July 14, 2013

New Blur Book: England, Damon Albarn and the Art of Melancholy

For die-hard music fans, there’s nothing more enjoyable than being able to find out more about your favorite band and it’s members. Whether it is the lead singer, the roadies, groupies, bodyguards, managers, producers, spouses or the other band members’ high-school classmates, the roadies, groupies, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives-husbands-kids, the list can go on to include all the people who have been part of a musician’s career.

Music is people-orientated – we create the music. However, one thing that is often overlooked is the importance of physical places that influence a band’s musical style. Geography matters- whilst The Beatles launched into a new musical direction after visiting India, Blur’s front man Damon Albarn similarly experimented with new sounds depending on his geographical location.

England, Damon Albarn and the Art of Melancholy (By Dylan Moore)

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Kindle Price: $6.99 (£3.96)

A new Blur book titled England, Damon Albarn & The Art of Melancholy is the first full-length study and analysis of one of Britain’s greatest talents. 

The book is a combination of geographical analysis, cultural commentary and biography, exploring each of Damon Albarn’s bands, collaborations and projects (Blur, Gorillaz, Mali Music, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Dr Dee).

About the Book  

In the summer of 1995, Damon Albarn seemed to have Britain at his feet. Blur had been awarded a record four Brits, Parklife had sold a million records and new single ‘Country House’ had won a much-publicised chart battle with rivals Oasis.

But within months, relationships within the band and Albarn’s personal life had begun to fray. Blur’s subsequent change of direction, a new relationship and subsequent fatherhood, and a trip with Oxfam to Mali were to mark the beginning of an artistic renaissance that was to see Albarn emerge as one of the most critically-lauded musicians in the world. Gorillaz, a cartoon concept band, were to sell more than Blur ever did, while The Good, The Bad and The Queen – a song-cycle about London – confirmed Albarn owed as much to William Blake as to David Bowie.

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Framed by the events of England’s glorious summer, what Albarn has called ‘the golden twilight’ of Queen Elizabeth II, England, Damon Albarn & The Art of Melancholy traces the decline of the English seaside town and the disappearance of the village green, documents the boredom, binge-drinking and violence of suburban commuter-belt towns, explores the layered histories of London’s music halls and examines how even Albarn’s globetrotting sojourns – to Iceland, America, China and Mali – always seem to evoke a very English melancholy.

The book is available on Amazon (US) (UK) on Amazon's Kindle Store, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle, iPad, iPhone and Android. 

An exclusive interview with the author talking about why and how he was inspired to write the Blur book will be available soon. 


July 12, 2013

Blur live in France- Eurockéennes Festival Photo Gallery

Blur played a live show on the Grande Scène Stage in Belfort, France on the evening of 7th July as part of their continuing 2013 World Tour. The show was part of one the Eurockéennes Festival, one of France's biggest annual musical events.

One might think that Blur are newcomers to France, but Blur are no stranger to the country- Damon Albarn and the band played in the Eurockéennes Festival exactly 18 years ago on 7th July 1995.

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French band 'Skip The Use' performed a cover of Blur's famous "Song 2" at the festival. 

User Cold War kid from the official Blur forums describes the France Eurocks show:

"I was a the concert they played in France, the day before yesterday. It was great, Damon obviously had a very good time. He played the outro of Coffee & TV for a really long time and talked a lot in French. I don't know what happened before the gig but Graham Coxon was in very bad mood. Or was it just because his guitar was out of tune during tender?

The crowd in the first 15 rows were packed... It was pretty intense. I still can't believe that those very young kids and many small girls made it to the end without fainting. I had to step back a little bit after Country House/Parklife. But apparently people were very quiet in the back.

The setlist was perfect. Many people complain here about the lack of originality in the setlist, but when you are in the crowd, you just want them to play 'Parklife', 'Tender' or 'Song 2' so that the crowd can go berserk and not 'Trailer Park' or 'Battery' in you leg. I don't think it would work well in festivals and blur should save them if one day they play proper gigs again. It was fantastic to see them again and can not wait for the next time."

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Fans could be heard saying "J'adore Blur!" in the front row during 'Parklife' 

Blur's Eurocks concert received generally positive reviews from both devoted fans and many local journalists. Many fans were "overjoyed" to be able to watch Blur live after the long wait. Afan commented: "I found the concert Blur quite magical, I was expecting something dusty but it was electrifying and joyful."

Photos and Images- Blur at Eurockéennes 


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See more photos from a comprehensive album HERE.

Setlist - Blur live at Eurockéennes Festival 2013

   (Theme From Retro)
   Girls & Boys
   Popscene
   There's No Other Way
   Beetlebum
   Out Of Time
   Trimm Trabb
   Caramel
   Coffee & TV
   Tender
   Country House
   Parklife
   End Of A Century
   This Is A Low

Encore:
   Under The Westway
   For Tomorrow (Visit To Primrose Hill Extended)
   The Universal
   Song 2

Video - Watch highlights from Blur live in Eurocks 

Enjoy a selection of fan footages from the gig and watch hits including 'Coffee and TV', 'Song 2', 'Country House' , 'Parklife' and more being performed.










