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The xx Lose A Member

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:25:03 +0000

There has been much speculation about the future of rising stars The xx since guitarist Baria Qureshi (second left) failed to appear with the band at a show in London two weeks ago. In an interview in Stool Pigeon magazine, however, singer/bassist Oliver Sims (far right) has confirmed that Qureshi has left the band for good. The remaining three members will continue on their current tour (including Irish dates next month) and into the future.

“We’re a three-piece now,” he said. “We’ve been in a band with Baria since we were 16 and known her since we were 12. It’s just been a case of, I suppose, growing apart? It’s a big jump from 13-years-old to 20. I think we’ve just grown into different people and I don’t believe touring was for her, really.

“It’s been ridiculously sad, but I’m quite looking forward to seeing what spawns from here. For the first time in a long time we sat and worked, jamming in a rehearsal space trying to build up the live set again and have moved a bit further away from the album, after a stage of just reciting it.

“I feel like we’re going somewhere else now - being a bit more creative, trying to put on a bit more of a show.” [via TheQuietus]

Get Yer Hats Out For The Lads

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:55:23 +0000

Dublin post-punkers Autoban have announced a headline show for Dublin’s Academy 2 venue on December 5, and they are looking to do something a bit special with it. Basically, they want punters to come to the Mad Hatter’s Ball in their choice of fetching headwear - so expect to see fezes, headdresses, top hats, fedoras and maybe the odd porkpie. As they say themselves, “Hats are compulsory, dissidents will be shamed and ladies can accessorize, obviously.” That’s nice of them. Advance tickets are available from for €12 including booking fee.

Pixies And Pavement For Primavera Sound

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:29:41 +0000

Reformed alt. rock legends the Pixies and Pavement have been confirmed as two of the headline bands for Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival next year. The 2010 fest takes place on May 27, 28 and 29 at Parc del Forum, a seaside venue a short tube ride out of the city centre. Black Francis has floated the idea of a new Pixies album next year, so you never know - there could be new songs. Tickets for the festival are on sale now priced at €95 & booking fee until December 1, when the price goes up to €99 & booking fee.

Meantime, click here to download a free live EP from the Pixies’ current tour.

Japanese Popstars For Stiff Kitten

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:05:05 +0000

Derry dance heroes The Japanese Popstars have confirmed a headline live date for Belfast’s Stiff Kitten club on November 28. The trio have had an exceptionally busy year, releasing a live album in We Just Are - Live, touring all over the word and remixing The Ting Tings, Beyonce and Editors among others. Tickets are available now from the Stiff Kitten bar, www.thestiffkitten.com and Ticketmaster outlets, priced at £8.

Watch: Two Door Cinema Club - ‘I Can Talk’

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:01:35 +0000

Those Bangor boys Two Door Cinema Club are all over the place now - signed to Kitsuné, remixing Phoenix, headlining the Mandela Hall, touring Europe and now releasing their first high-profile single, the typically pristine pop of ‘I Can Talk’. The video is a big-budget (or so it seems) belter, too, with the band appearing to turn a big ol’ house into a massive dressing-up box. Much fun.

The band play Radio 1 Introducing’s United Nations show at the Mandela Hall, Belfast on November 17, with support from Twin Atlantic, Pulled Apart By Horses and Save Your Breath. The single is out on November 23.

ASIWYFA Confirm Letters EP

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:12:11 +0000

And So I Watch You From Afar have barely been off the road this year, having played more than 170 gigs all over Europe, but they have found time to record a new EP. Entitled Letters, the four-tracker is released on Smalltown America Records on February 22. It features ‘S Is For Salamander’ and ‘D Is For Django The Bastard’ - both now fixtures of the live set - as well as two more new tunes, ‘B Is For B-Side’ and ‘K Is For Killing Spree (Ode To)’.

As you should probably know by now, the band play the Ulster Hall in Belfast on December 18, while the new album is set for release sometime in the Spring.

