Latitude Festival returns for an incredible 5^th Edition on 15-18^th July 2010 set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.

Celebrating its fifth year, Latitude continues to lead the way as a bold and pioneering festival cherry-picking the very best from the worlds of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret and bringing them together for one glorious weekend. It is a place like no other; an intimate world away from reality that encourages you to be all that you’ve ever wanted to be whilst indulging in the spirit of exploration and discovery.

Building on its reputation as one of the most respected and highly anticipated events of the season, 2010 promises to be an inspirational and entertaining, sophisticated and scintillating weekend. Day and night, Latitude will boast an eclectic array of acts spread throughout the site with all manner of unexpected pleasures hidden around every corner. With over 700 performers to be announced over the coming months and a wealth of other weird and wonderful delights to be discovered – it is shaping up to be another spectacular slice of unadulterated cultural fun and adventure.

Festival Republic Managing Director, Melvin Benn says:

“Five glorious years on and Latitude Festival continues to be everything I wanted it to be.  The breadth and calibre of programming across the arts and music consistently astounds me and I am delighted that Latitude has earned its place as a festival of choice for many.  With an incredible wealth of talent joining us at Henham Park year on year, Latitude holds its unique position in the festival season.

It is indeed a very special weekend.”

~ MUSIC ARENAS ~

Showcasing a wealth of diverse musical talent, Latitude’s four dedicated arenas provide a unique and perfect soundtrack to the weekend’s festivities. Across the Obelisk, The Word and Sunrise Arenas and the Lake Stage, the very best in both emerging and established bands and performers will play throughout the weekend. In the past Latitude has seen such spellbinding performances from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tindersticks, Sigur R?s, Arcade Fire, Blondie, Amadou & Mariam, dEUS, Glasvegas and has helped propel up and coming acts like The xx and Marina & The Diamonds into the spotlight. Across the four arenas, audiences can expect everything from rock to pop, indie to folk, electro to dance and world to jazz – whatever your taste, Latitude has it all.

Jon Dunn, Music Arenas Booker says:

“Year five…The first four Latitude festivals have left me with many highlights..Antony & Johnsons, Patti Smith, Arcade Fire, The Rapture, The Mars Volta, Blondie, Foals, White Lies, Thom Yorke, Joanna Newsom and Sigur Ros…..

I’m excited and honoured that such acts as Florence and the Machine, Belle and Sebastian and Vampire Weekend will be headlining our main stage, meanwhile I feel that in The Word Arena we have the real essence of Latitude in The National, The xx and Grizzly Bear, acts that carve out their own niche and journey and who are taken on the brilliance of their music..”

~ OBELISK ARENA ~

~ Florence + The Machine ~ Belle and Sebastian ~ Vampire Weekend ~

~ Empire of the Sun ~ The Maccabees ~ Rodrigo y Gabriela ~

The Obelisk Arena has been the focal point for many of Latitude’s most memorable performances. Thom Yorke’s mesmerising Sunday noon set, Grace Jones’ blazingly colourful headlining slot, Regina Spektor’s whimsical elegance and Doves’ epic street-swept triumph are all highlights from last year’s main stage line-up. Once more you’ll be watching this year’s exceptional cast assembled under the sun or the stars, which lends to the natural ambience so many have come to expect from Latitude.

This year – Latitude’s music headliners are:

Florence + The Machine, led by flame haired songstress Florence Welch, had an incredible 2009. Beginning with winning the Critics’ Choice award at the Brits, Florence won the coveted South Bank Award, graced NME covers and was a constant visible presence throughout the year at festivals and other award ceremonies. Her stunning debut album ‘Lungs’ released in June last year was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and has since won another Brit for Best British Album. ‘Lungs’ reached Number 1 in January this year, having been in the Top 40 since its release. On a heady wave of popularity that shows no sign of stopping, her effortless rise sees her top the bill on Friday night at Latitude 2010 – in what will be Florence and her mighty Machine’s very first festival headline performance. With her potent, soaring anthems and confident stagecraft, Florence will light up the Obelisk Arena.

With barely contained excitement, it’s a pleasure to announce the end of these legendary Scottish heroes’ hiatus. Belle and Sebastian haven’t played live together since September 2006 and it’s been a long four years without them. The quirky and humorous songwriting of this indie collective is widely celebrated and the band is highly revered by their fervent fanbase. They were voted Scotland’s greatest ever band via a poll by The List magazine back in 2005, assuring their beyond-cult status. With a brand new album, the follow up to 2006’s ‘The Life Pursuit’, soon to arrive, 2010 is bound to be a big year for Stuart Murdoch and co. It’s sure to be topped off, no doubt, by their Saturday night headline slot – one of Latitude’s most highly anticipated performances so far.

