Phoenix join The Back Keys and Pearl Jam at Open'er Festival

The world has first heard of Phoenix 13 years ago thanks to their album "United' and the single "Too Young", featured on the "Lost in Translation" soundtrack.  The next LP, "Alphabetical", brought singles "Everything Is Everything" and "Run Run Run". Phoenix also released a live album and another studio effort, "It's Never Been Like That". Yet, it was their Grammy Award-winning, critically-acclaimed and gold-selling 4th LP "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" that brought them global recognition.

The 5th album, Bankrupt! is the first new Phoenix album in four years. It sounds almost nothing like old Phoenix albums. It was made by the same people, Thomas Mars, Laurent “Branco” Brancowitz, Christian Mazzalai, Deck d’Arcy, but they may not be playing the same instruments. It was produced by the band and Philippe Zdar in Montmartre. Champagne was involved. In late 2010, the band entered Oscilloscope Laboratories in Manhattan, New York City, and commenced experiments with sound and colour. Over three months, the band began to feel nostalgia for their home country, France. Laurent Brancowitz recalls the origins of this feeling after watching a film set in Paris, with images of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. “I felt a strong emotion, and I knew it wasn’t normal,” he says. “I loved France like a foreigner.” Each member of the band revisited his youth to source the following inspirations: Eric Rohmer, Francois Truffaut, Franco Battiato, Lucio Battistik, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The effect? Bankrupt! is not disposable popular music. Though the songs are quite pleasurable on first listen, subsequent listenings will produce deeper engagement and satisfaction. This simple/complex dichotomy is evident in the pentatonic structure heard throughout the album on songs such as “Entertainment” and “Drakkar Noir,” alongside the Wagnerian overdrive of “SOS in Bel-Air” and “Oblique City.” Bankrupt! will be a dizzying experience for the listener, also intentional. “We were feeling this vertigo, this feeling of being at the very limit of failure,” says Brancowitz. “After a while you realize the most interesting things in life are not success or triumph. It’s more the possibility of everything collapsing.” The album got very high scored from critics, bringing the band headlining slots at Coachella and Lollapalooza.

Phoenix are also renowned for their vigorous concerts with incredible, impressive visuals. We will witness one of these shows on Open’er Stage on Saturday, July 5

Bipolar Sunshine announces headline tour 2014

Hot on the heels of his brilliantly-received ‘Drowning Butterflies’ EP and a hugely successful first headline UK tour including a sold out date at Electrowerkz in London, Bipolar Sunshine is pleased to announce his next set of headline dates for March / April 2014. The tour will kick off at The Joiners in Southampton and conclude with his biggest hometown headline show to date at Manchester’s Academy 2. He will also support Rudimental and Phoenix over the next couple of months. 

Pre-sale tickets for the Bipolar Sunshine headline tour are available now from http://bipo.la/TourPresale. Tickets go on general sale from 9am on Monday 16th December. 

Bipolar Sunshine is the solo project of Manchester based Adio Marchant, who since the release of his debut EP ‘Aesthetics’ back in June featuring standout tracks ‘Fire’ and ‘Rivers’, continues to impress and carve out his own singular path as one of the most exciting new talents to look out for in 2014.   

His latest EP ‘Drowning Butterflies’ further displays his individuality and determination not to be pigeonholed. The diverse collection of songs uniquely merge indie, RandB and dance with each track telling a profound story backed to his signature uplifting melody that ties everything together. The lead single ‘Love More Worry Less’ received a gushing response online and was added to the Radio 1 In New Music We Trust playlist. 

Bipolar Sunshine will be heading out on the following dates in 2014: 

March/April 2014 Headline Tour:

Thurs     27th         Southampton                    Joiners                                 

Fri           28th         Sheffield                              Leadmill                              

Sat          29th         Oxford                                  Art Bar                                 

Sun        30th         Birmingham                        Institute                              

Tues      1st           London                                 XOYO                                  

Thurs     3rd           Newcastle                           Think Tanks                       

Fri           4th           Glasgow                               King Tuts                             

Sat          5th           Manchester                       Academy 2                  

Tickets to all headline shows: http://bipo.la/TourPresale.

