Music News

The Maccabees have completed their fourth album.
The five-piece band - featuring Orlando Weeks, Hugo White, Felix White, Rupert Jarvis, and Sam Doyle - revealed they finished working on the much-anticipated record on Monday (16.02.15) after a year of fine-tuning the collection.
Speaking at the NME Awards, they told BANG Showbiz: "We finished it on Monday, we finish mixing next week and then, yeah!
"We thought we finished it a year ago but now it's magic."
The 'Toothpaste Kisses' hitmakers - whose last album 'Given to the Wild' was nominated for 2012's Mercury Prize - also said their fans don't have long to wait to hear the first track from the record, as they will be unveiling the first single next month, and will be playing new songs at BBC's 6 Music Festival in Tyneside, north England, on Sunday (22.02.15).
They continued: "[The first single will be released in] Early March. It's done, I've got it on my phone. The first single is probably the quickest thing we've ever done, and the loudest thing we've ever done.
"We're doing the Radio 6 Music Festival this weekend so we'll be playing some new songs there."
The rockers added they believe the album - which is currently untitled - is a lot better than any of their previous releases.
They said: "I think it's got a little bit more personality, and I think the songs are a lot better."

Dannii Minogue is releasing new music.
The 43-year-old star is set to make her musical comeback at Australia's Mardi Gras gay and lesbian event in Sydney this year having last released an album 12 years ago.
Speaking about her decision to return to the music scene, she said: "I've been wanting to do music for ages but something was holding me back.
"Now I feel really settled. I feel like I'm in a personal space where I can do it and it's going to be fun. Physically I'm really well right now, I had all these health issues in the last few years, I just want to get out there and enjoy it. Mardi Gras makes sense. I just have to brush off the dust and get back out there."
The former 'X Factor' and 'Australia's Got Talent' judge admits it's been so long since she last released music that she thinks she'll surprise viewers of the talent shows who are unaware she used to be a pop star.
She told news.com.au: "I'm sure there's some people who don't know I'm a singer. After sitting in the judging seat on 'X Factor' this is a chance to show people this is what I've done for my whole life.
"There might be people who were there the last time I played Mardi Gras, but there might be people who'll have never seen me perform. They might be going, 'What? She sings?' So it'll be interesting."
Dannii also joked that she's feeling more confident about her singing now that her and her ex-husband Kris Smith's four-year-old son is a fan.
She joked: "When I used to sing when Ethan was really little he'd go, 'Mum, stop', so I just didn't sing.
"He's only heard my new stuff, he's in the know with all that. There's a duet I've written that is really badass funky that he loves."

Kanye West will attend the BRIT Awards.
The outspoken rapper will be in London next week to appear on an episode of Jonathan Ross' ITV chat show and is keen to attend the annual music ceremony - which will take place at London's O2 Arena on February 25 - despite the fact he has not been nominated.
A source revealed: "There's no way Kanye would miss the Brits if he's in London at the same time."
The 37-year-old musician and designer recently performed his single 'Only One' as well as his collaboration with Rihanna and Sir Paul McCartney, 'FourFiveSeconds' at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, and now organisers of the BRITs are eager to persuade the singer to perform, despite the ceremony being less than a week away.
They told The Sun newspaper: "It was a very last minute decision but if he wants to perform, the organisers will definitely make the changes to accommodate him."
And while Kanye is in talks to perform, collaborator Rihanna may also take to the stage, as well as confirmed acts Taylor Swift, George Ezra, Sam Smith, Madonna, Ed Sheeran and more.
An industry insider said: "Brits bosses have wanted to get Rihanna for a long time, but they've been waiting for an answer.
"She has been finalising her album plans and wanted to get the Grammys out of the way before confirming a second performance."

