Last week, Mini Viva performed in the Popjustice venue at the Camden Crawl. Click here to see a set of pictures from the night and read some reviews:
«When you hear the team behind nearly all of Girls Aloud's hits are setting up their own record label you've got to be a bit excited. Mini Viva are the first fruits to come from the Xenomania tour of the UK hunting for amazing pop stars and they filled the Cuban Bar on Friday night with a bunch of fans escaping from the skinny jeans of the rest of the festival. Singing that kind of perfect pop you'd expect from the Xenomania team, Frankee and Brit are two tiny girls who are very much in tune with each other. Limited dance routines were perfectly synchronised and you felt like they almost had a connection, knowing exactly what the other was about to do. With plenty of club mixes of limited release 'I Left My Heart In Toyko' already whizzing round the club scene, Mini Viva might be just starting out but have got their act perfectly honed.» Londonist
«The first act I caught on the bill were girl duo Mini Viva. The girls are currently working with Xenomania so look set to release some quality Pop in the near future. Their Crawl showcase seemed to be one of their first gigs, with Britt and Frankee showing off their dance routines to an audience that smiled their way throughout the duo's set. I thought the whole thing was great fun, a tiny bit cheap and cheerful but that may have been the bar setting rather than what was happening onstage. I hope Mini Viva's management dont smooth out their rough edges too much as the girls are highly entertaining as they are.» The Music Fix
On their MySpace, the girls describe it as their "first official step into the music world". They have also written a little bit about themselves:
- Britt Love (pictured right) «I'm really just your average 20 year old girl. I like clothes and music makes me tick. My passion in life is to entertain you! I was born in the States but was brought up in a place called South Shields, Newcastle Upon Tyne, where I lived off the best Sunday dinners!!! lol Fave hobbies - dancing, watching classic movies and listening to Ibiza chill out. Fave colours - red and purple. Fave food - Japanese / sushi, and Mexican (yum). Fave things at the moment - leggings, high tops, chewing gum, Lady Gaga, sunglasses, Daisy (my dog), grapes, tofu, flip camera.»
- Frankee Connolly (pictured left) «I'm Frankee - Francesca Rose Comolly. I'm 19 years old, born 23/10/89. As you can see I'm one half of Mini Viva. I'm from the North West of England.....Manchester, to be precise! My background is white English mixed with Jamaican - thought I would drop that in there as people tend to ask me that a lot, so there you go, you all know now! I love to sing. It's one of my passions in life and I'm very fortunate to be doing it as my career. I'm a family girl--some days I like to just chill out. Like every female, I'm addicted to shopping--I always have been, even when i have no money lol! I was brought up around all sorts of music from soul to reggae, and that what I do still listen to up to today along with R'n'B, pop and lots more! A few things I like to do are... Go on holiday - I love the holiday vibe Spend time with loved ones Hang out with friends Pig out now and again hehe!»
Feeling lonely? Jessie Malakouti will be doing a live chat thing on Facebook today. Jessie will be chatting on live video at 11pm GMT (UK time) / 3pm PT / 6pm ET. What you need to do:
1. Login to Facebook 2. Search for the SUPER WALL app or go to it if you already have it installed 3. Once you have the app added to your page, click on MUSIC at the top to get to the backstage area to chat with Jessie.
Jessie Malakouti has recently been back at the Xenomania studios writing and recording. Follow her on Twitter. and visit her MySpace page to listen to some tunes.
Alex Gardner has posted a live video of "Yesterday's News", performed recently at Water Rats, in London:
The Sunday Times has published an interview with Brian Higgins and Alex Vargas, the front man in Vagabond, who are latest signing to the rapidly expanding Xenomania label.
Sunday Times writer Dan Cairns compares Xenomania's HQ to «an enviably laidback holiday camp». He also describes Brian Higgins as «an affable though slightly edgy character», who admits to having «worked most weekends, going back, I suppose, to about 1994». Higgins says that he and longtime colleagues such as Miranda Cooper reject 95% of what they do: «Our year is spent trying to get to that 5% that is truly great».
