A music video of insane proportions, packed with humour and intelligence. 5*’s without a doubt, putting to shame the tonnes of crap churned out by others every year.

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Hot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

Mini Viva made an arresting splash on the pop world with their debut single Left My Heart In Tokyo crashing into the top ten and staying there for four consecutive weeks in September 2009. Their distinctive hi-nrgetic sound and glam look won them fans across the board. Britt and Frankee have since been putting the finishing touches to their debut album and are ready to release the absolute pop gem ‘One Touch’. Irresistibly catchy, yet still craftily knowing and with nods back to the floorfilling 80s sounds of Chicago house and hi-nrg, this is the perfect soundtrack to dancing round your living room, getting ready for a Saturday night on the town with the girls.

Mini Viva will also take to the road with everyone’s favourite dance troupe Diversity.

Full tour dates below:

Tue 23-Mar Margate Winter Gardens
Wed 24-Mar Cambridge Corn Exchange
Thu 25-Mar Rhyl Pavilions
Sat 27-Mar Manchester Apollo
Sun 28-Mar Liverpool Empire
Mon 29-Mar Wolves Civic Hall
Tue 30-Mar Glasgow Cylde Auditorium
Thu 01-Apr Newcastle City Hall
Fri 02-Apr Swindon Oasis
Sat 03-Apr Plymouth Pavilions
Mon 05-Apr Oxford New Theatre
Tue 06-Apr Leicester De Montford
Wed 07-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo
Thu 08-Apr Bristol Colston Hall
Sat 10-Apr Portsmouth Guildhall
Sun 11-Apr Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
Tue 13-Apr Nottingham Concert Hall
Wed 14-Apr Sheffield City Hall
Thu 15-Apr Brighton Brighton Centre
Sat 17-Apr Cardiff CIA
Sun 18-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo
Mon 19-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo
Wed 21-Apr Brentwood Leisure Centre
Thu 22-Apr Preston Guildhall
Sat 24-Apr Manchester Apollo
Sun 25-Apr Bradford St Georges Hall
Mon 26-Apr Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Here is some exciting news straight out of Radio 1 HQ, that they will be releasing more and more video footage for select blogs and of course you wonderful people to enjoy. To kick things off, we’ve got some exclusive Zane Lowe Maida vale sessions with UK rapper Giggs.

The video for ‘Don’t Go There’ and goes live at 8pm tonight!

You really don’t want to miss this!

Believe.

I have been told and witnessed the truth in the flesh that Scouting For Girls’ have a new single ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’. The single is out on 29 March, just ahead of their new album ‘Everybody Wants to Be On TV’ on 12 April. BOOYA.

If that isn’t enough the guys have also made a series of Scouting for Girls TV ‘webisodes’, where Roy, Greg and Pete give news bulletins on their new single, album and their charity London-Brighton bike ride for WellChild.  It’s fun and will bring a smile to your face.

Check out a couple here:

Episode 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cl7TySuag

Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzKXSW6cKlI&feature=channel

For the naive, in 2008 Scouting For Girls became the biggest selling new British band of the year. Having toiled for ten years unsigned, the boys sold over 900,000 records of their eponymous number 1 debut album, and were nominated for three Brit Awards (British Breakthrough Act, British Single and British Live Act) to become the UK’s most successful new pop band.

Fronted by exuberant showman Roy Stride, Scouting For Girls quickly became renowned for their contagious piano-led pop songs (She’s So Lovely, Heartbeat, It’s Not About You), that connected with a huge audience and reaped multiple sell-out tours. Those live shows grew as Scouting For Girls mania gripped, buoyed on by huge radio support, and venues were upsized across the country and sold out just as quickly. By the end of 2008, they had performed to hundreds of thousands of fans, and outsold bands twice their size in the live arena.

The initial recordings of their forthcoming second album Everybody Wants To Be On TV were ruthlessly scrapped after the Brit Awards in 2008, when the band decided it needed re-writing and re-shaping. Whole tracks were dropped in Roy Stride’s mission for a collection of perfect pop songs. The resulting album, produced by Andy Green at Helioscentric Studios in East Sussex, is unshakeably bold and confident, a genuine step up in sound that loses none of the band’s early charm but builds and expands upon it as infectiously as only they know how to be.

