Top 5 fanmade Ultraviolence covers

"Ultraviolence" will be upon us June 13! So in anticipation of this release I went onto deviantART to find some cool fan-made designs for the album! Here are my top 5 designs made by users on deviantART. 

5. by hristeang
I love this design because it's artistic and also quite simplistic in terms of setting.
It's also quite dark and gory which reflects Del Rey's dark image. 

4. by Hyonicorn
Another simplistic yet effective design making use of colour and effects. The typography
makes this design particularly impressive. 

3. by 8BitDesire
This design makes use of imagery more than anything and this image of Del Rey
is particularly striking and the placement and size of the typography is very neat.
A very sellable design. 

2. by PerfumeManiac
This design is really pretty. The image and colouring work together to create
a really pretty design. It contrasts from the black and white image used on the actual artwork
yet it still looks really authentic and vintage. 

1. by DrewCasta
This is my favourite design because it's really imaginative. It contrasts from the other images
as it features a setting rather than Del Rey herself. It also looks typically American and really vintage.
A really unique and interesting design! 

There's a lot of great talent on deviantArt.com so I really suggest heading over there and checking it out! If you're an artist and want to share your works and get feedback then make an account. You can submit anything you want without it having to go through moderation so you're guaranteed to be able to display your work. 

What would your design of the "Ultraviolence" artwork be like? Comment below to share your thoughts. 

NEW: Paloma Faith launches new merchandise

Last week's Style Icon, Paloma Faith has released her brand new merchandise range to be sold online and during her fantastic UK tour. The new range includes a new set of t-shirts, new posters, phone cases and a card holder!
Paloma has also announced that Brett Dennen will be her opening act for her Autumn tour later this year!

In other news, some sources claim "Trouble With My Baby" will be the third single and music video from "A Perfect Contradiction", but this is yet to be confirmed.

Will you be going to see Paloma Faith on tour? Comment below to share your thoughts.

INTERVIEW with Portia Ferrari

You might recognise the name Portia Ferrari from last week's fantastic Single of the Week but you might not have known that she's also a model and has modelled for the likes of M.I.A and ES Magazine. Ferrari is certainly on her way to break into the music scene so I took some time to interview her about her current work and future projects. Check out the interview below!

So you’re featured on Super Electric Party Machine’s track “Body Talk”. What was it like working with Larry Tee and AttackAttackAttack? 

So much fun! These guys make life so much more colourful in this city how could I resist?!

Do you have any more musical plans for the future? And if you could work with any artist who would you choose? 

Definitely! Lots to look forward to, some cool collaborations coming up very soon! If I could work with any artist it would be Tupac and even though that's not possible in this life I reckon he'd give me a chance :)

As well as being a singer you’re also a model. How important do you think it is to have a diverse range of talents?

I think it's fun being able to turn your hand to a variety of things, especially if you enjoy being constantly challenged but I don't think it is important to everyone, some choose to only concentrate on one thing, everyone's different. I think you should just do what feels right to you.

 

Recently you appeared on M.I.A’s Versus Versace collection. How did you react when you found out you had been chosen and what was it like working with M.I.A? 

 I was a bit shocked but excited more than anything! When the day finally arrived, it all went so fast, was over again before I knew it but I really enjoyed myself, definitely a memory I never thought I'd have!

How would you describe your typical fashion sense? 

I'd say I'm a bit of a tomboy really, I'd choose trousers over a dress any time. I'd like to think whatever I'm wearing, could also be the same outfit id choose to wear during an apocalypse  -Lara Croft eat your heart out!

If you could start up your own fashion label what would it be called and what would your designs be like? 

Well it's definitely an idea that I've always played with since I was a kid but to think of what the name might probably be is too much haha! Also I'd have two :) One would be more commercial and aimed at younger kids, the other would be premium designs I'm still dreaming about :)

Are there any other fashion labels you’d like to work with? 
This is such a good question but to be honest I'm pretty open minded so I'd enjoy whatever came my way, I usually do. Plus whatever has landed on your lap is there for a reason so I'd take it as my choice!

Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans and supporters? 

I'll remind people to BELIEVE in yourself and that all things that are possible. Also to be happy and in love! Life is too short

[END]

Well a huge thanks to Portia for letting me interview her! I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the future! You can check out her track with Super Electric Party Machine here! 

NEWS: Foxes to appear in Doctor Who

The fabulous Foxes released her debut album "Glorious" this month but that's not the only exciting news from Foxes! The BBC have also revealed she will be appearing in Doctor Who this year! She is said to appear and perform a track during Series 8 which airs in August this year starring Peter Capaldi as the new doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. Foxes got the part by chance while performing at a a gig.

Foxes said "I can't believe I'm actually going to be in an episode of Doctor Who! Especially as it all came about from a chance meeting. I was playing a gig and got chatting to the show's 
production team who'd been watching my performance. I was telling them how much I loved Doctor Who and next thing they invited me to be on it. I couldn't think of a better place to make my acting debut than on one of the UK's most iconic shows!"

Steven Moffat, head writer and producer of the show added 
 "We are completely thrilled that the amazingly talented Foxes is joining us on board ... well, you'll see. Let's just say, the Doctor is finally catching up on his phone calls."

Well I cannot wait to see this! Watch this space for more Foxes/Doctor Who news! 

How excited are you for Foxes' acting debut in Doctor Who? Comment below to share your thoughts! 

Change Rihanna's Hair on Urturn

An activity submitted by Florrie allowing users to edit her
"Free Falling" single cover

For those of you who don't know, Urturn is a fantastic website that allows you to express yourself basically. Many of your favourite artists use it as a platform to interact with fans and have a bit of a laugh. The way Urturn works is basically, if there's a trend or popular image floating around, you can add your own twist to it.

Many artists have used this to promote albums and allow users to edit their album covers and play around with them. Urturn is used by Mariah Carey, (The Flawless) Florrie, Gossip and many others.

This week a particularly interesting one popped up on what colour Rihanna should have her hair besides pink. I think this is one you can all have fun with so definitely go and give it a try! Sign up and explore all the different activites on Urturn, it's a lot of fun and if your designs are good enough they may even be acknowledged by the artist themselves!


Create and share your Rihanna haircut here!
Follow me on Urturn here!

NEW: Jhamasa Corinthian release new EP

Rap duo and friends of Magia Media, Jhamasa Corinthian have released a brand new 5 track EP titled "I'm Living Life...U Mad? Illest Nigga! Always Too Immaculate!" containing tracks made by Corinthian while in college.

The EP has various guest features such as Hotep Slowsteps, Jayla Lyons, Lil Pooh and Mercedes Lott. It was released 11th May on Bandcamp for free. The EP is very chilled and well worth a download! You can download the EP here!
Don't forget you can also download their awesome mixtape "Retro Love Arcade" here!

Jhamasa Corinthian have other projects in the works currently. How excited are you for their upcoming projects? Comment below to share your thoughts.

Vine impressions of your idols

Vine is a hugely growing social media app allowing you to record and edit 7 second videos which loop. Vine has grown in popularity over last year and is getting even more popular as this year goes on and already it's created some web superstars.
The app is filled with variety so there will always be something to suit you. Celebrity impressions are a particular favourite of mine so I had a look on Vine to find some users who can impersonate your idols.





Sunny Mabrey
Sunny Mabrey is probably the most famous person on this post having starred in "Snakes On A Plane" and "Desperate Housewives", however nowadays she's taken to vine to express her acting talent, taking on a wide range of characters from paranoid mothers to Katy Perry. Her vines are definitely worth a watch!




Hannah Pilkes
Hanna Pilkes is an actress who has starred in several short films. She is probably better known on Vine where she does several impressions from Shakira to Bjork. She is best friends with Manon Mathews who is another famous vine user.

Manon Mathews

Manon Mathews is also an actress starring in several commercials. She is best known on Vine for impersonating Kristen Stewart however she has also impersonated Lorde, Ke$ha and several others.






