Jun
25
Beck get’s modern with distro
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TouchTunes Corporation, the largest out-of-home interactive entertainment network, has announced a special preview of Beck’s hotly anticipated new album, “Modern Guilt,” via 10,000 digital jukeboxes at locations nationwide.
Produced by Danger Mouse and Beck, “Modern Guilt” goes on sale July 8th, but will be playing on TouchTunes digital jukeboxes beginning July 1st. While the song “Chemtrails” is currently streaming on Beck.com and imeem, TouchTunes jukeboxes will be one of the first platforms — and the first jukebox platform — to feature the album in full.
Starting today, Beck fans can text message BECK to 40411 to find the nearest participating TouchTunes digital jukebox location. Beck fans will learn about the promotion through strategically placed ads on Beck’s profile pages on select social sites like Facebook, iLike, and MySpace. The text messaging capability is powered by LocaModa, a technology company providing a mobile social platform that connects consumers online and out-of-home.
“The ‘Modern Guilt’ sound is an homage to 1960s British pop, along with Beck’s signature futuristic flair,” said Ted Mico, executive vice president, digital, Interscope A&M Geffen. “The TouchTunes interactive network offered us an innovative and exciting way to release Beck’s music to a very savvy group of fans. We were especially excited that TouchTunes, along with LocaModa, were able to connect Beck’s most committed fans through a viral mobile platform, giving them the opportunity to listen to the album before anyone else.”
TouchTunes will further support the promotion through banners and full-screen billboards that will appear during the time a user touches the screen. A custom survey will ask users about their favorite Beck song and which Beck album they love the most. Beck fans will have the option to enter their email address onscreen at any of the 10,000 participating jukebox locations to be added to Beck’s mailing list and receive information about ordering the new album.
“Beck fans have been talking for months about his new album, and now, finally, it’s available — on the TouchTunes network,” said Ron Greenberg, TouchTunes CMO and senior vice president of digital media. “For Beck especially, we needed to do something both a little different and sophisticated at the same time. By combining interactivity, social networks, and texting from LocaModa for this pre-release on our digital network, we’re defining more integrated ways to bring great music to fans.”
“An integrated media campaign like this is rapidly becoming essential, particularly in the music industry, where new dynamic approaches are cutting through,” commented Steve King, VP sales for LocaModa. “The TouchTunes network reaches millions of fans where they already hang out in the real world, and now TouchTunes and LocaModa together reach them both online and on location. Together we’re offering them valuable benefits for being socially active and connected. It’s easy to see how both brands and consumers reap the rewards from a program like this.”
“Modern Guilt” is available July 8 on DGC/Interscope Records.
Jun
25
Oasis get a new soul, and an album
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Oasis are set to return later this year with a new single and their seventh studio album. The first single will be ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ and the album, ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ is in-stores October 7th; it is the first new Oasis music since last year’s ‘Lord Don’t Slow Me Down,’ taken from the on the road film of the same name.
‘Dig Out Your Soul’ sees Dave Sardy return to the producer’s chair following his work on their 2005 album, ‘Don’t Believe The Truth.’ Recorded at Abbey Road and mixed in Los Angeles, all four members once again contribute tracks, but the recording marks a new approach for the band as described by the band’s principle songwriter, Noel Gallagher:
“I wanted to write music that had a groove; not songs that followed that traditional pattern of verse, chorus and middle eight. I wanted a sound that was more hypnotic; more driving. Songs that would draw you in, in a different way. Songs that you would maybe have to connect to - to feel.”
The lead single is still unmistakably Oasis, a Noel penned song with Liam’s immediately familiar voice to the fore underlining their distinctive brand of finger in the socket rock ’n’ roll.
‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ may well represent the most recognizable Oasis song on the album but, again, the new approach on ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ was present on this lead track as Noel explains:
“If ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ sounds instant and compelling to you, it’s because it was written dead fast. And recorded dead fast. ‘The Shock of The Lightning’ basically is the demo. And it has retained its energy. And there’s a lot to be said for that, I think. The first time you record something is always the best.”
Jun
20
Here Come The Birds, entering UncharTED waters
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Check this out Newcastle band Here Come the Birds have been selected by Sony/BMG as their media pick in the Tooheys Extra Dry UncharTED band competition (www.uncharted.com.au).
Here’s a quote from the guys, “We were selected as the first media pick from over 1300 bands across Australia, which lets us to go straight to the semi-final stage of the competition – bypassing the first public voting stage. There are 8 bands in the semi-final stage of the competition, divided into two pools of four bands: the public pool and the media pool. One band from each pool goes through to the grand final, with the winner going on to open the main stage at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay in August, along with $20 000 to fund a do-it-yourself label package including studio time and legal consultancy.”
So what can I’m With The Band readers do to help you through to the finals? “In order for us to get through to the grand final we need people to vote for us, it’s that simple. Voting begins on 16th June and goes for eleven days, with the winner announced on 27th June.”
And what if Here Come The Birds won this, what would that mean to the band? “Winning this competition will provide us with the opportunity to get our music to audiences across the country, and hopefully throughout the world.”
