Jamie xx reworks Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here

Jamie xx is a busy bee at the moment. Since the ubiquity of The xx's Mercury-winning debut album xx, he's been working on solo material - a single, Far Nearer, is due soon - and reworking XL labelmate Gil Scott-Heron's Richard Russell-produced I'm New Here album. And there was us thinking he and his black-clad labelmates might've restricted themselves to bathing in champagne for a while.

Taking 13 tracks from Scott-Heron's original I'm New Here sessions, Jamie has come up with something that looks less like an album of remixes than a complete rebuild, called We're New Here. Assorted formats of the album will hit the shops on 21st February.

Ahead of this comes the first single, NY Is Killing Me. Play/share/download it with the widget below, if you're of the mind.

We’re New Here track list:
1. I’m New Here 2. Home 3. I’ve Been Me (Interlude) 4. Running 5. My Cloud 6. Certain Things (Interlude) 7. The Crutch 8. Ur Soul and Mine 9. Parents (Interlude) 10. Piano Player 11. NY Is Killing Me 12. Jazz (Interlude) 13. I’ll Take Care Of U

More at werenewhere.com.

London Gigs Diary: 29 November-5 December 2010

London is bracing itself for a flood of male-fronted alternative rock bands this week. You've got Arcade Fire (pictured) playing the O2, The National at Brixton Academy and Vampire Weekend at Alexandra Palace. Then there’s Biffy Clyro and Pendulum appearing separately at Wembley Arena and 30 Seconds To Mars at the O2.

Depending on which night you go, you can also catch rising talent in the form of Phosphorescent or Menomena supporting The National, or Laura Marling or Janelle Monáe playing before Vampire Weekend.

After a week that brought us the sad news that one of musicOMH's favourite London venues the Luminaire will be closing soon, it’s good to know that London is attracting so much world class talent. Let's hope the smaller venues aren't being left behind.

Gigs Of The Week: 29 Nov-5 Dec 2010

Menomena + Pope Joan – XOYO, London – 30 Nov

If all those big name bands sound a little obvious, try this gig out for two acts in their ascendancies. Menomena released one of the albums of the year in fourth long-player Mines. Bursting with innovation and personality, it plays like TV On The Radio with their eccentricities curbed. Promising young Brighton act Pope Joan provide support.

More details here.

Leftfield – Brixton Academy, London – 3, 4 Dec

Dance music icons Leftfield are in town for a couple of nights as part of their UK tour which also has dates remaining in Birmingham, Bristol and Dublin. Seminal 1995 album Leftism with its classic contributions from the likes of John Lydon and Toni Halliday was hugely influential in bridging the gap between electronic music and live performance. This reappearance is another welcome addition to the ongoing 1990s nostalgia trip.

More details here.

Janelle Monáe – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 5 Dec

One of the stories of 2010, Monáe took most of us by surprise with her first full studio album The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). Its sprawling blend of wide-ranging influences and startling originality turned the diminutive Kansas native into a star. And then there’s her dance moves. See her perform in person for what should be an intoxicating night of sharp soul/funk music and fancy footwork.

More details here.

Also Recommended:

IO Echo – The Drop, London – 29 Nov

Erland And The Carnival + Anna Calvi – XOYO, London – 29 Nov

Phosphorescent – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen – 29 Nov

Susheela Raman – Rich Mix, London – 30 Nov

Agnes Obel – Water Rats, London – 1 Dec

Fujiya And Miyagi – ICA, London – 1 Dec

Paul Smith – Bush Hall, London – 1 Dec

Best Coast – Scala, London – 1 Dec

The Concretes – Lexington, London – 1 Dec

Koudlam – CAMP Basement, London – 2 Dec

Portico Quartet – ICA, London – 3/4 Dec

Just Announced:

Scissor Sisters

The Little Noise Sessions brand continues to expand with the announcement that New York’s finest merchants of camp will launch the first Tiny Noise Session with a 350-capacity night at Bush Hall on 4 December. Landing bang in the middle of a UK arena tour promoting this year’s Night Work album, they're also due at the rather larger O2 Arena later in the month. While the mention of terms like “stripped back” and “acoustic” might find some reaching for the amplifiers and others heading for the exit, this gig offers a rare opportunity to see a very different side of Jake Shears and his gang. As with the Little Noise Sessions and the upcoming Pet Shop Boys Big Noise Session, it’s all raising money for Mencap.

More details here.

Rufus Wainwright

What an Anglophile. In the same week as he played at the Royal Albert Hall, Rufus Wainwright announced a five night residency at the Royal Opera House next July. Mixing things up over the course of the stint he’ll be performing his Rufus Does Judy! show twice, he’ll be teaming up with sister Martha on one night and with father Loudon on another, and finally he’ll end the series with a concert version of his opera Prima Donna, sung by Janis Kelly.

More details here. 

Meltdown

And one more thing ... the curator for next year’s Meltdown Festival at the South Bank Centre has been announced as Ray Davies. The former frontman of The Kinks will follow in the footsteps of luminaries like Scott Walker, David Bowie and this year’s Richard Thompson. It’s difficult to predict exactly how his artist choices will pan out. You might expect a Britcentric slant but recent album See My Friends featured collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Black Francis, so watch this space. Ray Davies’ Meltdown will take place in June.

