Marrickville was turned into a grungy experimental boombox as Bad Friday Festival rolled in. The annual event held each Easter Good Friday was celebrating its 10th anniversary with a killer line-up featuring The Avalanches, DMA’s, Jungle, DZ Deathrays and more. But, importantly in a time where the political climate of live music festivals is souring,…

Meg Keneally may have a literary giant for a father, but her career speaks for itself.  Beginning her working life as Junior Public Affairs Officer at the Australian Consulate-General in New York, she has worked as a sub-editor and freelance features writer in Dublin, as a journalist at the Daily Telegraph in Australia, as a talkback…

After a long wait, it’s great to see that Owl Eyes is back with a new track, “You And I”. It’s a glorious funky track, think seventy’s, flares and smoke machines.  It talks of love, desire and has bold sass. It’s disco nirvana The track was written in Brussels, and is a collaboration between Owl Eyes and Belgian nu…

Late last year, I flew with Canadian carrier WestJet from Halifax, Nova Scotia to LA via Toronto. It’s a long journey – about as far from one side of North America to the other as you can get. And there’s no way to do it direct. You start off with a two hour flight from Halifax…

Coachella’s second weekend may have been rich with performances from some of the music industry’s biggest names, but no other event garnered as much wide-eyed curiosity as Kanye West’s “Sunday Service”. An extension and validation of all the Sunday Service sessions that have been drip-fed to us over the past few months, portraying an invigorated…

Final Fantasy X is often spoken of in the same breath as the phrase, ‘the best game of all time.’ Released in 2001, it was the first Final Fantasy title to receive a sequel, and both games have since been remastered for new audiences in the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster bundle. Originally released for…

Some people read books to escape their lives. For other readers, they want to consume a story that mirrors their own. Author, Melina Marchetta certainly fits into the latter camp. Her latest novel – the third in her Inner West trilogy, set in the suburbs of Sydney – is a close examination of the issues…

Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown is the future of tabletop storytelling. It’s also one of the few games I’ve played lately that enthralled me so much I lost time. Coming from Melbourne studio Tin Man Games, this is just one in a long line of brilliant Australian games proving the depth and ingenuity of…

Now a year old in the camera market, Fujifilm’s X-H1 still holds its own as a solid choice for anyone looking for a mirrorless interchangable lens camera. With 24.3 megapixels from its cropped sensor, X-Processor Pro Engine, 4K video and F-LOG recording, plus being the first Fujifilm X series camera to offer 5-Axis in-body image…

After what felt like an endless wait, Game of Thrones has returned for its sweeping final run of episodes, six instalments which will wrap up what has essentially been one of the greatest television events of all time. I’ve spent the past week and a half re-watching it all – my fifth time doing so…

As word spreads that KFC has introduced Australia’s “first ever Secret Menu”, the not-so-secret-anymore list of Kentucky fried hacks has just edged forth with a new item. In a nod to the country’s love of Halal Snack Packs, the fast food giant is now serving up “The Kentucky Snack Pack”. KSP, a serving of salted…

Etihad Airways are currently offering passengers a free stopover in Abu Dhabi as part of a “landmark global promotion”, tied to flights between 21st April and 15th July 2019. Not only that, but no less than 15 different hotels in the UAE capital have come on board to offer two free nights accommodation for guests…

Experimental producer Flying Lotus is prepping his first studio album since 2014’s brilliant You’re Dead!, and from our first preview, it’s going to one hell of a bizarre ride. The prolific artist has teamed up with Twin Peaks mastermind David Lynch to, confidently, release a pretty non-music first single called “Fire is Coming”. It’s less…

As part of Melbourne’s Gremlns crew, rappers Kae the Goat and Droopo are aggressively aiming for the coveted top spots in Australia’s ever-changing hip hop industry. Fuelling those ambitions is new track “Dex Up”, a collaboration between the two artists which has immediately grabbed attention across the country thanks to its pounding production and slick…

Armed only with an I amsterdam City Card, which provides entry into almost all of the city’s iconic attractions, free public transport, and the city’s preferred mode of transport, a bike, I set out on a 48 Hour journey around Amsterdam – in particular checking out the hip Westerpark area of the city. Along the…

