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Mumford & Sons Join Bruce Springsteen On Stage (Video)

Posted 5/29/12 2:18 pm EST by in Bruce Springsteen, collaborations

Marcus Mumford

By Zachary Swickey

The charming folk collective Mumford & Sons have a busy schedule this summer with a slew of overseas festival appearances, and last night they got the opportunity of a lifetime at a Dutch music festival when Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen invited them to join him onstage.

Last night, both acts performed at the Netherlands' iconic Pinkpop Festival and Spingsteen asked the rising group to join him onstage for his hit “Hungry Heart” during the encore of his lengthy 23-song set.

Additionally, Mumford & Sons revealed during their own headlining set at the fest that they have finished recording the follow-up to their breakthrough debut Sigh No More – the ‘09 double platinum that catapulted the group to fame and even garnered two Grammy noms.

Frontman Marcus Mumford told the crowd that work on the new album is complete, while keyboardist Ben Lovett said it would drop September 24. The group neglected to mention an album title for the release.

Meanwhile, the British folk group has a new song appearing on the soundtrack to Pixar’s newest animated film, “Brave,” which hits theaters on June 22. Mumford and Co. provided the music for the song, while English newcomer Birdy provided the vocals for the track.

"It's quite fun doing a song for a movie rather than for an album. We liked the idea of having an orchestra in the background and having a girl like Birdy sing - it's been quite liberating,” frontman Marcus Mumford said of the new tune.

Check out Mumford's performance with The Boss after the jump. Read More...

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Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Recording Album With Rapper Astronautalis

Posted 4/11/12 12:14 pm EST by in collaborations, Music

Justin Vernon

By Zachary Swickey

Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon must not be keen on taking breaks, because despite being on the road for most of 2011 – touring behind his Grammy-winning self-titled album – he somehow found the time to record a new full-length effort with his rapper friend Astronautalis.

While the concept may seem like a radical departure for Vernon, it’s really not if you are aware of his other side-gig with his supergroup Gayngs – a “collective” of 25 musicians, including Har Mar Superstar, rappers P.O.S. and Dessa from Doomtree, as well as three members of Solid Gold.

The record will also reportedly feature Bon Iver drummer S Carey and producer Ryan Olson (the man responsible for forming Gayngs) with Vernon’s April Base Studio in Wisconsin serving as the project’s headquarters.

"This process was exhilarating, and it drove us further. We were originally going to be down there for a day," Astronautalis, real name Andy Bothwell, said in an interview with City Pages – claiming he also freestyled for eight hours over the music Vernon came up with.

"A lot of my fans are like, 'Oh this is going to be amazing: Astronautalis rapping and Justin singing choruses.' It's not going to be that,” Bothwell said about the effort.

The two also reportedly have a separate moniker for the project that they have yet to reveal, and though they are reportedly hoping to release new music sooner rather than later, they did not set a release date for the project.

It’s safe to assume that the disc will land on the new label Vernon founded, Chigliak Records. An imprint of Jagjaguwar, the label that signed Bon Iver, Chigliak Records focuses on "never commercially released" or "locally released [in Wisconsin] and never put out on vinyl," as well as new music.

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New deadmau5 Track Featuring My Chemical Romance Frontman Lands Online

Posted 3/22/12 12:17 pm EST by in collaborations, dance, My-Chemical-Romance

Deadmau5

By Zachary Swickey

DJ sensation deadmau5 recently took to his tumblr to rant against the rising frequency of musical collaborations. Despite this, a new deadmau5 track that features vocals by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way has surfaced online.

The catchy new tune with a chugging digital bassline has just hit the Internet this morning under the name “Professional Griefers.” It has yet to be determined who is responsible for the track leaking online, as neither Way or deadmau5 have personally confirmed the track or even mentioned it. Although, a spokesperson for Way told NME that it is indeed his unmistakable voice on the song.

Strangely, this new tune appears the same week as deadmau5’s lengthy post rallying against musical collaborations that he labels as a “fad” of the big name music acts – especially given the rising popularity of the EDM scene.

“So, I've had a revelation these past couple of days, and I really feel the need to draw attention to the results here. There's a perfectly valid reason why I don't usually enjoy the idea of a 'collaboration' … although you can rest assure whatever collaborations I have done in the past were the results of stuff I'm totally into, like Flipside, the Foo’s, Cyprus Hill, etc.

All too often, there’s an influx of 'big names' that would get thrown around the label from time to time and of course, they fly off the table and out the f**kin' door faster than they hit my desk. eg. do you want to do a track with big name X, remix huge pop act y, etc etc.”