More details here.

London Gigs Diary: 22-28 November 2010

2010 was a brilliant year for music festivals (good grief, even Glastonbury remained dry), and last week they were celebrated by the UK Festival Awards which took place at the IndigO2.

A lot of prizes were handed out. Some of them went to Bestival (Best Major Festival), Green Man (Best Medium Festival) and Kendal Calling (Best Small Festival). Some others went to T In The Park, who picked up both the Lifetime Achievement and the coveted Best Toilets awards.

With more and more festival-goers choosing to go abroad for a better weather prospect and line-ups that can’t be matched, UK festival organisers are going to have to keep their standards up. But for swathes of acts, festivals are one of the best sources of work and income. So well done to all those involved, and thanks for keeping us reviewers so busy.

Gigs Of The Week: 22 Nov-28 Nov 2010

Laura Marling – Conway Hall, London – 23, 24 Nov

Sometimes things just go right. You get the feeling that Laura Marling (pictured) couldn’t have planned her still fledgling career’s trajectory any better. Loved by the Mercury Music Prize, the NME and by a Mumford, she’s sold a fair few copies of her second album I Speak Because I Can and she’s attracted attention in America. And despite all that, she’s still relatively under the radar and can therefore choose her gig venues for reasons other than how many tickets she can sell. The Conway Hall, the home of the Ethical Society, and a venue with a strong folk music history, hosts her two nights this week.

More details here.

Elton John – Union Chapel, London – 25 Nov

With a headline gig at last month’s Electric Proms and a night of The X-Factor themed around him, Elton John is centre of attention again. We’re promised that there will be no frills at this gig, staged by Absolute Radio – just the man and his grand piano on stage at the glorious North London church, the Union Chapel. He’ll be revisiting some of his classics and showcasing his current album project, The Union, which sees him collaborate with Oklahoman legend Leon Russell.

More details here.

Gruff Rhys – Toynbee Studios, 26 Nov

The ridiculously prolific frontman of Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon will be back with a third solo album next year. The follow up to 2007’s well-received Candylion is expected to be released in February 2011. Early marker song Shark Ridden Waters suggests good things are coming our way. He’s on tour in Manchester, Glasgow and London this week. Get the early lowdown on his new material.

More details here.

Also Recommended:

Zeus – Relentless Garage, London – 22 Nov

Trash Talk + Cerebral Ballzy – Underworld, London – 22 Nov

Beach House – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 23 Nov

MNDR – XOYO, London – 24 Nov

Salem – Shoreditch Church, London – 24 Nov

Jamie Woon – XOYO, London – 25 Nov

Marnie Stern – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London – 25 Nov; Lexington, London – 26 Nov

65daysofstatic – CAMP, London – 26 Nov

Wildbirds And Peacedrums – Union Chapel, London – 27 Nov

John Legend And The Roots – Hammersmith Apollo, London – 27 Nov; Jazz Cafe, London – 28 Nov

Just Announced:

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton! 'nuff said. She’ll be here next summer to support a brand new album. Just in time for Glastonbury perhaps?

The Smoke Fairies + Sea Of Bees

This double bill will be a treat for anyone who likes intricately-written pop folk songs. British act The Smoke Fairies have already proven their worth with this year’s debut album Through Low Light And Trees. Providing support will be Sea Of Bees, or Julie Baenzinger, who’s been impressing with her delicate and charming way with a melody, like on the excellent Wizbot. They’ll be touring together from mid-January ending up at the Scala in London on 3 February.

More details here. 

Isle Of Wight Festival

The Isle Of Wight Festival got in early by announcing next year’s headliners. Pulp for starters, three weeks before they appear at London’s Wireless Festival, and thus currently making this their first UK gig since reforming. Safe bets Kings Of Leon, Foo Fighters and Kasabian will keep a lot of people happy, ahead of what will undoubtedly be busy festival summers for all of them.

More details here.

London Gigs Diary: 15-21 November 2010

We may still have at least two seasons to survive before it’s time to head for Barcelona, but next year’s Primavera Sound festival has been dominating our thoughts over the past week.

First up it found itself central to the news that Pulp had reformed, and as things stand will be hosting their reunion gig. Then they kept coming up with gold nugget announcements. In particular, for those who’ve enjoyed the ongoing trend of full album gigs, former Velvet Underground member John Cale will be recreating his Paris 1919 album, and Mercury Rev will be taking us back to 1998 by performing Deserter’s Songs in its entirety. Add to that some big names including Animal Collective, Mogwai and Fleet Foxes and the sound of Spring 2011 will be music to these London ears.

Gigs Of The Week: 15-21 Nov 2010

Our Broken Garden – St Giles-In-The-Fields, London – 17 Nov

Another week, another awesome act on the Bella Union label lands in town. This time it’s the beautiful songs of Denmark’s Our Broken Garden (pictured, photo by Anika Mottershaw), led by the ethereal vocals of sometime Efterklang member Anna Bronsted. Recently released album Golden Sea combines strong melodies and lush orchestration to great effect. This one off show should be worth going to church for.

