a-ha TO TOUR NORTH AMERICA FOR ANNIVERSARY SHOWS:


















It sounds like a-ha will be having a world tour in the next year in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of a-ha's first Number 1 hit, 'Take On Me'. Their album "Hunting High And Low" will be reissued, following info from their website: Magne said in an interview with BBC News, "For the anniversary, we want to do something creative and revisit material in a different way and make something special for the fans." Although the following timeframes and countries are not 100% confirmed, we understand this is the general tour schedule for 2010.
* In November 2009, the European tour will be extended. The band will also add a show in Tokyo, Japan.
* January will bring a-ha back to Australia for the first time since their first world tour, which opened in Perth, Australia on June 3, 1986.
* Fans in South America, Canada and the United States can look forward to some concerts in March.
* In May and June, a-ha will return to Europe and do some festivals.

The band probably played a few dates in Canada back in the 80's but they never returned after that from what I'm aware of. They are one band that I like that I've never seen live, looks like that will change soon!
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NATE KREISWIRTH'S CASHMERE COMMERCIAL SONG:





















Toronto singer/songwriter Nate Kreiswirth has a band called Cancel Winter. From a quick look on his Twitter page he appears to have a day job working in a lab, but also has a career as a writer of songs for commercials. Here in Canada they've been running an ad for Cashmere bathroom tissue with a catchy summer pop song as the theme for a while now. Month's ago I called the company and was told the tune was written by Nate but not really available as a full song. Now the ad has added some text saying that you can download the song from the Cashmere website (click here, you can also listen to the song at this site). I downloaded the file but it doesn't download as an MP3, so you will need to add the ".mp3" to the file and then it should work in your iTunes or media player. The song is called 'Cashmere Daydreams', and it is definitely worth getting, it has the KulPop seal of approval (I will play it on my radio show next week).
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CHECK OUT AUSTRALIA'S 'RAN/RUN':















I'm enjoying the new song 'Revolutionary' from the duo 'Ran/Run'. Pete Jones and Ryan Walsh are 'Ran/Run', the song reminds me a bit of The Blue Nile, check them out (an MP3 of 'Revolutionary' can be found at Arjan's site). Their new E.P. is due out in August.

THIS IS A FUN WATCH:

THE RETURN OF 'A FINE FRENZY':





















Alison Sudol (A Fine Frenzy) returns with a follow up to her great album 'One Cell In The Sea' with 'Bomb In A Birdcage', due for release on September 8th (album cover above). I've seen Alison live twice and she is an amazing singer and performer. It sounds like the new cd is a bit more uptempo, she describes the album as "11 infectious, bubbly, fun tracks infused with gorgeous lyrics and danceable beats." The first single 'Blow Away' is growing on me, you can watch an acoustic performance of the song below.

Her cover of Frank Sinatra's song 'The Things We Did Last Summer' is now available for download on iTunes. You can follow Alison on her Twitter page.



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U.K.'S 'CINNAMON CHASERS' DROP EXCELLENT ALBUM:




















Seemingly out of nowhere come U.K. synthpop band Cinnamon Chasers and their (his) excellent debut album 'A Million Miles Away From Home'. Cinnamon Chasers is the solo project of Russ Davies, son of Dave Davies and nephew of Ray Davies, two founding members of The Kinks. The London-based producer creates "a perfect blend of crisp electronics, pop based song structure and melodies with an 'indie' feel". The album released on June 16th on Modus Records is a great listen, I highly recommend it. Up for one week here is the track 'Jetstreams' to wet your appetite. The album is available on iTunes Canada as the regular album and you can also purchase the album as instrumental versions. Follow the band on Twitter also.
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IMOGEN HEAP 'ELLIPSE' ALBUM COVERS:

Imogen Heap premiered her new single 'First Train Home' on KCRW yesterday (listen here). The song is decent, hope it grows on me the more I listen to it, looking forward to hearing the entire album once it is released on August 25th in Canada. Not sure if following along with Immi's vBlogs during the recording was a good or bad thing as far as hearing the finished product, but I enjoyed her regular updates on the recording process.

Below is a picture of the first version of the album cover that Immi posted on Twitter, followed but what appears to be the finished cover. They made the right choice in switching it, better to see both of her eyes and she has a better facial expression. Don't expect any new vBlogs for a while, follow Imogen on her busy Twitter page.