SXSW Photo Wrap-Up: The Aussie BBQ returns to Australia House as Sounds Australia turns 10

Last Thursday, The Aussie BBQ returned to the Australia House at SXSW with a packed line-up of Australian talent. From Jarryd James to Oh Pep!, Bloods to Kirin J Callinan (pictured above), here’s a look at all the acts who performed as the organisation who present the annual event, Sounds Australia, celebrated their 10th Birthday….

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Track of the Day – Drewboy “Time to Say Goodbye” (2019)

When a devastating personal loss pushed him to quit his FIFO job, Cairns artist Drewboy threw himself into his music. Fast forward a couple of years, including appearances at Groovin’ the Moo, and his latest single, “Time to Say Goodbye” seems to tap into those harder times, an emotional sing-along of a song accompanied by…

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Flight Review: Flying from Kuala Lumpur to London with Malaysia Airlines and the new(ish) Airbus A350 (MH2)

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) hasn’t had the best of reputations in recent years, but as Malaysia’s flagship full-fledged carrier: the show must go on. Over the years though, MAS has had to stop serving a lot of their European routes, however their London route still remains and is (and has always been) their most popular. But…

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What we learned from Jordan Peele, Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke about their new film Us

Last week at SXSW, Director Jordan Peele was joined by actress Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke to talk about Peele’s anticipated follow-up to Get Out – Us – for a special session with Buzzfeed News. Ahead of the film’s Australian release next week, we attended the panel and here’s some of what we learned from the talk….

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Adelaide Festival Review: Schuldfabrik is a sustainable system of upcycling guilt

One of the more obscure installations at this year’s Adelaide Fringe was the pop-up store, Self – Human Soap. Nestled away in King William Street in the CBD, it looks as inviting as any other high-end beauty store, but this store has a marked difference to the others. Schuldfabrik is a German word, where ‘schuld’…

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SXSW Interview: Lauren Sanderson on the importance of vulnerability and authenticity

Last Tuesday night, Vevo House at SXSW showcased three emerging performers in front of a packed crowd. Among them was LA based Lauren Sanderson, who made waves last August with her breakthrough EP DONT PANIC! – her second to drop last year, but first to be released through Epic Records, and featuring tracks like “The Only…

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SXSW Film Review: Netflix’s The Highwaymen is the companion to Bonnie & Clyde with the tone of True Detective

From the director of The Blind Side, John Lee Hancock, comes a new telling of the Bonnie and Clyde story; this time told from the perspective of the men who took the criminal pair down. Set for release in on Netflix later this month, the film stars Woody Harrelson, Kevin Costner and Kathy Bates – surely three…

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The best part about One Piece: World Seeker is all the yeeting

I’m not far into One Piece: World Seeker. It’s a solid game with fun mechanics and a great cast of characters – but I’m having trouble making progress. See, in the game, you play as Monkey D. Luffy, One Piece‘s long-serving protagonist (going on a good 22 years now). He’s got rubber powers, which basically…

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Trials Rising Review: All you need is Try Again

God, Trials Rising is good. At its heart, a physics-based puzzle game that wears the trappings of extreme sports. It’s the modern equivalent of the old Dirt Bike games on Mac from the 90’s, a formula that has grown more showy and complex over time but retains their “get up and try again” spirit. Indeed,…

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Five new Sydney venues you need to check out

Sydney has now left summer behind (I assume anyway – climate change) and we’re now getting to that point where hiding away in a restaurant or bar for an absurd amount of time is perfectly acceptable. Extended breakfasts, long lunches, endless dinners – all totally reasonable as the weather turns to shit. That’s why we’ve…

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Adelaide Festival Review: Grand Finale is a joyous celebration of life and death

Israeli-born, London-based choreographer, Hofesh Shechter has had an impressive CV since 2007, when he released his critically acclaimed work “In your rooms”. Grand Finale is the first of his full-length works to be presented in Australia as part of the Adelaide Festival. The Hofesh Schechter Company is a diverse group of international dancers from eight…

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Club Briefs closes out the Fringe with bang – Bonython Hall (17.03.19)

The Adelaide Fringe is over for another successful year and Club Briefs was the perfect way to celebrate the final evening. The Briefs Factory is an Australian creative collective who “manufacture, cultivate and present evocative, irreverent, physical performance”. Our MC for the night is Shivannah, who is sassy, loud and irreverent. Her costume changes between…

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Track of the Day – Beverly Kills “Revellers” (2019)

Coming in at a short, but blistering two and a half minutes is the fourth single from Sweden’s Beverly Kills. “Revellers” follows on from the bands three single releases in 2018 – “Fourteen”, “Melodrama” and “Dreamless”. Like the band’s previous singles, the new track mixes complex and dark lyrical content with energetic and vibrant sonic landscapes….

