Oscar®, Grammy® & Tony Award®-winning composer Stephen Schwartz chats to us about his new show for Princess Cruises Born To Dance

Australian cruisers will be amongst the first to see the newest show by Oscar®, Grammy® & Tony Award®-winning composer Stephen Schwartz. His first musical production (which showed on Emerald Princess during its six month season cruising out of Sydney last summer) Magic to Do– combined his lifelong fascination with magic with some of his most famous…

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Single of the Day: Juñor ft. Mann “Top Flight” (2017)

Melbourne’s Juñor has this time found himself mixing things up with LA’s Mann – known for his work with the likes of Kendrick and Frank Ocean – on new single “Top Flight”. An impressive new release from Juñor, “Top Flight” brings both groove and punchy lyrics to fruition in a combination that demonstrates the solid dynamic that has clearly resulted from this…

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Digging Deep or Digging Down? A Muse fan’s first impression of the band’s new single, “Dig Down”

Muse dropped their brand new single, “Dig Down”, overnight and the reaction has been varied. Sounding a lot like “Madness” from The 2nd Law it has a slow, pulsating bassline – possibly from Chris Wolstenholme‘s Kitara, an assumption based purely on the similarity to “Madness” – and Matt Bellamy delivers the vocals in breathy crooner…

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Simone Dow takes us through the making of Voyager’s new album, The Ghost Mile

For Perth’s Voyager, the release of their sixth studio album in The Ghost Mile marked a significant moment for the group. Coming off the back of a fruitful period spent writing in studio – a more collaborative effort than previous albums had seen – as well being created while weddings and general life continued to swirl around the…

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Kieron Shuddall on Circa Waves’ Different Creatures album potentially being ‘the biggest rock record in Britain’

We first met Circa Waves in 2014 – it was a sweaty Sydney afternoon when the Liverpudlian rockers stopped by our offices for a chat around their debut Australian appearances for Splendour in the Grass. Already, the band had generated the type of hype and momentum that helped launch bands like Catfish and The Bottlemen to popular…

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Music Video of the Day: Dear Seattle “Afterthought” (2017)

Sydney’s Dear Seattle started turning heads after uploading some pretty amazing tracks to triple j unearthed, particularly with release of breakthrough single ‘Meadows’. The group deliver their gritty indie-rock and heartfelt, raw vocals in ‘Afterthought’, the video continuing from the video for ‘Meadows’. It’s an exploration of the morning after a big one, dealing with the…

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Win a double pass to see Escape From New York back on the big screen in Sydney

The In The House series at the Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney brings back cult classics to the big screen. The next screening is on May 26th and will see John Carpenter and Kurt Russell at it again in the 1981 hit Escape From New York. To accompany the screening, David “Quinny” Quinn from…

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Video Games Review: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS, 2017): Stuck in the Past

I will admit to have very little prior experience with the Fire Emblem franchise, having deliberately avoided the series due to its deep lore and extensive history. Despite this, I largely enjoyed my time with its newest entry, Shadows of Valentia, which presents a simple, but surprisingly accessible story for new fans and long-time players…

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The St Kilda Film Festival kicks off an action packed 2017 program

The 34th annual St Kilda Film Festival has officially commenced for another year, and the program is nothing short of exciting. Incredibly, the festival is Australia’s longest running short film festival ever, and for opening night to take place at the iconic and newly refurbished Palais Theatre, well, what could be more historic than that. Last…

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Eight things we’re hoping to see from the return of Twin Peaks

After twenty-six years Twin Peaks breathes once more. The series formerly declared dead by director David Lynch, will return following two and a half decades of speculation and fan civil war (born by the closing scene of the final episode – Beyond Life and Death). Its revival beckons the Lynchian cult to raise their lighters…

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Sampa The Great reigns supreme as The Great Escape Festival wraps up its first night

The Great Escape brought its A-game to the first official day of proceedings out in Brighton this Thursday. The rain did not deter the delegates and punters from embracing the sheer wealth of live music to be absorbed across the wide variety of music venues within the city. While the SOUNDS AUSTRALIA Sound Gallery showcase…

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Sounds Australia makes another impressive impact during the first day of The Great Escape

The SOUNDS AUSTRALIA crew have always maintained an impressive presence internationally, The Great Escape proving to be no exception to the rule for another year. Kicking off their time in Brighton with the annual Sound Gallery at Komedia, a great array of Australian artists took to the stage in the underground venue and upstairs in the studio…

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Ben Dowd of Melbourne’s APES talks Stranger Than Strangers

APES are an enigmatic Melbourne band. They’re well-known across the Australian music community, however in their long career, they haven’t released a full-length album – only small tasters in an EP and single launches. But, finally, the day has come, and they are bringing their debut album, Stranger Than Strangers into the world. It reveals…

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Music Video of the Day: Hachiku “Moonface” (2017)

I’ll be damned if this isn’t the cutest music video I’ve seen in a long while. Hachiku, aka Anika Ostendorf, crafts avant-garde tinged dream pop from whatever bedroom she’s writing from. The Melbourne-via London-via Germany 22-year old will be releasing her debut EP through Milk! Records on June 2nd, having already supported Courtney Barnett on her 2015 European…

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Single of the Day: Hatchie “Try” (2017)

