AYLA took an unconventional approach to writing her latest single “Fire and Wine.” This infectious electro-pop banger is one of her best.
“After a couple of Covid-canceled planned writing trips, Sam [Thomlinson] and I set aside a day to write together online instead,” AYLA recalled. “I think it was that initial synth line that made me feel nostalgic. The first verse made me think of a good friend of mine and the things we’d get up to when we were younger. The second verse travelled through more memories, this time more of a relationship when I was younger. The chorus puts all those feelings together for how we live our lives now.”
The press release hints that there’s a lot more to come from AYLA in the near future. I can’t wait! Until then, I’m going to have “Fire and Wine” on repeat.
After honing his craft in the Eora/Sydney punk scene under the moniker Hawkeye Reis, Ali Reyis has reemerged under his own name with some of the most exciting emo/pop-punk music you’re likely to hear. His latest single “Glenfield 308 Semi-Automatic” is a powerful track with hard-hitting vocals that really drive those lyrics home.
“This song was written sitting at Glenfield Train Station, in Western Sydney. I was on my way back from an Open Mic Night in the city to my university dorm in Campbelltown at the University of Western Sydney. It was freezing cold, almost midnight, and I had a lecture at 8am the next morning, totally defeated and dog tired,” he recalled. “I had spread myself too thin, trying to finish uni as well as release and record songs, bumbling my way through both and not really committing to either. And then as the clock went to 00.00, I suddenly started laughing and smiling to myself, as I felt this huge rush of euphoria. I had a sense of conquest, of accomplishment, that regardless of the outcome, I was really pushing myself to go chase my dream of playing music.”
“Glenfield 308 Semi-Automatic” comes from Ali’s new album Stars for a Blanket, which is out now. The album launch show fell through at the last minute due to staffing issues at the venue, so keep an eye on his socials to see when that’s hopefully rescheduled.
Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Ian Summers
Sophisticated Dingo have just dropped their latest single “Been Thinking” and its another banger. Crank it up, because this one sounds best loud.
“It is commonplace to fake a smile in disguise of the stress and anguish you are feeling,” explained vocalist and guitarist Lewis Matte of the song’s inspiration. “This decoy might avoid detection momentarily, but is weakly maintained at best. Even the smallest of inconveniences can trigger all of your screws to come loose. Despite best intentions, your true colours shine bright, and for the better. The real you is out in the open. You can connect with the chaos of the real world rather than hide away in your fantasy of control and calm.”
Sophisticated Dingo are embracing the spooky season with a set at Creepshow 2023 at Mo’s Desert Clubhouse in Jellurga/Burleigh on October 28.
Radical Son has one of those voices that stops you in its tracks. I’m not sure it’s ever sounded better than it does on his latest single, “Until You Call My Name.” A Kamilaroi artist with Tongan heritage, he sings of gratitude, love, and finding your way in a time of unrest.
Radical Son says this is a song “For those divided and lost, pulled or drawn in many directions both externally and internally. I’m mindful that we are all finding our way and that as hard as it may sometimes be just getting by in life, it is my hope that we find a way to live life, to love.”
Radical Son will next take the stage at the National Folk Festival in Ngambri/Canberra, which will be held at EPIC Showgrounds over the Easter long weekend, March 28 to April 1.
Image used with permission from On the Map PR; credit: Cameron Bloom
Good Will Remedy’s latest song “A Flower And A Note” is the kind of great storyteller song I just don’t hear enough of these days. It reminds me a lot of something the Black Crowes or Matchbox Twenty might have recorded, but it’s got that unique Australian flavour as a sweetener. Take a listen: it’s so good.
“The song follows the story of a couple who have lost their way, lost their path and lost each other,” explained Good Will Remedy’s singer and songwriter, Will Lebihan. “The call and response vocals rise as the song progresses and the story unfolds.”
“A Flower And A Note” comes from Good Will Remedy’s sixth album Sunshine State, which drops on November 10. The band will also join Diesel for his big New Year’s Eve Base at Bribie Island Hotel at Yarun/Bribie Island on December 31.
Image used with permission from Chris Familton Publicity
WAMALA brought us upbeat vibes with his debut single “Dance Again” earlier this year. But there’s more to this Ugandan/Australian alternative talent than meets the eye. This Naarm/Melbourne-based artist shows his softer side with the release of his latest song “My Whole Life.” While “Dance Again” was a real bop, this new track shows real depth. WAMALA’s stunning voice and the eight-piece string ensemble backing him up make it a song of such rare cinematic beauty. Take a moment to stop what you’re doing and listen, but it deserves your full focus.
WAMALA says he wrote the song after the love of his life randomly appeared in his newsfeed while he was doom scrolling during the 2020 lockdowns. This song perfectly captures the random beauty that can come out of the darkness at a time you least expect it.
“My Whole Life” is the latest track lifted from WAMALA’s forthcoming EP, Fitter, Better, Healthier.
Duncan Toombs has just dropped what might be the most personal song of his career. “Steel on Steel” is a beautiful tribute to his late father Bob, who passed away in August 2021. I suggest having some tissues on standby before you press play.
