Decibel and Music Discovery. Part 1: How we find music…
I’m a new research intern at Decibel and during my time here I’ve been trying to organise what exactly it is that makes Decibel such a great service and where it fits in on the wider scale of the digital music platform both now and in the future. My background is in DJ’ing and electronic music production [...]
Valentine’s Day Inspiration: 10 songs about true romances
Love it or hate it, it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s the time of year to write that Valentine’s card—or heart-felt confession of ardent love. But let’s face it: most of us are terrible at pouring our hearts out. The Decibel Team has chosen 10 love songs for some much needed inspiration. Be it glorious, undying love, [...]
Revisiting the most memorable Super Bowl performances
This year, we have a hunch the Super Bowl is in for an amazing show. After the whole lip-syncing debacle, Beyoncé silenced her critics by performing an acapella version of the national anthem at yesterday’s Super Bowl press conference in New Orleans. While anxiously awaiting to see how she’s gonna impress the world on Sunday, [...]
Decibel, featured in the French publication “ici Londres”
The November 2012 issue of French magazine ici Londres features an article about Decibel, and our very own co-founder Gregory Kris. Entitled “Decibel, provider of data for the music industry”, the piece begins with the mention of some key points in Gregory Kris’ career as a successful entrepreneur, including the encounter with Evan Stein, which [...]
Welcoming 2013, Decibel style!
What Decibel knows best is music. So what better way to bid farewell to 2012 and welcome 2013 than to have a Decibel New Year’s party with some amazing musical performances! Except for the fact that the Decibel team was on vacation spread all around the globe. Well, you know what they say: it’s the thought that matters. Therefore, the Decibel team virtually came together to party on the live sounds of what would have been our guests on NYE … oh, and to wish you a Happy New Year!
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #26 – Silent Night by Gabriel Bruce.
Gabriel Bruce’s artist profile on the Mercury Records website states ‘that he is the result of an experiment to born a superstar of several Rock Star Fathers’. This isn’t an exaggeration. Possessing a voice that is equal parts Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan, David Bowie, Johnny Cash and Lou Reed. His vocal style is undeniably unique [...]
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #25 – I Wish It Was Christmas Today by Julian Casablancas.
It’s fair to say that Julian Casablancas’ debut solo album ‘Phrazes For The Young’, released in 2009, featured a lot of very un-Strokesy material. None encapsulate this difference more than the Strokes’ frontman’s Christmas song: ‘I Wish It Was Christmas Today’ (released as a single and as a bonus track on iTunes). Which in itself [...]
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #24 – Boxing Day by Blink-182.
It is immediately apparent upon first listening to ‘Boxing Day’, the freshly-revealed Blink-182 festive song, that it is a decidedly more restrained affair than previous efforts ‘Happy Holidays, you B*****d’ and ‘I Won’t Be Home For Christmas’. The acoustic guitar-driven (but not quite ‘folky’, as drummer Travis Barker described it) ‘Boxing Day’ takes a more [...]
Decibel’s data drives discovery on the Blue Note app
Decibel is delighted to have played a part in the creation of the wonderful Blue Note App, launched in October by the long-established Blue Note Records jazz label, in partnership with developer Groovebug.
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #23 – Black Christmas by Poly Styrene.
The Decibel ‘alternative christmas countdown’ rumbles on with ‘Black Christmas’ by the late, great, Poly Styrene. The former X-Ray Spex frontwoman released ‘Black Christmas’ in December 2010, a few months before the release of her first and only solo album, ‘Generation Indigo’, and her eventual death in April 2011. ‘Black Christmas’ is a brilliantly subversive, [...]
Decibel End-of-Year List: Top 5 Singles of 2012
As we are in early December, it only seems fitting that we begin the first of Decibel’s end-of-year rankings. One of our researchers, Karolina, has picked her top 5 songs of 2012: 1. Bobby Womack – Dayglo Reflection (Feat. Lana Del Rey) 2. Atoms For Peace – Default 3. The XX – Reunion 4. Crystal [...]
Decibel Track of the Day #22 – Christmas Wrapping by Summer Camp.
Summer Camp, real names Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey, may have delivered one of last year’s finest albums, but it seems that the duo have a knack for producing quality Christmas songs too. Along with their mash-up of Wings’ ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ (the appropriately-if-awkwardly-titled ‘All I [...]
