Monthly Archives: May 2024

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News and Touring

Kaijin Solo Releases Single ‘Elektra’

When the Stars, Greek Mythology and Music align….

The name of the Pleiades Star Cluster comes from Ancient Greek.  It probably derives from plein (“to sail”) because of the cluster’s importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea.  In mythology the name was used for the Pleiades, seven divine sisters, the name supposedly deriving from that of their mother Pleione and effectively meaning “daughters of Pleione”.

One of the daughters  was named Elektra and here is Kaijin Solo’s single of the same name with him saying-

Kaijin: ‘In a lot of ways I think Elektra is just me hanging on to the thing that good is, despite or even regardless of current global issues. If you have any beliefs at all the sort of stuff that’s been  been going down for far too long now is a complete astonishment. I’m not particularly religious but if God is Love, then who is the killing for?’

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Kaijin Solo is a contemporary singer/songwriter based on the NSW Central Coast with a blues rock influence. He has been working and honing his craft for many years with various band line-ups and the plentiful bread and butter busking jobs and pub/club gigs around the coast.

In between studio sessions Kaijin formed The Backbeats with Rhys Meyer on Vocals and Keys, Felix Harper on Bass and Ash Feder on Drums. They spent much of 2023 playing local venues such as the infamous Link and Pin, Brackets and Jam on Kincumber Mountain, and Avoca Beach Hotel. Kaijin and Rhys also did a few duo appearances at various venues such as: the Long Jetty Hotel and Bateau Bay Bowling Club.

The band closed out 2023 to a packed crowd as support for The Radiators at Ourimbah RSL. 2024 has kicked off well with a packed house at Mumbo Jumbos at Terrigal and The Hawkesbury Brewing CO. in Lisarow.

Stream ‘Elektra’

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch Releases Single ‘Song For Taylor Swift’

Song for Taylor Swift is the first in a series of dedications to influential artists of the modern era by Gareth. There is a rich history of one artist acknowledging another in music, ranging from Beethoven to David Bowie, the latter having written his Song for Bob Dylan.

Song for Taylor Swift explores the gentler side of her output, with a recurring fragile interlude subtly reminiscent of her ballad-like material. The resonator & lap steel guitars reference Taylor’s occasional country influences, as does the cover art of the release.

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Gareth Koch is an ARIA Award winning multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, guitar soloist, composer & songwriter. He has recorded a sizeable repertory across multiple genres spanning works for classical guitar, flamenco, original compositions, arrangements, medieval projects, rock & songwriting. He has appeared at major festivals within Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.

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News and Touring

Extra Time Releases Single ‘The Girl Who Rules The Sea’

Hailing from Sydney Australia, Extra Time are releasing the  new single, The Girl Who Rules The Sea, from their current album Songs With Long Titles on 22 May.

Extra Time’s current double gatefold vinyl release is receiving glowing reviews internationally and they are proud to present the next single, The Girl Who Rules The Sea, beautifully accompanied by a video clip filmed at one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks – Bondi Beach.

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As a young  immigrant, Brendan tells of his almost fateful swim in the infamous Australian waters, where he was saved by a nearby surfer:
“The Girl Who Rules the Sea is a song about almost drowning at Bondi Beach in Sydney when I was six years old. As a kid from an Irish immigrant family, we were strong on enthusiasm but poor on swim technique. I was lucky enough to get rescued by an Amazonian surfer girl who introduced me to many new obscenities vastly expanding my swearing vocabulary.
The song is a love letter to Bondi where I was born and one of Australia’s best loved beaches.”

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The video features live action drone and underwater footage shot by Leonard Clifford and Chris Flaxman and was edited by Nick Lever. Motion Editing was by French Motion Artist Veronita Va who ran with Brendan’s idea of creating an animated version of a Piet Mondrian painting featuring the bold geometric lines forming the signature grid of the neo plasticist artist. Aside from the aesthetic, drawing the eye to the ‘Girl Who rules the Sea’ as she swims through the crystal blue waters of Bondi Beach, the inspiration of Mondrian for a music video is also fitting as the music loving artist described the challenge of producing his work, saying: “I am searching for the proper harmony of rhythm and unchanging proportion.” His art is described as highly musical and later, Modrian ascribed specific dances to accompany his art.

