• Welcome to your Saturday edition of The Purge! It’s an action-packed one this week, kicking off with the new single from German super producer Zedd. He’s teamed up with so-hot-right-now former 1D star Liam Payne for his new track ‘Get Low’; a track he’s described as “the definition of a summer song”. No doubt he’ll also be hoping to warm up the southern hemisphere’s winter with the single, which dropped digitally yesterday.
• All Our Exes Live In Texas have revealed that they sing backing vocals on the new Kesha single ‘Praying’. “We can finally share with you a collaboration we are so proud of,” bandmember Georgia Mooney says. “As an all-female band, we are aware of the challenges facing women in the music industry. The more we heard about Kesha’s story the more horrified, heartbroken and furious we became. We are extremely proud to be the backing singers on her incredible new song. A song that chooses forgiveness and love over hatred and revenge.” All Our Exes Live In Texas are currently on their ‘When We Fall’ national album tour, which swings by The Workers Club in Geelong tonight.
• New music from Jay-Z is here in the form of ‘4:44’. The track was serviced to Australian media yesterday to coincide with its digital release; his label Universal Music telling us it’s the lead single and title track from Jay-Z’s forthcoming 14th studio album.
• Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke will release his new album ‘Fatherland’ in October. The singer’s third long player will feature duets with both Corinne Bailey Rae and Olly Alexander of British group Years & Years and has been described as the “most mature and musically adventurous chapter” of his career. Released under his full name, the album has been preceded by new song ‘Streets Been Talking’, which is available now. ‘Fatherland’ will drop at retailers everywhere on Friday October 06.
• Melbourne’s Lance Ferguson also has a new album due shortly. It’s called ‘Raw Material’ and has been described by his label Warner as “a total re-think of the remix album concept”. It collaborations with more than 35 producers, vocalists, MCs and musicians. “I basically said to everyone : I am making a solo album, I really want you to guest-produce on it but you have to use this one song (or elements from it) as the basis,” Lance explains. “It is free to sample. Make a new piece of music from what you have here, but add as many other elements on top as you want.” It’s out August 04.
• AlunaGeorge yesterday released their new single ‘Turn Up The Love’. It follows just days after the drop of another single entitled ‘Last Kiss’; Aluna explaining the reason for dropping two tracks in such quick succession. “The creative concept is to release two tracks, one upbeat song and one ballad, to symbolize “light and shade” and highlight the duality of both songs,” she said.
• Talk about backing your contestant. ‘The Voice’ runner up Hoseah Partsch has been announced as a surprise guest on the upcoming Culture Club tour later in the year. “I’m so very proud of Hoseah,” Boy said in a statement. “He’s not only a wonderfully talented artist, he’s a fabulous guy with a big heart and I’m backing him. I’m delighted to welcome him to the Culture Club tour.” Tickets for the tour, which kicks off at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Thursday November 30, are on sale from this Monday.
• The Game will be on Australian soil in September this year, bringing his Westside Story world tour down under for shows in each of the five main capital cities. The rap star will play the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on September 20, Adelaide’s Thebarton Theatre on September 22, Metro City in Perth on September 23, the Luna Park Big Top in Sydney on September 27 and Brisbane’s Eaton’s Hill Hotel on September 29. Tickets on sale from Monday.
• NYE On The Hill will return to the rolling hills of South Gippsland in Victoria in December. Organisers are once again promising one stage with 30 acts, incredible sunsets and good times. They’ve told us to expect all the juicy information (i.e. line-up and ticketing information) at some stage next month. The 2017 edition takes place from Saturday December 30 to Monday January 01.
• Second shows have been added to The Jungle Giants’ upcoming national tour in both Melbourne and Brisbane, with other shows selling fast. The WA band will play a second successive night at the Croxton Hotel in Melbourne on August 27 and a new show at The Triffid in Brisbane on August 20. Tickets for both new dates are on sale now.
• US rock outfit Melvins will be back in Australia in November. Frontier Touring tells us that shows are locked in for all five main capital cities; the tour kicking off at the Capitol in Perth on November 03. Frontier members get first dibs on tickets, with a pre-sale kicking off on Tuesday. General public tickets sales then follow from Thursday July 13.
• Organisers of Wollongong’s Yours & Owls Festival have announced ‘The Last Frost’, a brand new party set down for Saturday August 19 at the University Of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus. Violent Soho are appearing, alongside Cloud Control, The Kite String Tangle and more. Pre-sales are already live. General tickets are ‘go’ from Monday.
• And Wildwood, Port Macquarie’s own boutique music festival, will return in 2017, with a line-up that includes the likes of The Jezabels, British India, Sahara Beck and Alex The Astronaut. It’s set to take place at Cassegrains Winery on Sunday October 01 and tickets are already on sale.
• No change atop the UK singles chart this week; Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber spending a second consecutive week in the top spot after reclaiming it from the Artists For Grenfell last week. DJ Khaled is still in position two with ‘Wild Thoughts’, but with Artists For Grenfell tumbling from No.3 to No.18, the rest of the top six all shift up one position. The new Calvin Harris single ‘Feels’, however, shifts even higher. Featuring the superstar pop powers of Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean, the single bullets from No.21 to No.6. Rita Ora’s ‘Your Song’ is up from No.10 to No.7 and Maggie Lindemann’s ‘Pretty Girl’ is into the top ten (No.12 to No.9).
• Ed Sheeran reclaimed the No.1 album on the UK album chart last week. And this week, even with the superstar power of Calvin Harris and his new album ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1’, he still retains the crown. Calvin has to settle for a No.2 debut for his new collection of dancefloor anthems, with Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s ‘Human’, Royal Blood’s self-titled LP and Stone Sour’s ‘Hydrograd’ making up the rest of the top five (the latter on debut). Even Ed Sheeran’s previous LP ‘X’ is back into the top ten this week (No.12 to No.10). The new self-titled TLC album lobs at the even No.40 on debut.
• It’s another week on top in the US for Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber and their smash ‘Despacito’, which is still holding off DJ Khaled’s ‘I’m The One’, which is steady in position two. But DJ Khaled is under challenge this week… from himself; his new single ‘Wild Thoughts’ (with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) moving from No.4 on debut to No.3. Imagine Dragons have a hit on their hands with ‘Believer’, which bullets into the Billboard top ten (No.11 to No.6). Drake’s new single ‘Signs’ enters the countdown at a lowly No.36.
• Another week, another new No.1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Last week it was Lorde ruling the roost with her new album ‘Melodrama’. This week, it’s the so-hot-right-now DJ Khaled atop the countdown with his LP ‘Grateful’, which debuts in the top spot ahead of the new Imagine Dragons album ‘Evolve’, which debuts at No.2. The repackage of the ‘Purple Rain’ soundtrack has done the trick; re-emergeing in the countdown at No.4, with 311’s ‘Mosaic’ new at No.6. Vince Staples scores the only other top 30 premiere this week; his new album ‘Big Fish Theory’ entering the countdown at No.16.
• That’s it for a huge Saturday edition of The Purge. But we’re not done with you just yet… We’ve got another ace up our sleeves… it’s called ARIA Chart Watch and it’s a rundown of the Aussie top 100 single and album charts. We’ll be live with that at 6pm AEST tonight.
TICKETS PLEASE
MONDAY JULY 10 : The Game (Nationally)
MONDAY JULY 10 : Boy George/Culture Club (Nationally)
MONDAY JULY 10 : The Last Frost (Wollongong)
MONDAY JULY 10 : This That Festival (Newcastle)
THURSDAY JULY 13 : Melvins (Nationally)
Australia's first stop for pop!