It is a welcome return by this everyday trio, writing a bright new chapter of British pop for 2010.

www.scoutingforgirls.co.uk

Believe

Sarah Blasko has been announced as the Special Guest on her fellow countrymen The Temper Trap’s 14 date UK tour in April and May. Having won the ARIA Award and Rolling Stone Award for Best Female and the coveted J Award for Album Of The Year with her 2009 release ‘As Day Follows Night’ in Australia, Sarah is relocating to Europe for much of 2010. ‘As Day Follows Night’, which was produced by Björn Yttling (from Peter, Bjorn and John) and recorded in Sweden, is Sarah’s third album but the first to be released in Europe.

If you’re keen to get to see the shows, you need to move fast….nearly a third of them have sold out already:

27 April - O2 Academy Bournemouth
28 April - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London- SOLD OUT
29 April - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London - SOLD OUT
30 April - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London - SOLD OUT
1 May - University, Cardiff
3 May - Rock City, Nottingham
4 May - Birmingham O2 Academy
5 May - UEA, Norwich
9 May - The Academy, Manchester - SOLD OUT
10 May - Newcastle O2 Academy
11 May - Leeds O2 Academy
13 May - Glasgow O2 Academy
14 May - The HMV Picture House, Edinburgh
16 May - Liverpool O2 Academy - SOLD OUT

The release of the album on April 5th will be preceded by her debut UK single ‘We Won’t Run’ on March 22nd on Dramatico Entertainment.

F**K THE WHITE BOARD 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY

FRIDAY 26TH FEBRUARY

LIVE -
JAMMER
SECRET SPECIAL GUESTS
THE CAULFIELD BEATS
HERPES (berlin)
THE BREAKS

DJS -
PARIAH
SECRET SPECIAL GUEST
LOVVERS
COCK’N'BULL KID
ACTION JACKSON
DOLLOP
FREDDIE VON BEHR
RUSS TANNEN
AL HARLEY

DOORS: 8 TILL 4
ENTRY: £5/3 cheap list

THE MACBETH,
HOXTON STREET
Closest Tube - Old Street

BIRTHDAY CAKE / PARTY HATS / CRAP PRESENTS

Fuck the White Board is 1 year old! The past year has seen guests such as La Shark, Islet, The Spivs, The Saudis, Filthy Boy, O Children (DJ), Hatcham Social (DJ), Esser (DJ), Two Door Cinema Club (DJ), Mystery Jets (DJ) as well as the first ever Tek One gig and the last ever gig from The Metros, (and a memorable ‘performance’ from The MOB Girls)…

Now its time to celebrate with our biggest ever line up and a 4am licence to match. As eclectic as ever, and with a few surprise acts on the night, this looks set to be a birthday party to remember (if you can).

As well as a surprise set from one of our favorite guests of the last year, live music comes in the form of Hackney’s young pop-rock hopefuls THE BREAKS, the dirty scuzz-punk of HERPES (who are coming over from Berlin for the show), a special live set from hottly tipped producer THE CAULFIELD BEATS and a headline set from everyones favourite party starter, Big Dadda signing and grime MC + producer extrodonaire, JAMMER.

Topping the DJ line up is one of London’s most highly-regarded young producers PARIAH, the XX’s remixer-of-choice and the blog worlds favorite starlet, we welcome him back with open arms! Also selecting tunes to keep the party rolling will be the mighty Lovvers, the amazing Cock’n'Bull Kid, Brighton’s finest young electro DJ Action Jackson, the handsome young men behind Dollop and Metros-drummer-turned-excellent-DJ Freddie Von Behr. If that wasn’t enough there will be a surprise set from one half of east London’s most-loved tech producers, and some early song choices from FTWB residents Russ Tannen and Al Harley.

There will also be free birthday cake and party hats for all AND some rubbish presents of some kind for those arriving early!

