Indie

Slowthai Explains And Apologizes For The Swastika Shirt He Wore On Stage At Osheaga Festival

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Slowthai We Love Green Festival 2022
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Slowthai found himself in a bit of a controversy over the weekend: While performing at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival, he wore a shirt with a giant swastika logo the front. While it had the word “destroy” on top, indicating his disdain for the Nazism and neo-Nazism the symbol has come to represent, seeing the symbol that prominently still rubbed some the wrong way.

So now, apologies have been made. The first came from Osheaga organizers, who tweeted yesterday, “A performer appeared on stage Saturday wearing a controversial t-shirt displaying a swastika that caused confusion. The t-shirt denounces the regime. We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have misinterpreted this message and felt hurt.”

Slowthai then followed that up with his own apology, writing, “I’m sorry to anyone who is offended by me wearing an anti-fascist/anti-regime t-shirt and the use of the symbol it represents. I want you to know I stand firmly against antisemitism and fascism of any kind, something the t-shirt was meant to illustrate with the word ‘destroy’ above the symbol.”

Slowthai has maintained a relatively low profile this year in terms of new music, as he’s been busy performing, like on the North American tour he had in April. He did pop up on Denzel Curry’s new album, though.

Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival Was Reportedly Canceled Because The Venue Can’t Legally Ban Guns

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Music Midtown Headliners 2022
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There is no place for guns at music festivals. It seems obvious, right? Now imagine a world where going to a music festival comes with the uncertainty of whether or not one of your fellow attendees has a gun. This is what a number of Georgia gun rights groups are arguing for and is reportedly the main issue that Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival organizers were faced with when making the decision to cancel the 2022 edition of the festival.

Slated to take place from September 17th – 18th, Music Midtown had a jam-packed lineup ready to rock that featured Jack White, Future, My Chemical Romance, Phoebe Bridgers, Phoenix, and Fallout Boy among the artists across the two-day festival. But now as Billboard reports, pressure from gun rights groups operating under the guise of Georgia’s Safe Carry Protection Act — which allows citizens to carry weapons on public land, which Piedmont Park is on — has crushed any hopes for a weekend of music, community, and celebration.

“Hey Midtown fans – due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year,” a statement on the festival’s website reads. “We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can all get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.”

While the details of the Safe Carry Protection Act don’t necessarily require the festival to allow guns into the festival, it does leave them open to being sued by gun-carrying ticket-holders who claim that their legal rights are being violated. It’s hard to imagine any scenario where an attendee would need a gun at a music festival. Given that earlier this year, reported gunshots at Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas led to a frenzied attempt to flee by attendees who feared for their lives, and that back in 2017, a shooter opened fire on a crowd at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Vegas, killing 50 people, the optics of this push by gun rights groups feels especially cruel.

All The New Albums Coming Out In August 2022

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Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in August. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.

Friday, August 5

  • Bobby Shmurda — BodBoy EP (GS9)
  • Brijean — Angelo EP (Ghostly International)
  • Calvin Harris — Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 (Columbia Records)
  • Eminem — Curtain Call 2 (Shady Records)
  • Erika Sirola — Who? EP (Elektra)
  • Fireboy DML — Playboy (YBNL Nation)
  • The Flatliners — New Ruin (Dine Alone Records)
  • Generation Radio — Generation Radio (Frontiers Music Srl)
  • Healing Potpourri — Paradise (Run for Cover Records)
  • Heavy Gus — Notions (BMG Records)
  • Insane Clown Posse — Pug Ugly EP (Psychopathic)
  • The Interrupters — In The Wild (Epitaph Records)
  • John Calvin Abney — Tourist (Black Mesa Records)
  • Kal Marks — My Name Is Hell (Exploding In Sound Records)
  • Lee Bains + The Glory Fires — Old-Time Folks (Don Giovanni Records)
  • Lincoln — Repair and Reward (Temporary Residence Limited)
  • Liv Slingerland — Hey You (Righteous Babe Records)
  • Neil Young + Promise Of The Real — Noise & Flowers (Reprise)
  • Pussy Riot — Matriarchy Now (Pussy Riot))
  • T Bone Burnett — The Invisible Light (Verve Records)
  • Tomato Flower — Construction EP (Ramp Local)
  • WAAX — At Least I’m Free (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)
  • Worthitpurchase — Truthtelling (Citrus City Records)
  • YoungBoy Never Broke Again — The Last Slimeto (Atlantic Records)