Support Dates February 2014:

Weds    5th           London                                 Brixton Academy             (supporting Phoenix)

Mon      10th         Dublin                                   Academy                             (supporting Rudimental)

Tues      11th         Manchester                       Academy                             (supporting Phoenix)

Weds    12th         London                                 Brixton Academy             (supporting Phoenix)

Thurs     13th         London                                 Brixton Academy             (supporting Rudimental)

Fri           14th         London                                 Brixton Academy             (supporting Rudimental)

Sat          15th         London                                 Brixton Academy             (supporting Rudimental)

Fri           21st         Manchester                       02 Academy                       (supporting Rudimental)

Sat          22nd        Manchester                       02 Academy                       (supporting Rudimental)

Mon      24th         Glasgow                               02 Academy                       (supporting Rudimental)

Tues      25th         Wolverhampton               Civic Hall                               (supporting Rudimental)

'Drowning Butterflies' EP is out now: bipo.la/DrowningButterfliesSC

Debut EP 'Aesthetics' out now: bipo.la/AestheticsEP

Connect with Bipolar Sunshine:

Facebook: bipo.la/Facebook

Twitter: bipo.la/Twitter

Soundcloud: bipo.la/Soundcloud

YouTube: bipo.la/YouTubeSub

Blog: bipo.la/Tumblr

Website: bipo.la/Website

Calvin Harris, David Guetta join T in the Park 2013

With 2009’s multi-platinum One Love, two-time-Grammy-winning artist/producer/DJ David Guetta cemented his status as a genre-busting hitmaker whose in-your-face fusion of electro and hip-hop beautifully warps the pop landscape. Now, with his fifth studio album Nothing But The Beat, Guetta builds on that breakthrough momentum and takes his decades-spanning career to a new level. After raising the roof of the King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent last year with a spectacular sonic and lighting extravaganza, he returns to get the 20th year party well and truly going.

Foals released their third album Holy Fire last week to major critical acclaim, with the record entering the UK album charts at number 2. Its 2010 predecessor Total Life Forever earned them nominations for the Mercury, an Ivor Novello, a Mojo Award and 7 NME Awards (with Spanish Sahara going on to win the NME Award for Best Song). Its follow-up is already being hailed as their finest yet, and looks set to take the Oxford five-piece to stratospheric new levels.

With their signature melding of sharp, danceable rhythms and effortless melodies, Phoenix make their hugely anticipated return to the festival circuit this year with a headline set at Coachella and a T in the Park performance. The French four-piece release a brand new album this spring.

Kendrick Lamar is the hottest hip-hop property in the US right now, having worked with the likes of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. The Californian rapper’s first independent album, Section 80 became one of the top digital hip hop releases of 2011, and its critically-acclaimed follow-up good kid, m.A.A.d city was hailed by fans and critics as one the finest hip-hop albums in years.

Hotly tipped LA group Haim topped the BBC’s Sound of 2013 list. They spent the latter half of 2012 on the road with T in the Park headliners Mumford and Sons in the US. With their hugely anticipated debut album out later this year, they make their T in the Park debut this July.

With an international line-up of chart toppers, Grammy winners, pioneering trailblazers, rising stars and Scotland’s finest home-grown heroes, the T in the Park 2013 bill is off to a roaring start.

This July, be part of the celebrations. Experience the 20th year of T in the Park and be part of the greatest audience in the world - T in the Park 2013 tickets will go on sale on Friday 22nd February – go to www.tinthepark.com or www.ticketmaster.co.uk or call 08444 999 990. If you’re a Vodafone VIP Customer you can also buy tickets 48 hours before they go on general sale from 9am on Wednesday 20th February, simply go to Vodafone.co.uk/vip

Boutique camping options in The Residence are also available for those looking for luxury living at T in the Park – check out www.tinthepark.com/theresidence.

For regular T in the Park news, check out www.facebook.com/tinthepark and follow us on Twitter @Tinthepark

Introducing BOY (feat. Phoenix) - free download

BOY, (girl + girl = er, well... BOY) who will be making their UK debut later this year with their first LP release.

Hailing from Zurich & Munich, the 'girls of BOY' laid down their new material in their producer's childhood nursery-turned-studio (who knew..?) with drumming duties including their sticksman friend of French alt dudes Phoenix....there's shades of Feist here, (minus previous risque Peaches adventures) which actually stand up more than favourably to the comparison.

The Mp3 can be heard below 

http://soundcloud.com/partisanpr/boy-this-is-the-beginning

Introducing BOY (feat. Phoenix)

Hailing from Zurich & Munich, the 'girls of BOY' laid down their new material in their producer's childhood nursery-turned-studio (who knew?!) with drumming duties from their sticksman friend, of French alt dudes Phoenix....there's shades of Feist in several of the tracks (minus previous risque Peaches adventures) which actually stand up more than favourably to the comparison..   

Ahead of the album release (April 2012), we wanted to share the spine-tingly 'Skin' video with you, which features on the 'Acoustic Sessions' EP, out at the end of Jan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejlvgSjcEoo&feature=youtu.be

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