Only Dead Fish

Oasis 2.0

Images courtesy

Oasis have gone all 2.0 on us for the launch of their new album. Well sort of. They have previewed their upcoming new album, 'Dig Out Your Soul', by teaching a group of New York Metropolitan Transport Authority ( MUNY - Music Under New York) street musicians and buskers to perform never-heard-before tracks from the album. On Friday, the musicians went out across New York and performed at a number of well-known subway stations including Grand Central, Penn Station, Astor Place and Times Square.

 

BBH NY is filming the whole thing as part of a documentary about the album launch. People can upload video footage of the street performances, or their own versions of the new songs, to Oasis’ YouTube channel, and post photos to the Flickr group.

Here in the UK, The NME is also getting in on the act with a rather neat audience participation exercise (disclosure: I work for the company that produces The NME). Tommorrows issue is covermounting the sheet music and lyrics to four tracks off the new album and inviting readers to upload their own versions of the songs as part of a competition that will see the winner land a trip to see the band anywhere in the world on their upcoming global tour. Rather neat methinks.

There's No Place Like Heima

Right at the back of the new "Most Contagious 2007" report from the guys at Contagious Magazine (it's worth a read if you haven't seen it and you can download it here), in the "Ones to Watch" section, is a great example of a band (brand) looking after it's core audience whilst reaching out to new potential advocates.

Icelandic band Sigur Ros toured the world for more than a year to promote their iconic 'Takk' album. When they returned to Iceland, they undertook a series of concerts around their homeland. The concerts combined some of the biggest and smallest of their career. They played the biggest gig in the country's history at the band's Reykjavik homecoming, but they also played in far-flung community halls, a deserted fish factory, outsider art follies and darkened caves. They were all entirely free. So they had audiences comprised young and old, and ranging from ardent fans to the vaguely curious. They were also largely unannounced, relying purely on word of mouth.

Heima (or 'homeland' in Icelandic) is the film of that tour, filmed by an icelandic crew and featuring material from all four of the band's albums. I just love the way in which they've done this. Sending a strong message about the importance of their homeland in influencing their music. Rewarding their loyal fans whilst reaching out to a whole new audience. Contagious describe it as "one of the most beautiful and heartwarming stories of the last year."

Links:
Heima website
Film trailer
Photoblog
The Heima DVD
Sigur Ros website

Kerry's Mix

My friend (and aspiring DJ) Kerry has put together a mix which you can download as a podcast here. She describes it as "A musical journey from ska to disco with a side order of soul". Says Kerry: "I cracked open a bottle of beaujolais and unleashed myself upon the decks last night. The mix is the kind I'd reckon Larry Levan would've done if he was still alive. And couldn't mix. Or use pitch control properly. Or the crossfader."

Kerry is of-course under-selling herself. And the tracklist is eclectic but rather good (from what little I know):

Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Wake Up and Make Love With Me
Yarborough & Peoples - Don't Stop the Music
4 Hero feat J.Davey - Take My Time
Inner Life - Make It Last Forever
The Rebirth - Evil Vibrations
Evelyn Champagne King - I Don't Know If It's Right
DJ Day - A Place To Go
Pharcyde - Runnin Away (Jay Dee Extended Mix)
Joe Dukie & DJ Fitchie - Seconds
Michael Jackson feat Eve - Butterflies
Marvin Gaye - A Funky Space Reincarnation
Trussel - Love Injection
Reel People - Can't Stop
Wings - Let Em In

Check it out here. The i-tunes link is here

The Verve Exclusive

The NME has secured a world exclusive by creating the opportunity to download the first new material from The Verve in a decade. Says Richard Ashcroft:

"We all decided that rather than meeting for a cup of coffee or a beer or whatever, we should meet in a studio where we can do what we do. Straight away."

The first fruits of that recording session, 14 minutes of new Verve greatness, is now available here. As the NME describes it:

"No rehearsal, no fine tuning, no limits: just Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury back together in a room, making music."

Available for download now, here.

White Chalk

PJ Harvey is an artist like no other - she has a rare talent and is the very definition of 'uncompromising'. Her new album, White Chalk, is released this week. It's described on Amazon as "standing at the intersection between contemporary classical and Victorian American vaudeville" and "sounding like it was recorded a hundred years ago". If (like me) you just can't wait any longer, the NME are hosting a preview and you can listen to it in full before it hits the shops here

Mud-for-it!

For all those muso fans that weren't able to be there (probably a good job if you don't like mud), NME have posted 18 videos from last weekend's Glastonbury festival (including exclusive interviews from the likes of Willie Mason, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers and The Kooks) on their 'NME TV' channel on You Tube. As a taster, here's James Dean Bradfield from the Manics (especially for you Will).

*UPDATE*

Here's one way to guarantee your festival is not spoiled by the weather....the first ever virtual weekend music festival being held this weekend in Second Life. Second Fest apparently has a great line up of virtual artistes who'll be performing across 4 arenas and a main stage...via a friend of a friend.