Empire Of The Sun debut their first live performance.

For those of you who didn't know yesterday there was the longest eclipse of the sun in the 21st century to date. Of course Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore aka Empire Of The Sun knew this and decided to celebrate this occasion with a 6 and a bit minute live performance at the exact time of the eclipse yesterday in Australia. It happened at London GMT this morning at 4am for those of you wondering why you didn't notice anything different. Wacky costumes at the ready and the band delved into quite an eccentric performance playing Breakdown and Swordfish Hotkiss Night, showcasing what to expect from their stage performances that kick off down under in September.
Fans in Europe will have to wait until next spring/summer to catch EOTS live as they don't intend on playing here until then.

To watch the first live performance then go HERE

Mercury Music Prize shortlist 2009

So here it is, the 2009 Mercury Music Prize shortlist:

Florence and the Machine-Lungs
Kasabian-West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Bat for Lashes-Two Suns
La Roux-La Roux
Glasvegas-Glasvegas
Speech Debelle-Speech Therapy
Friendly Fires-Friendly Fires
The Horrors-Primary Colours
Lisa Hannigan-Sea Sew
The Invisible-The Invisible
Led Bib-Sensible Shoes
Sweet Billy Pilgrim-Twice Born Men

I would like to see Friendly Fires, The Horrors or Bat For Lashes to scoop the prize, three very fantastic and addictive albums.

C O D E S & And So I Watch You From Afar photo's live @ Oxegen

I managed to take a few snaps out of the rain in the Imro New Sounds Stage on Saturday night at Oxegen. Dublin band C O D E S & Northern Ireland's finest And So I Watch You From Afar are featured and you can view more here.


And So I Watch You From Afar


And So I Watch You From Afar


And So I Watch You From Afar


C O D E S


C O D E S


C O D E S

Hockey-Learn To Lose: Video

The second single from to be taken from Hockey's debut album Mind Chaos, which get it's release here in August, is the very excellent Learn To Lose. You can also get yourself a free Filthy Dukes remix of the track from Dazed Digital and it is probably going to be quite the floor filler this summer.
The band are due back in Ireland in July to play Oxegen and again on September 22nd to play their own headline show in The Academy. Check the video to Learn To Lose below.


More on Hockey HERE

Passion Pit cancel their European May tour.

According to the NME, Passion Pit have had to cancel their forthcoming UK and European tour due to 'A personal situation at home'.
Undoubtedly this shall affect their May 7th date at The Academy in Dublin.
The band hope to make up for the cancellations by playing their own shows around their festival dates during the summer months. Passion Pit played to a packed out crowd in Whelan's in early March and were supported by Portland band Hockey. Both bands are set to release debut albums this year with Passion Pit releasing Manners on May 15th and Hockey releasing Mind Chaos on September 11th.

Like this then try more of the same here.

Bat For Lashes-Daniel: Video

Check out the beautiful new track and video from Bat For Lashes called Daniel.
It's the first single to be taken from her new album Two Suns due out in on April 3rd.

Hockey & Passion Pit Live in Whelan's: Review

Last night a sold out crowd in Whelan's were treated to not one, but two sparkling performances from Hockey and Passion Pit. Hockey who are from Portland, Oregon opened the show with Work, one of their funk filled tracks from the forthcoming album Mind Chaos which gets it's release here in May.Work invited the audience into their set from the get go which in return, snowballed into a rapturous performance with the band performing the wonderfully spirited Song Away and soul driven 3am Spanish. By the time Hockey performed their current single and current band anthem Too Fake, the crowd were so enamoured by vocalist Ben Gruben's vivacity and panache that I thought Passion Pit had a tough one to follow if I am being honest.
So Passion Pit came on to the stage surrounded by keyboards, drums, more keyboards, Samplers, Synths and guitars. Their audience was a well warmed up mix of young and old(er) and I think every female in attendance fell a little bit in love/lust (just a little bit now), with lead vocalist Michael Angelakos for the simple fact that the songs that have captured their hearts were written for his girlfriend as a Valentines gift. Synth pop at its best, I've Got Your Number, kicked off proceedings in a sprightly fashion upping the tempo and sound of the night to eleven. Smile Upon Me and Better Things from the accomplished Chunk Of Change EP, also enchanted the crowd into some great sing-a-long moments while tune of the night was always going to be the hugely brilliant and popular Sleepyhead.

If you unfortunately missed either Hockey or Passion Pit then gladly you will get a second chance to catch both acts as Hockey have been confirmed for Oxegen and Passion Pit for The Electric Picnic, thanks Jim Carroll for this joyous news on a Monday morning.
Check back later in the week to hear what Hockey had to say when we met them for a coffee while they were in town.

The Pet Shop Boys-Love Etc: Video

I quite like the new single from The Pet Shop Boys, Love Etc. It is addictive as hell after a few listens and comes fresh from their new album Yes which is out on March 20th. After some strange and flat duets at last weeks Brit Awards with Lady Ga Ga and Brandon Flowers, I think it's best they stick to making and performing music as the great duo that they are.

Mick Flannery - Safety Rope video.

Choice nominee Mick Flannery has just released his first proper video for his new single Safety Rope.Mick is one of the nominee's who shall perform at this years Choice Music Prize ceremony in Vicar St. on March 4th

We Are The People That Rule The World....

If you are already sick of Walking On A Dream from Empire Of The Sun then here is their follow up single and video We Are The People.
It should come with an ' infectious sing-a-long' warning!

Empire Of The Sun - Walking on A Dream: Album Review

Empire Of The Sun is Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore.

You may know these two super talented Aussies as members of The Sleepy Jackson (Steele) and Pnau (Littlemore).But together they have been tipped by everyone including the neighbours’ cat to be one of the biggest new acts of 2009.

Their debut album 'Walking On A Dream' combines the musical strengths of both individuals with Steele's distinct vocals and the eccentricity of Pnau's more weird and wonderful tracks. It kicks off with 'Standing On The Shore', a colourful, Balearic, electro pop track setting the tone for the album. But the song that has everyone talking about them is the ethereal Walking On A Dream which is infectious on the first listen and is reminiscent of MGMT and their quirky production.

Described by someone I know, (whom shall remain nameless) as Spinal Tap with their odd get up and nostalgic tribute to 80's psychedelic electro pop.

However it's obvious when you listen, that Empire Of The Sun are more than a gimmick.

The second single due from the album 'We Are The People' is not dissimilar to the first but starts off with just a vocal and an acoustic guitar and builds into another summery synth pop classic. It gets a bit haunting with 'Country' half way through the album bringing a Twin Peaks type eeriness to put you off track a bit. Adding to the fantasy styling of the album 'Swordfish Hotkiss Night' could be mistaken as a track from Prince's back catalogue, circa 1988, with some crazy rapping and a killer soundtrack and this is probably one of my favourite tracks on the album.

As a whole, it is an interesting and spiritual collaboration between both artists, with their majestic theme and kooky demeanour and one that has the music world talking about them. The album lives up to its hype and further more so do the band. www.walkingonadream.com www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound