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18 Aug 2023

Wagakki Band Talks New ‘I vs I’ Album, Including ‘Baki Hanma’ Season 2 Theme: Interview

Wagakki Band recently released I vs I, its first album of original compositions in roughly three years. The album’s theme is battle, and it’s studded with songs that show the band’s distinctive style, fusing traditional Japanese music and rock. Songs range from tie-ups such as music created for the Baki Hanma Pickle Wars Saga, the full season of which is currently streaming on Netflix, and the TV anime MARS RED, whose story depicts the conflict between vampires and humans, to songs that focus on the aftermath of battle.

Wagakki Band’s previous album was TOKYO SINGING, released in August 2020. In the years since, the band has undergone several changes, but it’s never stopped playing live. We talked to Yuko Suzuhana (vocals), Kurona (wadaiko), Beni Ninagawa (Tsugaru-jamisen) and Machiya (guitar & vocals) about the spirit of this new album. 

The intro to “The Beast,” the first track of the album and the opening theme to the Baki Hanma Pickle Wars Saga, has a startlingly fresh feel to it. Machiya, I hear you’re a huge fan of the Baki series. I’m sure that this must have been a particular pleasure for you. You must have put a lot of thought into it.

Machiya: That’s right. I’d already read the comics that the new season is based on, so a concept immediately sprang to mind. The series’ main character is Pickle, so in writing the lyrics I focused on him. We used kecak, folk music from Bali, Indonesia, to give the song a more exotic Asian feel. The rough demo version had a fresh, raw feel, so we kept the track that we recorded for the demo.

Yuko Suzuhana: The song was written to be the anime’s opening theme, so we actually recorded it two years ago. The anime just exudes masculinity, so I consulted with Machiya about how to express the feel of the anime in the song. We arrived at the idea that we should use a pitch range that feels like it’s supporting the music from below, serving as its foundation, so I sang in a key that was really low for me. In singing, I tried to reflect what Machida was trying to express through the lyrics and the music, which he wrote. The English parts of the chorus, the nuances of the lyrics, and the power of the music made a really strong impression on me.

Beni Ninagawa: The new album has songs with the classic Wagakki Band sound but also songs that go in new directions, like “Starlight,” which has a more digital sound. The second half of the album has songs without any anime tie-ins, and I think they also have the distinctive Wagakki Band sound. In last year’s release, Vocalo Zanmai 2, we played covers of Vocaloid songs using traditional Japanese instruments, and there were parts in registers where I couldn’t really shred, making them hard to play. “The Beast” didn’t have any parts that presented as much difficulty. Instead, there are a lot of phrases that were very natural to play on a shamisen (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument)– that were possible precisely because they were played on shamisen — and I think you can really hear the instrument’s qualities in the song.

Kurona: One of what makes Wagakki Band special is our use of traditional Japanese instruments in rock music, and I think “The Beast” makes really good use of that. One of the highlights of this heavy song is the way the power of the wadaiko (traditional Japanese drums) synchronizes with and boosts the rock drums. My older brother is on the team that makes the incidental music for the Baki anime, so actually when you hear wadaiko in the show itself, that’s my brother. So since Wagakki Band was going to be creating the theme song, I was like “no way I’m going to let my brother beat me.” This is the first time my brother and I have ever crossed paths in our work, so it was a deeply emotional experience, but it also spurred a sense of competitiveness and a strong desire to make something cool.

I’d like to ask you a bit about “Flower of Dusk” which you wrote, Suzuhana.

Yuko Suzuhana: This album has a lot of battle songs, so I wanted to write a kind of energetic song with a feeling of ephemerality. I also wanted to make the main focus of the song about one’s inside world. Last year, I took a bit of a break, and I wrote the song when I was struggling internally, taking a long, hard look at myself. I wanted to express the borderland between dream and reality, between the world of pitched competition and Mother Earth. The song is about putting one’s life on the line and fighting, but it also conveys a sense of motherly love.

That feeling of ephemerality is also expressed in the album’s ninth song, “Road to Utopia” It and the 10th song, “Ark of Time” depict the aftermath of defeat in battle.

Yuko Suzuhana: These songs share a sense of unity with the rest of the album in depicting what comes after defeat. That time, when one finds oneself drowning in sorrow, is also a time of healing. I wanted to write a song that resonated with the feelings of modern listeners — a song that would encourage them. My father died when I was quite young, and my own view of life in death is that, while I can’t see him, he’s out there. I want to live my life to the fullest while I’m alive, and then when we meet again I’ll tell him all about it. That’s how I pick myself up again when I experience failure, and I often reflect that view of life in my lyrics.