Simone Shepherd
Simone Shepherd is best known on Vine because of her Beyonce impressions. Recently she was seen acting in a parody vine of the recent fight that broke out betwee Jay-Z and Beyonce's sister Solange.





JDWitherspoon
Simone Shepherd's partner in crime. JDWitherspoon is a comedian and YouTuber. He regularly posts impressions on his YouTube channel so check that out. He regularly impersonates Jay-Z.

Elisabeth Jakovenko 

Jakovenko is not an actress however she is very funny and does the most amazing impressions of Britney Spears, like they are literally pitch perfect it's frightening. She has also done impressions of Shakira and Christina Aguilera.







To check out these users go onto my Vine profile where I have revined some of their best work!
Who are your favourite vine users? Comment below to share your thoughts.

10 things you didn't know about Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is currently Artist of the Month on my blog and has a very interesting history in terms of her career and her biography! Here are 10 interest facts about Lana Del Rey.

1. Lana Del Rey released her first ever demo album "Sirens" under the name of May Jailer. The album was recorded between 2005 and 2006 and leaked in 2012. It contains 7 songs, the titles of which are unknown.

2. She is of Scottish descent

3. Lana went to Fordham University to study metaphysics which is a type of philosophy. Metaphysics deals with abstract concepts, in particular "being"

4. When Del Rey chose her stage name she had been visiting Miami several times and speaking Spanish with Cuban friends. She said "Lana Del Ray reminded us of the glamour of the seaside" eventually her lawyers convinced her to change it to Lana Del Rey.

5. Del Rey was featured on a live MTV Unplugged album by Swedish rock band Mando Diao in 2010.

6. Del Rey suffered from alcohol dependence at the age of 15.

7. Lana Del Rey claims she draws influences from "the masters of each genre". These masters include Elvis, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Nirvana, Eminem, Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen

8. There has been a lot of speculation about how genuine Del Rey's image is. Under the name of Lizzy Grant her music was described as "light and airy" however as Lana Del Rey it has been described as "dark and sultry". As well as her music her appearance has changed considerably causing a lot of speculation.

9. Her second album "Born To Die" was number 1 in 13 countries on it's first week of release.

10. Lana Del Rey's father Rob Grant was responsible for the marketing of her debut studio album "Lana Del Ray" which was withdrawn from iTunes due to Del Rey being unable to fund it.

Del Rey has certainly had an interesting past and with her new album "Ultraviolence" coming out her future looks interesting too!

SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Lana Del Rey "Shades of Cool"

The "Ultraviolence" campaign is moving on steadily with the album due to be released mid June. The fantastic lead single "West Coast" was released in the UK yesterday and is currently 18 on the charts.

However we now have a new track to sink our teeth into entitled "Shades of Cool" and this one takes another stripped and cinematic twist from her previous works. I have to say she really knows what she's doing with this album. The two tracks we've heard so far are incredibly authentic and really nostalgic. "Shades of Cool" has high pitched lullaby vocals and a vintage jazz beat, it won't feel right listening to this album on anything other than a vinyl as it's gonna be a great big trip to the past. Cannot wait!

Ultraviolence is now available for pre-order on iTunes where you can buy "Shades of Cool" and "West Coast"

Listen to the track here!

MAGIA MODA: Style Icon- Paloma Faith

 

I feel like I've been neglecting the whole fashion side of my blog. I started it almost 2 months ago and to this date I've only posted 2 style icons! So sorry about that fashion lovers!

Dress from ASOS

As we all know, Paloma Faith is a huge fashion icon in the UK. Her quirky and vintage style rarely goes unnoticed and she's always seen wearing eye-catching pieces at various fashion events around the world. While her choice of outfits may be hideously expensive you can still create your own Paloma-inspired look at a reasonable price. So I went on a hunt for one of Paloma's best outfits and found out how you can achieve this look yourself at a reasonable budget!

The outfit I chose was the one Paloma wore at Milan Fashion Week last year. Paloma's outfit consisted of a baby blue wool dress from the Armani AW13 collection, some baby pink sandals and floppy hat with white socks, all of which created a vintage, cute and brave look. 

