Canadian sensation Basia Bulat is currently wowing crowds at Woodford Folk Festival, but if you haven’t got a ticket, you’re in luck. She’ll also play sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne once the festival wraps up.
If you’re not already acquainted with Basia’s music, let her latest single “Your Girl” be your introduction. Our first taste of her forthcoming album Are You in Love? it oozes with warmth and optimism. There’s a light about Basia’s voice that shines through, even when her songs have an element of pathos as this one does. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be hooked after one listen.
“I wrote ‘Your Girl’ during a snowstorm in Montreal and recorded it under the warm desert sun in Joshua Tree,” she recounted. “Someone once told me you can’t sing and cry at the same time but that wasn’t true for me when we were recording this one. There’s joy in finally being free from a painful situation, relief, laughter—even as it feels impossible to ever forget the pain or understand why that storm came through your life the way it did. And so, light on your feet, you dance with the memory instead. If you’re listening to this song and understand what I mean, know that I’m singing with you as we’re dancing in that swirling wind.”
Basia Bulat will play the following local venues while she’s in Australia. Don’t miss this superb Canadian act while she’s on our shores!
2 January 2020 – Low 302, Sydney
4 January 2020 – Wesley Anne, Melbourne
5 January 2020 – Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne
I intended to take a few weeks off over the festive season, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. So it’s little wonder that “Shattered Thoughts,” the latest track from Brisbane’s Concrete Surfers is resonating with me. It’s got the right amount of grit and angst, with a surf-rock bent that’s encouraging me to knock off early and hit the beach.
“The concept of the video appeared when we were showing our friends tech deck videos to another friend and they struck the idea that we should do a film clip based off that, which we thought was really neat!” explained the band’s guitarist and vocalist, Jovi Brook. “We just got some cardboard boxes some paint and dollhouse furniture from Kmart and made little sets which was actually really fun and cool seeing it all come together.”
Concrete Surfers were scheduled to play Falls, but with its cancellation fans will just have to wait a little longer to see them live. As they were planning a summer tour before they got the call from festival organisers, hopefully some more shows will be announced soon.
Image used with permission from Habit Music Company
Australian-born singer-songwriter Ryan Edmond sings of his experiences making a new life in Sweden in his gorgeous new single “Stockholm.” I love its delicate folky feel and Ryan’s beautiful vocals.
“’Stockholm’ is about the similarities and differences of living in two different parts of the world. From the beaches and relaxed vibes of Australia to the mountains, forests and historical architecture of Sweden,” he explained. “I want people to be able to interpret the song in their own way although for me ‘Stockholm’ is also about being in a relationship with someone from another country and the beauty of being able to live in different cities and countries but also about the challenges that come up. Such as trying to find a place that feels like home for both of you.”
Ryan is coming home for a string of shows to support the single in the New Year, including some supporting slots with Tijuana Cartel. Catch him at the following venues while you can!
2 January 2020 – Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle
9 January 2020 – Junk Bar, Brisbane
11 January 2020 – Golden Age Cinema, Sydney
17 January 2020 – The Gasometer Upstairs, Melbourne
23 January 2020 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River (supporting Tijuana Cartel)
24 January 2020 – Clancy’s, Dunsborough (supporting Tijuana Cartel)
25 January 2020 – Freo Social, Fremantle (supporting Tijuana Cartel)
26 January 2020 – Indi Bar, Scarborough (supporting Tijuana Cartel)
Summer is festival time, a time for welcoming some big international talents to our shores and discovering some brand new artists. The Brother Brothers fall into the latter category, but they’ve quickly become a favourite of mine with their beautiful folky music and the sort of sublime harmonies that only come when siblings join forces. Their debut album Some People I Know dropped in 2018, but the American identical twins are only just making it to our part of the world.
David Moss plays cello and guitar while his brother Adam plays the five-string fiddle. They both write and sing with an uncomplicated style that is such a welcome throwback. Take a listen to their song “Colorado” and just see if it doesn’t give you chills.
The Brother Brothers will play selected festivals and headlining shows over the next few weeks, starting with Woodford later this month. Catch them at all the following venues!