Machiya: From the very start, I wanted “Ark of Time” to be a sparsely instrumented song, without a rhythm section — no drums, wadaiko, or bass. I wanted to include natural, ambient sounds, like looking over the world after a battle had drawn to a close. “Road to Utopia” is also a slow song, but it goes in a totally different direction, and I think it flows smoothly into “BRAVE.”

The first half of the album contains all the battle songs, and then the second half looks to the future with a feeling of optimism and hope. We wanted to end the album on a beautiful note, so pretty early on we decided that “BRAVE” would be the closing song.

The last number, “BRAVE,” is a live show anthem, right? Your last album, TOKYO SINGING, ended with “Singin’ for…” and you can feel how much you’ve changed over the past three years.

Beni Ninagawa: When we first played “Singin’ for…” live, all the audience could do was put their hands in the air. The ability for the audience to make some noise at shows is a big part of the live music experience, and we’re making “BRAVE” into a song that everyone can sing along with together. We all recorded the chorus together. It was like “We’ll finally be able to do this at our shows!”

What kind of stage show are you putting on in your current I vs I tour? 

Kurona: The audience finally doesn’t have to be silent anymore, and from the very start, one of the things that makes our shows great is the sense of unity, so it feels like the pieces are finally coming together — like we can finally put on our ideal show.

Yuko Suzuhana: Personally, I want to fully live up to everybody’s expectations. We’re singing about battle, so I want to be swinging around a sword.

The pandemic is finally winding down, and the number of overseas tourists is on the rise. When you think you’re ready, there will also probably be opportunities to play overseas, right?

Beni Ninagawa: I feel like now is the time for Wagakki Band to show what it’s truly capable of. We have a lot of fans in Taiwan and Indonesia, so I’d love to do an Asian tour. And in addition to doing shows for our fans outside Japan, I’d also like for us to express ourselves in lots of other ways, too.

After the pandemic hit, Wagakki Band was the first band in Japan to play an arena show with an audience, with restrictions, in August 2020. You’ve been putting on live shows ever since, without stopping, right?

Yuko Suzuhana: Even now, three years later, every time someone thanks us for putting on that first show I think about how putting on an arena show when we did created an unforgettable experience for me as an artist and as a person.

Beni Ninagawa: That’s just one of the ways that we’ve been keeping up the fight.

—This interview by Mariko Ikitake first appeared on Billboard Japan

18 Aug 2023

DannyLux on Being ‘Limitless’ With New Album ‘DLux’: ‘I Want to Show the World the Real Danny’


After hitting No. 1 Billboard‘s Latin Songwriters chart early on in his career, releasing back-to-back EPs and making his Coachella debut in April, DannyLux has built a confidence that’s allowed him to be limitless for his debut album. In a span of nine months, the música mexicana artist wrote DLux, an eclectic 17-track set that thrives on a collection of styles including bachata, EDM, pop and his signature guitar-driven sad sierreño sound.

The 19-year-old from Palm Springs winds through love and loss, singing ultra-melancholic songs with a glimmer of hope puncturing through. “I was going through a lot of things in relationships when I was writing this album,” he explains. “That’s why some of the songs are really sad and some are happy.” The heartbreak theme is what makes DLux so relatable, but it’s the sound — inspired by an array of genres — that DannyLux (real name Daniel Balderrama) hopes will strike a chord with his fans.

“I didn’t really put any limits on myself,” he explains. “I’ve always approached my music that way but I used to be kind of scared. Now, I want to show the world that I’m finding my style and the real Danny. That is why I called this album DLux because when you order a meal if you get the deluxe it usually means the better version. DLux is the better version of me. I started realizing the people just want to hear you and who you are authentically.”

And he didn’t shy away from featuring new collaborators. While he taps Eslabon Armado for their fourth collab together, “Me Cambiaste,” DannyLux also recruits emerging acts such as Argentine singer-songwriter Yami Safdie and Dominican-American Melvin War. There’s also Pablo Hurtado from the Mexican trio Camila (“Zafiro”) and indie star Cuco (“Decir Adiós: Oye Narrador),” two artists DannyLux has long admired.

