Pop Music Column #4: Bastille Go Orchestral / AJ Mitchell x Ava Max / Niall From 1D's New Track

Words: Saam Das

National Album Day just passed this weekend in the UK, celebrating a strong pop culture and tradition that has catapulted the likes of Adele and Ed Sheeran to millions of albums sales in the 21st century. Speaking of which, this week's pop music column sees an orchestral take on 'Million Pieces' by Bastille, AJ Mitchell and Ava Max's Baz Luhrmann-inspired new video, and Niall Horan's latest track, 'Nice To Meet Ya'.

Review: We Ate A Delicious Sunday Roast In A Burrito (And Saw Some Bands) At Citadel Festival 2019

Citadel Festival (14 July 2019, Gunnersbury Park) // Words: Saam Das

14th July 2019 will go down as a momentous day on these fair shores. Mainly because England snaffled the Cricket World Cup for the first time in the most dramatic of circumstances, on home turf no less. But West London's Citadel Festival played some part, with triumphant performances from several homegrown acts such as Friendly Fires and Bastille. And a Sunday roast in a wrap. Delicious.

Preview: Eight Of The Best Acts To See At Citadel Festival 2019

Citadel Festival (14 July 2019, London) // Words: Saam Das

14th July 2019. A notable day in the calendar. The F1 British Grand Prix. England-New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final. Tennis legend Roger Federer versus the behemoth Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. But perhaps best of all, the return of Citadel Festival to Gunnersbury Park in West London. Headlined by Catfish & The Bottlemen, we've put together a preview of Citadel 2019.

Surfacing: Dan Priddy's Demonstrates His Pop Chops On Debut Single 'Dopamine' [New Artist]

Words: Saam Das

Whether you've realised it or not, Dan Priddy has been behind some of the biggest pop songs of the last few years, typically in conjunction with production partner Mark Crew, including the platinum-selling Rag'N'Bone Man album 'Human'. 'Dopamine' sees Priddy officially branch out under his own name, a further demonstration of his considerable pop chops.

Preview: Twelve Of The Best Value UK Music Festivals In 2019

Words: Saam Das

Can you feel it coming? Festival season is almost well and truly under way so we figured we'd try to pick out some brilliant UK music festivals that we also think are brilliant value for money. On a per capita band basis, Glastonbury Festival and its behemoth of a line-up should probably be on here but with tickets around £250 quid, we've understandably opted more for smaller scale festivals for those with a lower budget.

Ten Choice Picks For Record Store Day 2019

Words: Saam Das

Yes, every day is record store day but today is the official 2019 Record Store Day - the twelfth annual iteration of a day that is a celebration of independent record stores across the world, driven by new and special releases. We've collated a list of ten choice picks from Record Store Day 2019, and in a change to our regular programming, you can view the list in reverse alphabetical order below.

Surfacing: Ralph Pelleymounter [New Artist]

Words: Saam Das

We've written about the emotionally resonant sounds of To Kill A King several times over the years, and following the recent release of their third album, they've taken a step back. And in light of that, frontman Ralph Pelleymounter has opted to unveil his official debut solo work.

Listen: BASTILLE vs HAIM - Bite Down [Mixtape Preview]

Words: Saam Das

We were pretty impressed to see BASTILLE on the latest Band Aid track, and it's not just the likes of Bono and Bob Geldof that they've been collaborating with of late. 'Bite Down' sees them join forces with HAIM on their new 'VS. (Other People's Heartache Part III)' mixtape - check out Part I and Part II while you're here.

Listen: BASTILLE - Thinkin Bout You (feat. O.N.E) [Frank Ocean Cover]

Words: Saam Das

BASTILLE are gearing up for their new 'Laura Palmer' EP release, with live dates aplenty - including recent support slots on Muse's UK stadium tour. Here, they resurrect their version of Frank Ocean's 'Thinkin Bout You', which originally appeared on their excellent 'Other People's Heartache Part 2' mixtape.

