ContactMusic — Singer/songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen has been awarded a prestigious Spanish literature prize. The Canadian star is to be the recipient of the coveted Prince of Asturias award. In a statement, the prize officials insist Cohen "has influenced three... more info

Mjsbigblog — Jennifer Hudson is in Australia promoting the release of her album, I Remember Me. In a Ustream live chat last night, Jennifer performed an impromptu rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". It's really quite beautiful.Listen after the jump. more info

Guardian Music — (Hipster/Proper)A sophisticated, quirky band from Berlin who sing in German, French and English, 17 Hippies have spent 16 years developing an unlikely style that mixes French chanson and German cabaret with Balkan gypsy music and Americana, with a da... more info

NME - The Daily Download — Following the latest Arctic Monkeys tidbit; namely that ‘Suck It And See’ was influenced by ”Nick Cave, John Cale, Lou Reed, (David) Bowie (and) Leonard Cohen”, let’s see if you can spot the handiwork of any of those past masters on the lat... more info

Guardian Music — First she turned down Jay-Z's label, then she said no to a Jarvis Cocker track – not bad for someone who had just quit Topshop. Alexis Petridis meets singer-songwriter Clare MaguireThe day she met Rick Rubin, says Clare Maguire, was "probably the m... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Rowe’s honest and haunting songwriting have already earned comparisons to Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks phase, for his abstract lyric phrasing, and the way he crafts an experience of emotion, rather than telling a linear tale. Most powerfully he ... more info

Guardian Music — Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonOn record, The Low Anthem are textbook sepia-tinted, folk-hued Americana. Live, they fall somewhere between an art happening and an absurdist musical circus. The Rhode Island four-piece's third album, Smart Flesh, is a hus... more info

Guardian Music — It's the fifth album from the mysterious Californian songwriter – so what can we learn from the man behind the music?Five albums and one EP in, and Cass McCombs still cuts an enigmatic figure. Here's what we do know: the Californian singer-songwrit... more info

The Telegraph — The diminutive Keren Ann Zeidel tells Thomas H Green the secrets of her literate, orchestral pop. more info

Guardian Music — Barbican, LondonThe opening night of this year's La Linea Latin music festival was an unlikely blend of theatricality and experiment that combined a young Israeli singer, who mixes flamenco with songs in the endangered Ladino language, and a tango ex... more info