I arrived to the Great Escape 2012 a day early to sort my – an indubitably good idea, as I could swan in the next day to the press centre and pass the delegates queue – but my introduction to Brighton on Wednesday the 9th was, unfortunately, a wet one. The National Express coach from Heathrow dropped me off at the very wet seafront, with no shelter whatsoever. Let me tell you, dragging a large... Continue reading Great Escape 2012: Initial impressions, tips and bands from the first afternoon – 10th May 2012

Given that, for all my ranting, no-one really cares what I think about anything, I may have been a little careless in Brighton when I was talking at The Great Escape.  I was on a panel about new broadcasting models, which discussed internet radio, podcasting and stuff like that, as well as, belatedly, streaming, algorithm-based [...]

Mike Hadrea (aka Perfume Genius), an act I unfortunately missed at the Great Escape this year. (Yeah, I’m sad about that right now.) But if you live in Britain, you’re in luck because he has announced a short UK for the end of the summer (late August into early September) and appearances at Latitude in July and End of the Road in September. Tickets to the regular gigs listed below are available by presale from... Continue reading Perfume Genius / August and September 2012 UK Tour

Pictured: The Black Belles.

This is my US music post from The Great Escape, following from my very oh so British Jethro Fox & Lucy Rose post. These bands are from opposite coasts but were two I was very much ...

Birmingham-born rockers PEACE have made massive strides in British music with their debut single 'Follow Baby'. With masses of support through Radio 1 and the NME, they've caught the eye of none other than music industry stalwarts Columbia Records, who’ve announced their signing today. Here's what the four-piece had to say in celebration of the contract: "Signing with Columbia means that we are going to pour our everything over the next whatever into creating a record & basically no one can stop us. Not reality nor consequence. It's a bit like getting knocked up. We just had some unprotected sex with Columbia & we're keeping it.We demanded a billboard from the label kind of as a joke and they 100% pulled through. It's one of those moments where the joke goes just far enough before someone gets hurt. No one is hurting." They've made no mistake in their boorish touring; recent sets at the Camden Crawl, The Great Escape and support slots with the Mystery Jets and The Manic Street Preachers ...

Six years ago, I fell in love with this odd-ball band as I watched them live on-stage surrounded by a bizarre array of instruments (or just dustbin lids), comprising of such a misfit of members including a father and son who all hailed from this 'magical place' called Eel Pie Island. Over the years, I've seen this band time and time again playing a variety of small venues before eventually headlining Offset and Dot to Dot festival to similar sized crowds. And a just a couple of years ago, I last witnessed them playing to a half empty venue ...

Stockholm band Niki and the Dove was one of the hottest commodities at the Great Escape this year and I’ll admit, I didn’t bother with the queue at Horatio’s on the pier on Thursday night because I figured I’d never get in. (Bad luck, as they ended up cancelling their appearance at Sound City due to illness.) But for me and anyone else who couldn’t be there at the Great Escape this year, we’ve got... Continue reading Live Gig Video: Niki and the Dove perform ‘The Drummer’ for Bands in Transit at the Great ...

It’s an uncharacteristically beautiful Friday evening as we hot foot it down the A23 to Brighton for the most exciting new music festival of the year, The Great Escape. We may have missed a cracking first couple of days, but we’re determined to fit as much folk and folk-related loveliness into 36 hours as is humanly possible… First on our whistle-stop tour is the Kommedia Studio Bar for the gorgeous Lianne La Havas, who more than lives up to the hype.  She may be as cute as a button with her trademark ice-cream hair, but there’s nothing ...

We're still putting ourselves back together after another brilliant time in Brighton at The Great Escape festival. The weekend is an opportune time to see some of the best new music out there and our writer Nikita Winayak alongside XFM DJ John Kennedy, came across some of the most promising and fresh bands out there. Swim Deep Swim Deep were first on the agenda and since I’ve become a big fan, I'm extremely excited to hear what this Midlands four-piece have to offer live. As they take to the stage, it soon becomes evident that their laid-back ...

What a week it's been for album streams. The 405 has already brought you links to St Etienne, Alt-J, El-P and more, not forgetting the international live stream of the new Sigur Rós album- which was like gathering around the wireless listing to the Radio 1 Evening Session for the first play of Love Spreads all over again. But the week was marred by the deaths of Donna Summer, Robin Gibb and Donald ‘Duck' Dunn, all of whom influenced the music you listen to today. So respect their achievements by listening to their legacies at the core of this ...

After a week in New Orleans and an expedition to Brighton for The Great Escape, my musical May adventures have come to an end in the UK city of Liverpool (no stranger to musical celebration with streets of Beatles related memorabilia) for the annual industry conference and festival, Liverpool Sound City. Like The Great Escape the weekend before, Liverpool Sound City takes over its city for three days and nights, with a mix of brand new, up-and-coming and established artists gracing its stages. Let's waste no time and start looking back at these artists... My Sound City kicked off ...

Pictured: The Temper Trap.

Pictured: Grimes.

Filmed during The Great Escape festival, Niki and the Dove perform a brooding rendition of current single 'The Drummer' - lifted off their highly recommended debut album Instinct.