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The album Songs With Long Titles (the second studio recording from Extra Time) is a journey through intriguing stories of life, death, delusion, joy, passion and dreams in classic rock album format along with just enough jazz and blues influences to keep it interesting. Think Steely Dan meets Supertramp and Sting if you like references.
Lyricist, composer, and singer Brendan McNamara  teamed up with ex Los Angeles co-producer and engineer Andrew Beck at Damien Gerard studios in West Gosford. A veritable A-List of session musicians were called in through the 20 plus days of recording and mixing, culminating in the special gatefold vinyl album out now.

MUSICIAN CREDITS

Tim Firth                  Drums
Brett Hirst                Bass
Aaron Blakey            Keyboards
Peter Koopman        Guitar
Amanda Easton        Vocals
Sarina Jennings        Vocals
Paul Murchison        Trumpet
Matthew Keegan      Trombone
Bridget Darby           French Horn
Luke Bartley             Tuba
Jane Stanley             Strings
Andrew Beck            Tubular Bells

The Girl Who Rules The Sea is OUT NOW 

GRS Vid

Stream/download here

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News and Touring

BLJ Releases Single ‘Friday I’m In Love’

A new classic Cure Cover from the BLJ Production Team

One of the hot topics of conversation over here is what song to do next. We love The Cure, they write such beautifully crafted songs, and we wanted to do something really upbeat. So, we thought how about ‘Friday I’m In Love’, in a similar style to our restomod of ‘Just Like Heaven’.

 Well, here it is. Andi’s vocal adaption is spot on, as always, and I’ve given it lots of slam, dressed with string arrangements. We hope it lifts you up and gets you groovin!

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The avatar of an unidentified Music Producer, Burger Legs Joe is on a mission to restomod (restore and modernise) outstanding retro songs for your grooving pleasure. Treasuring the essence of what makes each track so fabulous, they’re re-energized to a modern perspective; weaving rhythms and melodies in BLJ’s distinctive ear grabbing style, that lingers in your head, and puts beats in your feet.

Mesmerised by the voice of friend and vocalist Andi Bracken; together they have set out on a journey to blow the dust off some of the great songs of the past.

Burger Legs Joe says – “The way Andi ‘owns’ the song is amazing. You just instantly accept the new version. Fond memories of the original seem to disappear in that moment.  The inspiration of Andi’s vocals on a song I love makes it so much easier for me.  The arrangements just seem to regenerate around them, naturally building to a butt kicking finale that elevates the song and Andi’s voice.”

 Bangers to ballads, and anything in between, Burger Legs Joe featuring Andi’s tracks are infused in reimagined retro joy and romance.

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News and Touring

Bec Taylor & The Lyrebirds Release Album ‘Limbs & All’ plus East Coast Tour

After two successful singles and the entire album out today (both digital and CD), Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds head out on an East Coast tour in support of the release.

Upcoming Tour Dates

FRIDAY MAY 17th MELBOURNE
Bar Open, 8pm with Happy Axe & James Fahy Happy Axe James Fahy Music
SATURDAY JUNE 1st SYDNEY
Gasoline Pony, 3pm with Julia Johnson & Tate Sheridan
SUNDAY JUNE 9th CANBERRA
4pm, The Street Theatre with Owen Campbell @owencampbellmusic=
 SATURDAY JUNE 29th TOMAKIN, NSW
Smokey Dan’s, 12pm with Jason Recliner
 SUNDAY 30th JUNE
South Durras Garden Studio, 1pm

Limbs & All, the second album by Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds is chock full of moody, folk-pop gems that touch on loss, grief and joy. ‘Limbs & All’ is a collaborative album which features all five of the Lyrebirds on every song, weaving together a gentle americana-folk sound palette with acoustic and pedal-steel guitars, drums, bass, mandolin, keyboards, banjo and the Lyrebirds’ signature vocal harmonies.