Noel Gallagher has made a "conscious decision to enjoy" his career.
The 47-year-old rocker is gearing up for the release of his new album 'Chasing Yesterday' and is eager to make sure he is able to recall everything he experiences from this part of his life because he has such hazy memories of his drug-fuelled time in Britpop band Oasis.
He explained: "I want to enjoy this because it's a moment in my life that I will never get back. With 'Definitely Maybe', I didn't know what the f**k was going on. Now I'm older and not f***ing high all the time, I've made a conscious decision to enjoy and remember it. But it's different now. I work better when I'm in charge. I think my records prove that."
As well as his maturing attitude, the 'Wonderwall' hitmaker - who has 15-year-old daughter Anaïs, as well as sons Donovan, seven, and Sonny, four - said he has taken more care with his new record than he did with previous albums, and has described it as "a brilliant TV series".
He told The Sun newspaper: "The last one [album, 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds'] wasn't lacking anything, but the difference is the last one was like an expensive film while this is a brilliant TV series. And TV is better than film, so they tell me.
"Initially you've got to make records for yourself and be confident your stuff has got you this far. You fall on instincts. So I don't really worry about if the saxophone is going to freak anybody.
"There is more quality control with what I do now I'm solo."

Blur insist their new album is their best yet and should "surely" outsell Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran.
The Britpop group - made up of vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist and vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree - announced their first studio album, 'The Magic Whip', in 12 years yesterday (19.02.15) and insist they wouldn't have released a record if they didn't think it was good enough for today's charts.
Damon said: "Surely acts like Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran can't possibly sell as many records as us this late into their records' lives, can they?
"Our album is a decent record and we really wouldn't be putting it out after such a long hiatus and stuck our necks out if we didn't believe in it.
"It has to be one of our best records, if not our best record."
The group started to record their new album in Hong Kong in 2013 after gigs were cancelled and they enjoyed having the creative freedom they used to have when they started out in the music industry, but Damon admitted he was "nervous" to hear the record for the first time.
Graham said: "We threw everything at it in five days in Hong Kong, so there was a lot.
"But it was like the early recordings, when we were left alone and had no one breathing down our necks. We could just be creative. Every stage was really nerve-racking though."
Damon added to The Sun newspaper: "The most important thing is that the stuff we recorded in Hong Kong was magical.
"Graham came and said, 'I'd like to take this recording and knock it into shape'. It was a nervous moment when he played it to me.
"I thought, 'Oh s**t!' because it was really good and this sort of thing doesn't happen very often in life, so I couldn't really say no. As soon as I got the bit between my teeth I was back."
Blur were also pleased they managed to keep their album comeback a secret, and Damon was particularly proud that Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett didn't have a clue.
He explained: "It's so hard to keep anything quiet these days but nobody snitched. The best bit was when Jamie started posting new pictures of Gorillaz and he didn't know either!"
During yesterday's album announcement, Damon admitted the group can't wait to try out some of their new tracks from 'The Magic Whip' - which is released on April 27 - when they headline a British Summer Time gig at London's Hyde Park later this year.
The London-born singer said: "On this occasion we will have a whole new set of things to get excited about so we'll have even more music.
"I love it [playing in Hyde Park] because I can cycle to work!"

The Libertines say it feels "good to be back in the studio".
The band - made up of Carl Barat, John Hassall, Gary Powell and Pete Doherty - have recently been working on the follow-up to their self-titled 2004 album in Thailand and are pleased with how it is progressing.
Carl told BANG Showbiz: "Yeah great. I've been in Thailand and we were all together before that. It's just good to be back in the studio making music.
"We've got a few more demos we've got to do but we'll record some of it in Thailand and some in a different mystery location."
However, although they have been working on tracks in the Southeast Asian country as it is where Pete, 35, is in rehab for heroin addiction, they revealed the final recordings for their third LP may not be made in the country, with John keen to make a more upbeat album on the Mediterranean party island Ibiza, at some point in the future.
He continued: "It's not definitely going to be recorded in Thailand, but I think Thailand's a great place, a very relaxed place. The thing was Pete was at a centre there, and we all went out to visit him and then we were a bit jealous, so we thought, 'We need to get out here and make a record.'"
John added: "I think we should do it in Ibiza. Maybe we'll make our next break-up record in Ibiza."
And while they are scheduled to appear at a number of festivals including T in the Park and Ibiza Rocks this summer, Carl believes it is unlikely Pete will return to the UK full time in the foreseeable future.
He added: "We've got a bunch of festivals, we're excited about that, getting back together again and getting on with it. The last festival we did was such a joy, and writing the new stuff has been a joy.
"Apart from popping back for UK shows, I think he's staying out there for a while."

