What we have to say… It’s summer, it’s summer and night belongs to…bon fires, watching the Pacific sun set on the beach and kissing your summer fling(s) and all that good stuff. Just like any summer, the summer of 2012 needs a soundtrack and we are here to help it take shape! Take notes, buy some music, thank us later!

* Ok so we didn’t like it
* * It was just alright
* * * Enjoyed listening to it
* * * * Definitely going on my iPod
* * * * * Epic, out of this world, future classic

of Verona
The White Apple
Hype Music (Out July 10th)
* * * * *

There is a difference between trying to sound futuristic and being way ahead of your time. Bands like Steve Miller Band tried to sound futuristic, bands like The Beatles were ahead of their time. Now I am not saying I don’t enjoy both, but when you are the latter you aren’t just a flavor of the month, you end up being an inspiration for generations of music to come.

The much anticipated full length debut from of Verona is just that…way ahead of it’s time. Pulling from greats of the past like David Bowie, Nirvana, Portishead and The Cranberries; of Verona takes their inspirations to a level I never thought existed.

The White Apple starts with the familiar (to fans) “Castles”, a song that would have no problem finding it’s place on any dancefloor in the world and continues into the pitch black, sexy “Match” where Perkins voice crawls under your skin and haunts every blood cell in your body. She doesn’t leave either, whether it be the glitter grunge of “Take Me” where you can almost see Kurt Cobain taking his metaphorical hat off to her in your head, or the masterpiece that is the title track where Perkins sings “…and Lucy in the sky with diamonds became her pseudonym. She wished on the skies for kaleidescope eyes to replace all the lies she was seeing….” her voice possesses you throughout and you won’t be complaining.

The album draws to a close with the heart wrenching yet beautiful “Raining”, a song written about Perkins’ brother who at the time she wrote it was fighting a battle he would eventually lose with cancer. In it she sings “I pray to God to make you better” and tears at your heart each time her pleading voice repeats it.

I expected of Verona to come out with a strong debut, but The White Apple is more than just strong. It’s a challenge to anyone out there, as if to say “This is 2012, this is the future of music. Now let’s see what the rest of you can do. ”

Good luck everyone…you’re going to need it.

-Brandon Lemons

View original article HERE

If you know New Cassettes then you know they go hard during live performances. But in a recent interview with Yahoo! Music’s bedroom sessions the boys decided to show their softer sides.

Every South By Southwest conference typically features more than a handful of bands whose ascent to the top of the pop charts seems potentially likely if not exactly a certainty. Having seen the New Cassettes in full live-and-electric mode, I’m inclined to count the Northampton, England band among them.

A five-piece of young, enthusiastic rockers with a powerful live set and a crackling new album in Winterhead, New Cassettes have garnered significant critical acclaim in the homeland and have made significant Stateside inroads as well: their music has already been heard on Grey’s Anatomy, Jersey Shore, I Just Wants My Pants Back and much more.  And in 2012, those sort of breaks may be even more significant than limited play on radio’s tired rock ‘n’ roll formats.

See the original article HERE.

Starting this week UK-based Hype band STEALING SIGNS will invade over 750 college and university campuses across the United States!  After placing a close second in viewer voting at mtvu.com, their video for “Batteries” has been added to ongoing rotation on mtvU, MTV’s network for up-and-coming acts.

You can skip class to stay glued to the tube or get your fix below:

Be sure to check out the band’s talent page for more music and info.  Click HERE for more awesome videos from Hype artists.

