Brooklyn Bounce reworked another one of their biggest hits Club Bizarre with new mixes collaborated by DJs From Mars.

Faithless released a new single from their current album, called Tweak Your Nipple with a special remix by DJ Tiesto.

Christina Aguilera will release her second new single You Lost Me. Club remix was done by Hex Hector.

Katie Price, model and ex wife of Peter Andre recorded a new song called Free To Love Again.

Groovewatchers, one of the projects of Peter Luts/Lasgo, released a new single with the name Sunshine.

HOT FRESH NEWS about Bad Boys Blue. They have just opened their new website to promote the new upcoming stuff. Check out – http://www.badboysblue.tv – where just was uploaded the new video "Come Back And Stay Re-Recorded 2010" (MS Project Cut). Enjoy it!
The Single : Bad Boys Blue – "Come Back And Stay Re-Recorded 2010" was just released on cd (5 tracks) and digital (11 tracks).

LOVE PARADE 2010 had taken already 20 dead young people and at about 510 dangerously injured. The whole Germany mourn. The biggest music event turns to the worst catastrophe in the music history. R.I.P. to all killed !!!

COSMIC GATE will release on 20 August 2010 a 2CD Deluxe Edition Re-Release of their last album Sign Of The Times with many new club remixes.

Captain Jack launched a new single called "People like to Party" and will be included on Captain’s new material "Back to the Dancefloor" .

Kim Sanders (Culture Beat, Schiller) is recording now new songs in studio for her future album. Most of them are dance tunes.

Sandy Chambers (Double You, Benassi Bros) is making a successful tour now. Her next dates are Malibu and Russia. Her last singles are featured with different projects.

There’s not a long time til the release (end of august) of the second single Still Unlimited by the 2 Unlimited ex-leaders Ray & Anita. Excited fans all over the world are waiting for the new release of one of the biggest 90s stars.

Armin van Buuren: ‘Not Giving Up On Love’, the second single of Armin’s ‘Mirage’ album, is now available for pre-order on iTunes!

Bad Boys Blue have just uploaded the new video "Come Back And Stay Re-Recorded 2010" (Alex Twister Cut). Check it out – http://www.badboysblue.tv/ . Enjoy it!

SARAH CONNOR recorded a new song and spread it out to the radios, and the new Single "Cold As Ice" will be released on 24.09.2010.

GALA will release soon the single Tough Love The Remixes 2010. It will contain new remixes to the song which was released in an EP in 2009.

Ray & Anita will be performing @ Beach Break on the 4th of September! They will be part of the Slam FM BeachBreak Party 2010 Part II.Special guests will also be : DJ Jean, Hardwell, Mental Theo & Paul Elstak, The Partysquad, Yolanda Be Cool, Bingo Players, RIO and many more.

According to Leigh Nash’s MySpace blog, Sixpence None the Richer is reuniting for an EP and tour!

Says Leigh:

…While he [Matt Slocum] was away we had both been thinking about the band and what we had all those years and what we took for granted. We were missing each other and the gift that I believe God gave us – I knew before that the two of us were more powerful than one of us alone, but it was becoming more obvious as time ticked by. We realized we were on the same page and decided to make Sixpence None the Richer records for the next 2,000 to 3,000 years!!!! Seriously – as long as we can: ) We are in the middle of making an EP right now that will be available soon! We also have a tour planned beginning in April. Yay!!! These things started happening almost immediately after we decided to start up the engines again. Amazing! I am so thankful and excited for the future. There is a Sixpence myspace page in the works and many details to come about the tour, EP etc very soon…

Read our interview with Leigh here.

Rihanna is leading the set as a finalist for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

The finalists were proclaimed Wednesday, and Rihanna got herself into 18 spots including Top Hot 100 Artist and Top Female Artist. Love the Way You Lie, her collaboration with Eminem, makes her a force to be reckoned in six song categories.

Eminem isn’t far behind; he’s a finalist in 16 categories. Lady Gaga is up for 12 awards and Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber are up for 11 each.

The Billboard Music Awards show will air May 22 on ABC, when winners in all 46 categories will be proclaimed. Chart-topper Rihanna will perform, as will the Black Eyed Peas, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and more.