“I put so many emotions into this album,” DannyLux says. “I hope fans will enjoy it. I love how they’ve always supported me even when I try out new styles or genres.” He’s already working on the deluxe version of DLux, which he teases will include five new songs.

In the meantime, DannyLux breaks down five tracks from DLux, out today (Aug. 18), in his own words:

“Decir Adios: Oye Narrador” (with Cuco)

We literally made that song the first time we met. It was two years ago when I had a session with Cuco and I was, like, peeing myself, because I’ve always looked up to him. He truly changed the Latin indie scene. He was one of those pioneers. I remember I showed up that day to the session, we were getting to know each other and we randomly started writing this song. We recorded the whole demo, we stayed in touch. He then told me he wanted to use a part I sing in the demo for his album.

That song on his project is called “Decir Adiós” — and in my head, I was like “D–n, I still really like that original idea of the one we recorded before, the demo.” So that’s why in my album, it’s that demo, but we made a few changes to it. Mine is called “Decir Adiós: Oye Narrador”, because it’s mostly talking like a narrator. It’s like in a movie, when an actor starts talking directly at a camera or to the audience. It’s basically like that but in a song.

“Ferxxo100”

I’ve always admired Feid and the way he writes. This song is so good, and then it turns into a reggaetón — I was like, “D–n.” I started thinking about it, and thought if I try to slow it down using the same lyrics and melodies but just slower, it might sound sick. I learned how to play it on the guitar, and I remember one day we were in Texas for a show and I was in the hotel room alone and I started playing it on the guitar — it sounded so cool. My engineer and producer was in the same hotel and I called him saying, “Bro, come to my room right now and bring your mics and your computer.”

We recorded the first demo just to see how it would sound, and it was sick. Later, when we were back home, we re-recorded it and put some final touches on it — like an electric guitar and literally the drums you hear in there, I recorded that part. I didn’t even know I knew how to play the drums. I actually just looked on YouTube quickly how to play a certain drums style, and that’s how that song came to be. I really admire how Feid writes. I hope he likes my version.

“Mi Hogar” with Maye

It’s crazy, because when I started making my own music, I’d listen to her songs, and I was such a huge fan, I still am. When we were in the studio together for a songwriting session, it was unreal. I felt the same way I did when I met Cuco. I love her voice, and I thought, “If she sings this part, it would be awesome.” She was so nice and so down to be part of it. It wasn’t even a bachata at first — it was kind of like a pop song — but I wanted to add more bachata to the album so it became a very tropical song.

When we were writing the lyrics we were kind of stuck at first, we didn’t know what to write. You know when your laptop kinda goes into your screensaver after not using it for a while? The engineer had his computer and it went to his screensaver, which was a bunch of houses on the beach. So, the opener became “una casa frente al mar (a house in front of the beach).” I’ve become a fan of bachata recently. I love that genre. So much goes into that style, and it just makes you want to dance.

“La Lluvia” (with Jordyn Shellheart)

I had a writing session with Jordyn in Tennessee — and, to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, because it was country artists. I’m always open to anything, and I thought, what if a sick song comes out of this? I’ll just try my best. I met her and she’s such a nice person. I started with chords for that song, and I thought it would be a good interlude in the album — because it’s so soft and calm, just so people could take a break and relax after listening to the other songs. When I first heard her sing “La Lluvia,” it was a crazy thing. Her voice is sick. We finished it that same day and that song is probably one of my favorites on the album.

“House of Lux“

I’ve always listened to EDM and house music and I’ve always made random beats with that style. When I was making an album I was like low key I want an outro for it, instead of having an intro. And so I started making that beat and I thought I should add my vocals here and there. I just wanted to make a song that I would hear at a club, and I want this one to be played at a club with people singing and dancing to it. That’s my dream for this song.

18 Aug 2023

Guns N’ Roses Released Florid Piano Rocker ‘Perhaps’ a Week After it Leaked to Digital Jukeboxes

It’s been 15 years since Guns N’ Roses dropped their last album, so at this point the band’s fans are psyched to hear any new music from the hard-touring Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. And in typical Guns fashion, their new single, “Perhaps,” is actually pretty old, and it’s journey to our ears was circuitous, at best.

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The good news is that “Perhaps” has all the elements you want from a GNR song: it opens with a piano-pounding riff and singer Axl Rose’s signature howl and features a menacing, bluesy guitar underpinning a twisty, turgid ballad bisected by one of Slash’s classic hurricane solos.

