News
Gold Coast
YO DAWG
Oceanics heard you like videos, so they put a video inside their video so you can video while you video. The GC band’s new video for ‘Jukebox’ is a video about making a video. Described by director Genki Yamasaki as “indie, arty and very British” (of course), the group will launch the clip at Elsewhere with Hey Geronimo this Friday July 6. We assume the show will be filmed for their next video.
KINGSWOOD COUNTRY
Melbourne rockers Kingswood have been announced as the winners of the Triple J Unearthed Splendour In The Grass competition. They’ll be flown up to our part of the world to play the festival (joining Unearthed Byron acts Splinta, Lifeline and Wilde Child on the bill), preceded by dates at The Beach Hotel on July 13 and Hard Rock Cafe on July 14.
DON’T START BELIEVIN
Busby Marou’s ‘I Still Don’t Belive’ tour is a celebration of the amazing year they’ve had since the release of their debut LP (a year that included an inexplicable appearance on Ten’s Late News, and other triumphs). Help them relive the memories of that one time they were interviewed by Brad McEwan at Currumbin RSL’s SoundLounge on Friday July 13 with The Hello Morning and Leader Cheetah.
MOLLY’S MELODRAMA
If your Facebook news feed has been assaulted with people asking where Molly is, it can only mean one of two things: 1) You’re friends with Madonna, or 2) Cedric Gervais is coming to town. The French-born, Miami-based house music god will leave the comfy confines of South Beach to play Platinum Nightclub on Saturday July 14 with Craig Roberts and DJ Flash.
ROOTS AND ALL
West End roots band Kooii will play their only Brisbane show for six months at The Hi-Fi in July. Earth Frequency will present the show, which Kooii will headline with Chocolate Strings, Ladi Abundance, Georgia Potter and DJs Papa Bitch-O and Rudekat on Saturday July 13.
DOWN TO AN ART
Everything's coming up Big Scary. Their second album 'Not Art' is about to be released and the duo have been signed to US label Barsuk. Home to the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and Ra Ra Riot, Tom Iansek and Jo Syme are the first Australian act to be signed to the label, who couldn't resist snapping them up despite geographical differences. 'Not Art' will be released on Friday June 28 and will feature 11 tracks that pay homage to the likes of everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Kanye West.
KINGS OF THE CASTLE
Melbourne roots act The Jed Rowe Band are touring the east coast in July to launch their debut film clip, for the track 'Castlemaine' (from their Jeff Lang-produced sophomore album, 'The Ember And The Afterglow'). The clip, directed by Lachlan Bryan, was shot on location in Victoria's Yarra Ranges. They'll tell you all about it at The Powerhouse on Sunday July 7 and The Rails on Thursday July 11.
LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG TALENT
Little Bigsound is back in July with a one day forum to entice Brisbane's creative youth. The line-up of speakers includes Cub Scouts' Zoe Davis, The Medics’ Kahl Wallace and Jindhu Lawrie, Seja Vogel and Mia Wray (pic), who will wax lyrical on the science of songwriting, the age of social media and career paths in a vibrant industry. Little Bigsound is aimed at young people aged 15-25 looking to kick-start their careers and will run from 9am to 6pm at The Edge on Friday July 12.
HAPPY DAYS
Community radio heroes 4ZzZ have announced the launch of an On Demand service which allows listeners to re-stream 168 hours of weekly 102.1fm programs at their discretion. To celebrate, Happy-Fest is back in July to take over Winn Lane and The Zoo with music and culture. The line-up will feature interstate acts Raw Prawn and Forces as well as local bands Barbiturates, Multiple Man, Happy Times and Samedi Sound System. The service will launch on July 6, the same day Happy-Fest goes down.
BIG NEWS
Australia's premier music conference, Bigsound, is adding a new string to its bow this year. The 'Music+Design' program will demonstrate the continual intersection between the two disciplines. The two day adjoining conference and showcase will feature Grammy Award winner Rob Jones, Regurgitator and Ben Johnston from Josephmark, responsible for the recent MySpace refurbishment, among other inter-disciplinary elites. Bigsound 'Music + Design' will run September 10-11 with conference passes on sale now.
CHANCE ENCOUNTER
2013 has been a big year for Brisbane producer The Kite String Tangle, who launched only 12 short months ago and has already performed at Splendour In The Grass and Parklife, and toured with Gold Panda and Vydamo. With a new single, 'Given The Chance', under his belt, The Kite String Tangle will hit Alhambra Lounge on Thursday July 11 with Rat & Co and Tincture.
MAINE EVENT
Arizona five-piece The Maine have released their fourth full-length studio album, 'Forever Halloween', just in time to support Anberlin on their Australian tour in September. You can now stream 'Forever Halloween' on Spotify and catch The Maine with Anberlin at The Hi-Fi on Wednesday September 4 and The Coolangatta Hotel on Thursday September 5.
ODE TO JOY
Vance Joy has been globetrotting in 2013, having already completed a sold out nationwide tour in April and a US tour with songstress Lissie. He's showing no signs of slowing down. Vance Joy will support Bernard Fanning on his sold-out tour in July and August, hit Splendour In The Grass and embark on his own 'Riptide' tour in August before jetting back off to the US. Catch him before he's gone when he plays The Zoo on Saturday August 31.