You can check out the competition at www.uncharted.com.au All people need to do to help out Here Come The Birds is to log on to the website and click the ‘Register to Vote’ link. From there all you have to do is simply click on the ‘Vote’ button next to their name. You can vote once per hour until midnight on 26th June.
Here Come The Birds also have a few shows coming up, you can check them out at;
- Hopetoun Hotel (Sydney) on 21st June
- Lansdowne Hotel (Sydney) on 12th July
- The Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle) on 26th July
- World Bar (Sydney) on 15th August
Jun
20
The Great Escape
Filed Under Australian News | Leave a Comment
The Great Escape clan has been squished in our Tardis, traversing the space-time continuum in search of a ramshackle bunch of iconic acts to camp out at Sydney’s Newington Armory and celebrate this year’s NSW Labour Day Long Weekend in style on October 4th & 5th.
The Great Escape combines the convenience of the city with the adventure of camping, all wrapped up in a sensational music festival experience – event tickets include the right to pitch your tent on the grounds of the Armory for a fantastic spring-time retreat.
So let’s roll out the line-up, in no particular order:
C.W STONEKING, YEASAYER (USA), THE PANICS, BLACK FRANCIS (USA), CONOR OBERST AND THE MYSTIC VALLEY BAND (USA), BRITISH INDIA, SUPERGRASS (UK), THE MESS HALL, WE ARE SCIENTISTS (USA), LADYTRON (UK), BLUE KING BROWN, PAUL KELLY, THE GALVATRONS, JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN (USA), LIOR, PIKELET, YVES KLEIN BLUE, JACKSON JACKSON, THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS (Canada), LITTLE RED, JOHN STEEL SINGERS, THE SEABELLIES, THE E.L.F., FIREKITES, LAURA JEAN, CASSETTE KIDS, WONS PHREELY, THE SCIENTISTS OF MODERN MUSIC, THEREDSUNBAND, THE HOLIDAYS, WHITLEY, SPOD, PLUG IN CITY and loads more to still to come!
The Great Escape: Newington Armory, Sydney
Saturday & Sunday, October 4th & 5th
Tickets: On sale 9am Wednesday, July 9th from Ticketek, Moshtix and www.thegreatescape.net.au
Price: Early bird price of: $180+BF, stage two price will be $200+BF. Ticket price includes both event and camping. For further information on camping at The Great Escape, check out www.thegreatescape.net.au
Jun
19
Sneaky Sound System 2
Filed Under Australian News | 1 Comment
Sneaky Sound System are set to return to centre stage with a cracking new single, a brand new album, an international record deal and their first Australian tour of the year. Following on from their 2 times Platinum selling, 2 times ARIA Award winning, 2 times AIR Award winning debut comes the release of the first single ‘Kansas City’ from their forthcoming album ‘2’. The single, which has already hit clubs and radio waves like a hurricane, will be on sale July 12 while the album ‘2’ will be in-store in Australia on August 16 through Whack Recordings, 2 years to the day after the release of the bands debut LP. The ‘2’ Tour will also be coming to the East coast of Australia in the 2nd half of August 2008. Tickets on sale July 3rd.
The second album, together with the best from the first, will be released in the UK on September 22nd though 14th Floor Records. The first UK single ‘Pictures’ (given a freshen up by Rich Costey, the man behind Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand & Muse among others) has been received with open arms by BBC Radio 1 where it is Pet Sound Of The Week on Jo Whiley’s show, Single Of The Week on Zane Lowe’s show, and with support from Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Rob da Bank. The song has also been added to London’s Capitol Radio, XFM and the MTV network. In the next few weeks the band plays the Glastonbury Festival in the UK and the Oxegen Festival in Ireland.
Sneaky Sound System, without question one of the most popular bands in Australia right now, had the longest chart run in Oz history with their single ‘I Love It’, their debut album has gone twice platinum and at one point they had four singles in the Top 50. They played the Antipodean Live Earth concert, supported Robbie Williams & Scissor Sisters, sold out their own Arena Tour and won awards all over the place. Yet Sneaky are not a hard-touring rock band or a manufactured pop act. They’re certainly pop and proud of it, but their background lies in their country’s exploding dance scene.
With Spike Stent on mixing duties for a lot of the new album (think Bjork, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Massive Attack), you can expect a fuller, richer and more accomplished sound from the Sydney trio of Miss Connie (Connie Mitchell), Black Angus (Angus McDonald), and MC Double D (Daimon Downey). Three very different characters bonded by a riotous sense of fun, who have found a knack for making music that is imbued with frolicking nightlife mayhem, but also flecked with radio-friendly stadium-bound electro-pop.
Sneaky Sound System: single ‘Kansas City’ in stores July 12
Sneaky Sound System: album ‘2’ in stores August 16 through Whack Recordings/MGM
Sneaky Sound System: The ‘2’ Tour – August 2008 supported by The Dukes of Windsor.
BRISBANE – THE TIVOLI Sunday August 17th
MELBOURNE – THE QUEENSBRIDGE Tuesday August 26th
MELBOURNE – THE QUEENSBRIDGE Wednesday August 27th
SYDNEY – THE ENMORE THEATRE Friday August 29th
SYDNEY – THE ENMORE THEATRE Saturday August 30th
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