Bec wrote the lion’s share of the songs while pregnant and nursing her first baby, and you can sense her inner turmoil throughout the songs. Whether it’s the darkly rhythmic and poetic ‘Wormhole’ or the elated but hesitant ‘Whisky’, the album is subtler and broodier than the last album, featuring connecting themes and ideas across songs. A musical connection is weaved into tracks ‘Photograph’ and ‘Goner’, referencing their sister-song origins: they begun as one song but evolved into two separate songs.

All recording and mixing was done by Louis Montgomery with some additional mixing on ‘Photograph’ was done by Marshall Cullen at Damien Gerard Studios NSW. The album was mastered by Andrew Edgson at Studios 301.

About

Hidden treasures of the Canberra music scene, Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds are a five-piece alt-folk-pop band. Described as Canberra’s Seeker-Lover-Keeper, their unique harmony-laden sound combines with “charming melodies and lyrics brimming with heart” (Scenstr).

Bec Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has recorded over a dozen studio records. She has also performed on some of the biggest stages and festivals around the country, including BIGSOUND, Groovin’ The Moo, and the Woodford Folk Festival. She has played alongside the likes of Gotye, The Darkness, and been on tour as main support for Regurgitator and Shonen Knife in her previous projects Fun Machine and Glitoris.

The Lyrebirds is her most recent project, showcasing her song-making through a new alt-folk-country repertoire. Bec started the Lyrebirds in 2020 after writing and producing her first full-length solo record “Adrift” with producer Louis Montgomery (SAFIA, Peking Duk. Consisting of versatile musicians with rich experience in different genres: Hannah Beasley (PaintonPaint), Sam McNair (JD McNair, The Burley Griffin), Sophie Chapman (Brass Knuckle Brass Band, Andy and George Band) and Grahame Thompson (Cracked Actor, BabyFreeze, Mr Fibby).

Bec and the band have built an incredible musical chemistry, with soaring harmonies and rich instrumentation of guitars, piano, drums, bass, banjo, mandolin, and occasional cello parts which complement Bec’s heartfelt songwriting.

Bec Taylor – vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, Hammond organ, felt-muted piano, percussion
Sam McNair – vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo
Sophie Chapman – vocals, bass guitar
Grahame Thompson – drums, cello
Hannah Beasley – vocals, wurlitzer piano
Matt Dixon – pedal steel guitar
Jacqui Bradley and Donal Baylor – violins
VIDEO PREMIERE FOR ‘Go On Without Me’

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News and Touring

CB Ghost Releases Debut Single ‘Hollywood Hills’

Dealing with an undiagnosed mental issue while navigating a failing relationship, CB Ghost serendipitously met and wrote Hollywood Hills with accomplished musician Justin Miranda. The song came together one sunny afternoon in a Forresters Beach kitchen overlooking Wamberal Lagoon, near Spoon Bay, not far from Avoca Beach and just north of Sydney.

Like a quest for happiness (and peace) the song focuses on giving up things that are unhealthy, including negative thoughts.  The song, with an upbeat ocean country vibe, is a lesson to self, to heal and greenlight a better and happier life.

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CB Ghost is a songwriter with an honest simple folk-rock style that captures the essence of a complicated existence with singalong tunes and poetic lyrics and sometimes a banger beat. CB Ghost has emerged from a close nit coastal surfing village in Australia. His background provides him with a deep connection to toe tapping Celtic, country and straight-ahead heart felt rock music mixed with salt water from the ocean.

A former pro surfer, CB Ghost is driven, bold and dedicated to his evolving sound and a deep love of blue-collar folk stories and sensibility – and most importantly playing live to crowds who love to drink, dance, sing and have fun.

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