Friday, August 12

  • Ali Gatie — Who Hurt You? (Atlantic)
  • Alicia Keys — KEYS II (RCA)
  • Amythyst Kiah — Pensive Pop EP (Rounder Records)
  • Boris — Heavy Rocks (Relapse)
  • Cassie Marin — Lil 5i5 (Cassie Marin)
  • Claude — A Lot’s Gonna Change (American Dreams)
  • Danger Mouse and Black Thought — Cheat Codes (BMG)
  • Danny Elfman — Bigger. Messier. (Epitaph Records)
  • Easy Life — Maybe In Another Life… (Geffen)
  • Erasure — Day-Glo (Based On A True Story) (Mute)
  • Faye — You’re Better (Secretly Canadian)
  • Goo Goo Dolls — Chaos In Bloom (Warner Records)
  • Greg Loiacono — Giving It All Away (Blue Rose)
  • Guards — More Cover Songs (CGR)
  • Hollywood Undead — Hotel Kalifornia (Dove & Grenade Media/BMG)
  • Hudson Mohawke — Cry Sugar (Warp Records)
  • Kamikaze Palm Tree — Mint Chip (Drag City)
  • Kelsey Waldon — No Regular Dog (Oh Boy Records)
  • Kiwi Jr. — Chopper (Sub Pop)
  • Lil Zay Osama — Trench Baby 3 (Warner Records)
  • Maddie Zahm — You Might Not Like Her EP (AWAL)
  • Max Tundra — Remixtape (Domino)
  • Norma Jean — Deathrattle Sing For Me (Solid State Records)
  • Osees — A Foul Form (Castle Face)
  • Pale Waves — Unwanted (Dirty Hit)
  • Panda Bear and Sonic Boom — Reset (Domino)
  • Raffaella — LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (Act I) EP (Mom + Pop)
  • Sylvan Esso — No Rules Sandy (Loma Vista)
  • Tony Molina — In The Fade (Run For Cover Records)

Friday, August 19

  • Aitch — Close To Home (Capitol)
  • Andrew Combs — Sundays (Tone Tree)
  • Aubrey Haddard — Awake And Talking (The Orchard)
  • The Berries — High Flying Man (Run For Cover)
  • Cass McCombs — Heartmind (Anti-)
  • Charlie Burg — Infinitely Tall (Red Scare Industries)
  • Demi Lovato — Holy Fvck (Island Records)
  • The Feelings Parade — Let It Move You (Red Scare Industries)
  • Five Finger Death Punch — Afterlife (Better Noise)
  • Hot Chip — Freakout/Release (Domino)
  • Internet Money — We All We Got EP (Internet Money Records)
  • Johnny Orlando — All The Things That Could Go Wrong (Republic Records/Universal Music Canada)
  • The Last Artful, Dodgr — Hits of Today (Unsociable/Interscope)
  • Lauran Hibberd — Garageband Superstar (Virgin Music)
  • Loudon Wainwright III — Lifetime Achievement (Thirty Tigers)
  • Marketa Irglova — LILA (Overcoat Recordings)
  • Muna Ileiwat — Twenty-Seven EP (Fear of Missing Out Records)
  • No Win — Dodger Stadium (Dangerbird Records)
  • Oneida — Success (Joyful Noise Recordings)
  • Panic! At The Disco — Viva Las Vengeance (Fueled by Ramen/Warner Records)
  • Phoebe Green — Lucky Me (Chess Club)
  • Röyksopp — Profound Mysteries II (Dog Triumph)
  • Russian Circles — Gnosis (Sargent House)
  • Silversun Pickups — Physical Thrills (New Machine Recording)
  • Soft Pink Truth — Was It Ever Real? EP (Thrill Jockey)
  • SRSQ — Ever Crashing (Dais Records)
  • Tank — R&B Money (R&B Money)
  • Terence Etc. — Vortex (Brainfeeder)
  • Tink — Pillow Talk (Winter’s Diary/EMPIRE)
  • Watkins Family Hour — Vol. II (Family Hour Records)
  • Why Bonnie — 90 In November (Keeled Scales)