Literate New York quartet Vampire Weekend have exceeded all expectations with the release of their second album ‘Contra’, in January. It did the unthinkable and reached the top of the US Billboard Chart, a phenomenal success, coming only four years since their inception. Their afro-beat inspired tropical jangle, synonymous with a new breed of intelligent collegiate pop, has now reached mainstream success. With two inspired pop records under their belt plus a reputation for scintillating live shows, Vampire Weekend have earned their headline slot and we are proud to announce them as Latitude’s Sunday bill topper.

Luke Steele’s electronic synth-pop outfit Empire of the Sun has been embraced by a wide range of fans, young and old, with its timeless and infectious feel. Taking time away from his usual day job, The Sleepy Jackson, Luke has crafted a debut album of futuristic carnival ditties with elegantly crafted melodies and warped keyboard soundscapes. Empire of the Sun’s slot on the Friday night is sure to entice and enrapture with selections from their debut, Walking on a Dream.

Brighton’s finest The Maccabees join the Obelisk Arena’s line up for Saturday night. This indie-rock five-piece have gone from strength to strength in the three years since their debut album ‘Colour It In’ hit the Top 40 charts. Their youthful and vibrant music has won them a legion of fans and their recent second album ‘Wall of Sound’ released last year earned them critical acclaim from Steve Lamacq, Zane Lowe and NME.

The spellbinding musical brilliance of Rodrigo y Gabriela comes to Latitude Festival, to play the Obelisk Arena on Sunday night. Specialising in fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are masters of fret-board wizardry straddling both world and rock with obvious Hispanic influences. Passionate yet melodic, the fire in their playing comes from their life-long love of metal music and they often cover Metallica and Led Zeppelin in their live performances. Gaining a burgeoning cult following since their inception in 2001 their recent album ’11:11’ has pushed them further into the mainstream prompting appearances on American TV and Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. Their performance at Latitude will be an absolute must!

~ THE WORD ARENA ~

~ The National ~ The xx ~ Grizzly Bear ~

~ Charlotte Gainsbourg ~ The Horrors ~

Inside the deceptively large canopy that comprises The Word Arena will be an amazing set of alternative artists crossing genre boundaries seamlessly. You’ll discover a host of fresh and exciting acts from across the spectrum. Last year included the lavish melodies of Bat For Lashes, a wall of light and sound created by the incredible Spiritualized, the spiky post-punk thrash of Magazine and the tribal drum passion of husband and wife duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums. The Word Arena is bound to satiate both the esoteric music fan and the casual passer-by as they enjoy these introductions to their new favourite sounds.

Latitude is proud to welcome Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit The National to The Word Arena. The Friday night headliners’ unmistakable sound coupled with lead singer Matt Berninger’s distinctive baritone vocal and a career now spanning over a decade will make this a must-see performance. With a new record to be released in May you can expect the band to have reached even greater heights when this headline performance comes to pass.

The xx have to be one of the success stories of Latitude’s short but prominent history. The Wandsworth three-piece performed an early afternoon set on The Lake Stage in 2009 and this year sees their return headlining The Word Arena on Saturday night. With the band’s debut album ‘xx’ only arriving in August of last year NME has already placed the record at #2 on their ‘50 Best Albums of 2009’ with Rolling Stone also placing it at #9 in their ‘Best of the Year’ list in 2009. Catch one of the fastest rising acts of the moment at The Word Arena.

Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear are set to bring their psychedelic folk/pop to Latitude closing The Word Arena on Sunday night. The headliners will be showcasing old favourites and material from 2009’s critically acclaimed ‘Veckatimest’ album which has brought the band mainstream success with its accessible pop overtones reaching a Top Ten position on the US Billboard 200 chart. Their ambitious, symphonic pop will be the perfect way to bring Latitude 2010’s Word Arena to a triumphant close.

The velvety vocals of French actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg will be soothing Latitude’s crowds with songs straight from her recent critically-acclaimed release IRM. As part of her very first tour, this performance will be exceptionally special as she brings her European chic and unshakable melodies drawn from renowned US songwriter Beck. Gainsbourg has also recently starred in the controversial and vivid Lars Von Trier masterpiece Antichrist.

