Brooklyn-based band head into the studio to record follow-up to The Boxer

31 March 2009 - Melancholic indie band The National have said their new material features “higher” and “louder” singing from frontman Matt Berninger.

Their critically-acclaimed last albumThe Boxerwas released in 2007 and guitarist, pianist and bassist Aaron Dessner told 6 Music how far along they are with its follow-up.

“We’ve written a lot of music and Matt [Berninger], who sings, has been sitting with it and writing a lot of lyrics,” he explained. “I think he’s getting close to having a lot of finished songs that we’ll start recording.”

Speaking of the location, the band have built a recording studio in Dessner’s garage.“It’s like we’re in Disney land or something,” he said laughingly. “We feel like Metallica.”

They are due to head into the studio in the next couple of weeks: “I think we’re going to start recording in April and be done with it in the fall and I guess it will come out in early 2010.”

Fans of their last offering should be prepared for a different style of vocals.

"Matt is singing a lot higher and a lot louder."

Aaron Dessner

“We always challenge ourselves to change what we’re doing and experiment with form and the aesthetic of how we’re recording things,” Dessner explained. “But I can’t really say yet exactly how it will be different, except that Matt is singing a lot higher and a lot louder.”He added: “He’s not murmuring so much likeThe Boxer, which I’m kind of glad about, and there’s one new song which seems to have more lyrics than the entire album ofBoxerso that was amusing.”

The band have already road-tested some new tracks at gigs; they recently performed Karamazov and Wake Up Your Saints at a benefit for Tibet House in New York.

Dessner admitted it was a risk: “We never really debut songs live because we’re too nervous and it takes us too long so figure out what they are, but it was a really good sign of where things are going because it went really well.”

They have just announced a string of North American dates in May, with dates in Toronto, Washington DC and Atlanta.

Georgie Rogers

Ornette Coleman to curate Meltdown 2009 at the South Bank Centre

29 March 2009 - It was announced today that the 'free jazz' legend will be the artistic director of the festival, which takes place between the 13th and 21st June.

It’s 50 years since Coleman exploded into people’s consciousness with his ‘free jazz’ revolution. He pioneered the idea of improvising without chord changes, which is widely regarded to have changed the musical landscape at the time.

And half a century later Coleman is still making headlines, his 2006 albumSound Grammar won thePulitzer Prize, in 2007 he received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award and that same year the saxophonist played the Royal Festival Hall to rave reviews.

Coleman revealed his hopes for Meltdown 2009:

"I hope this festival will leave us with a lot of love for all mankind. We will use this time to gather together and create things that we love and believe in."

"I hope this festival will leave us with a lot of love for all mankind."Ornette Coleman

Jude Kelly, the Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director, explained their decision to enlist Coleman:

"We are delighted that the man who took the world in an entirely unexpected direction in 1959, and who continues to inspire, innovate and surprise fifty years on, has accepted our invitation to create a festival."

The full line-up for the event is still to be announced but it’s confirmed that Coleman will perform two very special concerts. One is inspired by his 1959 releaseThe Shape of Jazz to Comeand the other by his 1961 releaseThis Is Our Music. Both concerts will take place in the Royal Festival Hall.Previous Meltdown curators include Massive Attack and Jarvis and acts including David Bowie, Morrissey and Patti Smith have all performed at the event.Elizabeth Alker

Astoria’s Silent Goodbye

Fans gather to campaign for replacement venue

28 March 2009 - A small group of campaigners took part in a silent disco outside the Astoria in central London in a bid to get more information about the venue’s replacement.

The Astoria shut its doors for the last time in January after a £16 billion Crossrail development finally got the green light.

The deal included guarantees that a venue of similar size would be built in central London to make up for the loss of one of the capital’s best loved music venues.

Facebook groups and a petition have been set up to pressure Westminster Council and Crossrail into announcing who will be responsible for the new build.

Despite their attempts to find out more information, protest organiser India Walker told 6 Music they’re being kept in the dark:

“We’re going to keep writing to Boris Johnson and Crossrail and Westminster Council until we find out who is responsible because they each are saying each other.

“We’re going to bug them until we get a similar venue built.”

Organisers were probably hoping for a larger turnout for the Astoria’s final send off, but perhaps the hail, rain and higher profile G20 protests in Hyde Park took some potential silent disco-ers away.

One protestor told 6 Music why she was there, “I came down, just to remind myself of what good times I had within this building. It’s a shame that it’s going in its entirety, I was hoping they would keep some of the front.”

Another added, “I think we haven’t got sufficient information about what’s going on.”

A police riot van and some security fencing were on stand by, however, the protest was peaceful with campaigners handing out flyers and dancing to the sounds coming from their MP3 players.

