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

January 2012 saw the eagerly awaited release of Tribes debut album ‘Baby’, critically acclaimed across the board the LP went straight into the UK’s Top 20. The Camden quartet are pleased to announce the release of n ew single and stand-out album track ‘Corner of an English Field’ on April 2nd through Island Records. A sure-fire Summer festival anthem in the making, the track is already a massive hit live. Currently on the UK live circuit with Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy and Azealia Banks for the NME Awards Tour, the band will be back in Europe for another stint this month, followed by a pre-SXSW US tour. Its non-stop touring for them when they land back on British soil for their own headline tour of the UK throughout April and May. (full dates below). With tickets already going fast, the Manchester date has already seen a venue upgrade due to popular demand. Watch Video HEADLINE TOUR 21/04 - Brighton, The Haunt 22/04 – Norwich, Arts Centre 24/04 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Room...

Steel Panther have confirmed the release of the single “17 Girls In A Row” to coincide with their almost sold out UK tour this Spring. The single will be released via Universal Records on 2nd April 2012. The track is taken from the bands acclaimed second album, BALLS OUT, which was released in October. Steel Panther will be returned to the UK in March 2012 for a headlining tour. The March 2012 dates are as follows: TUESDAY 27 MARCH O2 ACADEMY BIRMINGHAM – SOLD OUT WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW FRIDAY 30 MARCH MANCHESTER ACADEMY – SOLD OUT SATURDAY 31 MARCH O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON The band comprise of Michael Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar), Lexxi Foxxx (bass) and Stix Zadinia (drums). 2011 saw the band release their second album and embark on a UK arena tour with Motley Crue and Def Leppard to a rapturous reception. 2012 sees the band about to embark on their first trip to Australia (Soundwave 2012), return to the UK for another tour and play the highly coveted main stage at ...

Mayer Hawthorne, one of the most exciting artists in the new soul movement , played an amazing SOLD OUT headline show at The Scala earlier this month. Mayer releases a new version of ‘The Walk’ featuring chart-topping duo Rizzle Kicks, on May 7th. Watch video ere; Mayer’s debut album ‘How Do You Do’ is released on May 14th .· Check out the original video, watched by over 1 million people, here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmfcYli6vV4 - Do you recognize any of these fans? - www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF6qZBJo0YU Get ready to meet Mayer Hawthorne and say “How Do You Do”. www.mayerhawthorne.com  Loved by Justin Timberlake, John Mayer and Snoop Dogg, who features on the album, has declared him as his “favourite new artist”.

Nicki Minaj, one of the hottest artists on the planet, and indisputably the biggest breakthrough artist of 2011, has announced that she will be returning to the UK this June for the ‘Pink Friday’ Tour. She will perform in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Nicki Minaj tickets are available from www.livenation.co.uk 2011 was an incredible year for Nicki, with her multi-platinum selling debut album PINK FRIDAY boasting the most charted singles by any female rap album in Billboard history. Nicki also became the first artist to have 7 singles on the Billboard HOT 100 chart simultaneously. She criss-crossed the US playing to massive sell-out audiences with friend and mentor Lil Wayne on the sold–out “I Am Music II” tour and then slayed audiences as the special guest on Britney Spear’s US tour. In addition to winning Best Hip Hop Video at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards along with Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist at the 2011 American Music Awards, Nicki was recentl...

Florence + the Machine are set to release ‘Never Let Me Go’ as the follow up to ‘No Light, No Light’ on April 2. This emotionally charged huge song is suffused with an elegantly weary grandiloquence, gospel chords shine the way for a multi-tracked flock of Florences to soar in free flight. “The gospel thing comes from my obsession with hymns. I’m drawn to anything that has a hymnal quality, be it Spiritualized or dusty old albums by Georgian choirs.” In the two months since the release of ‘Ceremonials’, love for Florence’s second album continues apace, a mainstay of the UK and US chart top10s with worldwide sales now in excess of 1.5 million. Fresh from a non-stop globe-spanning jaunt of live shows (the US, Brazil and a first visit to Japan), Florence has just returned to the UK where she performed at the Brit Awards & The NME Awards before embarking on her biggest UK tour to date in March. All 120,000 tickets for the spring tour were snapped up by her ever expanding army of fans u...