Originating from Southend-on-Sea, black-clad quintet The Horrors formed in the summer of 2005 and quickly gained notoriety around London for their look, sound, and brief but frantic live shows.  They released their debut album Strange House in 2007, reaching number 37 on the UK Albums Chart, and not long after that a world tour followed. Their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and saw the band opt for a very different sound, mixing shoegaze, post-punk, and goth. The album reached number 25 in the UK album chart and was nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize. NME later gave the album first place in the 50 Best Albums of 2009.

~ SUNRISE ARENA ~

A deliciously unexpected treat waits within the fragrant woods on the other side of the lake. The Sunrise Arena, situated along the nature trail spattered with flourishes of art and decadent spirit, is host to a splendid foray of new acts. Some of them will have been on the hushed lips of dedicated gem hunters for a while and others will be on the rise already, about to break for all to enjoy. With the likes of Band of Skulls, First Aid Kit and Local Natives rising steadily after last year’s appearances, The Sunrise Arena is the place to discover tomorrow’s stars today.  This year will see plenty of tasty morsels for those who like to be at the start of something very special.  

~ LAKE STAGE ~

curated by Huw Stephens

A few metres away from the crystal waters of Latitude’s central landscape feature, The Lake Stage provides tantalisingly early glimpses of Huw Stephens’ freshest tips. Latitude audiences are treated to a full parade of diverse and exhilarating bands about to be splashed across magazines up and down the country. Last year, critics’ favourites such as Golden Silvers, Bombay Bicycle Club and Pulled Apart By Horses have since enjoyed mainstream successes, proving Latitude is the perfect place to catch such rising stars. Take the opportunity to absorb the sounds of next year in the surrounds of Latitude’s exquisite Lake Stage.

As the warmer months approach, Hopeless recording artists THE DANGEROUS SUMMER are gearing up to bring their heart-melting debut ‘Reach For The Sun’ to UK audiences with the album’s release on 12^th April, followed by a stint on the Give It A Name Introduces Tour here on UK soil.
Recording in their hometown of Ellicott (a suburb of Baltimore), The Dangerous Summer put familiar face Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Circa Survive, Dashboard Confessional) in the producer’s chair. “We’ve worked with him since we were in high school, and he really understood what we were going for when we came to him with this album,” explains lead vocalist/bassist AJ Perdomo.

The emotion and power behind this album are illustrated in the album’s first track, ‘Where I Want to Be.’ “It explains a positive rush of energy into my life after the hard times I went through, being homeless, losing a lot of grip on my life,” says AJ. The energy carries through straight to ‘Surfaced,’ a track laden with introspective lyrics like, “I’m not alone because I live inside a world that is my own.” Coupled with aggressively melodic guitar fills and rudimentally-precise fills on the drums, the entire album provides a complete package of quality music and lyrics.

Originally formed whilst its members were all still in high school and picking their name from the title of Ernest Hemingway’s final novel , The Dangerous Summer established a very fervent and credible buzz in the US from the release of their debut EPs, ‘There Is No Such Thing As Science’ and ‘If You Could Only Keep Me Alive’. In addition to getting the support of their hometown friends, All Time Low, they gained a devoted fanbase who relished their incredibly melodic indie rock and the band’s musical dexterity that belied their tender teenage years. Resulting tours with Cartel, Hit the Lights, and Valencia grew their fanbase exponentially.

The Dangerous Summer have built upon their original success with renewed enthusiasm on debut full-length ‘Reach For The Sun’ and the album is full of a fresh-faced vigor and a tighter control on songwriting. With positive reactions from fans and fellow musicians alike, these boys are more excited than ever about this album and their constant touring. The band has recently wrapped up a stint in their native US with Sparks the Rescue and The Audition and will be heading to the UK in April. Get ready for the summer to start sooner than you think.

SEE THE DANGEROUS SUMMER ON THE GIVE IT A NAME INTRODUCES TOUR (w/ Anarbor, Framing Hanley, The Swellers)

Apr 26   Sugarmill, Stoke

Apr 27   Academy 2, Birmingham

Apr 28   Academy 2, Bristol

Apr 29   Club Ifor Bach, Cardiff

Apr 30   Academy 2, Liverpool

May 1    Academy 3, Manchester

May 2    King Tuts, Glasgow

May 3    Academy 2, Newcastle

May 6    Kings College, London

ROUNDHOUSE LINE UP & DAY TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 12TH MARCH

2 DAYS – 40 VENUES / 200 CUTTING EDGE LIVE ACTS & SPECIAL GUESTS DAYTIME FRINGE FESTIVAL – DJS & PARTIES – ONE TICKET – CAMDEN TOWN