Rather fittingly, it was a silent goodbye to a now silent venue.

Will Drysdale

Dolly Parton exclusive

Country queen discusses 9 to 5: The Musical, film plans and considers Glastonbury

27 March 2009 - A musical, scored by Dolly Parton, of the iconic film 9 to 5 is opening on Broadway next month.The country star played the role of Doralee Rhodes in the comedy film in 1980.

Staged by Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello, the theatre version is currently rehearsing; previews begin on 7 April with the opening night taking place in New York on 30 April.9 to 5: The Musicalreceived rave reviews when it was staged at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, it includes the Oscar nominated title track as well as 18 original numbers written by Parton.The multiple Grammy-award winning songwriter's career dates back to 1959 with a back catalogue including hits Jolene, I Will Always Love You and Islands In The Stream.In an interview with BBC 6 Music, the 63 year-old star discusses the stage production, reveals her plans for a film and Broadway show of her life and says she would consider performing at Glastonbury.

This is the first time you've done a musical on Broadway. Are you nervous about the whole thing?

DP: I think I'm more excited really, it borders on being nervous but I've never done this before so I've just got those butterflies in my stomach, mostly hoping that it does good. Never doing this before you just don't know what to expect but I got in there and gritted my teeth, rolled up my sleeves and did the best I could. Everybody seems to think it's good. I was very honoured when I won the Drama Critics award in Los Angeles for the music because I thought that was a good indication for Broadway.

Was it quite a challenge for you writing music for a musical rather than the album format?

DP: It was a little different. There was a little bit more freedom in it. You can just write until you've said what you think the character needed to say. I got a chance to write for different personalities, for the men, the Mr Hart character. I got a big kick out of doing that and performing his part in my manly voice and writing what I think a man would think. I had my Father, all my uncles and I have six brothers and all these nephews and a husband as well so I really know how men think. It was fun and of course I know what women think, so that was the easy part.

Will we get to see the musical in the UK. Are there plans to tour it?

DP: Yes I think there will. If we stay on Broadway, if it is a hit then I'm sure at some point it will be travelling and certainly I would think it would go to London. I haven't heard that for sure but I just always thought it would.

Were you involved in picking the person that played your role?

DP: I've been involved in every bit of it from the beginning, in the producer's role as well with the production team. I've been there through all the casting. The girl that we wound up with to play Doralee Rhodes, her name is Megan Hilty and she is just the cutest thing. She's a lot prettier than I have ever been or ever will be but she's got the essence of me. She's a little short person, like me, with all the big hair and she's studied my accents and she's a great singer.

"We'll certainly maybe one of these times get a chance to do it."Dolly Parton on Glastonbury

In fact I'm thinking about doing a story of my life in movies real soon and I'm gonna make sure that they audition her for the part for the movie as well, because she wound up being so cute.  When she comes on everybody thinks they're watching me.Is the movie something you would like to do soon?DP: It's one of my next projects so hopefully within a year and half or so we may have a movie out of my life. I'd also love to take my life story to Broadway as a musical and I have been writing lots of songs on that. I want to do a lot of children's projects, children's albums children's books so that's another of my big projects to further.Looking back at the film, it must be nice seeing how attitudes have changed to women in the work place?DP: We really have come a long way. It brought a lot of attention to that and a lot of changes have been made because of that little movie, but Jane Fonda is the one that should get the real credit for that because she is the one that came up with the original idea and got people to write it.  She's the one that chose Lily [Tomlin] and me so she's really the momma of that whole thing.You have become a producer, a writer and you own your own companies across the world.How do you feel about being held up as an icon of successful womanhood?DP: I've always been so busy doing my work that I don't think about what I've accomplished I just think about what I'm gonna accomplish next. I'm very proud and very humbled by everything good that's happened to me. I've worked my butt off there's no doubt, and I'll continue to do that, but it's a nice compliment when people talk nice about you.Next year is the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury. Would you consider doing it?DP: Well I would certainly consider it. We've got a lot of things going on. I couldn't promise that I'd do it but we'll certainly maybe one of these times get a chance to do it.Georgie Rogers

Kasabian album freebie

Band giving away a turbo-charged track from their Empire follow-up

26 March 2009 - Vlad The Impaler from Kasabian’s third record,The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum, will become available on 31 March.

The album is not out until 8 June but fans will be able to download one of the tracks off it for free from their official website for a period of four days, until midnight on 13 April.

The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Serge Pizzorno with assistance on production from Dan The Automator, famed for his work with Gorillaz and DJ Shadow.

“Vlad is a total chaos tune,” explained Serge. “It’s a call out to all our people, the ones who are tuned into our radio station.”

The track’s music video features Noel Fielding and was filmed on a potato farm outside Doncaster.