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #21 – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by Sufjan Stevens
Acousto-Indie Folk singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens is on a crusade of sorts. A crusade to reclaim and reinvent the Christmas song. In 2006, Stevens released ‘Songs For Christmas, Vols. 1-5′ and this festive season sees him revisiting this experiment with ‘Silver and Gold: Songs For Christmas, Vols. 6-10′. The album features a collection of beautifully re-arranged covers of [...]
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) # 20 – I Feel It In My Bones by The Killers
Continuing our festive-themed Track of the Day feature, today’s track is both ‘christmassy’ and brand new. ‘I Feel It In My Bones’ is the seventh consecutive Christmas song released by The Killers, a tradition started with ‘A Great Big Sled’ in 2006, and was recorded on a day off during the band’s recent UK tour. [...]
Decibel Track of the Day (Festive Edition) #19 – Christmas In Hollis by Run-D.M.C.
As we are now officially in ‘advent’, Decibel’s ‘Track of the Day’ feature will be taking on a considerably more ‘festive’ flavour. To fill the Decibel blog with traditional songs like Wham’s ‘Last Christmas and Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ would be somewhat of a wasted opportunity considering the number of ‘hidden gem’ Christmas songs [...]
Decibel’s Albums of the Week
After a few weeks off as a result of visiting functions and the internet connection in the office going AWOL, ‘Albums of the Week’ is back! These are the Decibel team’s recommended albums for this week: Georgiana has been listening to… Mystery Jets – Radlands Mark has been listening to… Charlotte Martin – On Your [...]
Decibel Essential Top 10…Rolling Stones Greatest Hits Albums
Tonight marks the second, and final, appearance of The Rolling Stones at London’s O2 Arena as part of their 50th Anniversary Celebrations. Of course, the much-publicized ticket price fiasco meant that the majority of us didn’t even attempt to get hold of tickets, and those that did will likely be suffering ‘Stones Hangovers’ (it’s a [...]
Peter’s Decibel Island Discs
Picture this: you have been stranded on a desert island and realistically you can expect to be spending the foreseeable future there. All hope is not lost, however, because inexplicably you have eight pieces of music, a book and a luxury item in your possession. All are of little-to-no use in terms of survival, but [...]
Decibel Track of the Day #18 – Wraith by Peace
Officially dubbed 2013′s Next Big Thing by a host of publications/websites/blogs, it is unsurprising that quite a big deal is being made of Peace’s latest release, ‘Wraith’. With its infectiously catchy riffs and chorus, ‘Wraith’ may just be Peace’s strongest offering yet. Given the quality of their debut EP, ‘Delicious’, these are just two reasons [...]
Decibel Track of the Day #17 – Don’t Deny Your Heart by Hot Chip.
The first ‘Track of the Day’ for this week is ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’ by Hot Chip. ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’ is the latest single to be taken from the critically-lauded album ‘In Our Heads’, and is accompanied by a video directed by comedian Peter Serafinowicz. A comedian may seem an unusual choice to direct [...]
Track of the Day #16 – Bel Air by Lana Del Rey
It’s become something of a tradition for pop artists to release a hugely successful album and almost-immediately follow it up with an EP (see: Lady Gaga’s ‘The Fame Monster’ and Ke$ha’s ‘Cannibal’). Why some the tracks from these EPs could not have made the cut for an LP released mere months earlier is beyond me, [...]
Track of the Day #15 – Black Chandelier by Biffo Clyro.
Black Chandelier, the first single to be taken from Biffy Clyro’s new album, ‘Opposites’, took roughly 12 seconds to announce the return of what could only be described as ‘Classic’ Biffy Clyro. Gone are the lofty, arena -filling, ‘Diet U2′ pretense of 2009′s ’Only Revolutions’, instead replaced by the unmistakable quirkiness of the band’s earlier [...]
Tom’s Decibel Island Discs
After a brief absence, Decibel Island Discs makes a triumphant return to the Decibel Blog. This week, I will be running through the eight songs, book and luxury items I would want for an imaginary stay on a desert island. 1. Electric Light Orchestra – Mr Blue Sky 2. Tom Petty – Free Fallin’ 3. [...]