Echo is Leona Lewis's second studio album
Leona Lewis’s long-awaited album Echo contains a mixture of ballads and dance-floor anthems. It’s to be released on 16th November in the UK and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at £8.98 and £16.09.
Echo is available in three different formats – a standard edition, a deluxe edition with two extra tracks and a 32-page insert and as a download from iTunes to include two live performance songs taken from Leona’s first full UK show at Hackney Empire on 2nd November 2009.
This is Leona’s second studio album and in it, the former winner of the X-Factor has worked with an impressive range of musicians, including Justin Timberlake, John Shanks and Ne-Yo to produce thirteen tracks that combine upbeat, electro numbers with unashamedly romantic songs reminiscent of the heart rending Keep Bleeding. Leona herself has described the album as the creation of a “big, organic sound like an echo.”
The vocalist of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder who wrote Happy, the lead single from the album and the track You Don’t Care, claims that Leona’s singing has been raised to a new level: “I pushed Lewis vocally more on this song than any song she’s ever done,” he says.
Art work on the album features Leona looking more and more like a sultry pop diva, wearing gold lamé and white satin gowns designed by Vivienne Westwood. Expect a more polished and confident performance than that achieved in the début album, Spirit with Can’t Breathe, Broken and Stop Crying Your Heart Out all strong contenders for future singles. The album has received three out of five stars from The Observer when the reviewer Peter Robinson wrote that “Echo hits its target.” And if the album pleases the likes of the Observer critics, there’s no doubt that Leona’s fans will be more than over the moon with it.
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Varekai is a show from the popular Cirque du Soleil
The avant garde circus and dance troupe, Cirque du Soleil are performing Varekai at the Royal Albert Hall in Westminster, London from 6th January 2010 with tickets ranging in price from £30 to £180.
The Cirque du Soleil translated as Circus of the Sun was founded by Guy Laliberté in 1982 and reflected a new or experimental concept in the arts.
With incredibly successful resident shows in cities like New York, Orlando and Las Vegas including the hugely popular celebration of the musical legacy of the Beatles in LOVE, plus touring performances across the world’s major cities, Cirque du Soleil swiftly became a global phenomenon.
The performance of Varekai – a word that means “wherever” in the language of Romany gypsies – involves acrobatics, exciting dance and stunning visual effects as we follow the story of a solitary young man who has been parachuted into a shadowy and magical forest inhabited by fantastic creatures. As he sets off on an adventure encountering the absurd and extraordinary on the way, the hero ultimately rediscovers life. With eccentric and unbelievably colourful characters including The Skywatcher, Icarus and The Betrothed, the show offers a zany an and breathtaking immersion into a surreal world.
Choreographed by Bill Shannon and directed by Dominic Champagne and Andrew Watson, the music, composed and arranged by musical director Violaine Corradi combines sounds of Hawaiian ritual, songs of troubadours from 11th-century France, traditional Armenian melodies and gospel arrangements. The CD of the soundtrack is available to buy from Amazon or the official Cirque du Soleil website and costs £15.
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Basement Jaxx
As NME music magazine said; “… we can confidently say that there’s still no-one who throws a party quite like the Jaxx.”
If you haven’t experienced a Basement Jaxx concert, do it now. The two deceptively normal looking guys from Brixton Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Burton are taking to stages across the UK to choreograph and conjure up their customary carnival of events mutating across genres of house music, breakbeat, dance, two step, regga, samba, soul, jazz, punk and rave and conjuring up exotic dancers, guest vocalists, extravagant costumes in the chaotic frenzy that defines a Basement Jaxx show.
The duo got together in Brixton in 1994 where they famously held a nightclub called Rooty which later became the name of their second album. The 1999 album Remedy was critically acclaimed, featuring singles Red Alert and Rendezvous, but it was with the release of Rooty and tracks like Romeo that the duo became a huge international success. The single Where’s Your Head At from Rooty, was subsequently included on the Tombraider soundtrack. The 2003 album, Kish Kash received recognition at the Grammy Awards and with impressive singles like the fast-paced Good luck belted out by Bellray’s Lisa Vennum-Kakaula plus mixes like Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You and She Wants to Move by N.E.R.D., firmly tucked under their belt, the Jaxx became a British institution appealing across generations.
With their latest album including guest appearances by Yoko Ono and Yo! Majesty, it’s fair to say that the duo never fails to surprise and entrance. A live performance from Basement Jaxx, as their legendary headlining act at Glastonbury demonstrated in 2005, is something never to be forgotten.
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Beyonce
Tickets are now available for what has been billed as “the hottest show in town” as contemporary R&B star Beyoncé girds her loins in preparation for a series of keenly awaited concerts at various venues in the UK and Ireland.
