Mirwais
by Bradley Stern
filed under: Mirwais, Pharrell Williams, Uffie

COVER UFFIE ADD  SUV 1024x1024 Now Streaming: Uffie to Release ADD SUV EP on June 8

For those of you still loving up Uffie‘s latest Mirwais-produced single featuring Pharrell, “ADD SUV,” hold onto your prescription medication–you ain’t heard nothing yet.

The Uffster will be unleashing the ADD SUV EP on June 8, complete with two mixes by Armand van Helden and one by Hudson Mohawke. The former mixes are complete hands-in-the-air rave affairs, while the Mohawke mix offers a strange sort of chill-out trip-hop sound that pulls the track apart into a dozen different directions.

Below, please enjoy a free stream of the Armand van Helden Club Mix right now, courtesy of Ed Banger Records.

Very good.

To preview and purchase “ADD SUV,” click here.


by Bradley Stern
filed under: Bloodshy And Avant, Britney Spears, Daily B, Danja, Darkchild, Ellie Goulding, Fernando Garibay, Girls Aloud, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Max Martin, Mike Pela, Mirwais, Nerina Pallot, Pharrell Williams, Royksopp, Sade, Sean Garrett, Spice Girls, Starsmith, Sugababes, Uffie, Vanity 6, Xenomania

crystalball Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010.
Photo courtesy of Suck.com.

Year-end wrap up lists are nice and all, but it’s the “Most Anticipated” lists that are way more fun for me to read. The rumors! The possibilities! The inability to foresee a terrible album in the making! Who can resist the sweet, succulent taste of possibility?

Of course, there are dozens of albums being released, and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface as far as what to expect. Nonetheless, I wanted to run down a few of my own personally anticipated releases for the new year.

So, without further ado, let’s roll out some of the biggest releases hitting shelves sometime in the next year. This will be the year of some ‘Sweet 7′s, it appears!

Sade, Soldier of Love (Sixth studio album)

Sade   Soldier Of Love 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: The band’s first release in about a decade.
Expected shelf date: February 8, 2010.
Produced by: Mike Pela, Sade.
What we know: The album’s title track is a stunning achievement. Could the album possibly be anything less?
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Smooth, icy vocals and warm jazz sounds.

Ellie Goulding, TBA (Debut Album)

ellie 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: An exciting, possibly incredible (though potentially dead-in-the-water) debut by 2009′s leading indie electro-pop up-and-comer.
Expected shelf date: According to Play.com, March 3, 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Starry Eyed,” “Under the Sheets,” “Wish I Stayed”
Production by: Starsmith, Frankmusik
What we know: It’s been in the works for a while. She’s quirky, her music is interesting and fresh, and we haven’t heard a dud from her yet. Let’s just hope this is released before the hype catches up with her first.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: “Starry Eyed” and “Under the Sheets” repeated a dozen times over.

Kylie Minogue, TBA (Eleventh studio album)

kyliehedislimane 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: Divine intervention. (That should totally be the album title!)
Expected shelf date: Unknown, probably 3Q or 4Q 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Better Than Today”
Production by: Nerina Pallot
What we know: Hardly anything, aside from the fact that Kylie was looking to Barbarella for inspiration while recording in New York a few weeks ago.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: The slick, coquettish electronica of Body Language (“Slow”) mixed the with sophisticated, edgy dancefloor flow of X (“Speakerphone”). And a little less emphasis on the camp factor, s’il vous plait.

Girls Aloud, TBA (Sixth studio album)

girlsaloudhires1 2 col 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: A much-needed comeback album from the greatest girl group since the Spice Girls.
Production by: I mean…it has to be Xenomania, right?
Expected shelf date: Way, way later in 2010.
What we know: Nothing, aside from the fact that their official website confirmed an album slated for 2010.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A shying away from the drum-and-bass sound and a prolonged stay in the territory of “Untouchable” and “Memory of You.”

Jennifer Lopez, Love? (Seventh Studio Album)

Jennifer Lopez Louboutins Official Single Cover 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: Jennifer ‘Lola J-Lo Jenny Rudebooty’ Lopez takes it to the streets once again to prove she still has ‘flava.’
Expected shelf date: April 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Louboutins,” “Fresh Out The Oven,” Everybody’s Girl,” “What Is Love,” Starting Over,” “Beautiful,” “This Cannot Be Love,” “One Love,” “Keeper”
Production by: Mike Caren, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, D’Mile, Danja, Darkchild, The Neptunes
What we know: Rap-Up’s write-up of the album preview includes terms like “electro-pop beat,” “slick uptempo production” and “guitar driven ballad.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A return to the dancefloor a la “Waiting for Tonight” with some guilty pleasure stompers like “Louboutins.” Minimal ballads, please.

