[Listen] Earl Sweatshirt - "Home"

Famed Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt, who was the subject of much deliberation and speculation after a siginificant absence. Earl is noted as being one of the more talented members of the Odd Future collective, and now, it seems, the young rapper has returned. A newly launched Twitter account made by Earl Sweatshirt gave the idea that the rapper was indeed home, and that if he got 50,000 followers by the end of the night he would release a brand new song. Well, it didn't take long for the account to reach 50,000 followers, and Earl has let loose a song appropriately titled "Home." You can stream the track at Earl's Terttle Fer website.

UPDATE: You can now stream and download the song below.

[News] Explosions in the Sky Announce Spring Tour Dates

Explosions in the Sky have announced a strong of tour dates fro spring in support of their release Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.Set to begin in April it will include stops at Coachella and Sasquatch! April 5th and ends in San Antonio on April 24th. In addition, the band is set to appear at both Coachella, Sasquatch! and Primavera Sound. Peep all the dates below. (Via CoS)

Explosions in the Sky 2012 Tour Dates:
04/05 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
04/06 – Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater
04/07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
04/08 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
04/11 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
04/12 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
04/13 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts Theater
04/20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/22 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
04/24 – San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
05/25 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
06/07-10 – Porto, PT @ Optimus Primavera Sound

[News] Tennis Announce North American Tour

With less than a week to go until the release of Tennis' Patrick Carney-produced sophomore album Young & Old, the Denver outfit have announced supporting tour dates. Starting in their hometown of Denver on February 16th, the North American tour will take the trio to 26 different cities throughout the continent, with the tour going into the summer. The tour will also see the band performing at this year's South by Southwest and Orange You Glad festivals, as well as shows in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. alongside White Rabbits.

After the jump, you can take a look at all of Tennis' tour dates and locations, and Young & Old is out on February 14th via Fat Possum. The album is also available to stream in its entirety here.

Tennis 2012 Tour Dates:
02/09 – Paris, FR @ Point Point Ephémère
02/10 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
02/11 – Ostend, BE @ Zwerver Cafe
02/13 – London, UK @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
02/16 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
02/22 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
02/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
02/24 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
02/26 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
02/27 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
02/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
02/29 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
03/02 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
03/03 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
03/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
03/07 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
03/09 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
03/10 – Atlanta, GA @ The EARL
03/11 – Orlando, FL @ Orange You Glad Music Fest
03/13-18 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
04/24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04/26 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
04/27 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Caberet
04/28 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
04/30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
05/01 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
05/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
05/03 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
05/04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
05/05 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
05/08 – Austin, TX @ The Parish

* = w/ White Rabbits

[Listen] Death Grips - "Blackjack"

Last year Death Grips got people's attention with an EP called Ex Military and now we've got news from the California group that they are to release not one but two proper albums this year, which will be distributed worldwide! Hallelujah.  Solid details are still forthcoming but we can expect our first one from them in April.

For now that's all she wrote but you can peep a brand new track called "Blackjack" up at the top.

[News] Damon Albarn & Flea's Rocket Juice and the Moon Announce Album

Late last year Damon Albarn was everywhere and was part of just about every music collaboration imaginable. One of those was with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tony Allen for a band called Rocket Juice and the Moon. They performed a live show back in November last year and now in an article published in MOJO magazine it has been announced that they are finally going to release an album consisting of 18 tracks. Count 'em! The album was recorded Albarn’s Studio 13 in London with additional parts added in a number of locations including Paris, Berlin and Chicago. The album has been set a release date of the 12th of March in the sunny ol' UK, with a US date yet to be announced. It features guest spots from Erykah Badu, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and several African musicians and rappers.

Watch this space as we await studio recording to hit the net in the coming months. Have a little search on Youtube though as there are plenty of recordings from their show last year.

[News] Nile Rodgers Confirms Collaboration with Daft Punk

Nile Rodgers, better known as the frontman of Chic and one of the pioneers of disco-funk, revealed to Culture Map Houston on Monday that he would be collaborating with Daft Punk, the most famous robots in electronic music: "Those guys are great. They’re coming to my apartment on Monday and we’re going to talk about making a new record together.” Last night, Rodgers discussed the collaboration further with Faster Louder, saying, “We were just jamming at my house, but it’s gonna be proper and real. They came over to my today around breakfast time and it’s now evening I basically had to almost kick them out. We were having so much fun just in an informal setting that we decided to make it formal. And it’s very formal. It’s gonna be amazing.”

While Rodgers was vague on specifics, he speak about his relationship with the French duo, saying, "It’s funny I’ve known Daft Punk for some time now but we were never really close – we never got a chance to hang out with each other, we would just meet in passing,” he happily continued. “So today was the first chance we had to spend hours and hours together and it was just so awesome. Every track they played I just ran across the room and got my guitar and started playing and we were all dancing around my dining room having the time of our lives."

While this is little to go on, it seems that the long awaited fourth studio album from Daft Punk will see the light of day, hopefully by the year's end. Expect more news to surface regarding the album and their collaboration with Nile Rodgers in the coming months.

[News] Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Announce Sophomore Album

Indie folk outfit Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, who may or may not look like the leaders of a hippie commune, have announced that they are currently back in the studio hard at work on the follow-up to their 2009 debut Up From Below. As stated in an issued press release, the band will release the as-of-yet-untitled album on May 29th, which will be an entirely self-produced effort. Alex Ebert, the band's frontman, had this to say:

The making of this album has spanned a time of immense perseverance and, thankfully, co-creation," said frontman Alex Ebert. "Making this album has been a test of our faith in ourselves and in the universe, and brought us closer together and in greater harmony with one another... A deluge of music has been written and recorded, and we are intensely excited to share it with anyone who wants to feel it."

Prior to the album's release, the band will hit the road for a short tour in which they will showcase material from the upcoming studio effort. You can take a look at all of the tour dates and locations after the jump.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 2012 Tour Dates:
03/14 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
03/15 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
03/18 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
03/20 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
03/21 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
03/22 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
03/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall
05/31-06/02 – Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Music Festival 

[News] Parklife Weekender Manchester Announced. Flaming Lips, Justice, Crystal Castles and Many More Playing

Every year, Platt Fields Park in Manchester is turned into Festival Central with the Parklife Weekender playing host to some of the worlds top musical talent and the initial line-up has just been announced and boy is it going to be a fun weekend! Taking place on the weekend of June 9th-10th, Wayne Coyne will bring The Flaming Lips gang to headline the Festival along with Dizzee Rascal. Other acts announced include Justice, Crystal Castles, Noah and the Whale, TEED, Azealia Banks, The Rapture, Nero, Fake Blood, High Contrast, Gold Panda, Friends, Araabmuzik, Labrinth. (See the screen grab at the top for more!)

All in all the line-up just made me jump out of my seat and if you're in Manchester for it I'll see you there. For the full and insanely good lineup jump on over to the official website.