French band Skip The Use' also performed a special rendition of Blur's biggest hit in America, 'Song 2'. The song was covered using a mix of French and English lyrics and featured the same tune and signature guitar riff as the original. Watch it below:



To find out more about the day of the festival, click HERE. Alternatively for those fluent in French, read a local review HERE.

Blur launched a new digital tour diary on their website to mark the commencement of the tour. Fans around the world are invited to create a scrapbook of memories from their 2013 tour. As quoted in the description, fans can add their memories by signing in to the site with Facebook. They are then given access to an exclusive 10% discount code, redeemable at the Blur store.

Alternatively, anything tagged with the appropriate gig hashtag on Twitter, tumblr, YouTube, Instagram and Soundcloud will automatically feed into the site, as each gig is unlocked throughout the year. Each gig is assigned a unique hashtag, which can be found on the site’s hashtag map.

The band will be heading to Russia tomorrow for a show in the Afisha Picnik festival on July 13th 2013. Don't forget to stay tuned and see more tour pictures on the fantastic Blur tour diary

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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July 10, 2013

Blur confirms show in Lima, Peru- Latin America Date 2013

Hola Peru! Blur have been officially confirmed to play in Lima, Peru at the Estadio San Marcos Stadium on October 29th 2013large-scaled Blur fan campaign pushing for Blur to come to Latin America have yielded much results: Before announcing Peru, Blur's management also confirmed one month ago via Facebook that they will be adding Brazil to their list of tour venues this year. 


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The message posted a few weeks ago goes: 

Calling all fans in Brazil! Your campaign has not gone unnoticed... Blur are coming to BRAZIL. 
Playing Planeta Terra Festival Sao Paolo on November 9th. 
More information to follow soon.

The band and their management team have been very receptive to call-for-action campaigns from fans this year, even going as far as personally answering fan mail and private messages via Facebook and Twitter. 

Blur visited South America 14 years ago as part of their 1999 world tour. This year marks Blur's most extensive tour of the region, covering countries such as Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil in a bid to please their fans. 


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Tickets for Blur live in Peru will be on sale from Thursday July 4th (11:00 am) on local Ripley and Phantom Music Stores. Those with a Ripley card can enjoy a 20% exclusive discount. 

Don't forget to head over to Blur Peru's Facebook page for more updates. 



Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.


July 7, 2013

Win a free Blur t-shirt !

Enter our new Blur t-shirt summer giveaway! 


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Simply tell us - which Blur song is on the top of your summer playlist? Which Blur song is your summer anthem and why?

For a chance to win and enter now, leave a comment on this Facebook post

The winner will get a choice of four very vintage, cool Blur graphics t-shirt designs to choose from, sponsored by MyIconArt. Myiconart.com is an online shop based in Colchester, Essex. For the informed fans, there is an obvious Blur connection straight away. The shop sells T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and tote bags with cool, retro and modern popular culture-related designs.

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Please 'LIKE' them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/myiconart
Also 'Follow them on Twitter': http://www.twitter.com/myiconart


July 6, 2013

Damon Albarn starts New Supergroup 'Fresh Touch'

Yet another new Damon Albarn side-project has been revealed, and this time it's for a good cause. The Blur frontman recruited American rock band Yeah Yeah Yeah's Nick Zinner, alternative band Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Flea for his new collaboration "Fresh Touch". 

The four musicians will collaborate and release a one-off single named "Latest Style" together to raise money for Oxfam's Syria campaign. The renowned NGO is appealing to the public for donations to support 650,000 impoverished political refugees who have fled their country due to the violence and social unrest apparent in the last few months. 

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Damon's new project - working with Alex Kapranos for a new single titled "Latest Style"

The track will be released on 13th July 2013 under the guise Fresh Touch. It will be put on sale exclusively at the Independent Label Market, a fair taking place in London's Old Spitalfields Market next weekend. The fair, held twice a year, will showcase independent record labels from all around the UK. 

Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist had previously worked with Damon on last year's Rocket Juice and the Moon album. 

Apart from Damon Albarn's new track, there will be nine more charity singles available for sale including a re-worked version of Tim Burgess's The Doors Of Then. 

For now, fans can only speculate on whether Damon will provide vocals, only music, backing vocals to the track, and whether he will choose to follow a more 'Gorillaz' approach for his new sound. 
"Latest Style" marks Damon's first official release since Gorillaz co-founder Jamie Hewlett confirmed last month that both Blur and Gorillaz will be recording new albums for the future.


Pick your best one-off track
  


For more details about the cause, head over to oxfam.org.uk/syria.


July 3, 2013

Blur confirms place in Argentina's Quilmes Rock Festival

Blur has officially confirmed Argentina as a tour destination as part of their large-scaled 2013 World Tour. The news, which was announced one week ago via the band's official Facebook page, came as no surprise to fans since rumours had been circulating for weeks on forums and fan-sites beforehand.

The festival's name was also revealed. The band will headline one of Argentina's most elaborate and biggest music festivals, the Quilmes Rock Festival on November 2nd 2013 (Saturday).  The festival is a held annually in several venues in Buenos Aires, including the Ferro Stadium and River Plate Stadium. Notable local and international artists, including several Britpop bands, have previously performed at the event.

