Twitter is rapidly becoming thee place to trawl for rumors and exclusives. Don’t believe us? Try this one on for size: Talib Kweli has announced his latest collaboration via the social networking site:

“Wait in the lab with mfdoom madlib and kanye. No words”

In other words, it looks as if Kweli has teamed up with Madlib (after their brilliant album Liberation arrived in 2007), MF Doom, and Kanye West for some sort of collaboration, and the possibilities have set tongues wagging.

Of course, the timing couldn’t be better, what with fans hoping for a return to the underground for West, who faced public ridicule over the Taylor Swift incident at the VMA’s, and the fact that Madlib and MF Doom’s Q-rating is quite high right now (cough cough Madvillian).

The details don’t go beyond there, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated if we find out more.

Original article at Consequence Of Sound

VV Brown has taken the smart move of building up to her debut U.S. release. In a bid to avoid the common U.K. to U.S. “lost in translation” effect, the London-based singer will precede her forthcoming debut full-length, Travelling Like The Light, with two smaller releases.

The Attic EP premiered digitally on October 20th; the four track release contains pivotal songs from Travelling Like The Light. The EP will be followed her first U.S. physical release, a 7-inch featuring 2 songs — “LEAVE! (Little Boots Mix)” and “Crying Blood (Andrew Weatherall Remix), out November 17th.

The digital marketing push coincides with a TV coup — her songs have recently been featured on CSI: NY, The Vampire Diaries, and The City a Desperate Housewives promo. Travelling Like The Light, is due on February 9th, 2010.

The Attic EP Tracklist:
01. Game Over
02. Quick Fix
03. Crying Blood (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
04. Shark in the Water (Acoustic)

Sufjan Stevens opened up the Pandora’s box that is his future (beyond all the other new stuff) in a recent interview with Mich Vish Interracial Morning Show!. Recording a Q&A session, which will air this Wednesday at 8:00 AM EST, the singer/songwriter spoke at length about his ever-changing feelings:

“I’m trying to dissuade any kind of conceptual framework and just write music, love songs, pop songs, and just forget all that conceptual mess…”

And just as The Strokes look to be moving further and further from their fourth album, Sufjan seems intent on not completing the “Fifty States Project”. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long for his newest material; the next album should be arriving next year.

“I think that a lot of the new material that I’m working on is inspiring enough to get me to record it and maybe have a new record out next year.“

Read more excerpts from the interview in Vish Khanna’s sneak peek. Then, click here for a preview of what probably is to come.

Original article at Consequence Of Sound

Having found their frontman, Glasvegas’ guitarist Rab Allen recently outlined what’s ahead for the Scotish outfit, specifically the recording plans for its highly-anticipated second album. Speaking to Spinner U.K., Allen confirmed that the followup to the band’s 2008’s self-titled debut will be here soon rather than later: “We do one last show in Poland and then we go straight to Los Angeles and we’re gonna record the next album there. That’ll be released early next year.”

The move leaves no down-time for the band, after its U.S. tour followed on from a hectic home debut. “That was our choice. James [Allen] has been writing a lot… It’s great and we just wanted to try to get the next thing out as [soon] as possible.”

The calendar is already regimented, but the band is looking to fit in some sightseeing time whenever possible. “Me and James will come out and finish off the demos and then the rest of the band will come out in November … I think we’ll probably spend Christmastime there as well. My mom and James’ mom are going to come over. We invited them over. We’ll send them to Vegas for a few days. They’ve never been to America.”

The band have chosen to keep Rich Costey and maintain continuity across the records. He will co-produce with lead-singer James Allan, and they may be taking up one Mr. Rubin on an earlier offer. “I think Rick Rubin said we could do the drums in his house,” Rab says.

Just make sure you keep Houdini off the record, okay?

On March 2nd, 2010, the pride and joy of New Zealand, aka The Ruby Suns, will look to followup the release of 2008’s Sea Lion and a 2009 that has included a massive U.S. tour with The Dodos by releasing their third full-length effort, Fight Softly.

In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Ryan McPhun, the group’s singer/songwriter, revealed that the direction of the band’s third album will be far different than experimental summer effort that was Sea Lion.

For starters, the release, Fight Softly, will deliberately explore darker themes: “With this new album, I just wanted to do something different because doing the same thing would just be boring to me. It’s probably the opposite of what I did for the last one.”

McPhun went on to explain that he’ll be drawing closely from his personal taste in music, namely pop: “I was trying to incorporate more classic pop stuff. A lot of the reverbs on Bad were really inspirational to me– though that might sound silly. In the last year or two, I had a break from guitar music. I’ve just been appreciating pop music.”

And it seems the influences might run deeper than that, as McPhun would like to work with a renowned pop producer: “We were just talking about working with other producers, and how Teddy Riley– who worked on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album– might be available.”

Of course, all will be revealed on March 2nd when the record hits stores via Sub Pop.

Imogen Heap- First Train Home | Link 2

Imogen Heap’s production values have always been absolutely pristine, and this is very much the same. Remember “Hide & Seek”? Of course you do- well, “First Train Home” uses the same vocal layering affect, albeit more as one of many tricks rather than the vocoder effects that made “Hide & Seek” such an essential, popular hit. “First Train Home” is already confirmed as the opening track and first single for her latest album, Ellipse, due out on August 25th.

AEG have taken the best possible action in releasing video of Michael Jackson’s last rehearsal for the This Is It tour. This footage was taken on the Tuesday night at the Staples Centre, and as you will see, Michael looks in great shape. It’s hard to believe he died from cardiac arrest less than 48 hours later. For a 50 year old, he certainly still had ‘it’, moving with the same natural rhythm that he always possessed.

The vocals are not live, perhaps suggesting the tour would be the same (much like the History tour). This would have been a shame. Many rumours suggest that AEG will be producing a rehearsals/production DVD to recover some of the financial losses they have made, so we should hopefully be seeing more of these production tapes. Watch the clip below, shed a tear for the King Of Pop:

I had never considered the possibility. I took him for granted. This news, that the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday is absolutely crushing, a blow that makes me sick to my stomach. I have been considering the best way to remember him for the last few days, yet nothing that I can say or do will change the fact that we have lost a true pioneer. Most things have already been said, so in this tribute I’ve tried to express how I feel and also to collate some of the speculation, alongside musical memories (see the end of the post). I’ll be posting a true musical tribute soon.

Michael Jackson collapsed at his California residence at around noon Pacific time on Thursday, June 25th. His personal doctor attempted to resuscitate him at the scene, before an ambulance arrived and took him to UCLA Medical Centre. Jackson was prounounced dead at 2.26 PM, from a suspected cardiac arrest. Michael was just short of his 51st Birthday.

However, a recording of the 911 call and a video of the ambulance’s departure point towards the possibility that there was never any hope for Michael. The urgency which you might expect was not there- the ambulance making multiple attempts to reverse out of the drive and no mention being made in the 911 call made that this was Michael Jackson’s residence. There have been reports that the ambulance team wanted to pronounce Michael dead at his house, but his personal doctor would not allow them to make ‘the call’.

An autopsy was performed on Saturday, with results pointing to no foul-play in the death- the Jackson family have already suggested they will request a second autopsy, and toxicology results from the first may take weeks to arrive. Michael’s personal cardiologist (Dr. Conrad Murray) was believed to be ‘on the run’ but has since co-operated with the investigation. It was initially believed that he administered a fatal dose of painkillers (Demerol, specifically) to Michael prior to his death, but was earlier told he was ‘free to go’.

Lisa Marie Presley’s (his first wife) outpouring also supports this fact- Michael purportedly said, in reference to the circumstances of her father’s (Elvis Presley) death “I am afraid that I am going to end up like him”. Michael’s supposed addiction started through back pain, and some say it was a vice that he was unable to beat.

