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The initial lineup for the “Together for Palestine” benefit concert helmed by Brian Eno has been announced, with Damon Albarn, Jamie xx, and Rina Sawayama among the artists confirmed. It takes place at London’s Wembley Arena on September 17th.

In addition to Palestinian musicians Adnan Joubran, Faraj Suleiman, and Nai Barghouti, they will be joined by James Blake, PinkPantheress, King Krule, and Hot Chip. This initial wave of performers is rounded out by Bastille, Cat Burns, Greentea Peng, Mabel, Obongjayar, Paloma Faith, Rachel Chinouriri, Riz Ahmed, and Sampha. Sawayama, PinkPantheress, and Ahmed’s appearances are described as “one-off contributions.”

100% of the ticket price (minus additional fees) will be donated to Choose Love, a British charity partnered with Palestinian-led organizations in Gaza to provide humanitarian relief. Tickets are available now via MyTicket.

“In the face of the horrors of Gaza, silence becomes complicity,” Eno said in a statement. “Artists have...

The British punk rock band Bob Vylan went viral for their outspoken support of Palestine at the Glastonbury music festival. During the BBC’s livestream of the U.K.’s largest music festival earlier this month, the lead singer of the band, Bobby Vylan, led the crowd in a rallying chant of “death to the Idf,” referencing Israel’s Defense Forces.

This symbolic demonstration of support for victims of the genocide in Gaza received tremendous backlash from many politicians, along with organizers of the musical festival.

The group’s U.S. tour was cancelled after the State Department cancelled band members’ visas.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the demonstration “appalling hate speech,” criticizing the BBC for airing the footage. The BBC announced it should have halted the livestream at the time, writing, “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bobby Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.

Damon Albarn has conceded the great Britpop Rivalry, declaring the newly reunited Oasis the victors over Blur. “Well, it was obvious, wasn’t it?” he told The Sun. “I think we can officially say that Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything.”

Blur famously “beat” Oasis in the early days of the Battle of Britpop when Albarn moved the release date of Blur’s “Country House” to compete with Oasis’ “Roll with It.” “Country House” edged out the Gallagher brothers on the charts, which temporarily gave Blur the crown. As Oasis’ “Live ’25” tour is proving to be a massive success, however, Albarn says he’s “happy” to abdicate the throne.

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“They are the winners. They take first place. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, I am happy to accept and concede defeat,” he said. “It’s their summer and God bless them. I...

Blur and Oasis, Oasis and Blur: Two Britpop titans that famously got along swimmingly — except for all the mudslinging and name calling and chart battles. As far as fussing about goes, their intra-band feud is perhaps second only to Oasis’ own inter-band feud. So, how does Blur frontman Damon Albarn feel about all of the hoopla surrounding Oasis’ long-awaited return and their recently launched “Live ’25” tour? Apparently, he saw it all coming.

“The Oasis reunion? Two years ago I was prophetic when I said that they would do it and that the road was level,” Albarn told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. “Well, you can’t think that two brothers can’t reconcile, sooner or later. It’s a good thing, the way I see it.”

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Well, that’s nice. Maybe he’s planning on catching one of the upcoming European or North American dates in that case?...

A24’s black comedy Sorry, Baby, comedian and actor Eva Victor‘s feature writing and directing debut produced by Barry Jenkins, opens at Lincoln Square and Angelika in NY, and the Grove and Century City in L.A.. This was one of the buzziest titles in Sundance and one of the few there to sell in a major deal — for about $8 million.

“A star is born, and so is a born filmmaker,” said Deadline’s review, with Pete Hammond calling it “one of the most assured and heartfelt films I have seen in a very long time.” It went on to close the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes.

The film lands amid a box office boom with another big weekend led by F1 and M3GAN 2.0. Indie distributors have been carefully evaluating whether the rising tide of the past few months lifts all boats and has been rather upbeat so far.

Clint Eastwood is a legendary actor and filmmaker who has influenced countless movies after him. He might be best known for his image as a Western star due to his hit Dollars trilogy with Sergio Leone. The theme songs composed by Ennio Morricone are a pop cultural staple, and the themes are often invoked by many contemporary artists.

One such artist was the hip-hop fusion band Gorillaz, who named their debut hit single Clint Eastwood after the actor. The song has nothing to do with the actor or his movies, and is not even mentioned in the lyrics. If one listens to the song, it does not even sonically sound similar to any of Eastwood’s themes. So, then why did Gorillaz name it after the actor?

