EXID to make long-awaited comeback with new single album ‘X’

The Go! Team have shared new song "Divebomb," the first singlefrom the U.K. group's new album Get Up Sequences Part Two. "Divebomb" features Detroit rapper IndigoYaj and is a pro-choice protest song.

Wonho has announced his sophomore single album ‘Bittersweet’, due out next month.The K-pop idol took to social media on September 21 to announce his impending return with new music through a teaser image containing the album’s title and release window of October. In the caption, it was announced the ‘Bittersweet’ will be Wonho’s second single album so far, as a follow-up to February’s ‘Obsession’ single album.

US President Joe Biden has taken a swipe at Liz Truss's economic plan ahead of their meeting in New York at the United Nations tomorrow.

Stray Kids have unveiled snippets of their forthcoming ‘Maxident’ mini-album through a mashup clip.On September 19, the eight-member boyband shared a mashup video comprising tracks from their upcoming seventh mini-album ‘Maxident’. The record, due out on October 7 at 1pm KST, will be accompanied by the release of the music video for its lead single ‘Case 143’.The new clip previews all eight tracks on ‘Maxident’ including its lead single and unit tracks ‘3RACHA’, ‘Taste’ and ‘Can’t Stop’.

Rina Sawayama has shared a brand new video for her latest single ‘Hurricanes’ – check it out below.The British-Japanese artist released her second album ‘Hold The Girl’ on Friday (September 16) via Dirty Hit, and shared the new video on the same day.Following visuals for the new album’s title track and ‘This Hell’, the ‘Hurricanes’ video sees Sawayama giving a stormy, energetic performance of the track inside a barn.In the track, Sawayama sings: “April showers finally making way for warmer weather / But yet I still feel the same / Doing yoga just to feel untethered / But my mind keeps running away.”Watch her ‘Hurricanes’ video below.In a five-star album review, NME called ‘Hold The Girl’ “the best British pop album of the year,” writing: “Genres may come and go, but Sawayama’s second album is defined by her ability to fashion each of these sounds into big, brilliant pop songs.”On Friday, the day of the album’s release, Sawayama appeared on the cover of NME for a new Big Read feature about ‘Hold The Girl’, her role in John Wick: Chapter 4 and more.During the interview, the singer revealed that Elton John has offered her some “great advice” regarding some as-yet-unreleased music.Rina collaborated with the legendary musician on a reworking of her song ‘Chosen Family’ last year, which came after the pair struck up a friendship, with John having praised Sawayama’s debut studio record on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2020.

Rina Sawayama has revealed that Elton John has offered her some “great advice” regarding some as-yet-unreleased music.The British-Japanese artist, who released her second album ‘Hold The Girl’ today (September 16), collaborated with the legendary musician on a reworking of her song ‘Chosen Family’ last year.It came after the pair struck up a friendship, with John having praised Sawayama’s debut studio record on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2020. He’s since been avid fan and supporter of her work.Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover feature, Sawayama spoke further about John assisting her with clearing a guitar riff on her single ‘This Hell’, which bears similarities to the ABBA‘s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’.“I was stressed as fuck because I was like: ‘this is our first single, this is our lead single, and I can’t use the guitar riff that I want’,” she recalled, adding that John ended up putting her in contact with the Swedish pop icons.ABBA’s Benny Andersson subsequently gave Sawayama his blessing to keep the original part in the finished track.“Elton is always willing to help.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Rina Sawayama is one of a handful of artists who released an album just as the pandemic was beginning and watched, astonished, as their stars rose during lockdown. The Japanese-British singer’s debut, “Sawayama,” was a wild fusion of Lady Gaga with nu-metal guitars, but also showed a penchant for sentimental ballads amid the power chords and intensity. The album won a co-sign from none other than Elton John, and its videos got her cast in the fourth installment of Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” series, due in March. In fact, Elton was one of many people who spoke out against Sawayama’s exclusion from eligibility for England’s BRIT and Mercury awards because she isn’t a U.K. citizen, even though she’s lived in England since the age of 5. After #SawayamaIsBritish became a trending topic on Twitter, the British Phonographic Industry changed the eligibility rules to include anyone who lived in the country for at least five years, including her.

Kim Kardashian is getting accused of cultural appropriation again? Well, kind of…

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following the world premiere of “My Neighbor Adolf” on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, Beta Cinema has sold the dark comedy to Vendetta Films, which will bring the Udo Kier and David Hayman starrer to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in the first quarter of next year.  Prior to Locarno, Beta Cinema sold the film to Hungary (Cinetel) and Switzerland (Praesens Film), while deals for North America (Cohen Media Group), U.K. and Ireland (Signature Entertainment), Italy (I Wonder), South Korea (Lumix Media) and Japan (Tohokushinsha Film) had been revealed before. The film is set in Colombia in 1960, just a few days after the Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann was caught by Mossad agents in Argentina. Polsky, played by Hayman, is a lonely and grumpy old man, living in the remote Colombian countryside. He is a survivor of the Holocaust. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rosebushes. One day, a mysterious old German man – played by Kier – moves in next door, and Polsky suspects that his new neighbor is… Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a mission to uncover the evidence. In order to gather it, however, he will need to come closer to his neighbor than he would like – so close that the two could almost become friends.