Higgins says that he had a hunch that Alex Vargas «wasn’t particularly a rock singer but a soul singer». This led the producer, whose pre-Xenomania background was, he says, all about «really underground, trendy club music», to reconnect with buried influences: «I suddenly remembered the feelings I had for Hall & Oates records.»
Higgins: «There’s nothing wrong with teenage musicians having an idea that doesn’t tally with their ability. That’s called being young. Growing up is about learning who you really are and what your true ability is. If Xenomania stands for anything, it’s about trying to get clarity into that situation far quicker than life experience allows.»
Here's a few more excerpts from the article:
Working with Xenomania: Brian Higgins: «It isn’t an entirely benign environment. The work ethic is so total. When people sign up, they sign up for a lot; it’s a fundamental lifestyle change. While they’re here, all these artists are used to witnessing a lot of success, but what they also see is, no limos, no champagne, nothing other than, ‘Right, what are we getting on with today?’ That culture is deeply ingrained.»
Alex Vargas: «Most people, when they have a No 1, will go to the pub to celebrate, and get lashed. Whereas in the Xenomania house, if they have one, they go, ‘Okay, let’s beat it.’ You have to be made of a certain material to be able to survive in an environment like that. There are people that come and go very quickly because they can’t handle it. I’ve been beaten up, verbally, a couple of times.»
Brian Higgins speaks about Alex Vargas Higgins says he was attracted to Vargas (...) because he could hear in his head the music he felt the front man should be making. “You have to meet the right person. It’s not fate, I don’t mean that, and I don’t really believe in it. It’s all about chemistry and connection. As important as I knew I was for Alex, because I had a vision of where he could be, he was of critical, enormous importance to us, because of this sense that we would be able to move forward into areas we hadn’t been able to go to before, because there hadn’t been a voice of that nature.”
Alex Vargas speaks about Brian Higgins (...) [Higgins] is a man on a mission, and, says Vargas, never really switches off. “At one of the Christmas parties,” the singer recalls, “we had all the amps set up in the purple room, all these musicians, and we ended up having this blues jam. And afterwards, Brian goes, ‘That song, what was that? Could you do it again?’ ”
(...) "He’s a very intimidating man. I was so impressed with how he opened my eyes; just the brutal honesty — you don’t get that with many people.” Vargas is convinced the experience was good for him, painful though it was. “You know the expression ‘killing your babies’?” he laughs. “Well, please don’t highlight this, but Brian will kill your babies.”
The Guardian has published a short article about Vagabond. Angus Batey reckons that they could be «the world's biggest new band»: «Their music is the pinnacle of guitar-based pop perfection, where the full range of armaments - dynamics, orchestration, affectingly whole-hearted songs - are deployed with precision in an assault on the listener's heartstrings.»
Vagabond recently finished a number of dates as the main support to James Morrison on his UK tour. They'll play a few more shows with Morrison over the summer, but they will headline shows of their own from the end of April. See the dates on their MySpace.
A British rocking soul outfit who would have one foot on the rickety ladder to stardom even without the hit factory Xenomania.
"Rocking soul"? I'll get me coat.
Your loss. Their music is the pinnacle of guitar-based pop perfection, where the full range of armaments - dynamics, orchestration, affectingly whole-hearted songs - are deployed with precision in an assault on the listener's heartstrings.
Are they the new Maroon 5? I don't like Maroon 5.
Maroon 5 made it despite being uncool; Vagabond - and singer/songwriter Alex Vargas - look like scoring hits and good reviews. They could be the world's biggest new band.
It all sounds retro.
Vargas can come across like a mellower David Clayton-Thomas, from Blood Sweat & Tears. But Vagabond's epic, questing songs also have a lot in common with U2 and the Verve.
What could possibly go wrong?