Friday, August 26

  • Alexander Ludwig — Highway 99 (BBR Music Group/BMG)
  • Antonio Sánchez — Shift (Bad Hombre Vol. II) (Warner Music)
  • Bandaid Brigade — Sex Is Terrifying (Xtra Mile Recordings)
  • Bastille — Give Me The Future + Dreams Of The Past (EMI)
  • Bibi Club — Le soleil et la mer (Secret City Records)
  • Blackbear — In Loving Memory (Columbia Records)
  • Butch Walker — Butch Walker As… Glenn (The Orchard)
  • Calypso Rose — Forever (Because Music)
  • Charles Lloyd — Trios: Ocean (Blue Note Records)
  • Cryalot — Icarus EP (AWAL)
  • Diamanda Galás — Broken Gargoyles (Intravenal Sound Operations)
  • Duncan Sheik — Claptrap (AntiFragile)
  • Elissa Mielke — Mouse EP (slashie/Mom)
  • Ezra Furman — All of Us Flames (Bella Union)
  • Francisco Martin — Manic EP (19 Recordings)
  • Ingrid Andress — Good Person (Warner Music Nashville)
  • Jim Lauderdale — Game Changer (Sky Crunch Records)
  • Julia Jacklin — Pre Pleasure (Transgressive Records)
  • Kaitlyn Smith — Let’s Turn It Into Sound (Ghostly International)
  • Kramer — Music for Films Edited by Moths (Shimmy Disc)
  • Laufey — Everything I Know About Love (AWAL)
  • Lonely Robot — A Model Life (Siren Records)
  • Marcus King — Young Blood (American Records/Republic Records)
  • Muse — Will Of The People (Warner Records)
  • Paisley Fields — Limp Wrist (Don Giovanni Records)
  • Pantha du Prince — Garden Gala (Modern Recordings)
  • Pianos Become The Teeth — Drift (Epitaph Records)
  • Rachika Nayar — Heaven Come Crashing (NNA Tapes)
  • Stella Donnelly — Flood (Secretly Canadian)
  • Syd Warwick — Sad Astra EP (Nevado Music)
  • Tedeschi Trucks Band — I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell (Fantasy Records)
  • Teen Suicide — Honeybee Table At The Butterfly Feast (Run For Cover)
  • Tommy McLain — I Ran Down Every Dream (Yep Roc Records)
  • Valerie June — Under Cover EP (Fantasy Records)
  • William Orbit — The Painter (Warner Records)

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Fred Again.. And Swedish House Mafia Touch Up A Classic By Future On ‘Turn On The Lights Again’

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Fred Again.. is revisiting a Future classic. Or perhaps, a past classic? Either way, the British singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist has teamed up with Swedish House Mafia and Future for “Turn On The Lights Again,” a hypnotic dance-ready anthem that samples the latter’s namesake 2012 breakthrough hit from his debut album, Pluto.

Fred has been teasing the song for the past month by way of a sound on TikTok, which has since pulled in over 3.7 million views on the original clip, and over 10 million on clips utilizing the sound. According to a statement, Fred ripped the repeating “Turn On The Lights” vocal sample after streaming a video clip of the song online. He later presented the stems and bones of the song to Swedish House Mafia, who played with the track several times before landing on a final mix.

Last month, Fred released “Jungle,” which features vocals from Elley Duhe. Earlier this month, he teamed up with Rico Nasty, who helped completely transform the track into a chaotic, flashy new remix for her new album, Las Ruinas.

Check out “Turn On The Lights” again above.

Fred Again.. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Playlist Includes Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Wet Leg, And Other Diverse Picks

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Barack Obama Beyonce 2013 Inauguration
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Now that Barack Obama is no longer occupied with being our country’s president, he has found himself with more time to focus on his true passion: Sharing lists of things he likes a few times a year. The former POTUS’ latest mix was his favorite songs of 2021 and now he’s back with his annual summer playlist.

Sharing it on social media today, he wrote, “Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies — it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together. Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”

Obama’s playlists are usually an eclectic mix and that’s the case here, too. He has some picks from popular modern artists, like Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Harry Styles’ “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” Drake and Rihanna’s “Too Good,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard.” He also has rock selections old and new, like Wet Leg’s “Angelica,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark,” and Jack White’s “I’m Shakin’.”

