SOME COOL NEW MUSIC I'M ENJOYING:















Just a note to mention of few newer tracks that I'm enjoying these days. First there are favourites Lo-Fi-Fnk who return with a new single 'Boom' from their forthcoming album 'Last Summer' due out August 17th. Looks like Leo and August have signed with a major label (Columbia/SONY), I hope that will result in more exposure with this release (would be nice if they could match the greatness of their 'Boylife' album).

Lo-Fi-Fnk - Boom (Release Date: 27th June) by lo-fi-fnk

The amazing duo Visitor remix the new Dirty Vegas track 'Little White Doves', check it out below. The original version appears on the new Dirty Vegas album 'Electric Love'.

VISITOR REMIXES by VISITOR

And Echoes have done some fantastic remixes of the new Matt And Kim single 'Block After Block', I really think their 'Echoes Radio edit' is another example of the remix being better than the original track. I can't find a online source to direct you to for a listen just yet for this remix so you'll have to take my word for it.

Blue Satellite is 22 year-old remixer/producer Phil Schwan. He recently released his 'Aurora EP' and I've been enjoying the song 'Aurora Pt 1' the 'Kill The Hero Remix', take a listen below and it looks like you can still download this remix for free.

Blue Satellite - Aurora Pt. I (Kill The Hero Remix) by Blue Satellite

Australia's Nick Littlemore rejoins Peter Mayes and their band Pnau has released a great single called 'Solid Ground' from their forthcoming album 'Soft Universe'. Nick of course has many musical projects including 'Empire Of The Sun' and 'The Sleepy Jackson'.

PNAU - Solid Ground (Radio Edit) by etcetcmusic
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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:





















a-ha have announced only three concert dates (Update: extra gigs in L.A. and New York have been added, up to five now) for North America in May as part of their 'Ending On A High Note' tour, and they are in New York and Los Angeles. To say this is a big disappointment is a major understatement, still hoping they manage to add some Canadian gigs to the list. I bought a ticket to one of the New York shows and will plan a road trip to see them if that is the only option.

Speaking of a-ha, band member Magne Furuholmen has teamed up to form a group called Apparatjik with Coldplay's bassist Guy Berryman and singer/guitarist Jonas Bjerre from the band Mew. They have just released their debut cd called "We Are Here", I look forward to hearing what it is like.

Lo-Fi-Fnk have leaked a song of their forthcoming album, the song is called "Marchin' In" and it is available to download from their blog. The song is good, a bit mellow, but it is great knowing that we are getting closer to the album finally being released, 4 years after the amazing 'Boylife' cd.

Nik Kershaw just released a cool solo acoustic album called "No Frills" on Monday. You can order it here from his new nicely redesigned website (and they accept PayPal which is great).

Loving the new Two Door Cinema Club album 'Tourist History'. Favourite tracks are the previously leaked demo track "Something Good Can Work', 'Come Back Home', 'Do You Want It All' and 'This Is The Life'. Check them out if you are a fan of a band like 'Upper Room'.

U.K. band Captain are on a bit of a hiatus (after their second album 'Distraction' ended up not getting officially released by EMI) but a couple of months ago started a new mailing list (sign up here) to try and gauge fan support. When you sign up you also get a free download of an unreleased Captain song called "Back In The Knife Drawer". This track was part of sessions they did in Oxford prior to the recording of 'Distraction'.

Teitur has finished writing his next album and plans to record it in March, hopefully it will get released over the summer.

The Human League have signed with Wall Of Sound Records, hopefully their new cd will be out this year.

I just found the Facebook page of Viv who ran the Thompson Twins Fan Club 'Teefax' back in the day, may try and get in touch to see what she has been up to, hope she is doing well.
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LO-FI-FNK:







Sweden's Lo-Fi-Fnk have a somewhat new website setup and seem to be a bit more active in updating it, check it out here. Some new songs are showing up in their setlists, I hope it means that they will be releasing a follow up to "Boylife" soon.

LO-FI-FNK TOURING & FERRAS NEWS:

















Just checked out Lo-Fi-Fnk's website to see if there was any news of the next album and was surprised and happy to see they are playing some dates in North America in late February/March that includes a stop in Vancouver. I'll definitely be going, hopefully they will have some new tracks to perform (tour dates at bottom of posting)



















American Idol may actually have a decent season as there is a quite varied top 24 that will be whittled down to the Top 10. If you've been watching you'll no doubt have heard the song by Ferras titled "Hollywood's Not America" that they are using. He shows great potential and has an album titled "Aliens And Rainbows" due out on April 1st, you can download the David Bowie influenced title track here and check other tracks on his MySpace page. ChartRigger has blogged about Ferras, and I was interested to read on another website that the album has been produced by The Matrix (that includes the amazing Lauren Christy) with their frequent collaborator Gary Clark (remember the band Danny Wilson - that Gary Clark who has also worked with Natalie Imbruglia and Lloyd Cole).

Lo-Fi-Fnk Tour Dates:

February 28 Montreal [CA] Le Cabaret w. Fluokids

February 29 Toronto [CA] Circa w. Fluokids

March 01 New York [US] Highline Ballroom w. Finger On the Pulse

March 04 Los Angeles [US] UCLA Kerckhoff Grand Salon

March 05 San Francisco [US] Mezannine w. Junior Boys DJ-set

March 06 Vancouver [CA] The Bourbon

March 07 Guadalajara [MX] La Santa

March 08 Mexico City [MX] MX Beat Festival