Not a lot, though it's a shame about the word "sweat" in the debut single title.
The Treasure Fingers and Acid Girls remixes of Mini Viva's "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" are now available to download. They're exclusively on sale through Beatport for a short while - click here to buy.
Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, who make up Mini Viva, formed last year and are being looked after by Xenomania. Last October, new label World’s Finest Records put out a limited 10'' single of "I Left My Heart In Tokyo", with a Fred Falke dub mix on the a-side and an instrumental mix on the b-side. Fred Falke's dub mix recently appeared in the Hed Kandi compilation Nu Disco: The Future Sound Of Disco (CD2).
Catch Mini Viva live on these dates:
9 April, 19:00 - Water Rats, London 24 April, 20:00 - Camden Crawl
Vagabond's frontman Alex Vargas recently spoke in an interview about the group's history and ambitions. The band is currently playing a series of gigs as the main support for James Morrison's UK tour: «We want to become one of the best live acts in the business and that is why we have been touring so much.»
Vagabond formed about a year ago, pretty much by accident, as they were all working in Xenomania's studios. «I was busy working, writing material for my producer, when I met Stephen [Carter] and Luke [Fitton], who had come to do some work with my producer», Alex said. «We hit it off very well and decided to form our own band.» They then came across Sam Odiwe and Karl Penney, and the band was complete.
«The most important and key thing for us is that our music is soulful. We are influenced by many genres of music — pop, rock, lounge, funk and blues — as we all come from different parts of the world, but we always come back to soul.»
Alex Vargas also speaks about what sparked his interest in music: «From the age of 12 I knew I wanted to be a professional footballer — a typical boy’s dream — but then got interested in music. I picked up the guitar when I was 15 and began writing songs and knew this was my destiny.»
Click here to watch a video interview with Vagabond.
Vagabond have posted a live video of "I've Been Wanting You", from a "busking session" they did at the Hammersmith underpass after their Apollo show:
Sounds like a hit already! (fingers crossed, etc.)
The debut album from Vagabond, titled You Don't Know the Half Of It!, arrives June 22nd. You can pre-order it on Amazon. Their first single, "Sweat (Until The Morning)", is due June 8th.
Vagabond are in the middle of their tour as main support for James Morrison. If you see them on the James Morrison tour, make sure you pick up one of the snippet CD samplers that are given out at the end of the night as people leave the venue. The 5-track promo sampler includes the following songs:
1. Sweat (Until The Morning) 2. Don't Wanna Run No More 3. I Know A Girl 4. I've Been Wanting You 5. I Said Hello
Mint South has reviewed one of Vagabond's recent shows:
«Second band Vagabond should have been headlining tonight. They really should. Singer Alex Vargos stepped out and immediately stunned the crowd with his spectacular singing voice. Kudos to the rest of the band for turning up to support him, but the music burbled along in the background and was really only there to showcase the vocals. Every note was spot on, every curl and tremble of the voice was well practised and dead correct. Hiding shyly under his mop of hair, concentrated expression and 80s t shirt, Alex really is the ideal front-man; perhaps purchased in flat-pack form from the new IKEA.
The bassline led a merry dance in the background with the odd soulful blast of brass. The band are signed to Geffen (single ‘Sweat (Until The Morning)’ was given an airing tonight) and it’s easy to see why: their radio-friendly sounds combined with the perfect voice, non-offensive sound and easy on the eye appearance would make any record label executive give thanks upon receiving their demo. With such a big sound in such a small room, they would do well at an open-air gig or as a stadium support act – and maybe one day will be headlining there themselves.»
The highly collectable 7'' vinyl of Toddla T's remix of "Sweat (Until The Morning)" is available to buy from these stores:
Toddla T's remix blurs the line between dubstep, dancehall and breaks, and features MCing from Mr. Versatile.
