Author: Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.

Top 5 Countdown: Best Backwards Videos

In celebration of the new clip from Guineafowl – the ridiculously catchy “Little Fingers” (an early contender for Australian song of the year – seriously loving it!) which you can view at the end of the article – we’re going to look back at five of our favourite backwards video clips. This was a surprisingly…

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the AU interview: Dereb The Ambassador (Ethiopia via Sydney)

Hailing from Ethiopia, Dereb The Ambassador has been one of the most talked about Sydney based artists in quite some time. He’s going to be playing at GoodGod Small Club next Friday night, July 1st – so we thought we’d have a brief catch up with Dereb himself in anticipation of the show… Thanks for…

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Indian Handcrafts – Peace (2011 EP)

While waiting for an interview at Canadian Music Week this past March, I was lucky enough to be introduced to an Ontarian duo who showed just how much is possible with two men, a guitar, a drum kit and a wall of beautiful distortion. The kids call it “rock and roll”. Brandyn James Aikins and…

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Song Riff Offs: Duck Sauce (2010) and Boney M (1979)

When I first heard the following track, my initial thought was “as lazy as the lyrics are, the music is pretty damn fantastic”. While I could have guessed it was a sample, the extent to which Duck Sauce utilised the original actually quite surprised me. Here’e the original, which I’m sure you know well. And…

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The AU Crew Poll: What's your favourite venue in Australia?

Welcome back to our monthly feature article, the AU crew poll! When I put the call out to our contributors about their favourite venue in Australia, I was struck by the diversity of the responses. Almost every answer was a different location, provided with a different reason. Unfortunately none of our contributors in Brisbane added…

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Music Video Monday feat. The Preachers, Evil Eddie, Jebediah, Boy in a Box, Dead Letter Chorus and Jeff The Brotherhood

We’re back with another Music Video Monday – this week falling on a long weekend! So we’re hoping you’re having an amazing day off. We’ll kick things off with Brisbane’s Evil Eddie and his catchy track “(Somebody Say) Evil”. Sydney band The Preachers, are next, who have brought us their new video for “Pale Rider”…

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Sounds on Screen: Sydney Film Festival – The Guard (NR)

One of the early highlights of the Sydney Film Festival has been The Guard. Directed by John Michael McDonagh and starring Brendan Gleeson (above) and Don Cheadle, this unassuming Irish film is in many respects a modern day western. With McDonagh keeping the audience guessing as to where the allegiances of our ‘hero’ (Gleeson) lies,…

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Creative Sydney and Sydney Film Festival – LBF: The Film and The Music ft. Kids at Risk – MCA (10.06.11)

As part of Vivid Creative Sydney and in conjunction with the third day of the Sydney Film Festival, Friday night at the MCA celebrated the relationship between film and music with the Australian premiere screening of the Pop Art film LBF (Living Between Fucks), followed by the live stylings of Kids at Risk and Fergus…

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the AU interview: Jen Cloher of Storm in a Teacup (Australia)

One of the more unique events to hit the Australian touring circuit of late are the upcoming Storm in a Teacup shows. We chatted to one player of the event in advance of the tour, the lovely Jen Cloher. Head to the end of the article to find out more about what the event is…

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the AU [audio] interview: Jarrad Brown of Eagle and the Worm (Melbourne)

Earlier this month, Melbourne’s Eagle and the Worm impressed a packed out Oxford Art Factory in Sydney, celebrating the release of their debut record Good Times (in stores now). Larry Heath sat down with the band’s enigmatic front man Mr. Jarrad Brown a couple of days after that performance to talk about the road that’s…

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DZ Deathrays lead the Aussie contingency in NME's Best New Bands of 2011.

NME has released its annual top 50 list of ‘Best New Bands’ for the year. No doubt collated from the last few months scouring the world’s music conferences – in particular SXSW in Texas and The Great Escape in the UK – this is a list of relative unknowns who NME reckons will hit the…

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GB3 to launch How Do You Glow single tomorrow night at a one-off exclusive show at the East Brunswick Club.

GB3 – the collaborative musical project from Underground Lovers’ Glenn Bennie – announce a new single ‘How Do You Glow?’ on June 4 from the acclaimed album Damaged/Controlled, and will launch the single at an exclusive June 10 live show at The East Brunswick Club in Melbourne. The digital single will also feature an alternate…

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Sounds on Screen: Sydney Film Festival – LENNONYC (NR)

Over the course of the next 12 days, I’ll be covering just about anything music related I can get my hands on at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival, in the new segment “Sounds on Screen”. From music docos to soundtracks featuring Calexico, Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead), The Chemical Brothers and more – if it heralds a…

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FBi Social: Wu Lyf + Pluto Jonze – Kings Cross Hotel (04.06.11)

With a massive day of Vivid behind me, I moved onto FBi Social at Kings Cross Hotel to close out my night, catching an acclaimed Vivid artist who I unfortunately missed earlier in the week: Manchester’s Wu Lyf. Having sat down with Ellery and Tom of the group a few days prior (you’ll be able…

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Vivid Live: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Sydney Opera House Theatre (04.06.11)

