Now that the east coast cyclones, flooding, and heatwaves have died down (fingers crossed), it’s time for a summer camping adventure…

Say hello to Playground Weekender festival up at the (very posh sounding) Del Rio Riverside Resort at Wiseman’s Ferry. OK yes, we’ll be sleeping in tents, but the sights & sounds will be stunning. Here are a few of our kids who will be putting on a great show:

Tricky We’d hope the original Knowle West Boy and trip-hop/ dub/ electronica Brit legend needs no introduction. 15 years and 9 albums since the Mercury Prize nommed Maxinquaye album, his latest effort Mixed Race, spawned the very sticky track Murder Weapon (featuring the famed Peter Gunn theme). The original and the best. Hungry Kids of Hungary triple j 2009 QLD Unearthed winners Hungry Kids released their debut album Escapades last year to much critical acclaim and airplay. Their hits Scattered Diamonds, Set It Right, Let You Down, and Wristwatch had already been performed on multiple national tours and spun on many airwaves before Escapades became triple j’s Album of the Week in 2010.

Their latest single Coming Around is another catchy indie-pop addition an already delightfully energetic show. Are you ready to clap your hands???

King Cannons

NZ via LDN via Melb punk rockstars in the making, King Cannons are undoubtedly best known for their live performance. Slick, not only in their look, but in their sound. King Cannons own the stage and the audience. From Springsteen to The Clash. Chuck Berry to the ease of a Jamaican Sunday. King Cannons play with the live commitment of the MC5 before the outbreak of violent protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Its music for everyone who shares in that sentiment.

Listen to: Take The Rock.

Four Tet

AKA Kieran Hebden – original member of Fridge, solo abstract electronica artist, and amazingly talented remixer, Four Tet’s latest album is There Is Love In You. A totally unique and beautiful sound, well worth blissing out to in the festival sun or at one his Australian side-shows with Caribou.

I Am Kloot

Virtually unknown in Australia, I Am Kloot are the Manchester three piece who regale the world with twisted torch songs and heart-wrenching serenades. Their 2010 album Sky At Night has gained astonishing critical acclaim, including a Mercury Prize Album of the Year nod (amongst Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Dizzee Rascal, Paul Weller…) and a 9/10 score from triple j Mag.

Whilst I Am Kloot are headlining festivals elsewhere in the world, you can catch I Am Kloot in intimate venues on their debut Australian shows in Sydney & Melbourne in Feb.

Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) – DJ Set

Very exciting… read all about Andy here.

Camping tickets are still available for Playground Weekender next weekend (Feb 17-20) from www.showclix.com.

The chart-topping, groundbreaking, 100-million-record-selling, turntable-spinning, bass and synth playing , co-founding member of Depeche Mode… Andy Fletcher is dropping by Australia for unprecedented DJ sets.

Personal heroes & unrivaled legends of electronic music, Depeche Mode belongs to a select premier league of supergroups, alongside U2, REM and Metallica – despite maintaining their alternative credibility and (relative) anonymity. Depeche Mode overcame internal friction and critical hostility in the early 80s before dramatically changing musical and visual direction and hooking up with photography great Anton Corbijn to become one of the most influential bands of the post-punk era, name checked by everyone from The Killers, MGMT, Coldplay, Pet Shop Boys and Marilyn Manson. They continue to ooze creativity from every pore… Depeche Mode’s latest album Sounds of the Universe went #1 in 21 countries in 2009 and featured the track Wrong – the striking and disturbing Patrick Daughters directed video for which was nominated for a Grammy and declared Time Magazine’s 2nd Best Video of 2009. Traditionally quieter member of the group, Fletcher is used to playing spectacular shows for tens of thousands in stadiums worldwide, but behind the decks he will play some of the most intimate shows of his career.

Andy says they are “loosely based on [his] heritage with Depeche Mode – electro both old and new from the Human League to Alex Metric. I’ll be playing brand new DM mixes from respected producers such as Eric Prydz & Vince Clarke and classic old mixes such as Personal Jesus by Francois K. You can expect some surprises as well, as [he's] been working on a few things in the studio especially for this forthcoming DJ tour.”

This is an incredibly rare chance to see one of the true greats of music this up close and personal – and I for one, will be dancing up front & centre!