Culturedeluxe has published a review of the "Sweat (Until The Morning)" remixes:
«Multinational group Vagabond (Uruguay-Denmark-London-erm, Huddersfield) look set to score high with new single `Sweat (Until The Morning)` despite the original mix sounding like the Lighthouse Family making a comeback with a depressed Tina Turner on vocals. However, the intelligent sods have managed to rope in three very different productions for a rather nifty remix package and it is to this we turn our attention solely.
The first of three mixes (six if you include the instrumentals) is a pleasant but uninspiring mix of glitch and dancehall from Toddla T with additional toasting from Mr Versatile while Plugs make the best use of the vocals on a sunkist, Balaeric re-imagination.
Best of all is the Filthy Dukes `Vocal` Mix which replaces nearly all of the pedestrian original with pulsing synth screeches, Vince Clarke bleepery and sleek house craftmanship. By far the best way to enjoy Vagabond this Spring.»
Vagabond did an acoustic performance of "Sweat (Until The Morning)" for Balcony TV. Watch it here.
According to Xenomania's official MySpace, Vagabond will be shooting the video for their next single in the next couple of weeks (possibly in the US again).
Mini Viva are confirmed to play live on the Popjustice stage at this year's Camden Crawl, on April 24th. More than 150 artists will perform at the festival at 40 venues around the London borough. This year, the event will take place on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th April.
Ticket holders will be granted unlimited access to all official festival venues featuring more than 150 live artists, daytime activities, arts programme and aftershow parties. Tickets for the Gaymers Camden Crawl 2009, available as either 2-day or single day passes, are on sale now.
Frankee Connolly and Britt Love (aka Mini Viva) began gathering attention last year with the Fred Falke remixes of their single "Left My Heart In Tokyo". Since then, the song has also been remixed by Treasure Fingers and Acid Girls. Xenomania's official MySpace has revealed that the remixes of "Left My Heart In Tokyo" will be available to download from April 6th.
Below is a live version of "Left My Heart In Tokyo", edited from a couple of live performances at London's Water Rats venue:
Mini Viva are joined live by Florrie Arnold (drums), Jason Resch (guitar) and Kieran Jones (bass).
WHO ARE THEY? A Home Counties quintet who are putting a British spin on the radio-friendly pop-soul of Maroon 5.
WHY THE FUSS? Fronted by gruff-voiced Alex Vargas, Vagabond are the latest chart contenders to spring from the Xenomania hit factory, the home of Girls Aloud. They have been honing their skills on the live circuit for the past six months and this week started a UK tour supporting James Morrison.
WHAT'S THE STORY? Curly-haired frontman Alex has family roots in Yorkshire and Denmark, but he formed Vagabond in Kent, recruiting guitarists Stephen Carter and Luke Fitton, bassist Sam Odiwe and drummer Karl Penney, before crafting a wall of sound with the help of Xenomania's Brian Higgins.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? The band's MySpace site lists Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and The Beatles as influences, while their record label Geffen claim, fancifully, that Alex is a cross between Michael Hutchence and Bryan Ferry. In truth, the blue-eyed soul of Mick Hucknall and Steve Winwood is closer to the mark. 'Soul is the thread that runs through everything we do,' says Alex.
WHAT NOW? A single, Sweat (Until The Morning), and the band's debut album, You Don't Know The Half Of It, are out in May. The songs veer between brassy, laid-back funk - the sort of thing that might go down well in a suburban wine bar - and more up-tempo, synth-driven pop. 'You can't listen to one or two tracks and think you know what we are all about,' says Alex. 'You've got to hear the whole package.'
To be accurate, their debut album is out June 22nd, preceded by the single "Sweat (Until The Morning)" (June 8th).
Click here to be added to the official Vagabond mailing list and download a free mp3 of "I Said Hello", a song from their debut album You Don't Know The Half Of It.
