Music

Australian artist Mandy Kane tomorrow releases his new EP Darkness & Divine – a five track collection of tunes representing a definite evolution of his style, songwriting technique and a further along the line from what Kane’s fans may be expecting of the artist who first made waves with his 2009 debut, Tragic Daydreams. Also…

Final weekend of November! Let’s do it and do it up right. Heading into the final weeks of the year, there are some sick live shows ticking off the final weekends of 2015 in style. We take a look at some local artists who are going to be putting on some cool shows down the…

In any artistic career that lasts decades, there will inevitably be a period where the artist loses touch with their fans, their music and themselves. For Neil Young, this period was the entire 1980s. In a career of weird moves (most notably 2010’s Fork in the Road, a concept album devoted entirely to the benefits…

Today’s music video of the day is going to hit you right in the feels with a, for some, all too familiar portrayal of the highs and lows of a relationship. John Flanagan’s “Whatever Makes You Happy” is an acoustic track that tells the tale of how we do things for the people we care…

LOLAWOLF released their latest summery EP Every Fucking Day earlier this year – in our winter, to be exact. The brief album lays somewhere in minimalist hip hop and electronica. The trippy trio, fronted by Zoë Kravitz, have toured with the likes of Lilly Allen and Miley. It’ll be interesting to see if they launch into…

You’ve heard it before but Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known as Hozier, is more than just the compulsory indie rock artist that somehow made to Top 40 radio. His debut single ‘Take Me To Church‘ took the world by storm last year, but the Irish singer-songwriter has clearly established himself more than just a one-hit wonder with his 2014…

A lot has changed for Canadian Claire Boucher, or Grimes, in three years. As she describes it, Art Angels is built on colour in comparison to the “black and white” sound palette of previous album Visions. It’s easy to see what she means; her sound has catapulted from dreamy-synth-pop into a hard-hitting amalgamation of hip-hop,…

Having grown up in London, Hong Kong and Sydney, Ed Wells has had the rare experience of breaking into the music scene in the UK and Australia at the same time. In our Australian Music Week interview, the musician chats to our Editor-in-Chief Larry, about his time in the UK, his new track, expectations and…

Our Editor-in-Chief Larry Heath chats to Sydney’s Sarah Belkner at Australian Music Week. Here, they discuss her latest tour in New Zealand, working with Sarah Blasko and her plans for the future… Welcome to Australian music week. You’ve had a busy month, you’ve been playing on the other side of the pond. How has the…

In This Issue: APRA announces the winners of the Professional development Awards, Adele destroys the charts, there are some exciting new signings with record deals on the horizon and the ARIA charts get their share of the limelight. The APRA PDA Winners have been announced Whittled down from a pool of 1200 talented music artists APRA…

Blackalicious need no introduction. The hip hop duo have returned in fine form this year, dropping their first studio album in ten years in Imani Vol.1. The Swahili word for ‘Faith’, Imani Vol.1 has shown the California act’s desire to continue exploring and developing upon a melting pot of musical influences remain a dominant character….

In This Issue: It’s all the electronic pop you can handle this week as the warmer weather tempts us into those summer parties. Check out the new releases from the likes of Troye Sivan, Plaitum and Icelandic DJ Airplane and Spaceship, as well as big hitters Coldplay and the jazzy couple of the year Chet…

Up until this point, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Nicole Millar has best been known as that lush voice that drove Peking Duk’s mega-hit “High”. Her recently released debut single “Wait” took the repute a bit further, toning down the buzzy high and delivering us something a bit more delicate to showcase the dynamic, silky vocals she possesses….

