Happy Sunday, readers! We hope you have enjoyed a chock- a-block week of pub visits and shopping trips with friends! We certainly have indulged ourselves.
The news this weekend has been dominated by coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral and one of the most positive things about the day has to be the extraordinary musical programme that Philip himself is said to have designed, which in itself exposed to the world both just how special and emotive the English choral tradition is, and how much it has been truly missed over the last year. Music sung by a quartet of singers, directed by James Vivian and accompanied by Luke Bond on the organ, included Benjamin Britten’s Jubilate Deo, which was commissioned by the Duke in 1961 for St George’s Chapel. Meaning sing joyfully to God in Latin, it is a really uplifting piece that choral singers all know and love.
It has just been announced today that 5,000 music fans in Liverpool will be treated to a live gig on 2nd May, headlined by the band Blossoms as part of a government pilot event! Quite extraordinarily, fans will be able to attend without having to socially distance or wear masks – the only requirement will be a negative Covid test, followed up by a post-concert Test and Trace system. After a year of no live mass-attended gigs, this is set to be an emotional event for all involved!
Speaking of music festivals, the organisers of the infamous Fyre Festival have been ordered to pay $7,000 to each of the 277 attendees in possibly the most historic festival-related court settlement of all time. The 2017 event attracted global attention when the promise of model clientele, luxury accommodation, and Bahamas sunshine was exposed to be a total scam, as was revealed in the much spoken about Netflix documentary.
Some AM news for you now ~ co-founder Hermione’s latest instalment of New Music Picks is out on our website! Each track is super chill and perfectly apt for soaking up the Spring sunshine with a pint or two. H has also tagged her April playlist if you fancy discovering some more tunes ~ Olivia Dean’s track Be My Own Boyfriend defo has us in that hot girl summer mood.
The most high profile music release this week though has to be the totally iconic collaboration between Mick Jagger and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and their track Easy Sleazy which perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the pandemic and all its quips. From references to ‘Zoom calls’ and ‘fake applause’, to ‘prison walls’ and ‘stupid Tik Tok dances’, it is an incredibly human and relatable response to the last year, with just about the right amounts of acute social critique and optimism for the future. Coming out of lockdown has been scary for all of us, and no matter who you are we hope you steadily finding your feet at your own pace.
The eagle eyed readers among you will notice that we did not include a weekly news segment on 11th April, however we felt that the music world almost came to a momentary halt! The biggest piece of news in our remit though was the release of our latest podcast episode, Episode 8: Back to Business, Brighter Days and Berghain. In it we discuss new jobs, readjusting to the new normal, and planning the summer of our dreams, featuring a short but brilliant segment from contributing writer, Will O’Brien. Now available on all streaming platforms, go and check it out!
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a new podcast episode dropping next week, alongside brand new features and Apocalypse Sessions from some of the industry’s hottest upcoming talent.
As ever, get in touch with us apocalypsemusicsite@gmail.com and follow us on our socials to stay up to date!
Words by Pia Rose Scattergood
Photo © Apocalypse Music
