Emeli Sandé, who has previously praised the way her rap collaborators connect with their audience, has added another to the mix. The Scottish songbird has teamed up with West Coast MC Kendrick Lamar for a remix of "Next to Me," a track originally off her debut LP, Our Version of Events.
Phoenix on Monday debuted their first single off the forthcoming album, Bankrupt! The catchy new track, "Entertainment," premiered on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show.
It's only a day late, but The-Dream on Tuesday released the lead single off his forthcoming album, Fourplay. The new track, "Slow It Down," sees the singer-songwriter-producer collaborating once again with Fabolous. The-Dream previously told us at the Grammys that he had anticipated being able to release the new cut on Thursday, in time for Valentine's Day. He had actually hoped to have released the entire album earlier than it's upcoming May 7 debut, telling Variance on Sunday, "Have to force the label's hand—those guys."
Days after their icy Grammys appearance, The Civil Wars have unveiled new music. The duo comprised of Joy Williams and John Paul White on Wednesday unleashed "Long Time Gone," a collaboration with T Bone Burnett. It is the first of 14 tracks on the A Place At The Table soundtrack, featuring original songs and music by The Civil Wars and Burnett. The soundtrack releases Feb. 26.
San Fernando Valley sister trio Haim on Tuesday released a new song, "Falling," the title track off their forthcoming new EP, which arrives April 1 via Polydor. As we previously reported, the group originally debuted this track live last month during a performance for BBC Radio 1. It is now available for streaming and purchase.
Scottish outfit Chvrches have only released a handful of songs, but their fan base continues to grow. And with good reason. The trio—made up of Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry—recently took the No. 5 spot on BBC's Sound of 2013 poll, and as we revealed earlier this week, they will also be performing this May alongside a ridiculously good Sasquatch Festival lineup in Washington state.
Drake has taken a page from Kanye West's playbook, releasing on Friday evening his new single "Started From the Bottom." The track, which is set to release for purchase following next Sunday's Grammy awards, is the first cut off his yet-untitled new album. In a post to his October's Very Own blog, the rapper-actor acknowledged that songs and artwork for the album are already in the works, as is a tour.
As if January didn't already have enough great music news and upcoming albums announced, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine) has announced his new album Ghost On Ghost will arrive this spring. And to make this last day of January just a little bit better, Beam is offering the first new track off the set, "Lovers' Revolution," which can be heard below.
Editor's Note: Portions of the text below appear in the January issue of Variance, written by Rachel Faylene; artwork by Lindsey Byrnes. (Full story)
Tegan and Sara's new album Heartthrob officially releases Tuesday. As if the previously released tracks weren't proof enough, the pair definitely ventures into pop territory with this entire set. And it's so, so good.
"As an artist, when you’re making music and you’re touring for a living, you start setting all these goals for yourself,” Sara told Variance. “Tegan and I have accomplished the many things we wanted to accomplish. We’ve been all over the world and we’ve seen our audience grow from a handful of people, to a hundred people, to five hundred people, to now.”
While Washed Out's Ernest Greene has remained more or less under the radar for the past year, electronics brand Philips was able to recruit him to contribute to their new Sound of Creation campaign. The track of the same title was revealed this week via Consequence of Sound.
Hours ahead of the release of his Wrath of Caine mixtape, Pusha T has debuted the new cut "Only You Can Tell It," featuring Wale. The Boogz Da Beast-produced track is streaming on Billboard before the Jan. 28 release.
It's the weekend, so things are already looking pretty good, but Rick Ross just made things a little better with the release of a new track, "Box Chevy." The new cut is the lead track off his recently announced forthcoming album Mastermind. The D. Rich-produced "Chevy" is a perfect selection either for the club or with the windows rolled down. Regardless, it's good to have new music from Mr. Rozay.