German Popstars girl band Monrose released a new single called Like A Lady on 28 May 2010. The single features the new electro sound and contains a b-side track called I Surrender.
The fourth new studio album of Monrose titled Ladylike will be released on 11 June 2010 with 12 tracks.

The UK-based, RIAA Certified Gold-selling, globally relevant band Delirious?, having released its most critically acclaimed album so far, Kingdom of Comfort, on April 1, announces its new drummer taking them forward, Paul Evans.

After more than 12 years together as a band, Stew Smith let fans know in February that he would be leaving the quintet that includes lead vocalist Martin Smith, guitarist Stu G, keyboardist Tim Jupp, and bassist Jon Thatcher. Helping the band choose his replacement, Stew said, “Paul is, in my opinion, one of, if not the, best drummer in our scene. He has passion, sensitivity, finesse and power. Most of all I love Paul for his heart, and that is the thing that will be evident when you meet him. He always has time for you, always has time to laugh and joke and these are the qualities you need to survive on the road.”

A natural choice for the band, Evans stepped in for Stew on the band’s tour of the U.S. in 2006, but his history with the band goes back even further. Evans explains, “My earliest memory of Delirious? was back in the days before they were even Delirious?. They used to do their Cutting Edge events in my school hall.”

Evans grew up in Littlehampton [England], and went full time as a drummer in 2004. In just a few years, he has notched a solid resume that includes tracks on over 40 professional albums, including projects by Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Ben Cantelon, Graham Kendrick, One Hundred Hours, Brenton Brown, Cathy Burton and more.

“It’s a real privilege taking over for Stew,” Evans says. “He was a very big influence on me as I was learning; at one point I played exactly like him: the same fills and even buying the same Pearl piccolo snare! I’m going to have to get in shape to play with the same energy that Stew plays with, but I’ll probably stop short of the triathlons though!”

“I’m so proud of the things that Paul has already achieved but I’m more excited about the fresh new dynamics he will bring to Delirious?,” adds Stew.

“There’s nobody else we’d have covering our backs and beats,” says Stu G. “Evans has the skills, the passion and the heart to take us on. We’re looking forward to our future together.”

And Delirious?, currently on tour in Australia, will be touring the world in support of its eleventh studio album, Kingdom of Comfort, an album that questions everything, from cancer to consumerism, “five star” dreams to slums and poverty. It is an album that calls for sacrifice, social justice and love.

More information about the band can be found at www.delirious.co.uk, with even more content available by joining the band’s “Living Room” at www.delirious.co.uk/livingroom.

Read our feature story on Delirious’ album Kingdom of Comfort here.

Superchick’s hit song “Hero” is currently featured in a new public service announcement (PSA) by NBC Universal. The “Green Is Universal” PSA announces the company’s more than 150 hours of environmentally themed content that will encompass all of NBC Universal’s divisions across multiple platforms from November 4-10, including NBC, MSNBC, Bravo and CNBC among others.

In addition to appearing on the NBC Universal television platforms, Universal Pictures will run the “Green Is Universal” PSA as post-roll on its online trailers during the programming week and as ads in theater lobbies.

The label, part of Universal Music, hopes to reproduce the surprise success of Vera Lynn last year, when the singer, who kept up the spirits of millions of soldiers during the war, topped the album charts at the age of 92.

"The album features music dedicated to the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow, and we expect the RAF to be drove right to the top of the charts," said Decca’s managing director Mark Wilkinson in a statement.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday in London and the album hits the shelves on September 27.

The highlight of "Reach for the Skies" will be wartime leader Winston Churchill’s famous speech "The Few" set to music.

Churchill delivered the speech in 1940 but it was re-recorded after the war for posterity. His tribute to the air force included the famous line: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Churchill’s "The Finest Hour" speech, another homage to the RAF, is also on the album.

Reach for the Skies will be an official album of the Battle of Britain, marking the 70th anniversary of the crucial air campaign fought between British and German forces in 1940. It also celebrates the 90th anniversary of the RAF’s Central Band.

The record will include RAF-related classics such as the "Dambusters March," "Spitfire Prelude," "633 Squadron," the "Battle of Britain March" and "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" as well as the sound of Spitfire aircraft flying overhead.

Bad Boys Blue titled Come Back And Stay Re-Recorded 2010 will be released on 13 August 2010 under Coconut Music and Sony Music. It will have a physical and digital releases with many bonus mixes.