It’s the first new song we’ve heard since Rose — who had been touring with an expansive cast of side players as GNR for years after the band’s slow-motion implosion in 1996 when Slash quit — reunited with Slash and bassist Duff McKagan in 2016. And, in a pointed about-face from the often pugnacious, no-apologies lyrical attack of the band’s classic catalog, the now-61-year-old Rose sounds downright contrite and apologetic at points in the song.

“Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t see you/ Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t believe you,” he sings in the opening lines. “Hey, my sense of rejection/ Hey, hey, is no excuse for my behavior/ You pulled the gun/ That shot and crucified my savior,” he continues on the track that reportedly was first recorded during the sessions for the band’s most recent album, 2008’s Chinese Democracy.

The latter was the first new music from GNR since the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? Democracy album took nearly 14 years to complete and featured more than a dozen contributors, with keyboardist Dizzy Reed representing the only link to the band’s classic lineup.

After poor-quality bootlegs of “Perhaps” began circulating when the band played it during soundcheck before a June 2023 Tel Aviv show — an unfinished demo version had been floating around the internet for years — Guns fans were surprised last week when “Perhaps” reportedly leaked via TouchTunes digital jukeboxes according to Blabbermouth.

Though there have been whispers of the revamped GNR recording new music, to date “Perhaps” falls in line with two other “new” songs the band has released recently, two other leftovers that dropped in 2021, “Absurd (aka Silkworms),” and “Hard Skool,” which are also both reportedly from the Chinese Democracy era.

The band also released an official video for the song that features footage of the three iconic members on stage playing to packed stadiums all around the world. Check it out below.

18 Aug 2023

Commemorative Jay-Z Library Cards Have Seriously Boosted Brooklyn Public Library Accounts

Jay-Z has told us before that he’s a business, man. And if you ask the folks at the Brooklyn Public Library business is good these days. According to CNN, since Jay’s career-spanning “The Book of Hov” exhibit opened on July 17 at the Library, a spokesperson tells the news outlet that it has resulted in 14,000 new library accounts.

“The community’s enthusiastic response to this exhibition is a testament to Jay-Z’s immense impact,” Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, told CNN of the reaction to the 40,000-square foot career retrospective. As part of the yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Jay’s Roc Nation and the Brooklyn Public Library released 13 limited-edition library cards featuring artwork from different Jigga albums as part of the exhibit that takes viewers on a deep-dive into Jay’s career via videos, rare photos, artifacts and original recordings.

The library cards — which will be available through the end of this month — were offered for free for New York State residents; only one can be activated at the library to check out resources. As you might expect, a library employee said some people have been trying to sell the limited-edition cards online, though they said that represented a small fraction of the thousands who’ve signed up for a new card so far.

Due to the overwhelming response, the “Book of Hov” was recently extended through October. If you can’t make it there in person, the interactive “Book” website has a chapter-by-chapter recap of the items in the exhibit, with New York radio legend Angie Martinez providing the narration for the collection whose name was inspired by a lyric from DJ Khaled’s 2022 Grammy-nominated anthem “God Did.”

Check out images of the cards below.

18 Aug 2023

Herb Alpert on Making His Grand Ole Opry Debut, Country Artists He Admires & Taylor Swift Tying His Six-Decade Record

At 88, Herb Alpert has had one of the most illustrious and celebrated careers in American popular music. As leader of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and as a solo trumpeter, he has won 9 Grammys and sold more than 72 million albums. He co-founded A&M Records with the late Jerry Moss, bringing the work of Janet Jackson, the Carpenters, The Police, Peter Frampton, Cat Stevens and many more artists to the public. 

Until July when Taylor Swift tied his record, Alpert had been the most recent artist to have four albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously, and on Sept. 15, he’ll release his 49th studio album, Wish Upon a Star. The album’s first single is “East Bound and Down,” an instrumental remake of the Jerry Reed hit that Reed took to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart in 1977 and then revived for the 1980 film Smokey and the Bandit. 

It would seem that Alpert has done it all, but there are still some firsts ahead of him. He’ll check off a big one tonight (Aug. 18), when he plays the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville for the first time. Also on the bill is Carrie Underwood. 

