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From the NME Online:
PAUL WELLER is to release a dance remix EP and a new single in July. Weller has recorded a track called 'Helioscentric' with longtime producer and collaborator Brendan Lynch. 'Helioscentric' does not feature on Weller's recent album, the similarly-titled 'Heliocentric'. The track did however feature on the B-side to Weller’s last single, ‘He’s The Keeper’. Also on the EP will be an Andrew Weatherall remix of 'Helioscentric', and a Noonday Underground remix of the album track 'There's No Drinking After You're Dead'. The EP is currently being played in nightclubs across the country, and will get a full release on July 31 through Universal/Island. Inside sources who have heard the record told nme.com: "Krautrock it the term I’d use, especially for the Andrew Weatherall remix. That’s what he is into at the moment!" Lynch and Weller have produced dance tracks before, notably the track 'Kosmos', which featured on the eponymous 1992 Paul Weller album.
In addition to the EP, Weller also plans to release a new single, 'Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea' in July through Universal/Island. A spokesperson for Weller told nme.com that the single was likely to be released in the last two weeks in July, and is about Weller's daughter, Leah. The single will be the first release from the album eligible for the charts, as ‘He’s The Keeper’ had no barcode on the sleeve, and was intended as a ‘fan only’ release. Paul Weller has just completed a UK tour, but will make three festival appearances this summer at the Dublin Witnness Festival (August 6), V2000 Festival (August 19-20) and Glasgow Green Festival In The City (August 25).Weller's tour dates beginning this week: Bristol Colston Hall (27), Guildford Civic Hall (29 & 30), London Royal Albert Hall (May 2 & 3), Nottingham Arena (5), Manchester Apollo (6 & 7), Aston Villa Leisure Centre (9 & 10), Glasgow Barrowlands (12 & 13), Edinburgh Playhouse (14), Towerlands Braintree Arena (17), Bournemouth International Centre (18) and Cardiff Arena (19).
Weller is also confirmed to play at the Witness Festival, at County Meath, Fairyhouse Racecourse, Ireland on August 5-6, the V2000 Festival at Weston Park, Staffordshire, and Hylands Park, Chelmsford on August 19-20 and the Glasgow Green Festival In The City on August 25-26.
Excerpt from http://www.music365.co.uk/autocontent/news_029815.htm:
PAUL WELLER is among those to guest on the new offering from former Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim. Weller is responsible for guitar/hammond/mellotron and backing vocals on Ibrahim's 'Middle Road' EP, which is released in the UK on Monday May 29. He has also co-written a track on Ibrahim's forthcoming solo album.
"Heliocentric" track list includes: 'He's The Keeper' 'Frightened' 'Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea' 'A Whale's Tale' 'Back In The Fire' 'Dust & Rocks' 'There Is No Drinking, After You're Dead' 'With Time And Temperance' 'Picking Up Sticks' 'Love Less' .
The Japanese release includes two extra tracks: 'Heliocentric' (instrumental) and 'Bang Bang' (Sonny Bono cover).
Bridlington Spa Pavilion (April 21), Preston Guildhall (22), Leicester De Montford Hall (23), Reading Rivermead (25), Plymouth Pavillions (26), Bristol Colston Hall (27), Guildford Civic Hall (29), London Royal Albert Hall (May 2), Nottingham Arena (5), Manchester Apollo (6), Aston Villa Leisure Centre (9), Glasgow Barrowlands (12), Edinburgh Playhouse (14) Braintree Towerlands (17), Bournemouth International Centre (18) and Cardiff Arena (19). Support will come from Toploader and Aziz across the dates.
Tracks on the first single from "Heliocentric" include: 1.He's The Keeper 2.Helioscentric 3.Bang Bang (Written by Sonny Bono).
First single off of Weller's new album, "Heliocentric".
Bridlington Spa Pavilion (April 21), Preston Guildhall (22), Leicester De Montford Hall (23), Reading Rivermead (25), Plymouth Pavilions (26), Bristol Colston Hall (27), Guildford Civic Hall (29), London Royal Albert Hall (May 2), Nottingham Arena (5), Manchester Apollo (6), Aston Villa Leisure Centre (9), Glasgow Barrowlands (12), Edinburgh Playhouse (14), Braintree Towerlands Arena (17), Bournemouth International Centre (18) and Cardiff Arena (19).