Late last week, fans got their first taste of the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation with “Mercy,” featuring Kanye West, Big Sean, 2 Chainz and Pusha T. The record also put the spotlight on another individual: Lifted. The team’s newest in-house producer—who crafted the beat for the single—has been creating quite a buzz for himself over the last nine months. The first taste many got of him was on Game’s mixtape, HoodMorning (No Typo) [Candy Coronas], where the upstart provided the beat for “Can You Believe It,” which featured Lil Wayne and Baby. Lift grabbed even more attention producing a couple of joints for Bad Boy’s Los, including two songs on The Crown Aint Safe tape, hosted by DJ Ill Will and DJ Drama. The Arizona native made serious noise late last week, when “Mercy,” the lead single to the G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, hit airwaves. XXLMag.com chopped it up with the 32-year-old producing hotshot to discuss his journey, linking up with Kanye West, the making of “Mercy,” prospective collaborations and more. —Christopher Minaya, XXL Magazine (@CM_3)

XXLMag.com: How did “Mercy” come about?

Lifted: I had the beat prior to that, talking about some like fly Lamborghini shit. And my manager played it for—I forget who he played it for over at G.O.O.D.—but, you know, eventually, ’Ye heard it, and it was just kind of fitting in his vision for the record and for the G.O.O.D. Music project.

How long did it take for the song to come to life?

I made the beat probably in November. Sean and Push had their shit done in London in like January. Shit, we finished it—like the actual mix and everything [on Thursday].

How many joints have you already worked on that could end up on the G.O.O.D. Music compilation?

Four joints including the “Mercy” record.

What led to you becoming a part of G.O.O.D.?

Really, just building. I went out to ’Ye’s crib in L.A., during the Watch the Throne shows in L.A., and was just building. Played some beats. He was feeling my shit. That led to going to London in January. Kept building. Playing more shit. Making cool shit. There was actually another G.O.O.D. Music writing session in L.A. Now we’re here. I’m actually in the process [of signing] right now. It’s just on some like legal shit right now.

What was your first meeting with Kanye like?

It was crazy. It was over at his house, and Kanye has been cool from the jump. I don’t exactly remember who was there, but I think it was [Kid] Cudi. John Legend was there. I played some beats. That night was the first Watch the Throne show in L.A., so he invited me to that. That was crazy. Got to go backstage. He played the “Mercy” joint backstage that night. It was an overall cool ass experience, dude.

Were you ever in the studio with anybody during the recording process?

Yeah, for sure. In London, Sean and Push recorded their verses. And then, in L.A., 2 Chainz, I was in the studio with, when he recorded that. And then, ’Ye recorded his verse when I was out in New York. It was crazy. Just the energy’s ridiculous. Coming from Phoenix and just being thrown into the situation, it’s a just a cool ass experience. When they’re recording and shit, I’m just sitting there soaking up game. Soaking up game from all the other producers. The engineers. So much knowledge over there.

What other G.O.O.D. Music artists have you been working with?

Maybe a month or two ago, I went out to L.A. and got in a session with Big Sean. We got a joint coming out. I think they shot a video to the shit, so it’s looking pretty positive as far as it coming out. And, it’s like straight up like Detroit anthem type shit.

Who’s been reaching out to you lately?

Bootleg Kev is plugging me in with 2 Chainz’s people. Luda’s people hit me up last night on Twitter.

How did you get into producing?

I started off DJing and that just kind of naturally progressed into producing. Rapping with the homies and shit, no one really made beats, so I just started but I think it was just kind of a natural progression from DJing to producing. I’ve been producing since like 2000—taking it serious, though. For the past probably like six, seven years.

And you’re in a band, too?

We’re called The New F-O’s. When people ask us like, “Yo, what kind of music do you make?” I say, “Real life feel good music.” So, it’s a trip to be—it’s Real Life Feel Good Music and G.O.O.D. Music. It’s definitely crazy that it came around like that. We been getting like a gang of placements through like MTV. They’ve been placing a lot of our shit on Jersey Shore, The Real World, anything like MTV-affiliated. And then, I’ve got an artist with Real Life Good Music; his name is Hannibal Leq, and we’re working on his mixtape right now.

Back to “Mercy” real quick. What was your reaction once you heard it was going to be the lead single?

