Author: Jackson Langford

NME

Swedish musician Anna Von Hausswolff’s show at a Paris church has been cancelled due to security concerns over Catholic protests.

The cancellation comes after backlash to a previous show of Hausswolff’s in Nantes, per The Guardian. A group, who Nantes deputy mayor Bassem Asseh referred to as “intolerant radicals” on Twitter, had obstructed the entrance to Notre-Dame de Bon-Port ahead of her planned Tuesday performance.

The group said Hausswolff’s music, which primarily features the pipe organ, is “satanist” and were heard chanting “Saint Mary, mother of God, pray for us poor sinners.” However, her show was organised in partnership with the Nantes diocese.

The protests led the Nantes show to be cancelled, with Hausswolff saying on social media that “far-right Catholic integralism won over art”. Shortly after, Paris’ Saint-Eustache church made the decision to pull Hausswolff’s planned Paris concert. Yves Trocheris, curate of Saint-Eustache in Paris, told The Guardian that the cancellation was “to ensure that public order was maintained at the gates of the church”.

In the aforementioned Instagram post, Hausswolff shared an image of her sitting inside the empty Notre-Dame de Bon-Port church, writing “Here I am waiting inside the church while listening to about 50-100 integralists chanting and screaming outside the church’s doors, blocking the way for almost 400 people.”

“My thoughts go out to all of you amazing fans who stood peacefully and patiently in front of these guys,” she continued. “I loved that you remembered that these things will never be solved by violence. Me and the church are working together and not against each other.”

In a later Instagram story, Hausswolff said that her and her team are hoping to find a new venue for their Paris show soon, and that fans will be kept in the loop with any decisions made.

Various officials throughout the local government and cultural communities have condemned the protests, with Aymeric Sassau, deputy for culture to the mayor of Nantes saying that the protests reinforce “the idea that in the face of obscurantism, we need the light of the arts and culture more than ever.

“Nantes will remain a city open to all cultures and artistic styles.”

Eli Commins, director of le lieu unique (the cultural centre that promoted the Nantes show), called the protests and subsequent cancellation “an attack on the freedom of creativity and expression” and stressed that the decision was made “in order to protect the security of everyone present.”

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NME

Robbie Shakespeare, one half of duo Sly and Robbie, has passed away. He was 68 years old.

It’s been reported by The Jamaica Gleaner that Shakespeare had recently undergone surgery related to his kidneys. The Jamaican artist was hospitalised in Florida.

Shakespeare, an iconic bassist, formed Sly and Robbie with drummer Sly Dunbar in the mid-70s after having both worked separately in other bands. After bonding over an affinity for reggae production, they went to work producing for other artists, with their breakout credit being Mighty Diamonds’ 1976 album ‘Right Time’.

Their production work led them to work with a myriad of acts throughout the decades, including multiple albums for Bob Dylan and Grace Jones. They also helped produce and remix tracks by Bob Marley, Madonna, Britney Spears and Mick Jagger, while also helming production on No Doubt‘s 2001 smash hit ‘Hey Baby’.

Throughout their career, Sly and Robbie also went on to release several albums of their own, the last of which was 2019’s ‘The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics’ which was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 2019 Grammys.

Sending his condolences, Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness tweeted, “The legendary bassist Robbie Shakespeare played a significant role in recording and producing albums for various Reggae artists including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, U Roy, Culture, Burning Spear among other big names.

“When it comes to Reggae bass playing, no one comes close to having the influence of Robbie Shakespeare. He will be remembered for his sterling contribution to the music industry and Jamaica’s culture. May his soul Rest In Peace.”

Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, Olivia Grange, released a statement with her condolences, saying “I am in shock and sorrow after just receiving the news that my friend and brother, the legendary bassist Robbie Shakespeare has died.”

“[Sly & Robbie] took bass playing and drumming to the highest level as they made music for themselves as a group, and for many other artists locally and internationally,” Grange continued.

“Robbie’s loss will be felt by the industry at home and abroad. He will be sorely missed.”

View more tributes from artists and other industry professionals below.

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NME

Recent documentaries on Billie Eilish, Tina Turner, The Velvet Underground and more have all been listed as eligible for an Academy Award in 2022.

• READ MORE: ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ review: inside the mind of pop’s teen pioneer

The Academy has released a list of the 138 films eligible for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category at the 94th Oscars, and a string of films centred around musicians have made the cut.

Billie Eilish’s Apple TV+ documentary The World’s A Little Blurry is eligible, dropping earlier this year and filmed over the course of three years. In a review of the film, NME‘s Alex Flood said the R.J. Cutler-directed “intimate offering is a real-life coming-of-age story, complete with family arguments, birthday parties and adolescent breakups.”

