Still riding high off the success of his single “Solo,” which was released earlier this year, Canadian EDM talent SHWAY has just teamed up with Brennan Heart for a festival-ready remake.
Known for his diverse sonic identity, which combines elements from progressive house and darker club sounds, SHWAY has had a monumental rise since he made his debut back in 2021, with this new Brennan Heart collaboration serving as a testament to his prowess within the industry. Having worked alongside everyone from Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike to Sub Zero Project, Brennan Heart is one of the Netherlands’ most successful hardstyle efforts, and “Solo” nicely showcases his uplifting style.
SHWAY’s release earlier this year was filled with acoustic instrumentation and subtle dance-pop energy, and Brennan Heart’s addition to the track takes it to new heights. Starting off with minimalistic instrumentation and pensive lyrics, that tell the story of two romantically involved should that are out of sync, “Solo” quickly picks up the pace, with anthemic claps and synths leading to a euphoric drop.
Halifax Piece Hall has announced a scheme that will support grassroots music venues in Calderdale borough through MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund (PIF).
READ MORE: UK grassroots venues “going over a cliff” without urgent government action or investment from arenas
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) signed a groundbreaking agreement with The Piece Hall as well as promoters Cuffe and Taylor that will now give fans who attend concerts at the hall an option to add a donation to MVT when purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster.
All of the funds that are raised will go directly towards supporting grassroots music venues in Calderdale borough through MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund (PIF). The Piece Hall has become the first major UK venue to provide fans with the option to support independent venues directly at the point of purchase.
Speaking of the agreement in a press release, CEO and Founder of Music Venue Trust, Mark Davyd, said: “This has been an incredibly challenging year for grassroots music venues, with more than 100 venues forced to close their doors to live music and many more at risk.
He continued: “It is absolutely vital that everyone in the music industry recognises the incredible strain the grassroots sector is under, and so it’s great to see The Piece Hall leading the way with a plan that will really make a genuine difference to other venues in the local area. We are extremely grateful to The Piece Hall and Cuffe and Taylor for coming together to support the whole ecosystem around them – we hope it inspires others to follow.”
Today (October 4), the MVT also announced the first acquisition under its public ownership scheme.
The #OwnOurVenues initiative was first announced in May, following the news that legendary gig spaces like North London’s Nambucca and Sheffield’s Leadmill were closing their doors or under threat, respectively.
Having been backed by Ed Sheeran, the scheme aims to secure the long-term futures of such venues by directly tackling the issue of ownership.
The official launch of The Snug – a 100-capacity venue in Atherton, Greater Manchester – took place this morning, as did the unveiling of a commemorative plaque.
Many of those who helped the #OwnOurVenues scheme to fruition attended the opening, along with some local musicians – Ivor Novello-winner Jamie Lawson and 16-year-old Jennifer King, the latter of whom is a shareholder in MVP.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the UK is set to lose 10 per cent of its grassroots music venues in 2023.
Last month, The Music Venue Trust have revealed to NME that 67 venues have closed so far this year, with 90 currently working with MVT’s Emergency Response. Roughly half of those are likely to close in 2023 – giving a total of around 100 grassroots music being lost from the UK in 2023; that’s 10 per cent of the number of independent gig spaces in the country.
Group of people dancing at a music venue. – stock photo. Credit: Flashbop via GETTY
Speaking to NME about the MVT’s warning from earlier this year, that the entire live music industry was headed “over a cliff edge” without government action or without eight of the UK’s new large arenas to “contribute to the security of the wider music ecosystem by investing a percentage of every ticket they sell into the grassroots music ecosystem”, Davyd said: “There are more big concerts going on and people are paying more money for tickets than they ever have.”
He continued: “This is the best year for live music in the UK in terms of gross receipts that there’s ever going to be. It’s not possible to make an argument that this can be accompanied by 100 venues closing down, cutting down access to live music for communities and cutting off the talent pipeline for artists that’ll never get to play.
