Latest news with #PolydorRecords
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Scotsman
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
HAIM announce UK arena tour in support of new album, I quit
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. The trio's new album, I quit, is scheduled for release on June 20 2025. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... HAIM have announced a huge UK arena tour to take place in late 2025. The tour comes in support of the band's brand new album, I quit. Here's where you can see the sisters on their UK tour and when you can get tickets for all their upcoming dates. HAIM are celebrating the release of their brand new album with an extensive arena tour of the United Kingdom later this year. Riding high on the announcement of their fourth album, I quit, due out June 20 2025 through Polydor Records , the rock trio has revealed a six-date UK tour kicking off in Nottingham on October 24th. Highlights include a performance at London's The O2 on October 28th. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad HAIM have announced a series of UK arena shows in support of their brand new album, I quit. | Terrence O'Connor Fans can also catch the band at a special headline show in Margate's Dreamland on June 27th , their first UK appearance since headlining All Points East in 2023, following their return to the stage at Primavera Sound. Following their ground-breaking 2020 album, Women In Music, Pt. III , which earned them a Brit Award for International Group and a GRAMMY nomination for Album of the Year (making HAIM the first all-female rock group to achieve this), the band is set to release their new album, I quit. Women In Music, Pt. III also dominated charts on both sides of the Atlantic, debuting at #1 on the US Album Sales, Rock, and Alternative charts, and also claiming the top spot on the UK Album chart. Where are HAIM performing during their 2025 UK arena tour? HAIM will be performing at the following venues on the following dates as part of their 2025 I quit tour of the UK: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When can I get tickets to see HAIM during their 2025 UK arena tour? Pre-sale tickets Those with access to O2 Priority will have first pick of the tickets alongside those who have pre-ordered HAIM's new album or venue pre-sales when they go on sale from April 30 2025. They are followed by Live Nation and Spotify pre-sales , which are scheduled to commence May 1 2025. General ticket sales General ticket sales for all dates will then go on sale through Ticketmaster UK from May 2 2025 at 10am BST.
BBC News
14-03-2025
- BBC News
Trio locked up for Israeli record producer kidnap ambush
Three men lured a record producer to an isolated cottage in a botched kidnap attempt due to his Israeli heritage, a court kidnappers were motivated by political and religious reasons, as well as money, when they posed as representatives of Polydor Records to target Itay Kashti, Swansea Crown Court Kashti said the attack on him, as an Israeli, felt like his "own personal October 7th", a reference to the large-scale attack launched by Hamas on Israel in Comrie, 23, from Leeds, Faiz Shah, 23, from Bradford, and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime, 20, from Wallington, London, pleaded guilty to kidnap and each received a custodial sentence of eight years and one month. Shah and Comrie will both be jailed while Ogunnubi-Sime was sent to a young offender trio created a "shopping list" of items for the kidnap plot, including face masks, gloves, a gag, rental cars and a suitable rental location for the kidnap to take 14 August 2024, Mr Kashti was emailed by a man calling himself Lucas Winslow and claiming to work for Polydor, inviting him to a "music recording camp" in rural Wales. Prosecutor Craig Jones told the court it was the start of "careful and elaborate" plan which was discussed in "minute detail" by Comrie, Shah and Ogunnubi-Sime over the Telegram messaging Jones said the ultimate aim was "the kidnap of the complainant".Handcuffs and cable ties were taken to the cottage in Brynteg, Ceredigion, by the three men, who also tried to source ketamine to drug their victim. The three men hoped to extort money from Mr Kashti "who they perceived to be a wealthy individual", but Mr Jones said there was "clear political and religious motivation" because of his nationality. In one conversation it was said: "All three of us have complete 100% faith in Allah so we can't fail."Cryptocurrency arrangements were also discussed in order to launder the funds obtained during the kidnap and potential escape routes were original property chosen was booked, so the defendants decided to rent the Gatehouse for a week with an online booking made in the name of a stolen identity. The three had also fraudulently obtained stolen bank details. A taxi was booked on 26 August to collect Mr Kashti from his London home using a mobile phone registered to an unknown third party that was found in the the taxi operator and driver Mohammad Amowar were "innocent parties and as much duped as the complainant". On arrival at the property, Mr Kashti and Mr Amowar realised they had walked into a "well laid trap." and were attacked Kashti was attacked by the three wearing "anonymous-style" face masks while Mr Amowar was hit in the face but managed to escape through the front Kashti was punched and kicked, suffering injuries to his face and head, and handcuffed to a radiator before being told he "would be killed" if he tried to the record producer managed to free himself by lifting his hands "up and off the pipe" and ran out of the property, still wearing the hid in nearby bushes and phoned his wife, who called the police, as did Mr Kashti suffered swollen and bruised eyelids, a swollen nose and bruising to his back, knees and leg and a cut to the kidnappers fled but were found by police that evening hiding in a nearby field, while a search of the house uncovered an air pistol and hiding, Ogunnubi-Sime was in contact with an unknown individual who he tried to "direct" so he could be "transported away".In a victim impact statement, Mr Kashti said he felt "shock and fear" and was thinking of his Jewish ancestors who had experienced the Holocaust. He said he suffered from anxiety and now "felt uncomfortable and unsafe".Balbir Singh, representing Shah, admitted the plot was "not very well planned and went wrong immediately" but his client felt "regret and remorse". Roderick Jones representing Comrie admitted the plot had been "highly amateurish in its execution" and he felt "genuine remorse". Waheed Barber said Ogunnubi-Sime was a "good, generous individual" and he was a "redeemable character".Michael Cray of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This must have been truly terrifying for the two victims, who had no idea they were walking into a trap."We would like to thank them for supporting this prosecution and hope the fact these offenders have been brought to justice will help them move forward with their lives."
