Author: Larry Heath

Photo by Cory Dewald Photography I spoke to Brother Ali while he was at home in Minneapolis before he headed to the West Coast of the US for a few dates ahead of his arrival in Australia next month as one of the Keynote speakers at BIGSOUND – as well as a few dates along…

In what is pretty major news for Australian travellers, US carrier United Airlines have announced that their fleet of 777-200s – currently utilised for the long haul flight over the Pacific, connecting the East Coast of Australia to the West Coast of the USA – will next year be replaced exclusively with their 787-9 aircraft….

The third incarnation of Captured has officially landed, with applications opening today for Captured Australia. With the films set to premiere in November as part of Australian Music Week, bands, filmmakers and musicians from around the country have just until Monday September 14th to apply to be a part of the project. Captured Australia will…

Pictured: 5 Seconds of Summer at the 2014 ARIAs. Photo by Nathan Atkins. The MTV VMAs have come and gone for another year, and as always they’ve left people with a lot to talk about. Most notably has been Kanye West‘s attention grabbing 13 minute speech as he accepted his VMA Vanguard Award, in which…

Earlier in the year, as we flew from New York City’s JFK to London’s Gatwick to make it to The Great Escape, AU Abroad’s Larry Heath tried out the service of Norwegian Airlines for the first time. It also marked his first flight on the new Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. A budget airline along the lines…

Pictured: Showcasing artist Kiasmos This week, over 120 new acts were announced for the iconic Iceland Airwaves festival, including Kiasmos, LoneLady, Flo Morrissey, Meat Wave, Sin Fang, Chastity Belt, Bianca Casady and The C.I.A. + Nao. They join the likes of John Grant, Ariel Pink, Beach House, Hot Chip, Perfume Genius, Father John Misty, Battles,…

One of our discoveries at The Great Escape earlier this year, Dublin buzz group Girl Band recently released an excellent video for their latest single “Paul”. Taken from their soon-to-be-released debut album Holding Hands With Jamie, the video was directed by Bob Gallagher, who explains the idea behind the video after the jump. “The idea…

After completing a ‘song a day’ writing project last year, Wollongong artist Kay Proudlove was left with an array of tunes with various themes. Some of the songs have morphed into potential album tracks for Kay’s next release, whereas others such as “Good Soil” have been found to have other uses. Written around this time…

One of our favourite Adelaide groups, Horror My Friend, have announced they’ve signed with Poison City Records, who will release their long awaited debut album Stay In, Do Nothing, in January 2016. This is the Melbourne based label who bring us the likes of The Smith Street Band, Clowns & The Bennies – so the…

We’re a bit excited that the first five seasons of Archer are finally on Netflix in Australia, after making quite a name for itself on the US version of the popular streaming platform. So excited, that many here at The Iris are not doing their work and instead having a binge of entire seasons of the…

Help us help you. Listen to some of the best music coming out of the US right now. 9 tracks from 9 artists that you may not be listening to. And we at the AU think you should be. Enjoy this little piece of music discovery to end your Thursday… The AU Mixtape: The Garden…

Soundwave Festival continues to drip feed us with the announcements for the 2016 event. Today the third band to feature at the festival has been announced – LA’s Failure, the much loved group who recently from a 17-year hiatus to play a one off show that led them to record the recently released and critically…

Pictured: All Our Exes Live In Texas, BIGSOUND Showcasing Artists from Sydney Across some 15 stages over two days, BIGSOUND LIVE will once again be taking over Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, bringing you the best music in Australia right now – alongside a few special guests from overseas. As we get excited for this annual…

This Saturday, Sydneysiders are being treated to one of the finest local lineups we’ve seen in years. Headlined by Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders and The Laurels the event – which kicks off at 2pm on Saturday 29th August – will see JACK LADDER AND THE DREAMLANDERS Well this one goes without saying. The deserving…

It was after Sydney’s folk-pop duo Falls moved to Los Angeles that they wrote the extremely personal new song, “Let in the Light”. While the track plays with universal notions of self-doubt and sadness, it ultimately offers a hopeful message, as its title suggests. Click through to listen to the track in full. “Let in…

You surely realise this already, but one of the most exciting bands out of the UK right now are Best Friends, and this week they’re finally releasing their debut album Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane. And to celebrate, we have an EXCLUSIVE premiere track from the record in the form of the absolutely killer “Happy Anniversary”….

