The xx working on 'completely different' third album in Texas and Iceland

June 10, 2014 9:48

Producer Rodaidh McDonald discusses follow up to 'Coexist' while also offering Jai Paul update

The xx are working on their third album between Texas and Iceland with the release said to have a "completely different concept" to the band's first two records.

Producer Rodaidh McDonald, who has worked with the band before as well as with Bobby Womack, Adele, King Krule, Sampha and Vampire Weekend as manager of XL Records in-house studio, spoke to Dazed about his recent time spent with the band as they work on a follow up to 2012 album 'Coexist.'

"It's a completely different concept, says McDonald. "just trying everything, trying to find new ways of working, new sounds."

He continues: "We're doing it in Texas and Iceland, and maybe France. So that's kind of starting in the middle of July, I’ve already spent a bit of time with them in Texas. There are songs which have come out of our experiences in New York and Texas that would never have come out in London; the colours and the ideas and the moods on some of these songs are just not things you would write in London. It's about opening things up a bit more. They are a London band, but they're also a band that’s spent a lot of time in different countries. So we’re trying to push that further with the Iceland trip, which is happening in July."

McDonald also touches briefly on the enigmatic artist Jai Paul, with whom he has recently worked. Confirming that Paul is still working on his debut album, the producer says: "I did something with him last week, some vocal production on a new song. We finished it, whether he wants to put it out or not I don’t know. It’s just a very long process for him I guess, he’s been working on (his album) for years. One of the things that I sort of identified was that he might benefit from some help using vocals. But his music sounds so good, he doesn’t need any help, I think he’s perfect."

Jamie xx previously spoke about recording a new album in Texas. During the musician and producer's BBC 6 Music 6 Mix residency on May 2, he played a song by Texan country musician Mickey Newbury and explained to listeners that his band were recently in the singer's home state, working on new music.

More information about the third album from The xx can be found on the Instagram page of the band's record label Young Turks, who last month posted pictures from Marfa, Texas, with the caption "LP3 Recording" as well footage of Oliver Sim of the band recording handclaps for the record. On Facebook the band said they were working at the Marfa Recording Company studio.

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Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen discuss working on 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past'

December 19, 2013 13:24

Film opens in May 2014

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have opened up about their experiences working on X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

Stewart and McKellen star as older versions of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, respectively, with younger incarnations of the roles to be portrayed by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal about sharing characters with the younger actors, McKellen said: "I think [Fassbender] made it clear he wanted to be his own Magneto and that suits the nature of the story and his part in it. And [director] Bryan Singer doesn't mind that we don't look much like each other.

"Although, they have put out a poster where our faces are blended and you do a double take and think, 'Ooh, my goodness, I didn't know I was that good looking,' and then realize the bit that's good looking is not me, but Fassbender."

Meanwhile, referring to the scene he shares with McAvoy in the film's trailer, which you can see below, Stewart said: "There was a certain happy charm about it, in that, when we shot that scene, it was James' first day of work and it was my last day.

"He is illustrating a time in Charles Xavier's life which was very different from the time that I've been inhabiting in the previous three movies, and we just let that play out. I think we've both been looking forward to doing that scene immensely."

X-Men: Days Of Future Past boasts a massive cast featuring nearly every familiar face from the previous five X-Men movies. Fassbender, McAvoy, McKellen and Stewart will all appear, and will also be joined by Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page and Anna Paquin.

An official synopsis for the film was previously released, stating: "The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days Of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past - to save our future."

X-Men: Days Of Future Past opens in UK cinemas on May 22, 2014 and a day later on May 23, 2014 in the US.

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Corey Harris on 'Meeting' Woody Guthrie, Working With Wilco & His New Film

by Gary Graff, Detroit  |   April 06, 2012 2:32 EDT

Corey Harris was an adjunct player in the "Mermaid Avenue" project helmed by Billy Bragg and Wilco. But with the "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions" box set arriving April 21, the roots music troubadour says he has fond memories of working on the collections of "new" Woody Guthrie songs.

"It was a great experience," Harris, who co-wrote "Hoodoo Voodoo" on 1998's "Mermaid Avenue" and played on the 2000 sequel, tells Billboard.com. "I got to meet Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, and talk to her about her dad. I got to be around Wilco and Billy Bragg... and see how they work, which was cool. We recorded some in Chicago and some in Ireland; being in Ireland was a cool experience, also."

Harris adds that watching Bragg and Wilco work was illuminating as well. "In a lot of rock and pop music, it seems to me they go into the studio and have an idea, roughly, of what they want to do and then they start to write a song," he explains. "Whereas the way I like to do things and the way it's done in the blues is you have a song together... so you're recording something you're really comfortable with and have been playing for a long time, not getting into the studio and writing material. So it was interesting to see how they do things."

Harris adds that, "I'd be lying if I said I felt Woody's spirit" during the "Mermaid Avenue" sessions. "It would look great on paper, but, no I can't say I felt his spirit. I didn't really know much about Woody Guthrie... so it was more about me getting to know him because I met his daughter and got to see his lyrics, which were photocopies of his handwritten lyrics from the archives in New York. So I felt like I was collaborating with someone but at the same time I was just meeting him, too."

Harris is busy these days with his own music, promoting his 2011 album "Father Sun, Mother Earth" with his Rasta Blues Experience band. He also filmed a documentary about his life and career on March 17, when he played a pair of shows at Callahan's Music Hall in suburban Detroit, which was filmed by the American Music Research Foundation.

"It'll be about my music and how I put together what I do, and talking about the people I've worked with. It'll cover the gamut," says Harris, who also appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2003 PBS miniseries "The Blues." "I look at it like this; I produce a product, and I want people to know what I'm producing. I want people to know my message, and opportunities like this allow me to get my message out... and tell people to hold to your roots, to hold to your traditions, and by doing that you can chart a course for the future."

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Rapper 50 Cent working on anti-bullying novel (AP)

NEW YORK – Rapper 50 Cent's newest work of fiction will have an anti-bullying message.

The Penguin Young Reader Group has signed up 50 Cent's novel "Playground." The publisher announced Monday that the book is a semi-autobiographical young adult novel about bullying that will come out in January 2012. The 34-year-old rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has acknowledged a violent childhood and dealing drugs at an early age.

He's also released a memoir, "From Pieces to Weight," and a self-help guide co-authored by Robert Greene called "The 50th Law."

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