Other artists who made the cut include Tems, Sampa The Great, Rosalía, Lil Yachty, Prince, Maggie Rogers, Al Green, Dr. John, Miles Davis, Burna Boy, Doechii, Aminé, Aretha Franklin, Bad Bunny, Rakim, D’Angelo, Nina Simone, Caamp, Otis Redding, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, Fatboy Slim, Omar Apollo, Maren Morris, The Internet, Vince Staples and Mustard, and Kacey Musgraves.

Check out the full playlist above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nickelodeon Announces Its First-Ever Music Festival, Featuring The Kid Laroi, Beabadoobee, And More

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Nickelodeon has long had a strong connection to music. Successful artists like Ariana Grande and Nick Cannon got their starts on the network, and Nick regularly gets top-tier performers to take the stage at the Kids’ Choice Awards, like Kid Cudi and Jack Harlow did a few months ago. Now, they’re getting into the music festival game: Yesterday, they announced NickFest, their first-ever music festival.

The inaugural edition is set to go down on October 22 and 23 at Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl and tickets are set to go on sale on July 26 at 10 a.m. PT. The event will feature headlining performances from The Kid Laroi and Monsta X. Other highlights from the lineup across its three stages include Beabadoobee, Kyle, 24kGoldn, Joshua Bassett, G Flip, and Alec Benjamin.

Beyond the music, there are also set to be “special experiences” featuring some of the network’s hottest current franchises, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Loud House. On top of that, there will also be “appearances by” beloved Nick characters past and present, like SpongeBob‘s Patrick Star, Chuckie Finster and Tommy Pickles from Rugrats, Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly Odd-Parents, Dora The Explorer, Avatar Aang from Avatar, and others.

The NickFest website describes the event, “NickFest is the messiest music festival ever. A 2-day extravaganza of music’s biggest acts, Nickelodeon characters and stars IRL, family-friendly activities and experiences, exceptional food, and a ridiculous amount of slime. Lovers of Nick nostalgia will be in heaven. Kids will have a blast. And moms and dads will earn the most ‘cool parent’ points allowed by law. Whether you’re 5 or 105 — get ready to let your Nick flag fly!”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Domi & JD Beck And Anderson .Paak Played The Shimmering ‘Take A Chance’ On ‘Kimmel’

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Are you paying attention? Because if you haven’t been hipped to the sounds of Domi & JD Beck yet, it’s time to get on board. Anderson .Paak is here to tell you the same and in fact, he sat-in with the jazz beat prodigies on stage last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as the three of them performed their song, “Take A Chance.”

The track was introduced by Garth Alger himself (guest host Dana Carvey) and .Paak, wearing a fuzzy bucket hat and over-sized two-toned shades, was perched in front of Domi on keys and Beck on drums. The talented instrumentalists elevated .Paak’s vocal stylings on the new tune, which is on their upcoming debut album, Not Tight, out July 29th on .Paak’s own Apeshit Records label and Blue Note.

Domi & JD Beck have made a name for themselves as not only prodigious jazz musicians who have sat in with Herbie Hancock and Thundercat, but also masterful hip-hop beat conductors. They flashed their vocal chops on the “Take A Chance” performance, singing back-up for Paak on the song’s hook while not skipping a beat on their respective instruments. As the song comes to a close, .Paak looks out at the crowd and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, Domi & JD Beck!” The two then proceed to play as dexterously as humanly possible into the song’s outro and the only response we’re left with amazement at their skills. The future is here.

Watch Domi & JD Beck play “Take A Chance” with .Paak above.

Anderson .Paak is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Roger Waters Says He’s ‘Far, Far, Far More Important’ Than Drake And The Weeknd ‘Will Ever Be’

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Roger Waters Drake The Weeknd
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Roger Waters has proven himself to be a fairly mercurial figure, albeit one who’s heart has always seemed to be in the right place. The Pink Floyd vocalist recently took aim at Facebook, who wanted to use a Pink Floyd song for one of their ads and once famously suggested that Marron 5 oughta take a knee when they performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. While Waters has one of the greatest live concert productions on the planet, it might be getting to his head a bit based on his latest comments about his superiority to acts like Drake and The Weeknd.