He then bluntly concluded, “No. I f**king don’t. I really REALLY don’t.”

Lest fans or non-fans begin thinking deadmau5 is just being difficult, he summarizes his thoughts more succinctly at the end of his post, writing, “The moral of the story is here, is that this is what songwriting should be about. Music is meant to provoke feeling and thought. So if we were to go by popular music, we should all be thinking how sexy we are and we know it, or how our hands should be constantly up in the air… or maybe we should drop that bass because it's too f**king heavy to lift or whatever the f**king problem with bass is these days.”

Listen to deadmau5's collab with Way after the jump. Read More...

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Bon Iver Latest To Join Collaborative Flaming Lips LP

Posted 1/13/12 1:13 pm EST by in collaborations, Flaming-Lips, Music

Bon Iver

by Zachary Swickey

The Flaming Lips had a whirlwind of a year in 2011, releasing a five pound gummy skull with a USB of new songs in the brain, recording a six hour song (soon followed by a 24-hour song) and performing their opus The Soft Bulletin and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon at the legendary Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in addition to their many random collaborations with folks like Neon Indian, Prefuse 73 and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. But it appears they are not done yet.

After wrapping the New Year with a pair of hometown shows featuring Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band, the Lips’ unofficial leader Wayne Coyne has revealed some more collabs are on the way for a new LP that he hopes will be out by April. The diverse group of artists that the Lips hope to have on board appropriately reflect Wayne’s whacky music palette: Nick Cave, Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Erykah Badu, and Lykke Li to name a few.

The Bon Iver hook-up is apparently a “go,” according to Coyne’s chat with Rolling Stone, but has yet to take place. He claims to have spoken with singer Justin Vernon, who is reportedly sending two tracks for the Lips to work on “any day now.” A song with Nick Cave is also in the gestating stages with the group already sending the Aussie singer some music to work on.

While several of the collabs are set-in-stone, there are few who haven’t exactly signed the dotted line just yet. Ke$ha, Lykke Li, and Erykah Badu have all been requested by the Lips for some studio sessions, but they have yet to agree. While a Ke$ha collab seems a bit strange (even for the Lips), Coyne sees a little of himself in the singer: “She’s a freak,” he said of their similarities, also noting he knew she was a fan. Read More...

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Jack White's Appearance On 'American Pickers' Not As Crazy As It Sounds

Posted 1/4/12 12:17 pm EST by in collaborations, Music

Jack White

By Zachary Swickey

The White Stripes may have called it quits earlier this year, but we’ve seen and heard plenty from former frontman Jack White since their demise. Adding yet another eccentric appearance to the list is word that White will appear on the History Channel’s “American Pickers” next week.

The show is admittedly addictive, following two friends/business partners as they scour various barns, homes and junkyards across the country in search of hidden antiques. The episode is set to air at 9PM EST on January 9 and will feature pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fitz as they visit White’s Third Man Studios and label home in Nashville. The two will reportedly barter with the music icon over memorabilia, which will include the photo booth used in the music video for “Hang You From the Heavens” by one of White’s many musical projects, The Dead Weather.

White certainly has not used his newfound freedom to retire into hiding – quite the opposite actually – as the singer has managed to stay in the headlines with several studio collaborations. And, as always with Jack, you must expect the unexpected. From Insane Clown Posse to the Jigga Man, here are our five favorite random Jack White collabs, which all somehow make total sense. Read More...

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Justin Bieber And Mariah Carey And Five Other Strange Musical Collaborations

Posted 10/20/11 4:49 pm EST by in collaborations, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey

By Sterling Wong

‘Tis the season to be jolly, especially if you’re a Justin Bieber fan, as the teen superstar is set to release his first holiday album, Under the Mistletoe, come November 1.

(The first single, "Mistletoe," dropped earlier this week during MTV First: Justin Bieber.)

For this release, Bieber has roped in a whole host of guest artists. Some guest appearances are to be expected – mentor and close friend Usher, of course, duets with Bieber on his version of "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)." Some, though, seem to have come out of left field. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to do a double take when I found out that Bieber would be collaborating with Mariah Carey on a new version of her smash “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Not only is the music Carey makes very different from Bieber's, her fanbase is an entirely different demographic.

But, then again, this new Justin/Mariah power combo is hardly the first unusual music collaboration. Artists working together and crossing genres often produce fresh, innovative music. In anticipation of hearing the new duet version of “All I Want for Christmas is You,” I thought I’d take a look back at some of music’s most unusual and unexpected collaborations.

Read More...

