Rodaidh McDonald again mixing the album, starting today
London purveyors of quiet, nocturnal pop The xx played a series of shows last week, their first in two years, to premiere songs from their upcoming second album.
Though they’ve remained tight-lipped as to details of the new album thus far, Rodaidh McDonald, the in-house studio manager at The xx’s label Young Turks who mixed the band’s first record, today posted on Twitter that he’s starting behind the desk to mix the follow-up today [via FACT]. While it’s hardly much of an update, it’s further news to creep out from camp xx that the new album is steadily reaching towards completion.
When the Quietus’ Luke Turner attended one of the gigs last week he was very impressed at the direction the new material was taking, saying “another new track [is] possibly the longest, most complexly arranged XX song yet. It introduces steel drums used as a kind of fluid background melody instead of rhythm. The latter is instead provided by an excellent Burial-esque piston-clop, that has a strange breakdown before a vocal melody returns over the top. Given that sonically it’s essentially a singer-songwriter duo playing in a venue above a well-appointed nightclub, sounds meeting in the beams between, it shouldn’t work. It’s a testament to skill of The xx as balancers of melody, emotion, sound and rhythm that it does.” Read his full report here.
By: KEVIN WICKS Posted: Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
We’re still recovering from the shocks of the Grammys (Esperanza Spalding? Arcade Fire?) Nonetheless, we’re gearing up for the Brit Awards, which are the Grammys’ UK counterparts. Fraser McAlpine, our man in the UK, will begin his lively Twitter coverage of the Brits today (February 15) starting around 3 pm EST. Follow Anglophenia on Twitter for the live-tweets. And be there early to get the good seats.
This year, British rapper Tinie Tempah leads the nominations with four, including British Male Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Single for his pounding “Pass Out,”and British Album of the Year for his debut Disc-Overy. UK acts Plan B, The XX, and Grammy performers sMumford & Son all boast three nods.
Arcade Fire and their critically acclaimed third album The Suburbs could repeat their surprise Album of the Year Grammy win with a Brit award for Best International Album, a category that finds them competing against Cee Lo Green’s The Lady Killer, Kings of Leon’s Come Around Sundown, and two fellow Grammy nominees, Eminem’s Recovery and Katy Perry’sTeenage Dream.
And Justin Bieber is looking for some redemption after his stunning Best New Artist loss to jazz newcomer Esperanza Spalding. The Sun is reporting that the Canadian teen idol made a stop at an In-N-Out Burger in L.A. before hopping that 12-hour flight to London’s Brits, where he’s for International Breakthough Artist. Get ready for a Twitter implosion of epic proportions if he loses to the cast of Glee.
Take That, Plan B, Rihanna, Tinie, the Mumfords, Adele, Cee Lo, and Arcade Fire are all set to perform at today’s ceremony. (BBC America has no plans to air the 2011 Brits.)
On Tuesday 15th February 2011, Radio 1 will be at the BRIT Awards. Scott Mills will be live backstage getting all the juicy gossip from 4-7pm.
Want to have a say on who wins? You can vote for the British Breakthrough Act at the official BRITs website. The nominees are Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, Rumer, Tinie Tempah and The xx.
Voting opens at 0700 on Saturday 5 February and closes at 1200 on Friday 11 February 2011.
Please note: This vote is not under the editorial control of the BBC. It is hosted and operated by the Brit Awards site. The BBC is not responsible for the content of third party sites and you will be subject to the terms of use and privacy policy of that website.
The xx members Oliver Sim, Romy Madley-Croft and Jamie Smith
Rock band The xx continued their hugely successful last 12 months after they were nominated for three Brit Awards last week.
The trio, who met while studying at Elliott School, Putney, have been nominated in the Best British Group, Best Breakthrough Act and Best British Album categories.
A win at the ceremony in February would top off an outstanding year for the band, who won the coveted Mercury Music Prize for their self-titled debut album last September.
