Transgressive records news - Sparks ‘live on the moon’

TRANSGRESSIVE RECORDS ANNOUNCE: SPARKS LIVE ON THE MOON
LIVE ALBUM RELEASED AUGUST 14, 2026

Out today: Whippings and Apologies (Live on the Moon)

Sparks – pop's perennial pioneers – continue to boldly go where no band has gone before. Having pushed the boundaries of music for more than 5 decades, the eternally adventurous Ron and Russell Mael now achieve another first with Sparks Live On The Moon. The twenty-track performance is captured here in all its heavenly glory, complete with intro and outro by Cate Blanchett.

"After our 2025 World Tour, Sparks accepted an invitation to do a special one-off concert on the Moon, more precisely at the Taruntius Crater, near Mare Fecunditatis.  Honored to be the first band to perform on the moon, let alone at the beautiful Taruntius Crater, we couldn't have imagined the lunar fan interest, with all tickets being grabbed up within an hour, Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT).  Thank you, Moon!  And a big thank you to Cate Blanchett for taking the time out of her busy schedule to accompany us on this journey and perform emcee duties at this special concert.   What a riot Cate was on the mission's 4-day flight, helping us pass the time with hours of gravitational-pull jokes and the like!

So sit back, close your eyes and imagine the wondrous setting, and enjoy Sparks' first full concert album, Live On The Moon."

SPARKS - Whippings And Apologies [Live On The Moon] (Official Video)

Live Nation concert – Role Model
ROLE MODEL
Role Model Presents: Chuck On Tour
Op maandag 15 februari 2027 in Vorst Nationaal, Brussel

"Where's my Sally tonight?" Eindelijk is het zover: ROLE MODEL komt naar ons land! Op maandag 15 februari maakt de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter met zijn 'Chuck On Tour' een langverwachte stop in Vorst Nationaal in Brussel. Om de avond compleet te maken neemt hij Keni Titus en haar dromerige indiepop mee als special guest. Tickets zijn beschikbaar vanaf via livenation.be.

De aankondiging volgt op de release van zijn nieuwe single "High Hopes 3000", een eerste voorproefje van zijn derde studioalbum 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass', dat op 7 augustus verschijnt. Met de introductie van het mysterieuze alter ego Chuck Timely zette ROLE MODEL de afgelopen weken zijn fans wereldwijd aan het speculeren. Oude postkaarten, verborgen telefoonnummers en een mysterieus Instagramaccount vormden het startschot van een nieuwe muzikale era.

Sinds zijn debuutalbum 'Rx' uit 2022 heeft ROLE MODEL, geboren als Tucker Pillsbury, een opmerkelijk parcours afgelegd. Met zijn droge humor en emotionele eerlijkheid wist hij een steeds groter publiek voor zich te winnen. Op zijn tweede album 'Kansas Anymore' verfijnde hij die stijl verder met prachtige folk-geïnspireerde nummers die zowel critici als fans wisten te overtuigen. De plaat betekende zijn definitieve doorbraak. De single "Sally, When The Wine Runs Out" groeide uit tot een wereldwijd fenomeen, goed voor honderden miljoenen streams en viral video's op social media. ROLE MODEL bracht het nummer naar televisieprogramma's als 'The Tonight Show' en 'Saturday Night Live', waar Charli XCX als verrassingsgast de 'Sally' van de avond was.

Momenteel trekt ROLE MODEL langs grote festivals zoals Primavera Sound Barcelona, Bonnaroo en Leeds, terwijl hij zich voorbereidt op de release van 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass'. Wie dat nieuwe album live wil ontdekken en ROLE MODEL voor het eerst op een Belgisch podium wil zien, weet waar hij moet zijn. Afspraak op 15 februari in Vorst Nationaal!

Tickets zijn beschikbaar en kosten €76,30 - €65,10 - €57,26 - €52,78 (inclusief servicekosten en mobiliteitsbijdrage). Voor de grootste fans is er ook een VIP package beschikbaar.

Het nieuwe album van ROLE MODEL 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass' komt uit op 7 augustus 2026 via Universal Music Belgium.

www.livenation.be

Even voorstellen - La Fazani - new double EP project 'Ekstrovert and Introvert'

La Fazani announces two upcoming EPs, Ekstrovert and Introvert, arriving in June and November 2026. Originally imagined as one full-length album, the project slowly separated itself into two connected but opposite worlds.