Gorillaz named their successful debut single after Clint Eastwood, despite it being unrelated Gorillaz in Clint Eastwood | Credits: YouTube/Gorillaz

Song titles are...

Gorillaz have announced four special concerts taking place in London this summer, during which they’ll play their first three albums in full.

The shows coincide with closing week of band’s recently-announced House of Kong 25th anniversary exhibition, which runs at the Copper Box Arena in London from August 8th to September 3rd, 2025. The first date, taking place on August 29th, will feature Gorillaz performing their 2001 self-titled debut in full. The following night, August 30th, Damon Albarn and co. will recreate their Demon Days live show in its entirety. On September 2nd, they’ll perform Plastic Beach in full, before closing the run with a “Mystery Show” on September 3rd.

In addition to performing each album in its entirety, Gorillaz will reprise the original live show formats and visuals that accompanied these albums, making each performance a unique experience that encapsulates its corresponding era — with the final night remaining a mystery.

Gorillaz are hosting a new exhibition this summer to mark 25 years as a band.

The House of Kong exhibition will come to the Copper Box in London from August 8 to September 3, giving fans a glimpse into the band’s longtime creative hub of Kong for the first time ever.

A press release states, “Visitors to House of Kong will take a jaunt behind the curtain of Gorillaz’s extraordinary world. A journey through the band’s life of misadventures, musical innovation and ground-breaking virtual ways since these four outsiders – bassist Murdoc Niccals,...

Damon Albarn’s music collective Africa Express has announced their sixth album. Africa Express Presents… Bahidorá will be released on July 11th via World Circuit. In anticipation, the first two singles, “Mi Lado” and “Kuduro”, are streaming now.

The music collective’s first album in six years was recorded last year in Mexico following a performance during Bahidorá Festival. Bahidorá is “a sonic trip which distills the joy of a musical adventure in Mexico into 21 extraordinary songs,” according to a press description. “Featuring artists from four continents but with roots firmly planted in Mexico, it entwines rich musical traditions ranging from cumbia, hip-hop and kuduro through to soul, salsa and the sweetest pop.”

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The album features over 30 artists, including Albarn, Django Django, Joan as Police Woman, Baba Sissoko, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Poté, and Seye Adelekan, to name a few.

Reggaeton-influenced “Mi Lado” features producer Alansito Vega,...

Whether it was the early set time, boiling temperatures, or the largely Gen Z crowd’s unfamiliarity with their music, Three 6 Mafia’s Coachella performance was met with a noticeably lukewarm reaction — so much so that the crowd’s lackluster energy even became a trending topic of discussion on Twitter Friday night.

“Three 6 Mafia did not disappoint but that crowd did,” wrote one viewer who tuned into the festival’s livestream. Another person commented, “the crowd does not deserve to see project pat like wdym ur getting to see him and three 6 mafia but ur standing in the crowd like a statue.” Still another person wrote, “I get cringed out when watching the Coachella livestream bc what do you mean you’re in the crowd of three 6 mafia performing standing there.”

The legendary hip-hop group nonetheless put their best foot forward, serving up a 16-song packed with greatest hits and special guests.

Amadou Bagayoko, one half of the Malian musical duo Amadou & Mariam, has died at the age of 70. Known for fusing Malian music with classic rock influences, Bagayoko is survived by Mariam Doumbia, his wife and musical partner, and his three children.

According to Mali’s Minister of Culture, Mamou Daffé, Bagayoko had been battling an undisclosed illness for some time. Daffé revealed on television that the musician passed away in Mali’s capital, Bamako, which doubled as Bagayoko’s birthplace.

Bagayoko was born in 1954 and became blind at 15, the result of a congenital cataract. This led him to study at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind, where he met Mariam Doumbia in 1976 while playing in the school’s Eclipse Orchestra. The two would eventually marry in the 1980s. Doumbia lost her own eyesight when she was 5 years old, and the duo was often labeled as “the blind couple from Mali.

Amadou Bagayoko, singer and guitarist in the Grammy-nominated Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, has died at the age of 70.