“These two things aren’t compatible, and no one can tell me that it’s acceptable for the top-end of the industry to be turning in these massive gross receipts from these huge tours in stadiums and arenas while a venue 15 miles down the road is closing down because it doesn’t have the £10,000 it needs,” he added. “The amount of money it takes to keep these small venues open is incontestably small in comparison to the money that’s being brought in at the top.”
A crowded concert hall with scene stage in red lights, rock show performance, with people silhouette, colourful confetti explosion fired on dance floor during a concert festival. Credit: Nikolay Tsuguliev
The MVT also penned an open letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about how the situation is “as dire as it can be” with more than one grassroots venue closing in the UK every week.
“Between us finishing our report at Friday at 5pm and coming back at 10am on Monday morning, two more venues closed,” MVT CEO Mark Davyd told NME, paying tribute to Jimmy’s in Liverpool and The Brass in Hastings, which both announced their closure on Saturday (September 23) and Sunday (September 24) respectively.
Davyd continued: “Our report shows that we’ve gone from 960 venues in October of last year to 835 that are actually operating. That’s 125 less and a 15.7 per cent decline. Venues haven’t just closed down, but some of them have also given up putting on live music. The only way that they could afford to survive was to stop putting on live music and start selling pizzas.”
As a way to support independent venues, rock band Enter Shikari recently announced that they would be donating £1 from every ticket sold to their upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour to benefit the Music Venue Trust.
Speaking to NME about their decision to donate £1 from every ticket sold for their upcoming arena tour, the band’s frontman Rou Reynolds said: “It sounds like there’s a lot of focus on providing spaces for the real high-end of the music industry. There are a lot of new arenas on the way, while at the same time there is no support whatsoever for the grassroots circuit. There’s a very clear link between small venues and big venues – especially in the terms of providing new artists with a space to find their way in the industry and find their audience.”
Black Tish originally formed in 1988 in Brussels, Belgium as a sort of experimental/post metal fusion project that incorporated early industrial sound into their work before industrial was really a thing. Founder and scientist Bob Coecke used cutting edge sampling techniques for the time, a host of synth and sound loops and metal-style guitars to create a heavy rock/electronica fusion unlike anything heard before. Unfortunately it also wasn’t heard after for many years as well, as differing opinions and tastes within the band’s original line-up kept their first album, Throbbing Flip Out. Finally completed ten years after it began in 1998, Coecke’s move to Oxford in England to study physics meant the project was shelved once again.
Another 25 years takes us to now, and Throbbing Flip Out is finally out, along with a new sister album called Viral Apocalypse by Coeke with Bruce Warner on Bass and daughter Marieke Coecke on backing vocals. The desire for Coecke to continue the project seems to come from some pinnacle he’s reached both in his scientific work and his conception of his music. The original project in 1988 had a strong nod to musique concrète, a very early genre of electronic music and sound study which uses loops of sound to create beats, melodies and full songs rather than instruments. This obviously inspired Coecke as a scientist as well as an artist, and the sonic science of loops and sampling is present on both albums.
Now a well-known quantum physicist who works specifically on the new cutting edge discipline of quantum computing, Coecke has put together Viral Apocalypse with the same focus on looped sounds and acoustical work but there’s a definite modern edge to the new album. Coecke has said that Throbbing Flipping Out took influence from other industrial pioneers like Throbbing Gristle, Ministry and Butthole Surfers and it’s apparent in that album’s sound. Grungy, raw and using vintage loops while adding metal, the foundation was all there from the beginning. Viral Apocalypse, however, is updated with modern methods, software, drone and a buttload more guitars, it’s where fans would have expected Black Tish to be as they avolved over the years without the gap.
It’s clear that Coecke’s scientific interest in and macabre sense of sound composition has never left him through all these years, and now he’s able to use the tech advancements that may not have been available in the 80s and 90s to make a slicker version Black Tish that can now be defined as industrial post metal. Now working with even more innovative techniques up to and including making music on quantum computers for the next album (due out in about a year, not another 25), it seems Coecke and Black Tish are now more than ready to take their place on the cutting edge of industrial music.
Throbbing Flip Out and Viral Apocalypse are out now and available to stream on Spotify.