Sugababes, Sweet 7 (Seventh Studio Album)

sugababessweet7 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: The grand unveiling of a new Sugababes era. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jade, Amelle, and Heidi.
Expected shelf date: February 28, 2010
Confirmed tracks: “Get Sexy,” “About A Girl,” “Thank You For The Heartbreak,” “Miss Everything,” “Wear My Kiss”
Production by: RedOne, Sean Kingston, Ne-Yo, The Smeezingtons, Fernando Garibay
What we know: How half of the album sounds. The Sweet 7 album sampler featuring Keisha leaked onto the net a few months ago. However, there’s been talk of recording new tracks.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: What we’ve been hearing. Slick, modern production and a fierce new confidence never before honed by the original three line-ups: It’s time to let Sweet 7 go Vanity 6.

Röyksopp, Senior (Fourth studio album)

royksopp 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: The ambient, down-tempo companion piece to one of 2009′s greatest albums, Junior.
Expected shelf date: Early 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “The Alcoholic,” “The Fear,” “Coming Home”
Production by: Royksopp
What we know: From TLOBF: “Senior is more withdrawn and introspective and create an atmosphere and an ambience, to sit down and if you don’t need constant loud information all the time that’s what Senior is all about.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A more sophisticated, contemplative extension of Melody AM.

Uffie, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Debut album)

uffie pic1 1 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: The incredibly overdue debut of an underground trash-pop queen in the making.
Confirmed tracks: “Pop the Glock,” “Hot Chick,” “MC’s Can Kiss”
Expected shelf date: February 14, 2010, according to The Guardian.
Production by: Mr. Oizo, Mirwais, Pharrell
What we know: “MC’s Can Kiss,” the upcoming single off of the album, is an old-school-hip-hop-meets-modern-beats orgy.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Sick beatz from some extremely talented producers…and a whole lot of trash talkin’.

Britney Spears, TBA (7th Studio Album)

britneybambi 150x150 Coming to Record Stores Near You: MuuMuses Most Anticipated for 2010. What it is: Don’t even get me started…don’t even get me started.
Production by: Track submissions are pouring in from the likes of Darkchild, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, Danja, Fernando Garibay, David Guetta, and many more.
Expected shelf date: Though Digital Spy reports that Jive is looking for a May 2010 release, I can’t help but assume that we’ll see this around the same time we’ve always seen Britney releases for the past three albums–the very end of the year.
What we know: Nothing really.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Icy R&B-infused electronica. Anything by Bloodshy & Avant. Anything in the direction of “And Then We Kiss.” Less Circus, more Blackout, but with soul. By the way, can we finally call this one Original Doll, Team Spears?

Honestly, It doesn’t even matter what it sounds like in the end. Why? Because it’s Britney, bitch. That’s why.


by Bradley Stern
filed under: Kesha, Mirwais, Pharrell Williams, Uffie, Video Premiere, Yasmine Hamdan

Yeah, you read that correctly: Uffie‘s here. I would say “back,” but she was never really “here” to begin with, was she?

Surviving over three years of delays and push-backs, the Ufferlump’s debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans is finally prepared to see a release in early 2010 according to label owner Busy P’s blog.

Along with posting this video, Busy P announces that not only is Uff prepping a new single with Pharrell Williams next (!!), but that Mirwais was involved with four tracks off of her upcoming album (!!!).

Mirwais, if you didn’t know, is the rather talented French electronica producer responsible for much of Madonna‘s Music, American Life, and Confessions On A Dance Floor. He also produced a fabulous album in the spring with Yasmine Hamdan called Arabology. It’s a must if you haven’t already checked that out (Click here to stream some tracks.)

Anyway, this is the video for the 2006 track “Pop The Glock,” the beginning of the album’s fruition.

The clip is essentially a fashion paradise, featuring some hipsters, loads of killer stilettos, and clever, offbeat product placement galore. And yes, the song is still hot three years later.

So go grab a sandwich or something, Ke$ha…the real electro-trash princess has arrived. That is…until she passes out again.

Purchase more from Uffie on iTunes | MySpace


by Bradley Stern
filed under: Britney Spears, Madonna, Mirwais, William Orbit

6137675002fd47f92a4c57608949b353 "Revolver" Leaks, William Orbit Speaks
Today, the full demo of “Revolver,” a supposedly new track of Madonna‘s upcoming Greatest Hits package has leaked. I’m still too dubious to believe that this will actually be used, but for the purposes of this post, I shall entertain the notion.

