Hot Video Alert: The Feeling - Set My World On Fire

UK pop band The Feeling (AKA Dan Gillespie Sells, Richard Jones, Kevin Jeremiah, Ciaran Jeremiah, Paul Stewart) has released a new video for their single, "Set My World On Fire," the first single from the band's third album, Together We Were Made. The album is due out June 19th on MCA Music, Inc./Island Records and features collaborations with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Róisín Murphy, Freemasons and rock-producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, 30 Seconds To Mars).

Made available to download on May 1st, "Set My World On Fire" was used as the theme song to the 2011 Cricket World Cup. A clubified remix of the guitar pop single was made by James Doman and Pete Gooding and is available as an extra track on the digital single, available on UK iTunes, along with a B-Side called "Seven Years." If you pre-order the deluxe version of the album HERE on iTunes you also get two bonus tracks, including the Betty Boo-assisted "Virtually Art." Scope out the Isaac Rentz-directed video below and download the single on iTunes HERE.

Check out The Feeling on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Joe and Will Ask Remix a Moloko Classic, Vikings Night Changes Venues

UK dance music lovers, I have a massive treat for you. Joe and Will Ask's Vikings night is moving to The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston, a joint venture between members of Field Day, Pub on the Park and Eat Your Own Ears. To celebrate this fantastic news, Joe and Will Ask are sharing a brand new remix of the 2000 Moloko hit, "The Time Is Now."

Moloko - The Time Is Now (Joe and Will Ask Vs Kiwi Remix) by Joe And Will Ask

The song originally appeared on the electropop group's third album, Things To Make and Do and went on to be nominated for Best British Single at the 2001 BRIT Awards, losing to Robbie Williams' "Rock DJ." Originally remixed by Can 7, Francois K, and Bambino, now we have an instant classic from Joe and Will Ask and special collaborator (and this month's special guest), Kiwi (AKA Alex Warren). According to the boys, Kiwi's involvement happened quite organically:

"Alex (Kiwi) has been a good friend of ours for a while, and he completely blew us away with his last couple of DJ sets. We decided to go to the studio with no plan and just to have some fun, and for some reason this Moloko track came up. We absolutely love it, and had wanted to do a version of the track that we could play out for ages but never found the right way to do it, but after a couple of hours with Alex, we had pretty much nailed it! We wanted to keep as much of the original as possible while giving it the open-air summer roof party sort of feel with the bassline. We're so happy to have him playing at Vikings!"

Vikings (now at The Shacklewell Arms) is a club night like no other. Brought to you by "dance music pioneers," Joe and Will Ask, Vikings takes place on the final Thursday of each month and features Joe and Will spinning into the wee hours of the morning.

"With Vikings you can guarantee a few things; the line up will be major, the atmosphere electric and the night itself will be memorable. Having brought the likes of Boy 8 Bit, Matt Wlash, Bowski, Eskimo Twins & Coin Operated Boy to some of London's most intimate venues, Vikings always provides some riotous tomfoolery."

Reason #1,045,450,000 that I wish I lived in London. Check out the poster below for details about the next gig, Thursday May 26th and download this new Moloko Mix. Amazing.

UK Pop/Rock Outfit The Feeling Collaborate with Freemasons, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Róisín Murphy on new LP - First Single Out Next Week

One of my favorite British bands, The Feeling is getting ready to release their third studio album, Together We Were Made, on June 19th. This is exciting for a number of reasons...FIRST being...it means that we have new music from The Feeling. SECOND, the band has collaborated with UK house music production duo the Freemasons. THIRD, the band has collaborated with electro-pop diva (and wife of bassist Richard Jones), Sophie Ellis-Bextor on a song called "Leave Me Out." FOURTH, the band has ALSO collaborated with Irish electro-pop singer Róisín Murphy on a song called "Dance For The Lights." AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!   All of these combined factors are getting me quite riled up over this new album! It sounds like a masterpiece in the making.

The band worked on the new album with producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, 30 Seconds To Mars, Fefe Dobson) and plans to release the first official single, "Set My World On Fire" on May 1st. The single was written and produced by the band and served as the theme song to the 2011 Cricket World Cup (as you can see from the video below, prominently featuring the song). The song "fuses a refreshingly cynicism free brand of sunshine seeking Tropicalia with The Feelings distinctive guitar pop powerhouse sound." What's more, the song has been remixed for the clubs by Doman & Gooding (AKA James Doman & Pete Gooding). What a way to make a comeback!

