Blog: The 405

Last night Phoenix performed two tracks from their latest album, Bankrupt!, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The French indies played 'The Real Thing' and 'Trying to be Cool' from their fifth album, following a string of appearances on US shows such as Saturday Night Live, Kimmel, and Letterman. Watch a performance of the former song below.

Phosphorescent play a sold-out show at Village Underground tonight, don’t get too upset if you’ve not managed to snag a ticket. A further headlining show has been announced at Shepherd’s Bush Empire for November 26th. After tonight’s show, the band take in a UK tour, full dates are below. May Weds 15th London, UK, Village Underground - SOLD OUT Thurs 16th Brighton, UK, Uncut @ The Great Escape - SOLD OUT Fri 17th Bristol, UK, Rise instore Sat 18th Glasgow, UK, [...]

Unbelievably, it’s mid-May. The cold rain falls from a relentlessly grey and bleak sky. You left your bed hours ago but can’t wake up and your cats are with the vet having operations. What on earth is going to slap you into consciousness today? It looks like, MØ is going to. ‘Waste of Time’ comes at you full of swagger and bad assery. Her beats are heavy, ripped and torn from glitchy R&B and pumped up with more than a dash of additional stomp and positive petulance. MØ (or Karen Marie Ørsted to her mum) purrs and snarls [...]

Visions is a new festival from independent London promoters; Rockfeedback Concerts, Sexbeat, and Bird on the Wire. The first festival is set to take place on August 10th and will be spread across three warehouses in Hackeny’s London Fields. !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Cloud Nothings, Jeffrey Lewis, Iceage, The Haxan Cloak, Still Corners, Micachu and Tirzah, Molly Nilsson, The Soft Moon, and Beacon are the first announced acts alongside a DIY Record Fair, Netil Food Market, and Art events and exhibitions. Further acts will be released over the coming weeks. [...]

As the slow rumble of UK independent record stores grows, Frankie & The Heartstrings have decided to join the record selling community by launching their own store, Pop Recs Ltd, in their Sunderland hometown. The shop is set to open on June 1st and will make use of its performance space by hosting shows by The Futureheads, Maximo Park, Field Music, Bernard Butler, and The Cribs. The business is setting out to “sell all the current record releases from across Britain and beyond” as well as a “comprehensive range of music from [...]

Exposure is a scrapbook of our favourite new bands. Today's exposure features Delaware based Indie-pop trio Fiancé. Name : Fiancé Location : Newark, Delaware Genre : Indie Pop For Fans of : Grizzly Bear, Local Natives Website : Facebook There's not much information out there about Delaware trio Fiancé but what is known is that they make infectious, sun-soaked indie-pop music of the highest order. Emerging from [...]

• FIANCÉ - Division

Thank god for the internet. Not only does it mean that I don't need to try and pronounce ' Anamanaguchi ' out loud, but also that the New York quartet's unique brand of 8-bit indie rock can exist and thrive. After all, not only did their previous release 'Meow' receive almost 500,000 YouTube views, but it also appeared on the soundtrack of the Scott Pilgrim video game. Their most recent single 'Planet' serves to perfectly demonstrate the band's penchant for infectious, engaging music and the unknown versatility of Chiptunes. Both songs will feature on the band's [...]

• Anamanaguchi - Planet

After jumping from Geffen Records earlier in her career, to Terrible Records, the label founded by Grizzly Bear member Chris Taylor, Solange Knowles has announced she's moving on her own front now. The news, which she clarified on her Twitter page, was that Knowles will be releasing her next full length on Saint Records – her own label. Saint Records will work as an imprint of Sony, which will be distributing her forthcoming album. Previously, incorrect reports were leaked that Knowles had signed to Columbia Records, which she later clarified were untrue. Reports [...]

• Solange - Looks Good With Trouble feat. Kendrick Lamar

”Set in an imaginary place,” Tunng frontman Mike Lindsay tells Rolling Stone , 'The Village' is an idea about a place where “you can't get away from the strange characters you encounter.” From the unique time signatures, uncharacteristic electronic inclusions, and out-of-nowhere vocals, Lindsay seems to be right. It's the first listen from the UK band's upcoming album Turbines , which is set for release next month. Along with 'The Village,' the band marked a few upcoming UK tour stops, starting with back-to-back shows at The Lexington in London, July [...]