Mali’s Minister of Culture Mamou Daffé said on state TV that Bagayoko died Friday in the city of Bamako, his birthplace. Bagayoko’s family confirmed the death, adding that he “had been ill for a while,” though no cause of death was provided.

Bagayoko, who became blind at the age of 15 due to a congenital cataract, studied music at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind, where he met his future wife and band mate,...

In electronic music, a “comedown album” is mellow, mid-tempo, made for cushioning the post-rave crash. But there’s a kind of comedown LP that feels like a retreat from an artist’s previous work, and the newest release by the beloved Frankfurt dance producer DJ Koze presents us with both. Music Can Hear Us is a playful, submersible piece of work that largely sidesteps the minimal techno grooves with which Koze made his name. The deeply layered psychedelia here is consistent with his previous work — the frayed edges, the occasionally unsettling tones,...

Gorillaz have confirmed that their next album will be released in 2025.

Speaking to the French publication Les Inrockuptibles earlier this week, Damon Albarn revealed that he’s recently been “finishing a new Gorillaz album,” which he alluded would arrive later this year. Referencing the project and his new opera — The Magic Flute II: La Malédiction, which opened this week in Paris — he said, “One opera and one new Gorillaz album seems like enough for 2025! Unless someone accuses me of taking my foot off the gas!”

The news was further confirmed by Gorillaz illustrator Jamie Hewlett, who supposedly replied to the fan page, everythingorillaz, saying “Yes the new album is coming out this year.”

Additional details are largely unknown at this time, but word of a new Gorillaz album has been around since 2023, when Albarn wrapped his reunion with Blur and indicated he was ready to focus on the beloved animated project again.

Not long ago, Timbaland thought he was tapped out. Since the mid-Nineties, he’s repeatedly reinvented R&b, hip-hop, and pop, lacing classics by the likes of Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake, and Jay-Z with skittering beats, future-shock synths, and his outrageous ear for samples and hooks. At age 53, though, the producer worried he was aging out of innovation. “I thought it was over,” Timbaland says, sitting in the sun-splashed studio of his Miami mansion. “Music is a young sport. I am the best, right? One of the best producers ever. I can make the drums,...

This year’s Guest Director, the Grammy-nominated and genre-defying musician, composer and activist Anoushka Shankar, has worked with Brighton Festival to shape an inspiring, culture-crossing contemporary music programme which centres collaboration and celebrates boldness, diversity and connection. The programme offers opportunities for people to come together and imagine new possibilities, in line with the Brighton Festival 2025 theme New Dawn.

Anoushka Shankar says: “By bringing together artists and modalities from all over the world, with their rich and varied heritages, we can reimagine what’s possible, through music. There are so many artists that I’m excited about, who will bring their unique perspectives, creativity and passion to the Festival. It’s a music programme we want everyone to connect with and feel part of and feel inspired by.”

Anoushka Shankar will perform her brand-new album Chapter III: We Return to Light for the first time in the UK in Brighton Dome Concert Hall.

Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, The Clash and Hans Zimmer are among 1,000 artists featured on a new collaborative album surprise released on Tuesday, but you won’t hear any of their music.

Instead, their new record is merely 47 minutes and 17 seconds of relative silence and white noise, a melancholy display of the sound of music if there’s no artists to actually create it. The album, called Is This What We Want?, is a protest record aimed at the UK government, which is considering changes to the...

More than 1,000 artists — including Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, and Annie Lennox — have released a silent album in protest of the UK government’s proposed changes to copyright law, allowing AI companies to train their models using copyrighted work without a license.

Titled Is This What We Want? the project contains recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, which represent the “impact we expect the government’s proposals would have on musicians’ livelihoods.” It consists of 12 tracks, which spell out a message that reads, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.”

Other artists credited on the album include Ed O’Brien of Radiohead, The Clash, Tori Amos, Hans Zimmer, Pet Shop Boys, Jamiroquai, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens. All proceeds are being donated to the UK charity Help Musicians.

“The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free,...

Ed Sheeran has said Band Aid didn’t ask permission to reuse his vocals on the upcoming 40th anniversary version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”

In a post on his Instagram Story, Sheeran further explained that he would have “respectfully declined” a request to include his vocals from the 2014 version after learning more about the negative stereotypes that can be furthered by such initiatives.

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“My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals,” Sheeran wrote. “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward looking one. Love to all x”

Sheeran referenced a post from Ghanaian-English singer and rapper Fuse Odg, in which...