Topshop floppy hat

Searching for a similar dress was pretty difficult however I did manage to find a dress similar in colour and shape, while the material may not be exact you'll still bring across that look Paloma has. The dress I found was on ASOS and costs just £31.50. 

When choosing a hat you have to make sure you choose a light colour so it doesn't clash too much with the dress. Generally baby colours like creams and pinks go well with the light blue of the dress. Topshop has a great range of floppy hats which I demonstrated to you when Miss Li was our Style Icon. 

Topshop also has a great range of shoes, while they may be slightly pricey, you'll be satisfied with what you get due to my general experience of buying Topman shoes. They have a fantastic pair of T-Bar sandals in baby pink, which is perfect for mocking up your Paloma look. Finish up with a pair of white socks and you're good to go!

Topshop sandals

As for your hair you don't have to go bright orange if you don't want to. But you can achieve the style easily as demonstrated in this short video here! And if you want a price lock for lock version of how to get Paloma's hair check out this video here!

Paloma's look is cute, vintage and lady-like. If you choose this look you should expect a wide range of compliments. I've seen people pull of similar looks before and it works really well! So definitely give it a try.

NEWS: JLo reveals A.K.A tracklist

The tracklist! collaborations include, T.I., French Montana, Iggy Azalea, Rick Ross, Pitbull
Jack Mizrahi, Nas and Tyga

JLo has finally revealed the tracklisting for her highly anticipated 8th (or 10th I don't even know anymore) studio album, A.K.A! There's a wide range of stars on the album from T.I., to Pitbull (surprise suprise) to Iggy Azalea!
To promote the album she's already released the fantastic singles, I Luh Ya Papi", "First Love", "Girls" and "Same Girl"
By the sounds of things, JLo is definitely going back to her urban roots but we'll have to wait and see what the rest of the album has for us! Can't wait for this release!

Top 10 fan-made Lana Del Rey covers

 Believe it or not Lana Del Rey is Artist of the Month and I have to say I've been neglecting her. Oops. So to make up for it I went onto coverlandia.net last night. It's a great website on which you can submit your designs for album covers and there's a real diverse range of talents and designs on there. While on there I searched for Lana Del Rey album covers and selected my 10 favourite designs submitted by users! Here are my top 10 fan-made Lana Del Rey covers for her "Born To Die" album.

10. by Bossmanda59
This cover is beautiful and sparkly, almost instagram-like

9.  by SonOfAdam(Sictastic)
I love this vintage flowery cover, it really reflects the graceful and sultry sound Lana Del Rey has. 

8. by AdamDelRey
On this cover, simplicity is a weapon. Just like Beyonce's album cover. Sometimes the simplest designs can be the most striking!

7. by bon-bona
This cover is cool because it reflects the whole idea of the album. It's heavenly and shows Lana Del Rey like an angel showing both death and perhaps paradise. Great image!

6. by Cervaantes
Again simplicity is a weapon but also beauty and colouring. This simplistic but beautiful image of Lana would make anyone reach out and grab the album in a store. 

5. by Junior Myers
One of the cleverest designs I came across, making use of colour and shape to reflect Lana Del Rey's American look and persona. It's also really vintage and cool. A real clever design! 

4. by Novemberrain
What I love about this cover is that it's a colourful and sultry improvement on the original cover. The use of colours and filters makes this cover really spectacular and warm to look at. 

3. by Factory Girl
One of the darkest covers I've seen. I love the close up shot of Lana with the blood red colouring. It strays far away from the original cover and shows off the album in a dark and deadly way. 

2. by mimo.andres
This cover is probably the most beautiful one I came across. The dramatic image of Lana is great with the simple typography on the top. I think it shows off this lady-like image Lana has been achieving throughout the album campaign. It's also vintage and just in general really captivating to look at. 

1. by Bad
By far the most interesting image I found. It's deadly, it's dark and it's artistic. The use of the skull and the black and white setting really reflects the dark songs on the album and to be honest it's really just a clever idea in general. If only the actual cover looked like this!