We’ll also be doing white board photos for the blog (which is how this chaos started), so get thinking about your birthday messages!

FRIDAY 26TH FEBRUARY

THE MACBETH
Hoxton Street

Doors: 8pm till 4am
Entry: £5/£3 cheap list (NAMES ON THE WALL)

Its VICE’s time of the month.

PLUGS (live)
FLOWER OF ZEUS (live)
LOVVERS (DJ)
Vice DJs

Entry: FREE
Doors: 8 till 12

Wednesday 17th February

The Old Blue Last,
38 Great Eastern Street

Closest Tube - Old Street / Liverpool Street

http://www.theoldbluelast.com

http://www.viceland.com

http://www.myspace.com/plugsmusic
http://www.myspace.com/flowerofzeus
http://www.myspace.com/letscommunicate

Ever put on the radio in the morning, and found a song stuck in your head hours later that you didn’t even realize you had been listening to earlier that day? Well this happens to me consistently…except for Bring It All Back by S Club 7 which has been in my head for a good 4 years. You’ll hear me spontaneously singing it if you spending any time with me, my house mates hate it!

Well that’s how I think it works with the Bible. You get so stuck in to the Bible that you’ll find yourself remembering pieces that you may not have even paid much attention to before.

So, lately I’ve been searching for a new way to get some biblical teaching into my brain. Thank goodness my house mates have the smarts. Joel pointed me in the direction of a website that have audio teachings to download on MP3 for free, from a man called Andrew Wommack.

Of course I was skeptical at first, I can barely pay attention listening to biblical teachings when there’s something to look at, on a Sunday morning! Let alone plug my head phones in for an hour to listen to teachings! But I gave it a go!

Joel recommended I downloaded a set of teachings called ‘How To Fulfill Your Destiny’ first. So, I did and since doing so I’ve listened to each of them twice and downloaded thirteen others and listened to four in the space of the last three days! No lie, my iPod is jam packed with those teachings already!

My house mate Joel told me he once actually met Andrew Wommack at a meeting in Ireland. Andrew works over in Colorado Springs but I am adamant that if he comes back I’m booking a seat, calling a car hire in Ireland, buying a plane ticket, riding a bicycle, travelling however to get to that sermon. He’s an inspirational speaker and a devout spirit filled man. I recommend his talks as an impacting and easy way to get simple, interesting and humorous biblical teaching in to your daily life.

Impenetrable lyrics and dancefloor grooves conducting the masses with the noise of a synth have always been the characteristic traits of HotChip, and they don’t disappoint with the new record.  Lyrical recurring themes of ‘love’ and its transforming power, and the oh so recognizable 80s house and disco sounds comprise a huge new album from them. ‘One Life Stand’ launches today [Feb 1st] and we managed to get them for a phone interview even amidst their busy rehearsing schedule.

Please introduce yourself and your preferred instrumentation.

My names Owen, I play whatever I want when we are recording!  I play a Roland SH101, Moog little phatty and I play bass and guitar.

Where did you guys meet, how did Hot Chip come about?

I’ve known Alexis and Joe for eighteen years; I met them in secondary school in Elliot, a school in Putney, South London. The rest of the guys we met in various ways, I joined the band in officially in 2002 having left Art school, which I went to for four years. I did a painting course, did a year in London and three in the West Country.

Likes and dislikes of art school?

Likes…the freedom of the art school.

The dislikes…I suppose freedom!  I had too much of it, I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I definitely need a little bit of structure in my life.

You’ve got a new album (One Life Stand) which releases today [February 1st], how has it been making the record?

We enjoy it quite a lot; we took a year off from touring which gave us the luxury of time in order to record. We’ve never really had that before, we have always done things quite off the cuff and quite quickly.  This was our first pay monthly album, everything else has been pay as you go before, and so this was quite a commitment for us which I think is reflected in the music.  We had time to explore things, and make those phone calls we never made before.

Was it a natural progression going back to the studio?