In conjunction with the main event scheduled to take place on the first May Bank holiday weekend of the year, the Gaymers Camden Crawl is pleased to announced the headline line up of artists performing at the MTV hosted stage at the Roundhouse this year. Eight major artists will play the 3,000 capacity venue to be filmed by MTV for broadcast across their channels in late May. There will be two shows per day on both Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd May and supplementary tickets guaranteeing entry to each will be exclusively available to Crawl day or weekend pass holders. The tickets, priced at £6.50 each…with the exception of the ‘Secret Special Guest’ tickets which are FREE… will go on sale alongside Gaymers Camden Crawl day passes on Friday 12th March at 9:00 am from www.seetickets.com/camdencrawl.

Saturday 1st May:     SECRET SPECIAL GUEST (show #2 – 9pm)

SUGABABES + guests (show #1 – 6pm)

Sunday 2nd May:     WE ARE SCIENTISTS + guests (show #2 – 9pm)

LOSTPROPHETS + guests (show #1 – 6pm)

In addition to the Roundhouse artists, we are pleased to announce the full line up of acts schedule to appear across the festival weekend. The two mile stretch of Camden Town high street will present the following programme of hotly tipped live artists, major special guests and club acts across twenty venues per night 5:00 pm until the wee hours on both days of the event. In keeping with Crawl tradition and the spirit of discovery, the full venue line-ups and stage times remain a closely guarded secret until each day and surprise guests may appear at any time and at any venue.

FULL FESTIVAL LINE UP REVEALED

SATURDAY 1ST ARTISTS:

TEENAGE FANCLUB * THE DRUMS * NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB * MS DYNAMITE

*  BILLY CHILDISH  *  CORNERSHOP  *  DEAD MEADOW  *  I BLAME COCO  *  PULLED APART BY HORSES   SHY CHILD *  SLOW CLUB  *  STORNOWAY  *  WE ARE THE OCEAN *

AKALA * ART VS. SCIENCE * AUTOKRATZ * BEST COAST * BILLY VINCENT * BO NINGEN * THE CHAPMAN FAMILY GRAFFITI 6 * HOLLY MIRANDA * THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS * JAMIE WOON * KASMS * LEFT WITH PICTURES   THE LIKE * THE LOST LEVELS * MT. KIMBIE * NECRO DEATHMORT * PULLED APART BY HORSES * RACE HORSES * SILVER COLUMNS * SPECTRALS * STRICKEN CITY * TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS

SUNDAY MAY 2ND ARTISTS:

GANG OF FOUR * ROOTS MANUVA * LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION * YOUNG MARBLE  GIANTS BABYBIRD * DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP * DELAYS * EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER * GOLD PANDA *  POLAR BEAR  *  ROX *  SPEECH DEBELLE * THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND ALAN POWNALL * CASIOKIDS * CHEW LIPS * CLOCK OPERA * COSMO JARVIS  * DRUMS OF DEATH * GAGGLE GENERAL FIASCO * HOOK & THE TWIN * INVASION * THE JIM JONES REVUE  * JOE GIDEON & THE SHARK * JOE WORRICKER *JOSH WELLER * KASSIDY * KATY B * KYTE * OH NO ONO * SHARKS *TUBELORD * WINTERSLEEP * YACHT

APPEARING BOTH DATES:

ALEX METRIC * BETTY AND THE WEREWOLVES * CALORIES  CHICKENHAWK * COMANECHI * CRYSTAL FIGHTERS * DAVID VINER * DRUM EYES * ELIZA DOOLITTLE * EMILY BARKER & THE RED CLAY HALO * EMPEROR MACHINE * ERIK HASSLE * KAP BAMBINO * KURRAN AND THE WOLFNOTES * LEAFCUTTER JOHN * LONELADY * MALE BONDING  MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS * NAT JOHNSON & THE FIGUREHEADS * NITEVISIONS * THE POSTELLES  SAMUEL AND THE DRAGON * SKEPTA * SMOKE FAIRIES * SURFER BLOOD * THAT FUCKING TANK  TODD * TREETOP FLYERS * TURBOWOLF * VERONICA FALLS * VILLAGERS * WILD PALMS

In addition to this year’s extraordinary live music line up, the festival continues to develop the breadth of its daytime fringe programme of cutting edge arts and music. Featuring a live and interactive line up of comedy, spoken word, improv theatre, visual art installations, crafts, magic, games & quizzes, fantasy football, karaoke and, of course, live music, the daytime carnival of entertainment sprawls across more than twenty Camden Town venues for the weekend.

