Interviews

It’s a sweaty Thursday afternoon and SXSW Music is entering its last corner for another year. I find myself standing out the front of Barracuda, listening to White Lung belt out their last five or so minutes of live show chaos on stage inside. Shortly after, Mish Barber-Way and Kenneth ‘Kenny’ William join me outside for a chat on the…

At the Sounds Australia Aussie BBQ at SXSW this year, Larry sat down with Zach and Billy of Hockey Dad notoriety to find out how the Texan festival had been treating the lads from Wollongong! Playing multiple shows crammed into a short period of time, SXSW proved to be yet another learning experience in developing their craft as a live act…

The Aussie BBQ brought many a new audience to some great local artists who’d made the trip out to Austin for SXSW this year; packed in to Brush Square Park on the Friday of SXSW Music, you had rock, shoegaze, punk, indie pop, folk and more on show. One such artist who was garnering much…

Easily drawing in one of the most enthusiastic crowds at Sounds Australia’s Aussie BBQ at SXSW this year was Harts. Bringing some wicked guitar skills through to Brush Square Park, the guitarist killed it on stage and following his set, Harts came and sat down to have a chat with Sose. Addressing the amount of hype…

San Franciscan rock band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down are no strangers to SXSW. This year, they visited Austin with their new album (number four, no less) A Man Alive, and although their tour schedule for the record is already starting to ramp up, the band’s front woman and songwriter Thao Nguyen remains remarkably cool, calm and…

Royal Canoe‘s Matt Peters caught up with Larry at SXSW to have a chat about the Canadian six-piece’s new album, Today We are Believers. The indie pop group have played in over 350 shows around North America and Europe, and supported Bombay Bicycle Club on their ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow‘ tour. Their new album, produced by Animal Collective…

DIY multi-instrumentalist Alex G released his first recorded album Beach Music, with Domino Records last October. Following six self-recorded LPs, including hit album DSU that featured as Best Album of 2014 by Noisey, Time Out, The Washington Post and Consequence of Sound, the Philadelphian singer-songwriter has kicked off his full-time music career with new singles “bug” and “Kicker”. The rock/pop indie melody reproduces…

We caught up with The Zolas at SXSW and we chatted about their new record, which they sum up as a weird pop album with something say, and the band even talked politics, specifically, ‘that Abbott guy’ and Rupert Murdoch’s ‘prune-y’ hands. Check out the full interview below. Welcome back to the SXSW, it’s been…

Next month, Jackson Phillips will be heading to Australia for the first time performing under his Day Wave moniker. It’s an exciting prospect not only for the Californian musician, but for us too – having been introduced to his music via I OH YOU near the end of last year, what we heard in “Come Home Now” indicated…

On our way to the lakeside at Austin’s Four Seasons hotel, Eliot Sumner, her guitarist Nick Benton, publicist Sarah and I come across two birds engaged in one hell of a fight on a busy downtown roadside. We edge closer to see if they’re tangled in some painful trap, but we scoot off as we realised that no, one of…

  In our 109th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet the UK’s Blank Bibles, chat about meeting at university, their love of Tame Impala and get a sneak peak at their latest release, “Abigail West”. Name: Blank Bibles Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram / Twitter Genre: Rock Members & their roles:…

In our 110th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet New York’s Jo Kroger, chat about collaborating with Dalton Deschain, her diverse influences and her new EP,  The Simplest. Name: Jo Kroger Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Acoustic Members & their roles: Jo Kroger, vocals, guitars, writing (frequent collaborator and producer on this…

In our 108th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Sydney’s Kvlts Of Vice, chat about moving from goth metal to rock ‘n’ roll and check out their debut EP, Death On The Delta. Name: Kvlts Of Vice Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram Genre: Dark Rock ‘n’ roll Members & their roles:…

  In our 107th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Adelaide’s Mio , chat about cat videos, social paranoia, Arcade Fire and get a sneak peak at their latest release, “Neverland”. Name: Mio (mee-o) – the name means ‘beautiful’ or ‘cherry’ in Japanese. We are good with that either way. Website / Social Media: Facebook…

In our 106th installment of “Stumbled Upon”, we get to know a bit more about Byron Bay’s PLTS , chat about growing up in Byron and recording their latest single, “On & On”. Name: PLTS (pronounced Pilots) Website / Social Media: pltsmusic.com Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram / Twitter Genre: Indie/Rock Members & their roles: Kit…

