Birmingham quintet Ivory Wave have already established a reputation as local heroes. Their exuberant, party-starting mix of swaggering indie attitude, dancefloor-filling beats and glistening synths inspires chaotic scenes wherever they go. Their songs speak of the experiences of youth across the country, but their gigs offer pure escapism with a sea of fans singing along as smoke-bombs amplify the hedonistic vibe.

Current single ‘Uptown’ has raised the game for the band, earning them Track of the Week on Radio X, plus further plays at BBC Introducing and Radio 1. They soon followed that by playing Birmingham’s most vital event of the summer, the all-star Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival. Now Ivory Wave build towards an even bigger future by announcing that their debut EP, Dream Nights, will be released on November 8.

 ‘Dream Nights’ was produced by Matt Terry (The Prodigy, You Me At Six) and recorded at VADA Studios, Warwickshire. It was mixed by the Grammy Award-winner Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse, Everything Everything).

“Three years of work have been saturated down into 25 minutes of pure Ivory Wave,” says frontman George Johnson. “It’s time for people to pay attention - this is the best Birmingham has sounded for years”

In addition, Ivory Wave have today shared a new video for ‘Uptown’. It’s about growing tired of endlessly living for the weekend - you spend all week planning a big night out only to wake up with a hangover and an empty wallet. The video captures that routine of spending every Sunday in lazy recovery mode, the only benefit of which is epic FIFA sessions on the Xbox. In fact, the band have been embraced by the football community, with adds to the Official Premier League playlist and Soccer AM’s New Music playlist plus match day plays at West Brom.

Ivory Wave are five long-term friends in their early twenties who share an eclectic range of influences – from The Stone Roses to Bowie, Sex Pistols and Human League. Based in a lock-up in Birmingham, their mission statement was to blend those influences into a modernist sound which would connect with their own generation.

The dates are:

NOVEMBER

15th - Shiiine On Weekender(main stage)

16th - Birmingham, O2 Institute 2(headline show - in association with This Feeling)

21st - Liverpool, Hanger 34 (supporting JAWS)

22nd - Edinburgh, The Mash House(supporting JAWS)

23rd - Newcastle, Riverside (supporting JAWS)

29th - Leeds, The Wardrobe(supporting JAWS)

30th - Coventry, The Empire (supporting JAWS)

Norwegian artist Skaar has shared her new single, ‘Five Times’, via Warner Music. An intoxicating blend of captivating production and infectious vocals, the track is a powerful critique of unequal attitudes towards women, and was produced by Swedish duo MadFun. Building through pulsating verses that set a passionately derisive tone through cutting lyricism, the track opens into an anthemic chorus of infectious melodies and explosive attitude.

“This song is about how women have been treated unfairly within our society throughout history and to this day", explains Skaar. “It’s not about hating men, but about how stories and norms have made a culture that discriminates against women and teaches men to see them as objects. When we wrote ‘Five Times’, the lyrics were about a girlfriend of mine who had a boyfriend that cheated on her a lot. She found out, and he managed to make her forgive him and also make her feel guilty about the mistakes he had made. This song is an anthem to all the women out there that think men should own up to their own shit!”

At 21, Skaar is one of Norway’s most exciting new talents. Born on the small west coast island of Stord, she grew up experiencing total freedom and the feeling of belonging somewhere. Just like you can experience all four seasons in one day on the west coast of Norway, she can relate to feeling exuberantly lively and cheerful one minute and almost explosively emotional the next. In these oscillations, friction arises and often results in a flood of inspiration and creativity, which drives her urge to write music.