One word for this single: wow. This stellar debut single is from Brisbane’s Hatchie, aka Harriette Pilbeam, an artist who’s made music with a lot of groups, including indie pop darlings Babaganouj. Striding out on her own for “Try”, she delivers shoegaze soaked dream pop that’s so effortless, she really doesn’t seem to by trying. The shimmery pop…

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Our Top Acts to Watch at The Great Escape Festival

The Great Escape festival returns to Brighton and Hove this year, bringing with it over 450 new and up and coming bands. Here at the AU, we love Australian music, and couldn’t be prouder of the Aussie acts that have been selected to perform, in the midst of such a sheer volume of talent. Honourable mentions to…

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Ian Moss on heading to Queensland for Blues on Broadbeach 2017

Blues on Broadbeach is one of the largest free music events in Australia. Held on May 18 to 21st, the festival is celebrating its 16th year, having started in 2002. Cold Chisel guitarist and successful solo artist, Ian Moss is one of almost 70 acts to perform over the four day festival including: Bonnie Tyler,…

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Album Review: San Cisco – The Water (2017 LP)

The coolest kids on the block and possibly the sweetest kids of the bunch – Western Australian band San Cisco are back with The Water, a serenade of rich insistent pop tunes. Lets dive in. The band began their string of melodic love dedications back in 2010, with their first EP Golden Revolver. Led by storyteller Jordi Davieson on vocals, Scarlett Stevens, Josh Biondillo and Nick Gardner were…

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New fundraising Q&A event series “The Artists Room” launches with David Wenham and Gettin’ Square

Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney has announced a one-of-a-kind event later this month, that will allow cinema lovers to see Australian actor David Wenham in a live 1-hour Q&A. Hosted by Luke Buckmaster, the insightful event will see the Lord of the Rings offer sage advice on the industry. This will immediately be followed by a screening…

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Netflix’s Star Trek: Discovery has revealed its first trailer: Here’s everything you need to know

Today marks the day we have gained an exciting new look into CBS’s highly anticipated new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery, which will screen internationally (including in Australia) on Netflix. Check out the trailer below. It must be a science fiction extravaganza this week as Fox’s new Seth McFarlane series The Orville also planted a trailer online…

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Theatre Review: My Fair Lady is a faithful, surprisingly emotionally complex rendition (Now Playing at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre)

Melbourne’s Regent Theatre was filled up to the brim with people for My Fair Lady on Tuesday night, in anticipation for yet another classic tale of, well… not-quite-love, but respectability and a blossoming companionship. My Fair Lady needs no introduction. Its a story that has been cherished since the film of the 1940s, and as George…

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Four Pillars are bringing back their epic Bloody Shiraz Gin this June

The fine folk behind Four Pillars have just announced that this year they’ll be bringing back their phenomenal Bloody Shiraz Gin, which last year completely sold out just four months after it was released. To satisfy demand, the gin distillery will be producing even more bottles of the epic gin-wine combo, which takes Four Pillars’…

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An absolutely terrifying ghost ship will be floating around Sydney Harbour this weekend

As far as marketing pushes go, this one takes the cake. Films often inspire all sorts of cool little happenings in cities around the world, and in the case of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales it’s an eerie looking ghost ship that’s set to stalk Sydney Harbour for the next few…

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Smizzy (Sydney) chats Triple J, social media, and his brilliant ‘Re-Rapped’ competition

And the Social Media campaign award of the year goes to: Martin Brown. The man formerly known as Smiles Again (one half of the now defunct Mind Over Matter), and now known as Smizzy, has been flying a bit under the radar for these past few years. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hard…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Osaka Punch “In or Out” (2017)

Brisbane’s Osaka Punch have spent the last nine years making a name for themselves as one of Australia’s best live acts, bringing together rock, prog, funk and everything in between to make a sound truly their own. Last year they released a seven track EP Death Monster Super Squad to critical acclaim and today we’re…

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Aldous Harding on the ‘intense performer’ label and new album Party

Aldous Harding remains an enigma to me. As of the time this piece is published, I’m preparing to see her perform at The Great Escape, a few days before her highly anticipated album Party sees release. Already, the New Zealander has had a hectic few months of shows; appearances at SXSW positioned Harding as a buzz artist…

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Film Review: King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (USA, 2017) is a fun but overcooked take on the myth

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard every iteration of the legend of King Arthur and Excalibur, comes a new take and telling of the myth, one that prefers its heroes dirty, its villains seething and its action ridiculously over the top. There are elements in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword that really…

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Netflix announces new TV series based on The Witcher

Netflix have signed on to develop and produce a brand new television series based on The Witcher Saga novels by Andrzej Sapkowski that went on to inspire CD Project Red’s series of wildly popular action RPG’s. Sapkowski, fresh from absolutely thrashing the video games based upon his work, has announced the new television series via a press…

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The team behind Secrets & Lies are delivering Netflix its first original Australian series Tidelands

Netflix has announced its first Australian original series entitled Tidelands. Unveiled on social media, the supernatural crime drama that will debut exclusively on Netflix across the world. The drama follows a former criminal as she returns home to the small fishing village of Orphelin Bay. When the body of a local fisherman washes ashore, she must…

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Regurgitator to play a special 20th anniversary concert for Unit at EB Expo 2017

Long-running Australian rock act Regurgitator will commemorate the 20th anniversary of their titanic second studio album Unit with a special concert at this year’s EB Expo on the Gold Coast.

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