Markus Feehily has released his debut solo single.
The former Westlife singer unveiled his new track 'Your Love Is A Drug,' which was co-written and produced by Mojam, online today (19.02.15) following an 18-month break from the industry.
The 34-year-old star said of the song: "I've always had another side to me that no-one's heard or seen before."
The single is expected to be the first of many for Markus, who is planning to release his debut solo album later this year.
The Irish hunk is hoping to use his past experiences as a member of the well-known band, which split in 2012 after selling over 50 million records worldwide, to benefit his future career.
He explained: "I'm so thankful for my past and the incredible experiences it gave me but now, looking to the future, I'm excited by the prospect of creating and sharing music that comes from within. Songs that I've written about experiences that I've had - soulful, autobiographical pop music."
The news that Markus is launching a solo career comes just weeks after he revealed he has his own catering business.
Speaking to Breakfast Republic presenter Jennifer Maguire on 2FM recently, he said: "I have lots of other interests outside music, I really love festivals and that's probably what started the whole thing. It's a business, I like to keep myself busy.
"You can't be in the studio all day everyday because you can wear down your creative side. It was just an idea we had when we were drinking cocktails in the back garden one summer. Now we have a business and it's going really well."

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson has tongue cancer.
The 56-year-old rocker has undergone seven weeks of chemotherapy and radiology after a small tumour was discovered at the back of his mouth during a routine check-up last December.
A statement on the band's official website reads: "As the tumour was caught in the early stages, the prognosis thankfully is extremely good. Bruce's medical team fully expect him to make a complete recovery with the all clear envisaged by late May."
Despite the positive prognosis, the group predict it will take Bruce a little while to completely recover from his bout of ill health and have asked their fans to respect his privacy at this time.
The statement continued: "It will take a further few months for Bruce to get back to full fitness.
"In the meantime we would ask for your patience, understanding and respect for Bruce and his family's privacy until we update everyone by the end of May. Bruce is doing very well considering the circumstances and the whole team are very positive."
Meanwhile, the heavy metal band - comprised of Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Sith, Nicko McBrain and Janick Gers - finished a three-year world tour last July and hinted during their headline slot at the Sonisphere Festival in Hertfordshire, England, last year that a new album could be on its way.

Blur have announced the release of their first album in 11 years.
The rock band - made up of vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist and vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree - first started working on the record, entitled 'The Magic Whip', while they toured in Asia last year, but the group didn't decide for some time that it would become their eighth studio album.
Damon, 46, said: "We had some downtime, we had a cancellation when we were in Hong Kong, so we thought we'd put five or six days to good use.
"We just went in there and knocked about loads of ideas.
"Nothing happened after that. And I said, 'I really don't think anything's going to happen.'"
Graham, 45, added: "It was casual and just something we did off our own backs and I thought it would be great to let it ferment and go back and have a look."
The news comes shortly after the 'Parklife' hitmakers' new album cover was released online. The sleeve shows a neon ice cream cone between Chinese lettering which reads 'Blur' and 'The Magic Whip'.
Damon said of the artwork: "It's in simplified Chinese characters. On the left it says Blur and on the right it says 'The Magic Whip'."
He added that the rockers are looking forward to playing tracks from the new album, which is out April 27, when they headline Hyde Park's British Summertime later this year.
The London-born singer said: "On this occasion we will have a whole new set of things to get excited about so we'll have even more music.
"I love it [playing in Hyde Park] because I can cycle to work!"

'The Magic Whip' tracklist:
'Lonesome Street'
'New World Towers'
'Go Out'
'Ice Cream Man'
'Thought I Was A Spaceman'
'I Broadcast'
'My Terracotta Heart'
'There Are Too Many Of Us'
'Ghost Ship'
'Pyongyang'
'Ong Ong'
'Mirrorball'