Hey EQs! It’s been one heck of a week so far here at EQ! I just wanted to say thanks for all the kind emails sent in about the Blake Lewis and Róisín Muphy interviews. I’m really glad you enjoyed them. I’ve been listening to all the feedback too about the slow load times and I’m working on it. I’ve changed the layout a bit and removed EQ TV which was weighing down the site, but EQ TV will return shortly in a clever way that isn’t so load-time heavy – I promise. Also it’s been really cool chatting to all the Facebookers in the EQ group too – wow, 160+ members now…it’s uber cool to see some of your faces and commentary! So with all that – on with the rants…
- In a cool product tie-in, Tiësto has teamed up with Armani Exchange in North America and are putting together some exclusive apparel and limited edition CDs for Tiësto’s "In Search Of Sunrise Tour" which spans across American on a rigorous party schedule during May and June. I really liked Tiësto’s remix/collaboration with Imogen Heap on "Hide And Seek" last year and became a little fan of his based on that piece of work alone. Get your glad rags on North American EQs as superstar DJ Tiësto is coming to town.
- I’m off to see Italy’s most famous male solo star on Monday night – Ligabue. He’s like the Italian Robbie Williams. Geri is a huge fan of his and in turn, I have grown to appreciate him a bit. Ligabue is doing a sold out run at London’s Koko and quite honestly, being in a sold out crowd of hot Italians doesn’t sound like a bad night out for me.
- The Pet Shop Boys will play a special one-off set during an event at London’s Heaven on May 2nd. Very exciting. Word on the street is that this performance could be the last one for awhile. I might just have to book tickets then – you can do so too on this linkage here.
- The buzz around retrotastic Rick Astley is in overdrive again due to the recent Rickmob at Liverpool Street Station and his video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" going viral on YouTube. Rick is headlining the "Here and Now" Tour in May alongside Bananarama and we are even treated to a new greatest hits album entitled "The Ultimate Collection" featuring the track "Full Of You" never before released in the UK. Can you believe he’s sold over 19 million albums? Tre-cool.
- José González has digitally released the "In Our Nature Remixes EP" via Mute Records. I’m really quite curious to hear this. A long time ago, I suggested that it would be a good idea to hear José’s soothing voice over a synthy dance beat and now, that sounds like it actually happened! Maybe this strategic move will bring the already successful José González into a bigger pop audience demographic.
- New Artist Alert: You may remember Ian Brearley from the rather good, but defunct boy band Digital. Well he’s moved on and is in the process of putting together some mighty-fine electro-pop. Ian posted a rough demo to "Goodbye To Yesterday" on his MySpace page and for a rough demo, it’s sounding rather good. EQ is definitely keeping an eye on Ian. Go show him support EQs.
- EQ was quoted alongside Time Out, The Evening Standard and QX magazine in a press release for Paleday’s new album "Love The Groove" – which can I say, is pop-fucking-tastic. They are truly "melodic pop gods" and "creamier than a gay cow". Expect a full album review coming soon.
- And finally we leave you with Boogaloo Stu’s new song and vid-e-o for "Magnetic Heart" that premiered on Arjan’s site yesterday. It’s so 80’s and retro-tastic that it would be a crime not to post it here for you EQs as well, in case you missed it. Enjoy!