29 December 2019 – 1 January 2020 – Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford
3 January 2020 – Old Museum, Brisbane
4 January 2020 – Dorrigo Gazette Theatre, Dorrigo
5 January 2020 – Live n Cookin’ @ Lizotte’s, Newcastle
7 January 2020 – The Vanguard, Sydney
8 January 2020 – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra
9 January 2020 – The Spotted Mallard, Melbourne
10-12 January 2020 – Cygnet Folk Festival, Cygnet
14 January 2020 – Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
15 January 2020 – Adventure Bay Hall, Adventure Bay
16 January 2020 – Mountain Mojo, Sheffield
17-19 January 2020 – Illawarra Folk Festival NSW, Illawarra
Melbourne’s Mr. Big Stuff effortlessly fuses hip hop rhymes with a fun pop sensibility to create his debut single “I Need Space.” With up-and-coming synthpop act Strange Talk guesting, the track is a ridiculously catchy number you’ll be humming all day.
“’I Need Space’ was inspired by a break up close to my family,” Mr. Big Stuff explained. “I was at the studio writing and I got a call from one of the people involved in the breakup. We got talking and as I was holding back tears, they said to me I just need my space. I was in a bit of a sad mood, not knowing what to do – so I walked back into the studio, and 5 minutes later ‘I Need Space’ was born.”
The clip is a quirky feast for the senses which takes us to some unreal locations including a surrealist library and an apocalyptic car park.
Mr. Big Stuff is hard at work on an EP, so hopefully we’ll hear from him really soon.
Egyptian-Australian artist Nardean casts a spell with her latest single “MAGIC!” It’s an upbeat, life-affirming track featuring Heirloome.
The clip will also strike a chord with Harry Potter fans. In it we see Nardean and her palls paying homage to the tales of the boy wizard on a creatively cheesy handmade Hogwarts set.
“I decided to make this video because I am sort of (very) obsessed with Harry Potter. Growing up in a really strict family, I felt like such an alien. I was the little creative child and everyone else was an engineer or doctor. I could really relate with Harry. I loved the idea that maybe life didn’t need to be terrible and boring, maybe there could be magic! Fast forward a few years, I started making music and turns out life could be magic!” Nardean explained.
This song has all the right ingredients to get this muggle dancing. Has it worked its magic on you?
Los Angeles-based Aussie act Jack Gray may have penned the poppiest ditty about fake relationships I’ve ever heard. His new track “Friends Like These” is a real banger, with an upbeat vibe that beautifully contrasts with the subject matter.
This track is our first taste of new music from Jack following the release of his debut EP Nights Like This. It wasn’t that long ago that he was on Aussie soil promoting that EP, but “Friends Like These” has me hoping a return visit won’t be too far away!
Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia
Aussie expat Lucas Laufen casts a spell with his new single, “I Know Where Silence Lives.” It’s a beautiful folky number inspired by Lucas’s experience watching the ocean from a bird-watching tower on the border of the Netherlands and Germany.
“It was the first time I’d seen the sea in months and I remember thinking, ‘this is where silence lives’,” he recalled. “The wind was super strong so it wasn’t actually silent but I felt at home with the salt spray and no one around. So it’s silence relating to peace as opposed to real acoustic silence.”
Much like the song itself, the songwriting process was a bit of a slow-burn.
“When I was growing up, my father would always wake up at 5:30 am to find a quiet place before the rest of the world woke up. I’d see him wandering down the beach by himself and I never really understood what he was doing. While writing this song I finally understood the reason for this and feel that I’ve grown to seek these moments out like my father did,” he added. “The song spans a one-year writing process, which is strange for me. I usually find it hard to hold onto an emotion for this long and a song will lose its meaning if it’s drawn out for this amount of time. It was my way of looking through his life and trying to understand him. I found that we are very similar people and hold this thought as an anchor when I’m trying to figure out when I’m going with my life.”
The film clip expands on Lucas’ original idea, telling the story of a woman who leaves city life to find her own quiet place in the Norwegian countryside.
“We purposefully begin the video with a greyish look and feel, the actress, Leona Grundig, is obviously sick of traffic and noise, the colours of her clothes are nondescript and she looks like she’s in the wrong place,” explained the director, Dennis Schischke. “Her mood lifts the closer she gets to her destination, the colours of her clothing changes and the colour grading is more saturated. Within the video there are three portraits of her, the last one shows the end of her journey and her reaction to finally finding her own silence.”
“I Know Where Silence Lives” is the title track from Lucas Laufen’s new album, which drops on December 6. He’ll play a string of shows around Europe in the coming months to support its release.