Gareth Emery is promising “the most insane lasers ever seen so far in dance music” for his upcoming North American tour.
Known for some of the most impressive light shows in all of music, the trance music icon has been working for over a year to take his love of lasers to the next level. Calling upon his techno alter-ego, LSR/CITY, Emery is set to bring an all-new show to North America early next year.
“This show’s been a year in production, and as well as wildly immersive laser and visual experience, we’ve got an entire body of new music to debut live,” Emery said of his upcoming “LSR/CITY V3” tour in a press release. “We’re giving people the greatest show of their lives… again.”
If you’re wondering what to expect, you can check out a complete set from the “LSR/CITY V2” tour below to see the production that will be upgraded next year.
In addition to the tour announcement, Emery shared the first track to be released under his LSR/CITY alias, “Like A Prayer,” a cover of Madonna’s 1989 track of the same name.
Emery will kick off the “LSR/CITY V3” tour on February 10th, 2024 at Vancouver’s PNE Coliseum. Check out the tour’s flyer with the list of cities and dates that will be given the LSR/CITY treatment next year.
Pre-sale tickets go on sale Wednesday, October 4th and can be found here.
In the realm of techno, T78 has stood as a stalwart figure for over a quarter of a century, forging a robust career marked by an innate musical prowess. Named as one of Dancing Astronaut’s 2023 Artists to Watch, he possesses an intuitive connection with the dancefloor and the cultivation of a truly distinctive sonic identity.
Adding another chapter to his musical legacy, T78 unveils his latest masterpiece, “Hell or Heaven,” a commanding 138-BPM techno juggernaut designed to shake the foundations of a Berlin-esque warehouse setting with its cathartic chants.
Released under his own imprint, Autektone, on October 2, 2023, “Hell or Heaven” emerges as a dark and pulsating anthem. A foundation of deep, rumbling basslines propels the rhythm forward, driven by a punchy kick drum and an intricate layer of percussions, creating a juxtaposition that mirrors the track name. As he reminisces on the creative formation of the single, T78 shares:
“Hell Or Heaven is a suggestive and enveloping cut, it has an appealing duality in which the breakdown makes you feel you’re in Heaven while the drop drags you to Hell. This single is about emphatic outbursts of unbelievable dissonance reminiscent of a rambling performance of “Carmina Burana” sung by a chorus of satan-worshipping cyborgs.”
Hell or Heaven is available to listen on streaming platforms, and for purchase via Beatport.
A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting that wounded one person at a Lil Baby concert last month (September 7).
Last month, The Memphis Police Department said on social media that officers had responded to a report of a shooting at 10:23 p.m. at 191 Beale Street, which is the address of the FedEx Forum, where Lil Baby was playing.
According to a police press release, the show was cancelled immediately after the shooting and the venue evacuated. Lil Baby was reportedly rushed off the stage when shots were fired.
A man was wounded and taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.
Lil Baby confirmed on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, that those who attended the show would be refunded. “Unfortunately I Couldn’t Perform Last Night In Memphis , Ima Make Sure Everybody Gets A Refund Tho,” he wrote.
Kevin Young, 22, was arrested Wednesday (September 27) on charges including reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of weapons and drugs at a home in Memphis, police said on social media (via The Independent). Officers reportedly found guns, ammunition and drugs in the home where Young was arrested. Online court records do not list a lawyer for Young. NME has reached out to the Memphis Police Department for comment.
Earlier this year, Lil Baby took part in The Grammys’ star-studded celebration of hip-hop in honour of the 50th anniversary of the genre.
The moment was preceded by Dr. Dre being recognised with the Global Impact Award, which has now been renamed the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.
Enlisting a massive lineup, Breakaway Festival is gearing up for its official return to the picturesque Bay Area for its 2nd annual event.
San Francisco’s famed Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is once again set to host Breakaway’s Bay Area offshoot, which is taking place October 13-14. Bringing the magic this year is Another Planet Entertainment, renowned for its stellar track record of hosting events with the likes of Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar and Daft Punk, among others.