Arriving on a train into Cardiff station, it was a 15 minute walk through the heart of the busy city on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take me to the relatively recently opened Hotel Indigo Cardiff; hidden away in the Dominions Arcade. Like many Hotel Indigo’s around the world, this hotel has been built into the…

Sydney singer-songwriter Jackson Carroll dropped his sublime debut single, “Holy Hell” last Friday. The single is the first taste of Carroll’s forthcoming EP, and if the rest comes anywhere close to this single then we’re in for a treat. The single was recorded at Sydney’s Noisegate Studios, with Luke Carra (Caravana Sun) and Ian Pritchett…

Sydney institution Carriageworks is doubling down on their incredibly popular food program this year, announcing a number of events and a special conversations series that will address current issues in the industry. Central to this program will, of course, be the Carriageworks Farmers Market which returns in July for a winter theme, but there will…

We might only be in April, but Illawara rockers The Pinheads have already had a busy year. Freshly returned to Australia from a scorching run of shows in Austin for SXSW, the band have dropped new single “Feel It Now” – another hint at what to expect from their forthcoming sophomore album, Is This Real,…

As you might have guessed we are big fans of BATTS here at the AU. With her debut album, The Grand Tour, released last week we sat down with the Melbourne singer-songwriter to find out a little bit more about the creation and recording of the album, how NASA got involved, and – just for good measure…

My Time At Portia is a solid and inoffensive little farm sim. It has all the usual trappings of the genre – travelling to a new city, taking over a farm, building some things, farming other things. Remarkable moments are few and far between, and that’s okay too. Sometimes, a game can just be a…

Sydney favourite Alpha has opened up a tiny new cocktail and meze bar named Baraki, carved into the ground floor of 240 Castlereagh Street with just 8 seats. The smaller-than-small bar will extend Executive Chef Peter Conistis’ vision beyond Alpha and upstairs cocktail bar Beta, channelling the Athens neighbourhood of Plaka with two backlit walls…

More than just an excuse to fill up on chocolate, Easter means a long weekend filled with good food, friends and family (usually in that order). There’s no lack of exclusive Easter treats to eat around Sydney this year, both for the savoury and sweet lovers, so we’re rounded up five of the best to…

Here at the AU, we love a good Aussie game, and Table of Tales is one of the shiniest and newest of the bunch. Developed by Melbourne studio, Tin Man Games, the game puts you in the shoes of a virtual reality tabletop adventurer as you discover a magical, living board game in your Aunt’s attic. The game will…

Every year in March thousands of spiritually enlightened individuals flock to Ubud for the Bali Spirit Festival. This 7 day event promises everything from yoga, ecstatic dance, workshops, meditation, sound healing and so much more. I was beyond excited to be taking part in such a special event, so with yoga mat in hand I…

While she was on the Upper West Side in NYC, filming the second season of Pose for FX, I caught up with Charlayne Woodard to talk about her role as Mrs. Price in the film Glass, which is about to enjoy a home release. It’s a role she first came to perform some 19 years…

Byron Bay surf/psychedelic quartet Waxhead are back with “Disco Etiquette”, a track fans might recognise from their debut Self Titled. Consisting of Finny on lead guitar, Shrecky on drums, AL Dogg on Bass, and Froggy on Vocals and Guitar, this is one hard-working foursome, with two EPs, several singles, and a slew of Australian and international…

Contemporary act-plus-orchestra shows aren’t a new phenomenon in rock, with arena-size bands churning out orchestral projects since the 80’s; an attempt at legitimising corporate rock, re-selling already existing albums and making mums proud. With dance music reaching maturity, EDM acts and DJs are beginning to jump on the bandwagon as their audiences age and new…

Having already focused on the P30 Pro’s Leica Quad Camera System whilst we were in Paris for the P30 Series launch recently, the phone packs too many modes for one piece (and even one city) so here’s a look at some of the hidden AI photo and video modes that the camera system offers. NB:…

Today we’re stoked to be bringing you the exclusive premiere of “Shadow Boxing”, the latest track from rising Brisbane foursome Blood Bank. High school mates Sam Pennisi (vocals/guitar), Tom Ryan (vocals/guitar/synth), Will Kilah (drums), and Peter Katsanevas (bass/vocals) have been ripping up the Brisbane post-punk scene since they formed back in 2016. Counting Joy Division, Iggy…