St. Germain - Real Blues

Who'd have thought? St. Germain, the French house/electronica artist named after one of the nicest Paris neighbourhoods there are (his real name being Ludovic Navarre), returns with new music, 15 years after his sophomore effort Tourist that racked up astounding sales back in the day when CD's actually was a commodity that could be sold to others than idiots like me. "Real Blues" is the first single off his self-titled third album that appears to be scheduled for an October release, and it's a funky, little tune with Malian instrumentation to go with the electronics, sampling the voice of the late, great blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins. A stunning track!

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Jason Isbell - 24 Frames

Former Drive-By Truckers member Jason Isbell was the man behind one of the best albums of 2013, Southeastern, featuring a score of songs written and recorded after a stint in rehab with him noting "This time I want to remember it all". And it really became a memorable record, with songs like "Elephant", "Stockholm" and "New South Wales" among its highlights. He's currently preparing the follow-up called Something More Than Free for a July 17 release, and the song "24 Frames" that he put up on his Soundcloud page is a stunner, a brilliant country-rock song that bodes very well for the album.

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Susanna - What's Love Got To Do With It

Tina Turner's massive 1984 hit "What's Love Got To Do With It" has been turned upside down by esteemed Norwegian singer/songwriter Susanna Wallumrød, who's also known for her well-chosen and beautifully executed cover versions, by names ranging from Kiss to Joy Division, Depeche Mode to Dolly Parton. On her forthcoming Songs Revisited EP she's doing a mesmerizing version of the Turner hit (written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle), as well as songs by Phoenix and Leonard Cohen and two of her own songs in new guises. It's out in just a few weeks, but "What's Love Got To Do With It" was put up on her Soundcloud page today. Check it out, you'll get chills - of the good kind, that is.

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Listen to Tracey Thorn's new EP in full here

Tracey Thorn has been commisioned to write her first ever film score, for Carol Morley's feature film debut The Falling, set in a girls school in the late 60's. The music goes on only for 17 minutes, but they are a very good 17 minutes, fitting into an EP's worth to be released on Monday titled Songs From The Falling. Simplicity is the key, and the tone of the songs are reminiscent to those on Thorn's 1982 debut album A Distant Shore, the main ingredient being her wonderful voice, set to spare arrangements. Listen to the EP in full by following the link below. This may just be your best spent 17 minutes in quite some time.

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Lianne La Havas - Unstoppable

Finally a new song from Lianne La Havas, the wonderful British singer/songwriter that made her debut with 2012's lovely record Is Your Love Big Enough? featuring songs like "They Could Be Wrong" and the Willy Mason duet "No Room For Doubt". "Unstoppable" is the first song off her forthcoming album Blood, to be released on July 31 and is definitely cause for celebration. Prince is a fan, by the way, using her on his album Art Official Age last year, which goes to show he has excellent taste in music. Further good news is that she will play Øyafestivalen here in Oslo in August. I can't wait!

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Hage - The Taste

This morning I heard an amazing song on the radio called "The Taste". It's written and performed by a duo named Hage (that's Norwegian for "garden"), two 18 year old girls from Bergen, Veronika Heilund and Vilde Hartveit Kolltveit. The duo is featured as this week's Urørt Artist, an ongoing competion on the national broadcaster NRK P3's website that culminates in one act becoming Urørt Act of the Year. Following Urørt is a good way to check out what's going on in the musical underworld of Norway, and Hage most definitely sounds like an act for the future. "The Taste" is simply a gorgeous pop song, with rich harmony vocals throughout, making this first single sound like sort of a pop version of First Aid Kit. I'm truly excited about this song and can't wait to hear more. Follow the link to listen and to download the song for free.

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Jamie xx feat. Romy - Loud Places

Little by little The xx "mastermind" Jamie xx is presenting his debut solo album In Colour to be released on June 1. Three songs have been released so far, "Girl", ""Gosh" and "Sleep Sound", and today saw the release of the wonderful "Loud Places", with vocals by Jamie's fellow xx singer/guitarist Romy Madley Croft. The band's two albums, 2009's xx and 2012's Coexist, created a sound all of their own, paving way for a new breed of British artists, and Jamie's solo debut should be really exciting and interesting as well judging from the songs we've heard so far. "Loud Places" is a downbeat, nocturnal, electronic soul-pop jewel of a song, with a very atmospheric music video for added pleasure. This is extremely cool stuff!

