THOUGHTS ABOUT MY RECENT TRIP TO LONDON:
















I had an amazing eight days in London England, the highlight being a cool one off concert by Howard Jones at the Indig02 where he played his first two albums 'Human's Lib' and 'Dream Into Action' in their entirety (see my review below). I also managed to see Imogen Heap debut her score to a nature film and concert at The Royal Albert Hall (amazing venue) as well as seeing O.M.D. at the Hammersmith Apollo which was fun (met Paul Humphreys at the after show party which was cool).

I got to spend time with some of my U.K. family which was great and also looked around the fantastic city of London and also had a few super meals at Wagamama's. Had fun looking for cds, especially at the four locations of Music & Video Exchange that seem to still be thriving while many similar used cds stores have closed up shop. Below is a list of a few highlights and great cd buys I experienced on my trip:

Ultimate CD acquired: The new limited edition box set from Howard Jones of the digitally remastered 'Human's Lib' and 'Dream Into Action' albums with bonus disc of live material. I managed to get the set numbered 001 out of a 1000. I also got it signed in silver pen by Howard Jones, Rupert Hine, Stephen W. Tayler, Robbie Bronnimann, Steg and Jed Hoile (bonus points to you if you know the significance of each of these people in the production and release of this box set).

Best gift cd: The talented DJ and label executive Mark Jones from the cool Wall Of Sound label (who recently signed The Human League) gave me the 8 mix promo cd for the amazing new Penguin Prison single 'Golden Train'. Runner up goes to the Duncan Sheik 'Covers 80's' 5 track cd that he sold on his recent tour of the U.K., given to me by the always classy Glenn Kelly who runs Howard Jones' website.

Best cd deals: I picked up The Cure's 3 cd limited edition set of 'Disintegration' for 1 pound, along with the 2 cd version of Frankmusik's 'Complete Me' release for 50p. Both in excellent condition and found at a Salvation Army Charity store (also got the latest Courteneers cd Falcon (2 disc version) for a pound at the same shop).

Coolest rarity cd found: A two track early promo cd from Frankmusik that contains the songs 'In Step' and 'Done Done'. Also got neat rarities from Howard Jones (VIP cd from the concert), Starsmith, Bright Light Bright Light, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Veto Silver, and Leni Ward.

Only regret: Not going to see Fenech-Soler on the final stop of their U.K. tour at Heaven on Nov. 10th. This was going to be a late night and I had an early flight the next day so I decided against going.
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VARIOUS BITS AND PIECES:





















Canadian pop music pioneers the Spoons have just joined Twitter, you can follow them here. They are also releasing a very limited edition 2 track cd in July with the new songs 'Imperfekt' and 'Breaking In'. The full-length album is expected to be released by the end of the summer. You can watch them performing 'Imperfekt' for the second time in concert at my recent posting on their gig at Dundas Square in Toronto.

According to a recent Tweet from Howard Jones it sounds like Duncan Sheik will be opening for Howard on his upcoming U.K. Acoustic tour in September.
















Irish band Two Door Cinema Club met Prince Charles at the Glastonbury Festival today. They return to Toronto for a concert at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on October 25th, 2010.

I'm really enjoying the following songs these days:

James Yuill - First In Line
The Delays - Unsung
HURTS - Unspoken (Fred Falke reMix)
Villa Nah - Ways To Be
Francis & The Lights - For Days
Kamp! - Distance Of The Modern Hearts
MadFox - No Surrender
:Kinema: - Recreation
The Chap - We Work In Bars
BAKER - Echo
Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire
Kingz with Jonatha Brooke - Here We Go
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HOLLY BROOK SET TO RELEASE NEW CD:





















Holly Brook has announced plans to release a cd titled "O'Dark:Thirty EP". It will contain seven songs from Holly Brook's long awaited album O'Dark:Thirty, and will be released on June 10th, 2010! It will be available for sale digitally and physically via bandcamp.com, as well as other online digital retailers.

I first saw Holly live when she opened for Duncan Sheik in Toronto in 2006 and she was amazing live and I bought her first cd "Like Blood Like Honey". She was also involved in Duncan's "Whisper House" musical and performed in the cast of the first production of the play in San Diego earlier this year.

My favourite song of Holly's still has to be "Heavy". More info at her ReverbNation page.
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DUNCAN SHEIK TO RECORD AN ALBUM OF '80s SYNTHPOP/NEW WAVE COVERS:



















In an interview in U.S.A. Today Duncan Sheik mentions plans for his next album after the release of his latest work "Whisper House" on January 27th of this year (buy the cd here). He says he plans to record "covers of '80s synth-pop/new wave songs, but done with a completely different sonic palette." This also from a Paste Magazine article "The tour EP includes a rendition of the Psychedelic Furs' oft-covered "The Ghost In You," a hint of Sheik's upcoming covers album, which will also include music by Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, The Smiths, New Order and the Thompson Twins. "It's all music from the '80s that was nominally kind of synth-pop, but it's recorded in these very, very kind of even more miserable, sad acoustic versions," Sheik said."

I wouldn't be surprised if he covers an '80s classic from his friend Howard Jones on the record and I wonder if the Depeche Mode track will be "Blasphemous Rumours" that he covered on his 1998 promo EP "Humming Along". Duncan is also touring in February/March with the amazing Holly Brook, check out his website for dates.
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Little Spirit: Christmas in New York airs Wednesday:





The animated Christmas special "Little Spirit: Christmas In New York" with music by Duncan Sheik and possibly an Imogen Heap track (her song could be called "It's Alright") airs this Wednesday on N.B.C. in the U.S. at 8pm.
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IMOGEN HEAP WORKS ON DUNCAN SHEIK ANIMATED FILM PROJECT:

















Imogen Heap has a new vBlog (#30) which is chalk full of information. Big news is that she has written a song with Mika (who has also recently got into the video blogging act) that may appear on his next album. She also flew to LA to sing at 'The O.C.' creator Josh Schwartz's wedding to Jill Stonerock in Santa Barbara, CA. She has written a song for an upcoming animated movie that is scheduled to air on NBC this holiday season (she plays a clip, the song could be called "It's Alright"). The animated movie "Macy's Presents Little Spirit: Christmas in New York," starring the voices of Danny DeVito, Lucy Liu, and Freddy Rodriguez centers on a boy who loses his dog right before Christmas, and features original songs and music by Duncan Sheik. It sounds like Duncan approached her to work on the project, will be interesting to see if a soundtrack to the TV movie gets released.

Some reissue cds coming out in the U.K. in the coming weeks that I'm looking forward to picking up at some point are:

Red Box - The Circle And The Square (order here) (And Red Box (Simon Toulson-Clarke) have a new record ready to release)











Thompson Twins - A Product of.../Set (order here)