South African-born, Meeanjin/Brisbane-based rapper S.A.B. had me from the blast of horns that open his latest single “Gonna Get Got.” Then then those rhymes started flowing, I was firmly on board. This is quality hip-hop, authentic with something to say. I also love the way S.A.B. plays with genre here, incorporating elements of soul and jazz into his sound to create something fresh.
“As it is a public service announcement to air-headed globetrotters who flaunt their cash and jewellery overseas,” said S.A.B. “I can simply forewarn and say, “If you’re not local to an area, but enter a poor community’s space only to unwittingly flaunt wealth, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
S.A.B. will launch “Gonna Get Got” for hometown fans at King Lear’s Throne on April 20. After he recently played to a packed room at the Mountain Goat Valley Crawl festival, you can expect this one’s going to be big!
Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Jay Santelli might have started her musical journey as a pop-punk act, but she’s clearly left her teenage angst far behind her. There’s a beautiful peace about her new country single “Love Someone Else” which makes it compulsive listening.
The lyrics of “Love Someone Else” are so heartbreaking, but that inner peace that radiates through the recording helps you feel like it’s all going to be OK. There may be sadness in the moment, but everything will work out alright in the end. Jay wrote this beautiful song with Nashville artists Noah Needleman and Chelsea Thompson.
Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Monnie has worked with the likes of Thelma Plum and Sweater Curse, but she’s stepping into the spotlight with her solo debut, “Tell Me Something.” This track is a real bop, with a hooky chorus you’re going to find going around your head long after the last note.
“‘Tell Me Something’ is a song I wrote with my friend Kobe (Forest Claudette) during the last Naarm lockdown of 2021” she explained. “It is a dramatic version of how I was feeling about dating – frustrated, unmatched, lost. I feel like I am being constantly misrepresented or underestimated, especially by men. Ego and posturing is boring to me, it’s annoying!
“People have often told me that I’m intimidating when all I’ve been looking for is human connection. This song is about how the more you try to impress someone/project your own shit onto them, the less you actually get out of an interaction. Writing this song let me be silly, petty, and get out some of that frustration without hurting anybody.”
Talk about a bold debut. Something tells me we’ll be hearing a lot more from Monnie.
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia
I’m not going to pretend to know anything about modern classical music. But I do know what sounds beautiful to me, and that’s “The Adventure Etude,” the latest solo instrumental piece from Naarm/Melbourne pianist Calvin Leung.
The release of “The Adventure Etude” comes 20 years after Calvin released his first original composition as part of the Kool Skools Recording & Songwriting Project, the same initiative that helped launch the careers of artists like Delta Goodrem and Missy Higgins. Since then he’s given more than 500 live public performance at the RACV Club, where he’s the resident pianist, and played other leading venues including Crown Towers, Arts Centre Melbourne, and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. You might also have seen him playing with finalists on The Voice Australia.
Calvin was inspired to write “The Adventure Etude” after watching a fellow pianist busking on the streets of Queenstown during a recent holiday.
“I was incredibly moved after seeing this amazing pianist busk on the streets on New Year’s Eve, and that really inspired me to write, record and finally release my own music,” he explained. “I also decided to name my first release ‘The Adventure Etude’ after the name of my accommodation The Adventure Hostel, where I made some incredible new friends who also encouraged me to release my own music”.
After hearing this piece, I’m sure you’ll agree Calvin deserves to be staying somewhere better than hostels. You can support him at his upcoming shows.
15 April 2023 – The RACV Club, Naarm/Melbourne
6 May 2023 – The Rubber Chicken, Naarm/Melbourne
13 May 2023- The RACV Club, Naarm/Melbourne
27 May 2023- The RACV Club, Naarm/Melbourne
17 June 2023 – The RACV Club, Naarm/Melbourne
Image used with permission from Calvin Leung Music
“Who’s to Say,” the latest single by local singer-songwriter Jack Hudson, is brand new but it already sounds like a classic. With thoughtful, soul-searching lyrics, powerful vocals, and a stellar performance from his band, made up of Benjamin Graham (drums), Chris Pearson (bass), Daniel Khoury (keys), and Piper Rodrigues (backing vocals), this track is everything you want it to be.
“This project is about sharing my experiences, thoughts and beliefs as a young man, through songs I birthed on my acoustic guitar,” Jack said of his current music. “The thrill of the project has been taking my raw tracks to the studio to collaborate in real-time with some of my best friends and favourite players. It felt like the right time and place to make music with the people I have in my circle. Whilst it is early days for this project, I am excited as I know a lot more music is to be written and released. After the events of 2020 and 2021, I just can’t wait to get out on the road and share this project with the world”.
Hopefully that means Jack will announce some shows really soon.
The Superjesus may be back touring together, but Sarah McLeod hasn’t closed the door on her solo career. Fresh from her tour with her bandmates, she’s announced she’s bringing back her One Electric Lady shows, which see Sarah performing with a special dual-output guitar.
“I designed a guitar that could play bass and guitar at the same time, so when I add beats I sound like a three-piece band,” she explained. She also plays many songs on the piano, which she only learned on the 2021 tour. I hear those shows were amazing, but we can probably expect even better this time around.
With her one-woman show, Sarah can deliver more intimate, stripped-back arrangements of her solo material. And yes, there’s also be acoustic versions of your Superjesus favourites and some choice covers. Put these dates in your calendar friends!