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HIT ALERT! Chic feat. Nile Rodgers with The Martinez Brothers - I'll Be There

After his amazing guest spot on Daft Punk's masterpiece Random Access Memories two years ago legendary disco producer, guitarist and Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers is back in vogue. Gone for a few years, but definitely not forgotten, his contribution to "Get Lucky" and others songs on the album gathered a lot of attention and he's currently recording a solo album, as well as having put Chic back together for a new album. It will be issued in June and titled It's About Time, cleverly titled as it's Chic's first new album in 23 years. "I'll Be There" is the fantastic first single, and it pretty much sounds like they never stopped playing. The song and its accompanying video bridges the gap between past and present with lines like "I don't wanna live in the past but it's a nice place to visit" and archive footage put together with recent shots of the band on stage, and a fan - played by the American fashion model Karlie Kloss - playing some classic albums before going to the club to see Chic perform. It's About Time will most certainly be THE disco album of 2015.

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Of Monsters And Men - Crystals

Here's the brand new single by the wonderful Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men. They enjoyed international success with 2011's debut album My Head Is An Animal and the single "Little Talks", and finally they're back with new music. "Crystals" is the first single from the upcoming June album Beneath The Skin and bodes really well. It sounds like a natural progression and a continuation of their jubilant sound that's now even bigger than before. Follow the link below to read a bit about the album and to see the lyric video for "Crystals", a truly wonderful song.

Lyric video

Ane Brun - Directions

Today Norwegian singer/songwriter Ane Brun has released her brand new single "Directions", a hypnotic, mesmerizing song written, not on piano or guitar as she usually does, but on a mobile app. According to Norwegian radio channel NRK P3 she sketched the song to the rhythm samples in the app, then added the bassline and voice. The result is absolutely brilliant, and this is where I'd like to add for the benefit of all those that suggest that the human aspect is lacking from today's music with all the available technology that supposedly makes it "cold", that "Directions" is in every way organic-sounding and utterly beautiful. The humanity and warmth is here in spades, and the song marks a brand new direction for Brun. She has also directed her own video to go with the song, in which she's dancing throughout the three minutes it lasts. A perfect fit for a deeply fascinating song. "Directions" is nothing short of a masterpiece.

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Van Morrison feat. Mark Knopfler - Irish Heartbeat

Van Morrison's forthcoming album Duets: Re-Working The Catalogue is exactly that, a record on which Van the Man sings a selection of his old songs as duets with different guests. So far, two songs have been made available - "Real Real Gone" as an amazing duet with Michael Bublé and "Some Piece Of Mind" with the late, great Bobby Womack - and today a third track was put online, a version of "Irish Heartbeat", the title track from Morrison and The Chieftains' collaborative 1988 album, this time around with Mark Knopfler. This is the third time Morrison records it though, as it first appeared in 1983 on his album Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart.

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Hør hele Daniel Kvammens debutalbum nå

Endelig kan du høre hele Daniel Kvammens debutplate Fremad i alle retninga. Den er ikke i salg før fredag, men fra i dag kan den streames i sin helhet på WiMP. Jeg har spilt singlen "Du fortenar ein som meg" flere ganger enn jeg kan telle i vinter, og jeg har vært så heldig å kunne høre albumet i noen uker nå også. Fine, fine, FINE ting.

Mange vil nok dra kjensel på "Ingen vega utenom" som var Daniels debutsingle høsten 2013, men da i en annen versjon. Nå er den spilt inn på nytt så den bedre kler lydbildet på Fremad i alle retninga, som er ypperlig kjørt i havn av Even Ormestad kjent fra Jaga Jazzist. Ved siden av "Du fortenar ein som meg" er min favoritt på albumet det avsluttende tittelkuttet, en aldeles griselekker, stillfaren og underfundig liten ballade om det å dra fra hjembygda for å satse på noe større, men aldri gi slipp på hvor du kommer fra. I Daniel Kvammens tilfelle er dette Geilo i Hallingdal, og bygda har grunn til å være stolt av ham. Bravo!

