NYS Music 20​17

Category: Europe

  • Premiere: Swedish Pop Group Akaba Releases Video for “Starfly”

    Swedish band Akaba has released their newest video “Starfly,” a collaboration with Kjahart, who used stop motion film and also created the album cover art for The Rust Within, recorded at Roth Handle Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.

    Åsa Carild tells of the song’s background “I used to sing in a band that was, for a little while, very successful. Being very young at the time it became an important part of how I defined myself. When all that faded, I was no longer who I defined myself as. The song is about the struggle with this.”
    Akaba starfly

    Akaba will release their debut album The Rust Within on October 13 and will perform at Pianos in NYC on October 14. Doors open at 6:30, with Akaba performing at 7pm.

    Akaba was born from the ashes of two other prominent Swedish Indie bands, Pineforest Crunch and Reminder. Åsa Carild, Tobias Ljungkvist and Mattias Olsson have toured extensively in Sweden playing everything from Thai restaurants to 600 seat venues, as well as touring the west coast of the United States, Toronto, London and New York City. Follow Akaba on Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, and tune in on Spotify or order their album on Amazon.

  • Rock AM Ring Festival Resumes After Possible Terror Threat

    With the most recent tragedy at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England still fresh, authorities are taking every security threat very seriously. Germany’s annual rock festival, Rock AM Ring, had to be halted on it’s opening night Friday for what authorities called “concrete leads,” in a possible terror threat against the festival that police wanted to eliminate before the festival continued.

    With over 80,000 fans attending the festival over the weekend, authorities wanted to make sure that everything and everyone is safe. Friday’s lineup included headliners Rammstein, Five Finger Death Punch, In Flames, Clutch and many more.

    rock am ring festivalAfter the Ariana Grande concert bombing, Rock Am Ring disallowed back packs at the festival and beefed up security to 1000 officers. Festival promoters made the following statement to fans after they were informed by the police:

    Due to a terrorist threat, the police have advised us to interrupt the festival. We ask all festival visitors to leave the festival site in a calm and controlled manner towards the exits and camping grounds. We have to support the police investigations. All visitors will be kept informed about any developments on all Rock Am Ring social media channels, radio and the speakers. We hope that the festival will continue tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation.

    One of the concerns involved a person who helped erect and organize the security fencing for the event. The Koblenz police released a statement about the possible threats:

    Because of the last attack on a concert in Manchester, the security concept for Rock Am Ring was modified in advance and the number of security officers was significantly increased to around 1,200… Since a threat could not be ruled out, all necessary measures were taken immediately. We cannot provide any further details on the background information. We take all tips and suspicious incidents extremely seriously and investigate closely.

    Rock AM Ring resumed early Saturday in Nurburg, once promoters got word that everything was clear. Festival organizers released a statement telling fans the festival would indeed resume, “After intensive searches and sweeps of the complete festival site by the police, the suspicion of a potential terrorist threat has not been confirmed.”

  • UPDATE: Explosion at Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, England Kills 19, Injures at Least 50

    British police have responded to an explosion during an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Early reports indicate that 19 people were killed and 50 injured in what is being investigated as a possible terrorist act.

    Explosion at Ariana Grande concertThe bomber was identified as 22 year-old Salman Abedi, the son of Libyan immigrants. According to authorities, he died in the explosion. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the terror alert to its highest level.

    Grande responded to the attack in a tweet after the show:

    https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/866849021519966208

    The Dangerous Woman Tour was scheduled to make a stop at London’s O2 Arena Thursday but TMZ is reporting that Grande has suspended the tour indefinitely.

    Among the 22 killed and 59 injured in the attack were many children under 16.

    The BBC is reporting that the blast occurred in one of the foyers to the arena at approximately 10:35 p.m. BST. A second suspected device was located in the vicinity of the explosion.

    The injured are being treated for shrapnel-type wounds amid a huge police presence. A bomb disposal unit was also dispatched to the scene. The Greater Manchester Police issued a statement via Twitter regarding the incident:

    A video posted by a concertgoer shows the ensuing panic within the arena moments after the explosion.

    https://twitter.com/hannawwh/status/866775833553379328

    Grande is on a world tour to promote her Dangerous Woman album. Her publicist confirmed that Grande is O.K. She is next scheduled to perform at O2 Arena in London on Thursday. No word yet as to whether that will happen.

  • Gorillaz Announce Demon Dayz Festival

    Gorillaz, the Grammy-winning virtual band co-created by multi-instrumentalist Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998, has laid plans for its own festival, which is to be called Demon Dayz Festival, after its second album. While the lineup has yet to be released, this is slated to be Gorillaz’ first live performance since the conclusion of 2010’s Escape to Plastic Beach Tour in Auckland, New Zealand.

    demon days festivalAt that show Albarn warned fans that it might be the last ever for Gorillaz, so today’s news comes as a sigh of relief for Gorillaz fans worldwide, who, for several years now, have been inundated with rumours of Albarn and Hewlett’s falling-out, delayed releases, and other speculation.

    The announcement comes following an increase in social media activity by the band, which has included biographies for the band’s four virtual members—2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russell Hobbs, and Noodle—a revised timeline of the band’s history, and the January release of “Hallelujah Money,” a single featuring Benjamin Clementine. While an album of new material has been in the works for a couple of years, a 2017 release now appears to be imminent. Check out the video for “Hallelujah Money” here.

    The single-day Demon Dayz Festival is scheduled for June 10 in Margate, England at the Dreamland amusement park. Tickets are now available starting at £60.00, with priority entry tickets for £70.00. Tickets include full access to the park’s rides. RedBull TV will also live stream the festival. Click here to visit the Demon Dayz website for tickets and more information.