A decade ago, Ed Sheeran joined the British and Irish supergroup Band Aid to cover the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The 2014 iteration of the song — which originally premiered in 1989 and was updated in 2004 — also featured One Direction and Sam Smith, among others. Last week, these same names appeared when Band Aid announced the lineup for the 2024 version. But now, Sheeran claims he was never contacted to extend permission to use his vocals on the recording — and even if he had been, he would have said no.

Exclusive: Back in the summer of 1995, you were either team Oasis or team Blur. There was no sitting on the fence as the rival Brit bands clashed over which group’s single would top the charts — Blur’s Country House or the Oasis number Roll With It.

A new play heading to London’s West End in 2025 will chart the harshness of the animosity between the two enormously popular so-called Britpop bands, a rivalry so bitter that it burst into the headlines, even the TV news covered it.

News of the show, appropriately titled The Battle by humorist and writer John Niven, a former indie rocker and one-time A&r man, comes as Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel have buried their own feud to launch a huge Oasis tour in 2025 after 15 years apart.

Producer Simon Friend, of Simon Friend Entertainment, tells us that he commissioned Niven nine months ago to...

It had been nearly a decade since Blur last united in the studio. Formed in the late 80s in Colchester, the band rose to prominence in the 90s British music scene alongside groups like Oasis. Led by frontman Damon Albarn, their energetic brand of pop-rock earned them critical and commercial success with hit albums like Parklife.

But the pressures of fame took their toll over time. Relationships strained, and members pursued other projects. By 2015, eight years had passed since their last record together. Then in 2023, Albarn began writing songs dealing with a recent heartbreak. He knew these intimate pieces could only be fully realized with his bandmates by his side once more.

So the quartet reconvened, now in their 50s, to record The Ballad of Darren. Director Toby L was there to capture it all, from the first anxious meetings to emotional studio sessions. He also followed them on a...

Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham #3 is set for a September release after multiple delays. The animated trailer for the new issue evokes Gorillaz and Jamie Hewlett's special variant cover, adding to the anticipation. Gramp introduces new villains and promises an epic showdown in the penultimate issue of the series.

The third issue of Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham is set to release this September, and DC Comics has unveiled a new animated trailer to mark the occasion. The Black Label series has been much delayed since its launch in September of last year, but the new trailer for the next issue shows off DCs confidence that Gargoyle of Gotham #3 will ship without any further delays.

Shared on Instagram via Batman: Gargoyle of Gothams writer/artist Rafael Gramp, the trailers animation style evokes that of Jamie Hewlett, who provided a rare variant cover for the issue. Being inspired by Hewlett, the trailer...

Damon Albarn has weighed in on Bob Dylan’s decision to ban phones from his upcoming 10-date UK tour, pointing out that it’s a musician’s job to capture their fans’ attention during concerts.

“If you start banning things where does it end? I think you’ve just got to turn up and do your thing,” the Blur and Gorillaz frontman told BBC. “People won’t want to be on their phone if you’re engaging with them correctly.”

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Each date on Dylan’s November tour will require fans to switch off their mobile phones and put them in a Yondr pouch, which will then be locked by the venue’s staff until they leave the building.

Yondr pouches are hardly new in the entertainment industry, having previously been used by Dave Chappelle, Jack White, Childish Gambino, Guns N Roses, Tool, and more.

However,...

Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter earlier this week. Per the BBC, the university awarded Albarn “in recognition of his creativity, innovation, and commitment to environmental causes.”

Albarn briefly addressed the Exeter graduates in a casual speech given on Wednesday.

“The last time I came to Exeter was to receive my driving theory certificates, this is somewhat of an elevation,” Albarn joked at the university’s commencement. “My daughter graduated last week, and it’s an amazing day when you...

Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has been awarded with an honorary degree from the University of Exeter.

Albarn was recognized by the university for his “creativity, innovation, and commitment to environmental causes,” as well as “the impact of his diverse talents and innovative spirit, and the way he has continuously pushed the boundaries of contemporary music, opera, composition, and collaboration.”

In brief remarks accepting his honorary degree, Albarn told students to “trust in your instincts and don’t take no for an answer. Be open-minded and go out there and do good things.”

