Music News

Jack White has produced a single for London singer Michael Kiwanuka.
The former White Stripes frontman has worked on the 'Home Again' hitmaker's new song 'You've Got Nothing to Lose', which is part of Jack's Third Man Record Blue Series of releases.
Michael said: "I'm a big fan of Jack White. I used to hear his guitar riffs in secondary school growing up as a teenager. He inspired loads of us to start bands and pick up a guitar which I did.
"He's an artist that still inspires me today, so it was such a pleasure getting to work with him, and put out this single on Third Man Records."
The song has been recorded ahead of sessions for Michael's next album, the follow-up to 'Home Again', his successful 2012 debut record.
The video for the song was directed by James Cathart, who also works for Third Man Records.
He said: "Michael's song has this air about it - of a father figure imparting wisdom. So I looked for an unexpected context to apply that to.
"It's about misleading perceptions - not just in terms of the character's gender, but also from what we expect of the people she encounters.
"Acceptance comes from a camo-clad country boy, while it's the presumably enlightened young person that harasses her on the bus ... we were able to strike just the right tone - sweetness tainted by melancholy ... or perhaps it's the other way around? We've all had bittersweet birthdays."
The single is available on vinyl and through iTunes now and also features a B-side of Townes Van Zandt's song 'Waitin' 'Round to Die'.

Pharrell Williams is overwhelmed by the success of his new single 'Happy'.
The 40-year-old singer, who has also worked on Daft Punk's hit 'Get Lucky' and Robin Thicke's song 'Blurred Lines', wasn't sure how to deal with the attention from his own song conquering the charts.
He said: "Seriously, I find myself trying to be cool about it, but I'm really like ... whoa! I've always produced music for artists who are going through this level of success, but I just didn't know it would be this crazy.
"I'm like with a sweet tooth waking up in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory."
The star, who will perform at the BRIT Awards tomorrow (19.02.14) at London's O2 Arena, insists he didn't get sick of hearing the infectious songs he has worked on with Daft Punk and Robin Thicke, which have won a host of accolades, including Grammy Awards.
He added to Time Out magazine: "I was just very thankful to all the people voting, requesting, downloading, sharing and talking about those songs.
"I always think it's really funny really funny when a person claims to be the author if their own success. They think it's all 'I, I, I'. And then when people don't like them anymore, they get all like 'But my success was supposed to happen'. No it wasn't. You forgot who gave you success. The people. The fans."

Noel Gallagher has been approached by a studio to make a film about Oasis.
The band's former guitarist - who has barely spoken to brother Liam since their group split in 2009 - has revealed that he is considering the offer.
Speaking at The Weinstein Company BAFTA after party on Sunday (16.02.14), he told The Sun newspaper: "People have seriously approached me about that.
"It's something that's very strange but very tempting.
"If it means I get to come here and watch Brad Pitt eat a bit of salmon then I'll make a film a year if I can."
The 46-year-old musician, who attended the event at London's Rosewood Hotel with his wife Sara, wants actor Michael Fassbender to take the lead role in the new film but didn't specify whether he would want the star to play himself or brother Liam, 41.
The 'Wonderwall' hitmaker claims the working title for the film is '20 Years A Geezer'.
Although he complained about the music at the Weinstein party, calling it "utter s***e", Noel had fun rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars.
He was seen chatting to Bradley Cooper during dinner at The Grosvenor House Hotel before the awards and actress Emma Thompson gave him a huge hug.
Meanwhile, Liam is set to hold castings in Los Angeles for a new Beatles film and has convinced Michael Winterbottom to direct the movie about the band's company Apple Corps and the break-up of the group.

Disclosure admit planning their collaboration with Lorde for the BRIT Awards has been "tough".
The duo, who are nominated for four awards at the event tomorrow night (19.02.14), are set to perform with the New Zealand singer but have struggled to organise their set for the show at London's O2 Arena.
Band member Howard Lawrence told the Daily Star newspaper: "It's been tough getting things ready as we've been on the road.
"So we've been constantly on the phone with Lorde, organising stuff. It was somebody else's idea to hook up so we haven't even met her yet.
"We've only been able to communicate remotely or through Skype because we've been so far away.
"We get a few hours' rehearsal before the performance so hopefully it will come together."
Brothers Guy and Howard were given a preview of the 17-year-old singer's talent when she sang her hit song 'Royals' live at the Grammy Awards last month.
Howard, 19, said: "She was amazing at the Grammys. That gave us an idea what to expect at the BRITs.
"It was a great night. We went to Daft Punk's party afterwards - they had their masks on - and met Pharrell [Williams], which was cool," he added: "Awards are a mass of chaos and fun."
Lorde is nominated for International Female Solo Artist at the BRITs, while Disclosure are up for British Group, British Breakthrough Act, British Single for their hit 'White Noise' with Aluna George and Mastercard British Album of the Year for their record 'Settle'.
The brothers feel their success is down to the popularity of dance music in Britain at the moment.
Howard added: "It is a special time for British music.
"When we're in the US all we get is: 'Why is the UK doing so much good dance music?'
"I kind of agree. The UK is leading the world in all types of music."

