Ezra Koenig: Last News

Phoenix have shared a new version of their track ‘After Midnight’, featuring Clairo.The original song appears on the French band’s seventh studio album ‘Alpha Zulu’, which came out last November.The band teased the new version earlier this week, taking to social media on March 13 to share a brief clip of a revamped take on the tune. The file name in the video reads ‘After Midnight ft.??.wav’, confirming that a collaboration was incoming.The special guest has now been confirmed as Clairo, which marks the second time the band have had a guest feature, following last year’s ‘Tonight’ with Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig.“We’ve loved Claire since day 1,” Phoenix said in a statement.

Phoenix have released an updated version of their song "After Midnight" featuring Clairo. The original recording of the track appeared on the French band's 2022 album Alpha Zulu.

Phoenix have discussed the “synchronicity” they feel with Vampire Weekend, whose frontman Ezra Koenig features on their new single ‘Tonight’.Speaking to NME for last week’s Big Read cover story, the band discussed the making of their upcoming new album ‘Alpha Zulu’, which was recorded at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Palais du Louvre.They also spoke of their kinship with Vampire Weekend, and how the collaboration with Koenig came about. On ‘Tonight’ being a duet, guitarist Laurent Brancowitz said that he was initially hesitant of the format.“I was saying ‘show me one classic song that’s a duet’”, he told NME.

Phoenix have paid tribute to Philippe Zdar, the late composer and producer who worked with the band throughout their career.Zdar died in 2019 after he suffered an accidental fall from a rooftop in Paris. He was 52 years old.Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover story, the band reflected on their creative relationship with Zdar, paying tribute to the music industry legend and French house pioneer.“He was joy and chaos; a whirlwind,” frontman Thomas Mars said.

Phoenix make an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, teaming up with Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig to perform their new single ‘Tonight’.The five-piece French band performed live on Colbert’s New York soundstage, while Koenig’s part comes via synchronised video. It’s appears that his “performance” is the same footage used in the song’s official music video, with Koenig riding in the passenger’s seat of a taxi driving through Tokyo.Have a look at the performance below:‘Tonight’ was released as a single last Wednesday (September 7), marking the first time Phoenix had welcomed in a guest vocalist, and our third preview of the band’s upcoming ‘Alpha Zulu’ album.

Noah Eckstein “America’s Dead,” a new 10-episode podcast about the enduring legacy of the Grateful Dead and the band’s profound effect on American consciousness, was released today.  The limited series, produced by Sonos Radio, is hosted by Grammy-winning filmmaker and producer Emmett Malloy and takes listeners on an improvisational journey through a diverse range of conversations, with the intent of understanding why the Dead is more popular and resonant now than ever.  This podcast takes any preconceived notion that the Dead is just some hippie band and completely shatters it. The remnants are picked up carefully by Malloy, who acts as a spiritual guide through varied conversations that illuminate the intricacies of the Dead’s fanbase. 

RELEASESDolly Parton has recorded a new version of her 1980 single ‘9 to 5’ with Kelly Clarkson. Just in case you ever wanted to know what Dolly Parton would sound like autotuned.Roddy Ricch has released new single ‘Ghetto Superstar’, featuring G Herbo and Doe Boy.Tom Odell will release new album ‘Best Day Of My Life’ on 28 Oct. “One year ago, almost exactly to the day, I set myself the challenge to write and record an entire album using only my voice and my piano with absolutely nothing else”, he says.

Phoenix have announced details of their new album ‘Alpha Zulu’ and shared a new track, ‘Tonight’, which features Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig.The French band made recently made their return with the album’s title track, which marked their first piece of new music since 2021 single ‘Identical’.‘Alpha Zulu’ arrives on November 4 via Loyaute/Glassnote Records and was produced by the band. The album was recorded in Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which sits in the Palais du Louvre.‘Tonight’ provides a new first for Phoenix, with Koenig’s appearance on the track marking the first time that a guest vocalist has featured on one of the band’s songs. “Could you come tonight? / I’ve got a feeling that you know the number,” Koenig sings, before swapping lines with Thomas Mars.The video was filmed in Tokyo and Paris, capturing Koenig and the band on opposite sides of the world in a split screen.

Charlie Burg is a product of his micro-generation. On his debut LP Infinitely Tall, out today via FADER Label, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter’s crystalline countertenor adopts the inflections of Ezra Koenig, Adam Levine, and several other and soft rock singers who hit their strides in the mid and late aughts.