Tickets go on sale from Friday January 28 priced £23.50 except London £25. Available from all venue box offices, national ticket hotline (0115 9129168) or www.tickets-online.co.uk .
March 20th is the UK release date set for Paul's new album, entitled "Heliocentric". This date may be the worldwide release date as well, more details to come.
According to NME, Paul is planning a March single release followed by a full length album tentatively titled "Helios Centric". He describes the album as "pastoral and folky" compared to "Heavy Soul". Song titles include: There Is No Drinking When You're Dead, Frighten, With Time and Temperance, He's the Keeper, and A Whale Tale. String arrangements on some songs are by Robert Kirby, who has worked with Nick Drake in the past.
Titled "Going Underground", this single features a superb version of "Going Underground" by Buffalo Tom, along with Liam Gallagher's first ever lead vocal performance outside Oasis, joining with Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene for a spine tingling version of "Carnation". The full tribute album, "Fire and Skill", will be released in the UK on November 2nd.
SonicNet provides this description: The Beastie Boys, Garbage, Ben Harper and Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher have contributed tracks to a tribute to '70s mod band the Jam. Fire & Skill — The Songs of the Jam is due Nov. 1 in England on Ignition Records; no U.S. release has been announced, according to the album's official website (www.fireandskill.com). Led by Paul Weller, the Jam rose to fame during the punk era, working in the rock and R&B territory mined earlier by the Who. Fire & Skill's complete track listing: Liam Gallagher and Steve Cradock, "Carnation"; Beastie Boys, "Start!"; Reef, "That's Entertainment"; Heavy Stereo, "The Gift"; Silversun, "Art School"; Everything but the Girl, "English Rose"; Buffalo Tom, "Going Underground"; Garbage, "The Butterfly Collector"; Ben Harper, "The Modern World"; Gene, "Town Called Malice"; and Noel Gallagher, "To Be Someone." The disc also will include a hidden track, Weller and Cradock's version of the Jam's "No One in the World."
Paul sings backing vocals on the album track "No One At All" from the new Ocean Colour Scene CD, "One From the Modern" to be released August 30th.
Ocean Colour Scene is celebrating their 10th anniversary with an album, tour, single, and webcast! The first single, "Profit In Peace", will be released on August 23rd. B-sides include: "If You Get Your Way" and "Flood Tide Rising".
The full album, "One From the Modern", is due September 13th. The full track list: 'Profit In Peace', 'I Am The News', 'So Low', 'Emily Chambers', 'July', 'Step By Step', 'No One At All', 'Families', 'Soul Driver', 'Jane She Got Excavated', 'The Waves', 'I Won't Get Grazed'.
Tour dates and webcast information: http://www.oceancolourscene.com
The following information is from Q Magazine, who spoke directly to Paul regarding his upcoming album plans:
Paul Weller has written songs for a new album which "will be very different from Heavy Soul. It's going to be more colourful as I've made enough dark music for a while." The LP will come out early next year to avoid "all the millenium madness and hype."
Paul recently performed at a Kosovo Aid Benefit in London at the Kentish Town Forum. His solo acoustic set included "Broken Stones", two new(!) songs, and covers of "What's Going On" and "All You Need Is Love". Paul then joined in on sets by Ray Davies and the Stereophonics. The show was topped by a stellar performance by Noel Gallagher which kicked off with a heartfelt cover of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony". Anyone with a bootleg copy of this show- let me know!!!
According to Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Craddock, he has been collaborating on new songs with Paul. This means that the advance demo released late last year of Paul's fifth album is by no means accurate. While we wait another year for Paul to release new material, you might want to check out recent releases by the Chemical Brothers, Pavement, the Low-Fidelity All-Stars, and Love Battery.
Paul, Noel Gallagher, and other British rockers are planning to take a trip to Albania in the near future to meet with Kosovan refugees. The trip is being arranged by Paul's sister Nicky.
