Aurora

[Bosco]

(Did we already have a topic?)

News out today that Tom has worked on her upcoming new album, 'What Happened To The Heart?', to be released June 7th.

NME

Clash

New Single "Some Type of Skin" here:

[Csar]

Oh, that's interesting news!

(Did we already have a topic?)

I remember always having wanted to open one ever since @satur8 and I talked about her music last year or so but didn't follow through. Good to see you beat me to it

The single sounds good for what it is. Wonder what Tom's production is going to sound like. Any mention whether she got lost again in the southern woods of England?

[Bosco]

Any mention whether she got lost again in the southern woods of England?

(22:45)

[Csar]

Ha, what were the odds of that? Great find @Bosco!
She's adorable. Just wonder, though, if you could ever have a "normal" conversation with her 

[nekoland]

I am very grateful to the ChemsBros because thanks to them I met Aurora. I was lucky enough to see her live act twice and it is an incredible show, very nice, humble and very funny. Her music has something in particular that sets her apart from the rest. I'm really looking forward to hearing the song "puked" by Tom.

[Csar]

Yo también! I really enjoyed discovering her when they brought her up as a featuring artist and some members on here I believe mentioned her being real good. I was intrigued and I think this video of her performing live at KEXP was the first thing I ever listened to. Especially the first song Churchyard clicked with me instantly and lead me to continue searching for more stuff and I've been hooked ever since.

One of my favorites is Infections of a Different Kind

I also love her reinterpretations/ covers of Massive Attack's Tear Drop and the Beatles' Across the Unisvers

And another thing I'm so so grateful to is that, by discovering her, I also got to discover the amazing Norwegian musician Silja Sol who used to be Aurora's background singer (seen in the last video) with her incredibly large vocal register. She would totally deserve her own topic imho as she incorporates more electronic elements.

[Bosco]

I think she has a wonderful voice, but really can only absorb her music in small doses.

I feel like management failed Aurora and her producer for the song "Cure for Me". This should have been a break through pop song that should've landed her in the mainstream. That melody is an absolute earworm!

P.S. And when I say "mainstream", I mean beyond internet fandom. I'm aware the song has over 100 million views on youtube...

[inchemwetrust]

Remember, if Aurora gives you cookies, don't eat them!

[ThePumisher]

Remember, if Aurora gives you cookies, don't eat them!

If she ask you to puke, you puke!



https://www.nme.com/news/music/aurora-asked-chemical-brothers-tom-rowlands-to-puke-vomit-all-over-song-on-new-album-3749515

Aurora has recounted the time she asked Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands to "puke vomit all over" a song on her new album 'What Happened To The Heart?'

(...)

"We have a lot of fun. We feel like two little aliens walking around, and we have the same hunger for something exceptional," she said when discussing her work with Rowlands. "I'm really grateful. I texted him one evening just saying, 'Tom – puke vomit all over my song please'. And he did, for like four hours.

[Wolkenkrabber]

If she ask you to puke, you puke!

https://www.nme.com/news/music/aurora-asked-chemical-brothers-tom-rowlands-to-puke-vomit-all-over-song-on-new-album-3749515

Have a scroll up to Bosco's opening post in this thread and his reply #2.
Better late than never, eh Pum?

I'm really looking forward to hearing the song "puked" by Tom.

7th July. My calendar is marked!   EDIT: Wait, NME says June 7th, Clash says July 7th. Confusing! Wikipedia says June.

Any mention whether she got lost again in the southern woods of England?

If she sent it to him, and he spent four hours "puking" on it, I get the impression they weren't in the same studio or the same country. I'm gonna guess the album notes will say "additional production: Tom Rowlands". So, almost like a remix. Maybe.

[Wolkenkrabber]

It's out.
My Body Is Not Mine
From the YT credits: Associated  Performer, Programming, Synthesizer, Drums: Tom Rowlands

The song itself isn't particularly my cup of tea, but that final minute of production packs a punch. Can we have an extended version please?

[Bosco]

I think I kinda like it! Kinda feels a lot happens in its rather short run time, so it might not be for those who seek a focused sound.

It opens up like a Karin Dreijer project, and flows into a dark-ish sounding version of Madonna's "La Isla Bonita". And then obviously, Tom's minute long stamp at the end. Pretty good, I'll probably check out the full album over the weekend.

Here is her tour schedule for the album that might be interested:

View this post on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

[nekoland]

I liked the new album. There are some songs I'll skip, but there are others I'll have on repeat, like this one:

She also confirmed dates in South America. I'm thinking of going to Chile or Buenos Aires... Chile is more expensive, but the Buenos Aires show is on a Wednesday... I'm going to get fired from my job.

[whirlygirl]

I am quite liking this tune a lot - that last minute is on fire! It sounds like a swirling industrial beast. You can certainly hear Tom's fingerprints here! I am also seeing positive comments on YouTube and it's cool to see this being well received. It will be interesting to hear how this song plays out live (if it is chosen to be in her set)

So I suppose this is good to know - when Aurora sends you a piece of music and asks you to vomit all over it,  it's best you puke (in a nice way of course)    Fabulous touches on this song, Tom!