La Fazani is the musical project of Arbër Salihu, a composer, producer and performer from Prishtina, Kosovo, known for blending Balkan musical traditions with hip hop, indie, electronic and alternative influences. Over the past years he has become one of the more distinctive voices in Kosovo's contemporary scene, moving between underground culture and mainstream recognition, including winning the first edition of Kosovo's national song festival in 2023 with the song "Oj Kosovë".

Built around the idea that identity is never just one thing, the project embraces contradiction instead of avoiding it. Introvert/extrovert. Freedom/commitment. Alternative/mainstream. Analog live music/electronic digital music. Old styles/new styles. Summer/winter. Mountain/sea. Rather than choosing one side, La Fazani treats these opposites as forces that constantly exist together.

The visual identity reflects this directly: two minimalist covers inspired by yin and yang symbolism, where each side quietly contains something from the opposite spectrum.

Recorded between Prishtina and Tallinn following La Fazani's Tallinn Music Week recognition and residency at Selektor Studio in Telliskivi, the music moves through a surprisingly wide sonic palette. Reggaeton rhythms, afrobeat grooves, pop structures, drum'n'bass energy, indie textures and hip hop influences all appear throughout the project. Underneath the accessible surface sits highly detailed songwriting, unusual harmonic movement, unexpected structures, and the sensibility of a formally trained composer.

All lyrics are in Albanian, often blending Gheg and Tosk dialects in unusual ways, with Gheg remaining dominant. Many songs revolve around love, desire, ego, performance and self-image, while also offering a subtle critique of a hyper-materialistic reality where human worth is increasingly measured through clicks, likes, money and visibility.

The characters inside the songs often embody these modern value systems - superficial ambition, performative confidence, emotional confusion - while the music responds with irony, tenderness, absurdity or confrontation.

One of the key tracks from Ekstrovert, "Kena Tirshe," features MC Kresha and directly addresses collective social disorientation. The title itself flips the Albanian word "rreshqitje" ("slipping"), turning language into a metaphor for a society gradually losing balance.
While Ekstrovert leans toward warmer, playful, rhythmic and more immediate energy, Introvert moves deeper into obscure and experimental territory. Its full tracklist and featured collaborators will be revealed later.
At first listen, the project can feel light, humorous, danceable and direct. But underneath sits a layered body of work from an artist shaped equally by composition studies, underground culture, Balkan musical traditions, performance art and contemporary global production.
As La Fazani continues to blur the line between accessible and experimental, Ekstrovert / Introvert becomes less of a binary and more of a portrait of modern contradiction itself.

Ekstrovert tracklist:

Sa ma larg, sa ma larg

A e din ti kush jom une?

Kena Tirshë (feat. MC Kresha)

Kom diçka un' me t'kallxu

Pini maca ujë

La Fazani - Ekstrovert

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/arbersalihu/sets/ekstrovert/s-cYtkb8dELT5?si=c3b7768eeb6947a1ada4458757c8d999&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

V2 records news – Isaac Roux Shares New Single "Missing Out”

6 February 2027 Live @ AB, Brussels
Missing Out - Single by Isaac Roux | Spotify

After the successful comeback of "Young Hearts", Belgian indie pop singer Isaac Roux returns with another new single "Missing Out", out today.  "Am I Missing Out" captures the restless intensity of youth navigating confusion, desire, and self-discovery. The lyrics paint vivid, almost surreal imagery; "higher than hills," "burst through the ceiling underneath the train rails"—immersing listeners in a world of emotional highs, longing, and uncertainty. At its core, the song explores the tension between loneliness and connection, asking the universal question: Am I missing out? Lines like "tumbling around my bloodstream like a chemical spill" and "burning like a lemon haze" evoke both vulnerability and exhilaration, creating a hypnotic, dreamlike atmosphere. With its raw honesty and emotive energy, this track is a compelling anthem for anyone searching for meaning, love, and authenticity in a chaotic world.

For recording, the band retreated to a cottage at the foot of Mont Ventoux, where they set up a fully DIY recording process under the name "Studio La Pichounette". This approach resulted in a raw, more direct sound with a distinct sense of band chemistry.    Following the recordings, they collaborated with the American producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Kurt Vile, Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie) on the final mix. Together with producer Bert Vliegen, Louis De Roo travelled to Bridgeport to put the finishing touches to the tracks in a studio rich in history. "Young Hearts" and "Missing Out"  are two beautiful examples of the more versatile and energetic sound in which Isaac Roux reveals a different side of itself.

