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

On 24th July, episode five of Bob Marley's Legacy documentary series continues with 'Punky Reggae Party,' an insightful look back at Bob's time in and impact on London and the rest of the United Kingdom. Dating back from the mid-'70s to this present day, 'Punky Reggae Party' explores how Bob's music and ethos captured the Zeitgeist, detailing his signing to Chris Blackwell's Island Records, and the welcomed arrival of his sound and the impact he had in the United Kingdom, especially the London-born children of the Windrush generation .(Los Angeles – July 24, 2020) Featuring interviews with music aficionado Don Letts, MP and former shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, award-winning British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason MBE, and Chris Blackwell as well as journalist and broadcaster, Chris Salewicz, British-Nigerian women's rights activist Seyi Akiwowo, the daughter of a Rasta, Hak BakerMarika, and photographer Adrian Boot, this compelling ne...

Today Sports Team's debut album 'Deep Down Happy' is announced as one of the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year'. The prestigious accolade celebrates and promotes the best of British music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres. The shortlist was chosen by an independent judging panel and was revealed this morning on Lauren Laverne's show on BBC Radio 6 Music. The news comes after Sports Team released their critically acclaimed debut album 'Deep Down Happy' on 5 June and achieved number #2 in the Official Album Charts, which holds the highest first week sales for a debut album by a British band in four years, and is the fourth highest selling debut of 2020. The band also became the biggest seller of the week, leading on physical sales (10K), digital downloads, and scoring the biggest vinyl sales of a debut record by a British artist in 2020, with a #1 on the Official Vinyl Chart. The six piece also...

Spending lockdown in their home studio in Worthing, it seemed only fitting for NOISY to take over the seaside town to film their latest video for new single ‘Where’s Your Head?’. The high-octane song is appropriate now, as it dives into the importance of looking after your mates through hard times.   Earlier this year, the trio headlined a sold-out Camden Assembly, following the release of their debut EP ‘Press Space To Play’, which featured single ‘Bring The Drums Back’, an ode to homegrown dance styles in the UK. The band look forward to performing live again and join YungBlud on his Spring UK tour, with their first date confirmed on March 17th 2021 at O2 Forum Kentish Town. “'Where’s Your Head?’ is a song about looking after your mates and trying to understand what they’re going through if they’re having a hard time. It’s about living for Friday night, but remembering to check in on your mates on Saturday morning. With the subject being quite close to home we wanted to...

Miraa May, songwriter, performer, artist and sheer force of nature follows her critically acclaimed Dark EP, co-write on Jorja Smith’s Top 10 hit “Be Honest” and recent paean to her new-born son, “Baby”, with her new Island single “Say Yeah”. Featuring Haile, the latest episode of Miraa’s YouTube mini-series ‘Miraa & Friends’ goes behind the scenes of the making of the track. An official video for ’Say Yeah’ will drop in a couple of weeks. “Say Yeah’ is the third new song Miraa has released in 2020, following “Woman Like Me” & ‘Baby’ and is the start of a new chapter as she embarks on the journey of motherhood.   Miraa recently featured in a new documentary created by The Face magazine called ‘Voices of Jamaica’ which followed 15 artists on a week-long writing retreat put together by UK producer Cadenza. The film features Jorja Smith, Miraa May, Amine, Proteje and legendary producers Dre Skull, Guilty Beatz, & P2J amongst others.   Miraa has also been busy ...

Having firmly cemented their names as international producers, playing pivotal parts in the creation of records by Beyoncé, Diplo, Mark Ronson and Madonna, Picard Brothers today release new single ‘It’s Not Over’.  It follows the release of a flurry of celebrated remixes from the French duo, including the Remix of Flume "The Difference" and the Remix of David Spinelli "The Promise", released on Boston Bun’s label Circa 99. ""It's Not Over" is our vision on 2020 French house music! It's a sound we're trying to develop on our project that is due to come later this year" – Says Picard Brothers. Picard Brothers first entered the public consciousness almost by chance, after coming across a twitter post by renowned DJ Diplo, calling for French DJs. They sent over some of their songs and, a week later, the two French brothers came face to face with one of the biggest DJs in the world. He loved their music, and the duo soon became pa...

Nigerian-born singer, songwriter and fashion icon TIWA SAVAGE – widely regarded as the 'Queen of Afrobeats' – released her brand new single, "Dangerous Love," via Motown /Island Records on the 8th July. The song is the first official single taken from her long-awaited fourth studio album 'CELIA', aptly named after her mother. Listen to "Dangerous Love" HERE . Produced by Cracker Mallo and recorded in Tiwa's home city of Lagos, Nigeria, "Dangerous Love" is the perfect blend of R&B and Afrobeats. With a powerful, enchanting chorus and silky 'afro' beat throughout, the mid-tempo record is a representation of Tiwa's musical growth and preview to her upcoming project. "Dangerous Love is such a vibe! It's a song that is basically about a girl who is dipping in and out of a 'relationship' with a guy that really doesn't deserve her time or attention. She knows that he is bad for her but she gambling w...

Grammy winner, multiple Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping artist and international reggae superstar and legend,Buju Banton releases his much-anticipated album, “Upside Down 2020,” his first full-length studio album in a decade.   The album is available now to stream everywhere . The quintessential artist celebrated his return to the worldwide stage following his performance at Kingston’s Famed National Stadium. The Long Walk to Freedom Concert was one of the biggest music events in Jamaica's history and was the launching pad for the tour of the same name. Relive the monumental moment from the history-making Long Walk to Freedom Concert HERE . His subsequent announcement that he had signed with Roc Nation was followed with Banton releasing four brand-new songs, with accompanying music or lyric videos, “Steppa,” “Trust,” “Memories” featuring the incomparable John Legend and the most recent release “Blessed”. While “Blessed” is now exploding, “Memories” is a Top 20 record at r...