[Wolkenkrabber]

Well I guess tweets (X posts) don't embed since Elon recently changed the URL from twitter.com to x.com.

Anyway the tweet below from the Chems says

Check out the new album from @chembros
collaborator @AURORAmusic
, which includes 'My Name', produced by @chembros
' Tom Rowlands! ♥️🌟
👉 https://aurora-music.com
#thechemicalbrothers #WhatHappenedTotheHeart #Aurora

https://x.com/ChemBros/status/1801266132982153431

Funny thing is: the album notes on Discogs don't give Tom a credit for this track,[EDIT: actually they do] only for My Body Is Not Mine. Is this an error by Chemical HQ? Or did Tom work on more than one track? [EDIT: more than one track!]

While I'm here, here's the instrumental version of My Body Is Not Mine. I think instrumental versions of all the tracks are available somewhere.

EDIT: My belated thoughts on the overall song - My Body Is Not Mine: I can't say I expected Madonna's La Isla Bonita to get a mention @Bosco but hey, thanks for reminding me of a song I haven't heard in a long time!
I reckon the song sounds like a cross between Austra (best known for The Beat & The Pulse) and Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill (the way the slightly gloomy melody sits on top of the drums).
And the Tom Production at the end reminds me of Boys Noize XTC - both the original and the Chemical remix. And it also reminds me of Moby's Go (Rainforest Mix) fom 1991 which I'll put under spoilers just to keep the post from getting too long. This was the first version of Moby's Go that I ever heard.
PS Fun fact: the orginal version of Go did not contain the Twin Peaks theme sample.

Spoiler

EDIT 2, they've now deleted the tweet at the top of this post and done a new tweet:

Check out the new album from @chembros
collaborator @AURORAmusic, which includes 'My Name', co-written by @chembros'
Tom Rowlands! ♥️🌟
👉 http://aurora-music.com
#thechemicalbrothers #WhatHappenedTotheHeart #Aurora

https://x.com/ChemBros/status/1801375774634619286

But there's nothing in the album notes to say that Tom co-wrote "My Name" [EDIT actually he did co-write it! my mistake!!] . In fact the notes say that My Name was co-written by Magnus Skylstad and features Ane Brun [EDIT: but also Tom]. But nothing about Tom on that track.

EDIT 3
So now they've done a new tweet where they name the right track - My Body Is Not Mine. But they say he co-wrote it, when it should be that he (co-) produced it:

Listen now to the wonderful new album from @auroramusic
- featuring "My Body Is Not Mine", co-written by @ChemBros
Tom Rowlands.
♥️🌟
https://aurora-music.com

https://x.com/ChemBros/status/1801559038007677046

Ok, hopefully final edit on this. Tom worked on TWO tracks on the Aurora album.

1) My Name: Tom co-wrote it but did not produce it.
2) My Body Is Not Mine: Tom co-produced it but did not write it.

Hope that makes sense.

[whirlygirl]

Thank you so much for the detail and for sorting that out, @Wolkenkrabber ! 

[ThePumisher]

[ThePumisher]

https://www.nme.com/news/music/aurora-at-glastonbury-2024-on-her-bring-me-the-horizon-collab-and-wembley-plans-3770734


NME: We just spotted a Chemical Brother backstage. They're friends and collaborators of yours. Could they be surprise guests for your set?

Aurora: "Oh, no. We work as friends now. So he's here for emotional support. I don't know how to do this without Tom."

[Wolkenkrabber]

NME: We just spotted a Chemical Brother backstage.

Aurora: "... I don't know how to do this without Tom."

Do what?

A good chemical spot though: Tom went to Glastonbury! Well done NME/Pum. 
Noel Gallagher could be seen side-stage during LCD's set too. I wondered if Gallgher was going to be the surprise (TBA) act on the Woodsies (formerly John Peel) stage on Saturday, but that turned out to be Kasabian.

--------

In the above interview, Aurora - talking about Oli from Bring Me The Horizon says: "We bonded over Palestine. Because I was like, 'We need to stick up for them'.

Other Palestine references at Glastonbury this weekend included: Damon Albarn asking the crowd if they supported Palestine during his guest appearance with Bombay Bicycle Club. IDLES demandng "Ceasefire Now", and LCD Soundsystem wearing Palestinian face paint across their eyes (-some members, not all).

Aurara's support for Palestine has been pretty vocal on her instagram stories over the past few months, as some of you may have noticed. Another Chemical collaborator, Primal Scream have also been very vocal on their social media since last October (but also for many years prior).

Some of us here may remember back in 2016, thechemicalbrothers.com listed a Chems gig for Tel Aviv and then they quietly deleted the listing, but the gig did go ahead. At the time, Roger Waters wrote an open letter to the Chemical Brothers urging them not to play Tel Aviv. And we had some discussion about it here on the forum.

I imagine The Chems will have spotted the Palestine stuff on both Aurora's & The Primal's social media feeds. But we haven't heard a word from the Chems on the subject. I realise they're under no obligation to comment, but I wonder if the subject has come up between Aurora and her friend Tom?
Considering how prominent the Palestine stuff has been at Glastonbury this weekend, it would almost be weird if it didn't come up.