The schedule of events kicks off from midday on both Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd May and runs until 4:00 am both days. Upon arrival at the festival each ticket holder will be presented with an all-access wristband, programme guide, timetable and free download album to help plot his/her day’s adventure. ‘Crawlers’ will be granted unlimited access to all official daytime, evening venues and clubs/parties capacity permitting.

Weekend tickets for the Gaymers Camden Crawl 2010 are on sale now. For each of these tickets purchased, the event will donate £2.00 to War Child (registered charity no: 1071659). Follow us on Twitter for the latest information www.twitter.com/thecamdencrawl.

GAYMERS CAMDEN CRAWL 2010 DAYTIME FRINGE PROMOTERS:

(full promoter listings from www.thecamdencrawl.com/line-up)

COMEDY:

Camden Fringe (Sun @ Fifty Five)

The Fix (Sat & Sun @ Camden Head)

Myster General & Friends (Sat @ Fifty Five) Underbelly (Sat & Sun @ Abbey Tavern)

SPOKEN WORD:

Bookslam (Sat @ Edinboro Castle)

Litrolive! (Sun @ Edinboro Castle)

One Taste (Sat @ The Constitution)

Poe Jazzi (Sun @ Bar Vinyl)

THEATRE:

Grand Theft Impro (Sun @ Theatro Technis) SkipTheatre (Sat @ The Crescent)

VISUAL ARTS & CRAFTS:

Craftacular (Sun @ The Pirate Castle)

Grafik Warfare (Sat & Sun @ all over Camden Town) Hunga Munga (Sat @ Zensai) Poster Roast (Sat & Sun @ The Black Heart) Stitch London (Sat @ The Pirate Castle)

LIVE MUSIC:

Andy Ross Presents (Sat & Sun @ The Spread Eagle) Canadian Blast (Sat @ Fiddlers Elbow) Emerging Talent Awards (Sat & Sun @ Ice Wharf) Fierce Panda Showcase (Sun @ Lock Tavern) Hawley Arms Sessions (Sat & Sun @ The Hawley Arms) Island Records Boat & BBQ Party (Sun @ The Constitution) It Came From Japan (Sun @ Fiddlers Elbow) The Lantern Society (Sat @ Lock Tavern) Loose Records Showcase (Sun @ The Good Mixer) Red Stripe Busking Sessions (Sat & Sun @ The Camden Eye) Rock A Hula (Sun @ The Crescent)

INTERACTIVE EVENTS & GAMES:

Bring & Share Musical Bingo (Sun @ Zensai) Crawl 2010 Fantasy League (Sat & Sun @ Sheephaven Bay) Hip Hop Karaoke (Sun @ The Bucks Head) KaraUke (Sat @ The Bucks Head)

Ringo: Music Bingo (Sun @ Quinns)

Moshi Moshi Pop Quiz (Sun @ Grand Union) Rough Trade Pop Quiz (Sun @ Grand Union) Scrabble Sunday (Sun @ Old Eagle) Who Killed Bambi? (Sun @ Grand Union)

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

SATURDAY 1ST & SUNDAY 2ND MAY 2010 (May Bank Holiday Weekend) 12PM – 4AM Both Days

WEEKEND PASSES £55.00* AND SINGLE DAY TICKETS £34.50*ON SALE NOW

ROUNDHOUSE TICKET SUPPLEMENTS guaranteeing entry are available for each of the 4 shows scheduled to take place 1-2 May 2010. They are priced at £6.50 each, unless otherwise indicated, and are valid only with weekend or single day wristbands for the Gaymers Camden Crawl festival. One supplement per date of the festival may be purchased online alongside each weekend or single day festival ticket.

Tickets available from the following outlets: 24 Hr CC Hotline 0870 264 3333 OR buy online: www.thecamdencrawl.com.  * An additional £2 for each weekend and £1 for each day tick charity donation to War Child will be added to each weekend ticket sold

Tickets are to be exchanged for wristbands which allow free entry to each of the participating venues as individual capacities permit with the exception of The Roundhouse. Supplements guaranteeing entry to The Roundhouse will be available to ticket holders via a secure site in early March in tandem with the line up announcement prior to going on general sale. Wristbands and programmes announcing the full line ups and timings for the event are obtainable from 11:00 am onward each day at the Gaymers Camden Crawl ticket exchange point located at:  THE ROUNDHOUSE (Chalk Farm Road, NW1).  Please note that 2-day pass holders will need to return to ticket exchange to collect Sunday’s timetable. Festival goers are advised to arrive early as there will be a full daytime programme on both days from 12:00 pm. Doors open for evening schedule at 5:30 pm most venues. There will be late night after show parties featuring live bands and DJs until 4:00 am both days.

