Author: Larry Heath

We were lucky enough to land some time with emerging superstar Sigrid while at SXSW – in Austin off the back of the successful hit “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, the Norwegian artist took some time out from her shows to fill us in on the positive momentum the song has spurred for her. So, you’re here off the…

One of the Summer’s biggest hits has been the Disney animated film Moana – which has its home entertainment release this week. To reflect on this film, we spoke to New Zealand actress Rachel House, who plays Gramma Tala in the film. We talk about what it took to bring the character to life, the…

Earlier this month at SXSW, the documentary Muppets Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched premiered to much jubilation. The film is exactly as the name implies: some of the team behind the original Muppets (as well as Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street and others), got together to talk about their time on…

Aussie artist Beth Brown has called Nashville home for a little under two years now, being one of the Australian crop of musicians to have made the jump into the Stateside pool in pursuing their musical career. So while coming to SXSW wasn’t necessarily a stretch – geography wise – for Brown, the experience was still one…

While at SXSW, I sat down with Asa Taccone and Matthew “Cornbread” Compto of American duo Electric Guest, who I first caught up with five years ago at SXSW, when they were releasing their debut album Mondo. Finally with a follow-up in hand, Plural, we spoke about the time it took between releases, what it feels…

Ahead of the release of new album Write In, we hang out with Jonny and Benji from South London group Happyness. Out at SXSW recently, the lads dealt with the heat, the chaos of running about the Texan city and developing their live show for a whole variety of new crowds. Welcome to SXSW. The sun has finally come out and…

The 2017 Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) were announced last night in Brisbane, and Violent Soho and Amy Shark sat as the night’s biggest winners – taking home Album of the Year for Waco and Song of the Year for “Adore”, respectively. Amy also took home best Pop Song and the Regional category for “Adore”, seeing…

Hot off the heels of releasing their debut album When We Fall, Sydney quartet All Our Exes Live in Texas have returned from a successful jaunt to North America, playing a string of shows at the iconic South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas. Though the location is indeed their namesake, they were their…

After making waves with her breakthrough single “River”, Los Angeles based artist Bishop Briggs has been a buzz artist impossible to ignore. And now she’s coming to Australia to play Splendour in the Grass! We caught up with the emerging dark-pop Singer Songwriter while we were in Austin, Texas to talk about how her music…

Ready for something new to file under “Bucket List Experiences”? Luxury safari company &Beyond has launched a new 13-day winter expedition to India’s Himalayan region of Ladakh that takes guests on the search for the elusive snow leopard. The trip will take you to the majestic region of Ladakh, situated on the northern border of…

I recently returned from Austin, Texas, where I was attending the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film, Interactive and Music Festival. The visit was my 10th to the city, though given I’ve only ever visited the city to attend festivals and conferences (the other being the iconic Austin City Limits Festival which happens in October),…

Director and Actor Mark Webber premiered his new film Flesh and Blood at SXSW earlier this month; a docu-style film which stars his own family and blurs the line between fact and fiction. I sat down with Mark, his mother Cheri Honkola, brother Guillermo Santos, and actress Madeline Brewer (Orange Is the New Black) to talk…

One of the films that made a splash at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas was Robert Mockler‘s directorial debut Like Me. A film that was set around society’s obsession with social media, I sat down with the director to talk about the kickstarter campaign that made the production possible, its…

Australian Director Emma Franz‘s poignant documentary Bill Frisell, A Portrait premiered earlier this month at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The film is, as the name suggests, a portrait on the much loved musician Bill Frisell, both in his own words and through interviews with iconic artists like Bonnie Raitt and Paul Simon. I sat down…

One of the year’s most anticipated superhero films is without question WB’s Justice League, which is bringing together a slew of DC’s most well known comic book heroes into one film – based of course after the comic books of the same name. They are to DC what The Avengers is to Marvel.  And over…

Having already brought us one of the best black comedies of all time with In Bruges, and a memorable follow-up with Seven Psychopaths, it comes as little surprise that director Martin McDonagh has us excited about his new film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. And with the release of the first red-band trailer for the…

The end of SXSW is the glorious culmination of a week of full on shows, barely any sleep and poor dietary choices, for the most part. While the hangover extends to all areas of your body, the time spent exploring different parts of Austin and connecting with bands from all over the world is well worth it….

Agnes Obel‘s time at SXSW brought with it some shows that had us reeling with emotion. The artist is no stranger to the way SXSW likes to roll, yet for many people seeing her for the first time at the festival, they were definitely treated to a one-of-a-kind experience. We were lucky enough to catch some…

Sydney’s Food Court are currently continuing their domination of North America, having had a fantastic debut at SXSW recently. While their time abroad has the band slaying in Canada at the moment, Larry caught up with Nic and Christian at the Aussie BBQ in Texas to find out how their US trip had been treating them so far. Welcome to…

Catching up with Josh Cashman, we’re landing time with the Melbourne musician just off the back of some incredible shows with one of Australia’s most exciting new exports, Tash Sultana. Cashman’s arrival in Austin, Texas for SXSW brought with it a run of shows and exposure that undoubtedly left him hungry to get back into touring back home. It’s…

For DJ and producer Throttle, North America is just getting a taste of his style and shows – for those lucky enough to see him perform at SXSW, the young gun came through blazing, leaving excited chatter in his wake. As he eyed up over a month on the road through the US, we scored some…

We discovered a lot of great music at SXSW 2017 – and had the opportunity to catch plenty of our favourite buzz acts live for the first time. But few of my personal discoveries have sat with me quite as heavily as Swedish artist Albin Lee Meldau, who sits as runner up in two of…

Just released on Netflix, the biopic The Most Hated Woman in America is the true story of iconic Atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, starring a brilliant Melissa Leo in the title role. The film had is world premiere earlier this month at SXSW and while there, I sat down with the film’s director Tommy O’Haver…

Adelaide outfit The Coconut Kids recently made their American debut at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. I sat down with Julian and Ash from the group while in Austin to talk about what took them to the iconic event, the experiences they’ve had over there and what’s coming next for…

Directed by Eshom and Ian Nelms, Small Town Crime is a neo noir that isn’t here to reinvent the wheel, rather attempt to perfect itself as a genre piece. Not that it can be pigeon-holed. Part western, part crime fiction, part family drama, and a lot of noir, the film doesn’t cut any corners for…

While at SXSW, we caught the brilliant documentary Through The Repellent Fence: A Land Art Film (read our review HERE). The film documents a Land Art project by Post Commodity, situated on the border between Mexico and the United States – the future home of Trump’s proposed border wall. I sat down with the film’s Austin based…

Hot on the heels of the news that the global streaming rights to his new horror film Madre had been picked up by Netflix at SXSW 2017, our own Larry Heath sat down with the film’s director Aaron Burns for a chat that spans his career-to-date,  his process, a never-ending desire to create and the influences that…

The second season of HBO’s animated series Animals just premiered, and in anticipation of its release I sat down with the series creators Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano at SXSW to talk about its return, Bill Cosby, warping minds, The Duplass Brothers (the series’ Executive Producers) and taking acid on 3-11. So I just came…

We’re excited to reveal the winners of the AU review’s 4th Annual SXSW Awards, which celebrates the best performances and events we caught at the Austin, Texas festival – and some of the disappointments too. BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP All Our Exes Live in Texas There was no shortage of great Australian bands at SXSW this…

Norway’s own SLØTFACE came to SXSW with a fiery live show to be brandished and brandish they did over their trip to Austin. We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with the band – Halvard Skeie Wiencke, Tor-Arne Vikingstad, Haley Shea and Lasse Lokøy – to find out how their SXSW had treated them as well as their…