WHAT I DO FRUSTRATES THE HELL OUT OF MOST PEOPLE… Its esoteric at the vey least & self indulgent as a proposition – even your nearest & dearest look at you like your a total madman at 8pm on a Saturday evening when you feel the need to “just pop down to the studio for a couple of hours”, the very same one you’ve been at all week. But someone’s got to stay in, write & record the shit – if you don’t enjoy your own company, being indoors for weeks on end & having [...]

Ibiza Rocks announced this morning the main set of bands for the 2012 series of gigs. New Order, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party. Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status, Maverick Sabre, Example, Labrinth, Professor Green The big one is obviously New Order. This will be the first time they’ve played live on the Ibiza and will headlne on the 12th September. They have history though with Ibiza as it was here they recorded their seminal album “Technique”. Bernard Sumner said: “The last time New Order were in Ibiza was the second summer of love. We were [...]

IN THE SOUNCLOUD PLAYER   4- Track Taster Edit   1. Dirty Thing 2. Feelin’ Like Elvis 3. Choises 4. Burger Kingdom   ALSO … Check out the Planet Earth [ReU-Nite Version] .   Tweet

The Ting Tings released their sophomore album this week, a stunner called Sounds From Nowhere. According to the Independent, “These 10 tracks are a masterclass in modern pop creation, pinballing from style to style without endangering their essential “TingTingness”. One moment they’re riding the itchy electro twitch of “One by One”, the next they’re in lilting folk-rock mode for “Day to Day”. On a completely different tack, the chimes and drum tattoo of “Hit Me Down Sonny” carry a deadpan rap like a skipping-song, while elsewhere “Soul Killing” relies on a creaking-chair effect as the [...]

Direct to fan? I think Andy Taylor gets it.   Riding the sweet sugar high that one can only get from birthday cake, Andy spent six hours today answering your questions on Twitter. All filters were off as he answered 168 different questions that came directly from fans. Topics ranged from Reportage to kids n’ dogs to Duran Duran and exciting new collaborations. And he’s not stopping there… Andy had such a blast he’s already making plans for the next “tweetfest.”   Just in case you missed this party, here’s a full transcript of all [...]

Thanks for all of birthday messages today… I am grateful for each one, even got one from my old mucker SJCLB, that was nice to hear from him. In return, I’d like to share a taster of a banging’ new remix with you as well as a Twitter Q&A tomorrow (Friday, February 17) starting around 4pm UK. We’ll go all night so we can talk about everything I’ve been working on.   And there’s plenty to catch up on. I’ve been heads-down in the studio, finishing mixes & remixes from the forthcoming album Motherlode. This [...]

Sonic Vista Studios plays host to many of the world’s top artists, including Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, Taio Cruz, Swedish House Mafia, the Ting Tings and of course, Andy Taylor himself. Where better to pen a new tune than an island like Ibiza where inspiration is around every corner? Henry Sarmiento is the professional in paradise who runs this joint, and Essential Ibiza recently caught up with him to get the lowdown on his experience and inspirations.   READ THE FULL INTERVIEW: “Making Music Sonic Vista Style” – Essential Ibiza Tweet

  DO YOU KNOW THESE MEN ???   Its hard to imagine that where now stands anything BUT a Progressive, Trendy, Bohemian, Mavern of Creative Collusion, was in it’s day, the personification of such a concept. Possibly the most eclectic, exciting place in the UK since that heady day of Mersey-beat , a veritable cultural leap, that surpassed anything that the regurgitated Mankers of the 90′s could jangle, I’m talkin of course about Birmingham, England circa 1980…       If you survey the current landscape of Chained Pubs, Vodkas Bars & Corporate Bedding one [...]

DIRTY THING…     The Dirty Thing Mixes were put together from the original demo sessions, as a sort of Myspace experiment – remember that… Myspace.   I’m putting up a alsorts of audio from the session archives… Amazing what you’ve maybe convieniently forgotten …   Tweet

It was 30-years ago today… We were recording Duran Duran, our self-titled debut album. We had already recorded the 1st single “Planet Earth” at Redbus studios London, before the Xmas break – NR & I mixed it on Boxing Day at Utopia Studio in London with Producer Colin Thurston, and then we were off to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire to record the rest of the album… Although I do recall that we did some of the drum tracks at Redbus before encamping to the residential hideaway…   I remember how exciting this was to everyone, even [...]