The Invasion Of…is a five piece band completed by Andre Bayuni, Julian Bayuni, Neil Montier and vocalist Robin Coombes of acclaimed British hip hop group Taskforce, they are set to release their debut mini-album ‘373’ through 25 Hour Convenience Records on October 4^th.

With The Invasion Of... Powell takes on the roll of main contributing composer of the music, with Coombes contributing his unique approach to lyric writing. Fans of Powell’s previous bands are sure to be pleasantly surprised by their ever more eclectic style of rock ‘n’ roll, prog and krautrock as Gary explains;

“Starting The Invasion Of… was a real leap of faith not only in myself, but the soon to be members of the band.  It would have been easier for me to set it up with other musicians from other bands and follow their lead, but instead I decided to get things going with friends, regardless of their musical background. It has worked out better than I could have ever imagined as the musicians I play and work with have surpassed my wildest expectations.
It has been a big ask to expect the guys to take their own leap of faith in me, but they’ve done it and brought along their own ideas, emotions and overall dynamic determination into the mix which has really helped shape the mad ideas we have  into something cohesive Imagine if Chuck Berry in his youth had started making music in today’s day and age, he would be making music like us.”

The Invasion Of… will be appearing live at Proud, Camden on August 3^rd, here is an interesting clip of what to expect from the band, taken from their debut live performance at The Water Rats.

‘373′ mini album track listing:

1)      The Invasion Of Venice

2)      Delusional

3)      Memories

4)      In Like Voodoo

5)      Pedantic Romantic

6)      Devilish Ways

xfm bestnonfest

The UK radio station that loves music, XFM, have announced the launch of their BestNonFest competition that offers one lucky winner the ultimate non festival package – the ultimate collection of gig tickets to see some of the greatest bands around.

Top bands already lined up for the grand prize include Mumford & Sons, Foals, MGMT, Biffy Clyro, Darwin Deez, Manic Street Preachers and Klaxons, with many more artists to be announced through July and August.

XFM invite music fans to join a virtual queue on Facebook whereby each position is constantly determined by a series of daily music Q&As.

Questions answered correctly enable entrants to move forward whilst incorrect answers move them backwards in the queue.  Each person that enters the competition gets the chance to win weekly spot-prizes of gig tickets, CDs, and festival paraphernalia.

The first person in the queue by the end of the competition wins the grand prize of gig tickets to see an incredible line-up of BestNonFest bands.

The competition is easy to enter by simply clicking on the BestNonFest tab on XFM’s Facebook page where you will find details of how you could win the grand prize.

Good luck!

Buzzin Media has joined the 'Just Tick It' against online fraudulent ticket sites

Buzzin Media has joined the ‘Just Tick It‘ against online fraudulent ticket sites

Over 5,000 fans were scammed when trying to buy tickets for the UK’s top music festivals last summer, figures released for the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) Just Tick It campaign reveal.

The statistics were provided by the organisers of Reading Festival, Leeds Festival, V Festival, Download and the Wireless Festival as they joined the campaign warning consumers about online fraudulent ticket sites.

The figures are based on complaints last year by festival-goers who had paid for tickets online and not received them, or who bought fake tickets and were subsequently turned away at the gates.

The festival organisers have joined the OFT and a host of music stars including JLS, the lostprophets, Craig David, Kate Nash,  Biffy Clyro,  Dave Rowntree from Blur, Dan Hipgrave from Toploader, Frank Turner and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd to support the campaign which warns music-lovers about online scams.

Despite many summer festival events having sold out those desperate to see their favourite bands play live often turn to the internet in the hunt for a ticket.  OFT research last year found that one in twelve ticket buyers had admitted to having been caught out by a scam ticket website.  with victims losing an average of £80.

Speaking about fake ticket scams, Welsh rockers the Lostprophets said:

‘We have toured all over the world, and on our travels have heard about fans and friends who have lost money by buying tickets from scam ticket websites.

“We’re supporting the OFT’s Just Tick It campaign to help spread the word about these fake ticket websites – this summer we are playing at both Reading and Leeds Festivals so want to make sure that no one is scammed in this way when trying to come and see us perform.  Everyone should make sure that the website selling tickets is legitimate before buying their tickets.”

