Interviews

The Veils’ frontman Finn Andrews is in a “rickety little house” in Auckland, New Zealand. “There was a storm last night and the whole thing nearly blew over,” he says. It’s the city where he first formed The Veils as a teenager, but now he has returned home a different person after spending over a…

Sydney singer-songwriter, musician and producer Holiday Sidewinder is officially back in Australia following a long London stint, opening the action at the tenth anniversary edition of Bad Friday Festival, which took place in Marrickville at the start of the Easter Long Weekend. We caught up with the indie-pop artist on the day to chat about…

Last month, I sat down with Mirek Stiles, the head of Audio Products at Abbey Road, and Karim Fanous, Innovation Manager at Abbey Road Red, to learn more about the way the iconic British studio is embracing and helping develop the next generation of technologies, from spatial audio – which aims or the audio experience better…

As you might have guessed we are big fans of BATTS here at the AU. With her debut album, The Grand Tour, released last week we sat down with the Melbourne singer-songwriter to find out a little bit more about the creation and recording of the album, how NASA got involved, and – just for good measure…

Over the last two Sundays, a songwriter night has been running at Giant Dwarf Theatre in Sydney under the helm of Georgia Mooney of All Our Exes Live in Texas. With two more shows left to go, we caught up with Georgia to learn more about the show, find out how it’s gone so far and…

New Zealand brother and sister duo, BROODS, have been jumping from strength to strength since releasing “Bridges” in 2014. Since then, they’ve supported the tours of international superstars such as Taylor Swift, Haim, Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith; collaborated with the likes of Lorde and Tove Lo; and have won numerous ARIA and NZMA awards. This year, their single,…

Aloe Blacc is on a mission to inspire positivity around the globe. The Grammy-nominated artist uses his upbeat tracks to “be the light” in the world and his latest single with Mathieu Koss, “Never Growing Up”, is no exception. Celebrating it’s release, Aloe gave us a glimpse into it’s creation and the other works that he has…

Grace Shaw, a.k.a. Mallrat, is in the middle of a sold-out Australian tour, only to continue her sprint straight into VANFEST in May. At twenty years old, she’s taken the Australian hip-hop scene by storm, garnering international fans such as Chloë Grace Moretz, Brooklyn Beckham, Lorde and Zane Lowe. We managed to steal a few minutes…

It’s now 25 years since iconic alternative metal titans Sevendust formed in Atlanta, Georgia, and they’re going stronger than ever. Following the release of their highly successful twelfth studio album “All I See Is War” last year, the band has gone full throttle in what feels like the dawning of a new era for the…

Eves Karydas has been taking the Australian indie-pop world by storm since re-emerging on to the scene in 2017. In the past year alone, she’s dropped her debut studio album summerskin, supported the likes of Dua Lipa and Cub Sport, and garnered national and international praise for tracks such as “Damn Loyal”, “Couch” and “Further Than The Planes Fly”….

Aussie Country star Catherine Britt has spent a lot of time in the USA over the years, but last month marked her first ever appearance at the iconic SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. While at Australia House, I sat down with Catherine to talk about playing the event, her experiences in the USA and what…

Melbourne musician Jo Schornikow has spent a big chunk of her professional musical life as a musician in Phosphorescent, the acclaimed project of her partner Matthew Houck – but that hasn’t stopped her from working on her own material. Though she’d be the first to admit it’s slowed it down. An impressive touring schedule and sneaking…

One of the many Australian artists making their debut at SXSW last month was Brisbane’s Max Byrne, who has spent the last few years producing some beautiful indie electronic music under the name Golden Vessel. Arriving in Texas off the back of his new single “Dizzy”, we sat down to talk about his experiences in Austin,…

Formed in 2014, Ducks! are the brainchild of singer-songwriter Lani Bagley, and the ARIA award-winning producer Craig Schuftan. The duo released their debut album Ding Ding Ding in 2016, which went on to be longlisted for the Australian Music Prize. Their second album, Nak Nak (the German equivalent of quack quack), was released in 2017. Ahead of…