• tunng - The Village

Let’s Away have streamed their debut single, ‘Suitably Loose’, due to be released on 17th June. The Sunderland outfit bring a flourishing tone, filled with unbound riffs casually ringing through and steady beat, offering a quiet vibrating boom. The smooth, emotional words - like “give me a reason to be someone foolish, I see them every time” – also give the song a contemplative mood. But, it’s the instrumental ending that propels ‘Suitably Loose’ into a blissful frenzy. With padding drums, high-pitched vocal sounds and an adamant riff, it finishes in a elaborate way. Produced by [...]

• Let's Away - Suitably Loose

A sluice of new info for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y has been released along with a box art reveal for the two games, featuring their respective unique flagship monsters. The press release describes the game-taking place in a region called “Kalos”, the home of beautiful forests, thriving cities and many new Pokémon , including these four: Helioptile, a cowardly Normal / Electric-type Pokémon Fletchling, a Pigeon-like Normal / Flying-type Pokemon Pancham, a [...]

Someone tell Shenmue ’s Ryo Hazuki that his endless search for sailors is now over. Capcom has shown off some new screenshots of the costumes you’ll be able to wear in Resident Evil: Revelations , and Oh boy … we have Chris as a Sailor, Jill as a Pirate and Keith as a Ninja …yep! As to how these costumes are unlocked is yet to be revealed; however Capcom has said that players should simply play through the campaign and raid mode to unlock them [...]

According to Ubisoft Montpellier ’s creative director, Jean-Phillipe Caro, there is a prototype of a possible sequel to ZombiU in the works. "The team is working hard on a prototype,” Caro told a fan on Twitter. “It’s too soon to tell you more." A poster on NeoGaf has also swooped in to claim they have spoken to ZombiU writer Antony Johnston who hinted that a sequel of the game “would indeed” be nice. ZombiU was one of [...]

Before Ryan Hemsworth set out on the European leg of his current tour, the Canadian producer released the lightly poppy production 'Perfectly'. The track will lead Hemsworth's upcoming Still Awake EP, which is set for release next week. Check out the track (courtesy of Mixmag), as well as the aforementioned tour dates, below. Ryan Hemsworth European tour dates: May 29 – Copenhagen – Rust May 30 – Paris – Social Club May 31 – Liege – Studio [...]

• Mixmag - Perfectly

Up-and-coming singer/producer Mikky Ekko dropped his newest infectious single, 'Disappear'. Although it's listed as a “ruff demo”, the finished product feels uniquely polished and well-executed, which, at this point, might not be too much of a surprise considering Ekko's steady rise. Listen to the new track below.

• Mikky Ekko - disappear (ruff demo)

Word of a new Chris Brown single may not be the most surprising thing; however, today's news about newest track 'They Don't Know' involves a surprising twist. The song, which will be featured on Brown's next album X , will also feature several unreleased verses from Aaliyah , eleven years after her death. The help of the late singer won't be the only guest contribution on X , as one could imagine. The album will also feature the help of Kendrick Lamar , Nicki Minaj , [...]

The Travelling Band will be hitting Manchester's Castle Hotel on May 20th at 8pm, and they've announced the show—and an exclusive ticket contest!—via the charming film below. Can't make it to Manchester next Monday? Never fear: they'll be streaming the gig right here at the 405 .

A wave of esoteric, inventive, yet highly accesible electronica we've fallen in love with at The 405 - the sort of vibe-ridden funk that makes everything okay, the sky purple and your thoughts pure. And a whole bunch of these very acts played The Playground Presents recently. So it was with a privilege that a throng of 405-ers descended on Koko recently on a stupendous night of music hosted by The Playground, that featured the likes of XXYYXX, Blackbird Blackbird, Mt. Wolf, Giraffage, Slow Magic and a whole lot more - you can read our [...]

Due to Jello Biafra's great success and strides with the Dead Kennedys over the past thirty something years, his later work has been condemned to a type of purgatory. When talking specifically about the project Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine , it seems to walk the tightrope between off-kilter and predictable. White People and the Damage Done is the second album from this collective, thus these should be reasonably unchartered waters for Jello Biafra. "We are the illuminazi, you're the food chain we devour!" – 'The Brown Lipstick Parade' opens [...]

The question of selling out isn't so much a question, rather, a nerve just waiting to be touched by angry young men. Lavish production, soaring, happy vocals and acoustic chord progressions can be too much to stomach for the belly of sensitive little fans. In the case of Benga , the Croydon based producer has already anticipated accusations of sounding too poppy, and expressed complete disinterest at rising to such comments. "This is actually the stuff I like," he says of his work, five years after Diary of an Afro Warrior , unashamedly confident and comfortable with his [...]