International Music News - SHOUTcast Blog

Following up on her last English language album, 'Taking Chances,' which came out in 2007, French-Canadian singer Celine Dion has decided to return to her linguistic roots for her next album, and is reportedly in the process of recording an album entirely in French. According to MusicActu, the opus should be ready by either the end of 2010, or the beginning of 2011. In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper, Dion's husband, René Angelil, said that his wife hopes to once again collaborate with Jean-Jacques Goldman, who has produced several of her past albums.

In addition to her studio work, Dion plans to release a new DVD on April 26, titled 'Celine Dion: Autour du Monde.' The documentary will reportedly feature concert footage from her world tour that took place in 2008 and 2009. She also plans to once again perform a series of shows in Las Vegas, where she performed for extended periods in 2003 and 2007. Her latest set of shows will kick off on March 15, 2011.

Speaking at a SXSW panel yesterday, French director Michel Gondry revealed more details about the project that he and Icelandic star Björk are collaborating on. Calling it "very ambitious," Gondry described the endeavor as a "40-minute IMAX project in 3D." According to The Guardian, the project will be a "scientific musical" film, to be screened in museums.

Gondry and Björk, of course, have a pretty lengthy artistic history together. The director best known for his imaginative and visually stunning music video productions, has already directed seven videos for Björk's music, including spots for her singles 'Army of Me,' and 'Joga.' While casting for his 2006 feature length film 'The Science of Sleep,' Gondry initially offered the starring role to the Icelandic singer, who turned it down (ultimately, the role went to Charlotte Gainsbourg). According to HitFix, Björk is also currently working on an orchestral piece of her own, although it's not yet clear whether or not it's part of her collaboration with Gondry.

In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX Monday night, Damian Marley talked at length about some of the behind-the-scenes action that went down during the making of his upcoming 'Distant Relatives' collaboration album with Nas, and expressed excitement about its impending release. The album, which will officially hit stores on May 19, is expected to be Marley's first widely-released album since his sensational 'Welcome to Jamrock' tore up global reggae charts and radiowaves back in 2005. While fans have, over the course of the past few months, been frustrated with the prolonged delay of the album's release, Marley maintains that "At the end of the day, [my philosophy] has always been to put stuff out when it's ready, 'cause I don't believe in puttin' out music that I'm not satisfied with, or I don't think has reached its potential in terms of the creative process."

As we reported last week, the album not only has Nas' fingerprints all over it, but also features cameos from the likes of Lil Wayne, Joss Stone, K'Naan, and reggae legend Dennis Brown. The name drawing the most attention, though, is undoubtedly Wayne's, who's been in the news a lot recently, thanks to his recent imprisonment. When discussing what Lil Wayne's voice brought to the record, Marley expressed his hope that the contemporary rap icon will draw in a younger generation of hip hop fans. "It's funny, because the track is called 'My Generation,'" Marley said. "It's definitely geared towards that. [Lil] Wayne really showed a lot of respect in his verse, in the way that he handled it. He handled it exactly would've really loved him to. I don't have any criticism at all about what he did. I think it's a great and blessed track. That's all I can really say about that."

As for all the rumors that have been swirling about tracklists and officially released singles, Marley says, perhaps surprisingly, that "the tracklisting hasn't really changed that much in the months," adding that "it's more-so that there's been some inaccurate listings that people have put on the 'net." He admitted, though, that the sequencing has undergone a few revisions during the recording process. "That is a matter of trying to make the album a long-listener, where you can put it in, hear from top, and just play straight through. So it goes off of feel; you don't want to have too many slow tracks back-to-back or too many fast ones back-to-back for that matter. I just try to make sure that the album feels good throughout."

The stars were out in full splendor as Monday night's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cleveland, as the 2010 class of inductees officially entered rock and roll immortality. While much of the mainstream media attention was drawn to a shirtless Iggy Pop, or the conspicuous absence of two members of ABBA, reggae fans and historians will remember the night for Jimmy Cliff's historic achievement.

Speaking at the podium, Cliff said of reggae, "This was a new music form, with a new culture." As the New York Times reports, Cliff then listed off a few other rock and roll icons who influenced his music and his career, and said that walking into the Hall was just "another stepping stone to higher heights." He then performed some of his biggest hits onstage, including 'Many Rivers to Cross,' 'You Can Get It If You Really Want,' and, of course, 'The Harder They Come,' with Wyclef Jean, who presented him.

Gorillaz may be a make believe group, but there's nothing fictional about the plagiarism suit they may soon face from reggae star Eddy Grant. According to Consequence of Sound, Grant is claiming that the Gorillaz song 'Stylo,' off of their new album, 'Plastic Beach,' sounds a bit too much like his own single, 'Time Warp.' Said Grant in a statement, "I am outraged that the Gorillaz have infringed the copyright of my song 'Time Warp,' claiming their song 'Stylo' to be an original composition." The Guayana-born Grant rose to fame in the 1980s, with singles like 'I Don't Wanna Dance,' and 'Electric Avenue.'

Coincidentally enough, both Grant and Gorillaz (which is headed by Blur member Damon Alburn) are represented by EMI Publishing, which has gone on the record stating that the dispute is merely "a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz." For now, at least, no lawsuit has officially been filed, so we'll all just have to wait and see how it plays out. In the meantime, you can decide for yourself by comparing both tracks after the jump.

Ah, Europe. The widely acknowledged bastion of coolness, where, to most of us, everything seems just a bit cooler, and just a bit hipper--especially when it comes to music. And as far as the American music festival scene goes, there's hardly a better place to find the most cutting edge, indie sounds of tomorrow than at SXSW. It only makes sense, then, that this year's SXSW 2010 would feature a whole slew of Europe's best and brightest new stars, from established names like Denmark's Alphabeat, all the way down to lesser known, niche artists from relatively more obscure locales, like Slovakia, or Latvia. Check out the full list after the jump, and read more about what you might be hearing on your local radio within the next couple of years.

The release date of Damian Marley and Nas' collaboration album 'Distant Relatives' is now set (tentatively) for May 25th, after months of delays and speculation. After putting up with a seemingly endless array of fake tracks and rumored cancellations, frustrated fans can now take solace in the fact that the hip hop legend and reggae royal have at least released a full tracklist for their debut.

As Exclaim reports, the album will feature contributions from Joss Stone, K'NAAN, Dennis Brown, and, most notably, the recently jailed Lil Wayne. It'll still be a while until we can actually listen to the CD, and given the album's turbulent history, it may very well be released after May 25th. But at least we have a tracklist, which implies that there is, in fact, an actual album on the way. Check out the full tracklist after the jump.