, We Have Sound. The album was released on the cusp of the information age with social-networking s...

Last year saw East Londoner Kwasi Danqua , aka Tinchy Stryder deliver the biggest underground-crossover hit of 2010. The sensational “Game Over” featured a stellar array of the finest UK MC’s: Giggs, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Devlin, Example and Chipmunk who all collectively shaped a track that celebrated the best in UK urban talent and created the biggest hype of the year. And now Tinchy Stryder has reunited with multi-platinum selling N Dubz’ Dappy to bring you a new smash - the new hotly anticipated single ‘Spaceship’ scheduled for release 13th June 2011. Fashion entrepreneur Tinchy Stryder spent the first half of this year developing his eminent brand and accessories brand Star In The Hood. Due to phenomenal demand, Star In The Hood has expanded greatly, it is available nationwide and is now being stocked overseas in stores all across Europe. In addition to overseeing his rapidly growing business, Tinchy also recently partook in the well documented Jamie Oliver series Dream S...

Ren Harvieu is brand new, just out of her teens, realer than real ale. She sounds one way and looks and acts completely differently. Very little is known about her, virtually no online presence, no Brit School training, no showbiz connections, just a young girl with a truly remarkable voice and a set of songs that will stir your soul and break your heart. The youngest of three girls, her dad sang in pubs in and around Manchester, while Ren sang in the odd local talent show, one called ‘Salford Superstar’. 20 year old Salford born singer Ren Harvieu, has her debut single “Through The Night” released on July 4th through Kid Gloves/Island Records. Co-written by Ren, Chris O’Neill and Ed Harcourt and produced by Jimmy Hogarth, this beautifully orchestrated slice of classic yearning is taken from the album, also entitled, ”Through The Night” which will be released in September. Ren has just been confirmed to appear on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury on Saturday June 25 and has als...

New Island Records signing Alex Clare, whose Diplo & Switch produced tracks “Up All Night” and “Too Close” have generated a genuine buzz across radio, press and the blogosphere, has his eagerly awaited debut album ”The Lateness Of The Hour” released on July 11th. Diplo & Switch, who are very particular about who they work with, are on fire at the moment, with Switch producing 7 tracks on the new Beyonce album while Diplo has produced the next Chris Brown single feat. Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne, which is shaping up to be a monster. In addition Beyonce has sampled Major Lazer “Pon The Floor” for her comeback single. “The Lateness Of The Hour” was recorded in New Orleans, Jamaica, Los Angeles and London and was produced in the main by Diplo & Switch, with Eg White (Adele) adding a couple of tunes. Featured tracks on the 11 song set which introduce Clare as an exciting new talent very difficult to pin down, include “Relax My Beloved”, Hummingbird”, “Whispering”, “Hands Are ...

Fresh from touring with Jessie J and supporting NDubz on their sold out Arena tour, Encore are ready to make their mark on contemporary British pop music with release of the remarkable ‘Tit For Tat’. ‘Tit For Tat’ is released on July 17th 2011 and, true to Encore’s trademark blend, manages to combine a banging baseline and a gritty production with soulful vocal melodies, edgy rhymes and sweet harmonies. Encore are Pierre Joseph, Cairo Woodword and Mark Asari, initially three solo artists who were already making a mark in their own right on the urban music circuit. A preliminary collaboration session in the studio, after meeting at an open mic night in early 2009 eventually led to the creation of Encore; an urban boy band with a distinctively pop edge. Creatively the boys emerge from all walks of their deferring musical lives. Mark is a noted songwriter, Cairo a producer and Pierre a rapper. Together they create the perfect blend of smooth vocals, head bopping beats, individual lyrics ...

  15 year old London-born soul singer Dionne Bromfield, whose wickedly infectious new single “Yeah Right” has re-introduced her as one of the brightest young talents the UK has produced in years, follows up with the release on July 4th of her hotly anticipated new album ”Good For The Soul” . The album, released via friend and mentor Amy Winehouse’s Lioness label, is a collection of all new songs co-written by Dionne and some of the UK’s premier songwriters, and looks set to establish her as a writer and genuine star in her own right. Co-written by Dionne and writer/producers Steve Booker (Duffy) and Paul O’Duffy (Amy Winehouse, Dusty Springfield), “Good For The Soul” features 14 all new tracks including debut single “Yeah Right” which features Diggy Simmons, future singles “Sweetest Thing” and “Foolin’”, “Too Soon To Call It Love”, “A Little Love”, “Time Will Tell” and the title track. Dionne Bromfield came to the attention of the world’s media when she became the first signing to ...