TINA, the career-spanning documentary on the legendary Tina Turner, is also on the list, with directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin telling NME that the film “is probably the last thing she’s going to do.”

Questlove‘s documentary on a 1969 Harlem concert series that was overlooked in light of Woodstock, Summer Of Soul, is also eligible. In a five-star review, NME‘s Leonie Cooper wrote: “Initially, the film was going to be called ‘Black Woodstock’ – it’s still written on the clapper board in the opening shots – but Questlove thought that would be a disservice to what really happened in America in the summer of 1969.

“The Harlem Cultural Festival needed not just recognition, but ownership. With Summer of Soul, it finally has both.”

Other music-centred documentaries include Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, The Velvet Underground and The Sparks Brothers. You can read the full list of eligible documentaries here.

Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann are all to be presented with honorary Oscars at the Academy’s Governors Awards next year, while the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will go to Danny Glover.

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NME

Kanye West, Drake, Tyler, The Creator and more were all in attendance at the funeral of late designer and DJ Virgil Abloh earlier this week.

• READ MORE: 10 song lyrics that honour the late, great Virgil Abloh

The service was reportedly held at Chicago’s Museum Of Contemporary Art, with pictures circulating online showing West, Drake, Tyler, The Creator, Kid Cudi and Kim Kardashian among those in attendance. According to Instagram user @englewoodbarbie, artists like Rihanna, Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky and more were also in attendance.

Abloh, who designed for fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Off-White, died late last month, after suffering privately with cancer for several years. He was 41 years old.

Upon news of his passing, tributes from artists he influenced or collaborated with began to pour in. Frank Ocean took to Instagram to give a heartfelt ode to his friend, calling Abloh his “hero”.

“My fam was proud of you like you were our family,” Ocean wrote. “I know grief is love that you don’t get to express so is an attempt at expressing it. Love you V. You’re a hero.”

Shortly after, Tyler, The Creator followed suit with a lengthy Instagram tribute of his own, saying that Abloh “was always a cheerleader”.

“That hand of his opened doors, lead people in and tossed the keys outside for the next person to have,” Tyler wrote.

“I wish I was able to see him see what his helping hand did for me. His spirit is around tho. I feel it. He’ll see it. I’ll keep pushing and trying things while leaving the door open. He’ll shake those pom-poms. We’ll keep that on loop. Safe travels.”

Kanye West also paid tribute to Abloh through his Sunday Service performance, where the choir dedicated a cover to Adele‘s ‘Easy On Me’ to the late artist.

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NME

Billie Eilish‘s name is among the most mispronounced names, words and phrases by US broadcasters in 2021, a new study has found.

In a report released by the US Captioning Company, via The Guardian, Eilish’s name – specifically the word ‘Eilish’ – ranks as one of the most mispronounced words of the year, along with ‘Dogecoin’, ‘Yassify’, ‘Cheugy’, ‘Glasgow’ and the name of the newest COVID-19 variant, ‘Omicron’.

The US Captioning Company captions and subtitles real-time events on both television and in courtrooms, and obtained the 2021 list – the sixth annual one of its kind – by surveying its members. The list has again been commissioned by Babbel, a language-learning platform that is based in both Berlin and New York.

“Newscasters in the US have struggled with 2021’s new words and names while reporting on key sporting events, viral internet trends and emerging celebrities,” said Babbel Live teacher in a statement.

“As a language teacher, it’s always interesting to see that some of these terms are usually new colloquialisms, or are rooted or borrowed from another language. As a non-native speaker, I must confess it’s fun to see English speakers stumbling a bit for a change.”

In other news, Billie Eilish – pronounced ‘EYE-lish’ – just released her latest music video for ‘Male Fantasy’, taken from her second studio album ‘Happier Than Ever’. It is the sixth video from the album – all of which Eilish herself has directed. The other videos thus far include ‘Therefore I Am’, ‘Your Power’, ‘Lost Cause’, ‘NDA’ and the album’s title track.

Eilish will take ‘Happier Than Ever’ – which just earned a Grammy nomination for Album Of The Year – on a world tour in 2022. She’ll be playing shows across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, with six shows set for the O2 in London.

Later this week, Eilish will also perform double duty on the December 11 episode of Saturday Night Live, marking her debut as host as well as performing.

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NME

Olivia Rodrigo and Phoebe Bridgers have engaged in a discussion via Instagram Live, after both appearing on the television program Austin City Limits.

• READ MORE: Phoebe Bridgers: “I definitely feel a lot less apologetic than I did before”

The two singer-songwriters both appeared on the December 4 episode of the PBS show, showcasing performances filmed at Austin’s Moody Theatre – marking Rodrigo’s first-ever visit to the Texan city.