MAIN PARTICIPATING VENUES:

The Roundhouse / Koko / Electric Ballroom / Dingwalls / Underworld / Barfly / Cuban Bar / Jazz Café / Dublin Castle / Black Cap / Camden Rock / The Flowerpot / The Black Heart / Earl Of Camden / The Crescent / Purple Turtle / Enterprise / Blues Kitchen / NW1 / The Monarch / Lock Tavern / Bucks Head / Spread Eagle / Edinboro Castle / Fifty Five / Grand Union / Hope & Anchor / Old Eagle / Oxford Arms / Pirate Castle / Quinns / Sheepaven Bay / Theatro Technis / Belushi’s / Bar Vinyl / The Good Mixer / Hobgoblin / The World’s End / Camden Eye / Camden Head / The Constitution / Abbey Tavern / Fiddlers Elbow / Ice Wharf / Lansdowne / The Engineer / Princess of Wales  / The Queens / Camden Arms / Prince Albert

MGMT have announced they will be releasing their new album Congratulations, on Monday 12^th April in the UK. As the first teaser from the new album the band are giving away a free Mp3 of new track ‘Flash Delirium’ from www.whoismgmt.com.

One of 2010’s most eagerly anticipated new releases, Congratulations is the successor to MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, the 2008 debut album which established the band’s potential as a visionary force in pop music.

Congratulations is a collection of nine individual musical tours de force sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence:  ”It’s Working,” “Song for Dan Treacy,” “Someone’s Missing,” “Flash Delirium,” “I Found a Whistle,” “Siberian Breaks,” “Brian Eno,” “Lady Dada’s Nightmare,” and “Congratulations.”

Produced by MGMT and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum), Congratulations was recorded throughout 2009 in upstate New York, Malibu, and Brooklyn and features Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, MGMT’s core duo, performing with Matt Asti (bass, backing vocals), Will Berman (drums, backing vocals), and James Richardson (guitar, backing vocals), the band’s live line-up.

Congratulations offered MGMT the opportunity to work with a couple of their musical idols and influences including album co-producer Sonic Boom (Pete Kember) and Royal Trux front-woman Jennifer Herrema, who contributed guest vocals.  ”We’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with some of our all-time musical heroes,” Andrew says, marveling at MGMT’s good collaborative karma.  ”It’s so great to be around such amazing and unusual musical minds.”

Ben and Andrew first met the mythic Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum) at a Spectrum show in London in February 2009 and wound up onstage jamming with the band on “Suicide,” a vintage Spacemen 3 track paying homage to another light in MGMT’s musical pantheon.

MGMT have become an international festival favourite with performances at South By Southwest, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo in the States and the Glastonbury extravaganza in the UK.  The band have toured with Beck, Yeasayer and Of Montreal, among others, while becoming a headline concert attraction in its own right.  MGMT are confirmed to appear at the 2010 Coachella and Bamboozle festivals.

With Congratulations, MGMT unlock a new musical world whirling in its own space/time grid infused with hints of music from the past five decades.  Soulful and complex, Congratulations is a surprising and delightful quantum step forward in MGMT’s ongoing pop revolution.

whoismgmt.com

www.myspace.com/mgmt

The Black Keys release their sixth full-length album, entitled “BROTHERSˇ, on 17th May on V2 / Cooperative Music… Recorded at Alabama’s legendary Muscle Shoals Sound with additional sessions at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound System in Akron and the Bunker in Brooklyn, the album sees production duties handled by The Black Keys, along with shared duties between the band, Mark Neill, and their old friend Danger Mouse, who lends his skilled hands to a new track. Tchad Blake brings his sonic excellence into the fold to handle mixing duties… Muscle Shoals has produced iconic recordings from The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, and Wilson Pickett, among many others…

Carney admits Brothers is the album they’ve always wanted to make and taps into their creative force as a duo. “Dan and I grew up a lot as individuals and musicians prior to making this album. Our relationship was tested in many ways but at the end of the day, we’re brothers, and I think these songs reflect that.ˇ The ghosts of Muscle Shoals inhabit Brothers’ 15 tracks. Of the album, Auerbach says, “We like spooky sounds… like Alice Coltrane, where a dark groove is laid down. That’s the headspace we tried to get into for this record.ˇ The album includes the Danger Mouse-produced song “Tighten Upˇ and a cover of the Jerry Butler classic “Never Gonna Give You Up.ˇ

