EMI Music

Valtari Hour has begun. Wherever you are in the world Sigur Rós invite you to listen to their brand new record ‘Valtari’ in full at 7pm today in every time zone around the world at http://sigur-ros.co.uk/valtari/hour/. Don’t miss your Valtari Hour!

Valtari is released by Parlophone/EMI on May 28 (and the following day in the US via XL Recordings).

Katy Perry has confirmed that she will debut a brand new song, ‘Wide Awake’, in an exclusive performance at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards this Sunday, May 20, in Las Vegas. The live show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be broadcast on the ABC television network in the US on Sunday from 8-11pm EST.

‘Part of Me’ is one of the three new songs on Katy’s recently released special edition ‘Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection’ and was written for the upcoming 3D film, ‘Katy Perry: Part Of Me,’ which will be released on July 5.

Katy’s most recent single, ‘Part of Me’, has continued Katy’s total domination of the charts becoming her seventh number one hit on the US Hot 100 chart!

It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys.

With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend.

In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985’s Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities.

In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources.

Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including ”So Whatcha Want,” ”Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.

Yauch’s passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more.

Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.

We’re very excited to confirm the release of ‘Overjoyed’, the debut Virgin Records single from Bastille, the musical guise of the incredibly talented singer, songwriter and producer Dan Smith.

Bastille is Dan’s vehicle for his different musical worlds, full of songs with danceable rhythms and beautiful soaring vocals wrapped in harmonies and bleeps. He is joined by three other members for their unique and spine tingling live performances which already sell out in an instant.

The stunning ‘Overjoyed’ is out now, check it out here:

The founding members of The Beach Boys, one of the world’s most legendary bands in popular music history, have reunited for a global 50th Anniversary celebration, including a new album release, a major international tour, and commemorative catalog releases. Today, April 25, The Beach Boys announce details about their new studio album, ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’, to be released June 5 by Capitol/EMI.

Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks recently completed their recording sessions at Los Angeles’ Ocean Way Studios for ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’, the band’s 29th studio album (including 2011’s The SMiLE Sessions), the first in decades to feature all of the band’s surviving original members.  Produced by Brian Wilson and executive produced by Mike Love, the album’s 11 new songs illustrate The Beach Boys’ unique and evocative West Coast story with the band’s timeless signature sound.

The album’s lead single, ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio,’ showcases The Beach Boys’ soaring harmonies in an upbeat, beaming ode to music’s radio champions around the world.  Beginning today, the song is available for download purchase from all major digital service providers, and you can listen to it here right now:

Emeli Sandé has confirmed that her stunning new single, ‘My Kind Of Love’, will be released on May 28. The track is the fourth single from her hugely acclaimed number one album ‘Our Version Of Events’ which is the biggest selling debut album of the year in the UK with sales of nearly half a million to date.

Emeli has just completed her second sold out UK headline tour which received rave reviews and will play a number of festivals over the summer. She will also lead the celebrations at the Coca-Cola Olympic Torch Relay shows in both Glasgow and Cardiff.

Nineteen-year-old pop wünderkind Conor Maynard is currently battling it out for the number one spot in the UK charts with his debut single ‘Can’t Say No’ according to the Official Charts Company who track these things.The latest OCC figures show that Conor is a mere 6,000 sales behind the current number one. The new chart will be unveiled this Sunday afternoon.

Conor, who is currently on his very first UK headline tour (see the dates here), will release his debut album through Parlophone in the summer.

Norah Jones has just released the new video for ‘Happy Pills’, the lead single from her forthcoming Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) produced album ‘Little Broken Hearts’.

The stylish and mesmerizing video for the track was directed by Isaiah Seret and sees the nine-time Grammy award winner kill her lover and push his car into a lake. Watch it now below.

‘Little Broken Hearts’, Norah’s fifth studio album, is released April 30/May 1 (US).

Mel B – welcome back to EMI! Part of music history and a pop culture icon, Mel B has seen sales of over 80 million albums and number one singles and albums around the world both as a successful solo artist and part of Spice Girls after first signing with EMI’s Virgin Records back in 1994.

Now we’re delighted to confirm that Mel B has signed a new exclusive global partnership with EMI Music Australia. She currently recording new material which is due for release later this year, and had this to say about our new tie-up: “I’m overly excited to finally announce this amazing global partnership deal back home with EMI Music. I know I have mentioned doing music in the past but for legal reasons I was not in a position to release any new music.  For my fans, I am happy and proud to say my music WILL be heard this year and that is for sure a promise I’m over the moon to say the least.  Love me or hate me, scary spice is back, hahahaha!!!”

Stay tuned!

Exciting news for all Smashing Pumpkins fans, the band will release their latest studio album ‘Oceania’ on June 18 via EMI Label Services and frontman Billy Corgan’s own label Martha’s Music.

‘Oceania’ is the band’s seventh record and is described as an ‘album within an album’ that forms part of their 44-song work-in-progress ‘Teargarden By Kaleidyscope’.  Throughout the course of their career, The Smashing Pumpkins have created some of the most iconic records of a generation including ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’, ‘Siamese Dream’ and ‘Gish’ and they’ve also picked up a couple of Grammy Awards on along the way.

Watch the band talk about ‘Oceania’ in this short interview