Book Review: Niccolò Ammaniti’s young survivor Anna tackles starvation, gangs & devastating disease in post-apocalyptic Sicily

Several years ago, a virus came to Sicily. It stalked the adults, picking them off one by one, until all that remained was handful of children. Struggling to protect her younger brother, Astor, Anna knows her days are numbered. When she reaches adolescence, the disease will come for her too. Falling in with a boy…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Zoe Coombs-Marr on her award winning show Trigger Warning

A female comedian, dressed as a male comedian, dressed as a silent Gaulier clown trying not to offend anyone. That is the premise of Zoe Coombs Marr’s award-winning show Trigger Warning, and it promises to have you in stitches. After a successful run last year that saw the Australian comedian win a Barry Award, Zoe…

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A rainbow-coloured pop up bar is coming to the MCA (Sydney)

Inspired by the Sydney International Art Series exhibition Pipilotti Rist: Sip My Ocean, which kicks off 1st November of this year, the harbourside Museum of Contemporary Art will be curating a special summer bar called Colour Fields for the public as well as private functions. The pop up joins the series of temporary bars which…

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THE PLOT adds Sloan Peterson, Clowns, Hatchie and more to November event

Sydney’s Greater West will be hosting one helluva party this November, with THE PLOT returning to Parramatta Park to show off some of our best emerging and favourite names. The festival line up already boasted the likes of Dean Lewis, Northeast Party House, Confidence Man and Bec Sandridge but now, THE PLOT is welcoming some names who have been…

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Interview: Tom Jay Williams sets his sights on the global pop market as a new year of music approaches

Poolside at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore, pop artist Tom Jay Williams is showing me a photo of a smashed iPhone screen, courtesy of Port Power’s heartbreaking loss to the West Coast Eagles on Saturday night. You can take the boy out of Adelaide, it seems, but you can’t take the Adelaide out of the boy….

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Music Video of the Day: Thandi Phoenix “Standing Too Close” (2017)

Thandi Phoenix was one of the breakthrough artists of BIGSOUND last week and it’s great to see her continue to push through and generate more positive momentum. Her latest single “Standing Too Close” has been a winner of a tune for Thandi, bringing her vocal talents to the fore as well as a sharp sense of…

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Women in Music Empowerment Day hits Newtown’s Miss Peaches this month

Newtown venue Miss Peaches will be hosting Women in Music Empowerment Day this September 24th, an event curated by Deeper Than House, Yeah The Girls, Coven Presents, Honey and Stayfly Sydney. The live music event has aimed to bring together women, non-binary and minority peoples in a safe and inclusive space to share, network and celebrate empowerment;…

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Underage event XraySpeX returns to the Oxford Art Factory in November

Following on from its successful debut in July, the crew behind XraySpeX are coming back to the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney with another jam packed live music event, specifically catered for the underage music fans. Headlined by The Belligerents and featuring the likes of Jack River, Bleeding Knees Club and Taj Ralph, November’s XraySpeX event is proudly brought to…

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Everything Nintendo talked about during this morning’s Nintendo Direct broadcast

Nintendo have debuted a new 45 minute Nintendo Direct broadcast this morning, covering a range of titles releasing for their 3DS and Nintendo Switch consoles over the next two quarters. You can watch the broadcast in full, and get a full list of everything Nintendo talked about, after the jump.

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Win a autographed Wonder Woman poster signed by Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen and more

Oz Comic-Con is back for another year and is headed your way! Don your capes, gather your comic books, assemble your squad and get ready to meet your favourite celebrities as we travel across Australia in 2017! Oz Comic-Con is coming soon to Brisbane (September 23- 24, BCEC) and Sydney (ICC Darling Harbour, September 30…

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Video Games Hands On: South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4, 2017) may be funnier than its predecessor

Last month I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with South Park: The Fractured But Whole, a game which literally picks up from where the last game, 2014’s The Stick of Truth, left off. The boys are still playing wizards, and as The New Kid, your quest to impress your classmates continues —…

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Video Games Review: Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS, 2017) is so much more than just a remake

Who the hell was asking for a remake of Metroid II? Nobody, that’s who, and Nintendo made it anyway. Metroid: Samus Returns takes the general thrust of series’ largely-forgotten 1992 Game Boy adventure and updates it with fresh, modern mechanics and the kind of visuals I wasn’t aware the 3DS could pull off. It takes a game consigned to…

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Film Review: mother! (USA, 2017) will test even the most stern of viewers

Where does one even begin to describe the demented deliciousness that is mother!?  Despite the film’s rather studio-heavy calibre of talent on board, Darren Aronofsky‘s latest cinematic insanity is anything but an audience-friendly affair.  The mysterious marketing campaign has wound up viewer interest (and rightfully so), and I would wager many will be entering theatres…

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Australian Box Office Report: Fear and fright win the week as IT floats over the competition

After some pretty dismal weeks in earnings at the box office, cinemas nationwide are welcoming this week’s no. 1 film, the remake of Stephen King’s classic novel (and reason why so many kids in the 80s hated clowns), It.  Opening on  548 screens nationally, it made a phenomenal $7.46m in its opening weekend, and was the biggest…

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Video Games Impressions: Quake Champions (PC, 2016) feels like a welcome home

Quake Champions is id Software’s return to the 90’s multiplayer shooter genre that has traditionally been one of their strongest suits. Now in early access, it is both a throwback to the kind of multiplayer shooter that id invented and a clarion call to everyone else with a game in this suddenly resurgent genre — there’ll be no…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Deborah Pearson talks us through History History History