If you haven't already then sign up to coverlandia.net. It's a great way to show off your work and express your ideas on what album covers should look like. Pretty soon I'll be doing a similar post for user designs of "Ultraviolence" so if you want the possibility of your cover being chosen then sign up! Or submit it to me on instagram, tweet it to me on twitter or leave it in the comments below this post! I want to see your designs! 

NEWS: Nicki Minaj reveals new single "Pills N Potions"

Nicki Minaj is back at last! 2 years ago she released the fantastic "Pink Friday...Roman Reloaded" spawning the hit singles, "Starships" and "Pound The Alarm" before re-releasing it as a 3 disc edition entitled "Pink Friday...Roman Reloaded: The Re-Up" from which the singles "The Boys" and "Freedom" were released.

Now she's back with her upcoming third studio album "The Pinkprint" and has revealed the title and artwork for the first official single "Pills N Potions". Musically she describes her new album as "a continuation of the The Re-Up" and that she's "focusing on her hip hop roots", so hopefully this new single will match these statements and continue the amazing hip-hop sound shown off in "The Re-Up". The track is to be released on Wednesday!

Are you excited for Nicki Minaj's comback? Comment below to share your thoughts

SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Super Electric Party Machine- Body Talk (feat. Portia Ferrari)

This week's fantastic Single of the Week is by electronic group Super Electric Party Machine consisting of DJs Larry Tee and AttackAttackAttack. Their album "Super Electric Party Machine" was released in January featuring a whole load of London talents and it's really worth a listen!
The latest single from the album is "Body Talk" which features guest vocals from Portia Ferrari who has previously appeared on the cover of ES magazine as well as being selected as the face of M.I.A.'s Versus Versace collaboration. The track is an urban electronic dance number, similar to Disclosure's work with soulful and sassy vocals from Ferrari. Definitely worth a listen!

You can listen to the track here!

What do you think of the track? Comment below to share your thoughts.

NEWS: Sia confirms new album "1000 Forms of Fear"

The amazing Sia Furler has confirmed the title of her brand new album "1000 Forms of Fear" as well as revealing the stunning artwork and tracklist!
The tracklist is as follows:
Chandelier
Big Girls Cry
Burn The Pages
Eye of the Needle
Hostage
Straight For The Knife
Fair Game
Elastic Heart (with The Weeknd & Diplo)
Free The Animal
Cellophane
Dressed In Black

The album is set to be released July 8th this year and judging by the album title and track titles we have a pretty deep and dark record on our hands! Can't wait to hear it!

M.I.A teases "Double Bubble Trouble" video with GIF

Later on this week M.I.A will be releasing the music video for her fantastic new single "Double Bubble Trouble" earlier today she revealed a GIF from the video on www.complex.com as well as confirming the video is to be self directed. The video will be released on her website later this week.

"Double Bubble Trouble" comes from the singer's fourth studio album "Matangi" released November last year. It contains lyrics from the mid 90s track "Trouble" by Shampoo.

Are you excited for the video? Comment below to share your thoughts.

INTERVIEW with Kids N Cats

This week the fantastic Single of the Week is that of Kids N Cats, an Austrian trio consisting of Jeanne Nickels, Marten Kaffke and Peter Paul Aufreiter. Their debut single "Tip Tip" is really awesome so I took the time to interview them about the song, music video, upcoming projects and facial hair. Check out the interview below!

• For those of us who don't know much about Kids N Cats, describe yourself in 5 words. 
  KIDS N CATS- glow in the dark!!!
  
  
• How did you guys meet and how did you come up with your band name? 
  Wuff!
  
  
• You recently released your first single "Tip Tip" which is currently Single of the Week on the blog. What can you tell us about that? 
  It's a song that you wake up to. Go out and create!
  
  
• The music video for the track has some awesome visuals. What inspired those visuals?
  It's basically the work of Daliah Spiegel. You can check out her website, daliah-spiegel.com she's awesome!
  