Yes I think so, you know in a way it was a bit of a reaction to our life experience.  Exploring the use of different instruments that we don’t usually have on tour like pianos, violins, and to do it in a way that wasn’t too grandiose.  Including it with the sound that we already have and to be able to incorporate the live stuff as well.  We had time to thrash things out, not like on a rock album that has strings just shoved on it, we wanted to make sure things fit together.  I think the instruments we chose went well with synthesized sounds too. We used some steal pans which go well with arpeggiated keyboard parts, and soft pad sounds go well with strings and things, they went together quite harmoniously we thought.  We also worked with other people like Peter Gabriel before; we were more open to working with other people, so we had Charles Heyward play some drums and our friend Tim Bravado who Alexis had been doing some recording with come in and put down some steel pans for us.  We also asked our live drummer, Leo Taylor, to come in and play with us to kind of liven things up.  It was a good experience.

Sounds like there is a much larger range of instrumentation used on the record, would you say there are any other specific influences on the record?

Well it’s a wider range of instruments on the record but in a way they kind of gelled more cohesively.  On the last record we kind of explored both ends of our spectrum, we had quite slow ballad songs and then very up front fast numbers.  This is by no means a slower record, it’s still similar sort of tempos but it has different layers which have an ability to grow, so that’s a nice feature I think.

Would you say, for people who have already heard the other albums, that its a change from that or rather next progression?

Well its easier to say it is a progression, but it isn’t like that, people want bands to make some sort of huge leap and then are often disappointed if the band makes changes.  They get to know and like a band for a certain ‘thing’ and if they were to literally add strings to their bow and change direction there’d be uproar; “They’ve gone keyboards, they’ve gone rock, or this way or the other”.  

I was struck having spent a year on the record, and hearing our very first record played in the local pub where we filmed our first video for a single called Playboy. It was like its quite similar to the first album in a way, because it is quite personal.  Our first album was very bare and quite clunky, and this new one feels quite…I hate to use the word mature because it makes it sound like we are getting old, or that we are full of ourselves, but it does feel sort of grown, it feels like its evolved.  So it’s a change, and I think it will surprise some people who are only familiar with our singles, but they are nice surprises, not shocks.

After finishing the album, I’ve heard you’ve been in the studio preparing for tour, how’s it been going?

That’s been going pretty good!  It’s quite hard for us because we do things the wrong way round, usually you’d have to learn your own songs, everyone test drives them, then spend time in the studio, then lay it down.  Whereas we construct things together then they become their own beasts, and we have to tame them afterwards, then unleash them.  Sometimes that’s a positive thing!  Maybe its like some kind of safari or something, capture the animal then raise the cubs and set them free!

Do you guys spend most of your time in London?

We are all in London now.  We were all born in London, myself, Joe and Alexis are from South London and Felix lives bang in the middle of town, in Central London.  Al was brought up in Leeds but he’s been living down in the east end for 6 or 7 years now.  Sometimes I have to ask Al for directions when I’m in town, he knows it better than I do now, but that’s just the way it is being a Londoner sometimes!

To London as a whole… Thumbs up or Thumbs down?

Well I suppose thumbs up…increasingly thumbs up.  I think having been lucky enough to go around and see other cities, you gain a sense of home for one, but also you see your home afresh.  I never really went into town when I was a kid, I sort of hung around parts of South London, so it still feels like an exotic city to me. It’s still quite exciting.

What is planned for 2010, any other interesting projects on the horizon?

We have a few things, we are helping a friend, well two friends with a film they are doing.  A few of us are doing the soundtrack for that.  Alexis and Joe both had solo albums out just before the release of this album, so they are a bit burned out…well… done.  We are all focussed on doing Hot Chip stuff for now, and touring and then getting back into festivals.

And finally…if you were to have one ‘go too’ clothing brand of choice, who would it be?

Well, we were in New York recently doing some promo stuff for the album and although we had very little time off, Joe and Alexis went to the Supreme shop there. Generally when we are in London, we like to sort of go to charity shops and things like that, but we try to put things together ourselves. We aren’t good at sewing or anything, but we prefer the individual style.

Click Here to Pre-Order the Album One Life Stand.