The mighty mighty Grooverider picks up his Grace night at the club formerly known as The End. Drum n bass will be truly in your face from the 'Rider, with some back in the day action from V records don Bryan G, plus extra treats from Section 5 nutta Twisted Individual and Phantasy DJ Hazard. Meanwhile, in Room 2, Mikee B from the Dream Team and El Matador will be in charge. Should be a corker if it turns out to be anything like the D&B nights that used to happen in this venue. I hope they kept the same sound rig.

Saturday 20 Mar, Den And Centro, 16A West Central Street, London, WC1A 1JJ, 9pm-6am, £15 door, £12 adv, more info from www.thedenandcentro.com

Canadian experimental noisemakers Holy Fuck took to the world of random penises, looks of confusion and improvised piano that is ChatRoulette earlier this week to announce details of their second album. We thought about going in to see if we could find them, but we've not really got over the last time we were on there yet. Despite this, we have still been able to learn that the album will be called 'Latin' and will be out on 10 May via XL/Young Turks. I'm chalking that up as a win for us.

You can download the first single from the album, 'Latin America', from the band's website. I suggest you do so if you are a fan of one or more of the follow things: [a] The band Holy Fuck, [b] instrumental rock with synths, [c] big-sounding drums, or [d] dramatic staccato piano. You should also prepare yourself for the band's UK live dates in May.

holyfuckmusic.com

Kitsuné's compilations, as we have noted on numerous occasions, are a great way to keep up with the sounds you'll be bombarded with in nine month's time. Either so that you can boast that you've been a fan for ages, or so that you can loudly tell people you never liked it when you heard it several years back. Or out of a genuine interest in new music, should that be your bag.

The ninth instalment of the Kitsuné Maison series is out on 26 Apr, but you can get a taste of some of the tracks contained within it via this mini-mix put together by JBAG, which would put you an extra six weeks ahead of everyone else in just a few minutes. Actually, some of the names should be familiar already. If they're not, you are, like, so lame. And stuff.

Here's what's in the mix:

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (The Twelves remix)
Holy Ghost! - Say My Name
Hurts - Wonderful Life (Arthur Baker remix Kitsuné edit)
Gamble & Burke - Let's Go Together
Jupiter - Vox Populi (Lifelike treatment)
Feldberg - Dreamin'
Washed Out - Belong
Your Nature - Forward Motion
Jamaica - Short And Entertaining
Silver Columns - Brow Beaten
Logo - La Vie Moderne
Yuksek - Supermenz (We're Not)

http://drp.ly/Bk44e

Genre straddling four-piece Clogs return with their fifth album, 'The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton', on 24 May. The follow-up to 2006's more snappily-titled 'Lantern', it sees the band make their first foray into writing songs, as opposed to the largely instrumental soundscapes of earlier releases. Vocals are mainly handled by My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, though Sufjan Stevens and Matt Berninger of The National also make appearances.

Written, recorded and mixed over five years, three cities and two continents, it would be easy for everyone involved to lose sight of where this album was heading. If that did ever happen, they've done a very good job of pulling the whole thing back in line, as the mp3 of album track 'On The Edge', featuring the operatic vocals of the aforementioned Shara Worden, will attest.

www.brassland.org/sound/Clogs-OntheEdge.mp3

It's a new week, and I'm pleased to say it's a very sunny day in London today.

I know it's not the done thing to talk about the weather, but I only mention it because it sort of makes up for the fact that I'm one of the four people in the UK music industry not jetting off to Texas to consume my weight in meat for every meal for the next few days.

There are plenty of things to entertain yourself with if you're staying behind, too. Some of them are included in my weekly round-up of stuff that's happening in the time it takes to get from here to the weekend. Though some may involve the thing you're not doing in Texas. Don't say I didn't warn you

01: NewIslands' debut single. It's nearly a year since I first heard the early output of NewIslands, a matter of weeks after frontman David Jones and producer Luke Shoesmith began working together. Since then, things have moved quickly, the line-up has grown into a five-piece, and they've supported the likes of Dan Black and Miike Snow. This week they release their debut single, the excellent 'Out Of Time', which has been circulating online in various remixed forms for the last few months. www.myspace.com/newislands

02: CMU making money out of music seminar. In the latest of our current season of seminars this Wednesday, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will be looking at how artists, rights holders and music companies can raise investment and make money in 2010. This will provide a review of the revenue potential of intellectual property, performance and fan-relationships at different stages of an artist's career, and evaluate new investment and revenue models, including fan funding and brand partnerships. Limited places are available. www.theCMUwebsite.com/events