  
• What was your favourite part of the video to shoot? 
  JEANNE: The best part was to create this crazy Cindy Sherman-like landscape with really ugly stuff!
  PETER PAUL: To sit down on strawberries, which was actually harder than you can imagine.
  MARTEN: All the close-ups on my face.
  
  

  

  Coloured facial hair= awesome!

  
  
• From the video, it's obvious you guys like to experiment with style, in particular facial hair. Do you think coloured facial hair could be the next big thing? 
  MARTEN: Yes, definitely 
  JEANNE: WURST
  
  
• The video gained 1000 views in one day. How did you celebrate and what would be your ultimate way of celebrating success?
  
  
  
  
• If you could have any famous movie star in one of your videos, who would it be and why? 
  PETER PAUL: James Franco. Guess he would be really fun to work with.
  MARTEN: Tom Cruise
  
  
• Which artists would you say have influenced your musical style? 
  JEANNE: French rappers of the 90s, Les Miserables etc
  MARTEN: harcore and post-punk pop etc
  PETER PAUL: DJ Kose, DJ Paypal, DJ Booth
  
  
• Have you or would you record any songs in German?
  Not yet, but we got lots of songs in French coming up.
  
  
• If you could tour with any artist, who would you choose?
  PETER PAUL: FKA Twigs
  JEANNE: Tu Fawning
  
  
• Do any of the three of you have any weird or cool obsessions/hobbies?
  Jeanne and Marten get angry when they're hungry. Peter Paul is getting angry if Jeanne and Marten are getting angry.
  
  
• Can we expect any merchandise in the future? 
  There is weird merch coming up
  
  
• What upcoming projects can we expect from Kids N Cats?
  We'll be playing lots of shows, working on fresh videos and remixes, releasing our album and... (drum roll)... A LOT M O R E!
  
  
• Lastly is there anything you'd like to say to your fans? 
  MARTEN: carpe diem
  PETER PAUL: xoxo
  JEANNE: <3
  
  [END]
  
  Well best of luck to Kids N Cats for all their future projects and thanks for letting me interview you guys! You can check out their single here. Also go over to Facebook and give them a like here! 

NEWS: La Roux are back!

To be honest, if it wasn't Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster" or Lily Allen's "It's Not Me, It's You" then La Roux was the sound of 2009 for you! They stormed the UK with their self titled debut album including the hit singles "In For The Kill" and "Bulletproof" and a whole array of electronic delights. After that they just um... disappeared. For ages.

But now they're back! It all started with vocalist Elly Jackson tweeting a promo image captioned "new things" and now they've premiered the first sinfle "Let Me Down Gently" on SoundCloud as well as teasing a track called "Silent Partner" on their Instagram. All this comes from their second studio album "Trouble In Paradise".

I can't wait to hear La Roux come back onto the music scene. How excited are you for their return? Comment below to share your thoughts

Listen to the new track "Let Me Down Gently" here!
Listen to the preview of "Silent Partner" here!

SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Tip Tip- Kids N Cats

GIF by thisisnthappiness.com

This week's fantastic Single of the Week is that of brand new Austrian alternative trio, Kids N Cats. "Tip Tip" is their debut single and already they're proving to be a really interesting group!
The only thing that really tops the song is the music video itself. The music video is full of crazy visuals involving coloured beards, slimy toys and an ass covered in googley eyes! It's definitely worth a watch!

Watch the video here!

What was your favourite part of the awesome music video? Comment below to share your thoughts!

NEWS: Shakira launches interactive app with T-Mobile

After the release of her successful tenth studio album "Shakira", Shakira has now released an app for fans to keep up to date with the latest Shakira news as well as offering interactive and exclusive content to the app. The app will supposedly develop as the album campaign progresses, but at the moment it offers news to do with her music releases and work on The Voice as well as exclusive behind the scenes videos of the album recording and live performances and an interactive "Shak map" for fans to share photos as well as an updated feed of Shakira's social network activity.

On top of this, she's redesigned her website! It's all looking very impressive! 

What do you think of the new Shakira app? Comment below to share your thoughts.