New York Times
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Roy Ayers, Vibraphonist Who Injected Soul Into Jazz, Dies at 84
Roy Ayers, a vibraphonist who in the 1970s helped pioneer a new, funkier strain of jazz, becoming a touchstone for many artists who followed and one of the most sampled musicians by hip-hop artists, died on Tuesday in New York City. He was 84. His death was announced on his Facebook page. The announcement said he died after a long illness but did not specify a cause or say where in New York he died. In addition to being one of the acknowledged masters of the jazz vibraphone, Mr. Ayers was a leader in the movement that added electric instruments, rock and R&B rhythms, and a more soulful feel to jazz. He was also one of the more commercially successful jazz musicians of his generation. He released nearly four dozen albums, most notably 22 during his 12 years with Polydor Records. Twelve of his Polydor albums spent a collective 149 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart. His composition 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine,' from a 1976 album of the same name, has been sampled nearly 200 times by artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg. The electric piano hook from 'Love,' on his first Polydor album, 'Ubiquity' — which introduced his group of the same name — was used in Deee-Lite's 1990 dance hit 'Groove Is in the Heart.' 'Roy Ayers is largely responsible for what we deem as 'neo-soul,'' the producer Adrian Younge, who collaborated with Mr. Ayers and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest in 2020 on the second album in the 'Jazz Is Dead' series, which showcases frequently sampled jazz musicians, told Clash magazine. 'His sound mixed with cosmic soul-jazz is really what created artists like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. It was just that groove. 'That's not to say people around then weren't making music with a groove," he added, 'but he is definitely a pioneer.' Roy Edward Ayers Jr. was born on Sep. 12, 1940, in Los Angeles, one of four children, and the only son, of Roy and Ruby Ayers. His father was a scrap dealer and an amateur trombonist; his mother, a schoolteacher and piano tutor, gave Roy lessons from an early age. Speaking to the English newspaper The Nottingham Post in 2013, Mr. Ayers recalled that his first exposure to the vibraphone came via a giant of the instrument, when his parents took young Roy to see him perform: 'I got my first set of vibraphone mallets from Lionel Hampton when I was 5 years old, so I always wanted to be like Lionel Hampton. At one time, when I was very young, I was thinking I was going to be Lionel Hampton. My mother and father always played his music, so I was reared on Lionel Hampton.' Mr. Ayers studied music and music history with the celebrated instructor Samuel R. Browne, whose other students included Dexter Gordon and Charles Mingus, while attending Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles. He made his first records in the months after his 21st birthday, under the leadership of the saxophonists Curtis Amy and Vi Redd. He made his debut as a leader before he turned 23 with the aptly titled United Artists album 'West Coast Vibes.' Mr. Ayers received his first national exposure in 1966, when he joined the band of the flutist Herbie Mann, one of the more successful musicians in jazz at the time. He would go on to make 11 albums as a member of Mr. Mann's group for Atlantic Records and Mr. Mann's own label, Embryo. Mr. Mann helped him get a contract with Atlantic and produced his four albums for the label and Columbia Japan between 1967 and 1969. Those were instrumental albums very much in keeping with the post-bop style of the era, but the Laura Nyro-written title track of his 1968 album, 'Stoned Soul Picnic,' with its use of electric bass and a horn section emulating the sound of a church choir and electric bass, foretold Mr. Ayers's next period. In 1970, he formed the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, the band with which he would become a soul-jazz star. The name was suggested by his manager, Myrna Williams — and, he explained in a 2016 oral interview for website The HistoryMakers, the choice 'was wonderful, because I can tell everybody I can be everywhere at the same time.' After his contract with Atlantic ended, Mr. Ayers began a long and fruitful partnership with Polydor. He and his band released 11 albums from 1970 to 1977, with such evocative titles as 'Change Up the Groove' and 'Vibrations.' In addition to using electric instruments and producing grooves more suited to a dance floor than a jazz club, the Roy Ayers Ubiquity included vocals by Mr. Ayers. Some members of the group were featured on Mr. Ayers's soundtrack for the 1973 blaxploitation film 'Coffy,' starring