03: Hidden Cameras at Shoreditch Church. Our very favourite gay church folk troupe, The Hidden Cameras will be in the UK over the next couple of weeks to promote their new album, 'Origin: Orphan', which is out today via Arts & Crafts. The band will also release a double-A side single, 'Underage/Origin: Orphan', next Monday. The tour kicks of in Brighton on Wednesday, with the highlight being a show in St Leonard's church in Shoreditch on Thursday. www.thehiddencameras.com

04: CreativeStudent's internship guide. CMU's sister website CreativeStudent.net, which (as you might have already guessed) provides resources for students of a creative bent, is putting together a directory of internships for its membership. If you're running any internship programmes over the summer and would like to be included (thus gaining access to the very finest students in the land), please get in touch and let Creative Student know by emailing internsguide@unlimitedmedia.co.uk

05: South by Southwest. It's SxSW this week, I'm sure you've noticed. Some of you are already out there, some of you will be going over the next few days. All of you will be faced with the perplexing dilemma of what to go and see from a programme so long it makes you want to hide in a corner. It would be totally unfair to single just one thing out, which is exactly why I'm going to. I think you should go and see Roger Holt of legendary New Zealand indie label Flying Nun Records being interviewed on Friday morning. my.sxsw.com/events/event/7302

Those are the things you should definitely be paying attention to this week. All the rest is optional.

Andy Malt,
Editor, CMU Daily

Sod Lady Gaga, the main music video event for us last week was the long-awaited release of the video for 'Flush', the first proper single from Losers, aka DJ Eddy Temple-Morris and former Cooper Temple Clause man Tom Bellamy, featuring the artwork of Dan Hillier, which perfectly combines Victorian England with the tentacles it has for so long been lacking, and animated by the also very talented Tom Werber.

The track itself features vocals from Riz MC and Envy, whose relationship seems to be falling apart, resulting in the finest suggestion that someone should cut down on their pie intake ever committed to music. The vocals and visuals combine perfectly to make one of the best music videos you will see this year. I recommend switching it to high definition and playing it on the biggest screen you can find before emailing the following link to everyone you know.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hVlBPv2-PQ

Yes I know, it's only March, so maybe calling it spring is a bit premature, but to kick off the 2010 UK festival season we have possibly the UK's best alternative electronic festival, the Bloc Weekender down in the West Country.

There are artists catering for many different electronic genres, and its a solid line up: Salt N Pepa (live), Adam Beyer, Kerrier District (aka Luke Vibert), Grandmaster Flash, Skream & Benga, Roots Manuva (live), Mix Master Mike, the Detroit Don Derrick May, DJ Rush, Joris Voorn, Luke Slater as Planetary Assault Systems (live), Lindstrøm (live), Appleblim, Nathan Fake (live), Ms Dynamite, Wiley, Sheffield's finest techsters Autechre (live), the basshead Martyn & Kode 9, Pinch & Distance, DJ Hype, Zinc, MJ Cole, Billy Nasty, and the list goes on way further!

So, time to come out of hibernation mode and get on it for three days. Well, as long as you already have tickets; the whole thing went and sold out after I chose this as my tip. I'd pick something else, but really, there's nowhere else better to be this weekend.

Friday 12 Mar to Sunday 14 Mar, Butlins Minehead Resort, Somerset, more info from www.blocweekend.com, press info from Rood Media and Big Box Media.

Too many cooks spoil the broth, so the saying goes. Therefore, I hope The Mariner's Children never try to make soup together, because with a line-up featuring eleven people, it would probably taste awful. Thankfully, the same cannot be said of their music. Having so many on board helps to create a rich folk sound, filled with the sorts of emotive harmonies and jaunty strings that I have quite a soft spot for.

Their MySpace page is packed full of demos (well, six of them) that pitch them somewhere between Arcade Fire and Pentangle, though for short-memoried readers, let's just say they're a better version of Mumford & Sons. You can catch them supporting Peggy Sue at their album launch at The Garage in London at the end of the month, which is a pairing so perfect I might just fall on the floor and not be able to get up again for several minutes.

www.myspace.com/benedictdaniel

Although Japanther's Ian Vanek and Matt Reilly describe themselves as "more of an art project than a band", you shouldn't let that put you off. Their music is so instantly likeable and so much fun that it will quell any pre-conceptions that statement brings. A heavy Ramones influence is always apparent in their work, but added layers of poetry, hip hop influence and personality set them apart from mere copyists.
 