Our music video of the day belongs to Brisbane artist Airling, who has just released a clip for her single “Stallin’”, a track which will see her heading out on the road this October with her three-piece band and LANKS. Directed by Matisse Forman of Forman Film, the video lets the suave moves of Nacho…

IMAX Darling Harbour has announced it will be bringing some of their favourite feature films back to their big (nay, biggest) screen for limited “Blast From The Past” run*. IMAX Darling Harbour will be screening: Gravity 3D on 27 August & 5 September Mad Max Fury Road 3D on 29 August & 3 September Interstellar on 10 September &…

Pictured: WAXHEAD The inaugural Australian Music Week – taking place in Cronulla NSW this November – has announced the first round of 30 artists set to showcase at the music summit. The showcase performances will be part of a vast array of events and activities across five days, from panels and interviews to workshops and…

Before he performs at the seventh AU sessions on Tuesday, we caught up with Sydney’s own emerging singer-songwriter Max Marvell. He talks about learning music, his influences, his favourite music and more. Make sure to catch him perform at the upcoming AU sessions accompanied by Elwood Myre! More details below… How old were you when…

In what seems something of a break from tradition, Brisbane four-piece Dead Letter Circus have been revealed today as the second band to play the iconic Soundwave Festival in 2016. Dead Letter Circus will join Bullet For My Valentine at the three date event, who were announced last week and the reveal comes hot off…

On the off chance you missed Virgin Australia’s happy hour deal last night, which saw discounted USA flights for February 2016, United Airlines are giving you the weekend to get your hands on a discounted fare that will take you to the USA through three departure periods, for $1099 round trip* (economy booking class only)….

Nostalgia. It’s a powerful thing. And when handled correctly by an entertainment industry often void of new ideas, it can mean big bucks. This year’s Jurassic World, which was released almost 14 years after the last film in the series, and 22 years since the original Park, seems to have nailed it, at least commercially,…

Getting in and out of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport can be a bit of a pain. Though a new express train service installed for the Pan Am Games in June has made the process of getting in and out a slightly less tiresome affair, it remains an expensive one. Luckily, for some routes, another airport…

Fresh from playing the AU sessions last month, Sydney songstress Hannah Robinson is today premiering her remarkable brand new music video “Half Past Ten” on the AU review. The track is taken from her brand new EP Luna, which you can listen to here and buy here. She celebrated the launch last week with a…

Pictured: Peking Duk. Photo by Daniel Boczarski As it was announced back in April, Australia is getting our very first electronic cruise ship festival, SEA ‘N BEATS, and today 16 more incredible names have been added to the event! The announcement includes the likes of EDM stars Peking Duk, hip hop’s rising oice All Day,…

Though the next Record Store Day may be a while away yet (16th April 2016! Not that we’re counting…), believe it or not but for the rest of the year Record Stores continue to be amazing. They deliver incredible product, unique experiences for their customers, often run their own labels and even showcase artists themselves….

The idea of the interactive theatre experience is nothing new. From “whodunit” dinner parties to whatever it is people get up to at those Rocky Horror screenings, there’s always been a market for those of us who want to feel a part of the action. Even sitting front row at a comedy show brings out…

For Star Wars fans, December could not come quickly enough – because that’s when the J. J. Abrams’ helmed The Force Awakens (aka Episode VII) will hit cinemas. Set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the film will focus on  a new set of characters, while bringing us some quality nostalgia with…

One of the most talked about presentations at Disney’s D23 Expo over the weekend has been that from Marvel Studios, who helped introduce us to the two films that will kick off “Stage Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) next year: Doctor Strange, preceded by the third Captain America film Civil War.