[Download] Major Lazer Offers Up 'Lazer Strikes Back Vol. 2'

While we wait for Major Lazer's sophomore album Free the Universe, which has had multiple delays, the Diplo-led project is making up for it with three free mixtapes. The first, Vol. 1, was released a few weeks back and now they've offered up Vol. 2. This one features remixes of "Original Don", "Jah No Partial" and "Get Free" along with a Baauer rework. Download it here.

Free the Universe is out on April 19th, and check out the Ezra Koenig-featuring single "Jessica" here.

Lazer Strikes Back Vol. 2 Tracklist:
1. Major Lazer – “Original Don” feat. The Partysquad (Flosstradamus Remix)
2. Major Lazer – “Jah No Partial” feat. Flux Pavillion (The Reef Remix)
3. Major Lazer – “Get Free” feat. Amber of The Dirty Projectors (Blood Diamonds Remix)
4. Popcaan x Major Lazer x Baauer – “Talk Bout Me”

[News] Empire of the Sun Announce Sophomore LP with Extravagant Trailer

Despite being only three months in, this year has already proven immensely memorable. Numerous bands and artists have made comebacks, emerged from the shadows of hiatus, or made plans for long-awaited follow-ups to great albums. Daft Punk is enough to have me hard (sorry for any unwanted visuals).

Empire of the Sun are the latest band to mark their return in 2013. The Australian duo have long been absent, vanishing not long after supporting their 2008 debut album Walking on a Dream. But, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore are back, and they've brought exciting news with them. Their sophomore album, officially titled Ice on the Dune, will be released this June, and to make the announcement more cinematic the pair unveiled a grandiose album trailer. Watch the trailer above, and below you can read the band's fantastical description of the album's concept:

Once, the world was pure. It was the Emperor and the Prophet who kept it thus. Each day, they charted the sun’s course across the sky, guided rivers down from mountain peaks, brought rains to quench raging fires.

With the aid of their four priests, who possessed spirits of wild animals, they travelled the world tirelessly, maintaining nature’s delicate balance, allowing all things to grow and flourish — always with the aid of the sacred jewel held atop the Emperor’s crown…

But one night, as the Emperor slumbered, recovering from his labours, true darkness appeared. The King of Shadows, ever the bitter foe of the Empire, and all it had achieved, crept into their temple. Craving the Emperor’s power, he stole the jewel from his crown– and in an instant the world was changed.

Robbed of the bulk of his power, the Emperor and the Prophet watched helplessly as their temple was torn asunder, and their priests cast far out into the world.

But even in that moment, when all appeared lost, there was one thing that the King of Shadows black heart simply could not have imagined… The Emperor and the Prophet have never abandoned hope."

[News] MGMT Announce Short 2013 Tour

MGMT's long-awaited third album is due out tentatively in June, but for those eager to hear new music from the strange duo, you're in luck. The band has announced a short tour that will kick off at the end of April and run through till May 18th, visiting cities such as Providence, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, and more. Check out their full tour docket below.

MGMT 2013 Tour Dates:
04/26 – University Park, PA @ Penn State University
04/28 – Geneseo, NY @ SUNY Geneseo
04/30 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
05/01 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s
05/04 – Cleveland, OH @ Masconic Auditorium
05/06 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Hoogenboom Center at Calvin College
05/08 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
05/09 – Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Events Centre
05/10 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
05/11 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
05/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
05/14 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
05/15 – Seattle, WA @ Sodo
05/16 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
05/18 – Stanford, CA @ Frost Ampitheater
06/21-23 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
06/29 – Kansas City, KS @ Kanrocksas
07/13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bunbury Music Festival

[Listen] Stream 15 Seconds of New Daft Punk Material

Kevin Hart fans aside, last night's episode of Saturday Night Live wasn't exactly worth watching. During the commercial break, however, there was a curiousity-inducing 15-second clip that will surely have Daft Punk fans wetting their pants with excitement. While brief, the short video features the French duo's new logo, soundtracked by what we can assume is new material. Excited? Let's hope we'll hear more from the famed pair soon. Check it out below.

And, for those who would prefer listening to that 15 seconds over and over again for 10 minutes, you're in luck.

[Listen] Stream Major Lazer's New Single, "Watch Out For This (Bumaye)"

Major Lazer are doing their best to please fans after recently delaying Free the Universe, first offering up one of three free mixtapes. Now, the Diplo-led collective has offered up "Watch Out For This (Bumaye)", the next single from their upcoming sophomore effort, which pushes forward with sweaty jungle influences that draw you deep into its alluring exotic rhythms. It's sexy, it's intoxicating, and it has me very excited to hear the full album.

Free the Universe has no firm release date, but in the meantime you can catch Major Lazer on the road. Check out their full tour, which kicks off on February 28th, after the jump.