Joined by singer Anita Sparrows, the band recorded their latest album, 'Rock N Roll Ice Cream', with producer Michael Blum, who is more used to working with artists like Madonna and Pink Floyd than New York art-punks. But while the recording is slightly shinier than previous recordings, they've clearly held firm to their DIY ethics, and apparently refused to use any of the fancy microphones on offer in the studio. You can hear the results of that tussle on the one track currently streaming on their MySpace page.
 
www.myspace.com/japanther

British redhead catwalk model and wife of multi-talented Jack White, Karen Elson, has released a taster from her debut album 'The Ghost Who Walks'. The album is due out this summer and was produced by White himself at his Third Man Studios in Nashville. Elson has released a video for the title track of the album - a spooky, soulful murder ballad. Despite having a full band appear in the video, the song is an acoustic version with just Elson, her guitar and smoky vocals.

You can watch the video on Karen's official website where you can also download the track for free www.karenelson.com

It's Monday, and it's hopefully somewhere around midday, so that must mean it's time for another round-up of exciting things that are happening between now and Friday.
 
Actually, right this second it's time to talk about something that isn't exciting at all. Yesterday it was announced that Mark Linkous, best known for his Sparklehorse project, committed suicide on Saturday. It was not the best news to hear first thing on a Sunday, and our condolences go out to his friends and family. More on that story in a minute, but first this week's five tips.
 
01: Liars' new album. Liars release their fifth album, 'Sisterworld', today. Apparently inspired by the contrast of the optimism presented by the city of LA (where the band live) to the outside world and the violence that can be seen on its streets on a daily basis, it's not the most cheerful album you'll hear this year, but I'll bet on it being one of the most exciting. It's a tense, often aggressive, sometimes sombre record that has a point to make but can't quite sit still long enough to say it. www.liarsliarsliars.com
 
02: MusicTank: Is pre-release killing music? The latest MusicTank Think Tank debate takes place at the PRS For Music HQ in London this Wednesday, and the topic is a bit of a contentious one. It will ask if the system whereby the record industry marketing-machine builds up to every new release over several weeks, even several months, contributes to the rise of illegal downloading. The answer, by the way, is "yes". Many people download brand new albums illegally simply because they want them now - ie as soon as they start reading about them, or hearing lead tracks on the radio. If these albums were up on iTunes, or Spotify, many would go there instead. And in the digital age, there's no reason why an album can't be available almost as soon as the final master is delivered. Agree? Well, join the debate on Wednesday. www.musictank.co.uk
 
03: CMU's music promotions seminar. We're only going and doing another bloody training seminar. Well, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke is. Following on from last week's beginner's guide to music rights, Chris will be looking at the past, present and future of all things music publicity. If you want to come, there are limited spaces left this week, or you can book yourself in for when the seminar runs again on 31 Mar. For details of that and the entire programme of music seminar's we're currently running, check www.theCMUwebsite.com/events
 
04: Laura Mulvey discusses the Hitchcock blonde. There are all manner of elements that feature in Alfred Hitchcock's films that can be discussed in detail. One is his use of blonde actresses. Tonight, professor of film and media studies Laura Mulvey will look at just that, exploring the relationship between the Hitchcock actresses who inspired her article 'Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema', and the director's preoccupation with vulnerability. The lecture is followed by a showing of his 1964 film 'Marnie'. Nothing to do with music I grant you, but one of the cultural highlights of my week to come. More info.
 
05: Shane MacGowan's charity single. We've mentioned this so many times in the last week that you must have noticed by now that we like it quite a lot. Curated by Shane MacGowan and featuring Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie, Mick Jones, Glen Matlock, Chrissie Hynde, Paloma Faith and more, all proceeds from this brilliant cover of Screamin Jay Hawkins' 'I Put A Spell On You' - out today - will go to Dublin-based charity Concern for their work in Haiti. Here's the video, where you can also find details of how to buy the track. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf69vIQL_u8

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU Daily

Danger Mouse and James Mercer from The Shins may not immediately seem like an obvious pairing, but listening to the debut album from their joint project Broken Bells confirms that it wasn't such a crazy idea after all.

The first taste of their collaboration, of course, was on a track on 'Dark Night Of The Soul', an album written and produced by Danger Mouse and the sadly departed Mark Linkous, which last week received the long-awaited go ahead for a proper release, after a legal dispute with EMI was settled.

The complete Broken Bells album allows the duo to explore fully a sound that meets their differing styles beautifully. Mercer's guitar and vocals are given a more pacey backing than his main band usually offers, while Danger Mouse is brought a fragility and quiet subtlety in stark contrast to something like Gnarls Barkley.

