This week's Music Weekly begins with the man behind two of the biggest No 1 singles this year; producer Alex Da Kid. The former Thames Valley University student is currently studio-bound in Los Angeles, but he found time to discuss his role in Eminem's Love the Way You Lie and B.O.B's Aeroplanes with our new intrepid reporter, Ben Beaumont-Thomas.

In Singles Club, Rosie Swash (still in charge while Alexis suns himself in, er, Northumbria) is joined by Ben and Tim Jonze to discuss Michael Jackson sampling in How to Dress Well's Ecstasy With Jojo, Tricky's dancehall-sampling Murder Weapon, and Egyptian Hip-Hop's non-sampling Moon Crooner.

And finally, Rebecca Nicholson chats to Brooklynite Holly Miranda about working with Dave Sitek and how her pentecostal upbringing helped shape her sound. Hope you enjoy this week's show, next week is a Notting Hill Carnival special. In the meantime, come and say hi on Twitter and Facebook.

A film of the famed TV On the Radio producer talking about his new Maximum Balloon pop project



As the producer of TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, and Scarlett Johasson, Dave Sitek is used to critics showering him with praise for his brilliant, densely layered, pieces of art. However, over the last few years Sitek's mind has moved away from the darkness and towards the light, in more ways than one. After wrapping up work on Holly Miranda's debut album, he vacated his iconic Stay Gold studio in Williamsburg, bought James Dean's old house in Beverly Hills, learned how to bake Blueberry pies, and got to work on something entirely new â€' a retro pop alter ego called Maximum Balloon. Taking production cues from Nile Rodgers, The Gap Band, C... article continues »


mail this article to a friend »

Darwin Deez and Holly Miranda also play the Oxford festival

Holly Miranda, Theophilus London and a host of guest stars sign up for 'Maximum Balloon'

TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek has a new solo project called Maximum Balloon and-- based on its lone press photo and the cover of first single "Tiger" (left)-- he's taking the whole balloon thing pretty literally. And, hey, who doesn't like balloons? Nobody, that's who. Take a listen to "Tiger", which features vocals from Dragons of Zynth's Aku, over at the official Maximum Balloon web space.

Related: A new Esquire video featuring irrationally sexy model Daisy Lowe dancing to "Tiger" is available here. (She's the girl sitting upside down on the "Tiger" sleeve, too.)

The Maximum Balloon album is due August 24 via DGC/Interscope and will feature several yet-to-be-named guest vocalists including Karen O, David Byrne (Byrne is not confirmed at press time), TVOTR's Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano, Holly Miranda, and Theophilus London.

You can buy "Tiger" on iTunes starting tomorrow.

US singer returns to the UK this July

come!!

-- The cooler-than-you husband/wife team of Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson are curating the Vivid Live Festival, which comes to the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia May 27 - June 21. The program includes Reed's Metal Machine Trio and Anderson's audio-visual show Transitory Life, as well as artists like Boris, King Khan & BBQ Show, My Brightest Diamond, Bardo Pond, Melt-Banana, Holly Miranda, Doveman, Rickie Lee Jones, and Metric's Emily Haines with a string quartet.

-- On May 24 in the UK and a day later in North America, Secretly Canadian will release Saint Bartlett, the new album from singer-songwriter Damien Jurado. Richard Swift produces.

-- Inter-Be, the debut album from the punningly monikered Minneapolis duo Peter Wolf Crier, is due May 25 in the U.S. and June 7 in the UK from Jagjaguwar.

-- On May 24, Hassle will release Cosmology, the new album from British synth-punkers Rolo Tomassi. Diplo and Ariel Rechtshaid produce.