Author: Chris Singh

The many different textures hidden under those dark synth lines and scuzzy vocals tied together for one of the highlight sets at The Aussie BBQ at SXSW this year. Sydney-to-L.A death pop band Vowws were responsible, showcasing their brand new album Under the World and kicking off a big North American tour which is currently…

Ahead of Netflix and Mass Appeal’s new docuseries examining hip hop through various rappers across generations, we took to the red carpet preview at the recent SXSW Film Festival to speak to some of the cast and crew. Marcus A. Clarke, who serves as director for three of the eight episodes was once such crew…

In just a few days time, music fans will be given a unique insight into the lives and perspectives of individual rappers with new Netflix docuseries Rapture. Produced in collaboration with Mass Appeal, the eight-part hip hop series will look at the culture and art via artists across generations, one being super producer Just Blaze….

A stunning U-shaped pool offering far-reaching views over Brisbane River and the city, a cosy private cinema, luxury private spa rooms for hire, and ultra-modern apartments in two of three thirty-storey towers that have been built across 5000 square metres. FV by Peppers is an enormous and incredibly impressive development from Australian real estate mogul…

Consider the size and scope of a “discovery” focused destination event like Iceland Airwaves. The reputable decades-old showcase festival has grown to such an extent that it now spreads not just through, but beyond Reykjavik and has become not only a platform for rising talent in live music, but also a way to highlight the…

Netflix has hooked up with Sacha Jenkins and several other directors to curate a new eight-part docuseries on hip hop. Premiering around the world at the end of March, Rapture will bring unique perspectives on the personal lives of various well-known and rising stars within the culture, from Nas and T.I to Dave East and…

After working together on The Hero last year, Brett Haley has once again teamed up with Nick Offerman for new drama-musical Hearts Beat Loud. The film has already screened at Sundance and SXSW Film Festival to critical acclaim, so we thought it best to sit down with both Brett and Nick to talk about how…

With his new film Upgrade having its premiere at SXSW Film this past week (where it won a prestigious Audience Award), we caught up with Australian director and writer Leigh Whannell as well as cast members Logan Marshall-Green and Betty Gabriel to talk about the sci-fi horror and its wider implications. The film, which is…

Technology gone overboard is a sci-fi trope that has been done to death in cinema, but it’s a pleasure to watch stories that are still bringing fresh takes on the theme. The latest is Upgrade, a techno-horror slash detective thriller written and directed by Leigh Whannell who moves away from the past few years of…

With one of eight episodes from forthcoming Netflix docuseries Rapture dedicated to her story, we managed to grab a quick chat with North Carolina emcee Rapsody during a preview screening at SXSW Film Festival. The new series from Mass Appeal and Sacha Jenkins looks at the personal lives and individual contexts of various hip hop…

SXSW has always been a massive melting pot of musical influences and a platform for musical discovery but in the last few years in particular, the festival has played host to an enormous hip hop, R&B and soul community that has come together from all over the world. Whether they be some of the biggest names…

Though the big annual jam by The Roots and friends (with rumours of SWV, DMC, Dermot Kennedy, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jessie Reyez and Rapsody being the unannounced guests) was cancelled due to a credible bomb threat, the final night of SXSW left no music lover wanting for more. Those scoping out the remainder of SXSW Film…

Australia House and G’Day USA weren’t messing around when it came to this year’s The Aussie BBQ, kick starting the annual showcase event with nothing but top quality Australian music, sweeping through everything from one of the country’s most dynamic (and intense) indie-rock acts Bad Pony on the Backyard Stage to the delicate sounds and…

Hip hop fans were very well taken care of on SXSW’s second last day. Fader Fort revealed their surprise guest as Rae Sremmurd, with the duo also playing their own “announced at the last minute” showcase event with the likes of it producer Mike WiLL Made It and buzz acts like Duckwrth. Though the Rae…

There’s something very sincere and heart-warming about Tray, the character played by Tracy Morgan in new TBS show The Last O.G. The forthcoming series, backed by John Carcieri and Jordan Peele, is a welcome return for the endearingly 30 Rock star, who still very much embodies the on-screen personality often attributed to him but grounds…

