Category Archives: Artist

Interview: KRAM – Making Music and Loving It!

KRAMTell us how Kram came about?

KRAM: Mark spelt backwards invented by an old mate while we watching a Leyland Brothers movie in the local hall.

What have been the highlights and advantages since becoming a solo artist?

KRAM: It’s very liberating to make a record where you play all the instruments yourself, like a massive bedroom 4-track session. I enjoyed doing that with Andy, recording everything! I will definitely make more records like that in the future. If you have the idea in your head, you can just go in and play it without having to think about the live thing at all.

… and how does this compare to Spiderbait?
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Sunday Selection: Ellington : 5th July 2009

LifeMusicMedia Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

Ellington    After their debut EP The Joy We Keep In earned them some dedicated fans, Ellington worked relentlessly to start recording a batch of new songs they could develop even further – and introduce to a wider audience. Enlisting the help of producer Matt Malpass (Copeland, Lydia) and some special guest stars (Matthew Thiessen (Relient K), Jeff Turner (Say Anything) and Leighton Antelman (Lydia)), the six-track record sounds phenomenal for a duo self-releasing it. Jake Bosci’s warm and inviting vocals barely register a whisper above the atmospheric, dream-like guitar work, moving away from the meloncholic self-loathing most indie-pop bands center on, instead focusing on love and all the senses it manipulates with its gentle embrace. “She said it’s not hard to fall in love / The hardest part is proving that love is what you wanted / and what you’ll need for the rest of your life,” sings Bosci on “Wide Awake and Smiling,” glimmering with sentiment and optimism.

Continue reading Sunday Selection: Ellington : 5th July 2009

Black Eyed Peas – Australia & NZ Tour – October 2009

Black Eyed Peas

Buy Music: Black Eyed Peas

  The Frontier Touring Company announce the return of apl.de.ap, Fergie, Taboo and will.i.am – the quartet collectively known as The Black Eyed Peas – to Australia and New Zealand this October. Performing in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland, this will be the band’s first tour of Australia and New Zealand since 2005, and will see The Black Eyed Peas present their most spectacular show to date; The E.N.D. World Tour.

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Tinpan Orange New Album – The Bottom Of The Lake


Tinpan Orange   Tinpan Orange New Album – The Bottom Of The Lake

Melbourne folk outfit Tinpan Orange are putting the finishing touches on their third LP, The Bottom Of The Lake, due in store August 17th 2009, through Vitamin Records, it is the follow up to their 2007 gem Death, Love and Buildings.

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Interview: Foxx On Fire – uncharTED top 3 finalist

Interview: Foxx On FireuncharTED top 3 finalist
Author: Elize Strydom

Foxx On Fire   Q. ‘They’ say that you already have the look, the tunes and the energy …that you’re a “…big label A&R’s wet dream”. How will uncharTED help you?

Foxx On Fire: Well hopefully it will bring more attention to the band, putting Foxx on Fire into the minds of these A&R types. Then hopefully they will see us and have that wet dream… then sign us.

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Interview: Hot Little Hands – uncharTED top 3 finalist

Interview: Hot Little HandsuncharTED top 3 finalist
Author: Elize Strydom

Hot Little Hands   Q. Now hang on a minute, I’ve heard of your tunes on the radio, you’ve already released an album and you’re touring around the country…don’t you want to give some poor, struggling band a chance?

Hot Little Hands: It’s Splendour! If we play it then we can die as happy campers! … Not that we’ll ever die…

Continue reading Interview: Hot Little Hands – uncharTED top 3 finalist

Interview: The Deer Republic – uncharTED top 3 finalist

Interview: THE DEER REPUBLIC – uncharTED top 3 finalist
Author: Elize Strydom

The Deer Republic   Q: Sooo many bands and solo artists entered this competition. Why do you think your music stood out?

Deer Republic: In order to catch fish you need hooks. Once you have the hooks you need fish, luckily enough for us our friends can swim.

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“Cannot Buy My Soul” Landmark Australian Music Event @ Brisbane Riverstage 1 August 2009

Our Live Review: Kev Carmody “Cannot Buy My Soul” Landmark Australian Music Event @ Brisbane Riverstage 1 August 2009
Our Photo Gallery: Kev Carmody “Cannot Buy My Soul” Landmark Australian Music Event @ Brisbane Riverstage 1 August 2009

Kev Carmody - Cannot Buy My SoulKev Carmody, Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, John Butler, Missy Higgins, Clare Bowditch, Tex Perkins, The Herd, The Drones and many, many more join forces in a special twilight concert at Brisbane Riverstage to celebrate a unique Australian talent.

Powerful, versatile and utterly original, for the past 24 years legendary singer songwriter Kev Carmody has evoked the realities of contemporary Aboriginal society with a clarity and grace that has won him fans across Australia and around the world.

This signature Queensland Music Festival event sees Carmody’s repertoire – from blunt protest songs to poetic ballads – reinterpreted by a thrilling line-up of Australia’s most acclaimed singer songwriters and musicians who contributed to the 2007 album Cannot Buy My Soul, produced by long-time friend and collaborator Paul Kelly.

