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

Taio Cruz who has sold a staggering 17 million singles and albums worldwide, and has established himself as one of the world’s most sought after writer/producers as well as a genuine international superstar artist in his own right, releases his eagerly awaited new single “Troublemaker” on January 1st through Island Records. The future smash is taken from Taio’s brand new album “Ty. O” which the multi-talented Londoner has been working on since moving to Los Angeles at the beginning of the year. The star-studded album will also feature the massive international single “Hangover” which features Flo Rida. Taio’s world Takeover continues apace. Alongside the incredible 17 million single and album worldwide sales, Taio has racked up over 440 million YouTube views, 5 million Facebook likes, is a 3 time Billboard Music Award winner (2011), Brit Award nominee, Ascap Songwriter of The Year Award Winner (2011) and has written hits for, to name but a few, JLS, Cheryl Cole, Jennifer Lopez (...

Welcome to the world of Amelia Warner: A multi-talented singer songwriter and pianist, Amelia writes and performs under the name Slow Moving Millie. Her emergence onto the music scene has been anything but ordinary. Originally immersed in an acting career from an early age, she discovered her talent for song writing by creating scores for films and quickly emerged into the exquisite talent she is today. Slow Moving Millie’s unconventional beginnings are echoed in her musical style. With a wide range of musical influences, (from Tom Waits and Nick Cave to Sigur Ros and Cat Power), her bittersweet musings, lyrical innocence and astute observations combine everyday experiences into a cinematic, moving, and unforgettable soundtrack. Having developed an impressive reputation and fan base from scores for film and TV, Amelia signed to Island Records and is currently is in the studio recording her debut album, (due for release next summer), with award winning producer Charlie Hugall (Florence ...

Grammy nominated superstar, and without question one of the most interesting rap artists to emerge in years, Drake, follows his first UK Top 10 single, “Take Care” feat. Rihanna, with the news that he is bringing his live show to the UK for dates in the spring 2012 . The single is taken from the Canadian star’s critically acclaimed album “Take Care” which entered the UK chart at number 5 selling over 37,000 copies in the first week, by far the biggest US hip hop week one sales figure from any US hip hop artist in the UK this year. Within 3 weeks “Take Care” has already gone GOLD in the UK and proves that for UK fans, Drake is a bona fide superstar. The list of dates is as follows: MARCH 2012  MONDAY 26 O2 ARENA THURSDAY 29 SHEFFIELD ARENA FRIDAY 30 CARDIFF ARENA APRIL 2012 SUNDAY 1 MANCHESTER ARENA THURSDAY 19 BIRMINGHAM LG SUNDAY 22 ...

On December 5th, Brushfire Records rang in the holiday season with This Warm December – A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 2, to be released on CD and Vinyl. 25% of the profits from the album will go to Little Kids Rock, Silverlake Conservatory and a variety of other charities benefiting children’s music education. In 2008, This Warm December – A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 1 was released and went on to sell over 50,000 copies and over 175,000 track downloads. The new 12-song album contains festive originals by Jack Johnson, G. Love, Matt Costa, ALO, Money Mark, Zach Gill, Paula Fuga and Neil Halstead. Seasonal classics, such as “Frosty The Snowman” by Zee Avi, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Rogue Wave and a cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight” by Bahamas round out this holiday collection. The first single will be Jack Johnson’s new track, “In The Morning”. This Warm December - A Brushfire Holiday Volume 2 Track Listing 1. Zach Gill - “Party Hard” * 2. Rogue Wave ­- “Jingle Bell Rock” ...

With two top 10 singles, a top 10 album and a number 1 record courtesy of their hook up with Olly Murs , it's fair to say that Rizzle Kicks had a bit of a whirlwind summer. Although with the album now out and the summer warmth firmly behind us, Jordan and Harley are now fully focused on the next single - and this time they've brought back up. 7 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - Rock City, Nottingham 9 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - O2 Academy, Birmingham 10 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - The Engine Shed, Lincoln 11 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - UEA, Norwich 13 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - O2 Academy, Bournemouth 14 th Dec - Pro Green / Rizzle Kicks - O2 Academy, Bristol 15 th Dec - Scala, London 16 th Feb - Junction, Cambridge  SOLD OUT 18 th Feb - Plug, Sheffield  SOLD OUT 19 th Feb - Waterfront, Norwich  SOLD OUT 22 nd Feb - The Ironworks, Inverness 23 rd Feb - ABC, Glasgow (Venue upgrade) 24 th Fe...

21 year old Salford born singer Ren Harvieu, has her debut single “Through The Night” released on January 16th through Kid Gloves/Island Records. The single, a beautifully orchestrated slice of classic yearning taken from Ren’s forthcoming debut album, was originally set for release on July 4th this year until Ren suffered a terrible accident which left her with a broken back and not knowing whether she would ever walk again. Thankfully after a miraculous recovery, in less than three months, Ren is back on her feet and finally ready to release her first single. Ren Harvieu is brand new, just turned twenty one, realer than real ale . She sounds one way and looks and acts completely differently. 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. Ren sang in the odd local talent show, one called ‘Salford Superstar’ and attended what she calls the Primark version of a performin...