This weekend, Blur is set to unveil a new documentary called To the End, which chronicles the making of their 2023 comeback album, The Ballad of Darren, and ensuing reunion tour dates. Also revisit Consequence’s 2023 cover story on the band.

Albarn recently expressed his interest in making a new Gorillaz album. The project’s most recent release,...

Wake up babe, new soundbites from one of the Gallagher brothers just dropped! In a recent interview with The Sun, Noel Gallagher expressed his frustration that Glastonbury has “gone woke” with “little fucking idiots waving flags around and making political statements.” Politics in art, imagine that!

“Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love Glastonbury,” the Oasis star said, “[But] it’s getting a bit woke now, that place, and a bit kind of preachy and a bit virtue-signaling. I don’t like it in music… bands taking the stage and saying, ‘Hey guys, isn’t war ­terrible, yeah? Let’s all boo war. F***k the Tories, man,’ and all that… It’s like, look — play your fucking tunes and get off.”

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Gallagher didn’t perform at this year’s edition of the legendary British music festival. He did, however, reportedly spend the weekend catching various sets,...

Damon Albarn made a surprise appearance during Bombay Bicycle Club’s set at Glastonbury 2024 on Friday (June 28th), and took the opportunity to express his support for Palestine. Watch his speech below.

Directly addressing the crowd, Albarn asked the festivalgoers to cheer if they are “pro-Palestine” and agree that there is an “unfair war” going on in Gaza. He then emphasized “the importance of voting next week” in the upcoming UK general election, acknowledging he doesn’t “blame” anyone for being “ambivalent.”

From there, Albarn called for new blood in politics. “Maybe it’s time we stop putting octogenarians in control of the whole world,” he said. Particularly after last night’s US presidential debate, that sounds like a great idea to us.

In addition to the speech, Albarn played the collaboration “Heaven” with Bombay Bicycle Club and Blur’s “Tender.” Watch footage below.

Albarn wasn’t the only performer...

The enduring friendship between members of the group Blur is on full display in this moving and beautifully executed rock documentary from director Toby L (Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22).

Blur: To The End, follows lead singer Damon Albarn, bassist Alex James, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree as they make a surprise return with their first record in 8 years, the critically acclaimed number 1 album The Ballad of Darren. The film follows the band as they get ready to play two historic Wembley stadium gigs in July 2023.

“We were never big enough to play Wembley before” utters Albarn, perhaps not completely seriously, from his studio in the Devon countryside. Hinting at his newly single status after the end of his twenty-five year relationship, Albarn is unravelling in more ways than one. His knees are giving up, and his demeanour isn’t quite as spritely as it once was, but this...

The latest documentary about the Britpop Monkees finds them reassembling for a stadium gig, though we’ll have to wait to hear complete songs

The Blur fan does not want for documentaries. From the ramshackle Starshaped in 1993, which captured these Britpop Monkees pre-megastardom, to the slick New World Towers in 2015, this is a band that knows what the camera wants: deadpan daftness and onstage hijinks interspersed with melancholic reflections on age and Englishness. The 2010 doc No Distance Left to Run showed the quartet reuniting after a prolonged estrangement: “Let’s get the band back together one more time!” growled singer Damon Albarn. This latest look-back-in-languor can’t do much more than give the concept another run around the block, with added early archive footage. Now the band are back together again after a second prolonged estrangement, and they have a new dragon to slay: Wembley stadium. “The less we do,...

Best known for era-defining ’90s hits including ‘Parklife’, ‘Girls & Boys’ and ‘Country House’, Blur escaped the Britpop ghetto to become sophisticated indie rockers while maintaining their large, devoted fanbase. With blur: To The End, director Toby L offers an intimate, revealing portrait of the quartet now.

In early 2023, frontman Damon Albarn invites his bandmates to a Devon recording studio to make The Ballad Of Darren, their first album in eight years. He almost crashes his car — a morbidly funny scene given Albarn had just been ruminating on death. This sets the tone, with more laugh-out-loud moments of gallows humour to follow. Before a Colchester Arts Centre gig undertaken as a warm-up for two huge Wembley Stadium shows, Albarn and self-deprecating guitarist Graham Coxon return to The Stanway School, which they attended as children and now has a classroom named for them. The headmaster is dumbstruck when Albarn profanely explains why...

Françoise Hardy, the French icon and singer known for evoking romantic existentialism in her music, has died at the age of 80.