CD MAXI Release :

01. Come Back And Stay 2010 (MS Project RMX Edit) (4:12)
02. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Alex Twister Radio Edit) (4:20)
03. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Spinnin Elements Remix) (5:52)
BONUS TRACKS:
04. Kisses And Tears (My One And Only) (Re-Recorded 2010) (3:32)
05. Hungry For Love (Re-Recorded 2010) (4:05)

DIGITAL Release :

01. Come Back And Stay 2010 (MS Project RMX Edit) (4:12)
02. Come Back And Stay 2010 (MS Project Club Mix) (6:55)
03. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Alex Twister Radio Edit) (4:20)
04. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Alex Twister Extended Mix) (6:29)
05. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Spinnin Elements Remix) (5:52)
06. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Almighty Radio Edit) (3:59)
07. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Almighty Extended Mix) (7:15)
08. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Radio Edit) (4:02)
09. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Extended Mix) (6:05)
10. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Alex Twister Extended Dub) (6:29)
11. Come Back And Stay 2010 (Almighty Extended Dub) (7:15)

Multi-Platinum selling rock band Switchfoot launches its spring “Up In Arms Tour” in San Antonio March 27 and hits college towns throughout the South and Midwest states. The tour will benefit To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) and features a special performance by double Platinum-selling English band, Athlete. Tickets for the tour are on sale today and can be purchased through www.switchfoot.com. (See below for the full itinerary).

“We’ve known Jamie [Tworkowski] for over five years now, and when he first told us about his vision to start TWLOHA two years ago, we were thrilled to jump on board in whatever way we could, wearing his t-shirts, linking to his myspace, just getting the word out,” says Switchfoot member Tim Foreman. “The dialogue surrounding depression is such an important one. It is huge for people to know that these are issues that are normal and ok to talk about. TWLOHA is breathing hope into lives once trapped by fear and doubts. ‘Love is the Movement.’ We’re honored that a song we wrote seven years ago has become the slogan for TWLOHA. And it’s true: love provides the motion that pushes us past the scars wear.”

“Switchfoot was the first band to lend the stage to us, back when TWLOHA was simply an attempt to tell a story and help one friend,” says Jamie Tworkowski, To Write Love on Her Arms founder who will be briefly speaking before Switchfoot’s set each night on tour. “That was two years ago and we have come a long way since that surprising start. We are truly honored and excited to hit the road with this band that means so much to us.”

To Write Love on Her Arms began in Orlando, FL in February 2006 and is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Safri Duo released the album Greatest Hits featuring the new hit single Helele sang by Velile.

1. Safri Duo Feat. Velile – Helele 3:09
2. Safri Duo – All The People In The World 3:43
3. Safri Duo Feat. Soweto Gospel Choir – Athena 4:45
4. Safri Duo – Samb-Adiago 5:59
5. Safri Duo Feat. Clark Anderson – Rise (Leave Me Alone) 3:55
6. Safri Duo – Apollo 3:23
7. Safri Duo – Fallin’ High 6:00
8. Safri Duo – Sweet Freedom 5:14
9. Safri Duo – Played-A-Live 6:47
10. Safri Duo Feat. Rolando Villazon & Youssou N’Dour – Twilight 4:23
11. Safri Duo – Baya Baya 5:27
12. Safri Duo – Ritmo De La Noche 3:05
13. Safri Duo – Knock On Wood 4:12
14. Safri Duo – A Visit From The Zoo – Safri Duo Medley 9:47

B&C Records in conjunction with Malaco Records is proud to announce the upcoming release of Still, the highly anticipated and eagerly awaited new studio album from the platinum-selling chart-topping award-winning gospel duo BeBe & CeCe Winans. Still will be available online and in stores on Tuesday, October 6.

Still is BeBe & CeCe’s first album in more than 15 years and is the reunion that has been on the lips of fans around the world since it was announced earlier this year. Since the their self-titled debut album in 1987, this chart-topping brother and sister duo topped the R&B and inspirational charts with their debut single, “I.O.U. Me,” and generated Grammy nominations, Dove and Stellar Gospel Awards. BeBe & CeCe were the first African-American artists to receive significant airplay on CCM radio stations and the second African American artists to receive the Dove Award in the Group of the Year category.