So I guess I'm wondering if
A) The Chems don't agree with the stance of their fellow collaborators (and apparently, a number of other musicians at Glastonbury), or...
B) They feel that they can't comment because they played Tel Aviv - which someone would surely remind them of, or...
C) They simply don't have an opinion on the subject. I think that's unlikely, but I guess it's possible. They've certainly had opinions on Brexit and Trump in the past...

Do I really want to open up this can of worms here? I'm not sure, I might regret it. But I can't be the only one who has spotted the support for Palestine from Chemical collaborators whilst the Chems themselves remain silent. Can I?

https://x.com/LEIGHSREVlVAL/status/1806828237122937303

[hstn]

Do what?

A good chemical spot though: Tom went to Glastonbury! Well done NME/Pum. 
Noel Gallagher could be seen side-stage during LCD's set too. I wondered if Gallgher was going to be the surprise (TBA) act on the Woodsies (formerly John Peel) stage on Saturday, but that turned out to be Kasabian.

--------

In the above interview, Aurora - talking about Oli from Bring Me The Horizon says: "We bonded over Palestine. Because I was like, 'We need to stick up for them'.

Other Palestine references at Glastonbury this weekend included: Damon Albarn asking the crowd if they supported Palestine during his guest appearance with Bombay Bicycle Club. IDLES demandng "Ceasefire Now", and LCD Soundsystem wearing Palestinian face paint across their eyes (-some members, not all).

Aurara's support for Palestine has been pretty vocal on her instagram stories over the past few months, as some of you may have noticed. Another Chemical collaborator, Primal Scream have also been very vocal on their social media since last October (but also for many years prior).

Some of us here may remember back in 2016, thechemicalbrothers.com listed a Chems gig for Tel Aviv and then they quietly deleted the listing, but the gig did go ahead. At the time, Roger Waters wrote an open letter to the Chemical Brothers urging them not to play Tel Aviv. And we had some discussion about it here on the forum.

I imagine The Chems will have spotted the Palestine stuff on both Aurora's & The Primal's social media feeds. But we haven't heard a word from the Chems on the subject. I realise they're under no obligation to comment, but I wonder if the subject has come up between Aurora and her friend Tom?
Considering how prominent the Palestine stuff has been at Glastonbury this weekend, it would almost be weird if it didn't come up.

So I guess I'm wondering if
A) The Chems don't agree with the stance of their fellow collaborators (and apparently, a number of other musicians at Glastonbury), or...
B) They feel that they can't comment because they played Tel Aviv - which someone would surely remind them of, or...
C) They simply don't have an opinion on the subject. I think that's unlikely, but I guess it's possible. They've certainly had opinions on Brexit and Trump in the past...

Do I really want to open up this can of worms here? I'm not sure, I might regret it. But I can't be the only one who has spotted the support for Palestine from Chemical collaborators whilst the Chems themselves remain silent. Can I?

https://x.com/LEIGHSREVlVAL/status/1806828237122937303

Ali Love and Beth Orton too have been quite vocal as of late too, I guess it can be implied/presumed The Chems do have the same support but I suppose given the Tel Aviv gig from 2016 and apparently one during the 90s it might be touchy but...I don't know how touchy it can continue to be when this many people are outspoken now

I do wish Tom and Ed could do some show of support though for Palestine like many of their contemporaries/collaborators, but I can't imagine what the comments would look like, I've seen some try to stir a mess over them showing off the pride flag on their equipment so it'll be a mess either way but...it's still a righteous cause that deserves some speaking out against when many others seem to support and excuse the oppression of Palestinians

Been following the conflict for some time now and it really warms my heart seeing how many of the Chems family, especially Aurora are outspoken in support especially after seeing too much dehumanization and justification for all the atrocities and war crimes going on in Gaza, the West Bank etc.

In a way you could argue The Chems did take a stance in "Left Right" in 2005, albeit more in a general sense as to no more war/conflict via Anwar Superstar

Palestine, Kosovo, Ghetto World stand up

Even in the Piku Playground Discord during a PTB listening party we all cheered when Palestine was mentioned so myself and other younger Chems fans do feel similarly but try to give some benefit of the doubt to the bros, despite the 2016 gig

From what I could gather the show in 2016 was a way to contribute to restarting the dance scene in Israel so I guess they thought it would be a righteous/unifying cause, but perhaps tone deaf as to the decades long conflict/colonialization that still hadn't been resolved as rightfully pointed out by other artists at the time

I suppose support could be implied or that it has been brought up in discussion, especially seeing how Tom is close with Aurora nowadays to a point he showed up as emotional support for her this past weekend, who knows maybe Aurora could be one of many to shed further light

Even on "My Body Is Not Mine" many speculated Aurora is shouting 'CEASEFIRE NOW' throughout the climax where you can hear Tom's production the most, but given how much of the crew and collaborators seem outspoken, it would be nice to hear something from Tom & Ed

I'll admit I'm also nervous given the Tel Aviv show, but I figure things are even more evident now than they were in 2016 or even the 90s, many have wound up changing their minds over the last couple of months and some artists have only begun to speak out recently so I do have some hope