With an already stellar line up including the likes of Atari Teenage Riot, Battles, Colin Stetson, Das Racist, Iceage, Kurt Vile, Shabazz Palaces, Suicide and Swans; it didn’t look possible that OFF could get any bigger, with their eclectic mix of old and new acts. But now sub pops’ Pissed Jeans, 405 favourites Purity Ring (pictured above) & Fanfarlo and hip-hop legend DOOM are amongst new additions, it’s shaping up to be one of this summer's hottest tickets. So if you’re bored of the same old British festival line ups, get yourself a flight to Poland ASAP ...

White Denim - The Cockpit // 24th May 2012 Texas 4-piece White Denim may not have gained the critical acclaim they perhaps yearn for; supposedly lacking personality in performance, but with 4 albums under their belt, White Denim’s exciting prog-rock psychadelica is surely able to please even the most unconvinced. Ignore the harsh criticism, White Denim playing at The Cockpit’s suited setting may just change your mind. Click here for more info/tickets, and head here for more info on White Denim. Other Gigs 21/05/12 : DZ Deathrays - Cockpit// [Tickets/Info] 23/05/12 : Yarbo - Nation of Shopkeepers// [Tickets ...

Photos by Olivia Ford "Shabazz Palaces – Ishmael Butler plus Tendai Maraire plus two pairs of "grim-tilted-bounce-killing" sunglasses – start with ‘Youology’. It's the furious fifth track on last year's ‘Black Up’, an album that had all the fractures, the danger and density of sheet glass in heat. An appropriate beginning. The initial menace of the beat dissipates and, in its place, a question: "How fast do you want it?" Fast? Shabazz aren't in the business of crowd-appeasement. Their set is dedicated to "the intensity of leisure time."" Click here to read a full review of the gig.

Our Young Fathers – “WayDownInTheHole” Shlohmo – “The Way U Do” Raleigh Moncrief – “singon 01.31.12” doseone – (unreleasedness) Shabazz Palaces – “Blast it” Mount Erie – ”No Inside, No Out” Lali Puna – “6-0-3” This Heat – “Horizontal Hold” Baths – “Hall” Tv On The Radio – “A Method” Department of Eagles – “Sailing By Night” The Notwist – “Boneless” Le Fly Pan Am – “tres [...]

The problem with just about every concert you go to is that there's always at least one D'head who t

Shabazz Palaces – Ishmael Butler plus Tendai Maraire plus two pairs of "grim-tilted-bounce-killing" sunglasses – start with ‘Youology’. It's the furious fifth track on last year's ‘Black Up’, an album that had all the fractures, the danger and density of sheet glass in heat. An appropriate beginning. The initial menace of the beat dissipates and, in its place, a question: "How fast do you want it?" Fast? Shabazz aren't in the business of crowd-appeasement. Their set is dedicated to "the intensity of leisure time." Butler and Maraire stand side by side: mixer and mbira, digital and analog, future, past ...

Welcome to our weekly gig round-up, all acts featured come with the Best Fit's ‘Seal Of Approval’ so you can be assured that your hard earned cash will be well spent. This week’s top picks include The xx, Beach House and Shabazz Palaces.

Soul im Looping Wird Seattle bald zum Epizentrum des Leftfield-Hip-Hop? Nach Shabazz Palaces „Black Up“ ist auch „awE NaturalE“, das Debütalbum von THEESatisfaction, eine Sensation. Und erscheint ebenfalls beim Indie Sub Pop. Mehr Hip Hop | Pop

After a "meh" 2011 for hip-hop (Shabazz Palaces was one of the only breakthrough acts to make an impact with me and established performers like Drake and Kanye/Jay-Z slightly underperformed to be honest), 2012 has shaped up to be a great year thus far. We've got a new track from Philly prodigy and Maybach Music Group wunderkind Meek Mill that should get plenty of parties started this summer. "Amen" features Drake and Jeremih and it's just a cocky party jam. Mill's new mixtape Dreamchasers 2 is

Hip hop duo THEESatisfaction have just announced a UK tour scheduled for this summer in support of their debut album awE naturalE and I was lucky enough to catch up with Stas and Cat the other week before catching their show in London. I joined the laid back duo in Soho basement club Madame Jojo's where they would later play to a sold out crowd in what was their first headline show in the capital. It's not their first time in the UK however, they have already toured with fellow Seattle natives Shabazz Palaces where they won over ...

