[Listen] Vampire Weekend Perform Six New Tracks Live on BBC Radio 1

Vampire Weekend made their way across the pond this week to pimp their upcoming album Modern Vampires of the City. During their visit to the UK, the group performed live in session at Maida Vale studios for Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 programme. During the performance the vampires performed six new tracks, including "Everlasting Arms," "Obvious Bicycle," "Step," "Ya Hey," "Unbelievers" and "Diane Young," along with some of their classics like "A-Punk" and "Diplomat's Son." Stream the whole performance below.

Vampire Weekend's BBC Radio 1 Setlist:
"Holiday"
"White Sky"
"Obvious Bicycle"
"Everlasting Arms"
"Step"
"Ya Hey"
"Diplomat’s Son"
"Unbelievers"
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
"A-Punk"
"Diane Young"

[Preview] Live At Leeds 2013 - Who to watch?

So over the next few days a tonne of great bands will descend upon Yorkshire for Live at Leeds 2013. As is ever popular, a festival in a city spread out across numerous venues and bands ranging through many a genre. Check out the official website for a full list. There are some really interesting bands playing and some personal favourites too. Rather excited for an early start tomorrow and a train journey across thr country for it. We'll have a full review up for you next week but in the mean time I thought we'd pick out a few bands that, for me anyway, are a must see. Maybe some of you guys might feel the same way? Make the jump to see what we are getting hot under the collar about. Obviously we can't get to see every band we want, as with any festival, but we're going to try damn hard to catch as many as we can and advise you to do the same if you're going to be there.

Splashh

Where: Leeds Uni "The Refectory"

When: 18.45

Why: London based, via Australia, Splashh make you long for summer days and hopefully tomorrow in Leeds, they'll do just that with their pop riff filled fuzzy tunes.

King Krule

Where: Holy Trinity Church

When: 18:00

Why: Bringing a mix of moody and melody together doesn't always come across well but this wunderkind gets the balance perfect with his gritty guitar licks and vocal range. Definitely worth a watch.

Tribes

Where: O2 Academy

When: 17:15

Why: Following up their highly acclaimed debut Baby soon with Wish to Scream, Tribes are destined for a huge second half of 2013. The new album brings a less guitar led sound, but instead takes a more lyric heavy route and the results are staggering. Be sure to see them deliver a mix of new and old in a live setting.

Dinosaur Pile-Up

Where: Leeds Uni "The Refectory"

When: 16:45

Why: Back with a new album later this year, Dinosaur Pile-Up have that kind of early Foo Fighters vibe going on and in a live situation you'll most definitely be in for a treat. Catch them ahead of a full headline tour later in the year and be part of the lucky few to hear some new tracks before anyone else.

Hawk Eyes

Where: Leeds Uni "Mine"

When: 22:00

Why: Well, this is a given isn't it? If you read SKoA you'll be aware of our fondness for the Leeds lads known as Hawk Eyes. Monster riffs and drums to shake your intestines, they deliver you with everything you could want from a live show every time and also melt your face in the process. So go finish off your day by watching these guys and getting a bit sweaty.

[Watch] Check Out Nardwuar and ?uestlove's 46-minute Interview

Nardwuar the Human Serviette is loved by many, conducting interviews intelligently and offering plenty of gifts to those lucky musicians. On the other hand, there are many people out there who can't stand the quirky Canadian. In this particular case, though, I urge everyone to press play. Nardwuar recently interviewed ?uestlove (of The Roots and Jimmy Fallon fame), with the whole interview lasting a mind-boggling 46 minutes. During their time together the two discuss a ton of different topics, and you'll likely learn a lot from these knowledgeable gentleman. Check it out below.

[Watch] Chilly Gonzales Discusses His Collaboration with Daft Punk

Daft Punk continue their video series "The Collaborators," bringing in producer and multi-instrumentalist Chilly Gonzales to discuss his time with the robotic duo. Chilly took his talents to help Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo develop key changes and harmonies as well as chord progressions on several of the tracks featured on Random Access Memories. It's an interesting watch. Check it out below.

If you've yet to watch any of "The Collaborators" videos, the previous five have featured Giorgio Moroder, Todd Edwards, Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and Animal Collective's Panda Bear.

[Watch] Empire of the Sun - "Alive" (Video)

Emperor Steele and Lord Littlemore traverse a desert canyon in Empire of the Sun's new video for "Alive." As their journey progresses, they are joined by like-minded followers. Watch as they don ridiculous outfits and show the true power of a harmonized chorus and a dance beat.

Empire of the Sun's sophomore album Ice on the Dune is out on June 18th.

[Listen] She & Him - 'Volume 3' (Full Album Stream)

In between being a New Girl and that girl the majority of guys think is cute in an annoying kind of way, Zooey Deschanel likes to make sweet, sweet music with M. Ward under the name of She & Him. Next week, they'll release Volume 3 on Merge Records and it's sure to make your knees weak and your heart melt. Well, it might do, if you're into folky original compositions from Zooey along with a few covers for good measure. The album can be pre-ordered on their website ahead of release and below you can stream it in full courtesy of NPR.

[Watch] Crystal Castles - "Affection" (Official Video)

Crystal Castles have released an interesting visual to sit alongside "Affection". It's made up entirely of footage taken while they were on tour in South America. It's then been spliced together Stephen Agnew after Alice was filmed by Ethan, Crystal Castles were filmed by Chris Chartrand, the bands live drummer, and Ashley McMinn was filmed by Marc Pannozzo a long time Crystal Castles video collaborator. The result is a blur of intoxication and frantic performances. Perfect for the beautiful, moody melody of the track.

"Affection" is set for it's official release on the 10th of June in the UK and will feature bonus material. We'll let you know what that bonus material is as and when we have it!

[Listen] The D.O.T. - 'Diary' (Full Album Stream)

I think we all were a bit bummed when Mike Skinner called an end to The Streets. That's probably why we've been a little antsy about getting hold of the second album from Mr. Skinner and Rob Harvey, previously of The Music. Under their moniker of The D.O.T, Next week they'll finally release Diary, but as is the norm these days, you can stream the album in full prior to release next Monday (May 6th) on Cooking Vinyl. Check out the record that mixes together a bit of this and a bit of that below via NME.