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Doves (Photo by Jon Shard)
Doves recently revealed their first new music in 11 years and broke their silence on new album rumors by announcing their long awaited fifth studio album, The Universal Want, set for release on Sept. 11 through IMPERIAL in the United States.
Buoyed by refreshed chemistry, restless studio creativity, and public reaction to their return, Doves have set free the album’s first single, “Prisoners.”
The cover of “You!” by Peter Godwin (Photo courtesy the artist)
Singer-songwriter Peter Godwin is best known for his new wave hit “Images of Heaven,” which continues to fascinate listeners, as shown in its recent power ranking in a Facebook poll called the ’80s Synthpop Singles World Cup 2020. Only weeks ago, Peter released a new single — “You!” — and Johnson Somerset, a regular collaborator, remixed it for release a few days ago.
In the ’70s, Peter began his career in the glam rock outfit Metro, which gained even more notoriety when David Bowie covered the band’s song “Criminal World” on his album Let’s Dance. After Metro, Peter took off on a solo career, although he became a master tunesmith for a variety of other artists, ranging from German synthpoppers Camouflage to fellow Englishman Steve Winwood.
Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter phoned Peter at home in Nice, France, where he dedicated part of a relaxing evening reminiscing about his career and looking forward to the future.
Jorja Smith performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Dec. 11, 2018. (Photo by Brenda Reyes)
Jorja Smith has released a new video for “Rose Rouge” from the forthcoming album Blue Note Re:imagined.
Nadine Shah (Photo by Fraser Taylor)
Nadine Shah released her new album last week — Kitchen Sink (Infectious Music/BMG.) Listen to her latest single, “Club Cougar.”
Tricky (Photo by Erik Weiss)
Tricky announces his 14th studio album, Fall to Pieces, out Sept. 4 on his own label False Idols, and shares its lead single/video, “Fall Please.”
The legendary producer might be over three decades deep into his music career but he’s currently on an especially prolific run. In the last year, he dropped the enchanting 20,20 EP and put out an acclaimed autobiography, Hell Is Round the Corner.
Gorillaz with Octavian (Photo art courtesy Nasty Little Man)
Animated downtempo ensemble Gorillaz has been soundtracking the pandemic lockdown here at Parklife DC, and that’s A-OK.
Gorillaz have turned to virtual studio Song Machine to fill the air with new music and good vibes to counter the coronavirus, and the fourth episode of the band’s new series is called “Friday 13th,” a hypnotic meditation featuring French-British rapper and singer Octavian (winner of the coveted BBC Sound of 2019) along with a video self-filmed at home during lockdown.
John Taylor performs with Duran Duran at MGM National Harbor on Dec. 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Pandemic lockdowns globally generated a surge of creativity from music artists seeking ways to connect with their fans in a time when people are urged to stay at home.
Of all the virtual concerts, listening parties, and chats, my favorite lockdown series by far has been a tutorial and interview combo by John Taylor of Duran Duran. On nearly a weekly cadence, John regales the viewer with tales of a favorite song and how it came together, with a focus on his bass playing, and then he interviews a friend and fellow artist in a program dubbed Stone Love Bass Odyssey.
On Wednesday, June 10, John walks us through “Some Like It Hot” by his side project Power Station, and then he chats with none other than fellow English rocker Billy Idol, on Duran Duran’s Instagram!
Erasure (Photo by Doron Gild)
Erasure recently announced a new album on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. The record is called The Neon, and it will be released on Aug. 21 by Mute.
The album is preceded by a new single, “Hey Now (Think I Got a Feeling),” which received its first play on the same show last week.
Limahl (Photo courtesy ReyBee Inc.)
In 1983, singer Limahl released an album with the band Kajagoogoo. It was titled White Feathers, and I probably don’t need to tell you much about it because the lead single “Too Shy” never went away. You can hear the smash hit everywhere! Soon after, Limahl cemented his place in our collective pop consciousness as a solo performer with the majestic “NeverEnding Story,” the title theme to the movie of the same name.
“NeverEnding Story” and “Too Shy” have withstood the test of time and even went through a rejuvenation in 2019 after being featured on hit television series Black Mirror (Episode: “Bandersnatch”), American Horror Story (Season Nine: “1984”), and Stranger Things (Season Three). Now, Limahl enters a pop culture renaissance with the release of “Still in Love,” his first new solo release in eight years, on June 5, 2020.
Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter was very pleased to chat with Limahl, born Chris Hamill, about the new single and his landmark ’80s tunes in a recent phone call.
Joseph Mount (center) fronts Metronomy (Photo courtesy Orienteer)
Joseph Mount from Metronomy broadcasts an exclusive Instagram TV transmission to fans on the @roughtradenyc Instagram TV feed on Tuesday, May 12!
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