Month: August 2011

Marnie Stern is a rising star in today’s music landscape and boy can she shred. But what makes Stern better than any of the other hundreds of guitar wizards is her uncanny ability to somehow transform the most complicated guitar acrobatics into beautiful and concise pop. Hers is an art suitable for everyone from the…

One of Australia’s most exciting (and largest) bands, Melbourne’s Public Opinion Afro Orchestra are hitting the road to launch their new 7” single ‘Mr Clean (Pts 1 & 2),’ available in September on Hope Street Recordings through all good record stores. 2010 proved a watershed year for the seventeen strong ensemble, with breakthrough performances at…

Straight out of the newest nation in the world, South Sudan, is the incredibly talented Emmanuel Jal. Straightup is very proud to announce the October 2011 National Tour of world renowned hip-hop artist, peace activist and novelist Emmanuel Jal. A man whose music and work has been lauded by Nelson Mandela and Peter Gabriel alike,…

The Red Brigade will be appearing with Papa Chango as part of the 2011 Darebin Music Feast in a combined cabaret show featuring the talents of twelve remarkable women and the afrobeat, dub-reggae, dancefloor rhythms of Papa Chango. Australia’s original Girl Brigade, espousing the motto of the movement that is sweeping the world: “Take your…

Heralding a new voice in street poetry, Ghostpoet announces his debut Australian tour for Niche Productions, bringing his live band and performing songs from his Mercury Prize nominated Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam album. An intoxicating and heady mix of indie guitars, crashing drums, club beats and spooky synths, Ghostpoet’s music is not easily…

Fresh from the success of their ‘Group Therapy’ album, Above & Beyond have announced the full line-up of their September tour to Australia. Joining Jono, Tony and Paavo on the tour will be Anjunadeep’s mainstay: Jaytech and the ever-innovative Mat Zo. Above & Beyond’s warm-up DJ of choice, the Aussie born Jaytech was responsible for…

Returning home next week from their eight week Canadian tour that saw the band drive over 10,000km, play 34 shows, 5 festivals, across 5 provinces and win over a hoard of new fans, The Little Stevies will be jumping on stage at the Northcote Social Club with a swag of stories to tell and a…

British singer-songwriter Cosmo Jarvis has already courted controversy with his viral sensation “Gay Pirates”. The self-directed video for “Pirates” has received over half a million YouTube views following a twitter post by Stephen Fry. Continuing in the thought-provoking vein of “Gay Pirates”, Cosmo also released the controversial video to his follow up single “Sure As…

The original Southern California punk/surf power trio, Agent Orange have been around since… forever. Never bought in, never sold out. Still flying under the radar after all these years, with a loyal following that’s always one step ahead. Agent Orange reach our sunny shores for shows at the Corner Hotel, Melbourne on October 20, The…

Bourke Street’s iconic Kinselas – overlooking Sydney’s creative heartland, will once again redefine Sydney’s cultural landscape, when Level 3 is transformed into The Standard – Sydney’s premier mid-sized all purpose performance art space. To officially crown this new space on Level 3, The Standard is pleased to announce Pajama Club featuring Neil and Sharon Finn…

Liberation Music are proud to announce that Little Red’s Midnight Remember will be released in the USA on 25 October via Matador imprint label True Panther, home to indie dreamers Girls, Barcelona’s Delorean, Tanlines and Ty Segall. Interest in the band has peaked in the USA since their memorable SXSW performances, and Rock It’s appearance…

Following on from her multi-million selling, multi-award winning, global smash of a debut album ‘Lungs’, Florence returns with new music and confirms the release date of her forthcoming second album. The, as yet untitled album, was produced in full by Paul Epworth to retain one complete sound. It all magically came together over five weeks…

Sydney Opera House announced the winner of the global animation competition, held as part of the Graphic 2011 festival of storytelling, animation and music. The $20, 000 prize was awarded to the ZZZ Collective for their film Run Amok. Their winning film can be viewed on Sydney Opera House Graphic YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/sohcompetitions The award…

Brisbane five-piece A BREACH OF SILENCE emerges from the Brisbane Metal Scene ready to unleash their brutal melodic music with audiences on the east coast before heading in to the recording studio to begin work on their debut album. The lyrics interpret the depth of this emerging metal core band and new front man Corey…

