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

Kenyan-Norwegian singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist Lil Halima releases her brand-new single titled ‘Glue’ via Island Records today.  At only 21-years old, Lil Halima has been nominated for two Norwegian Grammy’s and the coveted Nordic Music Prize. She caught the public’s attention with a stunning COLORS session last year (invited back for their A COLOURS live stream), and released the Brown Girl Diary mixtape, which documents her romantic relationships and search for identity, through the prism of a young woman of colour growing up in rural Norway, in a village of only 4000 people. Her first 2020 release, ‘Glue’ has dream team writing credits from Lil Halima, Nathaniel Warner (Mahalia, Sinead Harnett), Anders Kjaer (Dagny, Bendik, Ary) and George Moore (Nao, Snoh Alegra, Kwabs), who has also produced the track. “Commitment is hard, and it always get to the point where I’m scared the other person preferably would always want us to be glued together. You know,...

Singer, songwriter and producer Jeremy Zucker debuts the video for his latest single, “not ur friend,”  The video is directed by Hayley Bowman and edited by Jeremy alongside Stefan Kohli. “not ur friend,” which was co-written in collaboration with Max Martin’s MXM team and produced by Zucker, is taken from his highly anticipated debut album, love is not dying, out later this spring. Of the inspiration behind the video, Jeremy says, “We really just wanted to make a fun, lighthearted video, which is something I don’t get the opportunity to do often. We experimented with new colors and aesthetics to give it a different feeling and look. Given the sentiment of the song, it felt like the right time to take a bit of a different approach to the video too.” This summer, Zucker will embark on his North American and European “love is not dying” Tour, which includes stops at New York’s Terminal 5 on June 18th, Los Angeles’ The Novo on July 17th, two stops at San Francisco’s The Fillmo...

Just before we self-isolated, NOISY took over the launderette at the Barbican, filming their latest video ‘Oi (ATM)’, a track which scraps with money matters talk, and cements NOISY’s high-octane energy and explosive sonic, in a spinning, nostalgic visual.   Earlier this month, the trio from Worthing headlined a sold-out Camden Assembly to fan frenzy, which followed the release of their debut EP ‘Press Space To Play’, featuring single ‘Bring The Drums Back,’ an ode to homegrown dance styles in the UK. The band are holed up in their studio in Worthing doing what they do best and creating for the foreseeable, but look forward to re-arranged live dates at Truck Festival, 110 Above, Neighbourhood and Liverpool Sound City. Dates below. Comprised of singer/rapper Cody, guitarist Connor and producer Spencer, the band is the culmination of several years of hanging out at skateparks. They’ve been Noisy for the past year and a half, an 18-month period that’s seen them build a makesh...

OPEN LETTER TO FANS "In a way it seems fitting that we’re trying to release our debut in the midst of a once in a generation global pandemic. We’ve tried as hard as we can to keep everything on track. But on a lot of sound advice, and to take pressure off all the people helping us deliver the album — we’ve taken the call to reschedule the record to June 19, and live shows, until June. Playing for you lot means everything to us, and we’ll be back doing it as soon as we safely can. All tickets and pre-orders will remain valid.   Keep buying music by the artists you love; it means the world. We’re seeing out the foreseeable in a studio in the West Country, getting onto new music. If you want to write to us, we’ll try and reply to every letter we get. Address here: PROPAGATION HOUSE, EAST LODGE, NORTH TAMERTON, EX226SE   Anyway, it’s going to be hard for a bit, for music, and for everyone. Support your local scene, and look out for each other, we know you will.   ...

SPORTS TEAM WILL RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM ‘DEEP DOWN HAPPY’ ON 19 JUNE 2020 NEWS FOLLOWS OPEN LETTER TO FANS AMIDST CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ALBUM IN-STORE TOUR RESCHEDULED FOR JU NE In a way it seems fitting that we’re trying to release our debut in the midst of a once in a generation global pandemic. We’ve tried as hard as we can to keep everything on track. But on a lot of sound advice, and to take pressure off all the people helping us deliver the album — we’ve taken the call to reschedule the record to June 19, and live shows, until June. Playing for you lot means everything to us, and we’ll be back doing it as soon as we safely can. All tickets and pre-orders will remain valid. Keep buying music by the artists you love; it means the world. We’re seeing out the foreseeable in a studio in the West Country, getting onto new music. If you want to write to us, we’ll try and reply to every letter we get. Address here: PROPAGATION HOUSE, EAST LODGE, NOR...

Legendary GRAMMY® Award winning, multi-platinum selling Island Records artist Sean Paul has returned with a sure-fire smash for 2020 . Having collaborated with some of the worlds' biggest stars including Sia, Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Rowland, Migos, David Guetta, J Balvin, and DJ Snake, Sean Paul joins GRAMMY® Award nominated, global chart-topping Tove Lo for his latest undeniable smash, 'Calling On Me' Ft. Tove Lo, out worldwide today. "Calling On Me' is a dope song reflecting the real side of love." Sean Paul reveals. "If you love someone, the energy doesn't ever change. They are able to call on you at all times. I'm proud to have such an amazing vocalist like Tove Lo be on the track with me.". With close to 2 BILLION combined global streams and 23 MILLION monthly Spotify listeners, Sean Paul remains without a doubt, one of the most beloved and instantly recognizable voices in music. Responsible for global hits such as ...

Late last year, Noisy released their first ever singles ‘So What,’ and ‘Do It Like That’, which introduced a plucky, high octane British band who take the spin-the-bottle sensibility of the playlist generation, and make explosive, no boundary music. Today the trio from Worthing break dry Jan and release their debut EP ‘Press Space To Play’, featuring new single ‘Bring The Drums Back,’ an ode to homegrown dance styles in the UK. Noisy also announce their first headline show at Camden Assembly on 11 March, before an extensive run of live dates including Annie Mac Presents, Live at Leeds, The Great Escape & Neighbourhood festival. “Everyone at some point in their lives has gone out on a Friday and made a mistake… Got way too drunk and started on your mate, pulled a roll through and gone to work on no sleep, sent a text that you’ll definitely regret in the morning... Bring The Drums Back is about doing all these things. It’s about our generation. Making mistakes and thinking fuc...