The Feeling have not only sold over 1 million albums in the UK alone, but also won the prestigious Ivor Novello award for 'Songwriters of the Year' in 2007 so it's high time we had something new to play on our iPods from these guys.  From the sound of it, this album is going to be an epic pop/rock/dance masterpiece!!  Listen to "Set My World On Fire" below and download it when it's released in the UK on May 1st (via MCA Music, Inc./Island Records).

Check out The Feeling on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: Mason feat. Róisín Murphy - Boadicea

While still no word on Irish singer/songwriter Róisín Murphy's third solo album, she's been keeping fans happy with featured collaborations in a number of dance tracks. Amongst her the collaborators we have Crookers, David Byrne & Fatboy Slim, and most recently Dutch DJ Mason, who's latest single, "Boadicea" was released at the end of March. Check out the cinematically stunning video for the single, directed by Ron Scalpello (The Prodigy) and featuring heart wrenching, raw performances from actors Jennie Jacques and Jason Maza.

"The gritty clip, which was all shot on an East London council estate, tells the tale of a down-trodden young girl who fantasizes about exacting revenge on the men in her life. Like a modern day Boadicea, the heroine exacts a trail of revenge in a pretty bloody manner." {via Pop In Stereo}

 Absolutely riveting.  While Murphy doesn't appear as one of the character's in the video, see if you can spot a still image of the singer in the couple's apartment.  It shows up out of focus a couple of times but there's one good close up of the poster.  "Boadicea" is on iTunes now and features remixes by Tony Senghore, Human Life, Evil Nine, Oliver $, Sharam Jey, Tim Brownlow, Danny Howells & Mat Playford, and Polydor. Download it HERE and check out the video below.

Check out Mason on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Check out Róisín Murphy on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Róisín Murphy is "Orally Fixated"

Irish singer/songwriter Róisín Murphy has always been one of my favorite artists to come out of Europe. I loved her debut album, Ruby Blue (produced by the brilliant Matthew Herbert) as well as her more dance-poppy follow up, Overpowered. When Murphy made an appearance in New York City last year, I was hoping it was the start of a career in the States but that was never to be. Lucky for me there will always be albums for sale overseas and dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance seems to be a fan as well, choreographing various numbers to a couple of Murphy's songs.

When I first heard that new Róisín Murphy material would be making it's way onto the airwaves soon, I started to get exited. Originally we were supposed to hear the track by the end of the summer, however that time came and went. Now...finally! We have it. It's called "Orally Fixated" and it's produced by Seiji (of Bugz in the Attic), with whom Murphy collaborated with on her last album.

I have to say that at first listen, I wasn't a fan. I thought the track started out super strong, but by the time the first verse hit, I wasn't feeling how they worked with the beat. The lyrics were a bit odd and the track seemed overall very disjointed. Well...after having listened to it a few more times I am liking it quite a bit more.

In a video blog announcing the new single, a very pregnant Róisín Murphy explains the inspiration for the song as being her pregnancy. Having to give up smoking, she found herself more orally fixated. She describes the sound of the new single & album as a bit darker than Overpowered as well as "tough and modern" and dance-floor ready. The album is still in the works. Murphy asks her fans to wait for her while she takes some time off to have her baby. Oh don't worry Róisín. I'm not going anywhere! The single is out in the UK on November 16th and in the U.S. on November 17th.

Check out Róisín Murphy on the web:

MySpace//Facebook//YouTube

Róisín Murphy Defends Herself and Talks New Music

I've never been one to shy away from artists with similar vibes, which is why recent comments from Irish electro-pop artist (and former member of Moloko) Róisín Murphy, ceased to bother me. When I first read the reports that Róisín Murphy was going on the offensive, claiming that Lady Gaga stole her look...it all sounded to me like it was taken out of context. Claiming that Murphy said "Lady Gaga is just a poor imitation of me," didn't sound right at all, given what a classy lady Murphy appears to be.

In attempt to clear the air, Murphy issued an official statement, where she defends her comments and confirms that they were in fact taken out of context. According to Murphy, the quote about Lady Gaga being "just a poor imitation" was completely fabricated. On her official blog, Murphy says "I respect Lady Gaga's work as an artist and as a fellow fashion icon. She is a very talented performer, playing piano, singing live and dancing too." My thoughts exactly. I think there's room in the music world for the both of them.

In an interview with ArjanWrites.com, Murphy sheds a little more light on this situation. Explaining why she released an official statement, she says, "It's for the fans, it is not for the average Daily Mail readers...At least as long as my fans know that this is not the way I am." I'm certainly glad that she did come out and say something. It's clear that she cares for her loyal fan base and doesn't want any falsities out there about here. I think her true fans knew that there was something amiss here, as soon as the claims came out.

