Erik Hassle competition!?!

Drum roll please...

We are pleased to announce Musick's first every competition! Whoop, whoop. Now, we're not asking you to draw us a picture, write us a poem or take part in an elaborate pyramid scheme in the hope of stealing your money and running away to live in Antigua. No, all we ask is that you, er, send us an email.

Those kind people at Island Records are giving us two free tickets to see 'bound to be big in 2010' Swedish singer, Erik Hassle. If you're unfamiliar with his work you should listen to this and this, or re-read something we did about him here.

The gig isn't like a normal gig, it's like a party but with a real life pop star performing. It's in a secret location (all we know is that it's an apartment!) in East London and no-one will know where it will be until the last minute. You will also need a password to get in. It will be like Skins, only real. There will be free alcohol on tap, so you have to be over 18 otherwise we'll all get in trouble with the law and we don't want that do we?

Here's a (very small) poster that contains a lot of the information we've just given, but in a much more graphic style:



The gig is on Thursday 17th December and all you need to do is email mcragg@hotmail.com to be in with a chance of winning. You might get to meet Musick too, although don't let that put you off.

Also, you can download a video of Erik covering 'Someday' by The Strokes by clicking here.

Next week we'll be giving away a hot air balloon ride with Little Boots.

Murphy's Law

Róisín Murphy's last album, Overpowered, was something of a lost pop classic. Mixing warm electronica with pop hooks Kylie would claw Dannii's eyes out for, it seemed destined to catapult Murphy back to the upper reaches of the charts after her time with Moloko. Of course, this didn't happen and despite releasing nearly half a dozen singles, Murphy was dropped by her label and forced to watch as Little Boots et al came along to fill the gap marked 'intelligent electro pop starlet'.

Murphy is currently focusing on her new creation (she's 9 months pregnant), but has found the time to announce the release of a taster single, entitled 'Orally Fixated'. And what an odd concoction it is. Over stuttering synths and cheap beats, Murphy intones "Eat me/ Drink me" before something resembling a song begins to take shape. This then merges into something Madonna would have rejected circa 1986, before a guitar solo comes crashing in to up the what-the-fuck ante.



Something tells us she's signed with an indie label now.

Ancient Marina

Marina, Marina, tell me have you seen her? What? We've mentioned Marina & The Diamonds a few times before (she even graced us with an interview...of sorts), and now she's just about ready to start her onslaught on the charts. Having recently signed to 679 (home to Little Boots), she's decided to revamp an old b-side as her first proper single. "Revamp an old b-side? That doesn't sound too promising" we hear you say, but fear not because the b-side could have been an a-side and now it will be. It's called 'Mowgli's Road' and it sounds like this:



It's not changed too much; just added some extra "cuckoos", done away with the longer intro and outro and generally just been given a good spit and polish. It will available to buy on the 2 November and there's even a video being filmed right about now.

Remedy the situation

The problem with the Little Boots campaign thus far is that they a). chose the wrong single to launch with, then b). gave said single an alienating, 'arthouse' (in pop terms) video and c). the album doesn't age well, even after a few weeks. The fact that it entered high (no. 5) then dropped out of the top 40 two weeks later doesn't bode well, but 'Remedy', the second single, should fix things.

For one it's a massive pop belter with a great, stuttering intro that TV pluggers will piss themselves over and it has at least two choruses. Plus, for the video the label have realised what people liked about Little Boots in the first place which was that despite all the glitz and glamour she was a bit of a nerd and liked nothing more then playing cover versions on her keyboard in her pyjamas. This video is a much more glossy version of that, only this isn't a cover and she's not playing it live...



The single is out on the 17 August and was produced by RedOne who is responsible for Lady GaGa.

Florence of Arabia

The other night Musick was witness to an EXCLUSIVE (open to anyone) gig for the launch of Florence & The Machine's new album, Lungs. The EXCLUSIVE (open to anyone) gig was held at the Rivoli Ballroom, which looked a little something like this:



It was like a whore's boudoir, only cleaner and less pungent.

Florence and her machine were in good form and I think the following photo goes some way to capturing the magic she was able to produce onstage:



Amazing.

There was also a bit near the end where she arched her back and nearly went into a crab position, which is better then La Roux and Little Boots combined and is probably why she got a Brit award and they didn't. We very nearly captured that moment in this photo here:



Wow. And you thought we were only good for tossing out a few words hither and dither. As you can see, we're pretty amazing photographers too.

New Musick Monday

Well now, we seem to be on some kind of 'straight into the top 15 with a bullet' roll at the moment. 'We Are The People' by Empire of the Sun climbed to no. 14 last week, mainly due to the exposure we decided to give to them as an act of immeasurable generosity. It was, in retrospect, the wrong decision as both Marina & The Diamonds and the Gossip had new singles out that same day but we missed them both. Once again, we apologise and hope you forgive us.

BUY THIS

The Eternal by Sonic Youth



Like Gordon Brown, Sonic Youth have stubbornly stood their ground for what seems like an age. Unlike Gordon Brown this is a welcome trait and one that hasn't lead to such disillusionment that a racist political party now has some semblance of power on a European stage (oh, political). The Eternal continues the band's recent form, contorting their sound into delightfully artful pop shapes, with melodies emerging from the perfect din like fireworks through mud or some such crap.

BUY THIS FOR A FIVER AND SAVE A LIFE

Hands by Little Boots



Some online retailers are selling this debut album by the gargantuanly hyped Little Boots for just five English pounds. For some - "rubbish" Rob, "Jake doesn't like Little Boots" Jake - the hype has lead to disappointment upon hearing the finished album, and their vitriol (?) is matched by a 2/5 review in Q and relatively disastrous single campaign. Still, Hands is a good, solid pop record, one that features at least five singles and one that should cement the beginnings of a promising career.

DOWNLOAD THIS

'Start/Stop/Synchro' by Rose Elinor Dougall



'Start/Stop/Synchro' is the second solo single from ex-Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall and is possibly where our run of top 15 entries dies a sad death. But fear not because as everyone knows the charts are run by the Government and as this political diatribe masquerading as a music blog entry has already stated, they know nothing. This is a delightful slice of Stereolab-esque indie-pop featuring a harpsichord, Motown drums, a breathless vocal and some sad lyrics about not being someone else. Hear it here.