The album can be heard in full on the duo's MySpace page.

www.myspace.com/brokenbells

Fabric was open for 30 hours non-stop for its tenth birthday bash last year, and it was such a success that the folks behind it have decided to go off on one again. Kicking off this weekend, they're beginning a series of 30 hour parties that they say will be "a celebration of dance, music, sleep deprivation and our 24 hour license", aptly called 'On & On & On'.

The widely varied line-up covers many bases in electronic music - from techno icon Dave Clarke, the regular stalwarts Francis and Richards, with Ellen Allien, Radioslave and Konrad Black, to house legend Chez Damier, to disco from Trus'me, to the sound of Detroit from Patrice Scott and Keith Worthy. Not for the faint-hearted, you're going to need a midweek weekend to recover!

Saturday 6 Mar and Sunday 7 Mar (11pm Saturday to 5am Monday - 30 hours non-stop). Fabric, 77a Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M, ticket prices vary, press info from the delightful Danna at Fabric PR, more info from www.fabriclondon.com

Oh, how I love cult indie singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston. Last year he released his seventeenth studio album, 'Is And Always Was', and remains one of the few musicians of whom you can say that none of the charm and excitement has been lost over so many recordings. Featuring full band backing and polished (by Johnston standards) production, it also saw him skirt the closest he ever has to full-scale "proper" production, while his continued love of songwriting is as apparent as it is infectious.

This year, Daniel is embarking on a tour, which will see him performing with backing from the eleven-piece Dutch orchestra, BEAM, next month, in a unique performance of his material (for an idea of what to expect, watch the trailer below). For the sole UK show, which will take place at The Troxy in London on 2 Apr, Feraltone Records and promoters Platforms:live have announced a special deal, which will get you a ticket for the show, plus a copy of 'Is And Always Was', all for £20. Standard tickets are available from Ticketweb now for £16.50, with the album and ticket bundle going on sale tomorrow.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=auf5ERUPLzc

Formed in 2006 by brothers Ben and Josh Garden, who are joined live by drummer Robbie Mudrazija, synth-pop band Grafton Primary have built up a sizeable fanbase back home in Australia, thanks to heavy radio play and a ubiquity at festivals in the country. They released their debut album, 'Eon', in 2008, with it quietly making its way to UK stores last summer.
 
Currently in the studio working on album number two, their sound is distinctly 80s, but that's, I guess, a comparison that will be levelled at any synth-based act, so maybe it's not particularly helpful. I'd be better off telling you about how their songs are punchy with the kind of hooks that reach out and firmly take hold of your head. Sonic references include Depeche Mode, Sneaky Sound System and Shy Child. As far as I can tell, they've never made it over to the UK. Hopefully that's something they'll fix this year.
 
www.myspace.com/graftonprimary

Okay, we could be accused of banging on about Efterklang a little too much. And I would apologise for that, but if you don't want to know about every single thing they do ever, then I'm afraid you're not the kind of person I want to speak to. So, with that, let's get on and have a look at this new live session they've recorded, shall we?

Most Efterklang recommendations in CMU at some point mention how great they are live, though that's rarely without any corroboration. On this occasion, however, you can see it for yourself. Following the release of the band's third album, 'Magic Chairs', they have recorded a four track live session for their label, 4AD. Recorded in the very lovely-looking VEGA venue in Copenhagen, they shoot through I Was Playing Drums', 'Alike' and 'Modern Drift' from the album, plus 'Me Me Me The Brick House', which appears on the download version of the album.

www.4ad.com/sessions/

Hey, hello. It's Monday again. And you all know what that means, right? Yes, of course it's time to take our usual (okay second) look at the week ahead.

The five things I was looking forward to changed a little last week - George and I both ended up going to the NME Awards, but the Alexander Tucker gig I was planning to attend was cancelled - so it'll be interesting to see what happens this time around. Who can say? No one, that's who. Especially as I haven't told you what the things I'm looking forward to between now and Friday are yet. Best get on and do that.

