[Watch] Biffy Clyro Offer Up Album Teaser, Play 3 New Tracks at Isle of Wight

Biffy Clyro have been talking about their return for quite some time. They even dropped a name for it a few months ago only to recently change their mind recently. They said the double effort would be titled The Land At The End Of Our Toes and The Sand At The Core Of Our Bones respectively. So, what's the new material going to sound like following their pretty successful Only Revolutions? From a tease they posted yesterday, pretty crunchy. But then again, it's only a 30 second preview before the words: "Coming Soon" appear. Can we expect an August/September release? Who knows but it looks like they're nearing the end of the process.

Further adding to this theory, this weekend they performed at The Isle of Wight Festival and performed three new tracks; "Modern Magic Formula", "The Joke's On Us" and "Victory Over The Sun". Two of which they previously debuted at Download Festival and one way back last year at Milton Keynes Bowl when they supported Foo Fighters. Check out some fan shot footage of some new tracks from Download a few weeks ago after the jump.

[Watch] Jay-Z Performs at BBC Radio One's Hackney Weekend feat. Rihanna, M.I.A. and Kanye West (FULL SET)

Every now and again you see a live performance that simply knocks your socks off. This was one of those sets. On Saturday evening I sat at home watching Jack White perform prior to Jay-Z's performance being broadcast. Apparently Jay's set was delayed so much because he too was watching Jack White and thoroughly enjoying the set. When the time came, Hova took to the stage with a surprise guest of Rihanna before the crowd seemed to well and truly loose their minds. 

As the set progressed, it was hit after hit and for such a large stage he managed to make it look like he was performing in a bedroom. Seriously, how can he do it so effortlessly? A surprise guest in the shape of M.I.A. took to the stage mid-set to perform "Paper Planes" and "Bad Girls" but mic problems meant no-one heard a word of "PP" and "Bad Girls" was pretty lackluster in all honesty. Everything was building up to something. Everybody hoped Kanye would make an appearance but he wasn't announced. The set finished, the stage went black and then "Otis" drops. From here on in it was pure madness. During the second run through of "Niggas In Paris" Jay stopped the set to ask people to open up a "Circle", by which I think he meant a pit but the crowd didn't seem to understand how to do this so well! Still, a great set that can be enjoyed, in full at the top. Look out for Beyonce loosing her mind to "Niggas In Paris" right at the end. Priceless.

[SKOA Presents] Top Artists of 2012 So Far... Part 2

Tomorrow BBC 6 Music and The Hype Machine will join forces to announce their top 25 artists of the year so far in the 2012 Music Blog Zeitgeist. 6Music has reached out to  number of blogs and asked them to cast their opinions in the build up and we were happy to oblige, after all this year is half way done already. Crazy, huh! Yesterday we dropped some honorable mentions and today we'll present our top three artists prior to the full show tomorrow. We'd love you guys to get involved too so to be part of it all head on over to the official 6Music show Facebook page and hit us up on Twitter @SKoABlog not forgetting to use the hashtag #Blog6Music. Make the jump to see our top three. You might be surprised. Then again, you might not!

3. Teen Daze

Here at SKOA we like to champion artists we really love. Heck, that's why you start out writing about music to cast your opinion and hopefully turn some other people onto an artist you truly admire. Sometimes we don't all feel the same way here in the SKOA family but this artist was one that we all had a mutual appreciation for. Vancouver native Jamison's musical project goes by the moniker Teen Daze and back at the start of the year we featured the young talent in what would be our first in the series of monthly SKOA Mixtapes. We simply couldn't get enough. Lucky for us at the start of June he released the LP, All Of Us, Together and we've had it on heavy repeat ever since. The album is the result of years of experimentation and is a great step towards whatever the future holds. We look forward to that future very much indeed and for that reason we've stuck Teen Daze in our top 3 for the year so far. Check out the video for "Treton" below.

2. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Every artist would like to say they have a USP but many miss the mark. 26 year old Orlando Higginbottom not only has a pretty awesome name for his musical outlet, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, but he has the goods and this year has been offering up some of the best uk electronic dance music around. TEED was part of Damon Albarn's DRC Music project earlier in the year and we've long awaited a full length release from the talent. He's stated that in making a to make a record that "felt free from the frequent short-lived trends in dance music" and the result came out earlier this month in the shape of Trouble. Did he succeed? Time will tell, but as a package right here and right now, the record plays like a project that's been in the making for years and ha been carefully put together. Each piece of synth carefully placed to complement one another. The project also sees TEED tell a story of heartfelt loss and the woes of life yet the way it's delivered makes you want to go dance away your troubles. For that we are placing TEED at number two for shaping our listening, and our dance moves this year. Thanks, Orlando.

1. El-P

Well, well, well, look what we have here. A drum roll isn't necessary for this artist but got-damn has this man shaped our year's listening. Back in 2010, El-P announced that Def Jux would be put on hiatus and that he'd be stepping down as artistic director to focus on producing and being a full time artist. This year, we've seen this move result in El-P becoming our front-runner for artist of the year. In our honourable mentioned yesterday we slipped in Killer Mike, who's R.A.P. Music is up there in the front running for the best rap album of the year. Seriously, it's that good. That album was the joint effort of Mike and the man we are onto now, El-P. The clean cut production and big beats that pushed and pulled with Mike's word play made for one of the best packaged album this year. That was until last month when EL-P unleashed his first solo record since 2007's I'll Sleep When You're Dead. A re-invention that sees the Brooklyn native come at us all guns blazing and ready to take on the world and take on the world he is.

We saw him run through a rip-roaring rendition of "Stay Down" on Letterman last month and now that the LP has had some time to soak in its production, delivery and just crazy slick futuristic sound will keep us going back for more month after month. The usual suspects don't make guest spots on the release and instead we see Killer Mike, Danny Brown and Mr. Muthafukin' eXquire drop fierce bars. Comical lines from Brown on "Oh Hail No" will stick with you while Mike delivers an angry few in "Tougher Colder Killer". 

Tracks like "Drones Over BKLYN" which we actually first heard last year as part of Adult Swim Singles Series feel as fresh as they did back then. New single "The Full Retard" delivers changes of pace and a bassline paired up with laser noises to have your senses tingling like Spiderman. El-P is having a year to conquer all and we for one at SKOA wish it to continue. Check out the video for the aforementioned single below and doff your cap to our top artist of 2012 so far. We will certainly continue to pump this shit like they do in the future.

[News] Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire Announces New EP

Following up the release of two awesome EPs last year, both Lost in Translation and Merry eX-Mas & Suck My Dick, Brooklyn rapper Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire will be releasing two more EPs this year. On July 3rd, he'll be releasing the Huzzah digital EP, and then in September he will drop the Power & Passion EP, his first release with Universal.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire is currently on tour with El-P, Killer Mike, and Despot, and you can check out their full tour itinerary after the jump.

Into The Wild Tour dates:

• 6/19 Atlanta GA Masquerade
• 6/20 New Orleans LA House of Blues
• 6/21 Dallas TX Granada
• 6/22 Houston TX Warehouse Live
• 6/23 Austin TX Mohawk
• 6/25 Phoenix AZ Crescent
• 6/26 San Diego CA Casbah
• 6/28 Los Angeles CA Echoplex
• 6/29 San Francisco CA Regency
• 6/30 Portland OR Hawthorne
• 7/1 Seattle WA Neumo’s
• 7/2 Vancouver BC Fortune
• 7/5 Minneapolis MN Fineline
• 7/6 Chicago IL Bottom Lounge
• 7/7 Cleveland OH Grog Shop
• 7/8 Ann Arbor MI Blind Pig
• 7/9 Toronto ON Hoxton*#
• 7/11 Boston MA Paradise
• 7/12 Providence RI The Met
• 7/14 Philadelphia PA Trocadero*
• 7/15 Washington DC Rock and Roll Hotel

*No eXquire
#No Killer Mike

[News] Kanye's G.O.O.D. Album Coming Out in August

In an interview with Hot 97 last night, Pusha T revealed that the forthcoming G.O.O.D. Music collective album will be titled Cruel Summer, the same name given to the seven-screen film Kanye West recently premiered at Cannes Film Festival. During the interview, Pusha also revealed that the album will be released on August 7th and will feature Frank Ocean, Jay Electronica, Big Sean, and many, many more.

After the jump, you can watch the video for the G.O.O.D. Music single "Mercy."