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From T.I. And Usher To Justin Bieber And Jason Mraz, Taylor Swift Is The Queen Of Concert Duets

Posted 10/3/11 11:06 am EST by in collaborations, Concerts, Taylor Swift

This weekend at Atlanta's Philips Arena, Taylor Swift was joined on stage for a pair of surprise duets. On Saturday, during the first of two sold-out shows, Swift shared the spotlight with Usher to perform his hit "Yeah!" and the following night got an assist from newly free T.I. Late in her show Sunday night, Swift introduced the rapper by singing the chorus to his song, "Live Your Life." He then joined her on stage to wild applause to perform his track while Swift sang the chorus – performed on the record by Rihanna – alongside him.

(Even stranger was the crowd backstage at Swift's Sunday night show in Atlanta. Not only was T.I. shooting the breeze before hitting the stage, but Nelly and Young Jeezy were there too.)

This isn't the first time a guest has joined Swift on her "Speak Now World Tour." The Grammy-winning country diva has been bringing her famous friends on stage to perform with her throughout her tour and rather than have them join her for one of her songs, Swift often lets her superstar guests shine and instead joins them for one of their songs.

Who else has partnered with the Speak Now superstar for a surprise concert appearance, read on to find out. Read More...

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Jack White Teams Up With Insane Clown Posse (Yes, Seriously) For Single

Posted 8/31/11 2:10 pm EST by in collaborations

Jack White and ICP

By Zachary Swickey

Jack White never fails to surprise us, but he has taken it to a whole other level with the announcement of a collaboration with the foul-mouthed crew Insane Clown Posse (yes, you read that correctly).

Fresh off helping Danger Mouse with his spaghetti-western project, Rome, White has issued a press release detailing the unimaginable hook-up with the Faygo-dousing clowns, who are generally viewed as outcasts from mainstream music.

A single titled “Leck Mich Im Arsch,” (which supposedly translates to “Lick me in the arse"), will be going on sale as a 7” vinyl and digital download on September 13 via White’s Third Man Records. The tune reportedly uses a classical melody dating back to 1782 from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A teaser of the track sounds about as strange as you’d expect. Read More...

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Will Smith Reportedly Readying Comeback With Game Producer

Posted 8/23/11 12:30 pm EST by in collaborations

By Zachary Swickey

It appears that one of the most successful rappers of the ‘90s is prepping to make a long-awaited comeback. Will Smith (yeah, remember he used to make music?) has reportedly been in the studio working on the follow-up to his 2005 flop, Lost and Found, with current on-the-rise hip-hop producer La Mar “Mars” Edwards.

Most recently, Edwards’ production work includes a majority of the tracks on The Game’s new R.E.D. Album, and he’s also been staying busy in the studio working with a slew of big names, including Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa (on music for their “High School” flick), Ashanti, T.I. and Tyler, the Creator.

But it’s his casual mention to XXL Magazine about collaborating with Smith that caught our attention. “We’re working on Will Smith, bringing him back. That’s actually him on the other line right now,” he told the mag.

That’s literally the only light he shed on the matter. How could he not elaborate on something so huge (and seemingly out of nowhere)? Granted, Smith is a cash cow at the box office, but it’s been quite a while since he captivated the music world “Big Willie Style.” Rap had quite a different atmosphere in 1997 when Smith released his solo debut, which begs the question, Can he pull it off? Read More...

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Details About Mysterious Metallica/Lou Reed Collabo Surface

Posted 8/22/11 2:30 pm EST by in collaborations, Metallica

Metallica

By Zachary Swickey

Slowly but surely details continue to emerge about Metallica’s much-anticipated joint effort with former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed. Updating their new joint website this morning, the San Fran thrashers have revealed Lulu as the name of the effort. The group appears to be going by “Lou Reed & Metallica” rather than adopting a joint moniker (so far), which is all the rage these days with The Throne.

Due on November 1, it also appears that the effort will be a concept album as explained via the posting:

’Lulu’ was inspired by German expressionist writer Frank Wededkind’s plays ‘Earth Spirit’ and ‘Pandora’s Box,’ which tell the story of a young abused dancer’s life and relationships and are now collectively known as the ‘Lulu Plays.’ Since their publications in the early 1900’s, the plays have been the inspiration for a silent film, an opera, and countless other creative endeavors.

Apparently, Mr. Reed had initially begun work on a theatrical production in Berlin based on said “Lulu Plays,” but after meeting Metallica at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts held in New York in 2009, the effort segued into a joint venture between the two music powerhouses. Read More...

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