Interviews

Splendour Interview: Meg Mac (AUS) on her SITG surprises, Hope and collaborating

Meg Mac drew one of the largest crowds to the G.W. McLennan tent at Splendour In The Grass: Day One (check out our review: HERE) Dressed in all-white with her now iconic wide-brimmed hat, her sun-down performance echoed around the festival as she played her tracks from the early days to now. We got the chance…

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Splendour Interview: Odette (AUS) on her SITG debut, poetry and James Blake

Odette is an ephemeral angel, quite frankly. Both in performance and in person. Her debut Splendour performance was just that, with transcending lighting states and dance moves that sent the crowd to another planet. Currently on-site at Splendour, The AU Review chatted to her ahead of her set to see how those debut-nerves are doing….

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Splendour Interview: KAIIT (AUS) on her SITG debut, manifesting and thrift shopping

KAIIT is a 21-year-old R&B protegé currently based in Melbourne, but making some serious waves across the nation. Her debut EP Live From Her Room has garnered her an incredible amount of attention and even landed her the Unpublished award at the 2019 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition. At such a young age, this performer appears well…

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Interview: Arno Faraji (AUS) on lessons learned, debut headline tour, and bucketlist gigs

Though he’s been on the road the likes of Rejjie Snow and Tkay Maidza, young Australian artist Arno Faraji is yet to head out on his own headline tour. That’s all going to change in a matter of weeks, as the 18 year old rapper and multi-instrumentalist from Perth kicks off a string of performances…

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Interview: Ocean Alley (AUS) on “Infinity”, their humble beginnings and Spin Off Festival.

It’s bold to say, but 2019 is the year of Ocean Alley. Coming off the back of their Triple J Hottest 100 2018 win with their hit “Confidence”, this psychedelic surf rock band from Sydney’s Northern Beaches has seen exponential growth and their latest material is there to back it up. Ocean Alley is currently in…

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Pickathon festival founder Zale Schoenborn on the importance of the “irrational approach” and Julia Jacklin’s greatness

Coming of age this year is the Oregon festival Pickathon – one of North America’s most respected boutique festivals. Set in the mountains outside of Portland, the event has made a name for itself by maintaining a low capacity, a trend towards artist discovery, celebrating unique design and putting a focus on sustainability in a…

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CXLOE (AUS) on her latest single “Low Blow”, the L.A. lifestyle and her debut album.

CXLOE hails from Sydney’s northern beaches, but has been making waves well beyond those shores. She broke into the pop market with her debut single “Tough Love” in 2017 and solidified herself as an artist not to mess with when she followed it up with hits “Monster” and “Show You”. Her tracks regularly spin on Triple J,…

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Two Door Cinema Club (UK) on False Alarm, the band’s longevity and festivals around the world

This three-piece indie-rock band hailing from Northern Ireland has been a driving force in the music world since their formation in 2007. Their songs, such as “What You Know” and “Something Good Can Work”, have defined over a decade of the UK indie scene, and their latest album False Alarm is no exception. Two Door Cinema Club is…

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Interview: Kim Churchill (AUS) on producing four EPs, making mistakes, and taking a creative journey across the globe

Allowing yourself to make mistakes and enjoy the creative journey is crucial to any approach, especially in a creative medium. Visioning what it means to grow from experiences, Aussie singer & songwriter Kim Churchill is developing his creative muse across the globe. I AM, Churchill’s newest project, was birthed across the Indian Ocean, in Berlin….

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Interview: Tyne-James Organ (AUS) on his latest single, teasing his EP and his influences.

Tyne-James Organ is a Wollongong singer-songwriter who YouTube named as one of their ten ‘Artists To Watch’ for 2019. And rightfully so – this 22-year-old has been making waves online, amassing an impressive YouTube following from uploading stunning covers and collaborating with musicians Allday and Mallrat to name a few. Currently touring around the nation in…

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Interview: Hatchie (AUS) on her upcoming album Keepsake, female friendships and writing sad songs

Brisbane singer-songwriter Hatchie released her debut EP Sugar & Spice in 2018 and is already back to follow it up with her debut album Keepsake, which is set for release on June 21st. Having just completed a string of sold-out tour dates along the Australian East Coast and with a whole slew of European and US gigs lined-up, it’s safe to…

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Interview: LANY (USA) on Malibu Nights, their world tour and heartbreak

American indie-pop sensations LANY are heading to Australian and New Zealand shores next month as part of their mammoth Malibu Nights tour. Spanning 80+ dates from Russia to Indonesia, this three-piece band are enjoying a non-stop year touring their highly successful sophomore album and we can’t wait to see them in July. We stole a couple of minutes of…

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Interview: The Gooch Palms’ Kat Friend talks cracking the US, the power of III, and… UFOs?