01: The Great Escape's conference line-up announcement. The Great Escape is not only a great place to check out all the latest and greatest new musical talent on offer, it also features one of the most interesting conference schedules around. Over the course of this week, CMU will exclusively be revealing the initial line-up for this year's talks, debates and seminars. Stay tuned to CMU Daily for each announcement, or you could spend the rest of your week refreshing this page over and over and over again: www.thecmuwebsite.com/thegreatescape

02: CMU's music rights seminar. This Wednesday sees the first in our new line of music business seminars, hosted by CMU Business Editor, Chris Cooke. This one takes look at music rights, providing a beginners guide to music copyright: an introduction to copyright law, a review of music rights ownership, and guides to collective licensing, collecting societies and copyright enforcement. Plus a review of online copyright issues and solutions. If you fancy it, there are limited spaces left: www.thecmuwebsite.com/events/

03: Gorillaz video premiere. A new Gorillaz video is always worth a look, isn't it? I'm not sure I'll be logging on to YouTube at exactly 5am tomorrow morning when the video for 'Stylo' is due to go live, but I might have a watch while I drink my morning cup of tea slightly later on. The video apparently follows bassist Murdoc through a dangerous trip to the mainland from his new home on Plastic Beach - the namesake of the new album. You'll be able to find that, along with a load of other stuff, at www.youtube.com/gorillaz

04: Alphabeat's Powers Of Ten playlist. Alphabeat's new album, 'The Beat Is...' is out today via Polydor. So, we got co-frontperson Anders SG to put together a Spotify playlist for this coming Friday's CMU Weekly. Now, the lists we've had so far have been diverse and wide-ranging in the music they cover, but no one is going to argue when I say that this is the most pop of them all. It's got everything from Britney and N Sync to Fred Falke remixing Gossip. Oh, and an Italian group we all thought was a one hit wonder. Sign up for CMU Weekly here: www.thecmuwebsite.com/weekly

05: Crookers album launch. Crookers will officially launch their debut album, 'Tons Of Friends', on 6 Mar at Fire in Vauxhall, London. If accounts of their last two London shows are to be believed, there will be a whole load of great tunes, which will at some point soundtrack the removal of the Italian duo's clothes. The album will be released via Southern Fried on 8 Mar, and will include their latest single, 'Remedy', which features Miike Snow, is out now and can be heard here: www.crookers.net/miikesnow/remedy.html

So, there you have it. There are some things we can all enjoy. I might do a little dance to celebrate. Or I might not - you'll never know.

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU Daily

It's one thing to be able to get a load of musicians into a studio to record a collaborative charity single, but it's quite another to come up with something good. And Lord alone knows how difficult it must be to do all that and be Shane MacGowan at the same time. But, my, has he risen to the challenge and come up with something quite brilliant.

Recorded to raise money for the work of Dublin-based charity Concern in Haiti, and with a line-up featuring Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie, Mick Jones, Glen Matlock, Chrissie Hynde, Paloma Faith and more, MacGowan chose to cover 'I Put A Spell On You' because he has always felt was a modern day "hymn for hope and love". Also, its writer, Screamin Jay Hawkins, died ten years to the day that the earthquake which devastated Haiti hit earlier this year.

The song will be available as a download from Sunday. You can pre-order it from 7digital or by texting SPELL (all in capitals) to 78789 (the text cost £1.50). In the meantime, watch the video at the link below.

YouTube Video
Facebook Group
7 Digital Pre-order Page

OK, so this isn't something you'd normally expect to find here in the Club Tip slot. I mean, for starters it's not a club night. But I've been trying to find a way of name checking this guy in the Daily since the release of his album 'Nightbook' last year, and he's in the UK this week, so this seems like as good a time as any.

Italian Einaudi is a brilliant pianist who took a slightly different direction with his 2009 album, incorporating synthesized sounds into the mix for the first time. The results were big news in Italy. I'm not sure what he has planned for this week's UK concerts, but his music is always both moving and infectious at the same time. So, if you fancy something a little bit different this week, make it Ludivico.

Friday 26 Feb, De Montfort Hall, Leicester, 7.30pm; Sunday 28 Feb, Brighton Dome, 7.30pm; Tuesday 2 Mar, Royal Albert Hall, London, 7.30pm; Wednesday 3 Mar, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, 8pm; more at www.ludovicoeinaudi.com

Remix competitions are two a penny these days. If you were really serious about such things, entering them could almost be a full time job. So, Simon Green, aka Bonobo, is offering all you budding producers out there the chance to put your feet up, because his new remix competition is one with a twist - he's going to remix one of your tracks. And that, if you somehow weren't already aware, is a very exciting proposition indeed.

All you need to do is upload your track to the competition website and sit back while flocks of people vote for it (or not). The most popular ten will be sent off to Bonobo and he will select one to get all remixy with. Your music can be of any style, you just need to own the rights and be able to provide the individual parts for your track, should it be chosen. In other Bonobo news, he releases his fourth album, 'Black Sands', via Ninja Tune on 23 Mar. It will be good.

www.bonobomusic.co.uk/remixcompetition/