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Marina And The Diamonds - Forget

Welsh singer/songwriter Marina Lambrini Diamanis is preparing her third album Froot fronting Marina And The Diamonds. She writes commercial pop music of high quality, and are known for awesome songs like "How To Be A Heartbreaker", "I Am Not A Robot" and the recent "Happy". "Forget" was released today, and it sure sounds like another hit. Great song and THAT voice. I love it!

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Brian Wilson - The Right Time

"The Right Time" is the first single off Brian Wilson's forthcoming album No Pier Pressure. Surprisingly it's one of several songs on the album to feature former Beach Boy members Al Jardine and David Marks, and it sounds astounding. It's a beautiful, harmony-filled pop song with a chorus that basically kills. This is more or less classic Brian Wilson and Jardine's fabulous voice is just the ticket, lifting the song towards the heavens. A knock-out performance!

Lyric video

Blur returns! - Here's the brand new single "Go Out"

Surprisingly it was revealed today that Blur are back together and ready with a new album, 12 years after their latest, Think Tank. "Go Out" is the brand new single that spearheads the album titled The Magic Whip to be released on April 27. It's a hypnotic-sounding rock song with a great melody that sounds very promising indeed.

Lyric video

Sufjan Stevens - No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross

Sufjan Stevens is finally releasing a new solo album titled Carrie & Lowell on March 30. Yesterday saw the release of the first new song off it, "No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross", a beautiful ballad that slips quietly into your ears in a certain haunting fashion that Stevens is so very good at. He almost whispers the song, grabbing your attention at the same time. Carrie & Lowell is named after Stevens mother and stepfather and according to the press release its 11 songs are about "life and death, love and loss, and the artist's struggle to make sense of the beauty and ugliness of love". So there!

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Van Morrrison with new duets album, re-recording old classics - here's "Real Real Gone" with Michael Bublé

Van Morrison is about to release Duets: Reworking The Catalogue, his first new album since 2012's Born To Sing: No Plan B. It's a 16 track album due for a March 23 release, featuring duet partners like Mavis Staples, Mark Knopfler, Steve Winwood, Natalie Cole, the late Bobby Womack and many more, focusing mainly on lesser known songs from Morrison's expansive catalogue. First single "Real Real Gone" is definitely not "lesser known" though, and it's been re-recorded as a truly wonderful duet with Canadian superstar Michael Bublé. Although no match for Morrison's amazing voice, Bublé does a very fine job indeed. It's an incredible feelgood version, possibly even more celebratory in nature than Morrison's 1990 original. Woohee! Full track list is featured in the link below as well as "Real Real Gone". Enjoy!

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Listen to the entire "new" Pops Staples album now

Roebuck "Pops" Staples was the patriarch of The Staple Singers, one of the finest family groups ever to exist, known for amazing civil rights movements anthems like "Everyday People" and "Respect Yourself". Pops died in 2000, but left behind the beginnings of what was meant to be his fourth solo album. Finally it's come to life, thanks to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy who's produced and finished the record, with a little help from Mavis (who he's produced two albums for), Yvette and the late Cleotha Staples. The record, Don't Lose This, is out on Monday, but you can stream it in its entirety as of now, thanks to the good people at NPR.

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Listen to the Rhiannon Giddens album in its entirety now

I have been raving a lot about the upcoming debut solo album from Rhiannon Giddens these last few weeks. Now you can finally hear what it's all about as the entire album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is made available for streaming. With the exception of the closing track "Angel City" the album is all covers, all of them exceptional. One of the best albums of 2015 so far.

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Rhiannon Giddens and Iron & Wine - Forever Young

I have never seen the TV series Parenthood, but maybe I should have? Possibly or possible not, but this recording made especially for the series finale tells me I might. When two such gifted singers as Rhiannon Giddens and Sam Beam (a.k.a. Iron & Wine) pair up to sing such a beautiful version of Bob Dylan's classic "Forever Young" as this, there is good reason to stop and listen. Giddens even throws in a violin solo that lifts the song into the heavens. I mean, wow!

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