Her son, Thomas Dutronc, confirmed her death in a Facebook post. Sharing a photo of her holding him as a baby, Dutronc simply wrote, “Maman est partie.”

According to Barron’s, the singer had struggled with cancer since 2004.

Hardy rose to prominence in the Sixties, becoming known for her songwriting and evocative lyrics. Her debut album, Tout les garçons et les filles, was released in 1962 and delivered some of...

Blur have announced a new documentary titled Blur: To the End, which centers around their 2023 reunion. Watch the trailer below.

The clip offers a glimpse into behind-the-scenes footage of the band reconnecting to record their comeback album, The Ballad of Darren, and preparing for their reunion tour. “I’m just concerned that we do it as honestly as humanly possible for people like us,” Damon Albarn says.

According to the official description, the film “follows the unique relationship of four friends — and bandmates of three decades — Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree as they came together in early 2023 to record new songs ahead of their sold-out, first ever shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in July last summer.”

For now, To the End is only slated for release in UK and Irish cinemas beginning on July 19th, but the band has promised details of an international theatrical release are “coming soon.

Blur have announced a new documentary titled Blur: To the End, which centers around their 2023 reunion. Watch the trailer below.

The clip offers a glimpse into behind-the-scenes footage of the band reconnecting to record their comeback album, The Ballad of Darren, and preparing for their reunion tour. “I’m just concerned that we do it as honestly as humanly possible for people like us,” Damon Albarn says.

According to the official description, the film “follows the unique relationship of four friends — and bandmates of three decades — Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree as they came together in early 2023 to record new songs ahead of their sold-out, first ever shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in July last summer.”

For now, To the End is only slated for release in UK and Irish cinemas beginning on July 19th, but the band has promised details of an international theatrical release are “coming soon.

Altitude has debuted the trailer for the documentary on one of the pivotal bands of the Brit-pop era, ‘blur: To The End’.

Depicting the most recent chapter in the band’s story, the doc is captured during the period in which they made a surprise – and emotional – return with their first record in 8 years, the critically acclaimed #1 album ‘The Ballad of Darren’.

The documentary follows the unique relationship of four friends – and bandmates of three decades – Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree as they came together in early 2023 to record new songs ahead of their sold-out, first-ever shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in July last summer.

Featuring performances of their most iconic, much-loved songs, footage of the band in the studio and life on the road, the doc is an intimate moment in time with this most enduring of English bands, who have been at the...

Onstage at Coachella during their weekend two set, Blur’s Damon Albarn revealed that the performance was “probably” the band’s “last gig.”

Continuing, Albarn alluded to the tension the band seemingly had with the crowd during their weekend two performance, assuring that their decision to call it quits was “no reflection of Coachella,” which he believes is “beautiful.”

Perhaps that’s the missing context we didn’t know about when Albarn told the weekend one crowd that they’d “never see us again, so [they] might as well f*cking sing” the chorus to “Girls & Boys.” In fact, contrary to some reports about their weekend one performance, Albarn seemed to be having good fun last night. “I love Coachella, I love you. Really,” he said at one point.

At other times, though, Albarn did demonstrate some of his frustration. Comparing the crowds from the first weekend to the second, he said “Yeah man,...

Foals frontman and guitarist Yannis Philippakis has announced a new collaborative EP with Tony Allen, the late drummer who played heavily with Fela Kuti, under the name Yannis & the Yaw. He’s also shared the EP’s lead single, “Walk Through Fire.”

Landing on August 31st, the Lagos Paris London ft. Tony Allen EP has been in the works from the Foals frontman for over eight years. Philippakis first worked with Tony Allen in Paris in 2016, and began collaborating with the Nigerian Afrobeats pioneer as well as multi-instrumentalists Vincent Taeger, Vincent Taurelle, and Ludovic Bruni.

According to Philippakis, the two-day sessions culminated in an unfinished EP, and they occasionally regrouped to finish over the following four years until Covid isolated both him and Allen. Allen sadly passed in April 2020, and Philippakis felt a responsibility to carry the EP through to the finish line: “There was an imperative to finish it...

Coachella crowds are notoriously awful, but the response to Blur’s Saturday set was especially jarring.

