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.
Following the cancellation of Blur at this year’s Big Day Out, the group’s lead singer Damon Albarn called time on their reunion shows to release his debut self-titled album Everyday Robots. The album, while well received, essentially ensured that Blur wouldn’t be making it to Australian shores anytime soon. But hope remained that Albarn –…
From the opening track where he exclaims “the golden age is over” with a sort of Antony gravitas, French artist Woodkid – the moniker of Yoann Lemoine – has you in the palm of his hands. And that’s before the production kicks in. Trumpets, piano, strings… It’s like something out of the instrumental realm of…
Sometimes brand activations create a lot of “wow” factor. Other times confusion. Sometimes there is confusion mixed with “wow” and you know that you’re being given a rare experience. Over Halloween weekend in Sydney, Toshiba partnered with Intel to deliver a free event that had crowds lined up around the block. Taking over District 01…
It never ceases to amaze me how some bands manage to stay far below the radar of the average music fan. In spite of no less than six critically acclaimed full length records, international touring (including a visit to Australia for Harvest Festival back in 2011) and ticking all the boxes that an “underground success…
We partnered with hotel brand Ibis to start a music reviewer program which will gave one lucky winner the opportunity to review Stereosonic Festival in Brisbane earlier this month. The winner, Michelle Gianotti, looks back at her experience: The second weekend of Stereosonic’s epic 2014 stopped in at none other than Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds. The…
As parts of Sydney’s CBD remain in lock down as a result of the siege in Martin Place, the Sydney Opera House have “decided to cancel tonight’s performances at the Opera House. This is to minimise pressure on transport networks and to provide as much notice as possible to staff and patrons.” The cancelled performances…
Wow, has it really been eight years since Modest Mouse last released a record? Apparently it has. But the band will return in March with the much anticipated Strangers to Ourselves. And now today we get our first taste of the record with the single “Lampshades on Fire” being premiered today on The Current’s website…
Against all odds, expectations and forecasts, Festival of the Sun lived up to its name this weekend in the coastal NSW town of Port Macquarie, delivering two days of great music, excellent vibes and, indeed… a great deal of Sun. Though people start camping from much earlier – enjoying their BYO drinks, limited capacity (3,000)…
Hardly a year goes by without the release of new Beatles related material. Be they compilation albums, books, covers, gimmicks… it seems there’s always something to keep fans of the iconic British band happy. At this point though, unless McCartney or Ringo bring out some new auto-biography, filled with never before known details, is there…
There were some great releases in 2014, locally and internationally. Instead of wafting on about them and throwing in Pitchfork reviewer wanker buzzwords, I thought it would be easier to list the albums that I enjoyed in 2014: AUSTRALIAN RELEASES 1. Mink Mussel Creek – Mink Mussel Manticore 2. Dan Sultan – Blackbird 3. Blank…
If you read my review of Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong last week, you may remember I mentioned that there were quite a few bands saying that this was the first time they’d played together on a stage… in front of a crowd. Coming from Australia, you can’t help but think that this is the…
Ahead of his return to Australia next month, playing Sugar Mountain, MONA FOMA, Sydney Festival and more, we caught up with Baltimore electronic artist (and one of the greatest live acts you’ll ever see) Dan Deacon while he was in Hong Kong to play Clockenflap Festival. We get the latest on his much anticipated new…
Smack dab in the middle of Perth’s busy West End – sitting just 300m from the Murray and Hay Street shopping malls – is the Ibis Perth‘s 192 room hotel. Though only listed as a three star establishment, it seems unfair to throw it in the same category that many seedy motels around the country…
From the 8th of January, the city of Sydney will once again be transformed by the annual month long extravaganza known simply as Sydney Festival. The event will take over spaces around the city – some, such as the Famous Spiegeltent, are only here for the festival. But with hundreds upon hundreds of performances, it’s…
This morning on 2SER radio in Sydney, the AU review’s Larry Heath announced the winners of the first annual people’s choice award as part of the AU Awards – celebrating the best in live music in Australia. Close to 10,000 votes were cast as fans from Australia and around the world voted for their favourite…
While we were in Hong Kong covering a festival called Clockenflap, we sat down with the Scottish trio Chvrches. You may have already watched some of our chat – now read on as we talk to the band about Hong Kong, plans for their Winter and their work on the Hunger Games and Drive soundtracks….