Premiering 11 new BeBe & CeCe classics, Still includes the album’s recently released lead single, “Close to You” which has received critical acclaim and success for its soul-stirring, smooth sound and pristine vocals. The video for the single was recently launched on Yahoo and can be viewed by logging onto http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos. Other tracks on Still include the heart wrenching “Grace,” “Things” (featuring brother Marvin Winans), “Let It Be” (featuring Mary Mary) and “I Found Love” (Cindy’s Song) which is destined to be the wedding song of the year.

With assistance from longtime producer and collaborator Keith Thomas, along with Warryn Campbell, Percy Bady, Peter Zizzo, Merv Warren and Mario Winans, BeBe & CeCe weave their love for God in a faith-fueled gospel sound that combines a tuneful blend of R&B, pop, soul, jazz and more.

Growing up in Detroit, MI, Benjamin “BeBe” Winans and Priscilla “CeCe” Winans were born into a home that birthed the first family of Gospel music. The Winans Family was led by a mother and father who taught their ten children the foundations of a Godly life and admonished them to use their voices for the glory of God. The success of their four brothers, The Winans, blazed a trail for BeBe & CeCe to create their own path of writing and performing music that would attract a legion of fans and change the face of Gospel music forever.

After the success of their debut album, BeBe & CeCe became the first Gospel pair to see their second album, Heaven, reach #1 on the Billboard sales charts in 1988 and also be certified Gold. The title track reached #12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart and also spawned two more hit singles with “Lost Without You” and “Celebrate New Life.”

In 1991, the dynamic duo released Different Lifestyles featuring the single “Addictive Love” and a cover of the Staples Singers classic, “I’ll Take You There.” Both singles topped the R&B charts. From there, BeBe & CeCe released two more albums and after an amazing run of smash hits and albums, BeBe & CeCe went on to pursue incredibly successful solo careers.

With a phenomenal career that has spanned more than 20 years, BeBe & CeCe have become one of the most commercially successful gospel artists in the business. As a duo their accolades include five Grammy Awards, eight Dove Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, one Soul Train Award and over a dozen Stellar Awards. They have also racked up 12 chart topping R&B singles, as well as numerous #1 singles on Christian AC and CHR radio, three gold albums and one platinum album.

In conjunction with the release of Still, the BeBe & CeCe Reunion Tour will criss-cross the country later this year.

Nadia Ali and Armin Van Buuren just finalized their new collaboration in Amsterdam upcoming due to this fall. Its the second co-work between them.

Nadia Ali is writing a bunch of songs this month. Songwriting is the best part of her job. Tunes for BT , Matt Darey, Tocadisco, Tritonal, Andy Moor, Hardwell – just to name a few.

Nadia Ali, the lady whose voice has been heard in nearly every nightclub all around the globe, will release the Queen Of Clubs Trilogy: Best of Nadia Ali Remixed.
The package will be broken into 3 releases titled “Ruby Edition” (August 2010), “Onyx Edition” (October 2010), and finally “Diamond Edition” (December 2010).
This royal package of club tracks will feature brand new remixes of some of her biggest dance hits as well as introduce brand new Nadia Ali productions by an all-star list of remix/producers.

Michael W. Smith is busy preparing for his next project; a live worship CD to be recorded June 20 at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the free event will start promptly at 7:30 PM. Lakewood Church is located at 3700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027.

Respected as a pop artist, composer, author and worship leader, Smith’s first two worship projects, Worship and Worship Again, garnered fans in the millions, worldwide. The upcoming album, Smith’s 21st, will be recorded with the African Children’s Choir as he leads worship for a group that is expected to exceed 15,000 in attendance. His song list will include familiar worship songs as well as new songs Michael has written especially for this project.

Title and release dates for the CD will be announced in coming weeks.

Throughout his 25-year career as a recording artist, Michael W. Smith has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements. His 20 albums have garnered multiple honors including an American Music Award, 3 GRAMMY Awards (from 13 nominations) and 42 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. In addition, he holds 16 Gold and 5 Platinum albums, 33 No.1 radio hits, and has been named one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People. Smith has also scored several film projects and written 11 books. His tours consistently rank among the best attended in the country and he has performed to capacity crowds throughout the world. Constantly giving back to the community, one of his current projects is Rocketown — a nightclub for teens in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn. — which serves as safe place for young people to enjoy music and for artists to be discovered. He is married to Debbie Smith and they are the proud parents of five children.