More details here.

Hurts – Union Chapel, London – 17 Nov

The Little Noise Sessions take up residency at the Union Chapel this week for five nights of big name attractions in aid of Mencap. Our pick has to be Wednesday’s line-up of hot young pop things. Summer Camp, SaintSaviour, Joe Worricker and Clare Maguire offer up ridiculously strong support to Hurts whose dramatic tales of love lost and found have secured them a place as one of 2010’s success stories.

More details here.

Four Tet + Caribou – Coronet, London – 19 Nov

Both Four Tet and Caribou have had good years with their respective albums There Is Love In You and Swim. They’re pulling an all-nighter at The Coronet this week, so if you’re still young enough to push on through till dawn, their pairing up should work well. Further support comes from James Holden, Nathan Fake and Rocketnumbernine. They’ll also be playing at The Warehouse Project, Manchester and the O2 ABC, Glasgow.

More details here.

Also Recommended:

Dungen – Islington Academy, London – 16 Nov

Twisted Folk: Caitlin Rose and Peter Wolf Crier – XOYO, London – 16 Nov

Leni Ward – The Lock Tavern, London – 17 Nov

Jamie Lidell – Koko, London – 18 Nov

Gold Panda – Corsica Studios, London – 18 Nov

Soweto Kinch: The New Emancipation – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 18 Nov

Kele + CocknBullKid – Electric Ballroom, London – 18 Nov

Jon Hendricks – Ronnie Scott’s, London – 18/19/20 Nov

The Greenhornes – Cargo, London – 19 Nov

Matthew Herbert and the London Sinfonietta – Royal Festival Hall, London – 20 Nov

Just Announced:

CocknBullKid

The time’s come for Anita Blay’s alter ego CocknBullKid to emerge into the spotlight after years of prep. Guaranteed to brighten up the music scene with her sassy pop fun, her debut album Adulthood will be getting released some time next year on Island/Moshi Records. She’s been showcasing the new material supporting Marina And The Diamonds and Kele, but will be headlining her own gig at XOYO, London on 6 December.

Details here.

NME Awards Tour 2011

Both diverse and cohesive, the line-up for next year’s NME Awards Tour has been revealed, and it’s a good one. The four bands chosen seem like safe bets but they’re still young guns. Only Crystal Castles have released a second album while dubstep superstars Magnetic Man and verbose indie popsters Everything Everything are still on their debuts. Meanwhile, at the foot of the bill The Vaccines haven’t released much at all, and while they will attract the most sneers thanks to their turbo-injected ascendancy, by the time the tour snakes its way around the country in February they may well have earned their stripes and with that their spot.

Details here.

The Streets

Since Original Pirate Material was released in 2002, Mike Skinner’s earned Mercury Prize nominations and won the BRIT Award in 2005 for Best British Male Solo Artist. With fifth album Computer And Blues looming for release early in 2011, Skinner’s calling time on the project. He’s lined up a nationwide tour that will end up at the O2 Brixton Academy on 5 March.

Details here.

Pulp reunite for 2011 shows

In possibly the best reunion news in all of time, Pulp - Jarvis Cocker, Steve Mackey, Mark Webber, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Russell Senior - have announced they're to reform for some live action in the summer of 2011.

They've announced a London date, 3rd July, headlining the Barclaycard Wireless event in London's Hyde Park, but so far the first date will be in Barcelona at Primavera Sound on 27th May. There'll surely be more dates to be announced.

Having Senior back - he quit after Different Class, formed Venini and then retired to a potting shed - is a particular highlight. I interviewed him about his new start-up back in 1999; he was kind enough to give me some white label vinyl the band had produced, though their album sadly never saw the light of day. After Senior's departure, two more albums and a Best Of were released, and then Pulp called it a day. But they had, most especially with Common People, made their mark on music history. Tracks from that career-defining Different Class album were showcased on Later... with Jools Holland (check out this vid of I Spy live with strings) - they lose nothing of their impact with the passage of time.

Having first seen them in the mid-'90s at the Manchester MEN Arena, in pre-musicOMH days when others were toting Blur and Oasis CDs about, I'd had the pleasure of leaning on the Reading Festival main stage in 2002 for one of their final gigs, which ended with the masterful Sunrise. Knowing the band were going on hiatus, it was a bittersweet moment. I'd bought the back catalogue over time; the songs have stuck in my head, and in the heads of very many others.

Fast forward nearly a decade, and last month I caught Jarvis, now a veteran of two solo albums, playing with sometime Pulp member Richard Hawley, at the JD Sessions gig in the Clapham Grand. He still has the long hair and the geography teacher get-up into which he's grown since Pulp split. The pair played with Duane Eddy. It was an enjoyable evening, made the moreso when they wheeled out Pulp classic Something Changed. Those of us watching wondered if - hoped - this was a prelude to a reunion. Sometimes, dreams do come true.

Pulp are a band whose music - and Jarvis's sharply observational and highly memorable lyrics - has stood the test of time. But do you remember the first time? Head over to PulpPeople.com and see...