Vagabond are one of the acts being launched by Xenomania and are signed to Geffen Records. Their debut album, produced by Brian Higgins, is out June 22nd, preceded by the single ‘Sweat (Until The Morning)’ (June 8th). The video for the single was shot in the Mojave Desert and directed by Paul Minor (Muse, Editors, Glasvegas). Vagabond have been confirmed as the main support to James Morrison on his 15 date UK Spring tour, which starts today. These are the dates:
March 2009 Thu 19th Manchester, Apollo Fri 20th Manchester, Apollo Sat 21st Bristol, Colston Mon 23rd Glasgow, O2 Academy Tue 24th Newcastle, O2 Academy Thu 26th Portsmouth, Guildhall Fri 27th Exeter, Uni Great Hall Sat 28th Shrewsbury, Theatre Severn Mon 30th London, Hammersmith Apollo Tue 31st London, Royal Albert Hall
April 2009 Thu 2nd Leeds, O2 Academy Fri 3rd Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall Sat 4th Birmingham, O2 Academy Mon 6th Sheffield, O2 Academy Tue 7th Bournemouth, Bic
Vagabond have recently started a competition whereby the winner gets remixed by the band. The selected track will be remixed by Vagabond, and given away through a Universal Music download source. The competition is restricted to college students.
The latest issue of Attitude magazine (April edition) features a lengthy interview with the Pet Shop Boys, conducted by Colin Crummy.
Chris Lowe, who «positively brightens» at the mention of Xenomania, laughs at the idea that the production team is having its cover blown by the Pet Shop Boys in a series of interviews: «So many people ask what is it like to work with Xenomania. It's a bit like they have a secret bunker in the country.»
«Actually, it's really good fun working with them. Brian Higgins is a real character. They work in a way that is unique to them. He's very forthright; he tells you what he thinks as well», says Chris. «It's a very interesting meeting of forthright minds: Brian Higgins and the Pet Shop Boys. It would have made a great fly on the wall documentary, it really would have», adds Neils Tennant. «Of course we wouldn't do things like that and neither would he.»
Pet Shop Boys say that Brian Higgins talks in the most frank way about their music and career: Chris Lowe: «If you had a fragile ego you wouldn't be able to cope with it. (...) The funniest thing he said about us, I just found it really funny, was that [adopts a Cumbrian accent] "You haven't made a good record since 1989"» [Neil and Chris crack up laughing] Neil Tennant [correcting him]: «'88. Cos it didn't include "It's Alright".»
Neil: «Every day would probably start with Brian and us analyzing someone's career, a record company, record company politics (which are so strange these days anyway) or just talking about music we like. He's got an amazing memory for music, has Brian. And also he's got amazing brain for detail. He'll suddenly stop and say: "Why have you used that word?" and you'll say: "Why, didn't you like it?" and Brian will reply [mock innocently]: "No, just wondering." So he makes you think about it. And you can't sneak anything past him either.»
Chris: «It's an amazing group of people, team of people. There's a couple of kids from Australia in the attic who played bass and drums...» [Kieran Jones and Jason Resch] Neil: «Brian saw them in a bar in Melbourne and now they're in Kent! They've written "The Promise" for Girls Aloud. I think they're only 20.» Chris: «It's just a hive of activity and they have these communal lunches. And everyone in there can do something. So you think someone is just the secretary, but it turns out they are actually a fantastic drummer. And most people can do everything.» Neil [excitedly]: «And then there's [the] acts coming through. [...] two Geordie girls called Mini Viva who at lunchtime do a performance for everyone. It's completely rivetting.»
Mini Viva's single "Left My Heart in Tokyo" also gets a mention in Attitude magazine, in the "Turn Ons" section. The girls are described as a "modern-day Mel & Kim":
Vagabond's debut video "Sweat (Until The Morning)" is set in the Mojave desert. The video, shot by Paul Minor, sees them driving a car, sitting down, walking around and rolling in the sand with a blonde model. "Soulful", indeed.