Pam Grier. While the group was popular and would ultimately prove highly influential, it received a mixed reaction from critics. Reviewing a performance at the Village Vanguard in New York in December 1970, John S. Wilson of The New York Times wrote, 'Even though Mr. Ayers gets a hard, heavy tone from his vibraphone, his playing is often buried under the eruptive power of his accompaniment or is absorbed by the very similar sound of the electric piano.' Mr. Wilson went on to say that the fuzztone attachment Mr. Ayers had added to his vibes 'produces a rasping noise, which, in its amplified state, gives one an all too vivid idea of what it might be like to be locked in a closet with a troupe of demented bagpipers.' Much as Mr. Ayers's career had been nurtured by Mr. Mann, he would nurture his younger charges in Ubiquity; he also produced an album by the group, without him, in 1978. The keyboardist Philip Woo, who was part of the band in its later stages and continued to work with Mr. Ayers after Ubiquity's dissolution in the early 1980s, wrote in an email: 'Roy Ayers discovered me in Seattle in 1976 when I was 19. It is very unusual for an artist to pick up musicians while on tour, so I was very fortunate for this to happen. I was in local bands until then. I credit him for launching my career.' Three of Mr. Ayers's most significant albums were collaborations: with the trombonist Wayne Henderson, a founder of The Jazz Crusaders, in 1978 and 1980, and with the Afrobeat trailblazer Fela Kuti in 1980. That album, 'Music of Many Colors,' was recorded in Mr. Kuti's native Nigeria. Mr. Ayers was the inspiration for the 2022 memoir 'My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family,' by the musician and record producer Nabil Ayers, who wrote of growing up as Mr. Ayers's son even though Mr. Ayers played no role in raising him. Information on other survivors was not immediately available. In the last decades of his career, Mr. Ayers recorded for several different labels while staying loyal to the genre he had helped create. He also made guest appearances on albums by Rick James, Whitney Houston, George Benson, the rapper Guru and others. Discussing his legacy as an artist and entertainer with The HistoryMakers, Mr. Ayers said: 'There's an old saying, when you do what you do, you do it to others too. My legacy is that I can make everybody happy. Everybody, even the negative ones.'
Euronews
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
The Jam drummer Rick Buckler dies
Rick Buckler, drummer with the mod legends The Jam has died, aged 69. The English musician died in Woking on 17 February 2025 following a brief illness, his bandmates Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton confirmed on social media. 'I'm shocked and saddened by Rick's passing. I'm thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking. To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey!' The Jam lead singer and guitarist Weller wrote. 'Rick was a good guy and a great drummer whose innovative drum patterns helped shape our songs. I'm glad we had the chance to work together as much as we did. My thoughts are with Leslie and his family at this very difficult time,' bassist Foxton added. 'We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paul Weller (@paulwellerhq) Born in Woking, England in 1955, Buckler was a founding member of the band with school friend Weller in 1972. Foxton later joined and the historic line-up was complete. After years spent covering American rock and roll songs, the band found their sound through inspiration from the Mod scene's pivotal band The Who. The Jam signed to Polydor Records and released their debut single and album 'In the City' in 1977. Inspired by the rock sounds of the 60s influenced by the more contemporary faster punk aesthetic, they fit in with contemporaries The Clash and Sex Pistols. Between 1977 and 1982, The Jam released six albums. Their short but prolific time as a band came to end after the release of their final album 'The Gift'. During that time, they achieved 18 consecutive UK Top 40 singles with four number ones: 'Going Underground', 'Start!', 'Town Called Malice', and 'Beat Surrender'. Following the split, neither Buckler nor Foxton spoke to Weller for at least 20 years. Weller created The Style Council and later went solo. Buckler continued to form bands, including Time UK and Sharp, which included Foxton in the line-up. Buckler worked in music production for a while before moving into a career as a carpenter and releasing several books on his famous band's history. In 2005, Buckler went back into music with a new band The Gift, named after The Jam's final album. Foxton joined the line-up in 2007 and they renamed themselves From the Jam. Buckler is survived by his wife Leslie and two children Jason and Holly.
