Music

Brisbane breeds great music. First Beige are no exception, the psych-soul outfit slowly making their transition from bedroom project to the real world. Today, we’ve got an exclusive taste of their lead single from upcoming debut EP Press!, “Rumours”. It’s a taste of some very colourful sounds to come. Ignore the whole ‘Beige’ thing. There’s jazz flute, disco-influence,…

“This world is full of cynics- full of people who don’t want you to be alive, to be real,” yells Dave Le’aupepe to a thumping heavy crowd full of youthful faces, each looking up at him adoringly, hanging on his every word. “Don’t let them stop you from living your life. Don’t let anybody ever…

Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley saw out one final day and night live music and conferencing on Thursday, with BIGSOUND entering its last round, sending hundreds of musicians and delegates throughout participating venues to witness some great emerging artists, buzz bands and established favourites. The SA Music showcase in the afternoon took place at Ric’s Backyard, bringing together…

Night Two of BIGSOUND brought some huge voices out to The Valley on Wednesday night. Split between heavy hitting vocals and fleshed out bands, we were spoiled for choice; when you have the likes of Total Giovanni and The Belligerents rolling alongside buzz artists like Body/Type and Willaris.K, you know that the Australian band scene is heaving. We made sure…

She’s one of Norway’s most respected artists and next month, Hanne Hukkelberg will be releasing her much anticipated fifth album Trust. Taken from the album, her new single “Embroidery” is a gorgeous indicator of what is to come, and features singer-songwriter Emilie Nicolas too – another talented Norwegian currently making some excellent pieces of music. “It’s about us…

It’s not just all showcases at BIGSOUND, some of the most important and crucial days of the year for Australia’s music industry. Issues facing the industry are discussed and picked apart through various panels, keynotes and informal mixers, and it’s the results of these talks each year that have a big impact on how the…

As the waves of BIGSOUND continue to crash in Australia, our Singaporean mates are beginning to gear up for a huge music festival of their own, in Music Matters Live. As part of the wider All That Matters conference event that takes place in Singapore from September 9th – 13th, Music Matters Live is the premier independent…

The Yours & Owls Festival is returning to Wollongong this month with one of its strongest line ups yet – featured on it is Phoenix’s own AJJ. The band formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad have been hyping up their wider Australian tour dates for a few months now, their return to our shores marking their first dates in…

Talk about tour news to wake up to! One of your favourite Canadians will be back in the country this year, making the tailend of 2017 OVO and XO season in Australia! Ahead of The Weeknd‘s December shows, Drake will be touring select east coast shows in Australia at the end of November. Having been making his way…

Heading to their hometown of Yamba in NSW, indie electronic twosome Nocturnal Tapes laid down the foundations for their new music video for the catchy “Wake Up”. Directed by James Buckingham, the clip leans into the 90’s vibe of the music’s production; as Buckingham describes, the nostalgic element was definitely intentional. “Nocturnal Tapes have a lot…

We chat with Aussie musician Jess Green, who has been working away on her anticipated EP release, Dragon Year. The seasoned musician has been part of the Australian scene for years now and as we learn, her career has brought her a wealth of musical experience, from jazz right through to composing for dance works. This,…

Now based in London, Australian songwriter Georgia van Etten has been continuing to craft her music with precision, warmth and an impressive vocal quality. Exuding the type of richness only soul and blues music can, van Etten has been killing it with live performances through Europe and it’s no wonder why her music has been resonating…

Over the next few nights Australia’s music industry will come together with musicians and fans to not only celebrate, but evolve and progress. In addition to endless showcases of homegrown talent across Brisbane’s best live music spaces, BIGSOUND will be brimming with keynotes, masterclasses, and industry events where some of the biggest issues behind the scenes…

Set to fire up in Brisbane this week, Perth’s Scalphunter have got BIGSOUND well and truly in their sights; with two hectic shows lined up, best believe this group is ready to shake things into submission ahead of the release of their debut album Lies. From it comes new single “Life Sucked”, which we are stoked to…

The Coathangers have returned with a brand new music video, directed by Jason Travis and arriving just in time for some warmer weather. “Perfume” comes as a cure for seasonal depression, with the song’s glistening melodies and lyricism that drips with yearning and a certain sense of forlorn aching that strikes right at the heartstrings. The tune itself…