With rumors abounding that Paul will not be touring any more this year and that he is still writing and recording new material, it may be safe to assume that Mr. Weller is planning to unveil a brand new start in the year 2000... in the meantime, we should hear the new OCS record and the Jam tribute album later this year.
If you've got some hard earned money saved up to blow on records, check out the new, prog-free Fish. The album is called "Raingods with Zippos" and it is his most successful solo album to date. More details can be found at http://www.the-company.com
The headline says it all. The Verve are no more. According to Richard Ashcroft:
"The decision to split the band did not come without a great deal of distress to me personally, I have always given everything to the band and would have continued to do so if circumstances had not made it impossible. I would like to thank the fans for their loyal support and their phenomenal response to 'Urban Hymns'. I feel more positive now a decision has been made; being in limbo isn't good for the soul. I can now move forward and put my energies into new songs for a new album."
Verve fans can at least look forward to the release of a long-form video called The Verve - The Video 1996-1998 in May. The video features live footage and their most popular video clips.
With Paul doing little more than playing a handful of European dates this month, here's some odd bits of news from our other favorite bands:
"Above the Clouds" was featured on the soundtrack during last Wednesday's episode of the American television show Felicity. Paul and the college-age drama seem like an odd mix, but it was a great (albeit small) boost for our man. By the by, don't even ask how I know about this event.
Former Roses' guitarist John Squire is again bandless. The Seahorses have broken up citing, believe it or not, "musical differences".
Paul Weller is playing a handful of dates in Germany in March and April. Find tour details here.
The first single from Beth Orton's upcoming Central Reservation is titled "Stolen Car". I've already heard it - it's fantastic! The single will be released on February 22nd. The tracklisting is as follows:
Stolen Car (Part 1)
Tracks: 1.Stolen Car 2.I Love How You Love Me (Non-LP track) 3.Precious Maybe (Non-LP track). Release Date: 22-Feb-99
Stolen Car (Part 2)
Tracks: 1.Stolen Car (Radio Edit) 2.Stars All Seem To Weep (Shed Version) 3.Touch Me With Your Love (Live). Release Date: 22-Feb-99
This single can be pre-ordered from Siren CD.
Rock-instrumentalists Mogwai, arguably the most experimental (yet still good) rock band today, are set to release a new album titled Come On, Die Young in late March. The track listing includes:
Punk Rock, Cody, Helps Both Ways, Year 2000 Non Compliant Cardia, Kappa, Waltz For Aidan, May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door, Oh! How The Dogs Stack Up, Ex Cowboy, Chocky, Christmas Steps, X-Mas, Punk Rock / Puff Daddy Antichrist
Paul has been accused by 60's rock icon Arthur Lee (of Love) of ripping him off. Seems the song Brand New Start appropriates the melody and chord structure of a song Lee recorded in 1992. Seeing that Lee is currently serving jail time for unlawful use of a firearm, a lawsuit against Weller is a distinct possibility.
While waiting for Paul's new solo album later this spring, I've satisfied the urge for new music by taking a serious listen to Mansun's Six. I wasn't at all impressed by this band's first album, Attack of the Gray Lantern, but kept them in mind after seeing an excellent live performance opening for the Seahorses in '97. Six is a refreshing change from the second rate Brit-pop of Embrace, Reef, etc. The album is a complex narrative on fame, love, and life, etc. which merges "progressive rock" stylings with a strong Radiohead vibe; yet I don't feel I'm listening to a Radiohead rip-off. Instead, I'm still trying to make sense of this 70+ minute opus, both lyrically and sonically. Highly recommending it, and if you do go to purchase, look for the new limited edition Hong Kong import with a 10-track bonus disc of live tracks, remixes, and B-sides.
The release of Radiohead's highly praised tour documentary, Meeting People Is Easy, has been delayed for release in the US until late spring. Argh!
The new year always kicks off a round of announcements regarding artists commencing work on new projects. Here's a brief round-up of some great things in the works:
Radiohead have finally entered the studio to begin work on the follow up to OK Computer. Though a number of old and recently performed songs may be recorded, the band tends to take a long time to record and their fourth record probably won't be released until next year. However, Radiohead are considering releasing a live album or b-sides compilation sometime in '99.