In an interview with Toronto’s The Globe And Mail paper, Waters seemed to object to the publication and other Canadian media’s decision to give ink to The Weeknd’s After Hours Tour kickoff at the Rogers Centre rather than Waters’ two-night run at Scotiabank Arena. The Weeknd of course had to cancel the hometown tour stop because of Rogers Communications’ outages, while Waters’ show went on as planned. Regardless, Waters’ concern was clearly from a legacy standpoint.

“…With all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them,” Waters said. “I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they’ve got. There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives.”

His comments seem to stem from the inherently political nature of his and Pink Floyd’s music as opposed to what he might be deeming as comparatively vapid output from Drake and The Weeknd. Waters indeed makes powerful statements on stage, but this does feel a bit misguided. “I have no idea what or who the Weeknd is, because I don’t listen to much music,” Waters added. “People have told me he’s a big act. Well, good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against him. Would it not have been possible to review his show one night and my show another night?”

Ah, the age old desire for press coverage. “I’m not trying to make a personal attack. I’m just saying it seemed odd,” Waters said, in a mild backpedal. It does seem strange that Waters would concern himself with these matters. His music speaks for itself and whether or not Canadian media shines the light on his appearance in the country in relation to what other Canadian (and non-Canadian stars) are doing, should really not affect the message he’s trying to get across. He’s too good for that. Ultimately, this rant feels like nothing short of an “old man yells at cloud” moment.

Coldplay Loves HER’s Backstage A Capella Cover Of ‘Fix You’

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HER Wireless Festival 2022
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Last night (July 13), as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour, Coldplay put on a show at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. The band is on the stretch of the tour that features HER as their opening act and they seem pretty enamored by one of her performances… but not an on-stage one.

Today, Coldplay shared a video, taken backstage at that Berlin show, of HER and her band firing off a quick a capella rendition of Coldplay’s enduring 2005 single “Fix You.” It starts with some vocalists singing the song’s instrumental before HER comes in with the first verse. On the chorus, everybody joins in and harmonizes with HER for a gorgeous conclusion to their truncated cover.

Sharing the video, Coldplay wrote, “Fix You by @HERMusicx, backstage in Berlin. We’re so lucky to hear these voices every night on tour.”

This comes shortly after Hannah Reid (of London Grammar, Coldplay’s other tour opener) joined the band on stage, also in Berlin, on July 10, singing duet with Chris Martin on “Let Somebody Go,” Coldplay’s single from earlier this year that features Selena Gomez.

Watch both of those performances above.

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Fathers Return With ‘Geronimo,’ Their First New Music In Four Years

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The last time we’d heard from Young Fathers, the Mercury Music Prize winners had just released their incredible 2018 album, Cocoa Sugar, and dropped the prescient video for “Toy,” which depicted some of the more despicable world leaders as children. Their hiatus lasted longer than expected given the circumstances surrounding the pandemic, but it gave Young Fathers an opportunity to get back in the studio without an agenda. “Geronimo” is the first song that the trio of Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole, and G. Hastings completed, and it’s another beautiful, visceral piece of music from the always affectatious group.

“I’m on the verge of something divine that’s gonna keep me alive,” they harmonize on the song’s bars. The slow-burning rhythm is tinged with a steel drum and it just feels like a long-awaited, cathartic outpouring. “It’s a track about contrast because life is contrast — pushing through, giving up, all at the same time,” the band said in a powerful statement, which you can read in full below.

We highly recommend you smash that play button on “Geronimo” above.

“A good time trying. That’s what Ma said, she was smiling, but it was meant as a warning.

It’s a track about contrast, because life is contrast – pushing through, giving up, all at the same time. Wanting everything and then wanting nothing, then wanting everything again. It’s kind of reflective of where we are at the moment, trying to remember how to do this again.

Trying to make music and all of the other stuff that comes along with it. Trying to forget all the bad bits, just trying to get somewhere. And that’s where we are right now, trying to get somewhere.

It’s the tenderness in toil, we had expelled a bunch of stuff with a lot of drive and wilder energy beforehand but this one had focus. It widened the scope again for us personally, that’s where the real high comes from. We grew another arm. We surprised ourselves.

So coming back with a track called ‘Geronimo’ feels quite fitting. Just the 3 of us again, but still in a f*cking basement.”