There’s an opportunity to get up close and personal with rap royalty on December 17 and 18 when N*E*R*D and Neptunes man Pharrell Williams plays the Dublin Olympia.
The producers of choice for everyone from Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are also earning plaudits for their rock and hip-hop influenced side project, N*E*R*D
With Kanye West supplanting him as the hottest hip-hop producer on the scene and N*E*R*D no more, Pharrell Williams needs to do something special to put himself back into the game. ‘Can I Have It Like That’ is an uninspiring, tuneless dirge, in sharp contrast to West’s vibrant wall of sound. And getting Gwen Stefani to repeat four words a few times is hardly going to help matters.
Not content with being a key member of the Damien Rice band, Vyvienne Long has released an EP that finds her doing wondrous things to the Flaming Lips and Pharrell Williams.
It’s a shame, really, given her overwhelming potential, that Milian has chosen to emulate Beyoncé so pointedly, not only in appearance, but in musical bent. Ultimately, It’s About Time suffers from uncreative, cheap-sounding production; a paradox, given its almost slavish dedication to the teachings of Pharrell Williams. A scantily-clad teen popstrel is a many splendoured thing; why they insist on putting out so many stunningly mediocre records remains a mystery.
Albert Hammond Jr isn't just a pretty face. As well as his solo career and dayjob with The Strokes, he's also co-written a screenplay adaptation of Charles Bukowski's Pulp
The Swedish fivesome’s trademark sound is so ridiculously simple that you’ll be humming it all day, and with their quirky humour, probably with a grin on your face.
The Lovebox festival returns to Dublin with a stellar line-up including Maximo Park, N*E*R*D, Paolo Nutini and Gorillaz Soundsystem. We talk to organisers Groove Armada.
This third album has gone platinum in the US, and Robin Thicke now counts 50 Cent and Pharrell among his showbiz pals. Is it hard to see why? No. Is it a good album? Not really.
The sleeve folds out into a poster of Nelly with his bling on display – talk about rubbing it in. It’s suspicious that he released two albums simultaneously last autumn, one representing his street side, the other his smooth side. And it’s disgraceful to combine the best songs eight months later with Sweat Suit, just to squeeze every last penny possible.
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Confronted as we are these days by hordes of fame-hunger, toxic, teen princesses – Stefani’s odd-ball, retro-futurist bubblegum pop can be seen as a heartening example of individuality in a field that’s more often creepily exploitative and conformist.
