MONA FOMA drop festival dates, tease 2018 lineup by inviting Pauline Hanson

The most irreverent and eclectic music and art festival, MONA FOMA (MOFO), is coming back to Australia in January 2018. The festival will return to Hobart, as well as launching an exciting Mini Mofo addition in Launceston. The full festival line up is not expected to be released until Friday 13 October 2017, but organisers…

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A handy playlist to guide you through the first official Bluesfest 2018 announcement

The first Bluesfest announcement dropped today, with some impressive names from Australia and abroad named as being Byron Bay bound next Easter. Leading the roster is Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, while the likes of Lionel Richie, Tash Sultana, The John Butler Trio and more all set to appear. Bluesfest will once again be taking place at the Tyagarah…

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Tour Diary: Melbourne’s Swim Season take us to Singapore for their debut international shows

Their first time overseas performing together, Melbourne indie group Swim Season set their sights on Singapore’s Music Matters Live a few weeks ago. Taking their upbeat music out to Singapore, Swim Season became one of the most talked about Australian acts of the live music showcase series. The band presents this special little tour video for us,…

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Music Video of the Day: Ásgeir “I Know You Know” (2017)

Ásgeir takes us back to his homeland for the music video for “I Know You Know”. The tune, taken from his acclaimed Afterglow album, shows Ásgeir at his melodic and musical best. As part of the wider Afterglow picture, “I Know You Know” is a gorgeous example of the Icelandic musician’s continued foray into melodic melancholia that is…

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Album Review: Princess Nokia – 1992 Deluxe (2017 LP)

Far from the days of Lauryn Hill, women are more represented in rap than ever. In some ways that’s a good thing, but unfortunately there’s a lot of undeserved stigma surrounding a large portion of the female artists of the genre. If there was going to be an artist who can break past the stigma…

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Interview: Casey Barnes on new music & the change in direction of the Gympie Music Muster

It feels like only yesterday I was talking to Australian country-pop, singer/songwriter Casey Barnes about his latest release – but here we are again. His latest single, the catchy “Keep Me Coming Back” was written with MSquared Productions’ Michael Payter and Michael Delorenza; the team behind his two previous hit singles – “Just Like Magic”…

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Interview: Filmmaker Genevieve Clay-Smith on Optus’ Connect5 competition

Thanks to Optus, aspiring filmmakers have the opportunity to showcase their talents on a massive stage and stand to win upward of USD $30,000 with the Connect5 competition. With the submissions deadline of October 1st edging ever closer, the Connect5 competition has already seen many short films pour in that are definitely worthy of being…

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Ana is coming to Heroes of the Storm and here’s everything you need to know about her

The demand for Overwatch characters in Blizzard’s popular strategic hero brawler Heroes of the Storm has been rife ever since the game’s roster of iconic heroes was announced. Having added D.va, Tracer, Genji and Zarya to the mix in previous updates, Blizzard have now revealed two new Overwatch characters heading to the Nexus — Ana and Junkrat. While not much…

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Video Games Review: Destiny 2 (PS4, 2017) files down many of the original’s rougher edges

Destiny was the first game I reviewed for this site, back when the games section was still called VideAU Games, an offshoot of The Iris‘ parent site, The AU Review. On launch, it was an ambitious but deeply flawed experiment in the MMO space, hyped beyond almost any other game in recent memory. It weathered two major…

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Hands On: Forza Motorsport 7 (Xbox One X, 2017) feels equal parts tentpole release and tech demo, but isn’t torn between them

It is a truth universally acknowledged that powerful new video game consoles must be in want of a pretty racing game for their launch lineup.

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New Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton project Red Sparrow gets its first trailer

Upcoming film Red Sparrow starring Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Silver Linings Playbook) and Aussie actor Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Gift) has unveiled its first official trailer trailer ahead of its release on 1st March 2018. Red Sparrow follows the story of Dominika, played by Lawrence, a fiercely devoted and competitive ballerina who suffers a career ending injury,…

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Australians unite with the French to produce a new cannibal horror series

Sydney based company Cobbstar Productions and Parisian company Black Sheep Films will begin production Monday the 18th of September on their new horror series titled Patricia Moore. Co-produced by Blackpills and supported by Screen Australia’s Multi-Platform fund,  you can watch Patricia Moore globally  on Blackpills’ new and upcoming smart phone app, available to Australian audiences…

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Win a copy of the six-part event series Madiba on DVD

Madiba is a six-part event series that tells the epic tale of Nelson Mandela, the globally beloved iconic figure, as well as the many other leaders of the African National Congress – Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu – who fought alongside Mandela in the multi-racial, multi=national movement that led to the end of South African…

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Win a double pass to see Final Portrait starring Geoffrey Rush in cinemas

In 1964, while on a short trip to Paris, the American writer and art-lover James Lord is asked by his friend, the world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti, to sit for a portrait. The process, Giacometti assures Lord, will take only a few days. Flattered and intrigued, Lord agrees. So begins not only the story of a…

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Video Games Review: Pokkén Tournament DX (Switch, 2017) brings the pain

Given that I skipped the Wii U generation of Nintendo consoles (a decision I absolutely do not regret), I managed to miss Pokkén Tournament when it originally released. For those who made a similar decision, it’s time to go back on it – Pokkén Tournament DX is one of the most enjoyable and incredibly addictive…