Between beefing with Jimmy Fallon and threatening to retire from rapping to develop an app, 2015 has been a very busy year for Melbourne rapper Ur Boy Bangz. While his potential retirement from the rap game seems to still be up in the air, the man who went viral way before Drake even got his…

As if the line-up for the 27th Bluesfest Byron Bay wasn’t big enough, today the promoters have announced that joining headliners Kendrick Lamar, Brian Wilson, and Tom Jones will be none other than neo-soul icon D’Angelo, who will be in full-band mode with supergroup The Vanguard. Oh, and he’s playing on the same night as…

For years now Sydney hip-hop collective One Day, made up of seven high school mates, have been running their One Day Sundays and watching it grow into a nation-wide success. Touted as “block parties”, the events often sell out and demand has pushed them from venue to venue as capacity stretches to the limit. It…

The Jezabels have made a strong return from their last album The Brink with the new single “Come Alive”. With the electronic influences that have made brief appearances in their earlier work coming further into the forefront on this track, the Jezabels’ new sound stays true to their previous works while adding something new. It’s…

While enjoying the spotlight on the Sydney Opera House stage as part of the highly acclaimed production Velvet, Sydney artist Brendan Maclean has simultaneously been soaking up space on the airwaves with his outstanding new single “Techtonic”. You just couldn’t have enough attention on you at once could you? You had to go and release your best track…

I confess, somewhat shamefully, that Mutemath have only ever existed for me on the peripheral of my musical consciousness. I’ve known about them, primarily, through a friend who has raved about them for years, but I’ve never managed to sit down and actively listen to anything they’ve released. Listening to their new album, Vitals, I…

The seven finalists for the Captured Australia competition have been decided and voting is now open to the public. Captured is a national music video project and competition that sees seven local bands and musicians paired up with local filmmakers. The result of the pairing is, after 6 to 7 weeks of allocated production time, a music video…

It’s been some time since I’ve been able to properly catch up with The Griswolds. From the beginning of this year, the Sydney band’s international profile has skyrocketed considerably ever since they landed their first support slot alongside breakthrough US pop giants Walk the Moon. The release of The Griswolds’ debut album Be Impressive in…

Born and raised Port Macquarie man Patrick James is quickly moving from strength to strength as he debuts his first album, Outlier. Building his art by busking in the streets of Sydney, James is now headlining his own sold out shows, while supporting the likes of Boy & Bear, Pete Murray, Josh Pyke, Emma Louise and more. Check out this…

The quirky trio behind Netsuke recently took to New York for the CMJ Music Marathon. Freya, Elias, and Danny’s style of intricate indie electronica began in Sydney and they currently call London home. To give us a taste of life on the road, the trio documented their travels through the states with some stunning images….

The 2016 PANAMA Festival has jsut gotten a lot bigger with the second and final round of artist announced! The festival already features the likes of Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Methyl Ethel and Natalie Prass, but has backed it up solidly with some artists reppin’ some strongly diverse music for sure. 2016 PANAMA FESTIVAL…

The Port Macquarie boutique music festival, Festival of the Sun (FOTSUN), has officially sold out its 2015 instalment. FOTSUN, now in its eleventh year, presents an extensive lineup of Australian artists including Illy, Jebediah, British India and Thundamentals, as well as up-and-coming local acts. For the first time, FOTSUN will also include an art show,…

Southbound has continued to come through with the goods ahead of its 2016 event, with the announcement of more DJs and funky additional areas to the festival – all to ensure that you’ve got all your New Year party plans sorted. Of course, Southbound isn’t happening over the New Year’s Eve period like its Falls…

Now, I may be slightly biased (being based in Adelaide), but South Australia has been producing some brilliant songwriters over the past few years. Across all genres too, but in particular, our folk and acoustic songwriters have really been coming through with the goods. Todd Sibbin is a perfect example; as he prepares to head…

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…

Australian R&B singer Vanessa Elisha has just dropped her her new single, “Out of Time”, produced by mastermind XXYYXX. Keeping in style with the minimal electronica seen on XXYYXX’s solo material, Elisha adds her soulful vocals with incredible range perfectly. Check it out here: Find Vanessa Elisha on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vanessaelishamusic/ ———- This content has…

Brisbane’s WAAX have been building up a strong live reputation ever since their first two songs – “I for an Eye” and “Wisdom Teeth” – were released. The band hit the studio earlier this year, and back in October, the band released a surprise EP, titled Holy Sick, containing these two songs and two new tracks….