Marta Balaga Greece’s Homemade Films has boarded Mahdi Fleifel’s upcoming feature “Men in the Sun,” currently in the final stages of development. The story, set in Athens, will deal with masculinity, exile and loss, showing young refugees in their 20s hustling to survive in the urban pressure cooker. The company is also ready to start shooting Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” co-producing with Nabis Filmgroup, Ars Ltd., Digital Cube and Felony Productions. Furthermore, its founder Maria Drandaki recently presented new projects at Venice Gap-Financing Market. “Arcadia,” directed by Yorgos Zois, will see Homemade Films joining forces with Foss Production and Red Carpet. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani will be shot in Japan and Singapore in 2023.

Dry Cleaning have shared new single ‘Gary Ashby’ and announced details of a world tour in support of forthcoming album ‘Stumpwork’ ahead of its arrival next month.In an accompanying statement, the band said the new song is “a lament about a pet tortoise, escaped as a result of family chaos”. It was written in late 2020, and was one of the first new songs to be written after sessions for the band’s debut album, last year’s ‘New Long Leg’.Listen to ‘Gary Ashby’ below:Dry Cleaning’s world tour in support of ‘Stumpwork’ will kick off at Solana Beach in California later this month, with dates in Europe and Japan in November.

Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (October 5-14) has announced its full line-up, including opening film Scent Of Wind, directed by Iran’s Hadi Mohaghegh, while Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai will be honoured as Asian Filmmaker Of The Year.

Stray Kids have announced their upcoming return with ‘Maxident’ through a stunning new comeback trailer.On September 6 at Midnight KST, Stray Kids dropped a two-minute trailer for their upcoming mini-album ‘Maxident’, thereby officially announcing the release. This record, which marks the boyband’s seventh mini-album, will arrive on October 7 at 12am EST/1pm KST.In the new trailer — which appears to have been filmed in North America during their ‘Maniac’ world tour — the boyband wander the streets while soundtracked by a serene piano instrumental.The music switches up to an energetic EDM beat as they begin storming the city, but the members are soon interrupted by a mysterious phone call.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Venice Film Festival title “Music for Black Pigeons,” directed by Danish filmmakers Jørgen Leth, best known for “The Five Obstructions,” and “The Lost Leonardo” helmer Andreas Koefoed, has debuted its trailer with Variety. The documentary, which premieres on Tuesday in Venice’s Out of Competition section, explores the lives and processes of some of the world’s most renowned and prolific jazz musicians, including Jakob Bro, Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian and Midori Takada. Leth, who has directed more than 40 films including landmark works such as “A Sunday in Hell” (1977) and the surrealist short “The Perfect Human” (1968), returns to Venice after his feature documentary “The Five Obstructions,” which he co-directed with Lars von Trier, screened on the Lido in 2003.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Korean and two Indian movies make the cut in the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents main competition section. Thet are joined by one each from Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Germany. The section has a track record of making significant discoveries among new Asian films and directors.The selected titles are eligible for multiple awards, including the New Currents Award, the FIPRESCI Award, the NETPAC Award, and the KB New Currents Audience Award. The selection comprises: “Ajooma,” directed by Hu Shuming (Singapore-Korea); “Blue Again” from Thailand’s Thapanee Loosuwan; “Hail to Hell,” by Korea’s Lim Oh-jeong; “Memento Mori: Earth,” by Vietnam’s Marcus Vu Manh Cuong; “No End,” directed by Nader Saeivar and flying the flags of Germany, Iran and Turkey; “A Place Called Silence,” by Malaysia’s Sam Quah; “Shivamma,” fromIndia’s Jaishankar Aryar; Japanese director Kubota Nao’s “One Thousand and One Nights”; “A Wild Roomer,” from Korea’s Lee Jeong-hong; and The Winter Within,” directed by Aamir Bashir, and structured as a co-production between India, France and Qatar.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Smart phone usage is key to music listeners in parts of East Asia, but only a minority of users are committed subscribers to streaming services. That apparent contradiction may explain the rise of mini-subscriptions in the region. “Some 81% of music listeners in Malaysia use smartphones as their go-to music listening devices in a typical month, yet only 31% of music streamers in Malaysia pay for a streaming subscription,” says new report from consultancy firm Luminate. The firm’s latest Music 360 Study examines music consumption habits and preferences in a selection of Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, but excluding China, India, Singapore and Australia. 

Wilson Chapman editor Some of the most acclaimed films in animation history are finally available to rent online. GKIDS, the animation specialist distributer, has released the catalog of acclaimed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli starting Tuesday. 22 films from the studio — including Oscar winner “Spirited Away” and nominees such as “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “When Marnie Was There” — will be made available to rent on all major digital platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon VOD, Vudu, Google Play and Microsoft. The films will be be priced at $4.99 per title, and all will be available in HD, with most being offered in the original Japanese language as well as English dubs.

Nintendo has released a new seven-minute Japanese gameplay trailer for Splatoon 3 ahead of the game’s release next month.The latest trailer dives into everything: from Splatoon 3 stages players will be competing on, the core abilities and mechanics of the third-person shooter, as well as the different modes including single-player and the Salmon Run.Footage of teamplay is also showcased with two squads of four players going head to head. The short glimpse features the end-game screen where the total score for each team is tallied to reveal the winner.You can check out the new Splatoon 3 gameplay trailer below:New characters make an appearance too in a variety of arenas that range from factory-like environments, desert locales, a beachside, and more.