1 June 2023 – Imperial Hotel, Kabi Kabi Country/Eumundi
2 June 2023 – Jindalee Hotel, Meeanjin/Brisbane
3 June 2023 – The Royal Hotel, Turrbul Country/Nundah
10 June 2023 – The Grace Emily, Tartanya/Adelaide
15 June 2023 – Sooki Lounge, Wurundjeri Country/Belgrave
16 June 2023 – The Workers Club, Ngár-go/Fitzroy
22 June 2023 – The Brass Monkey, Tharawal Country/Cronulla
23 June 2023 – The Vanguard, Eora/Sydney
24 June 2023 – The Heritage Hotel, Bulla/Bulli
25 June 2023 – Lizottes, Mulbinba/Newcastle
Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute
There’s no rest for the wicked, or the wicked talented. Fresh from shows with Lime Cordiale, Boorloo/Perth act COTERIE will keep the party going through winter with their own headlining gigs. Dubbed the “Honey Dance With Me,” after a fan-favourite track from COTERIE’s debut album, these concerts promise to get you moving and grooving.
“We’re so excited to be hitting the road again playing some of our favourite cities and towns in Australia, enjoying all the beautiful sights, and of course, hanging with our awesome fans,” says COTERIE. “We’re stoked knowing many of these fans will be seeing us live for the first time, so we want to make it really special for everyone who comes along!”
Here are all the dates you need. Tickets are on sale now.
1 June 2023 – Transit Bar, Ngunnawal/Canberra
2 June 2023 – Factory Theatre, Eora/Sydney
3 June 2023 – Hamilton Station Hotel, Mulumbinba/Newcastle
8 June 2023 – Solbar, Kabi Kabi/Maroochydore
9 June 2023 – Miami Marketta, Yugambeh/Gold Coast
10 June 2023 – Princess Theatre, Meeanjin/Brisbane
16 June 2023 – Lion Arts Factory, Tandanya/Adelaide
17 June 2023 – Corner Hotel, Naarm/Melbourne
23 June 2023 – Tanks Arts Centre, Gimuy/Cairns
24 June 2023 – Be Social Festival, Yuwibara/Mackay
30 June 2023 – Metro City, Boorloo/Perth
Bundjalung Country/Gold Coast rapper Juwan has blown me away with his new single “Vent.” It’s a powerful single with introspective lyrics that reflect on Juwan’s upbringing and his place in the world.
“’Vent’ reminds me of when I was 13 writing lyrics in class while the teacher thought I was doing work,” Juwan said. “It’s 100% myself and my thoughts being channelled from my soul onto a page, and then onto a soft yet hard beat by my brother, SOLLYY. Unapologetically straight from the heart.”
Juwan has already dropped a couple of singles and two mixtapes, but this powerful song might just be the thing to catch the attention of the mainstream.
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia
Tassie punk-rock act Luca Brasi announced their upcoming tour in style recently, appearing in the triple j studios for Like a Version. As a Goo Goo Dolls fan, I get a little protective over the band’s material, but Luca Brasi’s take on “Iris” is utter perfection.
Luca Brasi were joined in the studio by Naarm/Melbourne indie-folk act Eaglemont, who’ll not so coincidentally play support on all these upcoming shows. OK Hotel are also on the stacked bill. Luca Brasi should be in fine form, as they’ve just wrapped up shows with Canada’s Alexisonfire. Tickets are on sale now.
6 May 2023 – Du Cane Brewery, Launceston
12 May 2023 – Cambridge Hotel, Mulubinba/Newcastle
13 May 2023 – Crowbar, Eora/Sydney
19 May 2023 – Max Watt’s, Naarm/Melbourne
20 May 2023 – The Zoo, Meeanjin/Brisbane
2 June 2023 – Jive Bar, Tartanya/Adelaide
3 June 2023 – Rosemount Hotel, Boorloo/Perth
Image used with permission from Deathproof PR; credit: Tom Wilkinson
Magic was always going to happen when two of the greatest female voices in Australia’s heavy music scene collaborated. “Imposter,” the latest single from RedHook (fronted by Emmy Mack) and Yours Truly (fronted by Mikaila Delgado) is an epic break-up anthem. If you’ve been wronged my sisters, you’re going to want to turn the volume up on this one.
“There’s no head-fuck quite like discovering that the person you love most, and who you think you know better than anyone else, has been lying to you and manipulating you the entire time,” Emmy confirmed of the song’s inspiration. “At first, it feels like death, you grieve for the person you loved as if they’ve died, and yet somehow they still exist. It’s almost as if some kind of evil, alien life force has taken up residence inside their body and is walking around wearing their skin. Eventually, it causes you to question your own sanity; you question whether that person who meant so much to you ever really existed at all.
“This song was already so special to me and one of my absolute favourites off the record. We approached Mikaila to be involved because we love Yours Truly so much and thought her voice would sound amazing on the track. But what I didn’t realise was that she’d actually been going through an eerily similar situation to mine in her own personal life. We trauma-bonded a lot during the process of putting ‘Imposter’ together and the extra vocal parts and lyrics that Mikaila added still give me goosebumps every time! She took this song to a whole new dimension and I’m so grateful to her for it. This is our joint break-up anthem and we hope it empowers other people who’ve been through similar nightmarish bullshit to stay strong.”
The clip is the perfect accompaniment. If you love cult sci fi flicks like Species and Jennifer’s Body, you’re going to be all about this.
There are plenty of opportunities to see RedHook in the coming months, with the band joining Smashing Pumpkins’ The World is a Vampire Tour, headlining their own shows to support the recent release of their EP, Postcard From a Living Hell, and playing a couple of extra festivals. Get onto it fans!