[News] Radiohead Postpones Tour Dates Following Last Weekend's Stage Collapse

Following the tragic stage collapse prior to their concert in Toronto's Downsview Park last Saturday, Radiohead has released an official statement regarding the incident and how it will affect their future touring schedule. The band has announced that they will be postponing many of their upcoming tour dates in Europe, as the incident resulted in their onstage light show being destroyed. After the jump, you can take a look at their updated touring schedule, and below is the band's official statement:

Hello everyone,

As you will probably have heard the roof over the stage collapsed at our show in Toronto killing crew member Scott Johnson and injuring three other crew members.  The collapse also destroyed the light show – this show was unique and will take many weeks to replace. The collapse also caused serious damage to our backline, some elements of which are decades old and therefore hard to replace.

Whilst we all are dealing with the grief and shock ensuing from this terrible accident there are also many practical considerations to deal with & consequently we have to try and reschedule the following shows:

June
30 Roma Hippodrome Capanelle

July
1 Firenze Parco delle Cascine
3 Bologna Arena Parco Nord
4 Codroipo Villa Manin
6 Berlin Wuhlheide
7 Berlin Wuhlhedie
9 St Triphon Carriere des Andonces

We aim to announce the new dates for these shows on Wednesday 27th of June and will also supply information on how to obtain refunds on tickets  if you cannot come to the show on the new date.

We will start playing live again at Les Arenes  Nimes, Bilbao BBK festival  and Lisbon Optimus Alive festival.

We will make every effort to offer the fans the very best show possible under the circumstances

– thanks for your understanding and support."

Radiohead 2012 Tour Dates:
06/30 – Rome, IT @ Hyppodrome (Rock in Roma) ^
07/01 – Florence, IT @ Parco Delle Cascine ^
07/03 – Bologna, IT @ Arena Parco Nord ^
07/04 – Codropio, IT @ Villa Manin ^
07/06 – Berlin, DE @ Wulheide ^
07/07 – Berlin, DE @ Wulheide ^
07/09 – Canton de Vaud, CH @ Quarry of St. Triphon ^
07/10 – Nimes, FR @ Les Arenes ^
07/11 – Nimes, FR @ Les Arena ^
07/13 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/15 – Lisbon, PT @ Optimus Alive!
07/25 – Taipei, TW @ Nanang Exhibition Hall
07/27-29 – Jisan, KR @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival
07/29 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
10/06 – Manchester, UK @ Arena
10/08 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
10/09 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
10/11 – Paris, FR @ Bercy
10/12 – Paris, FR @ Bercy
10/14 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
10/15 – Cologne, DE @ Lanxess Arena
10/16 – Strasbourg, FR @ Zenith
10/18 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis
11/06 – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena
11/09 – Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre
11/12 – Sydney, AU @ Entertainment Centre
11/13 – Sydney, AU @ Entertainment Centre
11/16 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena
11/17 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena

^ = w/ Caribou

[News] André 3000 to Appear on Frank Ocean's 'Channel Orange'

Frank Ocean's upcoming major lable debut Channel Orange has been a long time coming, but now it's set for a July 17th release date and who knows how many people are eagerly waiting for that day to arrive. Well now there's even more reason to anticipate that day, as The Boombox reports that none other than André 3000 is contributing a verse to Ocean's track "Pleasure." For those out there who have been clammering for some new OutKast material, myself included, then this just might be the best we'll get from the André side of things for the time being.

Ocean also premiered Channel Orange at a listening party last night in New York City, and The Boombox has revealed that previously released tracks such as "Forrest Gump," "Pyramids," "Voodoo," as well as a reworked version of "Thinking About You" will be included on the forthcoming release.

[Listen] The Flaming Lips and Ghostland Observatory - "Tasered and Maced"

The Flaming Lips will be re-issuing their Record Store Day release The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends on June 26th via Warner Bros. Records, and this time around the release will differ just a little bit from its RSD counterpart. In the rerelease, the Chris Martin-aided track "I Don't Want You to Die" has been replaced by an unreleased track featuring Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory. The song, titled "Tasered and Maced," sees Behrens unloading a series of stories about cops, tasering and macing, monsters, and kicking his friends in the testicles. Listen to it below (via TheFutureHeart).