Washington Post
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The singer-songwriter with a shape-shifting voice charts her own path
Next in Arts & Entertainment The singer-songwriter with a shape-shifting voice charts her own path By Chris Kelly February 11, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EST 0 Sorry, a summary is not available for this article at this time. Please try again later. Raye stays busy. One week in September, the singer-songwriter was in New York for a screening of her new concert film, a taping of 'The Daily Show,' a performance at a museum event and a set at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. 'I love being busy, but I've definitely got to the point where I need a break now,' she said over Zoom from the city. 'I've been going as hard as I can go for a really long time.' Raye has certainly earned a period of rest and relaxation, and not just because her schedule has been nonstop since the February 2023 release of her debut studio album, 'My 21st Century Blues,' and recording of the orchestral live version at the Royal Albert Hall that came out less than a year later. She gave a powerful performance at the Grammy Awards in February, belting out 'Oscar Winning Tears' while barefoot on stage. Raye performs 'Oscar Winning Tears' at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2. () Raye has been in and around the music business for more than a decade, even if this latest media whirlwind is the first time audiences are hearing the 27-year-old artist. Before that, maybe they caught her opening gig on the last night in London of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, or perhaps it was her record-breaking night at the Brit Awards 2024 when she took home six statues, including the ones for album, artist and best new artist. Don't take the name of that last award literally. 'My 21st Century Blues' wasn't Raye's first musical output — it was a body of work that she had to fight to share with the world. Stepping out as an independent artist The artist, born Rachel Keen in South London, self-released her 'Welcome to the Winter' EP back in 2014, when she was just 17, and quickly signed with Polydor Records. Yet after a handful of EPs, more than a dozen singles and collaborations with the likes of EDM superstar David Guetta, Raye had not released a proper debut. In 2021, the singer took to social media, alleging that the label had refused to let her release an album, claiming she was sitting on music 'in folders collecting dust.' Less than a month later, Raye was released from the label. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement The independently released 'My 21st Century Blues,' drawn from years of recordings, serves as a bold and dramatic introduction to what Raye is capable of. With an instant-classic voice that has drawn comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Adele, Raye can either pitter-patter chitchat or really belt it out, finding her pocket over hip-hop-inflected pop, modern funk or club-ready dance music. And the 'blues' of the album's titles are often deeply hued, with lyrics about personal experiences with body dysmorphia and sexual assault. She also tackles societal issues like environmental collapse and describes a ruling class as 'classist, sexist, racist, ableist, fascist, ageist, homophobic.' Raye describes the process of finally crafting a debut album after becoming an independent artist as a 'step-by-step thing … not something that came together overnight.' 'There was a lot of soul searching and healing and processing that needed to take place,' she said. 'I needed to get back to, 'What's the point? Why did I choose to dedicate my life to this wild craft?'' In that way, the driving passion behind 'My 21st Century Blues' is Raye's love of music and musicianship, in all its forms. She recalled being overwhelmed and fighting 'mental battles' as she assembled a multigenre album that was perhaps not as cohesive as she would have imagined her debut would be. (The year hasn't been without its setbacks, however: In fall, her car was stolen along with her songwriting books in it.) Eventually, she learned to stop worrying and love the album. Raye performs at the Pool in the Seagram building in New York on Sept. 9. () 'You know what? I f---ing love these songs. I love the order I'm presenting them. I can envision how we're going to translate it live. I'm proud of these songs,' she said. 'Some are old, some are brand-new and I love them.' Envisioning the album's live experience eventually led to Raye's decision to record a concert album at the Royal Albert Hall, the site of live albums by performers including the Who, Eric Clapton and Adele. Again, Raye's love of musicians was the guiding light: She had crossed paths with amazingly talented composers, arrangers and performers through her touring and performing, and after adding more and more musicians to her show, she took the idea to its logical conclusion. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement 'It's always been my dream to both compose a symphony of my own and to work with orchestral arrangers and players,' she said. 'Then the idea just kept getting more and more wacky.' Coming up next Recording and releasing 'My 21st Century Symphony' was 'an absolute dream,' but even with plans to take some time to recharge, she's already focused on the next dream, the next adventure. Next up is a trip with her band and then perhaps 'getting into her producer bag' and experimenting with 'orchestrating the room.' 'Performing live has really shaped a lot of how I see myself as an artist,' she said. 'I'm excited to create with musicians, instead of [being] in a room with one producer. I'm looking forward to seeing how that translates.' And if 'My 21st Century Blues' is an album for a genre-less time, Raye might be an artist for our increasingly multidisciplinary one. She has worked on scoring for TV and film and has done a little filming with 'some cool directors.' 'I caught a little bug,' she says of her acting dalliance, but don't expect a quick jump to the screen: 'I'm not gonna attempt to indulge myself in a craft that I haven't studied for, so I would want to do the work and get confident in my skills.' Story continues below advertisement Advertisement The rest of the 21st century looks bright for Raye, whether her art takes the form of a film score, acting, or another album. When I spoke with her, she was focused on her next show — her second night at the famed Blue Note with jazz pianist-producer Robert Glasper — and a possible vision of the future crept in. 'I love a little jazz venue,' she said of the Blue Note. 'If my career goes [sideways] at any point, that's where I'm going to end up, and I think I'm going to have a great time if and when I do.'
