Black Marble share an amusing song ‘Preocupation’ with a funny video; LA rapper Blu samples Beatles for a trippy song ‘Because the Sky Is Blu(e)’; The Ophelias share ‘Crocus’, a baroque-folk track with great strings; Generationals deliver some good indie-pop with ‘Mercy’; some great guitar work by folk-blues singer Buffalo Nichols on ‘How To Love’.
An interesting article in The Conversation about an amazing phenomenon from Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea where people, next to their names, also bear "name-tunes". These names aren't words, they're rather a wordless melody, given to children and recognised throughout the community to refer to one person alone. In Ethiopia, it's exclusive to 45,000 Oyda people from the southwest of the country. This “name tune”, or moyzé is most often whistled, but it can also be sung to a series of non-meaningful sounds different for each name tune. In one small region of Madang Province in northeastern Papua New Guinea, about 15,000 people across three language areas (Nankina, Domung and Yopno) also employ name tunes, which they call konggap. Yopno konggap differ in performance style from the Oyda moyzé, since they are either simply whistled with no use of the hands, or sung on a series of open vowels (like “a-o-a-o-e-e-a”). However, konggap and moyzé are strikingly similar. Both moyzé and konggap are unique to every individual, and generally bear no relation to a person’s given name, which is often shared with other community members. The tunes in both traditions use similar pitch ranges and last 1-4 seconds.
Abba star Björn Ulvaeus has launched the Credits Due campaign, which aims to ensure all songwriters and musicians are correctly identified when a song is recorded, BBC reports. At present, missing and incomplete data means that about £500m is unallocated or misallocated globally - every year. The scheme will also ensure fans see the correct credits for songs - from the writers and producers to the session musicians and engineers - and every person who is involved in the creation of a song will be "clickable in the digital liner notes", allowing listeners to look up every other record they have worked on. BMG has pledged its support for Credits Due, as the first international music company to commit to the campaign, MBW reports.
Sarah Dash of the powerhouse R&B trio Labelle died on September 20th at age 76, just three days after her last performance. As a founding member of Labelle, Dash appeared on their ubiquitous 1975 dance floor classic 'Lady Marmalade', adding sensuality to the trio’s sound - heard especially in Dash’s parts on the deep cut '(Can I Speak to You Before You Go to) Hollywood'. Dash’s last performance was September 18, when she joined LaBelle onstage in Atlantic City for an impromptu reunion. “She was healthy and fine and sang her face off” - her bandmate Patti LaBelle says - “The crowd went crazy. She had the best send-off. If that’s the way you’re going to leave, she left like a queen”, Rolling Stone reports.
Dave and Fraser T Smith were awarded best contemporary song for 'Children of the Internet' at this year’s Ivor Novello awards, which celebrate Britain’s best songwriters and composers. The song is performed by Future Utopia, and explores the impact of social media and hyper-connectivity, particularly on younger generations. Brit Award winner Celeste was named songwriter of the year alongside her writing partner Jamie Hardman. Lianne La Havas picked up best album for her self-titled second record, written with Matthew Hales. Sky News reported from the event.
The seminal hip-hop group of Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel have announced a 12-city international tour to celebrate the silver anniversary of their landmark album, 1996’s 'The Score', Rolling Stone reports. The first concert takes place tomorrow night (!) - September 22nd - at an undisclosed location in New York City.
Richard H. Kirk, founding member and the sole full-time member of industrial icons Cabaret Voltaire, has died at age 65, Treble reports. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1973 by Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson, Cabaret Voltaire used reel-to-reel tape loops and early synthesizers to create a sound as bleak as the crumbling factory buildings in their hometown. Along with their Dada-influenced live performances, Cabaret Voltaire helped create what would become known as industrial music and were and remain hugely influential with classic records like 'Nag Nag Nag', 'Red Mecca', and 'The Crackdown' on bands such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and many others.
Universal Music Group's opening price on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange today was over a third bigger than the reference price that Vivendi confirmed previously of €18.50 ($21.7) which would have valued UMG at €33.5 billion (approx. $39bn), Music Business Worldwide. It means that as of this week, UMG has a €25.25 ($29.63) share price, which translates to a colossal valuation of €46.3 billion or $54.3 billion for the world’s biggest music rightsholder. UMG largely bids au revoir to former Paris-based parent Vivendi, which now owns just 10% of UMG, while a Tencent-led Consortium owns 20%. Pershing Square Holdings Ltd also owns 10%, and French businessman ex-Vivendi Chairman Vincent Bolloré’s ‘Bolloré Entities’ owns 18.0%.
"We aim to build a sisterhood of young people by providing an inclusive, non-judgemental, safe space for musical and creative expression... We’re much more than a charity, or a music project: we’re a supportive community" - Young Women's Music Project presents itself. It helps young women learn about and perform music and all the issues around it, via gigs, workshops, talks, training and more. Via Music Journalism Insider.
Metallica’s landmark 1991 self-titled fifth LP has returned to the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in 29 years, Consequence reports. The album reached position 9 with 37,000 units earned for the week. The album’s increased sales were fueled by various reissues marking its 30th anniversary. 'Metallica' remains the top-selling album in the U.S. since MRC Data began electronically tracking music sales in 1991, with 17.3 million copies sold. Drake extends his No1 stay on the chart as the set earns 236,000 equivalent album units, Billboard reports