  In our 105th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet New York’s Alissia , chat about all things funk and soul and check out groove to her latest offering, “Take Off”. Name: Alissia Website / Social Media: alissiabenveniste.com Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram / Twitter Genre: Funk Members & their roles: – Alissia Benveniste – Ricky…

  In our 104th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Japan’s latest girl band sensation Otoboke Beaver , chat about their love of punk rock, meeting in uni, touring around the UK and get a sneak peak at their latest release, “Akimahenka”. Name: Otoboke Beaver (It is taken from the name of a local ‘Love…

  In our 103rd instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Toronto’s Fresh Snow, chat about happy accidents, Aussie band love, getting back into the swing of things and get a sneak peak at their latest release, “Don’t Fuck A Gift Horse In The Mouth (with Damian Abraham)”. Name: Fresh Snow Website / Social Media: freshsnowmusic.com…

In our 102nd instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet London’s King Charles, chat about song writing, Dylan, Mercury and Bowie and get a sneak peak at his latest release, Gamble For A Rose. Name: King Charles Website / Social Media: kingcharlesmusic.com Facebook / Twitter Genre: Pop / Rock / Alternative Members & their roles: King Charles…

In our 101st installment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Vallee from Melbourne, and chat to bassist Brendan about their love of indie rock, getting ready to play some new shows and get a sneak peak at their latest track “Jungle”. Band Name: Vallee Website / Social Media: Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter Genre: Indie Rock…

In our 100th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Chris Athorne a.k.a Oktoba from Brighton, and chat about his latest solo musical adventure, touring America and his latest album, Smoke Signals. Musician: Oktoba. Website/Social Media: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram Genre: Folk, Pop. Members & their roles: Oktoba is the project of Brighton based singer-songwriter…

In our 99th installment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Mat Cammarano from Perth, and chat about his eclectic influences, growing up with music and check out his new track, “Ashes”. Musician: Mat Cammarano Website / Social Media: milkmanrecordings.com.au Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Electronic, Indie, Pop Members & their roles: At the moment it’s a solo…

In our 98th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Sloom from Sydney, and chat about forming a band with friends, NYE and their forthcoming EP. Band Name: Sloom Website / Social Media: Facebook / Bandcamp Genre: Garage Rock, Blues Members & their roles: Cristian – guitar vocals Chris – guitar vocals Jamie – drums vocals…

In our 97th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet ISLANDIS from Sydney, and chat about their debut single, ‘Home’, bonding over wine and their love of all things pop and rock ‘n’ roll. Band Name: ISLANDIS Website / Social Media: Facebook Genre: Alternative Members & their roles: James Chave-Dubois (Instruments/Production) Ben McInerney (Voice/Instruments) What music…

In our 96th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet one of our favourite kiwi imports, Oh Boy , and chat about 90’s loves, and check out his latest track, ‘HD Girl’. Musician: Oh Boy Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Electronic Members & their roles: William Bradshaw What music or artists inspired you?…

In our 95th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet the ever charming members of Melbourne’s IV League, and chat about glitter, travelling, dating and check out their latest single, ‘Lit Screen’. Band Name: IV League Website / Social Media: Facebook Genre: Indie / Alternative Members & their roles: Bella Venutti – Vocals/Guitar Lachie Gilmour –…

In our 94th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Christina Martin from Canada, and chat about her varied and eclectic influences, playing SXSW and Austin City Limits and her latest release, It’ll Be Alright. Musician: Christina Martin Website / Social Media: www.christinamartin.net/ Facebook Genre: Pop/Rock Members & their roles: Christina Martin – Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter…

In our 93rd instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Taipan Tiger Girls from Melbourne, and chat about their debut release, 1, new material and upcoming shows. Band Name: Taipan Tiger Girls Website / Social Media: Facebook Genre: Electronic Members & their roles: Ollie Olsen – synthesiser Mat Watson – drums / percussion Lisa MacKinney –…

In our 92nd instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Christa Vi from London, and chat about her synth-centric indiepop, being a solo artist, moving to the UK from Australia and check out the title track from her debut album, Makeshift Happiness. Musician: Christa Vi Website / Social Media: christavi.com Facebook / Soundcloud / Twitter Genre:…

In our 91st instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we chat to gorgeous Melbournian Jasmine Nelson, find out about her album Hercules, discover future tour plans and check out her single “Heart”. Musician: Jasmine Nelson Website / Social Media: www.jasminenelson.com Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram Genre: Singer / Songwriter Members & their roles: Jasmine Nelson – singer,…