He may be making his Opry debut, but Alpert has some long relevant ties to Nashville and the country community that he shared with Billboard. He also admits that it took him some time to come around to Willie Nelson, and makes clear that he has nothing but kind words for Swift. The conversation, condensed and edited for space and clarity, took place Aug. 15, one day before Moss died. 

So here you are at 88, doing something that you have never done before by playing the Opry. Has this been on your checklist? 

I never thought about it. It just never crossed my mind. I did this tune from [1980 movie] Smokey and the Bandit that was written by Jerry Reed, who was in the movie as well, but I never got that tune out of my brain. I saw [the movie] maybe 20 years ago. And I always remember that melody, and I tried to see if I could play that melody in my style and make some sense out of it. And it seemed like the I had a favorable reaction.

So one thing led to another and I was asked to perform and they seem to be very excited. I’m going to not only do [“Eastbound”] with the Opry band, but I’m bringing my band and we’re going to do a Tijuana Brass medley. I don’t know what to expect, but I hear great things about being there. 

Have you ever been to the Grand Ole Opry? 

Not inside. I’ve been to Nashville many times. I had a show in the museum with my artwork. And we’ve played on various venues in Nashville.

All the artists are mingling and hanging out in the hallway instead of staying in their dressing rooms. It’s an incredibly friendly atmosphere. 

I have heard exactly what you just stated. I’m excited. You know, it’s not that easy for me because I’m an introvert, so I’ve got to lose my feeling of being uncomfortable around new people. I’m gonna be there.

In John Scheinfeld’s excellent 2020 documentary on you, the film talks about your picking up the trumpet when you were eight years old because you were so introverted. The trumpet is the way you communicate.

“That’s the way I communicate” is exactly right.

Since you’re headed to Nashville, let’s talk about some of your connections to country music. One of A&M’s first signings was Waylon Jennings in 1964, long before he became a country legend and in the early years of A&M.

We signed Waylon, and I used to go down to Arizona to record him. I did this one record called “Four Strong Winds.” [RCA label head and musician] Chet Atkins heard the record and he made some overtures to Waylon about, when he gets out of the contract with A&M he’d like to talk to him — which he shouldn’t have done, because Waylon was under contract to us. It seemed like he was jumping over our bones a bit. But I loved Chet. He was certainly a brilliant musician, as well as administrator.

Waylon really wanted to be a country artist. Waylon’s voice was really unusual, because he could sing just about anything and it sounded darn good — he had something in his voice that just resonated right into the heart. I wanted to take him a little more pop, and he really wanted to be a country artist. He told me confidentially about Chet Atkins wanting to see him. So my partner Jerry Moss and I decided to let Waylon out of his contract so he could go with Chad and RCA.

Waylon couldn’t believe that we were willing to do that. But I remember the day that Jerry and I signed his release. I looked at Jerry and I said, “Man, this guy’s going to be big star.” And Jerry said, “I know it.” I got goosebumps thinking that, “Man, if we could be that honest with people with our artists, we’re gonna be a big success.” It was really a pivotal moment for me and my feelings about A&M Records and what we were doing. 

What memories do you have of playing with the Tijuana Brass in Nashville? 

When I played in Nashville with the Brass in 1967, Johnny Cash came backstage and I had a nice conversation with him after, and he seemed to really love the music that I was making.

Any other memories from other times that you’ve played Nashville where country artists came to your shows?

I met Marty Stuart when I was exhibiting at the art museum. I don’t remember the year. The museum gave me 7,000 square feet, and I was putting up sculptures and paintings [one of Alpert’s sculptures is permanently installed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville]. Marty was a friend of David Conrad, who was running our publishing company Almo Irving. I like his artistry and just him in general.

A&M also signed the Flying Burrito Brothers, who were absolutely pivotal in the evolution of country rock. You released their 1969 album, The Gilded Palace of Sin. What did you see in them? 

Jerry signed up. When I heard them, I thought they were going to be much larger than what actually happened. They had something special, I felt, but nobody knows what a hit record sounds like or what the public is going to take to in a big way. 

In 1964, you and the Tijuana Brass has a hit album called South of the Border, which took its name and the title track from the Gene Autry country movie classic of the same name. How did that song influence you? 

Before A&M records, I was earning a living playing on weekends with various bands, and I had a little backlog of songs that I could just play out of the blue because I had the gift of if I hear a song on the radio, I can just about play it back. So “South of the Border” was probably one of those songs that I had in my stockpile. I tried to do songs when they’re known to others in a way they haven’t been done before. That’s one of my goals.