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Exclusive Presale tickets for the Quilmes Rock Festival are available for French Bank customers from Thursday July 4th at TuEntrada.com. The general public can buy tickets from July 11th on the same site or via telephone services.

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The last time Blur visited Argentina was in 1999 as part of their '13' promotional tours. Fans in Argentina have voiced their delight that the foursome will return to visit the nation in 2013.


June 29, 2013

Blur Q Magazine feature - 2013 Photo Shoot

Blur were recently featured in the latest issue of Q Magazine. Included in the pages are a selection of drummer Dave Rowntree's behind-the-scenes Instagram images from the 2013 Blur world tour and a long article about the band's 'Early Days of Britpop'. 

Credits: 101reykjavik 
(Click to enlarge and read)
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Blur's latest gig scheduled in Turkey for the 'One Love Festival' have been cancelled due to political unrest. The band's next destination will be Poland, where they are playing a music festival from the 3rd - 6th July.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  
HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 
Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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June 25, 2013

Blur Istanbul Turkey show cancelled over Political Protests

Due to the recent political instability and unrest in Istanbul, the Turkish promoters of the Eifes Pilsen 'One Love Festival' have cancelled the show, which was to feature Blur as one of the main highlights as part of their world tour 2013.

A range of music concerts scheduled to take place in June in Istanbul have been canceled due to the ongoing Gezi Park protests that have spanned across all of Turkey. Gezi Park, a rare strip of green space in Istanbul, was the main site of a heavily opposed redevelopment project to build a shopping mall. Turkey has been plagued by violent demonstrations and heavy protests, reflecting the increasing lack of support for it's authoritarian prime minister Recep Ergodan, his leadership regime and the government's failure to provide for citizen's basic and legal needs.

An appropriate poster for Blur fans who were waiting for the show
Cancelled gig originally scheduled for June 2013

Snoop Dogg, Zaz, The National, Bloc Party, The Prodigy and Thirty Seconds to Mars were among the artists to take the stage as part of another festival, the Vodafone Istanbul Calling Event.

The highly anticipated Avea Escape Music Festival has also been postponed.

Blur were reported to be excited about seeing their devoted Turkish fans, but hopes to get another chance to visit the city in the future.

Fans who have bought the tickets in advance will be offered a full refund.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 
Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook


Jamie Hewlett - We will release a new Gorillaz album

News on Damon Albarn's virtual band Gorillaz had been sparse and few this year, but the latest snippet of information may just make a fan's day. Jamie Hewlett has confirmed that there will be a new Gorillaz album out in the future, but only after Damon's main band Blur has put out their new record.

Jamie revealed the new Gorillaz plans that he and Damon discussed for the future whilst speaking at a launch event for the pair's opera 'Monkey Journey To The West' in New York city recently. A fan that attended the event claims that Hewlett talked about the future of Gorillaz, but admitted he would have to wait for Blur to make their album first.

The fan on Gorillaz fan-site Gorillaz-Unofficial claims that Jamie Hewlett said: "There’s a five- year gap between the albums because they take a long time to do and and they’re very exhausting and when you’re finished you feel like you need to go do other stuff." 

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Jamie also added: "So Damon’s touring with Blur – he's doing a world tour with Blur at the moment and then they’re working on a new album so there isn’t really time for him, and I’m doing other stuff as well. So I think it’s, um, we’ll come back to it when the time’s right." 

The Gorillaz animator and comic artist also talked about how difficult it will be for a new Gorillaz record to be commercially successful. He is reported to have said that "the music industry’s changed so much since we started doing Gorillaz. There’s no money in the industry so you know you get these amazing new bands, like The Strypes from Ireland, kind of 14 years old [sic], you know, the best rhythm blues guitarist you’ve ever seen. Age 14, make songs and film it in their bedroom. It doesn’t cost anything, and so Gorillaz is kind of expensive. It’s expensive to do because it’s animated."

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Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett had previously released four Gorillaz albums, including the commercially successful 'Demon Days' in 2005 and their latest, semi-experimental 'Plastic Beach' record in 2010. The musical pair had a fall-out late last year, but is currently reported to be on good terms.

During Blur's world tour show in the Asia World Expo at Hong Kong, Damon Albarn announced to the audience that the band were heading back into the studio. "So we have a week in Hong Kong, and we thought it would be a good time to try and record another record," he said at the time.

Blur are reported to have made a demo tape during their week in the city, using up time that would have been spent rehearsing for the cancelled Taiwan gig.

Additionally, Alex James recently reported that Blur's new recording sessions are going "very well".

Will there be a new Gorillaz album out?
  


What's next for Blur and Gorillaz? Will there be two new studio albums released, one after the other? Or will plans suddenly change yet again? And what about Damon Albarn's solo album that is still the making? The original report is not official, and the confirmation claims are based on a fan comment - to what extend are the rumours true?

All that is official for now is that Blur will be heading to Dublin's Irish Museum of Modern Art on August 1st 2013 to play their only show in the British Isles this year. The date marks Blur's first show in Ireland in four years.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 
Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook


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