Aussie duo The Gooch Palms are spending a lot of time in America these days, so it’s little surprise their latest album III was released just in time for summer in the USA. Containing a slew of the fuzzy, fun party tracks we’ve come to expect from the Goochies, it’s the perfect summer road trip…

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Interview: Mansionair (AUS) on their Australian tour, Shadowboxer and touring with Carly Rae Jepsen

Mansionair cracked the music market with their song ‘Hold Me Down’ in 2015 but took a few years to treat fans their debut album Shadowboxer. Now currently touring the album globally and penning the next, this Grammy-nominated Sydney-born indie electronic trio are only a few steps away from world domination. We got the chance to catch…

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Interview: Jack Gray (AUS) on his debut EP Nights Like This, his bromance with Dean Lewis and Mackay

Hailing from Mackay, Jack Gray is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter about to drop his first EP Nights Like This. This entirely self-produced body of work is a testament to his talent as a multi-instrumentalist with a voice that would slot right into a track from The 1975. With a nostalgia-driven combination of electronic production and a…

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Why Vanfest sets the bar high for regional festivals

Vanfest has drawn to a close for another year, proving itself as one of the best regional festivals Australia has to offer. Taking place in Forbes, a five-hour drive west of Sydney, the festival is a hike to get to but well worth the effort. This year, the line-up included some of Australia’s finest talent…

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Interview: Birdz talks Place of Dreams and the evolution of Aussie hip hop

Earlier this month rising Australian hip hop artist Birdz released his highly anticipated EP, Place of Dreams. Released on Bad Apples Music, the EP sees the NT-raised and Melbourne-based rapper explore some hard-hitting themes and personal experiences, and collaborating with some quality Australian vocalists along the way. Following the release of the EP, we caught up…

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Interview: Ryan & Jasmin of Mother Mother (Canada) on touring Europe for the first time in 8 years and “keeping the love alive”

To those in North America, Mother Mother need little introduction. The Canadian group, over the course of 7 full length records and almost 15 years, have amassed a passionate fanbase in both the US and at home in Canada. But to those overseas, they’re still a relatively unknown outfit – largely due to the fact…

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Aussie R&B artist Maya Rose on her five biggest influences

Straight out of Victoria, upcoming R&B artist Maya Rose is now ready to showcase her melodic, 90’s-flavoured work off on a national platform as she releases her debut single “See You Again”. The song, an inviting and warm sway towards R&B’s heyday is driven largely by Rose’s dextrous vocal chops, so we thought it best…

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Interview: Warhola (Belgium) on his debut album Young Loving and playing The Great Escape

Last Friday, Belgian artist Warhola (real name Oliver Symons) released his long awaited debut album Young Loving – his first release since his 2016 EP Aura. The night before the album was due to drop, Warhola was playing The Great Escape in Brighton, England – so I sat down with Oliver to chat about the…

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Interview: KIAN (AUS) on writing songs at a young age, working with Baker Boy and his latest EP

Kian Brownfield had already begun making a name for himself before entering the Triple J Unearthed High competition in 2018. He’d featured on a track with Baker Boy, landing a spot in the Hottest 100 and appeared at his Splendour In The Grass set. However, the sixteen-year-old is now a solo artist in his own right,…

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Interview: Vanessa Amorosi (AUS) on growing up in the spotlight, her music hiatus, motherhood and her return.

Australian pop icon, Vanessa Amorosi, was launched into fame as a teenager with her debut album, The Power, which featured hits such as “Have A Look” and “Absolutely Everybody”. After a decade in the spotlight, Vanessa took a music hiatus to Los Angeles where she worked tirelessly breaking into a new gospel scene, starting a family and…

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The Great Escape programmer Adam Ryan on their 2019 festival’s Aussie focus & why the Sounds Australia team are the “best in the world”

Ahead of The Great Escape, which takes over Brighton in the UK next week, I caught up with the festival’s programmer Adam Ryan to talk about the growth of the festival, the involvement of Australian acts at it, working with Sounds Australia, and what it means for Australia to be the feature country in 2019….

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Interview: Alex Lahey (AUS) on her new album The Best of Luck Club, touring life, music producing and collaborating.

Alex Lahey was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2018 ARIAs, after her debut studio album I Love You Like A Brother reached the number 15 spot on the Album Charts. The Melbourne-local is following up her phenomenal success with her next studio album, The Best of Luck Club, which is described as an…

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Bad Friday Interview: Haiku Hands (AUS) on their collective’s creation and their upcoming album

Haiku Hands almost set the stage alight with their fiery energy at Bad Friday Festival. The Sydney-Melbourne collective is most well-known for their infectiously tireless performances filled with fun choreography and an array of masks. We got to catch up with them after their packed-out set to talk about how these artists came together to create Haiku Hands…

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Bad Friday Interview: Lime Cordiale (AUS) chat Lime Bikes, creating a festival and hitting the road

Sydney-band Lime Cordiale have just treated their Aussie fans to an epic regional tour, topping it all off with a performance at Bad Friday over the Easter long weekend. With their own festival The Squeeze and a European tour on the horizon, we caught up with them to get the low-down on their busy lives. Check out the chat…

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Interview: Sam Cromack of Ball Park Music (AUS) talks Spin Off Festival, Good Mood and a decade as a band.

Brisbane band Ball Park Music dropped their fifth studio album Good Mood last year, peaking at number five on the ARIA Australian Albums Charts. The band is back on the road and hitting up Spin Off Festival with the likes of Childish Gambino, Wolf Alice, Mallrat, Ocean Alley and more, for what should be an epic day in Adelaide. We got to catch…

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Interview: The Veils’ Finn Andrews (NZ) unveils his debut solo album

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…

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Bad Friday Interview: Holiday Sidewinder (AUS) talks the importance of small festivals and her new single

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…

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Interview: Abbey Road Studio’s Mirek Stiles and Karim Fanous explain Spatial Audio and the power of AI

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…

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