If you’re a lover of cinema and history, Deborah Pearson has you covered! In a unique performance that uses audio and memory, History History History transports audiences back to October 23, 1956 and recreates a film that was supposed to screen at the Corvin Cinema the night the Hungarians rose up against the Soviets. Making her…

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Melbourne’s retro burger joint 8bit is opening a diner in Sydney next year

It was bound to happen sooner or later. As one of the staple attractions of Darling Harbour’s forthcoming food precinct, Darling Square, Melbourne’s acclaimed burger joint 8bit is officially making the move to Sydney. The popular retro video game inspired burger restaurant, which now has three venues across Melbourne, is planning to open a 100-seat…

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Interview: Mitch Orr and Dan Hong are throwing a street food party for Good Food Month

Good Food Month is once again fixing to take over Sydney with a ridiculous amount of exclusive food and drink focused events. In addition to the always jam-packed Night Noodle Markets, the program each year gives the best chefs from Sydney and beyond a chance to collaborate, showcase, and experiment to feed the masses (or…

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The future of music comes under the spotlight at All That Matters; Swim Season reigns in Singapore

Tuesday night in Singapore brought with it more education and musical discovery as Music Matters Live and All That Matters continued to engage in high gear performance and conferencing sessions. Up at the Ritz-Carlton, we learned from T.Jay Fowler from YouTube (Director, Product Management) at the ‘Future of Music’ keynote session about how the relationship between music and technology…

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Interview: Sløtface set up for a huge 2018 as the Norwegian young guns continue to finesse trailblazing profile

Norwegian group Sløtface sit across and beside me on a warm Brisbane afternoon at Ric’s Bar, as BIGSOUND continues to be built around us. It’s the first official night of the annual music conference and festival and Sløtface are one of the most highly anticipated – and international – bands on the bill. Their debut album, Try Not to Freak Out,…

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The Aussies shine bright in Singapore for Music Matters’ third night at CHIJMES

It was Aussie BBQ time at Music Matters Live overnight, with Sounds Australia putting on yet another showcase for the international delegates – a menu of Australian artists ready to be sampled, if you will. Introduced by Associate Producer Esti Zilber, the Aussie BBQ was opened by Melbourne vocalist NUSSY who declared she was going to play ‘some…

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Music Video of the Day: Yeo “Leavin'” (2017)

Yeo continues to go from strength to strength – the release of new album Desire Path has won the Melbourne producer and writer much acclaim and now, he’s bossing up for a national tour set to bring the Yeo name to many new ears. Today, we’re loving his new film clip for “Leavin’”, one of our favourite…

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Interview: The Cactus Channel describe their new direction & announce Australian tour

Melbourne group The Cactus Channel had their chance to showcase up at BIGSOUND this year, a great opportunity for the group to break in some new sounds and get a feel for the new direction they’ve embarked upon. Sitting down with Darvid, Lewis and Hudson, we get a little insight into how the group is approaching the release of their new album,…

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Sosefina’s picks: 11 acts who left a lasting impression at BIGSOUND

My third BIGSOUND brought with it some definite highlights, from corners I wasn’t expecting. There was a solid hip hop presence at this year’s festival, striking an instant contrast between the hard hitting MC’s and the usual fare of bands taking up on stages throughout the Valley. A main take away I came away from…

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Album Review: Tyler The Creator – Flower Boy (2017 LP)

Tyler the Creator’s near decade long rap career has been sprinkled with controversy, if the term “sprinkled” really meant “completely survived by”. Tyler’s aggressive, controversial style and lyricism garnered a cult following for the Odd Future member. Tyler’s tracks involved rape, misogyny, abuse, homophobia and many other controversial topics, all of which incited riots and…

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Capcom’s Okami HD brings an adventure classic to PS4, Xbox One and PC

There’s two kinds of people in this world — people who played Okami back in 2007 and those who did not. Originally released here in Australia on the PlayStation 2 a full year after its Japanese and American launch, and only in a very limited run (the 2000’s were a dark time), Capcom have announced that Okami…

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Video Games Review: ARK: Survival Evolved (Xbox One, 2017) combines wonder with next-level grind

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I know I’m not the only one. I loved (and continue to love) The Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, I read every book on them I could find, I inhaled the Dinotopia novels, I spent more time on DinoPark Tycoon in the primary school’s computer room than I…

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New Music to Listen to This Week (11th September 2017)

Carefully curated by our very own writers and editors, this week’s Spotify playlist has got some absolute gems. If you haven’t acquainted yourself with the cruisy S.M. Jenkins, electronic duo Nocturnal Tapes or all-girl rockers The Coathangers, now is your chance. Get listening! ———- This content has recently been ported from its original home on The…

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Music Video of the Day: Tigertown “Warriors” (2017)

Tigertown continue to craft and execute gorgeous pieces of music, the latest example coming in the form of their new single, “Warriors”. The music video that has recently been released to accompany has been directed by Imogen Grist and is frankly, a stunning watch. Toeing the line between fantasy and reality, the “Warriors” film clip embodies…

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Focus turns to international hype generators for the 2018 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival

The St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival line up for 2018 has dropped a day ahead of schedule thanks to a bluff by Pedestrian overnight but heck, why not – it’s a pretty tops line up. Turning the focus to artists on the come up, the Laneway Festival has curated a line up of international names that will…

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