The Texas-born singer, songwriter, actress, model and record producer is famed for her dance, funk and soul music delivered in a voice that has been described by Jon Pareles of the New York Times as “velvety, yet tart, with an insistent flutter and reserves of soul belting.”
Beyoncé first shot to fame as lead singer with the girl band Destiny’s Child but it was wasn’t until she released her solo debut single, Crazy in Love and album Dangerously in Love that she became a household name in many countries across the world almost overnight.
Having sold more than 75 million records in her whole career, her second album B’Day went straight to number one in the Billboard charts and with a total of 37 weeks at number one slots from 2000 to 2009, Beyonce is recognised to be the top female artist of the moment. She was also recognised as Songwriter of the Year in 2001 by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Pop Music Awards.
Her new album I Am…Sasha Fierce has been recently released to critical acclaim, featuring gutsy, yet emotional songs that celebrate female empowerment with upbeat themes, including If I Were A Boy and Single Ladies.
Expect her to perform in a show full of raw energy, ranging vocals and tightly choreographed dance, Beyoncé is noted for putting her all in to every single performance, so the only prospect of disappointment would be if tickets sold out before you managed to get one.
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Jersey Live Music Festival release dates
Now the Jersey Live Music Festival is in its fifth year what better reason could there be to jet off to this beautiful channel island off the coast of France?
The promoters and Jersey Tourist Board aim to put the home of Bergerac firmly on the musical map and have managed to attract some of the biggest names on the music scene today to the two day festival held at the Royal Jersey Showground on the 5th and 6th September.
Three main stages will host bands and performers like Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, The Kooks and Jack Penate with the Dance Arena Stage featuring Andy C and MC GQ, London Elektricity and MC Wrec, plus tents and venues promoting local talent and DJs.
With excellent on-site camping facilities, a plethora of good hotels nearby and a food village, attractions also include a Silent Disco. Weekend tickets start at £81.89 with day tickets from £49.96.
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Wireless Festival 2010 Release Dates
The definitive festival for dance, urban, hip hop and R&B kicks off in July 2010 in London’s Hyde Park. Tickets will soon be available so we’ll get the details as soon as possible.
Wireless 2009 saw world class acts playing across four stages with some truly awesome performances from performers like Dizzee Rascal, Jack Penate, Alesha Dixon and Calvin Harris and Noisettes that sent the crowd into a veritable frenzy with more spine-tingling sets provided by the headliners Basement Jaxx and Kanye West.
But this year’s festival offered even more than music with food and drink at The Serpentine Bar and Dominos and a host of entertainments including a Victorian funfair speed dating, a treasure hunt with cool prizes, video games at the EA Hub. There was even a mock-up beach for those who wanted to soak up the rays.
Glastonbury Festival 2010 Release Date
The dates have now been announced for the 2010 Glastonbury Festival and registration is now open for tickets.
The festival will take place from Wednesday June 23rd to Sunday, June 27th.
Tickets can be purchased from October 5th, 2009 once registration is complete.
Probably the most famous festival in the world, everyone should go to Glastonbury at least once in their life, even if it’s just to say they’ve been. Until you’ve experienced the idyllic setting, the mystical atmosphere, most famous bands in the world and yes… even the mud, you can’t be said to be a serious festival goer. This year, Glastonbury was attended by over 180,000 people with a staggering 700 acts playing on 80 different stages. These days the hippy image is somewhat diluted but the spiritual traditions and New Age influences are still present and the location in the mystical Vale of Avalon and small, megalithic stone circle in King’s Meadow, are part of the attraction of the festival for newcomers and regulars alike.
In fact Glastonbury is not only a music festival but a whole event with each area of the site possessing its own character and attracting different groups of people, with entertainments like theatre and circus, cinema, a dance village and The Green Fields; a zone for meditation and creativity.
This year the event was bigger and better than before, compounded by – surprise, surprise – beautiful weather. The line-up, taken from the whole musical gamut, included electrifying sets provided by vintage performers like Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Neil Young, plus storming sessions by Blur, The Prodigy and Lady Gaga.
Everyone wanting to come to the festival over the age of 12 must register online at the registration site on the Glastonbury website or by sending an SAE to PO Box 2445, Glasgow G40 9AG. This involves providing contact details and a passport-sized standard photo on receipt of which you’ll be sent a unique registration number that means that you will be eligible to buy a ticket when they go on sale. Tickets issued will carry the photo of the person attending.
You’ll receive a confirmation email with your registration number and a link to the booking page and you’ll receive a second confirmation email within one working day to confirm that your photo has been approved.
Tickets can be booked from October 5th.