Enjoying a constant critical high and a never ending creative peak, Paul Weller continues to push the boundaries with his new album SONIK KICKS, due for release on March 26th 2012. This is the follow up to the Mercury Music Award nominated WAKE UP THE NATION and Paul’s eleventh solo album. Once again, it's his best yet. If you’d like a taste of what’s to come, head to www.paulweller.com now where you can check out the album track ‘Around The Lake’. The track is set to an excellent sequence from a short film called '24hrs, Pavey Ark' directed by Mike Moloney & John Hooper which Paul is massively in to. SONIK KICKS features appearances from the likes of Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon. The 14 tracks you can look forward to are: Green / The Attic / Kling I Klang / Sleep of the Serene / By the Waters / That Dangerous Age/ Study in Blue / Dragonfly / When Your Garden’s Overgrown / Around The Lake / Twilight / Drifters / Paperchase / Be Happy Children. With SONIK KICKS ...

The Third World’s first superstar and arguably the most recognizable human being on the planet, reggae giant BOB MARLEY is celebrated this year in a film by award-winning director Kevin MacDonald (‘One Day In September’, ‘State Of Play’, ‘The Last King Of Scotland’, ‘Touching The Void’ and ‘Life In A Day’). ‘MARLEY’, which received a rapturous reception at its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb 12th, will be released in the UK on 20th April ’12 through Universal Picture s and features stunning live performances, intimate interviews with friends and family, and rare documentary footage, which tells the definitive story of the superstar who rose from the ghetto to become one of the greats of popular music before dying tragically young at the height of his fame. BOB MARLEY was born February 6, 1945 in rural St. Ann’s Parish, Jamaica, leaving home at 14 to pursue a music career in Kingston. A naturally gifted musician and singer he recorded his first track in 1962. In ’72 findi...

US superstar in the making Tyga, whose number 1 monster hit “Rack City” introduced him as the latest superstar to emerge from Cash Money Records, the red-hot hip hop label and home to Lil Wayne, Drake & Nicki Minaj, has his eagerly anticipated debut album ”Careless World : Rise Of The Last King” released on March 12th. The album includes “Rack City” one of the biggest tracks of the year so far with well over 1 million downloads sold to date. Tyga, whose cousin is Travie McCoy from Gym Class Heroes, is joined on ”Careless World : Rise Of The Last King” by a stellar cast including Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Big Sean and J Cole. The album stormed in at number 1 on the US iTunes chart and European fans will have a chance to see Tyga live as he is close to confirming an extensive European tour during the month of May. Born in Compton 1989 Michael Stevenson - the same town as Hip Hop Legends Dr Dre, NWA, The Game & more, Tyga first came to prominence as one of the featured ...

WZRD is the alternative to everything because no one is doing what we’re doing. This album is something the world needs to hear,” says Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi of his new genre-bending album with long-time collaborator Dot Da Genius. The album kicks off with a full-instrumental track called “The Arrival” and then continues to take the listener through a journey of intricate sounds, as well as a standout acoustic record called “EFFLICTIM.” Right from the start, it’s evident that this project is a bold move, even for one of the most innovative musicians of the last few years. Cudi and Dot have came a long way since 2006, when the duo would record late into the night in Dot’s family’s East New York apartment. Cudi met Dot through a mutual friend while working at Abercrombie & Fitch and the two began crafting a spacey-melodic sound that was different, and a breath of fresh air for the hip-hop game. Cudi would hum melodies as Dot would construct beats around them, and songs soon came t...

March 11th sees Paul Weller release the first single from his forthcoming, highly anticipated new album Sonik Kicks (out March 26). Entitled That Dangerous Age it will be available on CD digipack, two 7” singles and a download EP. The formats include brand new B Sides ‘Portal To The Past’ and ‘The Piper’. If that’s not all, there also features remixes of That Dangerous Age by Matt Helders of the Arctic Monkeys and Ladytron plus an explosive version of album track ‘Green’. Live dates: March 18th - London Camden Roundhouse 19th - London Camden Roundhouse 20th - London Camden Roundhouse 21st - London Camden Roundhouse 22nd - London Camden Roundhouse Paul Weller New single released on March 11th on Island Records. myspace/paulweller

US Superstar Nicki Minaj, one of the hottest artists on the planet, and indisputably the biggest breakthrough artist of 2011, releases her brand new single “Starships”. The single was produced by multiple Grammy-winning producer, musician, and songwriter, RedOne, whose 35 international hit singles include a staggering 18 #1 singles, for the likes of Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Usher, and Mary J Blige, to name but a few. “Starships” shows Minaj headed straight into clubland territory, that means heavy synths, an infectious chorus and fist-pumping breakdowns, and is taken from Nicki’s feverishly anticipated n ew Young Money/ Cash Money album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”, which will be released on April 2nd Nicki Minaj| ‘Starships’ – Released March 19th - myspace/nickiminaj