Michele Shambrook, Operations Manager for the OFT-managed advice service Consumer Direct, said:

“The Just Tick It campaign is here to give fans practical advice on how to check a website is legitimate before buying tickets online.  We hope people will use our simple checklist to ensure they don’t get scammed when looking for tickets to this summer’s music and sporting events.”

The Just Tick It campaign is urging everyone to tick off the following checklist before buying tickets online from a website:

1. How has the website got the tickets to sell?  Check with the festival to find out when tickets are being released for sale and when the tickets will be sent out
2. Find out what are others saying about the website?  Search the internet to find out what other people’s experiences have been
3. How can you contact the company behind the website? Check that you know their full geographic address and check they have a working landline phone number
4. Can they provide ticket details?  Ensure that the face value of the tickets and the seat location/festival area are clearly listed and consistent with the official Festival website
5. Do they provide refunds?  Make sure there is a refund policy in case something goes wrong

For more information about scam ticket websites and how to protect yourself visit: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ticketscams

You can show your support by on Facebook or following it on Twitter.

In Spain a couple of years ago it was declared in court that a serial downloader had no case to answer against the music publishers as he used the files for his own personal use and had never attempted to sell or loan the material that he had accumulated.

That sounded like a fair outcome to me, but in the UK it appears that the Government is having it’s strings pulled by the major players in the entertainments industry and have outlined their anti file sharing proposals as part of the Digital Economy Bill.

Back in the seventies and eighties the same record companies decided that Home Taping Was Killing The Music Industry and Talk Talk have commissioned musician Dan Bull to make a recording along those lines in it’s own campaign against the government’s plans to disconnect alleged filesharers.

The tongue-in-cheek video features 80s legends Madonna, George Michael and Adam Ant (well, actually it’s just a trio of look-alikes) lip-synching to the song; Top Of The Pops style.

Dan Bull, who composed the song to accompany the video (created by an ex-Top Of The Pops director), had this to say about his creation:

“As a musician, I’m against the Government’s filesharing proposals as they would misguidedly hurt music fans. Disconnecting thousands of users suspected of filesharing wouldn’t suddenly mean that people would go out there and buy more music. The internet has fundamentally changed the way we listen to tunes, watch films and so on, so we actually need to think of new ways of how we make a living out our creative efforts.”

Dan Bull – Home Taping Is Killing Music

TalkTalk has also carried out some research which shows that the majority of music fans will switch to alternative ways of accessing copyright-protected content for free if using peer-to-peer (P2P) services leaves them vulnerable to disconnection. You can read TalkTalk’s press release here.

If you feel as strongly as we do about this governments proposals sign this ‘Don’t disconnest us’ petition to abolish the proposed law now.

Exclusive news this evening from our man in Paris says that Oasis who were due to headline at the Rock en Seine have cancelled their performance just half an hour before they were due on stage.

Following a fight between Noel and Liam Gallagher the pair said on their website that they have officially split.

Is it for real?

A trailer for the Web Transmission is currently playing on the Arctic Monkeys site.

Make sure that you do not miss this incredible exclusive from the Arctic Monkeys by signing up for an e mail reminder here, the reminder will be sent directly to your inbox, in advance of the transmission.

The Beastie Boys have issued the following statement:

‘Adam “MCA” Yauch of Beastie Boys was diagnosed last week as having a cancerous tumor in his left parotid (salivary) gland. Luckily it was caught early and is localized in one area, and as such is considered very treatable. It will however require surgery and several weeks of additional treatment. Fortunately the cancer is not in a location that will affect Yauch’s vocal chords. Beastie Boys have canceled all upcoming concert appearances to allow time for Yauch’s surgery and recovery. The release of the band’s forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will also be pushed back.

‘Paraphrasing from a video statement on www.Beastieboys.com, Yauch said, “I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we’ll release the record and play some shows. It’s a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because I was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later.”