I’ve never tried to make a hit record. I always tried to make records that felt good. And the honest truth of it is, at 88 years old, I make records for myself. I make records that make me feel good. I’m not trying to make a record that’s going to trump somebody else. I feel like if they can touch me, and it can make me feel good, possibly. I worked with Sam Cooke. [Alpert co-wrote Cooke’s hit and now classic, “Wonderful World”.] He came out of the gospel field and just was so authentic as an artist, and as a person. Loved the guy. He taught me a lot. There was something about him that just gave me the feeling of “Man, you gotta be real. You can’t fake it. You can’t pretend you’re one thing and do another.” I always tried to make records that just really reflected who I was as an artist and I’ve been darn lucky.

In the ‘70s, there was a very successful act called Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass, which was a country version of the Tijuana Brass. They won the Grammy for best country instrumental performance in 1970 and snagged several CMA Awards. Did you hear them? 

I didn’t get it. I mean, that’s just that’s like trying to take advantage of what I did.

Were there country artists that you had admired?

Like everyone else, I love Dolly [Parton]. I love her as a person. I love her as an artist. I think Kris Kristofferson had a big mark, big effect, on country music. He was writing songs that really had provocative meaning and I think he took it to a different level. He was just really special.

Willie Nelson was also an influence on me. When I first heard Willie, it was probably 1959-1960. He was recording for Liberty Records. A friend of mine was working at Liberty and would send me his records. I was listening to him and thinking, like, “Wow, I don’t get why this guy is popular. I don’t get that voice of his.” And all of a sudden, through the years, I transitioned with him and I ended up really loving him. I think he’s a major artist. I think he’s like a jazz artist. He’s very spontaneous. He’s of the moment. And I’m so used to that voice now that it’s part of me. I really love what he does.

We most recently wrote about you last month when you posted a very sweet TikTok to Taylor Swift, congratulating her on tying your record for four albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. Did she respond to you?

Somebody that worked for her did, but that’s okay. I didn’t need a response [from her]. I mean, she’s good. I think she’s real good. She’s the real thing.

18 Aug 2023

Dolly Parton Reunites Living Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr For Majestic Cover of ‘Let It Be’

Dolly Parton brings out the big guns on the latest single from her upcoming first foray into rock n’ roll. After dropping a pair of originals and two covers, the country icon unleashed a powerful version of the Beatles’ “Let It Be” on Friday morning (Aug. 18) featuring support from the two living Fab Four members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The majestic take on one of the most covered songs in the modern era opens with Parton singing over the familiar piano intro, with McCartney joining her on the second line, “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” The second verse expands with a distant, echoing drum pattern and soulful organ before the strings and full orchestration turn it into the familiar lush pop classic McCartney wrote near the end of the Beatles run and which gave name to the group’s final studio album release.

The song from Parton’s eagerly anticipated Rockstar (Nov. 17) album also features Peter Frampton and Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood providing musical support. It marks one of the rare collaborations between Starr and McCartney outside of their own projects — they got together in 2020 for Ringo’s tune “Here’s to the Nights” from his Zoom In EP as well as a year earlier when Starr popped in as a surprise guest on the final show of McCartney’s Freshen Up tour.

Parton’s 49th studio album is her first rock effort and it is slated to feature 30 tracks — 21 covers and 9 originals — packed with a galaxy of rock stars teaming up with the 77-year-old national treasure who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year on their signature songs.

Among the rockers joining Parton are: Sting (“Every Breath You Take”), former Journey singer Steve Perry (“Open Arms”), Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart (“Magic Man”), John Fogerty (“Long as I Can See the Light”), Joan Jett (“I Hate Myself For Loving You”), goddaughter Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball”), Debbie Harry (“Heart of Glass”) and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (“Heartbreaker”), among many others.

So far, Parton has teased the album with the originals “World on Fire” and “Bygones” (featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford), as well as covers of Queen’s “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions”) and the Heart “Magic Man” cover. Other singers joining Parton on the album include Lizzo, P!nk and Brandi Carlile, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris, Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon, Chris Stapleton and Elton John and others.

Listen to “Let it Be” below.

18 Aug 2023

Jon Batiste Unleashes ‘World Music Radio’ Featuring Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne & More: Stream It Now

Jon Batiste’s talents as a bandleader are on show once again with World Music Radio, the U.S. musician’s collaboration-jammed new album.