With Dom finishing earlier than expected, I was able to make my next performance – Chicago’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at the Sydney Opera House Theatre – with plenty of time to kill. So, I grabbed a glass of wine, took my seat, and proceeded to enjoy an amazing hour and a half or so of…

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Vivid Live: Dom – Sydney Opera House Studio (04.06.11)

I kicked off an epic day of Vivid early, catching Yo Gabba Gabba! ahead of some fascinating chats at Creative Sydney. Dubbed “Creative Futures”, today’s talks were streamed live online, so I hope you had a chance to catch it too! The segment “Building the Brand” was of particular mention, with intriguing insight into the…

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Music Video: The Grates "Turn Me On"

The Grates (or at least two out of three of them…) are back! They have delivered a brilliant new music video for “Turn Me On”, taken from their new album Secret Rituals, out June 17. The clip was directed by Dimitri Basil, who has provided a little bit of extra info: “The main concept was…

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the AU interview: Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir of Amiina (Iceland)

Just after their Sophomore album Puzzle was released in Austraila, I had the opportunity to talk with violist Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir of the Icelandic band Amiina, perhaps best known for their collaborations with Sigur Ros. We chat briefly about the new album, working on a soundtrack to Lotte Reiniger’s animations and what’s coming next for…

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Live Review: DZ Deathrays + Chicks Who Love Guns + Corpus – Rock Lily (27.05.11)

“Thank you for staying with us. This is very much the weirdest gig we’ve ever played. Sorry that it wasn’t loud enough.” I almost feel like DZ Deathrays, who are quoted here as they brought their show to an end, summed up the night better than I ever could. As the night hit 1am, the…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Karuna – It's A Beautiful Day

In an AU review exclusive, we’re proud to present the world premiere of “It’s a Beautiful Day” – a wonderful track and entrancing music video from NSW based producer, DJ, vocalist & multi-instrumentalist Karuna. It comes off his self-titled EP which is available now through Young Mine (who put out the brilliant Jinja Safari debut…

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Georgia Fields + Brian Campeau + Tara Simmons – The Vanguard (22.05.11)

There’s nothing quite like a Sunday night where you’re serenaded by some truly beautiful performances, in the relaxing atmosphere of a venue like The Vanguard. This particular Sunday night in question featured the talents of Georgia Fields, Brian Campeau and Tara Simmons – three wonderful performers who gave me the sort of end to a…

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Song Riff Offs: Reese & Santonio (1987) and Supernova

Back in February, I received the following e-mail. While many “riff offs” are a mutual, cordial affair – just as many have completely ripped off the original. For this installment of Song Riff Offs, I’ll leave it in the capable hands of Kevin Saunderson, to explain why the following is such a perfect example of…

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the AU interview: Pigeon John (California, USA)

Hello Pigeon John! We can’t wait to see you down here in Oz! This isn’t your first tour is it? No i first came here in 2004 opening up for Ugly Duckling on their Meat Shake Tour. Then opening up for Lyrics Born in 2007 i believe, then in 2008 on the Good Vibrations tour…

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the AU interview: Nick of Loon Lake (Melbourne)

Larry Heath catches up with Nick from Melbourne group Loon Lake to chat about their debut EP Not Just Friends, working with Robin Mai, how the band met, Big Sound, Red Riders and what we can expect next from the group… First up, congratulations on your debut EP Not Just Friends. It’s quite the fun…

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the AU interview at Bluesfest: Bobby Long (UK)

Larry Heath catches up with emerging UK folk singer Bobby Long, at the Byron Bay Bluesfest 2011.

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the AU interview: Jess Cornelius of Teeth & Tongue (Melbourne)

First up, congratulations on your sophomore LP Tambourine! You’ll be launching it around the country in June… what can fans of Monobasic expect from the album and from the tour? Thank you. It took a little while to get here. As far as the album goes, I think it’s a more focused, concept-driven album than…

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the AU interview: Jonathan Pierce of The Drums (USA)

Just before they hit the Metro Theatre stage in Sydney (one of their Groovin’ The Moo Festival sideshows), Larry Heath sits down with The Drums‘ frontman Jonathan Pierce to talk about heir forthcoming record, touring Australia and more!

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Ben Sherman's Big British Sound with Ball Park Music + Strange Talk + Boy in a Box + Step-Panther – Gaelic Club (12.05.11)

Featuring a decidedly more ‘underground’ lineup than in 2010 or 09, the third annual Big British Sound event was downsized from the Metro to the Gaelic Theatre, and the ticket price was a ridiculously affordable $10. Throw in the fact that many guests were able to walk away with a couple of free drinks and…

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the AU interview: Tord Overland-Knudsen of The Wombats (UK)

The day after they played their final Groovin’ The Moo Festival show in Canberra, The Wombats returned to Sydney to play the Enmore Theatre. Larry Heath caught up with Bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen from the group to talk about the Australian tour, their love letter to Japan “Tokyo”, his side project Sin, their new album (which…

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the AU interview at Bluesfest: Warren Haynes (USA)

Larry Heath catches up with legendary American guitarist Warren Haynes – long time member of the Allman Brothers Band, The Dead and Gov’t Mule. Sitting down at the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival, they discuss his solo album Man in Motion, working with the Dave Matthews Band and much more.

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