By all accounts, the Britpop legends put on a phenomenal show. Their setlist contained several surprises, including rare performances of “Death of a Party,” “Out of Time,” “Trouble in the Message Centre,” and “Beetleblum,” as well as an on-stage collaboration with the indigenous Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers.

And yet, whether because the younger-skewing audience was unfamiliar with the band’s discography and/or because they had showed up early for Tyler, the Creator’s headlining set that was to follow, the crowd didn’t seem to vibe with Blur’s music. Video from the festival’s livestream (as seen below) captured a pretty lifeless crowd — even during performances of anthems like “Popscene,” “Girls & Boys” and “Song 2.”

It was during “Girls & Boys” that Blur frontman Damon Albarn finally had enough. After several...

Blur took the stage at Coachella on Saturday, and to close out their portion of the night, they brought out performers from the Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers.

It was Blur’s first time at Coachella since 2013 (though Damon Albarn has made a few surprise appearances in recent years), and the band delivered renditions of some of their most beloved songs, like “Song 2,” “Girls & Boys,” “Beetlebum,” and more.

The Britpop legends first brought out a group of Bird Singers to perform a traditional piece titled “Bird Song,” honoring the culture and history of the indigenous tribes of the Coachella region. From there, the Bird Singers loaned their voices to Blur’s “Death of a Party,” and then returned at the end of the night to close out the set with “Tender.”

Elsewhere in Blur’s set, Albarn made an appeal for mutual understanding in a time of political polarization,...

After Day One of Coachella saw artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Young Miko take inspiration from the Eighties, Day Two was a celebration of the Nineties thanks to reunion performances from No Doubt and Sublime, and the 2000s with Ice Spice’s Y2K aesthetic and the presence of Vampire Weekend.

Unlike in years past where the heat took over for the vast majority of the day, the cold took over the Coachella festival grounds early in the afternoon. By Tyler, the Creator and No Doubt’s set fans...

English singer-songwriter Liam Gallagher has lashed out at longtime rivals Blur as he claimed that their music is “for posh brats.”

The former Oasis star responded to the Britpop group’s frontman Damon Albarn, 56, who revealed several Americans have tried to claim songwriting credits for ‘Song 2’, reports ‘Female First UK’.

During Blur’s pre-Coachella warm-up gig at the Fox Theater Pomona in California, this week, Damon said: “Because of the nature of American law, if someone gets a lawyer … they can come quite a long way with absolutely no grounds. Someone else this year – not only is it that person who’s convinced they’d written it, but there was another person who was convinced. Firstly, I wonder why it’s only that song that they’re interested in.”

As per ‘Female First UK’, Liam then took to X to hit out at Damon for his comments.

He wrote, “Gotta...

Blur fans, rejoice! There’s a concert film and a documentary heading to a cinema near you later this year. More details here.

Here’s a double whammy for your Thursday afternoon. Iconic band Blur are getting not only a documentary on their incredible career, but also a concert film.

Updated From Original Story: release date added at the bottom!

The documentary will follow the band during the year they made their surprise return with the album The Ballad of Darren. The film will portray the friends, bandmembers, some might even say soulmates, as they record ten new songs, culminating in their sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium.

The concert film will then showcase one of those shows at Wembley. Titled blur: Live At Wembley Stadium, it will give you a chance to experience (or relive) the concert from summer 2023.

Toby L. is in charge of directing both films.

Blur, hailing from London,...

This article appears in the SXSW 2024 issue of Den of Geek magazine. Check out all of our SXSW coverage here.

While South by Southwest often features megastar performers drawing music lovers to Texas’ cultural center, Austin, the festival excels at showcasing the next wave of musical pioneers.

SXSW‘s lineup defies categorization, transcending boundaries of genre, geography, and popularity, and with over 2,000 performers spanning 60+ countries, the festival transforms Austin into a global sonic bazaar, where every bar and stage teem with possibility. To help ease the discovery process, we’ve curated a roadmap spotlighting a constellation of rising stars.

From hyperpop firebrands to urbano changelings, there is truly something for everyone. Check out our unique picks below and make sure to check out their sets if you’re planning to visit The Live Music Capital of the World for SXSW.

And make sure to check out Den of Geek’s...

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has taken the next big step in his political career by running for Parliament in the next UK general election.

After recently spending four years on the county council in Norwich, Rowntree will be running as a Labour candidate for the Conservative-held Mid Sussex seat in an attempt to turn it red for the first time.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to become Labour’s first Mid Sussex MP,” Rowntree said in a statement. “Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament.”