Watch: BASTILLE - Laura Palmer [Official Music Video]

Words: Saam Das

I'm still pretty amazed that BASTILLE managed to nab themselves a #1 UK album this year with their debut effort, 'Bad Blood'. Amazed but very pleased for the band. Perhaps even overjoyed. Ahem. It's set to be an even more incredible year for the quartet, thanks to their forthcoming Muse tour support slot. Here's the video for new single, 'Laura Palmer'.

Album Review: BASTILLE - Bad Blood

BASTILLE - 'Bad Blood' (UK Release: 4 March '13) // Words: Saam Das

It feels like many moons ago that I first stumbled upon the hitherto unknown BASTILLE on Soundcloud. Back then, the guise was solely occupied by Dan Smith but soon after, BASTILLE had become a quartet - an outfit to match Smith's grandiose pop vision. His vision has been realised with the triumphant debut album 'Bad Blood'.

Listen: BASTILLE - Things We Lost In The Fire [Demo]

Words: Saam Das

I've had this post in draft since July 2011 and with the news that 'Things We Lost In The Fire' is set to appear on the debut BASTILLE album, 'Bad Blood', it seems appropriate to resurrect the piece. We're really excited to welcome the new album and here's an opportunity to hear a very old demo of 'Things We Lost In The Fire'.

Year In Review: Looking Back At 2012 Futuresounds

Words: Saam Das

When it comes to new year tips/ones to watch lists, there are generally three types of onlookers - the ones who eagerly proffer their own tips, ones who just don't care and those that consider such lists as an affront to music. At FADED GLAMOUR, we're very much in the first camp. But before looking forward, we're here to look back at last year's ones to watch.

Playlist: Howard Gorman's Top Ten Tracks Of 2012

Words: Howard Gorman

The FADED GLAMOUR Top 25 Tracks Of 2012 were published earlier in the week but here's my top ten of the last year. Watch videos of the ten tracks below, featuring the likes of Muse, BASTILLE and The Crookes.

Download: To Kill A King & Friends - Choices [Album Preview]

Words: Saam Das

During 2012, To Kill A King's Ralph Pelleymounter invited several of his musical pals to play mini-sessions on the balcony of his high-rise flat. Twenty sessions later and the collection was released on Bandcamp, in aid of Great Ormond Street children's hospital. Listen to my favourite of the offerings, 'Choices', featuring the likes of Emily Wood, BASTILLE and We Were Evergreen.

Download: BASTILLE - Other People's Heartache Part 2 [New EP]

Words: Saam Das

I found it slightly perplexing that BASTILLE failed to make it onto either the BBC Sound Of 2013 longlist or the Blog Sound Of 2013. With a debut album set to drop next year, rave live reviews and a following numbering 50,000 Facebook fans - it seemed inevitable. Regardless, BASTILLE are giving us the gift of a new film-inspired mixtape/EP. Sample it below.

Live Review: To Kill A King @ Cargo

To Kill A King live at Cargo, London (25th Oct '12) // Words & Photo: Saam Das

It's been over two years (time flies, eh?) since I first wrote about folk-inspired Leeds outfit To Kill A King. They've done some good stuff since then, signing to Virgin Records/EMI, and selling out this headline gig at London's Cargo. Indeed, this was the first time I'd actually seen the band. And they lived up to expectations suitably.

Listen: BASTILLE - Flaws [New Single]

Words: Saam Das

If there's one recent band that we've felt that we've supported from pretty much the get go, it has to be London's BASTILLE. We first wrote about Dan Smith's outfit back in December 2010 and have continued to follow up, most recently with July's 'Bad Blood' single. Their latest single is a re-release of the majestic 'Flaws', watch its new video below.

Listen: BASTILLE - Bad Blood [New Single]

Words: Saam Das

July 14th is Bastille Day, the French day of celebration, which happens to be today. For us, it's also BASTILLE day as we share the band's latest single, 'Bad Blood', below - another slice of melodramatic electro-based pop.

Festival Review: Bushstock 2012

Bushstock (Shepherd's Bush, 2 June '12) // Words: Saam Das & Raman K

Last Saturday, one side of London saw annual hipster extravaganza Field Day, while the other end of London saw annual multi-venue folk extravaganza Bushstock. It was double trouble in another sense as we took two writers to the latter festival, boldly going where no FG writer had gone before. Our adventure is recanted in full below.