The multi-hyphenate, Grammy Award-winning artist dropped World Music Radio at the stroke of midnight, an LP that clocks-in at more than one hour and features assists from Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne, Kenny G and others.

“World Music Radio is a concept album that takes place in the interstellar regions of the universe,” Batiste explained earlier in June, with the announcement of the new studio effort. “The listener is led through the album by an interstellar traveling griot named Billy Bob Bo Bob, who takes you sonically all around the world at the speed of light.”

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In addition to Del Rey, Lil Wayne, and Kenny G, the album boasts guest spots with Jon Bellion, Fireboy DML, J.I.D., NewJeans, and is executive produced by Batiste, Bellion and Ryan Lynn.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this project. I’m so grateful to all my collaborators,” he says in a new piece-to-camera, posted at launch.

World Music Radio arrives two years after Batiste made history as the first Black artist to win the Grammy for album of the year in 14 years, when he triumphed in the category for his genre-spanning We Are.

He was nominated for 11 awards at the 2022 Grammys, more than any other artist, winning a total of five on the night, adding to a collection that already boasts an Academy Award for best original score thanks to his work on 2020’s Soul alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails.

Batiste is familiar to millions of night-owls as the former bandleader on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which he exited last year after seven seasons to focus on his work.  

The jazz master has landed two titles on the Billboard 200: 2014’s Social Music (No. 134, as Jon Batiste & Stay Human) and 2021’s We Are (No. 25).

Stream World Music Radio below.

18 Aug 2023

G Flip’s ‘Drummer’ Beats a Path to No. 1 In Australia

G Flip makes a noise with Drummer (via Future Classic/Universal), as the Australian artist bows at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

It’s the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s first leader, after their debut About Us peaked at No. 6 in 2019.

The homegrown hero has been on a roll in recent years, landing 11 tracks in the triple j Hottest 100 countdown, earning three ARIA Award nominations, bagging three platinum-certified singles (“About You,” “Drink Too Much,” and “Killing My Time”), and one gold (for “Lover”), and performing at the nationally televised Logie Awards, and AFL and AFLW Grand Finals.

A talented drummer, G Flip co-produced and co-wrote every song on the new album, alongside the likes of Tommy English and Colin Brittain.

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“Finally, we can celebrate another Aussie at No. 1 on the Albums Chart,” comments ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. “Congratulations to G Flip and their team on this absolute triumph. As an artist and personality, G Flip has done so much for pushing the narrative of Australian music forward, and truly represents the next wave of homegrown success here and overseas. We couldn’t be happier to celebrate their first ARIA No. 1.”

G-Flip is supporting the new LP with a national tour this month and next, spanning 13 dates in Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth, Torquay, Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle, with North America dates kicking off Sept. 18 at The Catalyst Atrium, Santa Cruz, CA.

Luke Combs started his own tour of Australia this week, and he’s already making his presence felt on the national albums survey, published Friday, Aug. 18, with two titles lifting into the top 10. This One’s For You rises 14-9 in its 283rd week on the tally, and former leader Gettin’ Old gains 17-10 in its 21nd week. Further down the list, another former No. 1, Combs’ What You See Ain’t Always What You Get (all via Columbia/Sony), improves 21-14 in its 197th week on the survey.

Also new to the ARIA Chart is Volcano (AWAL), the fourth studio album from U.K. electronic pairing Jungle. Volcano erupts at No. 22.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, also published Friday, Billie Eilish’s “What I Was Made For?” (Interscope/Universal) extends its rule into a third week. Lifted from the Barbie soundtrack, “What I Was Made For?” becomes Eilish’s longest-reigning leader, eclipsing the two-week streak for “Bad Guy back in 2019. It leads an unchanged top three, ahead of Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Virgin Music Australia/Universal) and Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” (Atlantic/Warner), respectively.

Finally, Olivia Rodrigo bags two top 10s on the national chart, as former champion “Vampire” holds at No. 5 and her new release “Bad Idea Right” enters at No. 10, for the week’s highest debut. Both tracks will appear on the U.S. pop star’s sophomore album GUTS (Geffen/Universal), due out Sept. 8.

18 Aug 2023

Michael Parkinson Dies at 88: Elton John, Michael Caine, David Beckham and More Remember U.K. Chat Show Legend

Tributes are flowing for Michael Parkinson, the legendary British chat show host who died Wednesday (Aug. 16) at the age of 88.