He continued, “The Tories have run out of ideas, and the Lib Dems have run out of steam. I’m running for parliament to provide the energy and vision the area so desperately needs.”

Back in 2017, Rowntree was elected as a county councillor for the University ward in Norwich. He...

Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff, who is a longtime collaborator with Taylor Swift said that questioning the pop star’s songwriting ability “is like challenging someone’s faith in God”. Talking about Swift’s songwriting ability, Antoff said it “is like challenging someone’s faith in God. You just don’t go there.”

“I’m a little… sometimes. But you come after my friend Taylor, you’re toast to me.”

Damon Albarn, the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz, had ignited outrage among Swift fans, fondly called Swifties, in 2022 after he said that the ‘Blank Space’ hitmaker “doesn’t write her own songs.”

“A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother,” Albarn said at the time, as reported by variety.com.

He added: “I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It’s just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional.

Jack Antonoff won’t suffer fools who question his friend Taylor Swift, whom he has been collaborating with since 2012. In a Los Angeles Times interview ahead of the release of Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (out April 19), the musician-producer touted Swift’s songwriting and said anyone who didn’t see her chops is “toast” to him.

In January 2022, Damon Albarn suggested the pop star didn’t write her own songs, in an interview with Los Angeles Times, claiming that it isn’t really the same when there are cowriters.

Omar Souleyman returns today to announce Erbil, his first album in five years. He’s also shared the album’s first single, “Rahat Al Chant Ymme.” Stream it below.

Named after the Iraqi city he now resides in, Erbil serves as Souleyman’s fifth album and his third release on Diplo’s Mad Decent label. Souleyman reprises his dabke-electronica style, bringing back his longtime keyboard player Hasan Jamo alo and keeping a celebratory, joyous mood throughout the album’s eight tracks.

Lead single “Rahat Al Chant Ymme” certainly offers joy, with a dizzying instrumental backdrop and a thumping, incessant groove. The song arrives with a music video featuring Souleyman in Erbil, Iraq and including psychedelic flourishes that ebb and flow with the song’s beat. Watch the official visualizer below.

Erbil is the Syrian singer’s first LP since 2019’s Shlon. After beginning his career as a prolific wedding singer,...

Sales

Altitude is launching international sales on two films featuring iconic British band Blur at the Berlin European Film Market. The band, consisting of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, was formed in 1988 and tasted considerable success until it went on hiatus in 2015.

The first film is an untitled feature-length documentary depicting the return of Blur, captured across a year in which the band made a surprise return with their first record in eight years, the #1 album “The Ballad of Darren.” It follows the relationship of the bandmates of over three decades as they come together to record 10 new songs ahead of their sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2023. The second film is “Blur: Live At Wembley Stadium,” a two-hour concert film of the Wembley show.

Both films are directed by Toby L. and produced by Josh Connolly, via production...

UK sales and distribution outfit Altitude has added a documentary and a separate concert film about iconic British band blur to its European Film Market (EFM) slate.

Altitude will also release both films theatrically in the UK and Ireland later this year.

The first film is a feature-length documentary depicting the band’s emotional return, captured across a year in which the foursome – Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree – recorded their first album in eight years, ‘The Ballad of Darren’, ahead of their sold-out, first ever shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2023.

The second film, blur: Live At Wembley Stadium,...

The Rolling Stones have released the music video for the song “Mess It Up,” from their latest album, Hackney Diamonds. Watch it below.

Starring actor Nicholas Hoult, the video arrived on Tuesday, December 19th — just a few weeks after the release of Hackney Diamonds itself.

First released as the seventh track on Hackney Diamonds, “Mess It Up” sees the Stones blend their classic, blues-rock style with a disco-esque, modern pop approach. The driving backbeat and distorted guitar chops on the verses give oomph to Mick Jagger’s snarling vocals, as the melodic sparkle of the catchy, hook-led chorus transforms the track into a Stones-ified “pop bop.”

“Mess It Up” is the second track from Hackney Diamonds to receive music video treatment. In September, The Rolling Stones shared the video for the single “Angry” starring Sydney Sweeney (which Damon Albarn called “horrible” and “objectifying” of Sweeney).

Hackney Diamonds is The Rolling...