Latest news with #Sampha
Hypebeast
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Where Tailoring Meets Street — Inside LOWF's "Japandi" Capsule
Summary Melbourne's fashion scene has a quiet disruptor and its name isLOWF. Crafted for what the label calls the 'modern curator,' LOWF blends precision tailoring with a streetwear edge while producing capsule collections that have quietly gained cult status among cultural icons. Founded in 2020 by Creative DirectorSione Taufa, LOWF reflects Taufa's lived experience: from his upbringing in his mother's tailoring studio to absorbing global design language through travel and sport. It's a story stitched into every garment and steeped in craftsmanship, culture and intention. The label has already earned organic cosigns from heavyweights like The Roots, Sampha and Oddisee, the latter of whom tapped LOWF as his exclusive tour partner across Australia and New Zealand. Their latest capsule, 'Japandi,' has cemented LOWF's reputation for fusing clean design with cultural depth. Inspired by the harmony of Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian functionality, the drop reinterprets traditional workwear through a refined lens with standouts like the Kyoto Box Pleat Pants and Axis Quilted Vest having already sold out, with a waitlist growing by the day. Collaborations with artists like Japanese craftsman Eijiro Fukuda further underscore the brand's ethos: thoughtful design, responsible production and a deep respect for heritage, making LOWF one of Australia's most compelling fashion exports right now. Take a closer look at the offerings above and head to LOWF's website for more details.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Loyle Carner to lead music themed week of CBeebies Bedtime Stories
British rapper Loyle Carner will initiate a special Glastonbury -themed week of CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Carner is set to read from Leah Hayes's children's book I Touched the Sun, a tale about a young boy's dream of flying to the sun. His Bedtime Story will air on Monday at 6:50 pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. The special week will also feature readings from other artists, including Abigail Morris, Sampha and Mike Skinner. Carner is also scheduled to perform on Glastonbury Festival's Other Stage this Friday.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CBeebies Bedtime Story reveal latest celebrity to take on role as they announce Glastonbury-themed week
Loyle Carner is set to make his CBeebies Bedtime Story debut on Monday ahead of his much-anticipated Glastonbury set. The hip hop star, 30, has a son, four, and a daughter, born in 2024, whose names he has not revealed. In honour of his children he will be reading one of their favourite stories on the show -I Touched The Sun by Leah Hayes. The sweet story follows a young boy who goes on a journey to quite literally touch the sun and it leads him to discover his own inner light. Speaking about the show, Loyle said: 'Let's go! I've practised for this every night in my son's room. Reading a CBeebies Bedtime Story is just a magical thing to do. 'I know this story inside out - it's my favourite book, and my son's and my daughter's. We read it almost every night.' Airing at 6:50pm on Monday on the CBeebies channel and iPlayer, the story will be followed by Loyle's appearance on the Other Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday. Loyle is one of several Glastonbury stars who will be reading the nation's children to sleep as part of the festival-themed week. The Last Dinner Party's Abigail Morris, 25, will read on Tuesday; Sampha, 36, will appear on Wednesday, and The Streets' Mike Skinner, 46, is set to feature on Thursday. The popular format has seen many celebrities read for children, including Snow White star Rachel Zegler, 24. She recently appeared on the show and aptly read a story about a 'powerful princess' - Never Mess with a Pirate Princess by Holly Ryan. Rachel said: 'We can all be powerful princesses. You don't need a king or a queen as parents, or a beautiful white horse, or even a fancy castle to live in. 'To be a powerful princess you just need to be wonderful, brilliant you!' Other big names who have also read CBeebies Bedtime Stories include Harry Styles, 31, Tom Hardy, 47, and music legend Dolly Parton, 79. John Harkins, who said he has been executive editor of the show since 2019, said he is continually surprised by the caliber of celebrities who want to read a story. He told GQ: 'I got the opportunity to go to Nashville to film Dolly Parton and brief her in her dressing room, which was just incredible. 'She requested to do it, and invited us over to Dollywood, [which was set up] with loads of teddy bears. 'She wanted to know how to read and was asking our advice.' CBeebies Bedtime Story has been a staple of the channel since it launched back in 2002.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Richard Russell's - Everything Is Recorded Release New Album
Richard Russell's collaborative music project Everything Is Recorded today announce and release Solstice Equinox - a new album comprising forty pieces recorded in four days between 2023 and 2024 at The Copper House, Russell's West London studio. Solstice Equinox is the fourth Everything Is Recorded album and comes four months after the third, Temporary. Each session took place on a solstice or equinox — the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. Across these four days, a revolving cast of musicians, peers, and longtime collaborators gathered for fully improvised sessions. Words about the seasons were written on the studio walls; otherwise Russell gave the players no instructions. After the sessions, he edited and mixed the recordings into the four distinct selections of ten tracks each that collectively form Solstice Equinox. The lineup blends longtime collaborators with fresh voices, including Alabaster DePlume, Jah Wobble, Ibeyi, Samantha Morton, Laura Groves, Jack Peñate, Roses Gabor, Mary In The Junkyard, Georgia,, Sampha, Florence Welch, Yazz Ahmed, CASISDEAD and more. Each session was uploaded to Bandcamp and SoundCloud as soon as it was completed. The Solstice Equinox album further edits and compiles the four groups of ten tracks into one coherent album consisting of the forty songs, at a running time of one hour forty minutes. Solstice Equinox will be released digitally, and on limited edition vinyl. Each LP comes in a bespoke, screen-printed sleeve, hand-crafted at XL Recordings' west London headquarters. They are available to buy straight away via Everything Is Recorded's Bandcamp and the XL Recordings store. The Solstice Equinox sessions came towards the end of a prolific five-year period for Russell, capped by the release of Everything Is Recorded's critically acclaimed third album Temporary in February 2025. The album features an extraordinary roster of collaborators including Sampha, Florence Welch, Bill Callahan, Noah Cyrus, Maddy Prior, Berwyn, Kamasi Washington, Rickey Washington, and many of the artists involved in Solstice Equinox.
Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Little Simz, Lotus: an existential crisis never sounded so gripping
There is nothing fragrant nor floral about Lotus, the sixth album from Britain's most gifted rapper, Little Simz. Veering wildly between defiance and introspection, the overriding mood is dark, and the tone is tough, with something bruised and battered at its core. It opens with the hypnotically fierce blast of Thief, a propulsive post-punk take on a jazzy sixties spy theme, with Simz delivering a vicious character assassination in a machine-gun blast of snarling rhymes. It's a sensational, shiver-inducing intro, but its anger is fuelled by a sense of personal hurt that lingers throughout the album, and even Lotus's most joyously upbeat tracks (Flood, Young, Free and Lion) can't quite shake it. A profound sense of existential crisis underpins Lotus, expressed most unequivocally amidst the jazzy piano spaces of Lonely, in which Simz confesses 'I don't even know who I'm meant to be anymore.' Distinctive British soul singer Sampha serenades her despondency in sweet, sad tones. His voice is also prominent on sombre end track, Blue, which finds Simz questioning how people cope with life's sense of perennial injustice, noting 'the truth is God still loves your enemies' amidst a cascade of rhymes including cemetery, identity and 'white supremacy.' It is simultaneously impressive and depressing. At 31, Simbiatu Ajikawo should be on top of the world, yet we find her making the time-worn confession 'it's lonely at the top.' Lauded by critics and peers, she has imperious lyrical skills and an adventurous musical imagination. She has won Mercury and Brit Awards and shown herself to be a fine actor in Netflix UK crime drama Top Boy. This month, Simz will be the 30th curator of the Southbank Centre's prestigious Meltdown Festival. It is odd then to note that she has never actually had a hit single, and only one of her albums has been top 5 in the UK (2021's masterful Sometimes I Might Be Introvert). She cancelled a US tour in 2022, sacked her long-serving manager (inspiring that year's darkly intense album No Thank You) and is currently suing her former producer, Dean 'Inflo' Cover, seeking £1.7 million in damages for unpaid loans (Cover's legal team have acknowledged the debt). It is honestly not hard to work out who is the intended subject of the most vitriolic put downs on Lotus, or why Simz might be experiencing a sense of crisis. Jazz producer Miles Clinton James has taken over the role of chief collaborator, dialling up a jazziness that has long underpinned Simz' oeuvre, a development unlikely to correct her status as a no-hit wonder. Still, it sounds fantastic and an array of super talented voices (including Obongjayar, Michael Kiwanuka, Lydia Kitto, Miraa May and Moonchild Sanelly) all add distinctive flavours. Simz herself brings a greater range of tonal and emotional depths to her formerly sometimes robotic flow, which is a welcome development. Lotus is an absorbing and powerfully honest album. But whilst the title flower symbolises rebirth and enlightenment in many cultures, here it seems more suggestive of something beautiful blooming in a very dark place indeed. Best New Songs By Poppie Platt Addison Rae, New York The TikTok influencer-turned-pop's hottest and most hyped new star finally releases her self-titled debut album today. Joining the deliciously addictive, Noughties-influenced likes of singles Diet Pepsi and Fame is a Gun comes this hazy club banger about the Louisiana girl's new life in the Big Apple. ADMT, Come Along Having got his start on YouTube, the Yorkshire singer sets himself firmly on the path to being Gen Z's answer to Ed Sheeran – think personal lyrics, spat out delivery and catchy acoustic hooks – on this track about loved ones who drifted away. Madonna, Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit) The superstar's long-rumoured, equally long-awaited Ray of Light remix album Veronica Electronica is officially on its way (set your Spotify reminders for July 25 now). Get in the mood with this stomping electro remix of her 1998 classic. Sabrina Carpenter, Manchild Ahead of her headline slot at Primavera Sound in Barcelona tonight, the reigning queen of bubblegum pop returns with an infectious new single taking down a 'Manchild' ex who won't leave her alone or get a grip ('I like my men all incompetent'). Thinly veiled dig at ex Barry Keoghan, surely?
