Lost Videos: Winston Tong- Report From The Heart

Next Wave: John Maus

John Maus is American avant-garde musician and composer. Although first drawn to our attention as a core member of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and keyboard player with Animal Collective's Panda Bear, Maus has proved himself to be an extraordinary musician with a distinctive sound in his own right. He released two album Songs in 2006 and Love is Real in 2007 through ‘Upset! The Rhythm. His music is melancholic, electro driven baroque pop with weird synthesizer lines and drum machine clicks. His voice reminds of Ian Curtis and Nick Cave.

Instant Hit: H2O- I Dream To Sleep

"I Dream To Sleep" was a minor hit for H2O in 1982/83. It was released in England and Germany and appeared on the album Faith from 1984. Their biggest success was as they opened up for Kajagoogoo on their UK tour with this song which reached number #17 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1983. The album has been reissued by Cherry Red Records and includes all songs from the album plus bonus tracks.

The Tour Of The Universe 2009

Depeche Mode have announced the tour dates of their forthcoming "The Tour Of The Universe 2009" tour which will kick off in May next year. The band is currently working on their as yet untitled 12th studio album release. Over the next coming weeks, they will be featuring updates and developments on the progress of the recording sessions, which will include exclusive videos and pictures documenting the making of their anticipated album.

Tour Of The Universe 2009 - European Leg Date Venue City Country

10 May 2009 Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel

12 May 2009 Terra Vibe Park, Athens, Greece

14 May 2009 Santral Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

16 May 2009 Parc Izvor, Bucharest, Romania

18 May 2009 Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria

20 May 2009 USCE Park, Belgrade, Serbia

21 May 2009 Arena, Zagreb, Croatia

23 May 2009 Gwardia Stadium, Warsaw, Poland

25 May 2009 Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia

27 May 2009 Zalgirio Stadionas, Vilnius, Lithuania

30 May 2009 O2 Arena, London, UK

02 June 2009 HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg, Germany

04 June 2009 LTU Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany

07 June 2009 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany

10 June 2009 Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany

12 June 2009 Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt, Germany

13 June 2009 Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany

16 June 2009 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy

18 June 2009 Stadio San Siro, Milan, Italy

20 June 2009 TW Classic Festival, Werchter, Belgium

22 June 2009 Inter Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia

23 June 2009 Puskas Ferenc Stadium, Budapest, Hungary

25 June 2009 Slavia Stadium, Czech Republic, Prague

27 June 2009 ?,Paris, France

30 June 2009 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark

02 July 2009 Koengen, Bergen, Norway

03 July 2009 Arvika Festival, Arvika, Sweden

11 July 2009 Super Bock Super Rock Festival, Porto, Portugal

12 July 2009 Sevilla, Olimpic Stadium, Spain

Franz Ferdinanad-Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand' is Franz Ferdinand's upcoming third album. It has three different release dates in US, UK and Australia. It is scheduled to be released on January 26, 2009 in the UK. The first single from the album "Ulysses" is going to be released a week earlier on the 19 January 2009. The artwork for the album is a photograph taken by Soren Starbird just after midnight behind the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow.

Dalek I (Love You)

Dalek I Love You is a band from Liverpool which was formed in the late 70’s. Originally the band appeared under a name Radio Blank… and was fronted by Adam Gill. Later they changed their name into Dalek I Love You which came about as a result of a compromise between two of the members: Balfe wanted to call the band Dalek (after the Doctor Who villains) and Gill wanted to call the band Darling, I Love You. They released three albums and several singles in the first half of the 80’s.

The original lineup of Dalek I Love You included: Alan Gill (vocals, guitar), Keith Hartley (vocals, guitar), Kenny Peers (drums), Dave Hughes (keyboards), Martin Cooper, Chris Hughes (record producer) aka Merrick and for a very brief time, Andy McCluskey. McCluskey only stayed with the group one month, realizing he could not be happy in a band as singer alone. By the time they were releasing their debut album ‘Compass Kumpass’ they were pared down to Alan Gill and Dave Hughes, while other members were involved in other musical projects. Before the first album release through Phonogram the name of the band got shortened into Dalek I without telling it to the band members so they emerged as Dalek I. The band released three singles form their debut album including the debut single “Freedom Fighters” This is how New Musical Express described the music of Dalek I.

“A prime example of living-room music construction, it features catchy, interlinking little riffs over a plodding beat formed by combining elements of both drums and drum-machines and Gill's calmly urgent vocals. Ingeniously simple but infuriatingly infectious -- rather like an adult Human League on speed -- "Freedom Fighters" is one of the year's best singles so far, and from what I heard of their other material, there's plenty more where that came from.” New Musical Express

After the first album was released the only remaining member Alan Gill joined the group Teardrop Explodes. He co-wrote some songs on the album and even appeared together with the band in the US and UK. Dalek I Love You returned under the original name with a new lineup which also saw some old names including Gordon Hon and Keith Hartley. Together they recorded the second self-titled album. The album was released through Korova and was preceded by two singles “Ambition” and “Holiday in Disneyland”. The sound on the new album was different compared to the debut album. The songs were more upbeat with the funky bass groove. The cover by Geoff Halpin looks like a still from a fifties sci-fi flick (or maybe Dr. Who). The tinted photograph is of a woman, dress torn, reacting to a horrific presence. The lush colours and campy subject matter play off each other -much like they do in Dalek I Love You's music.

After the last single release “Horrorscope” Dalek I Love You split and the band members went different ways. Alan Gill contributed two tracks to the soundtrack of Letter to Brezhnev (1985). This film, directed by Chris Bernard, was set in Liverpool and starred Margi Clarke. In 1985 ‘Naïve’ was released the third album on his own Bopadub label. This record was released on a tape only and it is considered extremely rare. The songs from the album Naive are avilable on http://www.dalekiloveyou.com/.The other two records were reissued ‘Compass Kumpas’ in 1989 and ‘Dalek I Love You’ in 2007.

Link to Facebook Fan group

Best of 2008- The Album List

The big year of Australian electropop, indietronica and alternative dance. What else was hot, see in the list below...

01.Radiohead- In Rainbows [XL]
02.John Maus- Love is Real [Upset The Rhythm]
03.Fleet Foxes- s/t [Bella Union]
04.MGMT- Oracular Spectacular [Columbia]
05.The Foxglove Hunt - Stop Heartbeat [Common Wall]
06.Blondfire- My Someday
07.Black Kids- Party Traumatic [Almost Gold]
08.Ladyhawke- s/t [Modular]
09.Brian Eno & David Byrne- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today [Happen Today]

Best of 2008- The Singles List

01.MGMT- Time to Pretend
02.Radiohead- All I Need
03.Portishead- The Rip
04.Kleerup-Longing for Lullabies
05.M83- Kim and Jessie
06.Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why
07.The Last Shadow Puppets- Standing Next to Me
08.Brian Eno & David Byrne- Strange Overtones
09.Empire of the Sun- We Are the People
10.MGMT- Electric Feel