London-based singer She Makes War has taken time out from her UK tour with Chris TT to join Leeds rockers Hope And Social on their Crypt Covers project. The songstress joined the band to record a cover of Madonna’s ‘Dress You Up’ and you can watch the video below. The song is the 2nd installment of the project, which last month saw them team up with Ellen & The Escapades to record a cover of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love”. A full album from the project is due later this

Catch SMW on tour now. Details here.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_1FgQuyx9Q&w=560&h=315]

Jamaican reggae band Toots and the Maytals have been confirmed to headline the Stool Pigeon stage of Yorkshire’s Beacon Festival. The festival, will runs from 17th-19th August, will play host to the band on the final night.

As if the band need an introduction, but we’ll give you one anyway. They started releasing records from their base in Kingston, Jamaica in the early 1960s, working with the likes of Prince Buster and getting their first major hit, ‘Monkey Man’ in 1970. Their influence is cast far and wide, beyond the immediate world of roots music and into the punk and ska revival of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, through to modern songwriters like the late Amy Winehouse. Toots isn’t just about nostalgia, though; he continues to record and release new music, bringing sunshine everywhere he performs.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy987izmPAM&w=560&h=315]

Fellow bands at the festival include Roots Manuva, Wild Beasts, Patrick Wolf and Ghostpoet. Tickets are available here.

Brooklyn’s Black Dice reveal the self-directed video for “Rodriguez”, a track off their new LP Mr. Impossible out now on Ribbon Music.  An exclusive 7-inch for “Rodriguez” featuring b-side “Pissed In A Cave” with art by band member Bjorn Copeland will be available exclusively via Ribbon Mart.

Have a watch of the video below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqwXak1BxKo&w=560&h=315]

The band are currently on tour in the US but head to Europe in September including a show in London. Details here.

Straight out of Oxford, Mississippi (nope, not a clue. You?), ILLLS are to release their debut EP, Dark Paradise, on London label The Sound of Sweet Nothing.  Have a watch of the video here.

The band set about recording music over the space of about a year, which eventually turned into this. On recording the band have said “We didn’t know what we were doing, but this is what we made. We play live now and will be this Spring after we release this EP that’s taken so long to create.”

Speaking of the video this is what they had to say: “It was shot in our home town of Oxford, MS.  We rented a camera from the local university and got two of our friends (who have never really worked in film before) to just help us shoot an idea we had.  For the other parts of the video, we really did just walk through a grocery store, bought a bunch of nasty food, cooked it all together and ate it.  There should probably be more of the aftermath of us eating the food in the video because we were gagging and throwing up for about 30 minutes afterwards.  It was disgusting.”  

Blood Orange, aka Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion, has unveiled the new video for his single ‘Champagen Coast’. Have a watch of it here:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO6y1-erVEw&w=560&h=315]

The video was directed by Haley Wollens, and features an assortment of girls doing odd dancing in odd rooms, while Dev Hynes stands idly by. Awkward. Here’s what Dev said recently about it to The New York Times: “The song, as with every other piece of music I seem to make, is mostly about longing, creating scenarios in regards to an unrequited lover, plans that will never see fruition.  So you’re left alone in your digitally created interior to dance by yourself”.

Currently Dev is supporting Florence And The Machine on her tours of the US & Australia but we can reveal that he has been added to the line up for this year’s Field Day Festival taking place in London’s Victoria Park on 2nd June.