After performing a few days apart from one another in October for the episode, the two hopped on Instagram Live to discuss touring. Rodrigo, who is yet to embark on a tour for her debut album ‘Sour’, asked Bridgers for her advice about looking after yourself while on the road.

“Getting to travel is great, but getting to travel because of [music] makes it much more fun,” Bridgers said.

“If you go on vacation and you get depressed, it’s so much worse. If you’re depressed on tour, you’re surrounded by people, you get to be with all your friends and it’s like work. The magical moments are so much better, and the sadder moments are really so much better.”

The pair also spoke about their contrasting creative processes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with Rodrigo saying she wrote all of ‘Sour’ throughout it while Bridgers shared that it stifled her creativity.

“This is what I did for the pandemic,” Bridgers said, before staring directly at a wall. “I probably wrote one half of a song.”

Bridgers and Rodrigo also compared riders, with Bridgers likening hers to a “church basement” with hummus, baguettes and no alcohol (“because we’re square”) – while Rodrigo said sometimes she’ll find Sour Patch Kids as a nod to her album.

Watch the full chat below:

Bridgers’ performance on the program comes after she criticised the Austin City Limits festival for cutting her set short, prompting her to tweet “lol fuck acl.”

Austin City Limits apologized, attributing the premature end of the singer’s set to a “miscommunication on stage by ACL Festival personnel.” The festival followed up its apology with a donation to Texas Abortion Funds, which Bridgers recently supported through a cover of Bo Burnham‘s ‘That Funny Feeling’.

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NME

Ari Lennox has opened up on her recent arrest in Amsterdam, which she’s claimed was over her reaction to an incident of racial profiling, calling the experience “painful” and saying she’s “not OK”.

Late last month, Lennox shared on social media that she was being arrested at Amsterdam airport. Reuters later reported that Dutch military police arrested Lennox for disturbing public order, after she allegedly accused KLM Royal Dutch Airlines staff of racial discrimination.

“I’m being arrested in Amsterdam for reacting to a woman racially profiling me,” Lennox wrote on Twitter at the time, before saying: “Fuck Amsterdam security. They hate black people.”

On November 30, Lennox’s manager, Justin LaMotte, said that the singer was safe and appreciative of the support she was receiving.

Lennox has now opened up about the experience, confirming that she’s “safe” and thanking her fans for their “prayers and love”. She then went on to say that her “only regret” was her “reaction to the racism and discrimination [she] experienced.”

She also claimed that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines “never cared” to hear her side of the story: “I would like to explain what happened to me, but KLM has made it clear that they never cared to hear it from [the] jump. It’s painful being silenced like this. It’s painful what I went through. I’m not ok.”

In a statement given to Reuters, military police spokesperson Robert van Kapel said that Lennox was “full of emotions” and “wouldn’t calm down.”

“That’s why she had to be taken into custody,” he said.

The report added that Lennox was being held because police were investigating claims of reported threats made by Lennox, both before and during her arrest.

Lennox has yet to respond to the claims made by police.

In a statement following the incident, a KLM spokesperson told The Guardian, “There was an altercation … about seeing her identification.

“The lady did not show the correct document. When the employee confronted her, she drew the wrong conclusions.”

The spokesperson also said that Lennox’s management apologised to the airline on her behalf.

In the days since the ordeal, Lennox has appeared on Khalid‘s latest mixtape ‘Scenic Drive’, which was released on Friday (December 3).

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NME

Billie Eilish has shared the music video for ‘Male Fantasy’, which she has directed and edited herself.

• READ MORE: Billie Eilish – ‘Happier Than Ever’ review: an artist secures her status as a generational great

Taking to social media, Eilish shared the clip which sees her slumped in various different rooms in her home as she tries to get over the break up of an ex-lover.

It is the sixth video from ‘Happier Than Ever‘ – all of which Eilish herself has directed. The other videos thus far include ‘Therefore I Am’, ‘Your Power’, ‘Lost Cause’, ‘NDA’ and the album’s title track.

Watch the video for ‘Male Fantasy’ below:

‘Happier Than Ever’, Eilish’s second album, was released back in July. In a five-star review of the album, NME‘s El Hunt claimed that it “fully establishes Billie Eilish as one of her generation’s most significant pop artists – and, better still, does so without repeating a single trick from the debut that turned her life upside down.”

Eilish will take the album – which just earned a Grammy nomination for Album Of The Year – on a world tour in 2022. She’ll be playing shows across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, with six shows set for the O2 in London.

Billie Eilish recently made history as the youngest-ever person to win PETA’s Person Of The Year award. The 19-year-old was nominated for her animal rights advocacy, including getting designer Oscar de la Renta to commit to going fur-free – a moment Eilish recently described as a career highlight.

Later this week, Eilish will also perform double duty on the December 11 episode of Saturday Night Live, marking her debut as host as well as performing.

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