Fresh from an extensive US tour with support from My Chemical Romance, blink-182 have announced the release of a new single “Wishing Well” on 21st November in the UK. The track is taken from their new album “Neighborhoods” and the first new music released by the band since 2003. Blink 182 were formed in San Diego in 1992 by Mark Hoppus and Tom De Longe and later joined by drummer Travis Barker. The bands breakthrough album, Enema Of The State, was released in 1999 and went on to sell in excess of 15 million copies worldwide. Their next two albums, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001) and blink 182 (2003) cemented their position as a pop punk supergroup. Additionally the band have won a number of MTV Awards throughout their career. The band will head to the UK to tour next summer and the dates are as follows: Tuesday 12 June, 2012 - Dublin, o2 0818 719300 www.ticketmaster.ie Wednesday 13 June 2012 - Belfast Odyssey Arena - 028 9073 9074/0844...

South Londoner Jessie Ware has already cemented herself as one of the freshest talents to emerge from the UK underground. The last couple of years have seen Jessie collaborating with some of the most respected producers on the electronic spectrum. Jessie caused waves throughout the scene in 2010 when she lent her vocals to masked producer SBTRKT for his fantastically catchy and squelchy track Nervous. This year she has worked with Bristol dubstep producer Joker on the ominous and thunderous lead single The Vision And then of course melted hearts with Sampha on the hauntingly romantic track Valentine. With extended play on cult underground station Rinse FM, her eagerly anticipated debut solo single; Strangest Feeling was released on PMR Records on November 21st. Currently working on her debut album with Dave Okumu (The Invisible), Jessie will announce live dates in the New Year so check back. Jessie Ware ‘Strangest Feeling’ PMR Records. http://www.my...

Fresh from supporting Jessie J, Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz on tour, hot new urban-pop sensations Encore will release their brand new single 'Fun Last Night' on February 13th via Island Records. 'Fun Last Night' is a melodic pop smash, featuring razor sharp rhymes, an electro bassline and smooth vocals, all topped off with an infectious anthemic chorus. Encore are made up of rapper Pierre (23) and vocalists Cairo (22) and Mark (22). Initially three solo artists who were already making waves in their own right on the urban music scene, the boys met at an open mic night in early 2009. Fast forward a few months and a preliminary collaboration session in the studio eventually led to the creation of Encore. Mark is an accomplished singer/ songwriter and has already written with acts such as Tinie Tempah and Chipmunk. Pierre comes from East London and went to school with Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder. Before he entered the band, Cairo was a name on the acoustic soul live sc...

There’s no doubt about it –Florence Welch is back with an almighty bang having shipped a massive 1 MILLION albums worldwide in just two weeks since the release of her global smash of a follow up record, ‘Ceremonials’. Her widely acclaimed album immediately hit the #1 spot in the UK charts on release and crashed into the US Billboard Top, ranking her right up there with other British heavyweights Adele and Coldplay. ‘No Light, No Light’ is the epic and heart wrenching follow up to lead single ‘Shake It Out’ and will be released on January 16. Remixes come from the wondrous Dave Sitek and Breakage – his only remix of 2011. Part romantic battle-cry, part rain-lashed pledge of devotion, thrashed out over harps, tribal drums and interweaving harmonies, this was one of the first songs to be written for Ceremonials and set the tone for a record that acts as a showcase for its creators’ unabashed maximalism. “There are things I struggle to talk about face-to-face. I’m not a confrontational per...

Hotly tipped Belgium born Melbourne based multi-instrumentalist and producer, Gotye, releases Easy Way Out, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming album Making Mirrors. 2012 looks set to be a very exciting year for Gotye (pronounced Gaulthier). As a worldwide swell of support heads towards the UK, Gotye will release, via Communion / Island Records, a 7” for lead single Easy Way Out – a short, sharp blast of acid-rock and the first single to be taken from the album Making Mirrors. Upon its online release in June, it was the video for the stunning track Somebody That I Used To Know that triggered an overwhelming response to this particular song worldwide. Just three weeks after Gotye posted the video on YouTube the song had received nearly four million hits (this number has now exceeded 11 million), topped the charts in 4 countries (Australia, Holland, Belgium and New Zealand) and made it to No.1 on the Hype Machine Twitter chart. Hear it once and you’ll be haunted by it for ...

Following her tragic passing in July, some of the producers and musicians who worked closely with Amy Winehouse, among them Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, spent time listening over the many recordings that Amy had made, before, during, and after the release of “Frank” and “Back To Black” . It was said by all who worked with Amy that she never sang or played a song the same way twice. It quickly became apparent to Salaam and Mark that they had a collection of songs that deserved to be heard, a collection of songs that were a fitting testament to Amy the artist and, as importantly, Amy their friend. “Lioness : Hidden Treasures“, the third album from Amy Winehouse, without question one of the most talented, original, and best loved artists to emerge in popular music for decades, will be released on December 5th through Island Records. The 12 song collection features previously unreleased tracks, alternative versions of existing classics as well as a couple of brand new Amy compositions. T...