In conversation with Poo Bear, the hitmaking songwriter who helped redefine Justin Bieber

A hit-maker since his early teens, Jason Boyd – better known as Poo Bear – has proved to be an essential ingredient for countless chart-toppers across generations. Largely anchored in, but not confined to, the world of hip hop and R&B, Boyd worked with the likes of 112 (“Anywhere”, “Peaches & Cream”, “Dance With Me”),…

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Airling on her debut record, Hard to Sleep, Easy To Dream, touring & killer collaborations

The dreamy combination of atmospheric pop synths and heart on sleeve lyrics created by singer/songwriter Airling have been circulating through the airwaves  a lot as of late, and thankfully the wait for new music is finally over. In the wake of her debut album, Hard to Sleep, Easy to Dream I sat down to chat with the Brisbane based singer/songwriter,…

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Single of the Day: Yeo ft. Asta “Never Wanted That” (2017)

YEO! We’ve been patiently waiting for one of the country’s most exciting talents to get his 2017 off to a cracking start and as we expected, he’s gone done it with new single, “Never Wanted That”. Linking up with Asta, the slice of pop you can hear below is clear cut and packed with vibrancy. The…

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Reconnecting with 80’s pop megastars BROS as their Australian return is announced

80’s pop mega-stars, BROS, are reforming for three shows only in 2017. Two shows at London’s O2 Arena are taking place in August, with the first show selling out in an astonishing seven seconds. Twins Matt and Luke Goss are also bringing the show to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on November 4th and I had…

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Dappled Cities Interview: Sydney’s ‘statesmen of indie-rock’ embrace the label and fly the flag proudly with album Five

Dappled Cities, to me, represents a time where I first started digging a little deeper into what new music existed outside my hometown. 2006’s Granddance was released when I was approaching the end of school, while it was with the release of Zounds in 2009 that the Sydney indie rock band became a solid part of my…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Áine Tyrrell “Don’t Be Left Crying” (2017)

Irish troubadour and one of our favourite ladies on the road, Áine Tyrrell, introduces us to her brand new EP Fledgling Fall, by way of this stunning single, “Don’t Be Left Crying”. Coming off the back of a successful album release for Queen of Swords, the new music from Tyrrell continuing to branch out from her folk foundations…

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Get in Formation: 10 pre-Lemonade moments of Beyoncé at her assertive best

This week, Mrs Beyoncé Knowles-Carter announced the introduction of Formation Scholars – a newly established scholarship program for young female college or graduate students in the US. With her acclaimed 2016 album Lemonade recently celebrating its one-year anniversary, Beyoncé has shunned traditional channels of acknowledging the milestone, instead breaking this news that offers four students USD $25,000 each to…

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Single of the Day: Arlo “Ivory” (2017)

With an R&B vocal that oozes an earnest soul quality akin to John Legend, coupled with rhythmic arrangement that boasts confidence in spades comes UK artist Arlo. His single “Ivory” has been rattling around on our Most Played list in office this week and it’s deserving of a listen today, if you’ve not already heard. Citing…

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Watch the fun-filled, action-packed first trailer for Kingsmen: The Golden Circle

If you cast your mind back to 2015, you might remember a film by the name of Kingsman: The Secret Service that became a surprising box office hit and as well as becoming a box-office hit, was regarded as a revival of the spy genre. Fast forward almost two years later, and we finally have the first…

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Melbourne Cabaret Festival announces 2017 program

The eighth annual Melbourne Cabaret Festival has released a stellar lineup for 2017’s showcase, which will be running throughout June and July. Ten Australian premieres will take place, including an opening night hosted by Cabaret legend and Artistic Director Dolly Diamond, who states the Festival is “…full of homegrown Australian talent with a huge amount of…

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Book Review: Amy Bodossian’s Wide Open is a beautiful emotional ride through poetry.

Amy Bodossian is an Adelaide performer and cabaret artist who has recently turned her drawings and words with into her debut poetry book Wide Open. She’s performed at all kinds of festivals, from Adelaide Fringe to Woodford Folk Festival to The Big Day Out, and while that list of stages seems quite impressive, this book is…

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Barbecue lovers come out in full force for Meatstock, the Music & Meat Festival

World renowned three time Barbecue World Champion Tuffy Stone; cook, author and TV host Jess Pryles; Australia’s greatest BBQ-ers battling it out for supremacy (and for the benefit of the hungry, hungry public); and a whole slew of live music acts. Meatstock certainly brought the goods to Melbourne this past weekend, and with the annual…

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Music Video of the Day: Jessie Reyez “Gatekeeper” (2017)

We’ve featured Jessie Reyez before on the website but we’ve kept coming back to this powerful new talent since, especially with the release of her new single,”Gatekeeper”. The music video has also dropped recently and is a candid look at this artist’s journey. Reyez takes the viewer through her childhood and into adulthood and pursuing a…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Velvet Bow “Cynical Like You” (2017)

Velvet Bow come rumbling through with their new single, “Cynical Like You” – a successful introduction of horns to the band’s already impressive line up and an ambitious step forward for the Victorian quintet. There’s a bit of a “Fell In Love With A Girl” vibe early on for all you White Stripes fans, while the…

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Album Review: Gorillaz – Humanz (2017 LP)

The much-hyped return of Gorillaz has been justified…to an extent. It’s been some years since 2010’s Plastic Beach introduced us to some brilliant pieces of songwriting and so understandably, when tour dates and hints of new music began filtering out, the excitement levels surrounding a new Gorillaz record began peaking long before any solid details about the record…

