Music

This is certainly a swinging album of hot gypsy jazz of the 1930’s. Featuring some of the most influential musicians of the time – Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to name but a few. Although title Swing Noir this is certainly more of an example of the hot club jazz style…

The art of executing a perfect compilation of songs for a film is like making a perfect mixtape for your soulmate. Everything about this soundtrack makes my knees weak and my hopes for this film are soaring so high right now. My gut feeling tells me that it will be as good as the book…

Janice Koh kick started the second day of Music Matters as it moved into the Ritz Carlton ballroom, in front of a packed out room. The Nominated Member of Parliament talked about the actions the Singapore government are taking to work against piracy websites alongside the successes of Singapore bands at events internationally like Canadian…

After lunch on day two and the HP live sessions that included a performance by Australia’s Lyon Apprentice, Daniel Glass, the Founder and President of the influential Glassnote Entertainment Group was interviewed by Ralph Simon in the afternoon’s first session. Glass reflected on his origins as a young DJ, which got him interested in the…

Matilda Bay Brewery, founded in 1984, threw a 30th birthday party and we were invited to help celebrate their occasion. It was perfect that the party reflected that delicious era of music from the 1980s, but mixed it up with music from the 90s and now. A cab took us to the Matilda Bay Brewery…

Hi, we are The Black Lullaby, a 4-piece rock band from north coast NSW. This is a tour diary for the AU Review of our trip to Toronto where we showcased at Canadian Music Week 2014. We had an awesome time and met some great people and saw some amazing bands – check out our…

Music Matters kicked off the first day of its three day programme at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore with a panel on Asia’s largest emerging market: China. Moderated by Ed Peto, the Managing Director of Outdustry, the panel of four industry experts from AEG Live Asia, Split United, EN.DI.ASI and S.T.D. outlined touring strategies in…

With his breakthrough track, “Trouble”, off the album of the same name, Ray LaMontagne made a distinctive name for himself in the music industry as a unique, soulful singer/songwriter with an acoustic and raw sound. But it has been more than 10 years since the cult favourite of folk, roots and classic rock fans released…

Sydney outfit The Great Conjunction are fairly new onto the scene with their cavernous alternative indie-rock sounds. They write music that’s deeply intricate on so many layers, think like Arcade Fire or The New Pornographers or The Dears, that it can take quite a few listens to really appreciate it. I’ll openly admit it took me some proper spins to get the…

As they head to Music Matters in Singapore (along with us!), Melbourne indie pop folk band Tully on Tully share with us their adventures from (and en route to) Canadian Music Week in Toronto! The final part begins after the jump… Staying on the 29th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Toronto has…

Newcastle band Twin Lakes headed to Toronto for Canadian Music Week and have brought back this video that documents their adventures, travelling from Sydney, all the way to Toronto and back. The band will also be bringing you a more detailed look at their journey later in the week! But until then, enjoy this glimpse…

Like stepping in from the cold to find a warm fireplace and your favourite blanket. The new album, Shine On, by Sarah McLachlan is the musical equivalent of getting re-acquainted with an old friend. Filled with her distinctive and glistening vocals that have been off the airways for far too long. In fact this album…

Morcheeba are one of those bands who claimed their success in the 90’s, making a name for themselves all over Europe. Most folk would remember them from their hit single ‘Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day’ which albeit a sweet tune, does not holistically represent their fusion sound. Blending elements of trip-hop, rock and electronica amongst…

Kicking off tonight is the annual Music Matters conference and LIVE festival in Singapore. Over 60 bands from 18 countries will be in attendance, including an impressive dose of Australian bands. In addition to other appearances, if you happen to be in Singapore for the event, your best bet to experience all that Australia has…

the AU review sits down with Montreal’s King Khan and Mark Sultan in what may be their final interview as King Khan and BBQ Show while at Canadian Music Week in Toronto to talk about their two shows at the festival, they introduce us to their newly invented game involving porno cards, they reflect on…

As they head to Music Matters in Singapore (along with us!), Melbourne indie pop folk band Tully on Tully share with us their adventures from (and en route to) Canadian Music Week in Toronto! Part one begins after the jump… We’re officially off! Flying to Sydney for our connect to LAX then onto New York…

It was only a few months ago that we were last graced by the exquisite presence of Irish singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow, for Falls Festival and a run of shows around the country. It was the same week that his latest, acclaimed record Post Tropical was released, meaning fans didn’t have much time to sink…

Larry sits down with Australian artist Marta Pacek while at Canadian Music Week in Toronto to talk about returning to Toronto, living there, her new album tour for Voodoo Dolls and False Alarms, her third album and what it means to be a solo musician – her songwriting process and tackling her stage fright! In…

Following on from my overview of Toronto’s CMW for 2014, it’s time to get to the music. We start with one of the bigger shows of the week… New Zealand’s Broods headlining a night at the Drake Underground. Supporting Broods on the night was Tennessee singer/songwriter Meg Myers, on the road promoting her new EP…

As we continue our look back at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, we bring you these photos from Kool Haus featuring one of the hottest bands out of the UK right now, The 1975. Photos by Grant W. Martin for Canadian Music Week.

At the end of last year, we at the AU were introduced to Amsterdam duo Bombay Show Pig while at CMJ in New York City. Since then we’ve been hanging out for them to release material here in Australia, and finally we’re got a self-titled EP of our very own on May 30 (through MGM)….

As the band release their anticipated new album Ghost Stories, UK group Coldplay are set to return to Australia for a one-off promotional performance at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on June 19th. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Tuesday, May 20th with a pre-sale at 2pm on Monday May 19th. Much like past promotional trips…

In one of the more anticipated sideshow announcements for Splendour this year, this morning Lily Allen has announced massive headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s her first time down under since she appeared on the main stage at Big Day Out in 2010. The shows will be in support of her new album Sheezus,…

We’ve already covered some of the smaller stages at the event, as well as our discoveries, but as for the rest, Bruce Springsteen wasn’t the only highlight among the main stages during the three days I was at the festival. Let’s kick things off with another of the five bands we recommended to catch at…

2014 marked a series of changes for the annual music conference and festival, Canadian Music Week (CMW). Usually held in March, the week after SXSW (though when I first attended in 2011, it was held before the Austin event), organisers moved the event to May this year to combat the much-dreaded SXSW week-long hangover as…

the AU review sits down with Singapore artist DEON at Canadian Music Week in Toronto to talk about his Australian plans and experiences, on working with Melbourne artist Dru Chen, recording a track together on DEON’s debut album… plus he talks about his band!

Are we really talking about 2015 already? Well, legendary Swedish pop-rockers Roxette are making sure that’s happening with this morning’s announcement that the group will be returning to Australia for a national tour next February, supported by Australia’s Boom Crash Opera. This is the first time since Roxette – Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle –…

As they travel the country on their Black Rat album launch tour, John Goodridge chats to DZ Deathrays front man Shane Parsons about life on the road and the brand new album. Hey Shane, how’s it going? Not too bad man, how are you? Not bad, I’m actually in New Zealand at the moment which…

For any nostalgia driven Hollywood movie buffs, and lovers of the grand music scores from classic movies, this album is a little slice of heaven. Each track transports the listener to another time and place, swept away in magnificent and timeless orchestrations, with the only down-side of leaving you a little jarred upon returning to…

It’s evident that Michael Buble has a special place in his heart for his Australian fans, as this is where he got his first big break in 2000, just before he almost gave up on music. Thankfully he didn’t, as his popularity and success over the last 14 years has only grown, and with good…