Danilo Lewis, Kursza
Breakaway Bay Area 2023 promises to surpass all expectations with a star-studded lineup. Leading the charge are Alan Walker, DJ DIESEL, Madeon, NGHTMRE, Big Gigantic, PEEKABOO, Walker & Royce, What So Not and Wuki, who have been billed as headliners for the colossal event.
The huge lineup also includes Bonnie x Clyde, Devault, Henry Fong, Ninajirachi, Rossy and Tsu Nami, as well as EDM.com Class alumni Moore Kismet (Class of 2021) and Kaleena Zanders (Class of 2022).
“To continue our expansion to the west coast, Breakaway Bay Area is back for year two at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium with another incredible lineup featuring an awesome group of talent,” said Zach Ruben, co-founder of Breakaway. “We’re looking forward to this second year in San Francisco growing the Breakaway audience and providing the west coast with an experience they won’t forget.”
Breakaway Bay Area will also present a mesmerizing world of entertainment that extends beyond its impressive lineup. On top of a silent disco party presented by White Claw, the festival site will include captivating art installations as well as a diverse selection of food vendors. A takeover by the beloved events brand Brownies & Lemonade will also take place on a second stage, “The Launch Pad.”
c/o Press
EDM.com has teamed up with the organizers of Breakaway for an exclusive giveaway. Read on to find out how you can win VIP tickets to the festival’s 2023 edition in San Francisco.
EDM.com & Breakaway Festival Bay Area 2023 Giveaway
2x 2-day VIP Tickets
To enter the giveaway, follow @breakaway and @edm, and tag three friends in the post below. Then share it on your Instagram Story, tag @edm and submit your email here.
Passes to Breakaway Festival Bay Area 2023 are available here.
Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry has covered PJ Harvey’s ‘Down By The Water’ with Lo Moon – check out the moment below.
READ MORE: Chvrches talk new single ‘Over’ and their huge stadium gigs with Coldplay: “We’re out of our comfort zone”
The frontwoman of the Scottish synth-pop trio is currently out on a North American tour where she is showcasing a selection of solo material, including her debut single ‘Are You Awake?’.
On Monday (September 2), the Los Angeles-based band Lo Moon played the first night of their residency at Zebulon. Mayberry joined them on stage for a rendition of ‘Down By The Water’, which Harvey released in 1996 from album, ‘To Bring You My Love.’
Elsewhere on the tour, Mayberry has covered Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ and Adam Schlesinger’s ‘That Thing You Do’.
The singer-songwriter is set to play a string of solo concerts in the UK and Europe following her North American gigs. You can find any remaining tickets here (North America), here (UK), and here (EU).
Mayberry’s forthcoming solo tour dates are as follows:
OCTOBER 5 – Glasgow, UK, SWG3 TV Studio 6 – Birmingham, UK, O2 Academy 2 8 – Manchester, UK, Academy 2 9 – London, UK, Koko 11 – Amsterdam, NL, Melkweg Oz 12 – Berlin, DE, Lido 13 – Munich, Strom 15 – Paris, FR, La Maroquinerie 16 – Cologne, DE, Luxor 17 – Prague, CZ, Rock Cafe 19 – Vienna, AT, Flex 21 – Zurich, CH, Bogen F 22 – Milan, IT, Magnolia 24 – Barcelona, ES, La Nau 25 – Madrid, ES, Sala Capernico
PJ Harvey, meanwhile, was joined on stage last night in Manchester by Smiths legend Johnny Marr.
The singer-songwriter was performing the second of two consecutive gigs at the city’s Albert Hall as part of her current UK and European headline tour. After playing her latest album ‘Inside The Old Year Dying’ in full, Harvey treated the audience to a second set of songs.
“I’d like to welcome a very special guest to the stage – please welcome Johnny Marr,” the artist said ahead of a collaborative rendition of ‘The Desperate Kingdom of Love’. The former Smiths guitarist later returned for the encore tracks ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘White Chalk’.
