WAW: PJ Harvey- On The Battleship Hill

This year PJ Harvey has won the Mercury for the best album of 2011. Her album Let England Shake is her second to win this prestigious award. It's exactly ten years since she won her first Mercury for the album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea in 2001. Among the contenders for this years Mercury Prize were also Adele, James Blake and Elbow. The video for the songs is from the series of 12 Short Films by Seamus Murphy.

   

Heaven 17 Present The 80's

To dovetail Heaven 17’s world premiere of “The Luxury Gap” album performed in its entirety in 3D sound at the London Roundhouse on Friday October 14th, and songs from B.E.F.’s Music of Quality & Distinction albums the following night on Saturday October 15th, Heaven 17 have launched their own weekly radio series on Absolute 80s entitled “Electronic 80s with Heaven 17.” Click here for more info about the series.
 The hour long radio show will see Heaven 17 play the best of electronic 80s music from Kraftwerk, Human League to Scritti Politti and Blancmange. Each week the show will include a special guest. This week’s guest on the Sunday September 11th show is Kim Wilde, who, along with a number of other guest vocalists, will also participate in the “B.E.F. presents “Music of Quality & Distinction” concerts at the London Roundhouse on October 15th.

Other guest vocalists who will perform at the B.E.F. concert at the London Roundhouse concert on Saturday October 15th will include La Roux’s Elly Jackson, Sandie Shaw, Glenn Gregory, Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside, Boy George, Midge Ure, Polly Scattergood, the Noisettes’ Shingai Shoniwa, plus Kate Jackson (former lead singer of The Long Blondes). B.E.F. will perform songs from their first two “Music of Quality & Distinction albums, plus new songs their forthcoming third MQD album, “Dark.”

Click here for more info:
http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/meanfiddler/heaven17-bef.htm

Sinner's Day Festival 2011

The Belgian retro festival 'The Sinner's Day' comes with its third edition this year. It will be held on October 30, 2011 in Hasselt, Belgium and it will feature some great names from the world of New Wave and post-punk. The line-up includes Blancmange, John Foxx and the Maths, Visage, The Psychedelic Furs and Recoil and many more. To get all the details visit www.sinnersday.be.

Instant Hit: Still Life- War and Technology

Still Life released their only EP with the title 'Desert City' in 1987.  The record was released on Cave Canem and Spray Records and contained five tracks. One of the outstanding tracks from the EP is the powerful and gloomy "War and Technology" with great female vocals. A good evidence that Italy had some great underground acts back in the day. 

WAW: Geneva Jacuzzi- Clothes on the Bed

We haven't had some Geneva Jacuzzi around for a while on our blog. Here is the video for the song "Clothes on the Bed" which was directed by Eric Fensler and produced by Hilary Olson and Jay Rajeck. The song is a first track on her album Lamaze which was released last year.

   

Icehouse- 'White Heat- 30 Hits' Compilation Released

Universal Music and Iva Davies are excited to announce the release of Icehouse's 'White Heat: 30 Hits' compilation which brings together every single from the Icehouse pantheon ever released worldwide. Available August 26, 2011, 'White Heat: 30 Hits', will reunite and excite fans from all over the world with a 3 disc set containing two audio CDs, each with 15 songs in chronological order of their release, and a DVD with 32 film clips from over the years. The album will take you on a journey through the band’s amazing music career, combining decades of history in one album with hit songs, such as Great Southern Land, Hey, Little Girl, Crazy and Electric Blue that have won fans all over the world. 

  www.spellbound-icehouse.org

The Rapture- 'In the Grace of Your Love'

The Rapture are releasing a new album this week. Their new album is called 'In the Grace of Your Love' and this is their first album release since 2006. The album was produced by Phoenix producer Philippe Zdar and it was recorded in Brooklyn and Paris. "How Deep is your Love?", the first single form the album was already released in July. 

  therapturemusic.cinderblock.com

Books: Electric Dreams: The Human League, Heaven 17 and the Sound of the Steel City

"Electric Dreams', the long awaited super book by David Buckley which tells the story of how a band, a city and a lot of synthesizers provided the ultimate soundtrack to the Eighties. David Buckley, the acclaimed author of 'Strange Fascination: David Bowie – The Definitive Story', charts the Human League’s unlikely rise from avant-garde veterans of the punk wars to international pop sensations and reveals how a small number of bands in Sheffield created the music that came to define an era: electro-pop. The release of the book also marks the thirtieth anniversary of 'Dare', the Human League’s seminal third album. Pre-order your book here.  

More about the Author: /www.david-buckley.com/

Mick Milk for World Citizens

One of the New York's multi-media underground acts known as Mick Milk has surfaced on the internet. Mick Milk was a one-man DIY synth-master and guitarist who played a mix of experimental synth pop and technology-inspired dance music. He has recorded one album 'Song for the Citizens', a single and a couple of unreleased tracks in 1982/83. The whole recording material has been considered as ultra rare, but thanks to this site, everyone has the chance to listen to the remastered versions of the songs. Let's hope the records get a proper reissue.

http://www.mickmilk.com/

Retrovision: Eurythmics- Thorn in My Side

25 years ago Eurythmics released "Thorn in My Side" and enjoyed some chart success around Europe. The single reached the top 10 in the UK, Sweden and Ireland. The song was written by both members of the group and it was by Dave Stewart.