• We were one of the first Aussie music outlets to introduce you to US three piece Hundred Handed, when we dropped a ‘Get To Know’ feature on them back in November (HERE). In it, they mentioned that they’d be releasing a new EP early in 2016 and, true to their word, here ’tis. ‘…Like It’s Saturday’ will arrive at digital retail in the middle of next month. It features four tracks, including (released in January) ‘She Was The One’ and (released in October) ‘Love Me Like The Weekend’. No mention yet, however, of that Australian promotional visit.
• British musician Jake Bugg has a new single, ‘Gimme The Love’. The track was serviced to Australian media yesterday ahead of its imminent digital release. It provides a taste of the singer’s forthcoming third album, due in the coming months. Universal tells us that Jake has already sold more than 60,000 albums down under and that he’ll be back in Australia for a tour before year’s end.
• Zayn’s debut solo album ‘Mind Of Mine’ is now available for pre-order through digital outlets. And as well as lead single (and former No.1 hit) ‘Pillowtalk’, those clicking on the pre-order button will also receive new grat track ‘iT’s YoU’, the video for which is available exclusively on Apple Music. The album is out on March 25.
• British outfit Chase & Status are back with a new single. The boys’ new tune ‘Control’, which features punk rock outfit Slaves, received its first play on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio show earlier this week, at the same time the video was premiering over on Youtube. Catch it HERE.
• Legendary Aussie singer songwriter Paul Kelly will release a new album in April. Entitled ‘Seven Sonnets & A Song’, the album features the acclaimed performer singing lead vocals on six of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, along with a song from ‘Twelfth Night’. Vika Bull performs on ‘My True Love Hath My Heart’. Its release will coincide with the 400 year anniversary of Shakespeare’s death (April 23) and will be launched in conjunction with live appearances at the State Library of NSW.
• ‘The Ship’ is the title of the new album from British artist and producer Brian Eno. The album, Brian’s first in four years, will set sail for retailers in late April, delivering fans a new collection of songs that will feature “minimalist ambiance, physical electronics, omniscient narratives and technical innovation”. “On a musical level, I wanted to make a record of songs that didn’t rely on the normal underpinnings of rhythmic structure and chord progressions but which allowed voices to exist in their own space and time, like events in a landscape,” he says of the LP, which is out April 29.
• Melbourne acapella group Drums Of War have decided to try something a little different for their latest project. Not content with covering just one song, they’ve covered the entire top ten in this year’s Triple J Hottest 100. Check it out HERE.
• Bring Me The Horizon has added a second and final Sydney show to their forthcoming Australian tour. Tickets for all five dates went on sale last Wednesday, but the band’s Sydney date at Hordern Pavilion sold out almost immediately. So a second one’s been added – at the same venue – the following night. Tickets are on sale from midday on Monday February 29.
• auspOp favourite Jordan F will launch his new album ‘Timelines’ with a special one-off show at the Oxford Art Factory on Saturday March 19. He’ll be playing alongside the likes of Nick Pes and DJ Ardie.
• Lukas Graham maintain their lead on this week’s UK singles chart with ‘7 Years’, despite a strong challenge from Rihanna’s ‘Work’, which improves from No.3 to No.2. Jonas Blue’s ‘Fast Car’ is up one, Zayn’s ‘Pillowtalk’ is down two and Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’ surges to No.5 after his win at the Brit Awards. Coldplay bolt into the top ten with ‘Hymn For The Weekend’ (No.17 to No.10), while Mike Posner finally looks like achieving some much-deserved chart success; ‘I Took A Pill In Ibiza’ rocketing from No.42 to No.11.
• There’s no budging Adele from the No.1 spot on the UK albums chart at the moment, especially with her multiple wins at this week’s Brit Awards, including Best British album for ’25’. The ‘Best Of Bowie’ is steady at No.2, ahead of a debut for Jack Garratt’s ‘Phases’ (No.3). James Bay’s ‘Chaos And The Calm’ improves from No.17 to No.7 and Sia’s ‘This Is Acting’ is back into the top ten, due to an improvement in the chart fortunes of latest single ‘Cheap Thrills’. Ronan Keating’s ‘Time Of My Life’ drops from No.4 on debut to No.17, while our own Wolfmother enter the countdown at No.25 with ‘Victorious’.
• Just when you thought Rihanna’s single ‘Work’ was beginning to fizzle out, the premiere of not one, but TWO music videos during the week has resulted in it jumping back up the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, from No.4 to No.1. It overtakes Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’ and knocks last week’s positions one, two and three down a notch each. The new DNCE ‘Cake By The Ocean’ moves into the top ten and the new Charlie Puth single ‘One Call Away’ is now two spots away from the top ten. Lukas Graham’s ‘7 Years’ starts finding its feet Stateside, leaping from No.35 to No.20.
• The Future was now. He was No.1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with ‘Evol’ last week, but his time in the chart sunshine has now passed. Adele says hello again to the No.1 spot with ’25’, ahead of Justin Bieber’s ‘Purpose’, Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ and a debut for Joey + Rory (‘Hymns’) at No.4. Taylor Swift is up from No.20 to No.8 with ‘1989’ and Future drops from one to ten.
• Plenty more chart information coming at you tonight, when we turn our compass towards Australia. Chart Watch is our regular Saturday night look at the ARIA charts. And we’ll be bringing it to you from 6pm AEDT.
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MONDAY FEBRUARY 29 : Bring Me The Horizon (Sydney)
TUESDAY MARCH 01 : Earthcore (Pyalong)
TUESDAY MARCH 01 : This Is Hip Hop (Nationally)
THURSDAY MARCH 03 : Ellie Goulding (Nationally)
FRIDAY MARCH 04 : Bag Raiders (Nationally)
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