MAKING LEMONADE
Phillipines-born guitarist Jackson Dunn has released a new song, 'Lemonade', after a trip around The Phillipines to create a documentary on the surf culture in his home country. Jackson is taking his beer bottle slide guitar, foot-stomping and strumming skills on the road to celebrate the new single. He'll be at The Loft on The Gold Coast on Friday July 5 and The Beetle Bar in Brisbane on Saturday July 6.
SIMPLY THE BEST
Urban arts mini-festival Brisbestfest will hit West End in late June, celebrating everything from hip hop and soul music to street art and graffiti. Alongside an array of local musicians, the event will showcase some of Brisbane's finest artists, including mural art from Fintan Magee (pic), Cezary Stulgis, Ellen Stapleton and David Don. Several of these artists will fly to Copenhagen days after the event to paint a 100 meter wall at Roskilde Festival. Brisbestfest will be held at the Loading Dock Cafe and ARIA building car park on Saturday June 29.
VISION VALLEY
Midnight Juggernauts are back with their third full-length album, 'Uncanny Valley', a 43 minute journey through cold waves, interstellar harmonies and 1950s house anthems. The trio experimented with traditional rock instruments and robotic sounds made with their own hands, and recorded part of the new LP in the French countryside. You can hear the results live at The Hi-Fi on Friday August 30.
GHOSTING
Over the past five years, Australian alt-hip hop artist Grey Ghost has experimented with names and careers. He counts musician, filmmaker and graphic artist as career paths he's wandered down. Now he's set to release a new EP, 'The Elixir', on Friday June 21. Much like Grey Ghost's career, it's an experimental mix. Producers Jan Skubiszewski, Matik and Styalz Fuego have worked with local and international heavyweights, including 360, The Temper Trap and Arctic Monkeys; the 'Elixir' tour hits The Tempo Hotel on Saturday July 13.
KICK IT TO THE KERB
After the 2011 floods devastated Brisbane, local jazz funk group Kerbside Collection packed their bags and headed to Melbourne to record their debut album. Enter 'Mind The Curb', the first full-length worldwide release from the outfit, offering a rare mix of jazz, funk, soul and groove. Kerbside Collection will celebrate the release of the new album at The Beetle Bar on Friday June 21.
FREE SANGRIA
Off the back of the success of the tune 'Sangria', emerging Melbourne hip hop artist REMi has announced his first national tour as well as a a free mixtape, downloadable from his Bandcamp site. With his partner in crime, producer and DJ Sensible J, REMi will play The Bowler Bar on Thursday July 18.
BEHIND THIS DOOR...
What do Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, John Mayer and Snoop Dogg have in common? They all dig Mayer Hawthorne, who has just released his third LP 'Where Does This Door Go', which features production work from Pharrell Williams (because of course it does), Greg Wells, Jack Splash and Oak (of Oak and Pop), as well as a collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. The first single, 'Her Favourite Song', is out now.
Stop Press: Breaking News
BABY K
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have given birth to a baby girl (well, Kim did most of the birthing). America's baby was born five weeks early in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills on June 16. Kim's mum (and Kardashian family agent) Kris Jenner has told sources that Kimye baby's name will start with a 'K' and her middle name will be Donda. Kanye cancelled press commitments for his new album to be by Kim's side when the baby was born.
GAME OF THRONES
Jay-Z stole the spotlight from his bestie Kanye by announcing he will release a new solo record on July 4, his first since 2009. The record will have the understated title 'Magna Carter Holy Grail' and is rumoured to feature collaborations with The-Dream, Drake, Nas, Justin Timberlake and — of course — Pharrell Williams. It will be released exclusively to Samsung Galaxy users first. You have less than a month to flush your iPhone down the toilet — the first million fans to download the app will receive the album free on July 4.
IT ACTUALLY IS BRAIN SURGERY
Mumford And Sons have been forced to cancel a handful of upcoming US tour dates, as bassist Ted Dwane needs to undergo brain surgery. The band are expected to headline the first night of Splendour In The Grass on Friday July 26 and have assured fans Dwane will make a quick recovery and they won't be postponing their Australian dates.
Q-POP
Possibly the strangest music news of the week (and that's saying something, given that Bloody Beetroots and Paul McCartney collaborated this week) is that Queen guitarist Brian May has confirmed he will be working with K-Pop star and YouTube sensation Psy. The legendary rocker has received Twitter backlash from Queen fans but Brian claims they are “trivial” and that Psy is a “significant artist”.
NO DEAL
Kim Deal has decided to leave The Pixies, again. They have been on and off over the last 25 years; splitting in 1993 as a result of tensions between her and frontman Frank Black before reuniting in 2004. Despite their tumultuous relationship with the bassist, The Pixies took to their Facebook page to wish her the best, claiming her place in the band would always be there.
ILLY BACK
Illy has announced he will tour the country in September to celebrate his new single 'On and On'. Although his most recent album 'Bring It Back' is still getting spins, Illy shows no sign of slowing down, already beginning work on a new album which he will release on his own label, Onetwo. The Melbourne MC recently made waves at the Come Together festival with a wild set. You can catch him at Oh Hello! on Friday September 13.