Sir Paul McCartney is to receive the Songwriter's Songwriter NME award.
The 71-year-old singer has been honoured the one-off accolade after being recognised by his fellow musicians for his outstanding contribution to pop music and his lasting impact on the industry.
NME editor Mike Williams said: "We've spoken to the biggest and best musicians around, and they've told us, 'Paul McCartney is the world's ultimate songwriter'. Paul's enduring and stunning talent is worth celebrating, and I'm incredibly honoured that NME are giving him the special, one-of-its-kind Songwriter's Songwriter award to recognise that."
The Beatles legend will pick up his award at the NME awards on February 26, 2014, at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London.
McCartney is the third winner to be announced so far, as Damon Albarn is to pick up the new Innovation award, while Blondie has been named this year's Godlike Genius.
Fans have been casting votes across 20 categories for this year's awards, and the Arctic Monkeys currently stand in the lead with eight nominations, Haim follow closely with six, while Queens of The Stone Age, Lily Allen and Arcade Fire all have three nods.
Blondie have been confirmed to perform at the ceremony and other artists will be announced shortly.
The event is being sponsored by the city of Austin in Texas.

John Legend predicted his song 'All of Me' would be the biggest of his career so far.
The singer, who performed the romantic ballad at The Grammy Awards last month, said the show was a "game-changer" and it helped to make it a hit.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "The song was doing pretty well, it was making its way up the chart, but it went up dramatically after The Grammys.
"It went from number 49 on the iTunes chart to number three. I always told the record label that this was going to be the biggest song from this album and I thought it would probably be the biggest song of my career to this point.
"And as of now it just reached that point on the US chart and several international charts."
John was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for his record 'Love in the Future' but missed out to Alicia Keys for her album 'Girl on Fire'.
However, he insists he's not bitter, having won nine awards at the ceremony in the past.
He said: "We were all in a good mood after The Grammys, just from the success of the night.
"All the response from my performance had been so good and it was just pretty euphoric knowing that in such a high profile way we did something that resonated with people."
The 35-year-old star is heading out on the road next month for an acoustic tour in the US, stopping at venues including including Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
He said: "I'm touring again in March and I'm preparing for that right now. It's a special tour, it's different to anything I've done before. It's an unplugged tour.
"Just me on piano and a string quartet. It'll be the first time I've done a full tour like that. I'm curious of how it's going to work and excited."
John's album 'Love in the Future' and his single 'All of Me' are out now on G.O.O.D/Columbia.

David Bowie's producer claims there are "astounding" tracks left over from recording sessions for the singer's 2013 album, 'The Next Day'.
Tony Visconti spoke at the Music Producers Guild Awards on Friday (14.02.14), where he collected Bowie's innovation honour on the artist's behalf, and said "two or three" unreleased tracks could be released.
According to the BBC, he said he and Bowie were "very excited" by the reaction to the comeback album, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
He said: "We were very excited with the reaction. Honestly I was in a daze for the first week, because keeping a secret for two years took quite a lot of lying. I almost started believing my own stories!
"No one believed that David Bowie was going to make another album and so the timing was perfect, because everyone kind of gave up on him."
When rumours began circulating that the 67-year-old star was in bad health and planning to retire, Tony says he was "laughing" because he was fine.
He added: I'm in the studio with a very healthy man who has no problem writing songs, he wrote easily 30 songs for that album."
David Bowie is nominated for two BRIT Awards this weekend for Best Album for 'The Next Day' and Best Male Solo Artist, but he will reportedly not be attending the event on Wednesday (19.02.14) at London's O2 Arena.

George Michael doesn't "understand" why he has had to edit his new single.
The 50-year-old singer has digitally-removed the audience noises from his latest track 'Let Her Down Easy' - which was recorded during his 'Symphonica' world tour of 2011-12 - because of rules that would have prevented it from being played on radio, but he is unsure why the move was necessary.
He tweeted: "Good Morning campers! Just out of intrest, Let her down easy is indeed a live vocal, but radio these days wont any live or live sounding...
"sorry i meant radio wont PLAY any live or live sounding tracks on the radio on their playlists anyore, so we had to go in and ...
"get rid of all audience sounds off the track..I know i dont understand it either (sic)"
George previously went to number one with two live duets, in 1991 with Sir Elton John on 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' and two years later with Queen on 'Somebody To Love', and he is grateful the rules didn't apply when he released those songs as they would never have been so successful.
He added: "all i can thank god for is that it's a recent development because id have lost on two number one's, with Elton and queen! Anyway, just thought you'd like to have that cleared up (sic)"
George's latest record, also named 'Symphonica', will be released on March 17.

Laura Mvula is an honest songwriter.
The 'Green Garden' singer led a BRIT Master Class at the British Music Experience at London's The O2 last Thursday (13.02.14) where she advised local music students, members of the BRIT School, youth groups and music enthusiasts to always be as true to themselves when composing tracks.
She said: "I think the main ingredient of good songwriting is honesty."
The star - who is nominated for both Best Female and British Breakthrough Act at this year's BRIT Awards - talked about her beginnings in the music industry, and how scary it was when she finished studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition and had to get a job as a supply teacher.
She said: "I was privileged to have the experience of simply focusing on music when I was at The Conservatoire. When I left I was really scared. I had been in this amazing music bubble. Everyone loved each other, but at the same time were competing with each other - so it was this amazingly creative environment. When I left I was faced with the challenge of finding 'a real job.'
"It was a difficult year - I didn't even know what a manager or a producer did!"
Laura, 27, wrote songs on her computer before releasing her first EP 'She' in November 2012 and her debut album 'Sing to the Moon' last year, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2013.
Previous stars to share their knowledge at BRITs music masterclasses include Emeli Sandé, Rudimental, Imogen Heap, Bashy and Kate Nash.
The BRIT Awards 2014 will be held at The O2 on February 19 and will be broadcast live on ITV.