The FOMO brand sure is bossing up in becoming an Australian festival to watch, with this afternoon’s announcement for the 2017 run seeing some heavy hitters bound for our shores. Namely, SZA will be making her Australian debut as part of the festival tour, having broken through in 2017 as more than a buzz artist on the Top…

Melbourne’s S.M. Jenkins have been brewing up some great moments of slacker goodness with that classic Melbourne flair bands of the ilk have been so good at producing in recent years, notably seen on “High Beamin’”. Forming when Step-Panther’s Steve Bourke moved to Melbourne and linked up with Big Scary’s Jo Syme, Dumb Punts’ Jimmy Gallagher and…

It’s been seven years since Ted Leo released The Brutalist Bricks, his last solo album. For someone who released five albums in the first decade of this century, that’s a notable drop-off. It’s not like he hasn’t been busy, he released an album as The Both in 2014 with Aimee Mann and seems to spend more…

Welcome to the start of another week! As we bring Winter to a close, there’s plenty to feel good about, including your weekly Spotify playlist of brand new music. We’ve rounded up the top singles and music videos you might’ve missed or wanted to hear again, including new releases from Wafia, St. Vincent, Horror My…

The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues has been a staple of the Australian industry for over two decades now, celebrating its 28th year this November. As a live music event, the festival has grown and developed itself into a feature name on the national calendar considerably and as this year’s program further proves, the line up…

The War on Drugs‘ Adam Granduciel has a lot to live up to with latest album, A Deeper Understanding. 2014’s Lost in the Dream received high, widespread acclaim – our review even called it a masterpiece – which means this album is given the unlucky task of upholding or exceeding the hype. A Deeper Understanding…

The Preatures‘ second album Girlhood, follow up to their 2014 debut Blue Planet Eyes, explores matters that affect us as girls in a fun, pop-driven way. Opening track “Girlhood” blasts in without an intro, and makes me want to jump around my bedroom while singing into a hairbrush. If they were intending to make female…

Colourful, intense and stylishly quirky, St. Vincent‘s new music video for her latest single, “New York” is as vibrant as some have come to expect. The song is St. Vincent’s first release in two years and has been brought to life by visual artist Alex Da Corte. The video is aesthetically gorgeous to watch, yet the music…

When is Wafia ever releasing anything other than intensely emotional music? Never, would be the answer. Her XXIX EP firmly established the Brisbane-based artist as one to watch, though in her lyricism and musicality, it was instantly evident that there was much more potential to be tapped into that what we were seeing on surface level (which was…

Time is here once more, folks. The gates for SXSW Music submissions are now open for another year, with the American music festival and conference inviting musicians from all over the world to enter theirs to be in with a chance of being Austin, Texas-bound next March. Since 1987, SXSW has been providing a large…

As part of this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival, punters will be able to sit in on some exclusive sessions run by APRA AMCOS; four one on one conversations with Australian songwriters with discussions surrounding professional and creative development. Sitting down with moderator Chit Chat, Briggs, Katy Steele, NGAIIRE and Sally Seltmann (all recipients of the APRA Professional Development Award) will…

Probably the best thing about this evening (excluding the outrageously talented The Courtneys) was the gender balance. It didn’t feel strained, it was just balanced. Let’s keep this up, support line ups like this. Bitch Diesel opened the evening, the four-piece punk outfit a whirlwind of on-stage confidence and sass. From a sequinned dress to…

This September, Thundamentals are going to be displaying the latest in their line of artistic link ups, this time with puppetry/performance art group A Blanck Canvas! Coming to Sydney, the collaboration falls into line with the previous events hosted by ROAM – bringing musicians and visual artists together. Allday and Toby & Pete kicked the ‘Underthink It’ series off, while Tkay Maidza and Ego took the…

Bully have made a solid impact with their new single, “Feel the Same” – we know we’re more hyped now for their new album, Losing (due out October 20th). The song highlights that raspy snarl of vocalist Alicia Bognano while leaning heavy on the riffs in some fiery rock fashion. The edgy production of “Feel the Same”…

WAVVES will be back in the country, returning to Australia for the Yours & Owls Festival in September – a festival which, quite frankly, has continued to strengthen in line up and reputation. 2017’s festival line up already is to be headlined by At The Drive-In and The Presets, while reading further down the bill, the names only continue…