For up-to-date information on Michael W. Smith, including tour itinerary, please visit www.michaelwsmith.com or www.reunionrecords.com.

Read our review of Michael’s CD Stand here.

BIG3 Records has announced plans to “preview” Stryper’s upcoming studio album Murder by Pride at iTunes.com. With this groundbreaking new promotion, Stryper fans will have an opportunity to purchase the album song-by-song, one week at a time, until the album’s release on July 21, 2009.

Every Tuesday beginning May 5th, a new song from the upcoming album will be released at iTunes – for one week only – until the album’s July 21st release date. Each week, the song will be replaced by another, giving fans a chance to purchase the complete album one song at a time until the album hits stores.

Murder by Pride iTunes Release Schedule:
Tuesday, May 5 – "Eclipse of the Son"
Tuesday, May 12 – "Murder By Pride"
Tuesday, May 19 – "4 Leaf Clover"
Tuesday, May 26 – "The Plan"
Tuesday, June 2 – "Alive"
Tuesday, June 9 – "I Believe"
Tuesday, June 16 – "Love Is Why"
Tuesday, June 23 – "Mercy Over Blame"
Tuesday, June 30 – "Run In You"
Tuesday, July 7 – "Everything"
Tuesday, July 14 – "My Love (I’ll Always Show)"
Tuesday, July 21 – FULL ALBUM IN STORES AND AT iTUNES

Murder by Pride also includes a cover of the BOSTON song "Peace of Mind" featuring BOSTON guitarist Tom Scholz. “Peace of Mind” is already available at iTunes.

Stryper will hit the road this fall with a 25th Anniversary Tour, hitting 50 cities in North America before going international in January and February 2010. Launching in September, the tour will be a two-set show. The first set will feature new Stryper material and include current bassist Tracy Ferrie, along with original members Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet and Oz Fox. The second set will feature all four original members, including original bassist Tim Gaines, wearing the original yellow and black stage outfits and performing the band’s hits from the last 25 years.

In 1984, Stryper broke on to the scene with their debut EP Yellow and Black Attack, and have since gone on to sell 8 million albums and tour the world spreading an inspirational message through their branded sound of rock songs, heavy guitars and pristine harmony vocals. The group’s unprecedented 1986 album To Hell with the Devil went platinum and was named one of the “100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music” by CCM Magazine.

In 2008, Michael Sweet joined legendary band BOSTON on vocals and guitar for their 54-city summer headlining tour of North America, performing the band’s classic hits like "More than a Feeling," “Peace of Mind,” “Amanda” and “Don’t Look Back.” BOSTON has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, including the band’s 1976 self-titled debut, which has sold over 17 million copies to date and was the highest selling debut of all time. Sweet is currently in the studio recording the upcoming BOSTON album, due next year.

One of Christian music’s most recognized and beloved artists is opening the New Year with an exciting announcement: Rebecca St. James is engaged to be married!

St. James will wed the man she’s been waiting for –Jacob Fink—on a date soon to be announced. The Christmas Day proposal came at Rebecca’s family farm in Franklin, Tennessee where she was presented the brilliant, solitaire diamond ring. The groom-to-be asked her parents, David and Helen, for their blessing prior to him surprising Rebecca with the engagement ring and his request for her hand in marriage.

Jacob, originally from Colorado, now resides in Southern California. He spent two years as a missionary in South Africa before attending college and graduating summa cum laude with a degree in communications and an emphasis on film production. He worked in television production prior to his current career in music. The couple met through mutual friends in Los Angeles.

Noted Rebecca in a communication to friends: “We are truly amazed at finding our dreams and ideals met in the love we’ve found. We are exceedingly grateful for this precious gift from God.”

Rebecca’s signature song, “Wait For Me,” released in 2000, inspired national attention to the ideals of purity before marriage—a self-lived message she has taken to young people worldwide from her concert stages and through her best-selling books and personal testimony.

2011 will be a milestone year for St. James, who recently signed with Provident Label Group’s Beach Street/ Reunion Records. Her new studio album I Will Praise You releases on April 5 with its first single “Shine Your Glory Down” impacting radio on Feb. 11.