It was a jam packed Wednesday at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Here’s a look at just a few of the many highlights… Kicking off numerous showcases at SXSW this week, Tinashe hit up Vevo House for her second performance of the night and – to no one’s surprise – completely owned the smoky jungle-like stage…

After winning the Documentary Feature category at the South by Southwest Film Awards earlier this week, People’s Republic of Desire from filmmaker Hao Wu is poised to become one of the most important watches of 2018. For his third documentary on different layers of Chinese culture, Wu takes a very close and unnerving look at…

When light finally filled the theatre at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema I could see that the older man sitting next to me was visibly shaken. In fact, I could see many people who looked like they were in desperate need of a good, long hug and maybe a bathtub full of bright yellow rubber ducks…

Tuesday marked the fifth day of SXSW for 2018, and as is tradition, it served as the changeover point for the festival between “interactive” and “music”, whole “film” continues throughout the week. Red River Street between 8th and 10th seemed to be one of biggest hotbeds of activity for the Tuesday, with two venues in…

We caught up with Jermaine Fowler and Armie Hammer at SXSW to talk about their new film Sorry To Bother You. Watch the full interview below, where we learn more about the characters, and the political messages found in the film, which is the directorial debut of musician Boots Riley (The Coup, Street Sweeper Social…

Boots Riley has over two decades of powerful, biting and important work behind him as emcee of The Coup, so Sorry for Bothering You, his directorial debut, isn’t as big of a leap as it appears to be for the artist. Well, it’s not big in the sense that smart political satire is anything new…

The first ever Australia House kicked off its formal SXSW run in a big way, pulling in megastar Hugh Jackman for a discussion on the cross-section of social good and market forces. Word must have got out as well, because his 2pm discussion with Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans attracted some enormous queues, from which…

The best shows are when they are intimate like this, and we can do whatever the fuck we want”, shouted ATL hip hop veteran Ludacris as he headlined the frenzied first night of the Vevo House at SXSW. For the next three nights, Vevo will be posted up at 508 Bar & Pelons Tex Mex…

It’s day two of SXSW in Austin, Texas – and with the Westworld Pop-Up event taking place just outside of town and getting everyone talking, here’s a look at a few of the other highlights from the day (since, sadly, we weren’t able to get tickets to Westworld ourselves; tickets went out the door in…

To further explore Alt-Right: Age of Rage, a new documentary by Adam Bhala Lough receiving its world premiere at this year’s SXSW, we chat to Daryle Lamont Jenkins. Jenkins, one of the most prominent and recoginsable figures of the antifa (or “anti-fascist”) movement in America has a lot to say about the increasingly salient clash…

And SXSW is off once again! The annual Austin, Texas festival kicked off its Interactive and Film streams tonight with a series of film screenings and special events all over the city. The New York Times Magazine took over Irene’s with one of the night’s biggest parties, steadily building up anticipation as a lively queue…

There are very few names in music that define the very concept of collaboration more than The Legendary Roots Crew (AKA The Roots), so when you’re an enormous brand celebrating “music, friendship, and collaboration” at SXSW you’d be remiss not to call upon the iconic band to lead the party. That’s what Bud Light are…

Once again, Rachael Ray will be hosting her annual Feedback party at SXSW, set to take over Stubb’s BBQ on Saturday 17th March from 10am to 4pm. It’s going to be a packed, incredibly diverse line up of big acts throughout the day, including hip hop veterans Salt-n-Pepa, masterful party starter Girl Talk, and the…

Returning for its 17th time at SXSW, the famous Fader Fort will once again be bringing the ruckus to the enormous festival with hot-ticket hip hop and R&B acts mixed up with a little variety. Running from March 14th to March 16th, the Fort will change spots and move on over to 1501 East 7th…

Solander Dining and Bar is one of the latest to prop up the bustling food and drink precinct down on Sussex, bringing the area a 72-seater restaurant and bar as part of new boutique hotel West Hotel Sydney, a property that is part of the refined Curio Collection by Hilton. Located at 62 Sussex Street,…