Year: 2018

Southern Comfort BLACK takes the beloved whiskey liqueur back to its roots

One of the world’s most beloved Whiskey liqueurs has launched a new expression to enhance all the classic notes of the original. Southern Comfort Black has officially made it’s way into the Australian market, bringing a robust whiskey-forward profile with subtle spice and fruity accents. Master Blender Drew Mayville has crafted the new release at…

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Paper Bird channels Korean, Japanese and Chinese flavours into a new weekend brunch menu (Sydney)

Rising Potts Point favourite Paper Bird has brought back their popular contemporary East-Asian weekend brunch menu this past weekend, launching a series of new dishes complemented by extended opening hours for locals and visitors who really want to sink their teeth into the modern interpretations of Korean, Chinese and Japanese flavours. From 10am to 3pm…

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Merivale will close Manly’s Papi Chulo to make way for a new Queen Chow (Sydney)

Merivale will say goodbye to Manly Wharf’s beloved Papi Chulo on Sunday 29 April, to make way for Queen Chow in the coming months. With Queen Chow’s Enmore location an undeniable hit for the hospitality group, the crew will be swapping those waterfront meat sweats for Cantonese cuisine. “We have had a lot of fun at…

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Start planning! Final Music Cities Convention schedule now available for Melbourne

It’s coming! The 2018 Music Cities Convention will be taking over Arts Centre Melbourne for the first Australasian event of the building franchise, giving music industry folk from all over the world the opportunity to converge as this year’s edition theme stands out: Music as Infrastructure. Members will explore the relationship between music ecosystems and urban life,…

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Submissions for Australian artists to play Canada’s BreakOut West festival close this month

If you’re an Australian group or solo artist looking to explore the Canadian music market for the first time or perhaps further develop upon the networks you made during your last visit, you should be sizing up BreakOut West this October. Running in Kelowna, BC this October 10th – 14th, the festival is welcoming musicians from all…

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Interview: Tove Styrke talks touring with Lorde ahead of debut Australian shows

Back in 2015, we found ourselves crammed into a bar during SXSW for a Day Party that saw some excellent pop and electro-inspired musicians from around the world strut their stuff on a makeshift stage that threatened to bow at various points. The easy highlight from that party was Swedish pop artist Tove Styrke. A ferocious…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Cheap Fakes “Sisters” (2018)

Brisbane six-piece Cheap Fakes have nailed the production of a music video to accompany their latest single “Sisters” today – a perfect cut of music to take you into your weekend. The band have been known for their genre bending approach to music, with “Sisters” marking their delve into some great psych-soaked funk territory and providing…

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The Kite String Tangle surprises with mini-album, The Kite String Tangle Presents: In a Desperate Moment

The Kite String Tangle doesn’t do things by halves, oh no. The QLD producer and songwriter has been busy preparing for some highly anticipated shows with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for the Wave Festival, not to mention a swag of international shows but still, Danny Harley has managed to come through and end his week with a new…

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G Flip and RVG join impressive list of Australians bound for The Great Escape

The Great Escape is now properly entering its countdown for 2018, with the largest European music discovery event anticipating another huge year this May. The likes of Superorganism, Japanese Breakfast, Soccer Mommy, Phoebe Bridgers and more are heading to Brighton to represent for some of music’s most buzzed about artists, while the Australian contingent also continues to grow. Breakthrough…

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West Thebarton to unleash Different Beings Being Different on us in May

It’s been a busy and well trodden path to wider acclaim that Adelaide’s West Thebarton have taken over the past year to get to Debut Album territory but finally, we’re here. 2018 is looking to be a huge year for the group, with their first international dates taking West Theb to the UK for festivals including Reading and…

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Midnight Oil named recipients of the Ted Albert Award for their service to Australian music

With the 2018 APRA Music Awards coming up in Sydney this week, the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Music has been awarded to none other than Midnight Oil this week. The announcement comes as the APRA Awards reveals more details about their event at the Sydney International Convention Centre on April 10th, with Tim Minchin, All Our Exes Live…

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Music Video of the Day: Gallant “Gentleman” (2018)

After touring Australia last year as part of the Bluesfest and selling out shows in Sydney and Melbourne, Grammy award winner R&B singer-songwriter Gallant is back with his new video for “Gentleman”, and its all parts amazing. The simple yet stunning video depicting Gallant in a shiny midnight-blue hue never deters the audience away from the…

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SXSW Guest Review: Lime Cordiale: Catchy but not catching fire

While at SXSW last month, there emerging writers from around the world were invited to head along to watch show featuring an Australian artist. Our final writer, Ryan Rhea, looks back on his experience watching Sydney’s Lime Cordiale for the first time. In a time when too many bands are mere reflections of a trend—pop-era…

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Neo-Nazis, death threats and critical acclaim (in Russia): what happens when you sh*t on Brendan Maclean

Brian and Karl are an Aussie filmmaking duo based in London who made waves last year when they made a NSFW music video for Sydney’s Brendan Maclean, “House of Air”. Banned from YouTube (unsurprisingly) and sparking a wave of praise and criticism, the video recently appeared on the big screen as part of the SXSW…

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Virgin Australia giving away trips to Hong Kong as they launch flights from Sydney