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Music Video of the Day: Ben Wright Smith “Hellion Heeled” (2017)

His debut album, The Great Divorce, was released to the positive response many of us expected but of course, Ben Wright Smith isn’t content in resting on his laurels. He’s pushed on through and continued to have the momentum rolling, this week presenting us with a new music video for “Hellion Heeled”. The indie pop number sees…

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Backstage Polaroids: Meet The Bands of Coachella 2017

We spent the weekend backstage at Coachella Music & Arts Festival in California, and while there, Jaime Lewis grabbed some Polaroids of a tonne of our favourite artists backstage. Take a look through the photos below – from the legendary Lee Fields, to Local Natives, Tennis and up-and-coming artist Bishop Briggs – and many more……

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CMW Discovery: Dublin’s Elm on track to be the next big thing

The annual music industry festival and conference Canadian Music Week brought with it a slew of incredible talent, from Canada, Australia and around the world. One act that caught our eye in particular ventured to the Toronto based event from Dublin, Ireland, and made a splash with a series of showcase performances, while also closing…

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Film Review: Certain Women (USA, 2016) proves Kelly Reichardt the master of quiet filmmaking

Proving to be the master of quiet filmmaking, Kelly Reichardt has established quite a name for herself within the independent cinematic industry. With slow-burning, patient films like Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy, her newest picture follows the style of her preceding work. Certain Women, an adaptation of short stories by Maile Meloy, shows Reichardt…

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Netflix Review: Dear White People (USA, 2017) is a binge-worthy treat

Dear White People directed by Justin Simien, was a 2014 indie hit film that went wild, from word of mouth at Sundance Film Festival. Critics applauded it and it garnered a massive fan base – so why wouldn’t we want to see it back as a hit Netflix series? Well, it’s here and it could…

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Video Games Review: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (PC, 2017) ties itself in knots to be the RTS fans want

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III seems to want to be all things to all people. Did you miss the base building from DoW2? Good news, bases are back. Heroic units? Large-scale armies? All present and accounted for. It wants to be all things to all people (specifically fans of the DoW series and tabletop game), and it…

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For Film’s Sake Festival Review: Dust Cloth (Turkey, 2016) is a subtle and well-intentioned character study

Dust Cloth (Toz Bezi) is the sort of film you’d get if you crossed Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” with Radiohead’s “No Surprises.” It’s the subtle, everyday story that shows the poverty that two working class women in Istanbul endure. While it is a well-observed and well-intentioned tale, this is also a character study…

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What is Australia’s Future in the Games Development Industry?

Earlier this month, I attended Xbox Academy’s games design workshop. The workshop, part of an initiative from the Sydney Microsoft Store to foster up-and-coming Australian games development talent, teaches students the basics of the industry, fundamentals of game dev and tips for getting a foot in the door. The class was led by Jennifer Scheurle, a…

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Film Review: Below Her Mouth (Canada, 2016) is a steamy lesbian love story

Put in simple terms, Below Her Mouth is a story about a girl meets a girl except that the latter is engaged to a boy. It’s a tender lesbian romance that showcases the sexual awakening of one of its lead characters. But it’s also one that could do with a lot more conversation and a…

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The most affordable way to attend Dark Mofo may just be by a P&O Cruise

Dark Mofo hits Hobart in June, a winter festival that has fast become a favourite and mainstay of the national circuit; attracting incredible music, arts and food events, and an iconic nudie run that is always the talk of the town. There are a lot of ways that punters can get to the event from…

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Travel Tips: Adelaide’s The Coconut Kids share lessons learned at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas

Adelaide group The Coconut Kids recently completed a successful debut run at SXSW in Austin, Texas – taking part in what is easily, one of the world’s biggest showcases of new music. For the French-inspired indie folk group, the trip took them all the way from South Oz to some of the richest areas of music in…

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Sydney Comedy Festival director Jorge Menindis talks about the just-launched 2017 season

The Sydney Comedy Festival has been around for thirteen years and has amazingly grown from a festival with humble beginnings, into a force that itself has grown to a major arts festival in Australia. Director of the festival for all that time, Jorge Menindis details the history while making some last minute plans prior to…

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Theatre Review: The Extravaganza that is Aladdin: The Musical is here in Melbourne (performances until October 22nd)

Our tale of love, magic, and adventure takes place in the fabled city of Agrabah where unusual friendships are formed, heroes outwit villains, and true love conquers all. Whilst most of the world knows the story of Aladdin, nothing quite prepares you for the absolute extravaganza that is Aladdin: The Musical. When it comes to…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Localles “Wishing Well” (2017)

Boasting well crafted pop riffs and driving guitars, Melbourne’s Localles exhibit more of that potential that has been generating serious buzz on the live front of late. Led by Ted O’Neil, the band’s music funnels frustrations and a great sense of self-awareness into almost two and a half minutes of easily digested indie pop-rock – a talent…

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Busby Marou release touching new music video for “Paint This Land” in time for ANZAC Day

Released in line with today’s ANZAC Day commemorations, Busby Marou have brought us a touching new music video for “Paint This Land”. Acknowledging the role of Indigenous servicemen and women in our defence history, the music video sees Wayne Blair and Kate Halpin take the directorial reins. Filmed out at Mount Tambourine on the Gold Coast, the music video features…

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