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The world’s first sandcastle hostel has opened on the Gold Coast

Always wanted to sleep in a sandcastle? For the next few days, a curious pop-up hostel built with 24 tonnes of sand will be attracting constant attention on the golden grounds of Kurrawa Beach, Gold Coast. Built over the past three weeks, the impressive structure stands completely decked out with a stage (for live music and…

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An extra five flights will connect Auckland and Honolulu each week from 2018

Island time will soon be easier to reach for Kiwis, with an additional five non-stop weekly flights scheduled to connect Auckland and Honolulu from 21st March 2018. Hawaiian Airlines’ increased schedule will have flights depart Auckland at 11:55 pm five times weekly, Wednesday through Sunday, arriving in Honolulu at 9:45 a.m. on the same day. Flights…

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Winner of the 15th annual Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program Announced

Melbourne artist Elyse De Valle has been announced as this year’s winner of the Australia Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program. Now in its fifteenth year, the program offers Australian and New Zealand artists the chance to win a prize worth over 20K, including a three-month residence to live and work at The Glenfiddich Distillery near…

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Music program announced for Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait

A few days ago our beloved Amy Winehouse would have turned 34 years old. It’s still so hard to think that this world no longer has such a soul gifting us with her talents. All is not lost however, as an exhibition in her honour is so close to opening thanks to the Jewish Museum…

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Single of the Day: Grace Mitchell “French Becky” (2017)

A huge sound from Grace Mitchell comes in the form of “French Becky”, her latest single. The Portland native has lunged forward from the downtempo Banks-like music she first became synonymous with back in 2015 in favour of some glorious, jittering pop vibes – neither reign supreme over the other in our minds, she does both…

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Music Video of the Day: The Ruminaters “I Wanna Fight” (2017)

The Ruminaters returned recently with a rollicking new single in “I Wanna Fight” – embracing the anarchistic nature of rock and roll, the band have approached the accompanying music video with the same central idea in mind. Popping a GoPro on their mate Dylan and letting the chaos ensue, The Ruminaters’ new clip is hazy,…

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Interview: Jesswar chats Australia’s increasingly diverse hip hop scene and forthcoming EP

After a total of five showcase events across this year’s BIGSOUND it’s safe to say Jesswar more than proved her worth. Ferocious on the mic with a penchant for witty lyricism, the young Brisbane emcee dominated discussions on the “next big thing” in Australia’s hip hop scene, and with all that hype and excitement lifting…

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New Music to Listen to This Week (18th September 2017)

In the week that was, we were spoilt for choice with a bunch of new music releases. With our weekly Spotify playlist, you can wrap your ears around the charming new one from Julia Jacklin, a sultry pop number from Wallace and a spicy collab between Hanne Hukkelberg and Emilie Nicolas (plus heaps more)! ———-…

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Live Review: Camp Cope headlines a huge line up at the Corner for Night One of 2017’s Poison City Weekender

Poison City Weekender surfaces each year in the wake of BIGSOUND – Melbourne nonchalantly shrugging its shoulders and reminding Australia of why it’s the music capital. The first night of this year’s PCW was exactly that; an evening of some of Melbourne’s finest coolly sharing the stage with international acts, shrugging their shoulders and showing…

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Interview: Casey Donovan talks about her new EP after life in the jungle

Earlier this year, 2004 Australian Idol winner, Casey Donovan survived the jungle in I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! Now she’s released her crowd-funded EP, Off the Grid & Somewhere in Between and its singles “Lonely” (her first in seven years) and “The Villain”, and is later set to tour this October.

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Interview: Ziggy Ramo on the therapeutic nature of music & his creative drive moving into 2018

This afternoon, Ziggy Ramo announced his signing with Village Sounds, along with the announcement that he is to be joining the likes of The Shins, Cashmere Cat and Alt J at Perth’s Fidelity Festival. Taking things back to Brisbane at BIGSOUND, the young lyricist and performer sat down with us to share more of his story and…

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Stan to screen new Jim Carrey series Kidding in 2018

Stan has recently announced that Showtime’s Kidding, has been picked up for a first season order of 10 episodes. This comes as part of Stan’s exclusive content deal with Showtime, as Kidding joins shows such as Billions and I’m Dying Up Here and is set to premiere in 2018, exclusively on Stan. Carrey plays protagonist…

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The first trailer for Better Watch Out delivers a Home Alone from hell

The upcoming Christmas themed horror-comedy has gotten a new trailer, full of violence, brutality and most importantly, Christmas spirit. If the film Home Alone was from hell, we may have found the original cut. Better Watch Out revolves around two young teenage boys who have been left in the hands of an older, attractive female babysitter. But…

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Watch: Dave Bautista debuts his Blade Runner 2049 character in new short film prelude

Blade Runner is returning to the silver screen with Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, who will be reprising his role as Decker, the original film’s protagonist. But before it hits screens next month, we get to stick our teeth into a special short film prelude. 2048: Nowhere to Run stars actor…

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Win a copy of the British mini-series Decline & Fall on DVD

The period-comedy mini-series Decline & Fall, based on the 1928 novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, has recently been released on DVD and to celebrate we’ve got TEN DVD copies to give away! The show stars Jack Whitehall (Fresh Meat) as Paul Pennyfeather, a dedicated divinity student set upon a quiet life of contemplation as…

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