"Sweat (Until The Morning) is out on June 8th. Watch the video below:
The Sun reports that last night Vagabond were forced to delay the start of their London gig due to overcrowding. People were queuing outside The Water Rats in King's Cross for almost an hour as the venue reached capacity.
Here's Vagabond playing "Sweat (Until The Morning)" in the "Purple Room" at Xenomania:
--- Attitude Magazine's blog has written a review of Xenomania's showcase from earlier this month:
«Pop children alert! This week the good folk at Xenomania Records, producers of all sorts of pop brilliance from Girls Aloud to the new (and amazing) Pet Shop Boys long player, held a showcase of their new talent at Notting Hill Arts Club.
This secret society of top-notch songwriters/producers, who are usually holed up in a country house in Kent, were in London to show off the new talent they rounded up in 2008 and hope to launch in 2009. And we were there. GET US.
Attitude was particularly a digging Mini Viva, two 18-year-old ladies in leggings, hi-tops and a way round synth pop stormer. Basically, the look is two teens on a dance stepper and the vibe is catchy-as-hell pop.
Plus, boy wonder Alex Gardner was simply lush, as they say in the Valleys (possibly).
Basically, Xenomania + the kids from Fame should = the best thing to hit the charts since the last best thing. Check out Xenomania Records for all Xenomania’s children.»
--- Watch recent videos of Xenomania's children playing live: This is Alex Gardner performing "Yesterday's News":
Pageboy 24 Feb 2009, 10:00 PM - Zigfrid Von Underbelly, London, - £5 18 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, - £6 Mini Viva 25 Feb 2009 19:00 - Water Rats, London 4 Mar 2009 20:15 - Water Rats, London
Jessie Malakouti 24 Feb 2009, 07:00 PM - Zigfrid Von Underbelly, London 04 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - Monto Water Rats, London 10 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - The Dublin Castle , London 16 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - Notting Hill Arts Club , London (invite only) 23 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - Monto Water Rats w/Jefree Star , London 07 Apr 2009, 07:00 PM - Monto Water Rats , London
The Electric City 27 Feb 2009, 08:00 PM - West Rocks @ Shepards Bar *DJ set*, London 18 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - The British Music Embassy @ Latitude 30, Austin, Texas 19 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - offical SXSW showcase at WAVE, Austin, Texas 20 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - SXSW, Austin, Texas 21 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - SXSW, Austin, Texas 22 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM - SXSW, Austin, Texas
Vagabond (view all live dates) Vagabond are giving away tickets for their next London show (March 3rd @ The Troubadour). Guest list is limited, so first come first served. Email your name to: eliza@locomotionent.com.
-- Vagabond are today's "New band of the day" on the Guardian. Paul Lester writes: «It will be some – many – people's idea of class, of adult sophistication, of "sexy". Vagabond will appeal to lovers of smoov balladry with a hint of urban and to lapsed soul fans who remember old-style R&B when it was more about grit and sweat than tricksy time signatures and surface dazzle».
Vagabond are seen as «a surprising choice» for Xenomania: «It's funny, or ironic, or something, that a band with a penchant for the "real" and authentic should join forces with the new gods of synthetic pop, but like we say, you'd never know, really (although weirdly, one of their songs, I've Been Wanting You, sounds like New Order-style electro-pop crooned by Hucknall). All Xenomania have done is make all the component parts – the supple basslines, Stax-y keyboards, choppy guitars and That Voice – clear in the mix, so that you can revel in the singing and the dexterous musicianship, all the things that today's mainstream music buyers love».
Paul Lester adds that in Alex Vargas «they've got a regular curly-permed sex-hunk of a frontman who just happens to have one of the most impressive white soul voices since Mick Hucknall, Paul Young, Robert Palmer and Marti Pellow; it even recalls the young Steve Winwood with its thick, deep, rumbling bluesy quality».
--- Their debut LP You Don't Know The Half Of It is released May 25.
--- Debut single "Sweat (Until the Morning)" is released by Geffen on 11th May.