This is the most affecting news for a long, long time. In the modern era, the effects are uncharted. Twitter closed down and Google went into self-defence mode as the number of queries for the term “michael jackson” rocketed beyond what was programmed into the systems. MTV devoted their entire network to Michael for 48 hours- fitting, considering all his work on the crossover video hits, including “Thriller” and “Bad”. And already, numerous artists have recorded tribute songs (see below).

Jackson’s comeback at the O2 arena was scheduled to begin on July 13th, mere weeks away. Many were hoping for a triumphant return, and on these terms, Michael will never get that chance to finally put the questions to rest. AEG (the tour promoters/organisers) stand to lose a lot of money, and the situation regarding the refund of tickets is starting to be released. I was one of the lucky few with a ticket to see him at the O2. On September 21st, I would have seen his ‘This Is It’ tour in London. It is a bizarre twist of fate- I have always held seeing him perform live as one of my musical targets in life, alongside many modern fans.

What of the man? His appearance and personal life polarised opinion and was the precursor to the modern paparazzi culture, but no one can argue that Michael made unmatched contributions to the world of music, raising the level of performance and recorded music.

His well-charted relationship with plastic surgery and health fads (hyperbaric chambers and masks- the latter an ‘illusion’) tarnished his image, alongside the tempestuous allegations of child-molestation. He was cleared of all charges, but never looked the same man. Those who know him well regularly comment on his health, and he was said to be in good shape for the O2 residency, having danced and sung in rehearsal on Wednesday night.

His character had it’s flaws, largely due to his highly unusual childhood. He was, however, a person with the best intentions at heart, clearly shown through his endless contributions to charities and people less fortunate. His talent was unquestionable, blessed with a pure voice and the Midas touch. His choreography is just as relevant today, and he raised the level of musical performance, directly influencing all those who produce music today. I share the opinion that someone like Michael Jackson only comes along once- he is simply untouchable.

Personally, I have many ‘musical moments’ with MJ’s albums. I remember searching endlessly for a live version of “Scream” on Youtube, finally finding one of the only performances on the History tour when he went it alone, without the backing track. And it is truly, truly impressive, one of his best performances to date (see below). “Thriller” soundtracked my mid-teens, exploring all the music that I had missed due to my age. I found “Money”, a real gem, on History. There are so many potential singles, spanning across his career, that never got the attention they deserved.

I really hope his family release the remaining material, including his as-yet unreleased album and video recordings of his rehearsals for the O2 performances. The ‘Dangerous’ tour tapes can be found on Youtube (”Beat It” below), and are the best display of his performing talent and character. For the latter part of his career, Michael mimed in many of his performances, but in the tapes he sings and dances, even adding in the sound effects and guitar solos when the sound team miss the cues. It is a special reminder of his talents, to see him with his guard down, having fun on stage, the place where he was ‘most comfortable’.

There are promising signs for the future- a catalog of 100 unreleased songs was kept for Michael’s children, but the debt which he accumulated will probably force their sale. Jackson has purportedly racked up $400 million of debts, but his death may be the only thing that can change the tide- industry analysts are already predicting 1 billion record sales (a huge increase from his charted 750 million) which should clear his estate of all outstanding costs. The back-catalogues are linked to his children’s trust funds, so the creditors won’t be able to touch it.

I am sure there are still a few more twists and turns to his story- I’ll be keeping the site up to date with any further developments. This is tragic, but I hope we always remember Michael the performer, the badass, the pioneer. He was taken before his time. Rest in peace, the King Of Pop. We will never forget you.

The Game ft. Chris Brown, Diddy, Polow Da Don, Mario Winans, Usher, Boyz II Men- Better On The Other Side (Tribute to MJ) Link 2 Link 3

Don Diablo- Song for MJ (Remember the time) Link 2 Link 3

Michael Jackson- Billie Jean (Home Demo from 1981) Link 2 Link 3