Its been an remarkable couple of years for THE BLACK KEYS… Their last album, 2008’s “Attack & Releaseˇ, was by far their most successful to date, and the year culminated with them playing a sell-out show at Brixton Academy in London… Early 09 saw Black Keys singer/guitarist DAN AUERBACH venture out on his own with a critically-acclaimed solo album, “Keep It Hidˇ, that covered a variety of musical styles from psychedelia and soul via gospel and bluegrass. Late 2009 saw the Keys spread their wings further with their celebrated BLAKROC project, an exhilarating collaboration between themselves and a
star-studded line-up of influential hip-hop artists that included Mos Def, Q-Tip, RZA, Raekwon, ODB, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Jones, Nicole Wray, NOE and Billy Danze (M.O.P).

UK live dates will be announced soon… full track-listing below…

BROTHERS FULL TRACK LIST

1. “Everlasting Lightˇ
2. “Next Girlˇ
3. “Tighten Upˇ
4. “Howlin’ For Youˇ
5. “She’s Long Goneˇ
6. “Black Mudˇ
7. “The Only Oneˇ
8. “Too Afraid To Love Youˇ
9. “Ten Cent Pistolˇ
10. “Sinister Kidˇ
11. “The Go Getterˇ
12. “I’m Not The Oneˇ
13. “Unknown Brotherˇ
14. “Never Gonna Give You Upˇ
15. “These Daysˇ

Oxford quintet Foals’ much anticipated second album Total Life Forever will be released on May 10^th, preceded on May 3rd by debut single ‘This Orient’. The band also announced today that they will play an intimate UK tour in April/May:

Thu 29^th April               Liverpool Kazimier

Fri 30^th April                 Newcastle Uni

Sun 2^nd May                 Glasgow ABC

Mon 3^rd May                 Leeds Met Uni

Tues 4^th May                 Manchester Ritz

Thurs 6^th May               Cambridge Junction

Fri 7^th May                    Nottingham Trent Uni

Sat 8^th May                   Bristol Anson Rooms

Mon 10^th May                London Electric Ballroom

Weds 12^th May              Oxford 02 Academy

Fri 14^th May                  Dublin Ambassador

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on March 12^th.

Fans are able to register at www.foals.co.uk for more information on these dates and the new album.

2008 saw the band rise to prominence – from the early days playing house parties up and down the country, to selling-out incendiary tours across the world, stand-out TV performances, and exhilarating festival appearances. Their debut album Antidotes entered the UK charts at no. 3, achieved gold status, and has attracted devoted fans across the globe.

Since then, Foals have returned to Oxford to reaffirm their roots. Living in the House of Supreme Mathematics, they built a primitive studio and rehearsal space in its basement, and immersed themselves in communal rituals. Sharing the space with like-minded musicians and artists, a tribal enterprise developed, one focused above all on making new, exciting music.

Now they return with a powerful, definitve album: Total Life Forever.

‘Spanish Sahara’ was recorded in London, 2009, and the rest of the album in Gothenburg, Sweden, during late 2009, all by Luke Smith (Clor).

Foals are an articulate and independently-minded band, troubled but not torn, intent on choosing evolution over extinction.

Everything Everything are pleased to announce a much coveted spot on this spring’s NME Radar Tour. They will play the co-headline slot with fellow Mancunians, Hurts while NYC newcomer Darwin Deez holds the support. The tour opens in Glasgow on April 26 and runs through to the closing show in Northampton on May 12.

This will follow the bands SXSW jaunt (playing the official Fader & NME parties amongst others) and a support gig for Wild Beasts in London on April 22. This extensive NME tour will serve to showcase some exciting new material the boys have been working on whilst recording their debut album, due for release this summer on Geffen UK.

Full NME dates:

April 26          Glasgow

April 27          Preston, 53 Degrees

April 28          Manchester, Academy 3

April 30          Stoke, Sugarmill

May 2             Middlesborough

May 4             Oxford Academy 2

May 5             Bristol Thekla

May 6             Wrexham, Central Station

May 8             York, Duchess

May 9             Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms

May 10           London, KOKO

May 11           Norwich, Waterfront

May 12           Northampton, Roadmender

www.everything-everything.co.uk

www.myspace.com/everythingeverthinguk

Blood Brothers may have betrayed their blood oath by breaking up, but the spirit of that raucous Seattle act lives on in Jaguar Love. Despite being mainly based in Seattle and Portland, the duo basically live on the road and have played live with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age (Rob Pope of Spoon played based for JAGUAR LOVE on a recent tour), TV on the Radio and more.