The Mighty Boosh star plays a character who causes havoc at every turn in the video, which was directed by Richard Ayoade. His credits include Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend.

The first single from the latest batch will be Fire, out on 1 June.The band are performing at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow (26 March) as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs and you'll be able to hear from them on the Music Week here on 6 Music at 1pm GMT on Sunday 29 March.

PRS launch website

Marillion, Jools Holland and Pete Waterman back new initiative

25 March 2009 - A new website designed to act as a body for songwriters to protect their music on the web was launched today.

The Performing Rights Society has set up Fairplayforcreators.com to highlight the "issues of online earnings."

This follows the row between YouTube and PRS over royalty rates, which resulted in the removal of thousands of music videos from the site.Artists, songwriters, broadcasters and record producer Pete Waterman have all posted messages on the site.

The intention of the site is to encourage internet giant Google to re-instate the premium music videos on YouTube.

Adrian Crooks, a spokesman for PRS told BBC 6 Music: "The website is also saying, along with music fans, 'Lets get the music back up on YouTube so that everyone can enjoy it, but lets make sure the people who have created the music are properly rewarded for providing the business benefit'.

"It's to demonstrate a strength of feeling amongst creators, to demonstrate also that very often PRS for music is seen as an organisation that stops access to the music and that's not what it does. That's not what it's there for."Artists backingMusic industry members from radio, television presenter Paul Gambaccini, Jools Holland and even the writers of the Eastenders and Peep Show theme-tunes are all behind the initiative.Music industry mogul Pete Waterman has joined the debate and stated: "YouTube is not alone in the online hall of shame where the worthy notion of greater consumer choice is used as a cloak to disguise the fact that copyright infringement happens on a grand scale."Keyboardist, Mark Kelly, for the British rock group Marillion who have been active since 1972 said YouTube is, "a great resource", but admitted he has seen little monetary benefit from his material being on the site."There have been maybe 10 million views of Marillion's material on YouTube and in my last PRS statement I received 0.6 pence from them," he explained."If we get 0.6 pence for 10 million views, we'd need billions of views to see any real money."

Marillion keyboardist

"There's a bit of a gap I think between what they should be paying and what they actually are paying, certainly in our case.

"I'm not sure what that works out at but if we get 0.6 pence for 10 million views, we'd need billions of views to see any real money."

In his post on the Fairplayforcreators.com site, Waterman claimed his PRS income for the year to September 2008 came to a total of £11, for more than 100 million plays on YouTube of Never Gonna Give You Up, which he co-wrote with Rick Astley.

YouTube respond

PRS revealed discussions are continuing with YouTube to put in place a new license.

Google has reacted to the initiative by issuing a statement: "We absolutely believe that artists and songwriters should make money from the use of their material. We previously had a license with the PRS to enable this to happen and we're very committed to reaching terms so that we can renew our license."

It continued: "YouTube cannot be expected to engage in a business in which it loses money every time a music video is played - that is simply not a sustainable business model."Georgie Rogers

Kraftwerk for MIF

Antony and the Johnsons, Elbow and Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson too

19 March 2009 - Much of it is risky; all of it is new and 30% totally free. The second Manchester International Festival has drawn and fused artists together from all over the globe with truly weird and wonderful collaborations.

Alex Poots, festival director, believes that the draw is partly due to the affection Manchester is held in: "We’re the first commissioning festival and the city allows artists to experiment away from the pressures that you get in capital cities. All the artists are put in one hotel so we’re expecting many more interesting collaborations to come off the back."

Despite set backs and financial woes, Alex and the organisers have pulled an intriguing and beguiling programme out of the bag. The festival opens with Kraftwerk and American composer Steve Reich at the Velodrome.

Documentary maker Adam Curtis and Punchdrunk’s Felix Barrett are collaborating on a 'haunted house' experience exploring America’s intoxication of the world, with a score written by Damon Albarn.

Rufus Wainwright is facing the challenge of a lifetime, creating the French opera ‘Prima Donna’."It’s a love letter to the city"- Guy Garvey, Elbow

Visual artist Marina Abramovi is asking audiences for a whole 4 hour commitment to see her work of 15 live artists, as an exploration of time poverty, while Gustav Metzger will be uprooting 21 trees to highlight the brutality in which we treat the earth.

Along with the international names the festival has invited work and contributions from local people communities, not so much northern social realism more like northern social surrealism.

Manchester’s favourite son, Guy Garvey gets to fulfill his lifetime ambition of working with the Halle orchestra, with Salford composer, Joe Dardell, helping to orchestrate Elbow’s work: "It’s a love letter to the city, thousands of international students and communities choose to come here, they choose Manchester and they fill the city with new life".

Manchester International Festival 2-19 July 2009

Victoria Baker