Festival season is now so close you can nearly touch it, and The Great Escape is not only one of the first, but is also guaranteed to be one of the best. This year's event is taking place from Thursday 10th May and culminates on the Saturday 12th of May. Across the three days three hundred plus bands will be providing Brighton rock, indie, electronica and more in 30 venues on the south coast. Listing all the great acts playing may break the internet but some names we’re excited about include: Perfume Genius, Niki & The Dove, Alt-J, Shabazz Palaces, Grimes, Friends, Zulu Winter and Django Django. There will be shows in the Brighton Dome, in churches and pubs around the city. Add to that an array of fringe events, club nights and a daytime conference - plus a bar on the famous Brighton pier - and you have all the ingredients for a very special time indeed. Amazingly tickets are still available and you can get them here . For a full of who’s playing and for more info visit escapegreat.com . See you there, yeah? Listen to our Great Escape playlist by clicking here . ***** Editors Picks: James Canham (Live Editor): Retro Stefson Possibly the most interesting and entertaining live act I've ever personally witnessed, Retro Stefson would need no introduction in their homeland of Iceland. Renowned on the Reykjavík circuit for their unique mix of pop ethics and peculiar, yet stunning, execution they're definitely one to catch. [ Listen ] Performances: 10th May - Latest Music Bar - 23:15 11th May - Above Audio - 14:30 11th May - Green Door Store - 19:30 Fever Fever Art punk isn't dead, and with bands like Fever Fever it never will die. On top of their fantastically literate lyrics their layers of dissonant yet raw guitar and pounding drums give the festival one of the best and most interesting performances. [ Listen ] Performance: 10th May - The Hope - 20:30 AlunaGeorge With an EP coming soon on the illustrious Tri-Angle records, and with an arsenal of future pop hits to hand, now is the time to see AlunaGeorge before they make it huge. Every song they've released so far is dredged in a fantastic drape of smooth and sexy vocals with rich synthy backing, and their near-midnight show at Coalition on the Friday is shaping up to be one of the best of the festival. [ Listen ] Performance: 11th May - Coalition - 23:30 Seams While Seams will be playing the sounds at his Corn exchange, the real reason anyone will be going is to see his fringe jumping excitedly on stage. We've loved him from the word go (especially his remarkable Tourist EP, a piece of work focused and composed from sounds heard in Berlin, the city he's now based in) and by all reports his live show is just as great as his recordings (mainly because of his fringe...). [ Listen ] Performance: 12th May - Corn Exchange - 21:30 Micachu & The Shapes Along with many others we've eagerly awaited the next move from Micachu and The Shapes . After a few interesting diversions (most notably their chopped and screwed mixtape performance piece with the London Sinfonietta Orchestra) they've finally got a sequel to 2009's Jewellery in the pipeline and, with any luck, we'll hear something new from the makers of one of the last decade's most fascinating albums. [ Listen ] Performance: 12th May - The Haunt - 21:45 ***** Alt-J Editors Picks: Wil Cook (Music Editor): As they prepare to drop one of the albums of the year, Alt-J are the band to be excited about. Engaging, melodic songs full of depth, songs that linger on longer than you expect. Remnants appear in your head for days after and they are welcome. I cannot wait to see this band play live. [ Listen ] Blind Tiger Friday 21:15 Jonquil I have been screaming from the rooftops about Jonquil since 2006 when I caught them playing in a horrible little bar in Ipswich. It's been fascinating to watch them evolve from a folk band who evidently had a bit of a crush on Boards of Canada into this massive summery behemoth of a band. I love this band more than I could ever put into words for you, which says a lot, because I love to talk. [ Listen ] Prince Albert Thursday 22:15 Green Door Store Friday 14:00 Cloud Nothings Since releasing the wonderfully nihilistic Attack on Memory earlier in the year Cloud Nothings have been on my "must see" list. It's a crunching punk rock pop fix that simultaneously restores my faith in my ability to feel alive and reverts me back to a mindset where I wanted to die. Basically, they are the hipster Nirvana. I just hope they are as ramshackle and urgent in the flesh as they are on this record. [ Listen ] Above Audio Thursday 21:45 Perfume Genius I'm not who St. Mary is, but she doesn't half know how to book a gig, last year she hosted Dustin O Halloran and Richter">Max Richter for one of the shows of the festival. This year it's the turn of Perfume Genius who plays after Loney, Dear making one of the sexiest double bills of the three days. The chance to see songs like Hood and Dirge performed in the beautifully intimate surroundings of the church is not something that you should pass up. [ Listen ] St. Mary's Church 21:15 Tall Ships One of my favourite memories from last year was the mass sing-along during Vessels, mid afternoon in the Pav Tav, it placed in my mind an idea that has been reaffirmed several times since, Tall Ships have it. They have whatever it is that every band is trying to achieve when they write songs, that feeling. Y'know that feeling when your hairs prickle up with your skin bumps as you realise that you are lucky to be alive and in a world full of potential. Yes, that is quite a bold statement, but have you seen Tall Ships play? If you haven't, then you really need to catch them soon, this years Great escape is the place. [ Listen ] Pav Tav Friday 1am The Hope Saturday 22:15 ***** Editors Picks: Tim Boddy (Photography Editor): Gang Colours The 405 have been following Will Ozanne's Gang Colours closely since the release of the violently monikered EP, In Your Gut Like A Knife , last summer. Recently the chap from Southampton released full-length debut album The Keychain Collection on Brownswood Recordings, to positive appraise. It's the kind of album that rewards enormously on repeated listens, the reflective soundscapes burying deep into the skin, and cut-up homages to garage swirl smoothy through the bloodstream. The result is rather Beautiful stuff, like if Mount Kimbie went into ballad territory - but with a very definite Gang Colours personal grace to proceedings. [ Listen ] Swords">Forest Swords Oh Swords">Forest Swords , where have you been? The solo project from Liverpool-based Matthew Barnes has been quiet of recent, following the release of 2010's gorgeous and beguiling LP Dagger Paths . Beguiling in that a myriad of differing styles are sewn into each other; Barnes' passion and knowledge ...

