Music News

One Republic singer Ryan Tedder says he is always under pressure when working with Simon Cowell's record label Syco because it is "flat out aggressive".
The songwriter penned former 'X Factor' UK winner Leona Lewis' hit 'Bleeding Love' and has worked with many other Syco acts, including Alexandra Burke when she was with the company, One Direction and Ella Henderson, and although he enjoys it he admits the label make him work hard.
Talking to the upcoming issue of Fault magazine, Ryan explained: "His label is aggressive, flat-out aggressive. They have an objective, they have a goal, a single-minded goal and everyone at that label is dead on in their approach. They're like, 'Here's when it's coming out, here's when it's due.'
"Their calendar is their Bible. They cannot change dates of when something is going to be broadcast and so they have a more militant approach."
But the 32-year-old musician respects the tough approach of Simon and Syco and insists the music mogul's work ethic is one of the main reasons for his incredible chart success.
He added: "Simon didn't get to where he's got by sitting back in the passenger seat and just assuming or hoping that things will just take care of themselves."

Blink-182 have started work on a new album.
The American pop/punk band are back in the studio and have begun early sessions and rehearsals for their long-awaited seventh studio album.
Guitarist-and-vocalist Tom DeLonge made a post on his personal Instagram account of a photo of him and his two bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker as teenagers along with the news work on the new LP has started.
The caption read: "Rehearsals start today ... And yes there will be a new album #SorryForTheWait #Blink (sic)"
The album will be the group's first since 2011 release 'Neighborhoods', which was their comeback LP following their eight-year recording hiatus.
Now work has started on the record it could be completed quickly as bassist-and-vocalist Hoppus previously revealed the band work fast once they get started.
He previously told MTV News: "Once we start, it moves. It's like painting, you know? You've just got to start with that first brushstroke, and get your clothes off, and get the other person's clothes off, get a little bit of faeces, smear it around. Just get going."

Dolly Parton wants to record a dance anthem.
The 68-year-old star - who performed to over 150,000 people at Glastonbury festival in Somerset, South West England last month - has revealed she would love to make some more upbeat music and cater to her gay following.
According to Digital Spy, she said: "At some point I would like to do a dance record and I have several songs that are very positive towards the gay community.
"I have a song called 'Just A Wee Bit Gay'. It's a great little dance tune, it's funny and it's got a lot of comic in it.
"I do write a lot of songs along those lines with people that are different and are just themselves."
Meanwhile, the 'Jolene' hitmaker - who last night (14.07.14) played the last date of her 'Blue Smoke' world tour - has been inspiring young musicians, including fellow Glastonbury performer Jake Bugg.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "I'm a fan of Dolly's beautiful voice and great songs. She's a woman with great stories, so Dolly is pretty cool.
"I've recently been coming up with new ideas for songs and have come up with country ideas.
"Next year I'd like to have some time off to travel around the southern states, Nashville and Memphis, and hang out, get inspired, see what happens.
"Maybe I'll make a country album, which would be pretty sweet."

Ed Sheeran was inspired by Eric Clapton to become a better performer.
The 23-year-old musician remembers watching the rock legend perform at the concert for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and thinking he wanted to play guitar like him.
The singer/songwriter - who started touring extensively in 2009 and released his debut album 'X' in 2011 - said: "I saw Eric Clapton at the Queen's Jubilee. I watched him and I thought, 'I want to do that, I want to play guitar like that.'
"My dad brought me up on lots of different music and Stevie Wonder was one of the main people that I listened to when I was young ... and The Beatles and Van Morrison always."
Ed is impressed by plenty of new artists, and he is predicting a long career for Sam Smith, who has just released his first LP 'In the Lonely Hour'.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2, the 'Sing' hitmaker' said: "There are a couple of artists from this generation that will be around for the next generation and I think that Sam Smith is going to be a name that we aren't going to stop hearing soon"
"His voice is like no other, there isn't anyone who has a voice like Sam Smith or who is writing songs like Sam Smith. His album is pure quality."

KISS have promised a "double dose [of] steroids" with their Las Vegas residency.
The legendary group will perform nine shows at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from November 5, and guitarist Paul Stanley has promised the gigs will be bigger and better than anything they have done before.
He said: "Whatever you're used to with KISS, this will pump it up that much more. If KISS is on steroids, this is a double dose."
Though the 3,200-capacity venue is smaller than the group usually play, the 'Crazy Crazy Nights' hitmakers insist it won't be restricting, but instead allows them the opportunity to try new things.
Paul added to USA Today newspaper: "Usually, going into a smaller venue means eliminating things.
"The great thing about going into The Joint, it gives us the opportunity to add. Much in the same way as a Broadway show, when you have a permanent installation, you're not breaking down every night to travel. So we can do things we wouldn't normally do."
The group - which currently comprises Paul, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer - are currently on a co-headline tour with Def Leppard and while the Las Vegas shows will incorporate the "spider stage" they are currently using, it won't be the same spectacle.
Paul said: "That being said, it's not going to be that show. Here, we're in the enviable position of being able to do a KISS show that we haven't been able to do. We will pack 10 pounds of gunpowder into a 5-pound bag.
"Anybody who sees the band sees four guys reveling in the smoke and fire. Every time we hit the stage, it's a victory lap. It's a race that's never over, but it's a race that we continue to win."