Wet Hair are making their first trip down under to play at Frankly! It’s A Pop Festival next month. Kat Mahina had a chat with Shawn Reed to get the low down on their latest record and their upcoming Australian tour. Wet Hair is often tagged as being kraut-pop/ acousmatic-tape music – How would you…

LA Vampires are hitting our shores soon for Frankly! It’s a Pop Festival. Kat Mahina caught up with Amanda Brown – founder of Not Not Fun records and half of LA Vampires to find out what it’s all about. Your band is described as being part of the ‘witch house’ movement, a genre that is…

A few weeks before they made the trip down to Australia (the tour of which kicks off later this week), Larry Heath caught up with Times New Viking’s Beth Murphy to talk about their first tour down under, life on the road, their new album Dancer Equired! and more… It’s not long before you make…

Incredible local buzz band New Empire are delighted to announce that they will take to the road for a national headline tour this October and November, to support the release of their anticipated new album ‘Symmetry’ (MGM), which will drop on Friday 16th September. The ‘Symmetry’ national tour will take in nine dates across six…

Adam Cohen, the son of the legendary Leonard Cohen, quit the music business five years ago, but has now returned, ready to honour his last name. His new album, Like A Man, is a collection of 10 intimate songs often recalling the late-60s and 70s recordings of his father, driven by lyrics and a Cohenesque…

Panels on the day will cover topics from booking gig’s, obtaining management, recording and production through to photography, music journalism and how best to release your music in the 21st century. Full details of all panels will be announced very soon so watch this space! Across the topics above- the first round of panelist’s has…

McManus Entertainment is thrilled to announce the return of Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominee Joan Collins to Australia, in a tour that promises to be simply fabulous! Sharing the wit and anecdotes of a life spent in the spotlight, “A Night With Joan” is set to be an unforgettable night. The show has been a…

Jon Stevens will release his brand new solo album Changing Times with a brand new label having just signed with Universal Music Australia. The new album is a labor of love that sees Jon opening up with an honest reflection. Changing Times will be made available to fans as a digital only release on September…

The incredible Gotye continues to dominate the ARIA Singles Chart, chalking up a second consecutive week at the top with his smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” featuring Kimbra, as the track continues to build sales week on week. Accruing an eleventh straight week at the peak of the ARIA Album Chart is…

Live Nation is thrilled to announce that Roxette fans all over Australia can now join the joyride! Due to surging demand from fans across the nation, legendary pop duo Roxette will now extend their Australian visit and play shows across Australia plus a second show in Sydney next February with tickets going on sale on…

Earlier this year, Brous gave a taste of what’s to come, delivering the fluttering psych-pop anthem ‘Streamers’. It was picked up quickly by radio, with triple j adding it to rotation and featuring her on Unearthed. Triple R and FBi also gave the track their nod of approval, the latter crowning her their ‘Unsigned Artist…

As soon as I arrived at Manning Bar with an overwhelming rush of anxiety and anticipation for what was to be the Sydney venue for their first Australian Tour, I knew things would be different after coming to the realisation that Pinback vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Rob Crow, was in fact the one selling merchandise before…

…and we’re off! A massive Music Video Monday for you today – once again published minutes before the day is over… but this is so jam packed you’ll understand why! First up is our music video of the week: Bon Iver and “Holocene”. Maintaining the snow/ice theme of our winner last week, the video –…

Today I seemed to spend just about my entire day wandering the halls of the Sydney Opera House, immersed in a world of graphics, music and art. From the free talks in the Western Foyers to the Independent Games Festival in the same location, there was plenty to see and do even if you didn’t…

With the loss of Robert Crumb to theoretical assassins, the highlight of the Sydney GRAPHIC Festival inarguably belonged to Gotye, and his hyped ‘animated album preview’ for Making Mirrors. Though in our books, this was always the highlight of the weekend. Playing to two sold out Sydney Opera House crowds, it’s clear that Gotye has…

Melbourne two piece Ross de Chene Hurricanes have been slowly rising into public consciousness locally… and now they’re set to show the rest of the country what they’re all about thanks to the Major Label release of their track “Sugar, Honey”. We get to know the band, this track and find out what they think…