Andy’s DJ tour will play the following dates:

• Wednesday, Feb 16 – City Hotel, Sydney (free gig)
• Thursday, Feb 17 – Room 608, Melbourne
• Friday, Feb 18 – Playground Weekender, Sydney

The Tour Of The Universe Live In Barcelona DVD is out now at JB Hi-Fi.

(PS: Dear Andy, please spin A Question of Time and we can be best friends forevs, ok?)

Inevitably, our Friday afternoon / weekend-beer-anticipation playlist starts out with a wee bit of Depeche Mode. It’s an itch we just have to scratch, and this week we thought we’d share the Depeche love:

1987’s Never Let Me Down Again has two music videos, both directed by maestro Anton Corbijn. The long version, from Strange shows Gahan’s pair of dancing shoes walking without anyone wearing them, before someone puts them on and wears them to dance. Here is the shortened version without the dancing shoes. It appears on The Videos 86>98.

Fellow InSound-er Tara has requested an addition to the playlist: Behind The Wheel, also directed by Anton Corbijn and filmed on Super 8 for Music For The Masses. Aye aye cap’n!

Riding off the back of the biggest ARIA Awards since Ben Hur (please don’t mention that ARIAs didn’t necessarily operate during the time of Christ), it’s difficult to let the party die down. After all, it’s only 3 weeks til Christmas!

So indeed the good times continue with the news that we (that’s EMI worldwide, not my band) have FIFTY SIX Grammy Award nominations in the whopping one hundred and nine categories – far too many to list, but here are our EMI highlights!

Multiple nominees include our favourite shaggy-haired, bikini-babe-surrounded Frenchman David Guetta (who also produced The Black Eyed Peas’ Grammy nominated album and record of the year), Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Keith Urban and American Classic legend Willie Nelson.

Katy Perry announced the Best Rock Album nominees and discussed the Black Eyed Peas nominations – watch the videos.

And yes, the reason why the Grammy artwork is so cool this year is no other than Shepard Fairey – the man behind THAT Obama / Hope and Obey / Giant artwork – is responsible. OBEY (great music)

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
	Hot N Cold – Katy Perry
Best Dance Recording
	When Love Takes Over – David Guetta & Kelly Rowland
Best Electronic/Dance Album
	One Love – David Guetta
	Yes – Pet Shop Boys Read the rest of this entry »

**PHEW!** Dave Gahan had us seriously worried for a minute there…

After being unable to hit the stage in Athens, Depeche Mode resumed their Tour of the Universe in Leipzig on June 8. Thankfully, Dave’s recovery from surgery (removing a bladder tumour) in no way impeded his hip-grinding. Where would we (or Anton Corbijn) be without Martin Gore’s staple silver spandex pants or Dave Gahan’s semi-naked swagger and confident come-catch-me-skipping around stage?

Talk about a return to form too… FIFTY THOUSAND insane fans packed the sold out Zentral Stadium in Leipzig. YouTube is littered with hundreds of incredible HD videos from the night, but I think it’s best to grasp that sheer size and excitement of the crowd from the back of the stadium. Incredible. <3 <3 <3

Read DM’s tour blog (including pics from the Leipzig show)  at www.depechemode.com/tour/tourblog.html

Dave said “I’m grateful to the fans for showing their support and thankful to my family, friends and all of the doctors who looked after me so well… Being back onstage is an incredible feeling and I’m looking forward to each and every show.”

No worries mate… just come to Australia!!!

If you’re on twitter and not following @Coldplay or @LilyRoseAllen… well, frankly I don’t believe you.

@Coldplay has just hit 1,000,000 followers – more than any twitterati ex-USA – and they’re celebrating right now…

@LilyRoseAllen pulled off a huge twitter hunt around Sydney, giving away 3 pairs of tix yesterday – resulting in serious scuffles and one winner with a broken finger. That’s dedication… The Nova drive team hunted Lily down too, begging her to call in via re-tweets. Obliging Lily gave ‘em their scoop. All the fuss made Lily top dog on the @happn_in_sydney hashtags for the day.

So, it’s not quite Friday yet, but here are your Friday Follows early: @clinicvoot | @LennyKravitz | @SITG | @depechemode | @WinButler (Arcade Fire) | @sebastianbach | @royksopp | @30secondstomars. Go forth!