Fresh off the back of a whirlwind tour of the UK, Olympia is already on the road back home in Australia, playing with Paul Dempsey as he hits venues dotted around the place. We were lucky to have seen Olympia and her fantastic band perform a few times while out in Brighton for The Great Escape, though…
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Now the dust has finally settled on The Great Escape for another year and a flight back to Australia beckons, I’ve been loading up my flight playlist and have come to land on my top eight artists from my time out in Brighton. Of course, there were some shining artists I’d known about prior, while…
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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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Beaty Heart are one of those bands who popped up out of nowhere for me. Recently emerging as one of the fresh new bands out of Britain to be watching, a jump down a YouTube/Spotify rabbit hole soon after had me hooked. Their musical flavour is one that evokes the energy of early Foals, Alt-J…
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Highasakite are a day off releasing Camp Echo when we meet up in Brighton ahead of their Great Escape showcase. I sit down over some food with the gorgeous Ingrid Håvik and Marte Eberson – burgers, salads, milkshakes. The good stuff. Delving into the Norwegian group’s highly anticipated third album, both Håvik and Eberson describe the effect a solid amount of…
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Next month, Australian crowds will be introduced to Spring King for the first time. The British four piece are set to perform their debut Australian shows at Splendour in the Grass and alongside Beach Slang at their east coast sideshows, a perfect opportunity to dole out their now-popular chaotic post-punk rock show in some excellent venues. For now though,…
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For Danny Miller and Max Harwood, their musical journey as Lewis Del Mar is one that is continuing to take on new shapes and layers with each show they lock down. Their debut EP dropped this year and off the back of its release, the duo have already impressed at SXSW and as we were to find out, The…
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When I sat down with London duo Oh Wonder at The Great Escape, we were a world away from the last time we met, just prior to New Year’s Eve at the Falls Festival in Victoria. For one thing, it wasn’t 40-something degrees. For another, we’d swapped the makeshift backstage set up at Mt. Duneed for…
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Next month, UK act Blossoms will be making their debut Australian appearances at Splendour in the Grass and then in Melbourne and Sydney alongside Jake Bugg. Their brand of pop-rock has seen them already smash out festival sets at the likes of Reading and Leeds and T in the Park, not to mention at a…
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When Bombay Bicycle Club announced they would be going on an indefinite hiatus it didn’t mean that they were quitting music by any means and for us, while we were bummed out by the band’s decision to put the Bombay focus on the back burner, the concept of new music projects from the members was exciting on its…
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Irish duo Little Hours came to my attention somewhere between the Norwegian indie pop and German rock selections on my Great Escape Spotify playlist last month. Between John Doherty and Ryan Mc Closkey, some gorgeous indie-folk sounds present themselves and after discovering their debut EP, I knew theirs was a set I’d wanted to see out in Brighton. Sitting down with both…
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Seated across the road from Brighton’s Copperdollar Studios on a chilly Friday afternoon, Ry X is digging into some food ahead of a session slotted into his schedule at The Great Escape. “Would you like some?” he asks, offering me some of his meal as I join him on the bench. I gratefully decline, knowing how…
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Heading to the UK last week, I had no proper idea of what to be expecting from The Great Escape. I had assumed it would be like SXSW but colder and by the beach, but aside from that, all I had to go on were stories from friends who’d showcased in Brighton in the past or…
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Ahead of her Great Escape showcase at Brighton’s Unitarian Church, I sat down with 18 year old songwriter Fenne Lily. The self-taught songstress came to our attention when reviews started coming out online from her shows through the UK with Marlon Williams and in current single “Top To Toe”, we were struck by her talent…
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For any emerging artist, the concept of your first international tour is nothing short of exciting, daunting, nerve-wracking, all the above. Showcasing festivals aimed at bringing thousands of artists, industry members and music fans together for a concentrated period of time for musical discovery pulls all these feelings into one bubble and can be overwhelming…
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Thursday sees The Great Escape kick off its first day and night of music programming and already, downtown Brighton is crawling with musicians and industry members from around the globe, ready to find their new favourite artists. Ahead of the action, we’ve been checking some of the international showcasing artists out and bring you a…
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Melbourne’s Owen Rabbit makes his return to the UK for The Great Escape this year, bringing with him a whole swag of new sounds and material to showcase for the British audiences. We find out a bit more about how he’s been anticipating his shows in the UK, as well as plans for the rest of 2016!…
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Adelaide’s SKIES are gearing up to make their Brighton debut at The Great Escape this year, bringing their infectious brand of synthy, indie goodness to the Brits for the first time. Since playing their debut UK show at The Old Blue Last in London on Tuesday night, the band has now set their sights on larger audiences…
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Continuing to globe hop through the early months of 2016, a strong contingent of Australian bands have now found themselves in Brighton, UK for The Great Escape. Descending upon the beachside English town for the next three days and nights of live music showcases and conferences, the musicians flying the flag for our area of…
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As we proceed further into 2016, the international live music showcase train also continues to chug along; from SXSW to CMW in Toronto recently, the next major stop on the calendar is Brighton, England for The Great Escape Festival. Regarded as the major event for new music discovery in Europe, The Great Escape this year…
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Talk about a triple whammy. With The Great Escape Festival preparing to take over Brighton, England next week, an Aussie trio in The Temper Trap, Jagwar Ma and DMA’s have just been announced on the already extensive and diverse line up! The Temper Trap have just wrapped up some successful shows here in Australia, their first headline dates…
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Beach Baby are a band high on our must-see list at The Great Escape this year and this week, we’ve loved seeing that the band have dropped a new little gem, their new music video for “Lost Soul”! The single itself has proven to be a popular one for the band, as they are currently completing…
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Adelaide trio Horror My Friend today announced that they’re UK bound – heading out to Brighton, England in a few weeks for The Great Escape, where they’ll be performing some showcase sets including a spot on the always-popular Aussie BBQ line up in London. Before they leave however, the boys have dropped their latest music video, this…
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Following his breakthrough last year with singles “Holy Holy” and “Denny’s”, Melbourne-based producer, Owen Rabbit, returns with new single “Weeds” and has announced some national tour dates. His new track “Weeds”, has been beautifully crafted, with Owen being described as “one of the most exciting artists currently producing DIY experimental-electronica”. Owen Rabbit has received such…
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