A Flaming collaboration - Yeah!

In Zagreb at the T-Mobile INmusic festival Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne told me he's been badgering Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O for a special collaboration.

Plus there's an even bigger name he'd like to work with too. Ruuuuuude.

Hear all in my 6 Music package below:

Massive Attack's next

Massive Attack have confirmed they are planning the Heligoland follow-up, kinda big news as that record took 7 years to hit shelves after the previous one.

They are playing all across the world this summer but only stopping at one UK festival - the Big Chill in August.

Then they are studio bound to get working on their sixth album.

Check this - it's Daddy G and 3D:

Morning Benders showcase

The Morning Benders are an indie quartet from Berkeley, California.

They released their second album Big Echo last month in the UK, and have fast become one of the 2010 'buzz' bands.

The record was co-produced by Chris Taylor of experimental rock band Grizzly Bear and I caught up with their main man Chris Chu before their sold out show at Camden's Barfly earlier this month.

Hear the full report:

James Murphy's future moves

We've known for a while now LCD Soundsystem headed up by DFA records man James Murphy will be disbanding after this current tour.

Recently they've been doing the rounds at Glastonbury and the O2 Wireless festival in London but are now in Australia where their tour continues.

I caught up with the man himself when he was in the UK and he gave me the full low down on what the future holds for New York's influential music mastermind:

Unkle and Nick Cave go 'glam rock'

One of my 6 Music work chums Adrian Larkin got the scoop on the Unkle and Nick Cave collaboration so when I caught up with them at Wireless thought it was only right that I squeeze out some more info from them about it all.

Sounds very exciting.

Watch Unkle chatting about it in this video:

Wireless coverage

In it's sixth year Wireless Festival took over London's Hyde Park at the weekend.

While the first day, Friday 2 July, saw Pink headline with support from the likes of Gossip and The Ting Tings, Sunday 4 July played host to Jay Z, Lily Allen and Friendly Fires.

LCD Soundystem, 2ManyDJs, DJ Shadow, Unkle, New Young Pony Club, The Big Pink, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott all took over the festival on Saturday.

It was an absolute scorcher and me and my chum George had some serious fun interviewing and later soaking up some beats.

Check out my audio and video round-up (the latter was kindly and lovingly filmed and edited by Mr Belfield):

New Bands Storm The Charts

Storm the Charts, a grassroots campaign aimed at filling the UK singles chart with new music, has been brewing for six months and this week is calling on music fans for support.

40 songs by 40 artists who aren't on major labels and haven't charted before have been selected to fight for sales against big name acts.

The initiative was set up by Wes White after he was inspired by the 'Rage Factor' endeavour at Christmas, which saw Rage Against The Machine triumph over X Factor winner Joe McElderry for the number one slot.

London band Revere, Glasgow's A Band Called Quinn and Leeds four-piece Middleman are among the 40 acts put forward.

Listen to my package below:

Coachella Culture Shock

I have now experienced a day at Coachella Festival, what's tipped as America's answer toGlastonbury, and feel suitably informed to be able to give you the lowdown.

I've come here to report on it for BBC 6 Music with a fellow music journo, but also to see what a festival in the desert has to offer for a hardened festival nut like myself.

Photo by Vaughn Youtz from coachella.com

We're doing this festival with a group of American Coachella old-timers who know the game. They've hired 'condos' for us in the sleepy city of Palm Springs, known for its retirement credentials.

The festival itself is an hour drive away from our peaceful retreat. I think it's the way to do it as camping would be uncomfortable in this heat, to say the least. You'd wake up half-baked at sunrise. However, it's swings and roundabouts. Last night it took two hours to get out of a grid-locked car park. It not just the UK's infrastructure that can't cope with the influx and mass-exodus of festival-goers!

To picture it, imagine an expanse of polo fields, surrounded by palm trees, set against a backdrop of mountains. By day it's a scorcher, 86 degrees plus, which apparently is quite 'cool' according to our American friends. It's not! By night, the temperature drops and it turns into an otherwordly land of beautifully lit art installations with a pyramid of lasers shot into the sky directly above the plot.

A fenced-off VIP area, fit with speakers, looks out over the pitch where the main stage is located so all the media lovies, hollywood stars and groupies don't even need to move and get to see some music as well. Bonus! Mind you that is where the beer is so I'm not surprised it's always full. Even the latest Dr Who, Matt Smith, has parked his tardis here and got involved. Other spots include Beyonce, Jay-Z, Danny DeVito, the Arctic Monkeys, Alexa Chung,Jaime Winstone, the list goes on.

The crowds are some of the most attentive and polite audiences I think I have ever experienced at a festival. Maybe that's because of the strict rules of where you can drink alcohol and where you can't. You have to buy and finish any beverage in the drinking area from which you brought it, which means... shock horror... you can't have a beer while watching the bands, rendering you thirsty for ever-more. Every cloud though, it does mean there is not a flying cup of urine in sight. You have no chance of a crowd-surfer landing on your head, or getting insnared into one of those mosh pit circles of death.

The 75,000 strong hoard each day is mostly made of up people dressed to impress, but not in the English way where you don a silly hat and some garish lycra. Here the masses don their finest shades, are on trend in every way and it's less 'put your lighters up', more 'put your iphones up'. I've even seen a stretch hummer leaving the car park.

I don't want this post to sound too scathing because on the whole this festival does have a LOT to offer. The surroundings and idyllic sunsets are a thing to behold and above all, the music is excellent, which is why I've come. Pretty much every act I've seen has been a highlight and I was fully blown away by Fever Ray's set. The sound at every stage and tent I've visited has been bang-on and the artists have exceeded my expectations, but it's just it's so regimented. There are so many rules in place that you can't quite let go. You don't see the unique spectacles that grace festivals in Europe, whether it's the emo trolley wars I've seen at Reading, a gig from a band hanging in a tree at Secret Garden Party or the general fancy dress idiocy of Bestival. It seems like a bit of a trade off to me, but my mind might be changed. I've still got two more days to go!