‘Hologram Jams’  is the first Jaguar Love album to feature the band’s stripped down and rebuilt from the ground up two-piece line up of Johnny Whitney (Vocals, keys, drum machines) and Cody Votolato (Guitars, vocals, drum machines), both formerly of the late, lamented Blood Brothers. “Cody and I have always had a strong bond, both creatively and as friends – and working on this album together was the most productive, free flow of ideas I have ever been a part of,” said Whitney.

During their short career so far the band’s inimitable sound has inspired the folks at Matador Records, who signed one album and an EP, as well as Fat Possum, who have now signed them to a worldwide deal.

Sophomore full-length ‘Hologram Jams’ reunited Cody and Johnny with producer John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Los Campesinos!, Death Cab For Cutie), who also produced Blood Brothers’ 100,000+ selling ‘Crimes’ and co-produced the subsequent ‘Young Machetes’ with Guy Picciotto of Fugazi fame. Goodmanson co-produced with Votolato and Whitney on this one too and the resulting sound combines soulful howls colliding with and coursing over relentless dance beats and heavy glam guitars. Hologram Jams is bursting with hooks.

Whilst there are no finalized plans for Jaguar Love to stalk music-loving prey on the road over here right now, the band promises “endless amounts of touring” so watch this space.

TRACKLISTING –

I Started A Fire

Polaroids and Red Wine

Cherry Soda

Don’t Die Alone

Up All Night

Jaguar Warriors

Everything Is Awesome

Evaline

Sad Parade

A Prostitute An Angel

Freak Out

Øya Festival is delighted to announce a raft of new additions to the line up for their August event. This includes the first show of 2010 anywhere that M.I.A has announced, Paul Weller – on his first trip to Norway – LCD Soundsystem and Robyn. Additionally, a splendid array of Norwegian acts have also been added to the bill including: Motorpsycho, THE CUMSHOTS and Casiokids.

They join the previously announced line up:

Pavement (US)

Iggy & The Stooges (US)

Tony Allen (NG)

Big Boi (US)

La Roux ( UK)

The XX ( UK)

Girls (US)

Fools Gold (US)

Raekwon (US)

Cymbals Eat Guitars (US)

The Gaslight Anthem (US)

Major Lazer (US/UK)

Lindstrøm & Christabelle (NO)

Converge (US)

Surfer Blood (US)

Serena Maneesh (NO)

Plus Norwegian acts:

Altaar / CCTV / Lidolido / Navigators / John Olav Nilsen Og Gjengen / Obliteration / Djerv / Susanne Sundfør / Purified in Blood / The Megaphonic Thrift / Blood Command / Kråkesølv / Pow Pow / Lucy Swann / Mhoo

10th-14th August 2010

Middelalderparken, Oslo

Tickets:

5 DAY FESTIVAL PASS: 1940, – NOK + tax

Day tickets also available

Ticket sale: www.billettservice.no

Phone: +47 815 33 133

Last Friday, February 26th saw Øya Festival come to London for a special, sold-out UK show. Showcasing Øya’s reputation for having one of the best & most diverse line ups around, the night at Club NME at London’s Koko featured two Norwegian acts – The New Wine and I Was a King – plus hotly tipped British band Goldhawks.
www.Øyafestivalen.com

www.myspace.com/Øyafestival

This April and May, Mark Lanegan is returning to Europe to tour solo material for the first time since promoting the release of his last acclaimed solo record, Bubblegum (2004). Being joined by Dave Rosser, these shows will see them acoustically perform tracks from Mark’s extensive catalogue.

Tickets are onsale for most shows now. For UK shows, please visit here.

APRIL

20th - Helling, Utrecht

21st - Effennar, Eindhoven

23rd - Academy 2, Bristol

24th - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

25th - Academy 3, Manchester

26th - Oran Mor, Glasgow

28th – Empire, Belfast

29th - Academy 2, Dublin

30th - Roisin Dubh, Galway

MAY

2nd - Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

3rd - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

4th – Garage, London

6th - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels

7th - Luxor, Cologne

8th - Uebel & Gefaehrlich, Hamburg

9th – Lido, Berlin

11th - Backstage Halle, Munich

12th - WuK, Vienna

13th - Magazini Generalli, Milan

14th - Circolo degli Artisti, Rome

16th - Joy Eslava, Madrid

17th - Bikini, Barcelona