In a five star review of the show, NME said: “The capacity audience watch on in an awed silence: it’s just one of many such pinch-yourself moments in a gig that reminds us just why Harvey is such a beloved and adored cultural titan.”
Step into the melodic twilight of Low Mileage’s new single, “Hold You,” where mesmerizing beats serenade you through the corridors of a crumbling love story.
With its nostalgic sound design and aching voicemail sample, the spellbinding future-trap track is a vivid canvas of a relationship on life support, exploring the struggle of letting go when you know it’s time to say goodbye.
Mileage manages to construct a sonic labyrinth of heartache, the soundtrack to that eerie, gnawing silence right after you walk away. His melancholic production does well to explore the haunting paradox of holding onto a love that’s unraveling, drawing you into the depths of a doomed relationship’s storm with a cyclone of distorted plucks and deep bass.
Despite his relatively recent foray into the electronic music world, Low Mileage has made a dramatic entrance. His unique sound, a woozy blend of wistful electronica and effervescent future bass, has led him to nab high-profile releases with NCS and Circus Records, among other esteemed labels.
Take a listen to “Hold You” below and find the new song on streaming platforms here.
The Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates has announced that it will split into two entities amid its sex abuse scandal.
One of the entities named Smile-Up will be focusing on compensating the victims of sexual abuse by the company’s founder Johnny Kitagawa, who passed away in 2019. The other entity will continue to work with upcoming artists.
The agency will be operating under a new name as an apparent way to disassociate itself from its disgraced founder. The name has yet to be decided on. The company has stated that over 300 victims have come forward to claim compensation (via Reuters).
The dissolution of the company comes after the agency launched its own investigation following the release of a BBC documentary titled Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop.
The documentary shared Kitagawa’s alleged history of sexual abuse and was aired earlier this year. Upon its release, new accusers came forward.
President of Japanese boyband empire Johnny & Associates, Noriyuki Higashiyama (C), president of Johnnys’ Island, Yoshihiko Inohara (L), and lawyer Hiroshi Kimeda (R) face the media during a press conference in Tokyo on October 2, 2023, to announce the new company name “SMILE-UP”. (CREDIT: STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)
Kitagawa was arguably the most influential figure in Japan’s entertainment industry and his agency has held a near-monopoly on Japanese boy bands for decades.
Per BBC, he had faced allegations of sexual misconduct while he was alive and some were proven in a civil court, but he never faced charges. He had continued recruiting and training teenage boys until his death in 2019, aged 87.
“We will disband Johnny & Associates and face the victims in a sincere manner. The new company will create a new future with its fans,” said Noriyuki Higashiyama, the agency’s current president, at a recent news conference to announce Smile-up.
The previous boss of the agency, Julie Keiko Fujishima — Kitagawa’s niece — was ordered to resign from her position following the accusations against her uncle.
According to the report released by independent investigators in August, the fact Kitagawa’s niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima, took over the agency “is one of the biggest causes of governance failure” that was said to have caused the abuse to persist for decades. Subsequently, they argued her replacement was “necessary”, particularly since it would also allow Johnny and Associates to restructure its leadership.
This photo illustration taken in Tokyo on July 10, 2019 shows front pages of Japanese daily newspapers publishing pictures of Japan’s leading boyband star-maker Johnny Kitagawa, who died on July 9, 2019. Credit: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images
The investigators said Fujishima must have known about the abuse but did nothing about it, despite her claim that she hadn’t been aware of it.
There was no immediate response from the agency or Fujishima to the findings of the investigation or its recommendation that she leave her post.
Last month, Higashiyama was accused of sexually assaulting young boys.
He appeared at a press conference on September 7, where he was met with questions about the claims.
At the event, journalists asked him whether allegations published in a book, which claimed that he massaged boys’ crotches, exposed his genitals and told them to “eat my sausage” were true (via BBC News).
Here, he responded that he had no recollection of any events that may or may not have happened. “I don’t remember clearly,” he responded. “Maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t. I have trouble remembering.”
He did however acknowledge claims that he had bullied younger performers, saying that it was possible he had been overly strict with them and would not behave in that same manner now.
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