Currently planning promotional and concert tour dates, and a wedding, Rebecca is also putting final touches on her ninth book, “What Is He Thinking?” (Hachette/Faithwords), which is due out in September.

Read our interview with Rebecca.

Photo credit: Ben Smallbone

Research into the effects of music on behavior, intelligence, learning, pain tolerance and health have generated a number of interesting findings.

Music, Intelligence and Learning:
According to the Association for Psychological Science, intelligence test scores grew higher in children who took lessons in keyboarding or singing. In another study, boys between the ages of 6 and 15 who took music lessons scored higher on tests of verbal memory than a control group of students without musical training.

Music and Pain Reduction:
Researchers found that patients who listened to harp, piano, synthesizer, orchestra or slow jazz experienced less post-surgical pain than those who did not.

Music Therapy and Autism:
Music therapy is particularly helpful for autistic students, who have difficulty interacting with classmates and teachers and become agitated in noisy, changeable environments. Autistic students respond very well to music therapy, which can be used to help them remain calm under stress and socialize more effectively. In addition, many autistic children have spectacular music skills.

Music and Plant Health:
Experiments conducted by Dorothy Retallack to learn about music’s effects on plants are described in her 1973 book The Sound of Music and Plants. Retallack played rock music (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge) for one group of plants and jazz for another. When two weeks had passed, the jazz plants were healthy and bent toward the radio. The rock music plants grew very tall and droopy, with faded blooms, and most had died within 16 days.

Retallack tried other types of music, including country, to which the plants showed no reaction, and modern (discordant) classical music, which caused the plants to bend away from the speaker. The plants seemed to “like” Bach and North Indian sitar and tabla music.

Other people have conducted similar experiments, and some claim to have achieved similar results. However, Retallack has been criticized for using unscientific methods in her experiments.

Most music studies to date have used small sample sizes and some have not controlled for confounding variables, so although these findings are compelling, more research is required. However, given that many studies have generated similar results for certain types of music, the psychology of music is certainly worthy of further exploration.

After a successful debut in 2007 (Secondhand Dreaming) and extensive touring with Switchfoot and Relient K (2007 "Appetite for Construction Tour with Habitat for Humanity") as well as Emery, Ruth is proud to return with their sophomore release, Anorak, on October 28th.

Titled after the British slang definition of an obsessive enthusiast, Anorak is a reference to a person who has an unfathomable interest in something and feels compelled to talk at length about it. The project was produced by acclaimed roster of Aaron Sprinkle (Copeland, Anberlin), Chris Keene (Surrogate, Number One Gun), and Kelsey Smith. The album was also mixed by Ken Andrews (Mae, Pete Yorn) and JR McNeely (The Almost, Relient K).

"I would hope that the music we play is something a little more timeless," band’s founder, singer/guitarist Dustin Ruth confesses. "Hopefully whomever gets one of our albums ten years from now, they’re driving somewhere, and they can still listen to these songs and enjoy it. Our ten year goal for the band is that no matter what, we would still be real, that we would still be who we are, no matter how many records we sold."

Written primarily at rest stops and hotels, Anorak captures the emotions and experiences of watching dreams come true and others fall beyond reach. Ruth’s music is liberating, freeing and uplifting, while at the same time avoiding the pitfalls of cliché and easy, safe or predictable melodies. Anorak is at once challenging and yet simple to understand, recalling the best of ’80s radio, ’90′s English pop and contemporary indie without sounding derivative of any particular genre.

"This one feels more like a band album," Dustin says. "We had a lot more time to develop through a year and a half of solid touring. It made going into this album a lot different. As a songwriter, I put a lot more time and devotion into writing the songs that we really wanted on this album. These songs were written more intentionally for this album."

The band will also return to the touring sector with Decemberadio after a summer filled with dates. Check out their MySpace for updated dates.

Read our interview with Ruth here.

The 2011 Ultra Music Festival will be take place for 3 days in Miami, Florida. Miami festival is outdoor music events which will be dated are March 25th-27th. This is an annual celebration of a lot of fun.

Last year, the Miami ultra music festival sold out topping over 70,000 people and they are expecting at least that this year. This was one of the foremost festivals in the US last year and will expectantly rock out especially this year.