Richard Ashcroft has been in the studio recording some songs by himself, though there is no word yet on whether these are merely Verve demos or tracks for an upcoming solo album.
Noel Gallagher has vowed to create an Oasis album this year that apologizes for the critical and commercial flop Be Here Now. Expect harder, shorter songs more influenced by Led Zeppelin than the Beatles. (Though personally I thought Be Here Now was a fine album!)
Former Marillion vocalist Fish is planning to release his most ambitious solo album to date, entitled Raingods with Zippos, on April 20th. The album centerpiece will be a thirty-minute track called "Plague of Locusts" which will combine experimental trip-hop sounds with Fish's recently updated post-progressive rock sound.
Other great albums to be released in the first half of 1999 include: Beth Orton, Supergrass, Bernard Butler, The Seahorses, and The Black Crowes. Oh yeah, and some guy named Paul Weller too...
The new "Wild Wood" EP is now available. The cover art is similar in style to Modern Classics and suggests that this single is a companion to Paul Weller's greatest hits. The b-sides include the infamous "Wild Wood" remix by Portishead, clocking in at 3:29, and a remix of "Science" by Brendon Lynch and the Psychonauts 4:29 in length. The Portishead mix is frighteningly Portishead-ish and rather excellent. The "Science" remix turns the song basically into a funky dub instrumental and is not a terribly big deal.
The limited edition re-release of "Wild Wood" has been delayed until January 4th. This very special limited edition (some reports say one week only) CD or vinyl will contain the following tracks:
1.Wild Wood (Original Mix)
2.Wild Wood (Paul Weller Vs Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix)
3.Science (With The Psychonauts - A Lynch Mob Remix)
The January issue of Q Magazine features a short piece on Paul from the Annual Q Awards. Weller won (and showed up to receive!) the award for classic songwriter of the year. Weller was more excited to meet presenter Edwin Starr, whose classic song "War" is covered by Paul on Live Wood at the end of "(Can You Hear Us) Holy Man".
Boy about town Noel Gallagher has been discussing his newfound passion for the music of Led Zeppelin, claiming that the eight songs he has written for Oasis' next album will be Zep-influenced. Brother Liam has also contributed one song to the project. Expect an album towards the end of 1999.
According to Issue 17 of the Paul Weller fanzine Ooh Aah Paul Weller, John Reed, the author of the excellent Paul Weller biography My Ever Changing Moods is currently working on a new book called The Complete Music of Paul Weller and The Jam. This new book will focus on the songs rather than the songwriter. If you would like to subscribe to Ooh Aah Paul Weller, which publishes a quarterly newsletter, you may contact the editor by email at j.kershaw@liverpool.ac.uk
On December 28th, Paul Weller will release a single for "Wild Wood". This very special limited edition (some reports say one week only) CD or vinyl will contain the following tracks:
1.Wild Wood (Original Mix)
2.Wild Wood (Paul Weller Vs Portishead - The Sheared Wood Remix)
3.Science (With The Psychonauts - A Lynch Mob Remix)
The amazing cover story in December's Uncut Magazine mentioned yesterday reveals the fantastic news that Paul Weller has nearly finished his 5th solo album, due early next year! Paul gave a tape of the new songs to his Uncut interviewer who described the new songs as follows (song title followed by direct quote from scribe Paul Lester):
"Dust And Rocks"- Heavy Soul-ishly ragged
"Frightened"- echoes Pink Floyd's "Brain Damaged"
"Picking Up the Sticks"- has a psychedelic feel; a "Riders On the Storm" piano coda, and showcases a softly-whispering Weller
"Back In the Fire"- has a pleasant circular melody
"Better"- blues-rock, the antithesis of the amphetamine rush of The Jam
"Instrumental"- full of sonic bleeps
"Bang Bang"- a forlorn ballad
"Time Heals the Pain"- quite lovely
"Loveless"- an eerily pretty mini-symphony reminiscent of Dennis Wilson
Lester summarizes these nine songs (and a tenth, unmentioned by title) as "though raw in execution, to be among his most complex and intricate in structure".