--- The video was shot last weekend in Las Vegas, in the Mojave desert. Paul Minor was the video director.
--- "Sweat (Until The Morning)" has received a bashment treatment with a remix by Toddla T.
«Vagabond played a short, tight set last week at Water Rats. They just keep getting better and better. Ladies down the front swooned over Irrepressible front man Alex Vargas, he really is one to watch.
Debut single “Sweat (Until The Morning)” sounds cracking live as does “I’ve Been Waiting” and “Don’t Wanna Run No More”. This guitar based six piece have an r&b pop sound like no one else. We can’t wait for their debut album in May. Their producer Brian Higgins was in the audience on Tuesday.»
-- Vagabond will be the main support for the James Morrison UK tour starting next month.
Upcoming shows: 21 Feb 2009 20:00 Colosseum, Covertry 22 Feb 2009 20:00 King Tut’s, Glasgow 25 Feb 2009 20:00 The Fly, London 3 Mar 2009 21:00 The Troubadour London 9 Mar 2009 20:00 Portland Arms, Cambridge 10 Mar 2009 20:00 The Lanes, Bristol (Club NME) 11 Mar 2009 20:00 The Hub, Exeter (Vibraphonic Festival!) 12 Mar 2009 20:15 Water Rats London 13 Mar 2009 20:00 Marquee, Hertford 14 Mar 2009 20:00 The Cellars, Portsmouth Southsea 19 Mar 2009 20:00 Apollo , Manchester (Supporting James Morrison) 20 Mar 2009 20:00 Apollo , Manchester (Supporting James Morrison) 21 Mar 2009 20:00 Colston Hall , Bristol (Supporting James Morrison) 23 Mar 2009 20:00 Academy , Glasgow (Supporting James Morrison) 24 Mar 2009 20:00 Academy , Newcastle (Supporting James Morrison) 26 Mar 2009 20:00 Guildhall , Portsmouth (Supporting James Morrison) 27 Mar 2009 20:00 Uni Great Hall , Exeter (Supporting James Morrison) 28 Mar 2009 20:00 Theatre Severn , Shrewsbury (Supporting James Morrison) 30 Mar 2009 20:00 Hammersmith Apollo , London (Supporting James Morrison) 31 Mar 2009 20:00 Royal Albert Hall, London (Supporting James Morrison) 2 Apr 2009 20:00 Academy , Leeds (Supporting James Morrison) 3 Apr 2009 20:00 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham (Supporting James Morrison) 4 Apr 2009 20:00 Academy, Birmingham (Supporting James Morrison) 6 Apr 2009 20:00 Academy, Sheffield (Supporting James Morrison) 7 Apr 2009 20:00 BIC, Bournemouth (Supporting James Morrison)
Mini Viva are Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, a new pop duo that is being launched by Xenomania. They've been playing a few gigs and last year they released their first single "Left My Heart In Tokyo" on limited 10" vinyl (with Japanese-style packaging).
The release only contained remixes by the French producer and DJ Fred Falke (known for his collaborative work with Alan Braxe). "Left My Heart In Tokyo" was the first single on new London-based label World's Finest Records.
Popjustice has written about Mini Viva today, saying that «they're quite brilliant in their own right and would be worth writing about even if Bono was beehind the whole thing».
Xenomania's official MySpace page has been updated today with new demo clips of Jessie Malakouti and an instrumental track titled "Theme From Xenomania" (!):
«Then there's also a demo clip of a new track by Jessie Malakouti called "Baby Don't Ask Me". Jessie's busy revamping her Myspace site - there are new photos up right now, and you'll also be able to find this demo plus a couple more at www.myspace.com/jessiemalakouti later today.
And finally on the player.....in the first of an occasional series, we're going to post demo clips from the Xenomania vaults. The first one is called "Theme From Xenomania" and it's there right now for your listening pleasure. There will be more to come so keep checking back....