New Hot Chip Album Announced

Chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:28:38 +0000

Hot Chip will release their fourth album, One Life Stand, on February 8 2010. In a statement on Facebook and linked to via Twitter this afternoon (Tuesday), we are told that “One Life Stand is by far and away Hot Chip’s most complete body of work to date, an album that is more cohesive and more soulful than 2007’s ambidextrous Made In The Dark and more ambitious than 2005’s Mercury nominated and Grammy award nominated The Warning, One Life Stand is an album that establishes Hot Chip as one of the most relevant and creative bands of our era.”

The band also announced that the album is now available for pre-order at www.hotchip.co.uk. If you do so, you’ll receive album track ‘Take It In’ immediately - “the first aural inclination of how the new record may sound”.

Johnny Foreigner Announce Irish Dates

Chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:19:18 +0000

Shouty oiks Johnny Foreigner have confirmed that they will make a three-date jaunt around Ireland in mid-December, with dates in Cork (11th), Belfast (12th) and Dublin. The Birmingham three-piece recently released their second album Grace and the Bigger Picture, and the Irish shows follow dates in Europe, Britain and Japan. Full details when you click through.

November

16th MTC, Cologne
17th Karerra Club Berlin
18th Astra Stube, Hamburg
20th Paradiso, Amsterdam
21st Big Reunion, Skegness
23rd Louisiana, Bristol
24th Joiner’s, Southampton
25th Sub 89, Reading
26th Boiler Room, Guildford
27th Sugarmill, Stoke
28th Fibber’s, York
29th Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

December
3rd Drunkard’s Stadium, Chiba
4th G-Side, Shizuoka
5th HMV instore, Yokohama
5th Dragon Club, Yokohama
6th British Anthems, Tokyo
11th Cyprus Avenue, Cork
12th Auntie Annie’s, Belfast
13th Academy 2, Dublin
14th Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds

Drummer Jerry Fuchs Dies In Lift Accident

Chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:06:09 +0000

Gerhardt (known as Jerry) Fuchs, the 34-year-old drummer who has played for a range of bands including The Juan MacLean, Maserati, MSTRKRFT, Holy Ghost! and formerly LCD Soundsystem, !!!, The Turing Machine and more, died in New York on Saturday night after falling five storeys down a lift shaft.

Fuchs, born in Athens, Georgia but based in Brooklyn, had been attending a benefit party on the seventh floor of the building in Williamsburg, when the lift he and a friend was travelling in became stuck between floors. The two men tried jumping across to the fourth floor lobby, but while Fuchs’ companion made it, the drummer’s jacket got caught and he fell to the bottom. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Yesterday, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem released a statement reading, “We’re all totally stunned and shocked here. We lost a dear friend Sunday morning, and we’re devastated. Jerry, drummer for Turing Machine, The Juan MacLean, !!!, Maserati and 10,000 other lucky bands also played drums with LCD for some of the first LP tour, but that doesn’t matter. Jerry was more a great friend than… anything, and that includes how truly incredible of a drummer he was. We miss him horribly.”

A statement from his bandmates in Maserati said, “We are humbled to have been able to create music with you for all these years, Jerry. You will be missed more than words can express. We love you, bro.”

And John MacLean (of The Juan MacLean) added, “Jerry was one of my best and most loyal friends. He was hands-down the best drummer I have ever played with or seen for that matter.”

R.I.P.

Watch: Gentle Friendly - ‘RIP Static’

Chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:40:09 +0000

South London keys ‘n’ drums duo Gentle Friendly released their debut album Ride Slow on Monday, and it has much to recommend it - rampant experimentation and great pop songwriting housed in noise, discordance and warm fuzz. The frantic ‘RIP Static’ is a perfect example, hurtling out of the blocks with tongue-twisting verses, dead-ahead drumming and some lovely synth drones. The video is worth a look, too - though if the idea that your toys were coming alive ever kept you awake at night when you were a kid, you’d do well to find a sofa to hide behind…

Watch