L&Q Weekly
A worrying YouTube graphic, Nia Archives launches her own label, the Cure get a remix, Patrick Wolf podcast, The Who's week of sacking
Supported by Baba Yaga’s Hut
Song of the Week
I can’t really give you much information on Michele Bry, other than she’s a French artist living in Paris who appears to be into rabbits. It’s not just latest single ‘Two Rabbits One Hat’ – they keep popping up on her online posts, as rare as those posts currently are. This new track start’s off like All Saints’ ‘Never Ever’ before it expands into lush dream pop that’s over far too soon. Simple and seductive. “Where do we go from here?” is how it ends.
Album News
Albums for your diary announced this week:
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter VI (6 June, Young Money): Lil Wayne’s Carter series will reach its sixth installment in June, 21 years on from its original, and 7 years since its last.
The Cure – Mixes Of A Lost World (13 June, Polydor): Robert Smith celebrated his 66th birthday this week by announcing a very long remix record of last year’s Songs Of A Lost World album. It spans 2 discs in its standard format and 3 in its deluxe edition, featuring remixes by Four Tet, Paul Oakenfold, Chino Moreno, Mura Masa, Mogwai, the Twilight Sad, Orbital, Daniel Avery and 65daysofstatic. Profits from the release will be donated to War Child UK.
Podcast
Patrick Wolf is making his return to music after a 13-year period that you wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Since his last album in 2012, he’s experienced grief following the loss of his mother to cancer in 2018, battled addiction to alcohol and hard drugs, been declared bankrupt, and was the victim of a hit and run. When I spoke to him last week for this two-part episode of the podcast, I was struck by how he takes responsibility for all of it. Even being hit by a car. Listen now
Outside Broadcast
Journalist and podcaster Kate Hutchinson – maker of the excellent series The Last Bohemians – launched a new podcast this week called Studio Radicals, in which she’s travelled the world to speak to some of the most innovative producers and engineers shaping modern music. The varied guests include Catherine Marks (boygenius), Marta Salogni (Depeche Mode, Bjork, Black Midi) and Ebonie Smith (Angela Davis, Roberta Flack). Episodes dedicated to each of those three are out now, with new episodes published each week. Listen on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. More info here
A Worrying Graphic
YouTube turned 20 this week, and to mark two decades of brainrot and actually very useful tutorials on how to grout a bathroom, Stereogum shared this graphic of the most viewed music videos on the platform. Lots of it makes perfect sense. You’ve got your Ed Sheeran on there, and of course PSY. But what the hell is Crazy Frog doing at number 5, on 5.1 billion views!? Is ‘Axel F’ even his best song? And don’t worry, I’ve not heard of Luis Fonsi either.
Business
New-junglist Nia Archives has followed her 2024 Mercury Prize nomination with the launch of her own record label. Up Ya Archives Records takes its name from the jungle parties the Bradford producer started throwing in 2021, which had grown to a Warehouse Project takeover for 10,000 ravers by the following year. The imprint’s first release is a collaboration between Archives and Bristol producer Cheetah – a soca-tinged soundsystem track called ‘Get Loose’.
Rumour of the Week
“I think Zak has been sacked a rehired 7… no, 8 times this week so far,” a member of The Who’s road crew was allegedly overheard saying to a friend in a black T-shirt at Toddington North services last night. The initial sacking is thought to have been the one that was highly publicised this week, when Roger Daltrey fired long-time drummer Zak Starkey for playing the drums too much whilst Daltrey was trying to sing the song that featured the drums Starkey was playing. Official reports soon claimed that Starkey has been rehired as long as he doesn’t play the drums too much from now on, but it appears that Daltrey has gotten a taste for unexpectedly terminating contracts. Colleagues have begun to wonder if the cause of this new tyranny is simply due to age or the singer’s growing resemblance to his idol Lord Sugar, but over the last week he’s been said to have fired Starkey a further 7 times, for offenses including sitting too close to him, breathing loudly, sitting too far away, and suggesting that Brexit has turned out to be bad for the country. But Starkey isn’t apparently the only employee to suffer Daltrey’s wrath: he’s also fired Pete Townsend twice, a bass amp, and himself. The Who are expected to tour for another 30 years.