Moving on from the tabloid controversy, Arjan asks Murphy about her new music. I'm beyond thrilled at the idea of a new Róisín Murphy CD. I still very much love Ruby Blue and Overpowered, so the chance to add another album to my collection is very exciting. According to Murphy, the as yet untitled album was recorded in London and is in the mixing stages, with some tracks as of yet, still unfinished. Judging from the interview, the new album sounds like a nice mix of genres...from "British urban," to house music to "old-school electro." One song called "Billionaire" was produced by Seiji, who also produced much of Murphy's last album.

Whatever her new album sounds like, you can be certain of two things...I'm going to love it AND you'll probably hear it on an upcoming season of So You Think You Can Dance.

Check out the interview with Róisín Murphy on ArjanWrites.com, and on EQ, where Raj discussed her charity work as well as delved a little bit deeper into the Lady Gaga controversy.

Check out Róisín Murphy on the web: Official Site//Official Blog//MySpace//Facebook//YouTube

My Weekly Last FM Chart

In following with last weeks format, I'll be doing my top 10 listened to artists of the past week, according to my Last FM Chart. Since I work at a desk job, music is really what keeps me going day-to-day. Here are the artists that kept me going this past week.

Most Listened To Artists:

1. Noisettes

2. Erika Jayne

3. Calvin Harris

4. Roisin Murphy

5. Straight No Chaser

6. The Saturdays

7. Natasha Bedingfield

8. Kelly Clarkson

9. V.V. Brown

10. Adele

This weeks chart, like last weeks, is female-dominated. What can I say? I typically prefer a female vocalist to a male. It's just the kind of music I prefer. On the whole, female vocalists have are more impressive to me. In the top position this past week are the Noisettes, mainly because of the concert I attended last Monday. I tend to listen to an artist before a show, as well as after the show. This helps both with blogging about the show as well as prolonging my enjoyment of said concert. Erika Jayne also sits pretty at #2, as I reviewed her album Pretty Mess. Calvin Harris was on my mind as his new album, Ready For The Weekend is out this week and Roisin Murphy, she is working on a brand new record (which I will talk about later). Straight No Chaser released their brilliant new A capella EP, Six Pack which I promptly snagged. As for The Saturdays, Natasha Bedingfield, V.V. Brown and Adele - I was just in the mood at some point during last week to listen to each of those artists and or groups.

She Wolf Is Coming...Shakira Shakira!

First off...gotta say how THRILLED I am that the Wade Robson Jazz routine on "So You Think You Can Dance" was choreographed to "Ruby Blue" by Roisin Murphy. This is the third or fourth time SYTYCD has used a Roisin track and EVERY TIME they do, I can't stop smiling. She's got such a unique quality to her voice and the way the choreography and music always come together is just so haunting.

Back to biz-ness...got the official Epic Records e-newsletter, alerting us to the fact that Shakira's new single will be available for download (in both English & Spanish) next week - July 14th. As I've mentioned before, I think this song is hot. Shakira's vocals are pretty polarizing...you either love them and embrace that funky timbre she has going on...or you think she sounds like she's singing with a stuffy nose. I happen to love her sound and embrace her uniqueness. The electro Gaga-esque sounds Shakira is working with here certainly rubs me the right way. I'll be up at

midnight waiting for it's release - no doubt!

According to the release, we can expect the video premiere later this month. Shakira confirmed that the video is in fact done on her Twitter page today. The album remains untitled at present, but is expected out this October via Epic. The album was written/produced by Shakira and big name producers like Pharrell Williams. While the new album is "mostly English-language," a full Spanish-language album is expected sometime in 2010. Exciting indeed.

Check out Shakira on the web: Official Site//Twitter//Facebook//MySpace//YouTube//Bebo//iLike

New Róisín Murphy Photos!

Róisín Murphy could be considered a style icon. Well...at least I consider her a style icon. Her last album's photo campaign featured Róisín in a series of bizare outfits, juxtaposed with a seemingly normal setting (i.e. - diner, park, etc.).

I was pleased to see more...erm...interesting photos of her on the UK Daily Mail's website. The photos are by Michael Labica & Sandrine Dulermo and they appeared in a Daily Mail spread on January 17th. The Irish beauty looks stunning. Her last album, "Overpowered" and previous effort, "Ruby Blue" are two of my favorite albums of the past few years. I'm still hoping desperately for a small U.S. tour (she appeared in New York City for one show a few months back) but I don't know. At the very least, "So You Think You Can Dance" will probably use some of her songs in various dance routines as they have in the two previous seasons.

On an unrelated note, buy Kelly Clarkson's new single "My Life Would Suck Without You" on iTunes today! - Photos by Michael Labica & Sandrine Dulermo/Via Daily Mail

Some music purchased recently...