14 December 2019 – Privatclub, Berlin
30 January 2020 – L’Atelier, Basel
1 February 2020 – Chur Unplugged, Chur
3 February 2020 – Sofar Sounds, Paris
5 February 2020 – Cafe De Loge, Ghent
6 February 2020 – Cafe Litteraire Le Bovary, Luxembourg
9 February 2020 – Cafe de Witte, Assen
17 February 2020 – Viertal Bar, Wuppertal
18 February 2020 – Schlosskeller, Darmstadt
19 February 2020 – Lolita Bar, Kassel
20 February 2020 – Altes Wettburo, Dresden
21 February 2020 – Moritzhof, Magdeburg
22 February 2020 – Wohnzimmermucke, Bayreuth
24 February 2020 – Inspire, Chemnitz
25 February 2020 – Horns Erben, Leipzig
27 February 2020 – Stubenkonzerte, Aarau
28 February 2020 – La Cyma, Winterthur
2 March 2020 – Rififi, Innsbruck
3 March 2020 – Das Wohnzimmer, Klagenfurt
4 March 2020 – Guest Room, Graz
5 March 2020 – Rhiz, Wien
7 March 2020 – Foxis/Fuxbau, Freistadt
9 March 2020 – FOX, Munchen
10 March 2020 – Cafe Manheim, Nuremberg
11 March 2020 – Viertelkultur, Wurzburg
12 March 2020 – Kulturcafe Lichtung, Koln
16 March 2020 – Tonfink, Lubeck
17 March 2020 – Pony Bar, Hamburg
Image used with permission from Guerilla Music Promotion; credit: Jordan Kirk
As bushfires blaze and politicians squabble, it’s easy to get frustrated with the state of the world. However, Anna Smyrk offers some optimism in the dark times with her latest single “Alight.”
Anna wrote the song a couple of years ago while living in the Solomon Islands, but listening to her reminisce it seems not a lot has changed in the world.
“There was so much going on in world politics making me miserable, and in the Solomon Islands I was seeing first-hand what it looks like as the world starts to go underwater,” she explained. During that time she found solace in the book “Hope in the Dark,” by American activist Rebecca Solnit.
“I wanted to write a song that conveyed the feeling this book gave me,” Anna said. “It talks about how hope can be an axe we can use to break down doors. Hopeful actions can seem meaningless against all the darkness and uncertainty, but the book shows how, historically, those small acts have added up to huge changes.”
Anna recorded the track in a Central Victorian farmhouse on a hot summer’s day. The track features some of her oldest friends on violin, banjo, dobro, double bass and drums and her sister on backing vocals. They play supporting roles, but you can hear the influence of loved ones in the warmth of this song.
Making the song a truly global affair, Anna shot the video in an abandoned mansion in Tagaytay, Philippines, with award-winning Phillipino film-makers Sheron Dayoc and Sonny Calvento.
“Alight” comes from Anna’s second EP, Swim, which is available through all good digital platforms. She’s taking a break from her advocacy work abroad to play shows all around the country in the New Year.
16-19 January 2020 – Illawarra Folk Festival, Illawarra Jan 16-19, 2019
26 & 27 January 2020 – Newstead Live Music Festival, Newstead
6 February 2020 – Terang Live 2 Terang Commercial Hotel, Terang
7 February 2020 – Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide
8 February 2020 – Stone Pony, Adelaide
Anthony Callea has come a long way since he took second place in just the second season of Australian Idol. Now 15 years on from his stint on reality TV, Anthony is forging a new musical path writing his own songs. His brand new single “What’s Wrong With Me?” is the perfect introduction to his new musical chapter.
“‘What’s Wrong With Me?’ is a deep and meaningful song for me,” Anthony explained. “It’s inherently personal but also a song that I think many will be able to relate to. Telling a story through music is in my DNA and when I close my eyes and get behind the mic, I feel like I am home. It’s an honour to share this song with Australia and the World. Self-discovery is a beautiful yet confronting and scary process, so I hope that when you hear this song, you connect with me and we share a moment together, a moment of honesty, purity and respect.”
“What’s Wrong With Me?” is a world away from catchy pop tunes like “Addicted to You.” It also shows more creativity and soul than the admittedly excellent cover albums he’s produced in recent years. Everyone loves a cover; it’s what endeared Anthony to us all those years ago after all. Releasing a song like this, a song that’s not just an original but one that’s so vulnerable is a real risk. But I think it’s one that could pay off.
