Good morning from Groningen, Netherlands! The bells of the church are tolling outside, which must mean it's time to get up. I think I got to bed at around 2am last night after hitting the town in search of some great new music discoveries.
I should explain: I'm in said town for Eurosonic/ESNS, the annual European music conference and festival. It's a great early chance to check out up-and-coming talent from around the continent, spanning hundreds of acts performing everything from folk to pop to grunge, rock, electronic, post-punk or dance. There are also loads of talks, debates, discussions... I recorded a live podcast with the legendary producer Craig Leon (Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Suicide, The Fall), which you'll hear on Good Vibrations very soon.
So far I think I've seen about eight acts, including the lovely singer-songwriter Eleni Drake and the Berlin-based noise/shoegaze-y band Roomer. Darting between the two stages at new venue MXT last night I fell in love with ROYA, an electronic/dance duo who looked about 12 years old (but they had so many bangers?!), then experimental east-meets-west band Omar Dahl, and finally Scottish duo KuleeAngee, who I also adored, they were heaps of fun.
The last act of my night (because no one could top this, so I went to bed after that) were Madra Salach, the Irish folk-rock-punk band I can't stop raving about. They performed at the (protestant) church (they're all good Catholic boys, obviously) and had the entire audience completely spellbound. Well, almost the entire audience... shout-out to the feckin eejit who thought it'd be fine to walk across the stage and hand out beers to his mates during a gorgeous instrumental bit. Is gig etiquette well and truly dead? Mad. Anyway, the band are releasing their debut EP It's a Hell of an Age next week, so make sure you listen.
New bits? Let's breeze through: a new album from Robbie Williams because the scamp decided to surprise-release it early. I was more surprised by just how much I loved it, it's so much fun and a bit return to form from one of our most irrepressible entertainers. Helen Brown also enjoyed Madison Beer's latest work, Locket, which finds the US pop singer delving into past trauma as well as the messy aftermath of a recent breakup.
Then there's all the other stuff out this week: I love Charli XCX's sharp, smart "Wall of Sound" from the Wuthering Heights soundtrack, the return of Arlo Parks with "2SIDED", Girlfriend's sultry new bop "Sideways", Chalk's dark and stuttery "IDC", and Joy Oladokun on the soulful "Nothing Comes Easy". Jeff Goldblum has announced a new album! It's called Night Blooms and the lead single, "Misty", is out now.
Shout-out to pop band Only the Poets who are scouting for an unsigned opening act to support them at their massive sold-out Brixton show on 2 February (tickets were a symbolic £1, to spark a conversation about gig prices and as a gesture of thanks to their fans).
That's it, I'm off for a panel about independent music festivals this afternoon then more gigs, than back to the UK! Have a great weekend everybody x
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