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Sunday Selection: Strange Attractors : 28 June 2009

LifeMusicMedia Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

Strange Attractors - Photo by Amelia Dowd   All are, in essence, strangely attractive, some however are more strangely than others. Emerging from today’s scattered musical turbulence, and the chaotic urban grind, seven music makers come together to dabble in psychedelic rock n roll and to observe its effects upon a new generation of hearts and minds. They are commonly known as The Strange Attractors, borrowing their name from a cereal box spouting chaos theory anecdotes, and have come to represent that curious allure that exists well outside of conventional beauty.

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The Real Underbelly: Mark “Chopper” Read – August 2009

The Real Underbelly: Mark “Chopper” Read

Mark Chopper Read   The Real Underbelly featuring Chopper Read Australia, it seems, has shifted from feeling embarrassment about its convict past to being proud of that criminal heritage. There is a fascination with people who buck the system in Australia and the huge success of the TV Show Underbelly has highlighted this genuine interest that we Aussies seem to collectively have with what, who and how Australia’s Underworld developed into the brand we hear so much about today.

Continue reading The Real Underbelly: Mark “Chopper” Read – August 2009

Sunday Selection: Drawn from Bees : 21 June 2009

LifeMusicMedia Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

Drawn from Bees    With their compelling live show and a much-loved storybook 2008 debut EP, The Boy and the Ocean, Drawn from Bees, have grown their now devoted audience to a respectful size in the time-honoured way, by quietly winning people over, one show at a time.

The band set themselves the ambitious task of writing, recording and releasing a new batch of music every six months. In late 2008 they begged, borrowed and stole to piece together a much more expansive body of work.

March 2009 marked their second release, a new collection of 9 musical stories entitled, And the Blind Shall Lead the Way, delving into rich Russian-chorale influenced vocal harmonies and melody-laden Australian art-rock.

Continue reading Sunday Selection: Drawn from Bees : 21 June 2009

Interview: Josh Pyke speaks with Elize Strydom about Splendour, touring and studio/producer aspirations [SITG]

Interview by: Elize Strydom
Josh PykeHe’s spent the last two months traipsing from the top of the country to the bottom but Josh Pyke is hungry for more. Charmingly unaware of the affect his music has had on her and hoards of others, Mr Pyke tells Elize Strydom about what’s coming up.

When the Aussie troubadour rides into Byron Bay for Splendour In The Grass next month he’ll be on familiar turf. Pyke may struggle to resist the urge to buy a carton of Tooheys New and head down to the beach front to skull ten beers. You see, he’s quite familiar with the place, our Josh. He celebrated the completion of 13 years of schooling here with a bunch of mates. Each year the guys regroup, rent a house and relive old times. Expect a laid-back, sun-drenched Pyke in holiday mode come July 25th, but don’t show up for his set if all you wanna do is chill.

“I’ve played Splendour twice before and it has a whole different vibe. I can play more upbeat songs which work for a big audience, that’s really fun. There’s less pressure. I get to rock up, have an hour to play my set and the crowd’s already there. It’s also cool to see all the other bands and catch up with friends. “
Continue reading Interview: Josh Pyke speaks with Elize Strydom about Splendour, touring and studio/producer aspirations [SITG]

uncharTED Finals… Vote Now and Support an Aussie Band!

uncharTED final 3   Congratulations to UNCHARTED TOP 3 – Hot Little Hands, The Deer Republic and Foxx On Fire!
Grand Final on 9 July!

From over 2,300 entries, the Tooheys Extra Dry uncharTED competition 1 2009 enters its final stage and is down to the Top 3. The Deer Republic from Sydney and Melbourne bands Foxx On Fire and Hot Little Hands, will battle it out for the major prize at the Grand Final held on 9 July.
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Live Review: COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009

Review by Bec

COG
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]
   Cog fans are a loyal bunch. They’ll come up to you and tell you how great their band is. “Sold out. Melbourne Hi-Fi, and now here,” one fan tells me. (He waits until he sees me write this in my notebook.) They’ll bear the unusually cold Thursday night to happily wait in line. And they’ll keep coming back to see Cog live – for some fans this is their fourth or fifth gig. Little wonder, if you believe what another fan proclaims: “Best live band – ever”. That’s a pretty big call.

Certainly, Sydney-based Cog is a WYHIWUG (what-you-hear-is-what-you-get) band. If you love their CDs then you’ll love their live shows. No disappointment there. Lead singer, Flynn Gower’s vocals, like his stage presence, are deliberate, steady and enunciated. He’s obviously a dedicated musician as are other band members, Lucius Borich, on drums, and Luke Gower on bass who is extremely animated on stage.

Continue reading Live Review: COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009

Sunday Selection: Texas Tea : 14 June 2009

LifeMusicMedia’s Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

Texas Tea    Texas Tea are a two piece alt-country act from Brisbane, Australia.

Texas Tea’s debut album, Take A Sip, featured heavily on radio from it’s release in 2006, including ABC, Triple R, PBS, Triple J, 4ZZZ. In 2006 and 2007 Texas Tea took out the Hot 100 on Brisbane’s 4ZzZfm with tracks ‘Macy and Me’ and ‘Whiskey and Wine’.

These tracks also featured as finalists in the Q Music Awards and in 2007 APRA Songwriters Award. Tracks from Take A Sip have been used in several film projects including a film by Tropfest Winning Director Steve Baker and more recently in feature film written and directed by John Jarratt – Savages Crossing.

Continue reading Sunday Selection: Texas Tea : 14 June 2009