For those who are not yet familiar with Isaac Roux's work; Isaac Roux writes songs about the fragile moment when youth gives way to something that resembles adulthood. His music is threaded with nostalgia for adolescence, tempered by the realisation that growing up rarely comes gently.  Following sets at Pukkelpop, Rock Werchter, Eurosonic, and the release of his debut album Troubled Waters (2024), Roux has begun to embrace the rough edges. His sound is looser, faster, and more lo-fi: propulsive electric guitars, playful yet daring arrangements, and rhythms that keep pushing forward. There are echoes of Beach Fossils and Day Wave, the melancholic undertones of The Cure, and the hazy, psychedelic textures of Tame Impala — all filtered through his own unpolished lens. 

Isaac Roux Live Dates
06/02/2027 - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
18/02/2027 - Paradiso, Amsterdam

Even voorstellen – Glen Hansard – announces ‘Don’t settle – Transmissions West’
GLEN HANSARD ANNOUNCES DON'T SETTLE - TRANSMISSIONS WEST
VOLUME TWO OF DON'T SETTLE - TRANSMISSIONS EAST & WEST,
A 20-SONG CAREER RETROSPECTIVE RECORDED LIVE AT
BERLIN’S HISTORIC FUNKHAUS
OUT JUNE 26TH (plateau/konkurrent)

end June 26 “high hope” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpe7AvNaQj8

June 26 “her mercy” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7afvLlIHm0

May 26  “revelate" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tBaZjGtp_g

Glen Hansard announced Don+t Settle - Transmissions West, the second volume of his new album Don+t Settle - Transmissions East & West, will be released on June 26th, 2026, via Plateau/Secretly Distribution. Recorded over two nights in April 2025 in front of an audience at Berlin’s historic Funkhaus, the album’s 20-song tracklist features live reinterpretations of songs from across his esteemed career, including his four solo albums, his work with The Frames, as well as half of the Oscar-winning duo The Swell Season (with Markéta Irglová). Don+t Settle - Transmissions East & West as a whole encapsulates multiple things at once: a career retrospective opus, a ‘Best Of’ collection, a live record, and a new studio album. To celebrate the announcement of Transmissions West (Vol. 2), Hansard has also shared the single “Revelate” alongside a live performance video filmed at Funkhaus during recording.

“‘Revelate’ is an arms to the sky plea for an intervention. At a time of great disappointment and disillusionment, I needed an answer. Was everything I ever wished for and actively moved toward suddenly gone from my grasp? It was the early ‘90s and we (The Frames) had just been unceremoniously let go (dropped) from Island Records. Which was a shock and huge injury,” Hansard explains of the song’s origins. “I’d been signed by the legendary Chris Blackwell to island records just two years previous. And all of my interactions with him were incredibly positive. I later discovered Chris had semi-retired and we were simply part of the general clean up or clear out that happens occasionally in such companies, that are bought and sold and restructured all the time. What they overlook or choose not to see is the young lives and dreams that are directly affected by ‘it’s just business’ anyway. No one was gonna tell me we were done. And we dealt with the earthquake the way any artist must. We wrote our way through it. ‘Revelate’ was the first single from our second and self funded album Fitzcarraldo. Every song is a ‘fuck you’ to anyone who dismissed us. I stand by it and sing it proudly to this day.”

Transmissions East (Vol. 1) was released on April 24th, and saw high praise and support from WAMU/NPR 1A (interview), SPIN (interview), CBB-FM (interview), Under The Radar, Mojo, Uncut, and more–while his predominantly sold-out tour in support of the album received rave live reviews from the Chicago Sun-Times, among others. Hansard recently wrapped a U.K. / EU headline tour in support of Vol. 1 and has a number of tour dates remaining in 2026, including a hometown Dublin in-store performance/signing at Tower Records on July 1st and a show at Trinity College on July 2nd. The current itinerary is below.

Both volumes of Don+t Settle - Transmissions East & West feature no vocal overdubs, second takes, autotune, or editing–brilliantly showcasing the breadth of Hansard’s talents and songwriting. In all, the album feels like an important demarcation point in an already storied career, with Hansard looking backwards within his creative path while he moves forward–‘transmissions’ both from his past and to his future.

Transmissions West  (Vol. 2) track listing:
1. Revelate

2. What Happens When The Heart Just Stops
3. Just To Be The One
4. Her Mercy
5. This Gift
6. When Your Mind’s Made Up
7. Sure As Rain
8. McCormack’s Wall
9. Leave A Light
10. High Hope
    
    A founding member of The Frames, Hansard first gained international attention through Alan Parker’s 1991 film The Commitments and a subsequent film, Once (2007), made on a modest budget, became a global success and grossed $23 million worldwide.
    Co-starring Markéta Irglová, the pair won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Falling Slowly’ and later recorded and toured as The Swell Season.
    Since launching his solo career with 2012’s Rhythm and Repose, Hansard has released four further studio albums: Didn’t He Ramble (2015), Between Two Shores (2018), This Wild Willing (2019), and All That Was East Is West of Me Now (2023).
    Over the years, he has collaborated with and earned praise from artists including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell. Now 55, Hansard describes Transmissions East & West as a document of energy and connection, capturing the spirit of his live performances at an important moment in his musical journey.