UMF Co-Founder Russell Faibisch said that “We are really excited to return to Miami in 2011 at the end of March, especially as a three-day event with our most diverse program to date; The strength of our line-up really dictated this expansion and we look forward to announcing it very soon.”

The music lineup for the popular festival has not been fully proclaimed, although groups have started to verify their participation. Crystal Castles has definite they will be in turnout at the festival.

Music energizes the soul of all humanity. It excites the brain and animates the spirit, accumulating evidence shows. That is why music is so enduring and pervasive.

When we listen to music (it is as if) the brain is on fire. According to Nina Kraus at Northwestern University, music has "a pervasive effect on how the nervous system gets moulded and shaped … a transformation that comes about only with active engagement with sound."

Researches confirm that listening to music at a very young age improves spatial and temporal reasoning, and increases aptitude in mathematics, engineering and some games, such as chess.
The impact of playing a musical instrument is even more impressive.

Recent information indicates music can boost brain power and that musically-trained children have enhanced visio-spatial processing capabilities, better memories and higher overall intelligence.

Some neuroscientists call it the "Mozart effect," the collective benefits acquired through playing and/or listening to music.

Music processing is an "ensemble activity" involving many areas of brain circuitry. Studies show that music impacts on almost every important region of the brain: prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, sensory cortex, nucleus accumbens and auditory cortex, some of which are vital in long-term memory retention.

Accordingly, music impacts on the brain’s pleasure centres.

Babies are born with a musical readiness that includes a basic sense of timing and rhythm.
Specific taste in music tends to freeze in early adulthood, rarely changing thereafter.

(People) tend to form enduring preferences during a sensitive period in their lives, the researchers report. Musical tastes are strongly related to song-specific ages (the age at the time the song was popular), peaking in late adolescence or early adulthood (23.5 years of age).
"Music styles popular during youth generate preferences over other styles of music that tend to prevail for the rest of their lives," they explained.

That is why listening to music that was popular during one’s youth can be therapeutic. Such nostalgic music can be beneficial in treating dementia, anxiety, stroke, cancer, some respiratory ailments and some types of brain injury.

Music significantly boosts the self-images of children and has hugely beneficial impacts in the treatment of some hospitalized children.

The Polaris Music Prize is a music award yearly given to the finest full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 and includes a C$20,000 cash prize. The Polaris Music Prize is sculpted after the Mercury Music Prize, which is handed to the best British or Irish album.

And this year Montreal francophone rockers Karkwa were awarded the 2010 Polaris Music Prize for their album Les Chemins De Verre. And they came out with a $20,000 purse, and is handed out annually to the best Canadian album of the year, regardless of sales or genre.
Karkwa’s win marks the first time in the Polaris’ five year history that the award has been given to a non-English band.

The band – singer Louis-Jean Cormier, keyboardist Francois Lafontaine, drummer Julier Sagot, drummer Stéphane Bergeron and bassist Martin Lamontaigne – was formed in 1998 and have released three albums prior to Les Chemins De Verre, including Les Tremblements s’immobilisent, which won a trio of Felix Awards in 2006.

We all know that create music can be done by any person, but the talent pool shrinks when it comes to tricks good music. Well, why not create music formation more accessible with this conceptual music creation tool? It relies on friction-sensitive sensors situated on the glove’s fingertips; anywhere users will then tap out a rhythm and beat as the recorder on the rear of the hand will broadcast these tunes wirelessly to your ears, all the time saving it up in its flash memory for control later on. Designed by Petr Hampl, this would be big for folks who love rhythm their fingers whenever they’re idle or talking over the phone.

Skillet has just announced that 10 year veteran guitar player Ben Kasica has decided to leave the band. It’s all on good terms, and they’ve put up a blog post with more details.

Ben says in part:

"This has been an incredible journey for me. Joining the band shortly after turning 16 and basically growing up on the road, I had no idea how long the ride would last but have enjoyed it immensely and been thankful to God for everything I’ve been a part of. We’ve traveled to loads of places, met many many wonderful people, drunk way too much coffee, made tons of memories and hopefully touched lives with eternity. I feel completely blessed and honored to have been a part of Skillet’s history."

Read more at their website here.