I was happy as hell. It’s crazy because I depend on anything until it’s legit. Like once I heard it on the radio—[I was like], Yeah, shit is kind of legit now.

View original article HERE.

After a whirlwind trip to the States to celebrate their three “Artists in Music Award” nominations, pop/rock group and HYPE artist REACHBACK kept up the momentum back in the UK.  Just this week they killed it onstage while opening for McFly and released a brand new music video for “NO ONE ELSE”.

Check out the music video below and then head over to YouTube to watch their LA DIARIES which include live performances at the Extreme Music and MTV offices as well as various locations throughout LA during GRAMMY weekend.

To license “NO ONE ELSE”, contact your Extreme Music dealer HERE

Or to snag it on iTunes, click HERE

Over the next few months many Hype artists are hitting the road in North America and Europe.   Do yourself a favor and check out the shows when they hit your town!

Scroll down for all the latest info and make sure to visit this site often for updates.

New Cassettes

Tour Dates (Supporting We Were Promised Jetpacks):
4.03 – Bardot,  Miami FL
4.04 – The Social, Orlando FL
4.05 – New Brookland Tavern, Columbia SC
4.06 – Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte NC
4.07 – Motorco,  Durham NC
4.08 – The Camel, RichMond VA
4.09  – Sonar, Baltimore MD
4.10 – The Met Cafe, Pawtucket RI
4. 11 – The Space, Hamden CT

Hell & Lula

Tour Dates:
4.04 – Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff AZ
4.06 – Jumping Turtle, San Marcos CA
4.07 – Cheetahs Club, Silverlake CA
4.08 – Hemlock Tavern. San Francisco CA
4.09 – Little Red Lion, Eureka CA
4.10 – Ash Street Saloon, Portland OR
4.11 – Glow Nightclub, Bellingham WA
4.12 – Studio Seven, Seattle WA
4.14 – John’s Alley, Moscow ID

Reachback

Tour Dates:
4.04 – Cliffs Pavillion, Southend-On-Sea
4.15 – The Rayleigh Mill, Rayleigh
4. 22 – Camden Barfly, Camden
5. 7 – The Purple Turtle, King’s Cross
5. 21 – The Dublin Castle, Camden
5.25 – The Harlow Square, Harlow

Stealing Signs

Tour Dates:
4.06 – Bournemouth
4.08 – Hooga, Chelmsford
4.21 – Nabucca
5.05 – V Bar, Colchester

Elaine Faye

Tour Dates:
4.07 – Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd, LA, CA
4.12 – Coachella, Coachella, CA
4.24 – Onyx Room, San Diego, CA
5.15 – Skinny’s Lounge, North Hollywood, CA

All Mankind

Tour Dates:
4.10 – Comet Club, Berlin, Germany
4.13 – Kenpokan, Hannover, Germany
4.16 – Molotow Bar, Hamburg, Germany
4.17 – MTC, Cologne, Germany
4.21 – Sonne, Bad Hindelang, Germany
4.30 – Click or Crash, Leutkirch, Germany
6.02 – Rock Die Hede, Blaubeuren, Germany
6.08 – Nova Rock Festival, Austria
7. 07 – Rock am Horn, Bad Hindelang, Germany
7.14 – Rock Im Vogelwald, Germany

Wallpaper.

Tour Dates:
4.13 – Indio, CA, Coachella Music Festival
4.20 – Indio, CA, Coachella Music Festival
5.12 – Carson, CA, Wango Tango
6.03 – Houston, TX

The Fieros

Tour Dates (supporting Israel Nash Gripka on his March tour of Sweden:
5.04 – Ospel, Netherlands
5.05 – Wageningen, Netherlands
5.06&7 – Kilkenny, Ireland
5.10 – Den Bosch, Netherlands
5. 11 – Valendam, Netherlands
5.12 – Leiden, Netherlands
5.13 – Terneuzen, Netherlands
5.14 – Houffalize, Belgium
5.15 – Zurich, Switzerland