Stuart Coupe is part of the (black t-shirt) fabric of Australia’s music industry. In a career spanning four decades, he has worked as an author, journalist, promoter, artist manager, publicist and broadcaster. Coupe has written several books about Australian music. His latest one, Roadies, features stories from the hard-working men and women who toil behind-the-scenes…
British pop sensation Jess Glynne has dropped her second studio album after teasing it on the airways with her singles “I’ll Be There” and “All I Am”. If you are a fan of those tunes, I can assure you you’ll be a fan of this album, Always In Between. I say this because the production of the…
Ahead of the release of their new record Look Up later in the year, UK quintet Me And My Friends have given us a taste of what to expect with the release of their new single: “High As The Sun”. Me and My Friends take their cues from an eclectic range of influences, drawing inspiration from Ghanian highlife, afrobeat,…
Monday night saw William Shatner kick off the Australian tour of his one-man show Shatner’s World: The Return Down Under in Perth. It was an evening of warmth, humour and philosophical musings. All. Delivered. In. That. Distinctive. Cadence. However, it was also not without its surprises. For example, whilst Shatner is likely best known for his role…
The results are in and Japan has overtaken Singapore to claim the top spot on the 2018 Henley Passport Index. This triumph comes as a result of Japan gaining visa-free access to Myanmar earlier this month, meaning Japan now enjoys visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations. Beating out Singapore by just one destination, the two have…
Ben Panucci‘s debut album Age of Consequence is a deeply personal divergence from his previous sounds. Inspired by humanity, the album was written and produced by Ben himself and is set for independent release on Friday 12 October. Reflecting a change in gear for the Sydney guitarist and producer, Age of Consequence allowed Ben to refocus his life,…
The first iteration of Lost Picnic in Melbourne was greeted by a sunny day throughout Sunday afternoon in Flemington. The festival, cultivated around the idea of a loungey picnic with friends, good music and tasty food, would have been seen as a veritable success as thousands poured through the gates to enjoy the day. The…
Dave Powys’ one-and-a-half year old daughter has just returned home from day care and bounced into her father’s arms. “Oh, hello!” he greets her. “Hey darling, how are you?” She responds with a series of chirps while receiving kisses on her forehead. It’s a warm scene; one that could be part of the collage of…
Director Russell Mulcahy, the Melbourne filmmaker whose career has seen him graduate from Elton John music videos to varied levels of cinematic quality (the 1984 wild boar in the outback horror flick Razorback, the ill-advised Kim Basinger vehicle The Real McCoy, and the Geoffrey Rush drama Swimming Upstream just a few of his efforts) is…
Sandra Kolstad has deservedly earnt herself the title of Norway’s “electronic pop queen” and with this fresh offering of synthy dreamy goodness, she’s set to win hearts worldwide. Trained as a classical pianist, Kolstad rose to national fame in Norway after storming onto the scene with three captivating and critically acclaimed studio albums that introduced her…
When one praises a film, one of the many positives that one would say is that the storytelling is incredibly immersive from a visual perspective. Films with such praise would include Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, J.J Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness and Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But what all those films mentioned have…
On Monday Microsoft unveiled its plans and development for new game streaming service Project xCloud, which will allow users to play from any device, anywhere. Designed to work across consoles, PCs, tablets and smartphones, the core aim of Project xCloud is to allow users to experience a high quality, immersive gaming experience without the necessity…
When I first sat down to listen to Kurt Vile’s new release, Bottle It In, I did not know what to expect. 75 minutes later, I still could not place what I had heard. It was after a good two hours and a half that the LP finally started growing on me. Don’t expect a…
The World Ends With You is frequently spoken of as one of the greatest games developed for the original Nintendo DS, with a killer story and gameplay that used the full capacity of the innovative touch screen. Despite how well-received it was, TWEWY also went somewhat unloved in the wider gaming scene, and has come…
The first ever Melbourne Lost Picnic was held at The Nursery at Flemington on October 7th, featuring the likes of Tash Sultana, Meg Mac, Marlon Williams, Odette, Big Words and the Hot Potato Band. Daniel Hanssen was there and brings us back these photos. And don’t miss the next event on 13th October in Sydney’s Domain! For…
Rockstar changed the face of gaming in October 2001, and they did it by taking a pretty bold risk, the impact and effects of which are still being felt throughout the industry almost 20 years later. The game they dropped in October 2001 represented a seismic shift in immersive gaming that is often imitated but…
Ready to upgrade your smartphone? Our good buds at Motorola Australia have given us one of their latest and greatest Android handsets, the Moto Z3 Play, and a Moto 360 Camera attachment to give away to one lucky punter. The Moto Z3 Play is feature packed — it boasts an edge-to-edge 6″ Full HD screen…
Kesha played Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Sunday night, and Rebecca Houlden was there to capture all the magic of ther acclaimed performer in action as she embarks on a national tour of Australia, with Brisbane and Sydney dates remaining. You can get all the tour dates and details HERE.