Virgin Australia have just confirmed the date of their first Sydney to Hong Kong return flights, and to celebrate they’re giving away free return Business class airfares and luxury accommodation in the airline’s #chopstickchallenge. To enter, post a picture of yourself conducting ordinary tasks using chopsticks through Instagram. The person with the most creative use…

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Revamped Ovolo Inchcolm brings 1930s charm to Brisbane

Ovolo Hotels have transformed Brisbane’s Incholm hotel into a unique 1930’s inspired design, after the international hotel group acquired the property last year. The rich architectural heritage of the hotel will transform guests back to the 1920’s and 30’s, with uniquely themed interiors and an oddball mix of books, objects and artefacts. The new Ovolo…

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John Cameron Mitchell announces Australian debut tour in June 2018

John Cameron Mitchell, the Tony Award winning actor/director/writer is making his Australian debut in June 2018 with his new show, The Origin of Love: The Songs & Stories of Hedwig. John Cameron Mitchell is well-known for his role as director, writer and actor in the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, for which he received…

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Interview: Doug Stanhope on Roseanne, a hatred of sitcoms, working in a gay sex call centre & his Australian tour

Hours after landing in Australia, we spoke with US comedian, three time author, podcast host and former host of The Man Show, Doug Stanhope. He exclusively spoke to the AU’s Lachlan Mitchell about his upcoming appearance on an episode of the Roseanne revival, Roseanne Barr’s twitter feed, why he hates sitcoms, why he feels his season of…

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Theatre Review: Jane and Kel go to Hell is a hilarious Dante’s Inferno for the avo-on-toast generation (to April 7th at Metro Arts, Brisbane)

After Jane spectacularly quits her awful job, she and housemate Kel decide it’s time to rent out the sunroom. Roy seems to be the perfect candidate. He’s quiet and he cooks and he’s not looking to impose on the girls’ karaoke nights any time soon. But Kel isn’t so sure and she’s ready to put…

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SXSW Guest Review: Sydney’s Sons of the East: Dare I call this Australia-cana?

While at SXSW last month, a few emerging non-Australian writers were invited to head along to watch show featuring an Australian artist. Our first writer, Sam Jackson, looks back on his experience watching Sydney outfit Sons of the East. “The more people dance, the better we play.” I don’t think Sydney’s Sons of the East…

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SXSW Guest Review: Why Thandi Phoenix is worthy of memorialising

While at SXSW last month, a few emerging non-Australian writers were invited to head along to watch show featuring an Australian artist. Our second writer, Jaison Oliver, looks back on his experience watching Sydney’s rising pop star Thandi Pheonix. “It’s all a blur of tacos.” Thandi Phoenix is somewhere in the middle of eight scheduled…

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Single of the Day: Monarchy “mid:night” (2018)

If you’re looking for a new synth-pop track to jam out to, look no further than London- based synth-pop duo Monarchy’s new song mid:night , a fresh new dance track off their forthcoming album to be released later in the year. The song started off from the idea of that joyful and dizzy feeling you get when…

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World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth launches August 14

World of Warcraft‘s seventh expansion pack, Battle for Azeroth, will let slip the dogs of war on August 14 bringing with it a slew of new locations, new races and new mechanics.

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Activision announces Spyro Reignited Trilogy, drops first trailer

After the record-breaking success of the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, there was no way Activision was going to leave Spyro the Dragon on the bench for long. Good news, PS1-era platforming fans — your fave purple dragon is making a comeback.

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Celebrate WrestleMania 34 with A Brand New WWE SuperCard Tier

Just in time for the blockbuster WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, WWE SuperCard have released brand new card packs with over 65 new WrestleMania-themed cards. Superstars from across the WWE roster feature on these brand new cards, including Charlotte, Bayley, Dean Ambrose and Jinder Mahal. Our pack included tag team specialist Chad Gable, who is…

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Insomniac’s Spider-Man Gets Release Date and Awesome Collector’s Edition

Insomniac Games have unveiled the contents of the Collector’s Edition for their upcoming PS4 exclusive Spider-Man and (finally) a release date!

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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands to receive second year of DLC

Since the launch of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, over 10 million players have taken on the Santa Blanca Cartel. As a result of the title’s success, Ubisoft have announced a second year full of post launch content for players to enjoy. The content offers a range of free contents on both campaign and PvP experiences. The first…

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Film Review: The Party (UK, 2017) delivers pitch-black comedy at its best

Black comedies can be a very hard genre to pull off. Since it dwells within serious issues that could potentially be seen as taboos within the genre, it requires a certain balance between empathy, humour and darkness. But like all films, they have to have a certain amount of humanity for the audience to cling…

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Book Review: Susie Elelman’s Still Half My Size brings a show business perspective to the world of weight loss

Susie Elelman is a much-loved Australian media personality who has appeared on daytime television and radio for several decades. She has also waged a rather public battle with her weight and those experiences shaped her first book, Half My Size released in 2005. Now in 2018, Elelman follows-up that title with another self-help book, Still Half…

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Book Review: Art, friendship, and the dreaded Delhi belly collide in Barbara Carmichael’s I’ve Come To Say Goodbye

A fifty-something Australian artist and a 32 year old Indian spice merchant. It doesn’t exactly sound like the perfect basis for a lasting friendship. But Tarun Singh Inda became like a brother to author Barbara Carmichael, opening his heart and home to her over ten years worth of trips between Australia and India. Tarun passed…

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