V2 records news – Kelela – album ‘new avatar’

KELELA Shares new tour dates and single

2e single 'outta time (end June 26)
Kelela - outta time (feat. A. K. Paul) (Official Video)

outta time," the fourth single from her highly anticipated forthcoming album new avatar, out July 10 via Warp Records. Featuring British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist A. K. Paul, the single pairs expansive synths with Kelela's raw reflection on a love that can no longer be saved.

"outta time" conveys emotion in a delicate manner, its journey a lesson in patience. "I made it in 2016 during the period when I was writing for Take Me Apart," Kelela explains. "I sat with that song for so long, and it's literally untouched. I waited because I needed to build a house for this song that gives its sound more context." She sings through tender vocals coming to terms with a relationship that has slipped away, as the guitar and spatial synths create even more distance between her and a love she once knew.

June 26 1e single  "point blank"
ALBUM "NEW AVATAR" OUT 10 JULY
Kelela – point blank - WARP
2 November live @ La Madeleine, Brussel

Kelela releases "point blank," the third single from her upcoming album new avatar, out July 10th via Warp Records. Produced by Oscar Scheller, the track arrives as a gift to fans alongside the announcement and live pre-sale of her first full multinational tour in years: new avatar live.

Following "idea 1" and "linknb," "point blank" centers on the emotional weight of romantic misogynoir and the labor of loving someone who mistakes your care for endless resource. Kelela brings her friends into the conversation, naming a dynamic many know but rarely hear articulated this clearly. The bridge is where the song exhales — the one moment of physical satisfaction in a track that otherwise refuses to give an inch. She's not asking for more. She's taking what she wants and leaving the rest behind.

"I first outline the baseline dynamic, which is that we're expected to endure men's inability to self-regulate," she explains. "The fantasy many of us are invested in is one where we do such a good job of holding space that it starts to rub off on our partner over time, eventually inducing some sort of revelation and building their emotional maturity. Yet the more we pour into men, the more entitled they become." In Kelela's words: "We are down bad."

In support of new avatar, Kelela will embark on her new avatar live world tour, marking her most anticipated live run and her first time bringing this scale of show to audiences across North America, Europe, and the UK. Local presales begin Wednesday, June 3 at 12 PM local time. Public on-sale begins Friday, June 5 at 10 AM local time. Tickets available HERE.

Oct 27 – Paris, FR – Élysée Montmartre

Nov 2 – Brussels, BE – La Madeleine

Nov 3 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso

MORE ABOUT KELELA
Throughout her globally revered, boundary-pushing career, Kelela has established a lane of her own in R&B and electronic music. On her long-awaited third album, new avatar, the singer/songwriter (through the versatility of the guitar) challenges perceptions of these genres, while weaving together fragments of lived experiences to shape a world of connection and resilience during times of unrest.

The songs journey through Black femme rage, joy as resistance, Gotham City-esque dystopia, misogynoir, romantic tension, and more. It's anchored by production that demands a broader rethink about alternative, rock and indie music.

Kelela's defiant nature has propelled her so far already — from her hometown of Washington, D.C. to world stages. In 2013, she released her debut mixtape, Cut 4 Me. She continued solidifying her revolutionary R&B sound with 2015's Hallucinogen EP, with The New York Times naming its single, "Rewind," one of the "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going." By 2017, she released her electric debut album Take Me Apart (followed by 2018's TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES), building upon her intimate storytelling.

After a nearly five-year hiatus, she returned in 2023 with her groundbreaking second album, Raven, and its critically acclaimed counterpart, RAVE:N, The Remixes in 2024. Raven has been hailed as one of the Best Albums of 2023 by Pitchfork, Billboard, Vulture, Variety, and more, while the remixes solidified her as a leader in the dance music space.

In 2025, Kelela showcased yet another innovative side of her artistry with her live album In The Blue Light, which hit #5 on the Contemporary Jazz chart and #20 on the Jazz Albums chart. Now, with new avatar, Kelela displays the masterful intention she puts into forming new sonic cityscapes. But don't confuse it with escapism: "I don't want the music to be a distraction from what's really going on in the world; I want it to help you get into it."