Before he hits the stage as part of our LIVE AU sessions series in Sydney on Tuesday, December 9th, Canadian troubadour Tim Chaisson joined us at a park in Central Station to perform his beautiful track “Animals” for our AU sessions web series. Enjoy it here, and don’t miss his LIVE and FREE at our…
Over the course of its seven years, the uniquely named Clockenflap has become Hong Kong’s premiere contemporary music and arts festival, presenting a mix of local Hong Kong indie bands with the finest artists from around the world. This year, with music spread over 3 days and 9 stages, the event proved bigger than ever,…
Larry Heath talks to Raul Pacheco from Ozomatli about coming to Hong Kong for the first time and we reflect on their year of touring Place In the Sun, which included a jaunt in Australia that included the iconic Byron Bay Bluesfest.
Larry Heath talks to Stuart Braithwaite of iconic Scottish band Mogwai backstage at Clockenflap in Hong Kong to talk about their upcoming 20th anniversary, their experiences touring Asia, their year of touring Rave Tapes and their 2015 return to Australia – their first headline tour of our country in some six years… Mogwai Australian Headline…
Larry Heath interviews The Raveonettes backstage at Clockenflap in Hong Kong to talk about their latest album PE’AHI, its “surprise release”, recording the album (and living) in Los Angeles and we find out if they have any plans to come to Australia on this album cycle.
On the red carpet at the 2014 ARIA Awards, Larry chats with the Fariss brothers of INXS about Melbourne rocker Dan Sultan before the man himself turns out for a nice little reunion! Sultan, a favourite with industry and the public alike, went on to win the Best Rock Album ARIA that night, after being…
The Vaccines have been previewing new tracks off their yet-to-be-titled third record (due out in May 2015) as they return to the road, playing their first shows in over a year. In our exclusive interview with the band at Clockenflap (Hong Kong), they promised they’d preview three tracks from the next record, and indeed they…
The three day Music and Arts Festival Clockenflap just wrapped up its seventh edition in Hong Kong and we were there to bring you exclusive Australian coverage! Throughout the week you’ll read more reviews, see more photo galleries and watch more interviews from the event – but to kick things off, I’ve picked my five…
Photo: Perri Cassie the AU review sits down with CHVRCHES backstage at Clockenflap in Hong Kong, they talk about Social Media management, the business of the band and the long running tour for their debut record coming to an end as they look ahead to writing and recording record number three.
While they were at Clockenflap in Hong Kong on Friday night, I sat down with Justin Hayward-Young and Árni Árnason of English group The Vaccines, who made waves and received accolades with their records What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? and Come of Age in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Yes, there was a while…
In part two of our video chat with Adelaide brothers The Kin, Larry chats to the boys about some new songs, crafting their set lists, their future recording plans, and more. Stay up to date with The Kin on their official website HERE
We sit on the set of Once: The Musical at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre to talk to the “Guy” and “Girl” of the show, Tom Parsons and Madeleine Jones, about how they came to be in the production, their Glen Hansard and Swell Season experiences, their musical histories and more. Filmed in Melbourne in November 2014….
Click the PLAY Button to listen to the stream! If the pop-up doesn’t work, try this direct link HERE CURRENT SCHEDULE: HELLO ASIA! RADIO: Tuesday 2PM, Friday 9PM, Sunday 1PM ALL AU: Monday 8AM, Tuesday 5PM, Friday 5PM BANANA ROCKET RADIO: Wednesday 10AM, Friday 12PM, Sunday 9PM BEATSRADIO: Tuesday 10AM, Thursday 5PM, Saturday 11AM BRANKO’S…