We'll have more for you in the next couple of days about a couple of other new acts. More on that soon.»
It seems like tonight there will be a big Xenomania private party/gig at the Notting Hill Arts Club in London. If you haven't been invited, have a look at these recent live videos of some of the new bands that have been working with Xenomania. First up is Vagabond, who we already told you about, performing their debut single "Sweat (Until The Morning)":
Vagabond are one of Xenomania's new acts, a young five-piece pop/rock band with a bluesy and soulful sound. The group consists of Alex Vargas (vocals, acoustic guitar), Stephen Carter (backing vocals, guitar), Luke Fitton (backing vocals, guitar), Sam Odiwe (bass) and Karl Penney (drums).
They met in the Xenomania studio («we were a band before we even knew it», says guitarist Luke Fitton) and have been crafting their sound under the guidance of Brian Higgins. They are the first band signed to the newly-revived Geffen label. Since playing their first acoustic show less than six months ago, their time has been spent between studio work and national touring.
Frontman Alex Vargas (who is very reminiscent of Michael Hutchence) explains Vagabond's sound: «Soul is the thread that runs through everything we do. Our tastes span pop, rock, lounge, funk and blues, but it's these clashes that make us interesting, that make us who we are». Some of the influences listed on the band's MySpace include Sly & The Family Stone, Hall & Oates, The Spencer Davis Group, Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke, INXS and Duran Duran.
Their first release was More Than You Take, a limited 12'' EP with two versions of "More Than You Can Take" plus "Do You Fear Me?" and "Go".
Music Week says that «the Xenomania production team is onto a winner with Vagabond: this is top-shelf pop with international ambitions». Popjustice has written twoarticles about the band and says that Vagabond «are definitely more at home on the side of Gabriella Cilmi than, say, an electrocybermetal balls-out techno rock troupe, and they won't be to all your tastes».
However, Popjustice points out that a couple of the tracks do sound like "proper Xenomania". "I've Been Wanting You" is «electronic and exciting and very very good indeed», and "More Than You Can Take" is «enjoyable in an early-2000s George Michael sort of way».
The debut album from Vagabond (tentatively titled You Don't Know the Half Of It! - a line from the song "Smile Of Mona Liza") arrives summer 2009. Their first single, "Sweat (Until The Morning)", is due this spring. Popjustice indicates that the single «starts off pretending to be 'Unfinished Sympathy' then slides into a slick, orchestral funk sort of 'affair' which doesn't really sound very good on the first listen but ends up hitting the spot about halfway through the fourth spin».
3 Feb 2009 19:30 -- Water Rats London 7 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Oakford Social Club, Reading 8 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Charlotte, Leicester 9 Feb 2009 21:00 -- Notting Hill Arts Club (Private Show) London 10 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Dry Bar, Manchester 11 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Cockpit, Leeds 12 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Rockhouse, Derby (Club NME) 18 Feb 2009 20:00 -- 229, London (Club Fandango!) 21 Feb 2009 20:00 -- Colosseum, Covertry 22 Feb 2009 20:00 -- King Tut’s, Glasgow 25 Feb 2009 20:00 -- The Fly, London London 3 Mar 2009 21:00 -- The Troubadour London 9 Mar 2009 20:00 -- Portland Arms, Cambridge 10 Mar 2009 20:00 -- The Lanes, Bristol (Club NME) 11 Mar 2009 20:00 -- The Hub, Exeter (Vibraphonic Festival!) 12 Mar 2009 20:15 -- Water Rats London 13 Mar 2009 20:00 -- Marquee, Hertford 14 Mar 2009 20:00 -- The Cellars, Portsmouth
Xenomania is a songwriting and production house based in Kent, England. It was founded by songwriter and producer Brian Higgins.
Since 1996, Xenomania have written, produced and remixed tracks for a string of successful artists including Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Saint Etienne, Cher, Gabriella Cilmi and many others.