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Film Review: Nicole Kidman is unrecognisable as a broken cop in Destroyer (USA, 2018)

Cops are tops. But if you’re Erin Bell in Destroyer you’re less tops and more likely to be drinking hops. Nicole Kidman plays a bedraggled and unrecognisable detective in this noir. While there are some moments where it is thrilling, most of it is far too slow-burning and perfunctory to really cut through. This film…

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SXSW Wrap-Up: The AU Review and Hello Asia! team up for Official Showcase with San Mei, I Know Leopard, Geowulf and more

On Thursday night in Austin, Texas at Australia House, the very website you’re currently reading, alongside our sister publication Hello Asia! teamed up for our first ever official showcase at SXSW. Three acts from Australia were joined by two from Japan and one from Korea – the first acts from those regions to ever play…

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Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe takes top honours at 2019 Indie Awards

Since 2008, the Indie Book Awards have been celebrating both the work of independent Aussie booksellers and the books they’ve raved about to customers over the previous year. Last night, the 2019 winners were announced, with Trent Dalton’s coming of age tale Boy Swallows Universe taking out the top honour of Book of the Year.Speaking…

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Track of the Day – Dirt Hand “Lion” (2019)

It’s hard to put Melbourne’s Dirt Hand into a genre. Even the bands own press release goes so far as to label the project “art-wank”. It’s part neo-folk, alt-rock, jazz but at all times it is experimentally enchanting and atmospheric. Built off a series of hand clap patterns, Arun Roberts set out for spontaneous creation….

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Alliance Française French Film Festival Review: Knife+Heart is an unashamedly queer slasher hybrid

What is it about slasher films that makes them stand out as one of the best horror sub-genres? It is just a person just killing people with a sharp object and that’s it, right? Yes, but, that’s also the very reason why it has succeeded so well. Unlike the other horror sub-genres that involve fantastical…

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The Greatest Show in Las Vegas: What to Expect from “Absinthe”

It’s always worth paying close attention when a Las Vegas production signs on for a substantial extension, even years after it has already been playing in the same spot. It means the show has become its own sizable piece in the endless jigsaw of culture, class and crass that is a typical night on the…

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SXSW Interview: Kevin Costner talks about playing Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in Netflix’s The Highwaymen

We caught up with legendary actor Kevin Costner at SXSW last week to chat about his role in the new Netflix film The Highwaymen, in which he plays Texas Ranger Frank Haymer as he chases down Bonnie & Clyde alongside Woody Harrelson. The Highwaymen streams worldwide on Netflix from 29th March 2019.

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Photo Gallery: 360 Allstars shine at the Adelaide Fringe

There are 360 degrees in a circle and this performance is full of “all-round” “Allstars” (get it?). This show is fast paced and an enjoyable demonstration of bike riding, freestyle rapping, drumming, basketball tricks, cyr wheel and more. The music and lighting give extra energy to an already energised group of performers. The added bonus…

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Adelaide Fringe review: Ambient Orchestra presents an Ambient Primer of Fripp / Eno, Laraaji and Satie – Elder Hall (15.03.19)

American Composer/Conductor Evan Ziporyn opened a two-night residency in Elder Hall with a world premiere featuring new arrangements of Fripp/Eno’s “Evening Star, Side A”; Laraaji’s “Dances From Day of Radiance” plus his own “Frog’s Eye” and an Ambient Orchestra arrangement of Satie‘s Gymnopedies. Ziporyn addresses the audience at the start of the show to explain…

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Book Review: Regency London meets rich fantasy in Zen Cho’s The True Queen

Washed ashore on the island of Janda Baik, sisters Muni and Satki have no memory of their former lives. Mak Genggang, the region’s foremost witch, knows a curse when she sees it and in the mortal Muna and the magical Satki, it’s clear as day to her what has happened. Unable, or unwilling, to answer…

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Live Review: Julia Jacklin + Olympia + Annie Hamilton – Metro Theatre, Sydney (15.03.19)

Julia Jacklin has had a massive start to 2019. With international tours and the release of her second album Crushing already in the bin, it looks like this year could be one for the record books. Returning to Sydney’s Metro Theatre almost two years since her last headline national tour, the Blue Mountains native wooed…

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Photo Gallery: Julia Jacklin + Olympia + Annie Hamilton – Metro Theatre, Sydney (15.03.19)

With support from Annie Hamilton and Olympia, Julia Jacklin debuted her new album Crushing to a sold out Metro Theatre on Friday night. Belinda Dipalo was there to bring you these photos.

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Adelaide Festival Photo Gallery: Washington – Palais (15.03.19)

Megan Washington graced the floating Riverbank Palais on Friday night following a season which included Augie March, J Mascis, Sarah Blasco, and They Might Be Giants. Washington’s performance included a four-string accompaniment for some of the songs, adding an ethereal feeling to an already magical space. There were crowd favourites and plenty of banter about…

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Track of the Day: Tadhg Daly “Hit The Ground” (2019)

“Hit The Ground” is the new single from Jersey born indie pop artist Tadhg Daly. With only two singles to his name so far, Daly has been slowly been making a name for himself in the UK. Whilst he’s only been performing for a relatively short period of time, he’s been invited to play at…

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SXSW Film Festival Review: Show Me The Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall (USA, 2019) is a celebration of the infamous photographer’s rock & roll circus

Imagine the photo shoot for Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’ or concerts like: Woodstock, Johnny Cash’s gigs at Folsom and San Quentin, and The Beatles’s last official show at Candlestick Park. Most of us would trade our left hands to have been there. But if you were Jim Marshall, you could boast that you went and shot…

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Photo Gallery: Khruangbin­ + Harvey Sutherland – Metro Theatre, Sydney (14.10.19)

With support from Harvey Sutherland, Houston trio Khruangbin performed to a sold out Metro Theatre in Sydney last night as part of their debut Australian tour. Belinda Dipalo was there to bring you these photos.

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Adelaide Festival Review: Foehn is a light and airy puppet theatre

It would be a mistake to describe Foehn as a puppet show. Not because that is wrong, but because it is much more than that. French performance artist Phia Ménard became a juggler, performance artist and director of the Compagnie Non Nova in the 1990’s. She describes the movement of air as being present at…

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