Paolo Nutini wants to collaborate with Pharrell Williams.
The 'Let Me Down Easy' singer was hoping to "bump into" the 'Happy' hitmaker at the T in the Park festival over the weekend as he thinks the producer has the "Midas touch" and can do no wrong.
Talking to In:Demand radio backstage at the Scottish festival, Paolo explained: "He's the man with the Midas touch. I don't think it is as easy as just saying, 'Hey Pharrell, let's do this!'
"But I think he seems to be making more and more music. He seems a busy man just now but who knows maybe I'll bump into him. You never know."
But Pharrell isn't the only one with a hectic schedule as Paolo revealed his calendar is full at the moment.
He added: "The next few months are more shows, more festivals, gigging throughout the summer up until September... we just keep gigging.
"We're pretty much at a gig every second day ... if we even get that amount of time!"
However, Paolo insists he is going to find the time for some fun when out on the road.
He added: "When we go to LA; we've already made plans to go out and have a night in the limo. It's going to be good, it will be very Fifty Cent."
The Scotsman also opened up about how special it was to be performing in his hope nation for the festival.
He told presenter Stu Tolan: "It's a special country and everybody really raised their spirits for this festival, in every sense of the word, they go for it. There is just something about it. It can get a bit cosmic."

T in the Park will be a "voyage of discovery" for festival-goers when it moves site.
The Scottish festival's 18 years in Balado, Kinross, came to an end last night (13.07.14), and event organiser Geoff Ellis wants its new home at Strathallan Castle in Perthshire to be more like Glastonbury, with different atmospheres in different areas of the site.
He told BBC Newsbeat: "It'll have more of a boutique feel I suppose.
"It'll be a little bit like Glastonbury where you can go to Shangri-La and not spend any time anywhere else.
"There are lots of mature trees, a castle, tree lined avenues. It'll be a voyage of discovery for those going.
"We might split the fields so, for example, have one field for leftfield music and the healthy eating area."
Although he is sad to say goodbye to Kinross, Geoff is looking forward to making the move.
He said: "It's with a heavy heart that we have to leave Kinross, we've got a great relationship with the local community.
"The main thing we'll miss is the local community, residents and businesses..
"It's the end of an era but the start of a new chapter and we're looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Scottish singer Paolo Nutini - who performed on the main stage at the weekend - thinks there will be a "whole new buzz in a whole new setting" when the festival moves.
He added: "As long as the music's good, people will take to it just the same."

Singer Jetta was "nervous but excited" before working with Pharrell Williams.
The Liverpudlian star was stunned when she received a call from the 'Happy' hitmaker last summer and he asked her to fly to Miami to work on new material.
She told BANG Showbiz: "It was amazing! I've always loved Pharrell, since back in the day when he came out with his first record and obviously he has worked with so many different amazing artists, producing their records, writing for them.
"He heard a bunch of my early demos last summer and asked me to fly out to Miami, so obviously I was straight on the plane.
"I think I was a healthy amount of nervous and excited, I often feel those two things together, but I think it's really important for me to feel that way, it kind of drives me to go and do stuff!"
The pair worked on the track 'Crescendo' which features on the Pepsi Max Beats of the Beautiful Game album, to celebrate the 2014 World Cup.
Jetta explained: "I spent two days with him in Miami, jamming, just talking about our musical journeys, what we've been up to, what inspires us, and the word 'Crescendo' came up and we were just like, 'Wait, that's a really cool word, let's go with that', and then I went back to work with him to finish the record in LA the following month."
Jetta explained the song is about something building up and the adrenaline rush which can be experienced in both music and sport.
Having just released her first EP, also titled 'Crescendo', Jetta is happy to be seeing progress in the industry and has big plans for the future.
She said: "Everyone that I meet is really inspiring, though my main idol when I was growing up was Annie Lennox ... I'd love to meet her.
"I've bumped into her a few times in west London as we live close to each other, but I'd really love to sit down with her and talk to her about music, and see where she gets her inspiration from."
Pepsi Max Beats of the Beautiful Game is out now.

Mumford and Sons have started recording their third album.
The folk rock group have begun work on a handful of new songs at Eastcote Studios in Kensal Town, west London, the same studio where they recorded their debut album 'Sigh No More', which was released in 2009 and sold over a million copies in the UK.
The four-piece group - who achieved worldwide success with their second LP 'Babel' - intend to release the record in early 2015.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, a source said: "It's still very early days because they have been enjoying their down time.
"But very early work and sessions have begun quietly on album number three. They haven't announced anything officially because they don't want to be under lots of pressure.
"At this point, it's still more likely the album will be released at some point next year - unless things move very quickly."
News of the recording sessions comes less than a year after the group announced their intention to take a break from their intense touring schedule.
However, following the band's surprise appearance at Glastonbury - where they joined Haim on stage - they decided to get back in the studio.