For Toronto based band Fast Romantics, 2016 is set to be a year of introductions. We met up with songwriters Matthew Angus and Kirty at SXSW, where the excitement surrounding their forthcoming new album has followed them from Toronto and New York (where a lot of the material was worked on), to Austin. Following their own creative direction even more than…
Bringing some excellent examples of songwriting and a wickedly endearing live presence out to Austin for SXSW this year was WA artist Matt Gresham. Currently in the process of finishing up an EP that we’re eager to hear, Gresham tells Larry about the writing and recording process that had him fall in love with LA and…
Uprooting your life in Australia in favour of the musical opportunities America has to offer isn’t a small undertaking, as Lo Carmen has experienced all too well. Relocating to the US in order to focus on the writing and recording of a new album, not to mention further establishing herself as a touring artist abroad, has…
Newcastle folk-pop band The Soorleys have been making their mark on the US, spending some weeks through March touring and experiencing some iconic cities for the first time, definitely from an interesting perspective. From hitting ballrooms in Kansas City to recording in Nashville, through to arriving in Austin for their first ever SXSW, the family band have…
Demi Louise is a lady I’m always happy to see at SXSW – the young singer songwriter has been coming to the Austin event for the last few years now and the AU has always managed to catch up with her at some point during her hectic live show schedule. A seasoned pro at these…
Spookyland are one of those bands who I always seem to see pop up and impress overseas moreover than I do at home. Of course, being situated in SA as opposed to the usual east coast haunts Sydney bands would normally play, the opportunities to see Spookyland perform in Australia for me have been limited from…
Brooklyn based songwriter and vocalist Kevin Garrett has been sitting comfortably in my iTunes collection as one of the most played artists in my library at the moment. 2015’s Mellow Drama EP brought the young writer to the attention of many; in evocative lyricism and production that captivates in a similar vein to James Blake and James…
Tigertown returned to Austin for their second SXSW this year, off the back of what’s already been a successful few months on the road through the States. The Sydney band has been garnering praise for shows alongside St. Lucia in particular and this month, the band returns home for their long-awaited Australian tour, kicking off in Sydney…
Next week, Oh Pep! kick off their Australian east coast tour starting in Adelaide, before winding down with a show in Sydney in mid-April! The first few months of 2016 have already been busy ones for the Melbourne group, who have been readying their debut album Stadium Cake for release and refining what’s become an excellent and endearing…
Let me set the scene and take you back to the Aussie BBQ at SXSW this year; like last year, I arrived at Brush Square Park looking up at the overcast skies that threatened to unleash torrent upon torrent of rain on the event. Thankfully, unlike last year, the Aussie BBQ escaped and enjoyed a…
Seeing The Gooch Palms take to the Aussie BBQ stage at SXSW this year was a treat; especially after seeing how well the Novocastrian duo was received at the venue last year. Both Leroy and Kat bring such an eccentric and brilliant charm to their live shows that, when they mention they locked around 130 live gigs under their belt in…
There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of V. Bozeman. The Californian R&B soul singer hasn’t had much exposure in Australia, but if you’re a fan of hip hop drama Empire, you’ll recognise this lady’s voice for sure. Bozeman has garnered much attention since her attention-snatching appearance in the show’s pilot episode and recently has been working…
DZ Deathrays had SXSW in the bag this year. In Austin for their fourth time at the festival, Shane and Simon may not have gone done the 50 shows in 4 days type route this year, but the gigs they did fit into their time in town were as high octane as you’d expect from the band by this…
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…