Until a year ago Tinie Tempah was just one of a gaggle of urban artists hoping to emulate the commercial success of the likes of Dizzee Rascal, but he has now demonstrated that while his stature may be diminutive, his ambition is anything but.
The rapper continued an astonishingly successful run tonight, when he was nominated for four Brit awards including best single and the most coveted prize of all: British album of the year. And nominations both for best breakthrough act and best male solo artist reveal just how dizzyingly fast his ascent has been.
This year’s overhaul of the Brits, which the new chairman, David Joseph, has said he wants to make more about music and less about showbiz, seems to have had some effect.
Indie minimalists The xx are nominated for three awards – best British breakthrough act, best British group and the best British album award – arguably a result of the decision to allow artists to vote for the first time.
The voting academy, previously a group of 1,000 industry experts including critics, executives and publishers, this year brings in last year’s winners and nominees. “There are certain artists’ artists, people they respect. It will have a more left-of-centre influence,” Joseph said in a recent interview with the Guardian.
With their understated style, eerie dreamscape songs and undeniably indie sound, The xx are an unlikely fit with the awards’ pure pop mould. They would become the first band to win both the Mercury award, which prides itself on its leftfield, cutting-edge choices, and then best album at the Brits.
They will have to see off competition from Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More, Plan B’s The Defamation of Strickland Banks, Take That’s Progress and Tempah’s Disc-Overy.
Organisers have scrapped the lifetime achievement award, traditionally the last award of the evening, to introduce more “jeopardy” into proceedings, said Joseph, and focus attention on the album of the year.
The prize of best international album will be fought out between Canuck indie rockers Arcade Fire, American singer and rapper Cee Lo Green, Eminem, US rock giants Kings of Leon and California girl Katy Perry.
Mumford & Sons, who broke on to the pop scene last year thanks to Sigh No More, have also put in a strong showing with three nominations: best breakthrough act, best British band and album of the year.
Another of the biggest acts to break into the charts last year was hip hop artist turned soulster Plan B, whose The Defamation of Strickland Banks was one of the biggest albums of 2010.
Plan B, real name Ben Drew, is nominated for three awards: best British male solo artist, best British album and best British single.
It may be his first, and last chance, to win a clutch of awards using the character of Strickland Banks and a soul sound, after the 27-year-old has said he wants to move into other genres such as punk rock, hip hop or dubstep for his next album.
The shortlist was revealed at London’s O2 Arena, the new home of the Brit awards, which will be hosted there next month. The winners will be announced on 15 February at Docklands music venue, with performances by Tempah, and US hiphop star Rihanna, who is also in the running for best international female solo artist.
The hotly tipped newcomer for 2011 Jessie J was voted critics’ choice, beating James Blake and The Vaccines to become the only sure-fire Brit winner thus far. She performed at the nomination event last night alongside Tempah, Ellie Goulding and The Wanted.
The nominations
British male solo artist Mark Ronson; Paul Weller; Plan B; Robert Plant; Tinie Tempah
British female solo artist Cheryl Cole; Ellie Goulding; Laura Marling; Paloma Faith; Rumer
British breakthrough act Ellie Goulding; Rumer; Mumford & Sons; Tinie Tempah; The xx
British group Biffy Clyro; Gorillaz; Mumford & Sons; Take That; The xx
British single Alexandra Burke ft Pitbull All Night Long; Cheryl ColeParachute; Florence & The Machine You’ve Got The Love; Matt CardleWhen We Collide; Olly Murs Please Don’t Let Me Go; Plan B She Said;Scouting For Girls This Ain’t A Love Song; Taio Cruz Dynamite; Tinie Tempah Pass Out ; The Wanted All Time Low
Mastercard British album of the year Mumford & Sons Sigh No More;Plan B The Defamation of Strickland Banks; Take That Progress; Tinie Tempah Disc-Overy; The xx xx