Major Lazer 2013 Tour Dates:
02/28 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
03/01 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
03/03 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
03/05 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
03/07 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
03/08 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
03/09 – New Orleans, LA @ Buku Music + Art Festival
03/11 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
03/12 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
03/15 – South Padre Island, TX @ UME Festival
03/16 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival
03/19 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
03/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
03/21 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
03/22 – Kansas City, MO @ The Midland
03/23 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival
03/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
03/26 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
03/27 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
03/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
03/31 – Sao Paulo, BR @ Lollapalooza Brazil
04/06 – Santiago, CL @ Lollapalooza Chile
04/13 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival
04/20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival
04/25 – Paris, FR @ Batalcan
04/26 – Rouen, FR @ LE 106
04/27 – Masterdam, NL @ Paradiso
04/29 – Utrecht, NL@ Tivoli
05/01 – Sheffield, UK @ The Plug
05/02 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
05/03 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
05/04 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/07 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
05/08 – Zurich, CH @ Maag Halle
05/09 – Milan, IT @ Magazzini Generali
05/10 – Bologna, IT @ Link
05/11 – Marseille, FR @ Cabaret Aleatoire
05/14 – Prague, CZ @ Lucerna Music Hall
05/15 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
05/16 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain
06/13 – Barcelona, ES @ Sonar Festival
08/15-17 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival

[News] Daft Punk Confirm Signing to Columbia

Moments ago, Daft Punk updated their Facebook page with an image and a link to their official website. They also confirm their signing with Columbia via the image on their website, which can obviously not handle the millions of hits it's currently receiving as it hased crash constantly over the past 20 minutes. There have been rumours via Nile Rodgers that the duo will release new material this year and this tidbit of activity seems to further add fuel to the flames.

Excited much?!

[News] Alt-J Announce More 2013 Tour Dates

Alt-J are fucking dedicated. Their debut album An Awesome Wave received heaps of praise when it was released, it won the Mercury Prize back in November, and the UK indie outfit will soon embark on an expansive worldwide tour to support the LP. With a huge list of dates and festival appearances throughout North America and Europe taking them through till August, you would think they would set aside some time for a break. Apparently not. Alt-J will be back in North America in September, stopping in 13 cities over the course of the month.

Check out their extensive tour schedule after the jump.

Alt-J 2013 Tour Dates:
03/02 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
03/04 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
03/05 – Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
03/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell Stage)
03/08 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
03/09 – New Orleans, LA @ Buku Music + Art Project
03/10 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
03/12-15 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/16 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
03/18 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
03/19 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
03/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
03/22 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
03/24 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
03/25 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
03/27 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
03/28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
03/29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
03/30 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion
04/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
04/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
04/03 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
04/04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04/06 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
04/07 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/08 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
04/10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
04/12 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
04/14 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades %
04/16 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up %
04/17 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory #
04/19 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
05/05 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
05/06 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 ABC
05/08 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
05/09 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
05/10 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
05/11 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy
05/13 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock CIty
05/14 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
05/15 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
05/16 – London, UK @ Academy Brixton
05/17 - London, UK @ Academy Brixton
05/27 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
06/01 – Moscow, RU @ Ahmad Tea Music Festival
06/08 – Randall’s Island, NY @ Governors Ball Music Festival
06/10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
06/11 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
06/12 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe (Old Nat’l Center)
06/13-16 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06/15 – Aarhus, DK @ Northside Festival
06/19 – Luxembourg City, LU @ Rockhal
06/21 – Neuhasen, DE @ Hurricane/Southside Festival
06/22 – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret Festival
06/23 – Neuhausen, DE @ Hurricane/Southside Festival
07/03 – Gydnia, PL @ Heineken Open’er Festival
07/05 – Arras, FR @ Main Square Festival
07/07 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter Festival
07/11 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/13 – Balado, UK @ T in the Park
07/14 – Lisbon, PT @ Optimus Alive! Festival
07/18 – Tonsberg, NO @ Slottsfjell Festival
07/19 - Gräfenhainichen, DE @ Melt Festival
08/29 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
08/23-25 – Reading and Leeds, UK @ Reading and Leeds Festivals
09/01 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
09/03 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
09/05 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
09/07 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/10 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall
09/11 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach
09/13 – Boston, MA @ Bank Of America Pavilion
09/18 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
09/23 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
09/24 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
09/27 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
09/28 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs
09/29 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10/02 – Paris, FR @ Olympia

% = w/ Hundred Waters
# = w/ Youth Lagoon

[News] James Blake's New Album to Feature Brian Eno and RZA

James Blake got us excited enough for his sophomore album Overgrown when he dropped the lead single "Retrograde", but a press release issued today revealed some tantalizing possibilities. What was simply a tracklist and artwork (pictured above) reveal proved to be much more than that, given the tracklist has both Brian Eno and Wu-Tang Clan's RZA as featured guests.

Gahhh!!! I don't know what to expect from these collaborations, but I'm very excited to find out. It's also worth noting that Blake recently spent some time with Kanye West and Jay-Z. While he did indeed hit the studio with Ye and Hov, it's not clear whether the three managed to record something worhtwhile together.

Below, you can check out the tracklist for Overgrown, as well as the video for "Retrograde". Overgrown is out on April 8th.

Overgrown Tracklist:
01. Overgrown
02. I Am Sold
03. Life Around Here
04. Take A Fall For Me feat. RZA
05. Retrograde
06. DLM
07. Digital Lion feat. Brian Eno
08. Voyeur
09. To The last
10. Our Love Comes Back