Parky, as he was affectionately known in his homeland, championed countless musicians across his career on TV, during which time his talk show was a “must-see” staple on British TV.

The broadcaster’s seemingly endless conveyor belt of top celebrities ensured high ratings and, over time, included almost every big name in the music scene, from members of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, to Elton John, Tina Turner, David Bowie, George Michael and Robbie Williams.

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With his predilection for adult-leaning, often jazz-oriented performers, Parkinson’s program gave a platform for the likes of Jamie Cullum, Katie Melua and Michael Bublé, among many others.

Starting out as a print journalist, Parkinson became a producer at the commercial British TV channel Granada in the late 1960s. He became the archetypal chat show presenter via a weekly program for BBC1 which began in 1971 and ran on Saturday nights for 361 editions until 1982. His “Parkinson” show continued from 1998 until his retirement in December 2007, with a star-studded finale which included such guests as David Beckham, Michael Caine, David Attenborough, Judi Dench, Billy Connolly and Cullum.

Parkinson was saluted on numerous occasions for his work. In 1998, he became a Gold Badge recipient – an award that pays tribute to people judged to have made a special and lasting contribution to the U.K.’s entertainment industry.

In 2000, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to broadcasting. And in 2005, Parkinson was honored with the Music Industry Trusts’ Award, otherwise known as the “person of the year,” presented annually to an individual who has made a distinctive and lasting contribution to the U.K. music industry. On the night, Parkinson was declared as “the musicians’ champion.”

In 2008, he was Knighted for services to broadcasting.

A proud Yorkshireman and lifelong cricket fan, the broadcaster passes a decade after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he batted with radiotherapy.

Many of those celebrities who appeared on Parkinson’s popular show have paid tribute to the broadcasting legend.

“Michael Parkinson was a TV legend who was one of the greats,” writes Elton John on Instagram. “I loved his company and his incredible knowledge of cricket and Barnsley Football Club. A real icon who brought out the very best in his guests. Condolences and love to Mary and his family.”

Parkinson “was irreplaceable,” recounts veteran actor Michael Caine, “he was charming, always wanted to have a good laugh. He brought the best of everyone he met. Always looked forward to be interviewed by him.”

Adds retired England soccer great David Beckham: ‘I was so lucky to not just be interviewed by Michael but to be able to spend precious time talking about football and family our 2 passions plus the GoldenBalls moment.”

Writes actor Stephen Fry, “Having grown up watching him interview greats, my first appearance was impossibly thrilling for me. The genius of Parky was that unlike most people (and most of his guests, me included) he was always 100% himself. On camera and off.”

17 Aug 2023

Charlie Puth Applies Sultry ‘Lipstick’ Ahead of Fourth Studio LP: Stream It Now

Charlie Puth turns up the steam for “Lipstick,” the first cut from his forthcoming studio album.

A collaboration with producers Happy Perez and Pop Wansel, “Lipstick” slipped out at the stroke of midnight, and will serve as the lead single from Puth’s fourth studio album, according to Atlantic Records.

The tune has an old-school groove, over which Puth sings, “Come and put your lipstick on my neck and my body/Just to show these bitches that you’re mine/ Lipstick on my collar show ‘em you ain’t no hobby/ You’re the one who gets it all the time.”

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Puth’s next album is listed as “coming soon.” It’s the followup to 2022’s Charlie, which carried the singles “Light Switch”, “That’s Hilarious”, “Left and Right” with Jungkook of BTS, and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, his third consecutive top 10 LP on the all-genres tally. The U.S. artist’s debut Nine Track Mind from 2016 peaked at No. 6, and his sophomore effort, 2018’s Voicenotes, reached No. 4.

Puth’s career revved up with an assist on Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” which appeared on the Furious 7 soundtrack. The track gave Puth his first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in 2015, and charted on the all-genre tally for a total of 52 weeks. Recently, the singer and songwriter marked his official return to the Fast & Furious franchise with a feature on the Fast X single “Angel Pt. 2.”

Back in March, he released a short film co-starring Sabrina Carpenter, “That’s Not How This Works,” and a single with the same name, featuring Dan + Shay and Carpenter.

Puth returns to the road next month with The Charlie Live Experience, for an international run that will see him head to Australia for the first time in October and November.

Stream “Lipstick” below.