“I started writing this song while I was making trip’s back home to Toowoomba [Gooneburra Country] visiting my father in hospital. He was suffering from multiple mini stokes due to the lung cancer which was found while running tests on him. I finished the song the day the nurses called me while at home to let me know he had passed,” Duncan recalled. “It was soon realised that I would not be able to be at my father’s funeral as the QLD border was locked again. With the help of my producer Rod McCormack, we recorded and mixed the song within a matter of days. My family then helped me create a short video for it which features a trip I took to Europe with dad and my two boys in 2018 and It was played at my father’s service. I watched my father’s service via live stream from my lounge room with my family and the saving grace from not being able to be there was that at least my energy was there in the room with him. My dad was a train driver and worked for QLD Rail for over 30 years. He was a true people’s champion. I miss him a lot.”
“Steel on Steel” is the title track from Duncan’s debut album, which went to number one on the ARIA country charts. Most at home on stage, he’ll be keeping his father’s memory alive when he plays this song at the following shows:
20-22 October 2023 – Groundwater Country Music Festival, Yugambeh Country/Broadbeach
24 November 2023 – The Beer Shed Brewing Co, Tharawal Country/Leumeah
25 November 2023 – Tassie Music Muster @ National Park Hotel, Palawa Country/National Park
1-8 December 2023 – Cruisin’ Country @ Brilliance of the Seas
25 January 2024 – Tamworth Family Reunion @ Wests, Kamilaroi Country/West Tamworth
Aotearoa/New Zealand-expat Venice Qin has settled in Eora/Sydney and is ready to take the local music scene by storm with her latest single “ALIEN”. As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, Venice knows all too well how it feels to be the odd person out. However, this cool song makes such a strong statement that it almost claims that otherness as a superpower.
“I’ve always found myself in spaces where I don’t feel like I belong. Whether that’s as an Asian in Western spaces, a Westernised Asian in Asian spaces, or just having a different mindset to people around me, and not relating to their experiences,” Venice explained. “My song ‘ALIEN’ comes from a very personal, vulnerable place for me. I used to find myself constantly changing my persona when I went out, so that I could fit in and would always come home feeling even more alienated, doubting that my younger self would like the person I’ve become in those moments. Sometimes I still do that, and I’m not proud of it.
“As much as we’re told that we should embrace our quirks and differences, it is hard when you feel incredibly misunderstood and that you’re not the only one that feels or thinks the way that you do. Even throughout the creation of this song, I was full of insecurity and anxiety that people wouldn’t listen to it, because they wouldn’t relate to what I was feeling (lol…). Because the song is sonically less in your face, as an Asian woman, I was fearful that people wouldn’t take the time to hear my voice and what I was going through. But thankfully I have really great people in my life who listened to this song, and heard and believed in me, so the song has gotten to where it is today so that more people can hear it. I really want it to reach and unite us aliens of the world, and to let us know we are not alone.”
“ALIEN” is the title track from Venice’s debut EP, which drops on November 17.
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia
I don’t cover a lot of instrumental music on my blog. I don’t have anything against it, but as a writer I often find music without words a little hard to latch on to. But every now and then, there’s an instrumental piece that manages to cut through for me. One of those special singles is “Horatio Hornblower,” the latest release from Meeanjin/Brisbane band Cigány Weaver.
I love the way this piece effortlessly combines so many genres. There are classical elements, the energy of folk, the spontaneity of jazz. It seems timeless, yet it’s also really fresh. This is the first track the band’s released since a personnel shakeup, so it’s an exciting sign of what’s to come with this new lineup.
“Horatio Hornblower” is the first of several singles Cigány Weaver will drop before releasing their sophomore album early next year. They’ll play the following local shows before embarking on a national tour in 2024.
27 October 2023 – Brisbane International Jazz Festival @ Thomas Dixon Centre, Meeanjin/Brisbane
10 November 2023 – Maleny Music Festival @ Maleny Showgrounds, Nalbo and Dallambara Country/Maleny
Between You & Me are dropping some of the best collaborations around right now. Fresh from teaming up with BESTIES on “two wrongs,” they’ve just dropped a new track with Somber Hills called “Sometimes (My Brain Doesn’t Work).” It’s got a great vibe, but make sure you tap in to the lyrics which explore the challenges Somber Hills faces living with ADHD.
“I’m a dopamine missing thrill seeking degen that has learned to live with a brain that’s always searching for stimulus. This song is accepting who you are and all you’ve done with a note to self, ‘I will continue to grow,’” Somber Hills explained. “It hurts to accept the truth about yourself, it hurts to accept that things could’ve been different but you can’t start your next step until you accept those things. That’s what happened while this track was in the making.”
This is just the first of a bunch of new singles Somber Hills plans to release in the coming months as part of a potential larger body of work. I hear he’s also planning plenty of shows to support all this new music, so make sure you’re following him on the socials for all the news of those gigs as soon as they’re announced.
Image used with permission from Capital Artist Group