A statement from EMI reads: ‘Our thoughts, love and prayers are with Adam Yauch, his family and the Beastie Boys. The most important thing is to allow Adam to focus on staying healthy. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.’

aurora empire

Aurora Empire are looking to sponsor their upcoming CD release by offering the chance to include your message either on their latest  CD or in the accompanying booklet, with proceeds going to charity.

The chance to see your name, business or loved ones name included on the release is believed to be an original and unique idea. Check out the Sign a CD site and become part of music history. Four lucky subscribers will also win tickets to the VIP launch of the band’s Symphonic Rock Show in the Summer of 2010. The prize includes overnight accommodation at a top hotel and the first copy of Aurora Empire’s single Believe in Mothercorn to come off the press.

Aurora Empire are quite different to most current rock bands, opting for technical quality and fusing classical 19th century with modern day heavy rock to create their own unmistakable brand of music. Think of the seventies band Focus and update to the 21st century and you will be somewhere close.

The single Believe in Mothercorn will be released in August 2009, check out the Aurora Empire MySpace page for more information on this unique rock band.

Nathaniel Sutton was born in Edmonton Alberta in Canada in 1983 and first took up guitar in high school. Having mastered the instrument over the next few years, Sutton decided to learn to play drums eventually leading to the start of his musical career, playing in covers bands.

With some sort of musical apprenticeship under his belt, Sutton soon found that he had more to offer than playing other band’s songs and made the decision to write and record his own material. As a self styled ‘one man band’ he would not only write his own material, but also play, sing and record the track’s himself.

Drawing on inspirations such as Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr. /Sebadoh/Folk Implosion), Eric Bachman (Crooked Fingers/ Archers of Loaf), Tim Kasher (Cursive/ The Good Life) and  Isaac Brock ( Modest Mouse), Nathaniel Sutton’s first album Dramatic Scene was born. He is currently working on a second album. Visit Nathaniel Sutton’s MySpace page here.

Cabaret Rat is another ‘one man band’, featuring the voice, instrumentals and song writing skills of Matt Prosac. Originally from Blackpool, Prosac would front several band’s in the nineties, but eventually decided to go it alone in 2005.

Prosac draws on his experiences in the musical savvy North West of England combining his love of punk music, junk food, booze and sex, with his musical inspirations such as Adam and the Ants, KLF, Ministry and Front 242, he recorded his first album in 2005  entitled Infected Milk. This album features the track Lets Watch Porn, apparently based on a true story about a date that was going oh so well.

This was followed in 2007 with the brilliantly titled album, Scaring Little Albert. Matt is currently working on a third album Walking With Sharks.

Visit the Cabaret Rat MySpace page here.

Cabaret Rat can be seen at the following gigs:

King Creosote photo: Callum Gordon

Domino Records will release the new album by King Creosote, Flick the Vs, on 20th April 2009.

Flick the Vs will be followed by the release of a single, Coast On By, on April 27th.

Flick the Vs will be the fifth album by King Creosote, and follows – Kenny and Beth’s Musakal Boat Rides (2003), Rocket D.I.Y. (2005), KC Rules OK (2005) and Bombshell (2007).

King Creosote produces beautiful, deep pop music.

Flick The Vs will be available on CD, LP, and via digital download.

Flick The Vs by King Creosote tracklisting is as follows:

1 – No One Had It Better
2 – Two Frocks At A Wedding
3 – Camels Swapped For Wives
4 – No Way She Exists
5 – Fell An Ox
6 – Coast On By
7 – Nothing Rings True
8 – Curtain Craft
9 – Rims
10 – Saw Circular Prowess

King Creosote is amidst a UK tour

The remaining dates are:

13 Feb 2009 – South Street, Reading

14 Feb 2009 – 12 Bar, Swindon

15 Feb 2009 – Arts Centre, Colchester

16 Feb 2009 – Telford’s Warehouse, Chester

17 Feb 2009 – Opera House, Buxton

18 Feb 2009 – Sheffield University – Fusion, Sheffield

19 Feb 2009 – Arts Centre, Norwich

He will also be curating Homegame, an annual three day festival with performances from the various acts associated with the Fence Collective, taking place in Fife from April 17th – 19th.

More details visit www.fencerecords.com.

Download a free MP3 of Rims from the forthcoming album, Flick the Vs.