MFM will be heading back to its birthplace, Brighton, this week, braving the storm clouds and the coldest temperatures since Christmas day to check out a few bands that I’ve been championing but have yet to see live. The Great Escape is up there with my favourite festivals; my experience of it last year was hugely significant and it’s pretty much shaped these last 12 months for me. I actually remember coming back from the festival and deciding the MFM should be nothing but new music-based. Alas, things have gone full circle and below is a guide to ...

Shabazz Palaces hit up Philly based Lushlife’s single ‘Hale Bopp Was The Bedouins’ (featuring Heems) in their trademark manner, ensuring … Continue reading »

WHAT: Up to 15,000 people, 300 bands, 30 venues WHY: It's become a one-stop shop for big names with something to prove to themselves, up and coming acts getting set for big summers and the little men fighting their corner WHEN: 10th-12th May WHERE: Across Brighton WHO: THURSDAY: Maximo Park, Friends, Niki & The Dove, Jonquil, Toy, Mystery Jets, Eugene McGuinness, Zulu Winter, Django Django, Willy Mason, Cloud Nothings, Fever Fever, Deaf Club, Jamie N Commons, Bastille, Ben Kweller, Francois & The Atlas Mountains, White Arrows, Weird Dreams, Gross Magic, Cut Ribbons, Shabazz Palaces, Sunless 97, Gemma Hayes, Tribes, Gaz ...

Shabazz Palaces have posted a stream of their most recent show in NYC via “Dummy Mag.” The songs have a very space-age underwater feel. [...]