One of the buzz acts at this year’s SXSW was rising star Cautious Clay, who also happened to be one of the best acts we saw at the annual Texas festival. While at the Vevo House, I caught up with the Brooklyn based artist – real name Joshua Karpeh – to find out more about his…

Caroline Smith is a Minneapolis-based songwriter who has been steadily building her career since 2006; first as a solo artist, then in a band (Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps – releasing the record Little Wind in 2011), and then as a solo artist again – which saw her release the underrated 2013 record Half…

One of the unexpected Australian buzz artists at this year’s SXSW was one you may have not heard of – rising star in the Country world Rachael Fahim. She was listed as one of NPR’s artists to watch, and delivered a slew of impressive performances while in the Texas capital. We caught up with the…

The ringing sirens and looping jingles that echo through the arcade are maddening, even after a few minutes. They’re also the antithesis-soundtrack to the personality of Yorke. 20-year old Grace Hughes, who adopted the moniker “Yorke” last year in homage to her love of New York City, is calm, chilled and charming as we spent…

One of our favourite artists at the AU over the last year or so has been rising UK star Sam Fender (he even came in at number two on our best track of 2018 list). And though he has yet to come to Australia, earlier this month he made his debut at Australia House at…

I first sat down with Australian artist Fatai at SXSW 2018, where we spoke about her making her SXSW debut and getting comfortable in Chicago – the US city she calls home. Fast forward a year and the artist has returned to SXSW, with a brand new single “Road Less Traveled” in tow, and a…

Earlier this month, Larry Heath had the chance to sit down with Aussie singer/songwriter Jarryd James ahead of his performance at Australia House as part of The Aussie BBQ during SXSW. During our chat, Jarryd talked about the craziness of the event, playing the Neon Gold Showcase, about how wonderful Lizzy Plapinger from MS MR is….

Watching Grammy winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile interview Emmy Award-winning actress Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) earlier this month at SXSW was like watching two fans gush over each other in front of a packed auditorium. These are two artists who have immense respect and adoration for each other, and they came together on this stage after…

While at SXSW, I sat down with Director Peter Michael Dowd to talk about his new documentary Mr. Jimmy, about Japanese musician Akio Sakurai (aka Mr. Jimmy) who has modeled himself after the legendary Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. We were joined at the interview by the subject himself, as we found out how the pair…

The incredible Charlotte OC has been dripping back into our consciousness over the last few months, with her recent signing to Neon Gold Records and tracks like “Satellite” and “Boyfriend” showcasing a powerful new direction for the UK artist. While at SXSW we sat down to talk about the new music, and where she is going…

Last Tuesday night, Vevo House at SXSW showcased three emerging performers in front of a packed crowd. Among them was LA based Lauren Sanderson, who made waves last August with her breakthrough EP DONT PANIC! – her second to drop last year, but first to be released through Epic Records, and featuring tracks like “The Only…

Hailing from the Gold Coast, Indie Pop Rock rising star San Mei (AKA Emily Hamilton) is in Austin this week to play at the iconic SXSW event, with a run of appearances that includes our very own showcase at the event, which is happening this Thursday night. We caught up with Emily to find out more…

Originally from the Sunshine Coast, and now based in the UK, Australian duo Star Kendrick & Toma Banjanin make up the rising outfit Geowulf. They’re in Austin this week to play at the iconic SXSW event, with a run of appearances that includes our very own showcase at the event, which is happening this Thursday…

Brisbane-band Last Dinosaurs are back on the road to tour their third studio album, Yumeno Garden, around the country. With a US and Asia tour also on the horizon, lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sean Caskey gave up some of his precious time to talk with us about the creation of the album, his experience living abroad…

Ahead of their appearance at our first ever SXSW night showcase, we caught up with Luke from Sydney’s I Know Leopard. This will be the band’s first trip to Austin for the iconic music festival and conference, so we thought we’d sit down with the band and get the low down on their expectations, anticipations and…

A lot has changed for Jet frontman, Nic Cester, since the Australian rock icons first shot to international superstardom. It’s been over fifteen years since the band first released their debut album, Get Born. Two more albums followed and then a decade long hiatus. In recent years, the band have finally made a return, supporting Bruce…