Steve Lacy has shared his first new music since 2019 along with details of a new solo album.New album ‘Gemini Rights’ is set to come out this summer, with a firm release date still to be confirmed.The follow-up to The Internet guitarist’s debut solo album ‘Apollo XXI’ is being previewed today with the release of its first single, ‘Mercury’.Watch the video for ‘Mercury’, which sees Lacy dance around a warehouse in sunglasses and suit, below:At the tail end of 2020, Lacy officially released a number of his Soundcloud tracks and demos.The record, called ‘The Lo-Fis’, compiles a host of unofficial early releases from the solo artist, and came 18 months after the release of his debut album.In a four-star review of the debut record, NME wrote: “Although Steve Lacy is already fairly established through his collaborations, it’s exciting, on this album, to see his own personality shine through, as well as his ambition and inspirations (he’s cited Mac DeMarco as a production influence before), as he experiments, fills out his own catalogue and sound, and speaks for himself.”Since the release of that album, Lacy has collaborated with Calvin Harris on a track called ‘Live Without Your Love’ under the DJ’s Love Regenerator moniker. He also appeared on Vampire Weekend’s 2019 album ‘Father Of The Bride’, duetting with Ezra Koenig on collaborative track ‘Sunflower’.Lacy’s Internet bandmate Syd released her new album, ‘Broken Hearts Club’, in April.

Bruce Hornsby has enlisted the help of Danielle Haim on a new track – check out the video for ‘Days Ahead’ below.The video was directed and filmed by Hornsby himself during the pandemic. It sees three dimensional printed characters who can be seen variously re-arranging furniture in a  dolls-house, attempting to learn a new language and thinking about what to do next in their lives.It’s taken from Hornsby’s new album, ”Flicted’, which was released yesterday (May 27).

Liam Gallagher has hit out at Damon Albarn‘s recent comments about Taylor Swift and declared her to be “fucking cool”.The Blur and Gorillaz frontman was on the receiving end of a backlash last month when he said that Swift’s “co-writing” approach was at odds with his “traditionalist” view of songwriting.This led to Swift hitting back with the tweet: “@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL my own songs.

Liam Gallagher has confirmed that Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig will feature on his upcoming new solo album ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’ on a track called ‘Moscow Rules’.The follow-up to Gallagher’s 2019 LP ‘Why Me? Why Not.’ is set for release on May 27, and was previewed recently by the single ‘Everything’s Electric’.‘Everything’s Electric’ was co-written by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and Gallagher has now confirmed that Koenig is another big-name contributor to the record.Speaking to Jasper Leijdens on the KINK IN TOUCH WITH podcast this week, Gallagher revealed that the Vampire Weekend frontman features on a track called ‘Moscow Rules’.“Ezra plays some mad instruments on a song called ‘Moscow Rules’,” Gallagher said. “We wrote that one together with Andrew [Wyatt].”The official tracklist for ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’ has yet to be announced, but you can pre-order the record here.Gallagher performed his latest single ‘Everything’s Electric’ live for the first time earlier this week at this year’s BRIT Awards.The former Oasis frontman is set to tour this year in support of ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’, including two sold-out gigs at Knebworth.

Rosalía has shared the official artwork for her forthcoming third album ‘Motomami’, while announcing that a new track is coming this week.Following on from 2018’s ‘El Mal Querer’, the Spanish singer-songwriter’s next full-length record will feature the previous single ‘La Fama’ (featuring The Weeknd). A release date is not yet known.Taking to social media yesterday (January 31), Rosalía posted the cover art for ‘Motomami’ on which she poses nude against a blank white backdrop while wearing a motorcycle helmet.

It’s been a very emotional past few years for Rashida Jones.

The Killers have said that the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Imploding The Mirage’ is “pretty much done”, after working on it throughout lockdown.The latest update on the band’s seventh album comes after they teased new music by sharing two brief snippets of a new song in a recent Instagram live broadcast.Speaking to Vampire Weekend‘s Ezra Koenig on Apple Music, frontman Brandon Flowers said: “It’s almost done and we’re going to mix the record next week. We don’t have a drop date, but it’s pretty much done! It sort of fell into our laps.“Some songs are laborious sons of bitches and then some just appear.

The actor reads 'Lord Ullin's Daughter' on the band's latest record...