This weekend, I travelled about an hour outside of Los Angeles to San Bernadino, to experience the second year of the festival Cal Jam – an event programmed and run by the Foo Fighters, featuring an eclectic mix of rock bands from around the world, and celebrating the 25 years of the band’s career with…
Two train stops from Singapore’s shopping street, Orchard Road, lies Oasia Hotel Novena. With its own lift access to the Novena MRT station via its basement level (which also takes you directly to/from your room floor), you’re instantly connected to the rest of Singapore. Nesting between three hotels, this hotel attracts a lot of medical…
Of Fathers & Sons should come with a warning. This is likely to induce nightmares even though it’s not strictly a horror film. It is however, a horrifying documentary that chronicles a religious zealot and his young, jihadist-in-the-making sons. The result is a visceral and eye-opening look at this largely-unknown world. Filmmaker, Talal Derki is…
One of Australia’s most ubiquitous hotel groups, Mantra, have come around to their popular annual “Global Sale” to make holidaying for Aussies a bit more accessible over the next few months. And it’s the most substantial sale from the group yet, with a serious number of the country’s best properties – from budget to luxe…
Experimental metallers The Dillinger Escape Plan rarely ventured below a heart-attack inducing pace. During their 20 year reign, the band played intricate and frantic shredding while unhinged frontman Greg Puciato shredded his throat screaming threats. Infinite Games is Puciato’s second album with The Black Queen and first release since Dillinger split up, and it’s a…
There’s no shortage of documentaries on Netflix – both in feature and episodic format. Here’s just five documentary features you need to add to your playlists: Blackfish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OEjYquyjcg Blackfish is a documentary about the captivity of orca whales, where it investigates the psychological and physical torment these sea animals go through in the name of…
Within the last few months, Sheck Wes’ meteoric rise to acclaim has imbued him with all of the qualities of a future star, turning attention to his first project. The proliferation of his most well known single ‘Mo Bamba’ has been astounding, allowing Wes to gather hordes of fans in a very short period of…
No one must love tea more than Charlene Soraia, who gained recognition after recording a cover of The Calling’s “Where Ever You Will Go” for a Twinings tea commercial in 2011. It catapulted her onto the top three of the U.K. single charts and was the kick-starter for her following success as a singer and…
At the end of August, I was invited to the Music Tourism Convention to deliver one of the day’s focus presentations. While most other speakers were tourism professionals who shined a positive light on their city, I was there with a different take: a cautionary tale of what can happen with industry and government don’t…
The first few days of Austin City Limits flies by as the legendary festival’s 2018 iteration wraps up its first of two 2018 weekends with nothing but strong performances from top-billing acts and memorable festival newcomers. The likes of Twin Shadow, Elle King, and Hailey Knox impressed, while later in the day huge sets from…
Emma Louise is relaxing by the fireplace at her home when she answers her phone. Her voice is a friendly murmur; a contrast to the smoky baritone she uses across her latest album Lilac Everything. “Yeah, it definitely sounds like I’ve been chainsmoking some serious ciggies,” she laughs. That voice is actually the result of…
“There is a Fire, a bright flame that was lit in the past, it is still burning but the woods are burning out. My job is to put new woods in to keep the Fire burning.” This is a quote created and practiced by Jimi Bani‘s late grandfather, Adhi Ephraim Bani Jr. The fire represents…