“Revolver” is like an increasingly urban spin on anything off of Britney‘s Blackout–most notably “Radar” and “Piece Of Me.” It’s not as good as those two tracks, but it’s probably more fun than anything off of Hard Candy. Mercifully, the song does not beg for relevancy as pathetically as something like, say, “4 Minutes,” but it’s still too heavy-handed with “modern” production style to be considered unique in any shape or form.

What I’m getting at is that “Revolver” would be a step up from Candy…just not a big one. It’s fun, though…

Secondly, William Orbit has been doing some radio interviews around the UK to promote the release of his new album, My Oracle Lives Uptown which, alas, proved not my cup of tea upon hearing it a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, he had this to say to BBC Radio regarding Madge’s new sound:

She’s into Britney Spears’ last record. Not the last one, the one before. That Britney record with ”Piece Of Me” on it. She wants that brilliant sound. I absolutely adore the sound of ”Piece Of Me” and so does she. It’s one of my favorite tracks when I DJ and I play it. And I love playing Madonna’s song ”Music” she did with Mirwais and she’s right now looking for a sound that is similar to that. And I can’t make that sound even if I tried. It doesn’t come out that way. It all softens up in the end and she’s more into that hardcore dancing thing and so forth.”

Hm. Well, if it’s hardcore that she wants…

Thanks to Candy-Store.org for transcribing…head to their site to hear the whole thing!

DL: Revolver (Demo)


by Bradley Stern
filed under: Madonna, Mirwais, William Orbit, Y.A.S.

While Madonna‘s off recording songs for her upcoming Greatest Hits and stealing babies from Malawi, two of her producers have been hard at work with their own solo projects.

92f1733585c8adcf0d6045162ef5348e Mirwais and William Orbit: Liquid Love
Mirwais, producer responsible for a majority of both Music and American Life (as well as a few Confessions tracks), has been involved in a new collaboration project with Arabic singer, Yasmine Hamdan–a collaboration now known simply as Y.A.S..

The goal for the grouping, along with the desire to create some killer electro-pop, is to reconstruct society’s association of “Arab” in Western culture. As the producer said in a French interview with Le Courrier:

“The idea is that today, in Western culture, we hear about Arabs everyday – in a bad way, because of terrorism, etc – but we lack of cultural representations coming from those countries that could mix with the western culture…”

As of now, the duo’s album, Arabology, is available in digital form–in France. Though I’ve not been able to find much regarding the album, I did happen upon a Spanish review of the album. My favorite part? Their description of the fourth track, “Oloulou”: “Los beats del estribillo son enfermizos.” (“The beats of the refrain are sick.”) Massively infectious beats and super-slick vocal delivery, as though Yelle took down the BPM and got a little experimental. Look (hope?) for this album to get an international release sometime later this year.

dfef2dade883f3636fb1b4508df32d94 Mirwais and William Orbit: Liquid Love
Over in England, William Orbit, responsible for Lady M’s impeccable Ray Of Light, as well as some of Music) is putting the final touch on his tenth solo album, My Oracle Lives Uptown. According to his blog, the mastering is actually being done today at Abbey Road, before a series of interviews with radio in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, fans can listen to samples of the upcoming album on both his MySpace and his blog. As usual with Orbit, the songs incorporate a stunning selection of trippy, hazy electronica tingles and ethereal melodica. Just try not to be distracted by all the LSD friendly images littering his websites–no, I have no idea what that’s all about either. Watch for Oracle to drop on May 4.

DL: William Orbit – Optical Illusions (Radio Edit)
DL: Y.A.S. – Yaspop


by Bradley Stern
filed under: Madonna, Mirwais

5e1dfe5b8ff8610425c2e18401d256aa Dance: Not an act of terrorism, baby eating, or rape according to Madonna.
Another collaboration between Madonna and Mirwais, “Triggering Your Senses” had been a widely popularized though unheard dance track left off the tracklists of the Confessions On A Dance Floor era. Well lo and behold, it has finally and inexplicably leaked onto the web.

It’s a super slick track, with plenty of unique production trickery from slight beat morphs to Eastern soundbytes to keep the song interesting. The theme? Relax! You’re just dancing! You’re not cheating, you’re not hating, you’re not even killing yourself! You’re only triggering your senses. Phew…Reassuring!

Most importantly, “Triggering” reminds me of a time of a more promising Madge album. I mean hell, even the deadpanned hip-hop bridge that happens about two-thirds in feels more legitimate than anything off of Hard Candy.

DL: Madonna – Triggering Your Senses (Confessions On A Dance Floor Demo)