Tag Archives: music videos

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CJ Shaw – Belconnen Arts centre album launch, radio rotation and video

Since releasing the album All Sorts in 2021 and iconic Australian Story Stop Animation Video ‘Ain’t Many Like Lennie’ to be aired on SBS CJ Shaw has built on these success’s to move into 2022.

Album launch -Canberra This Weekend April 2

CJ Shaw’s latest album ‘All Sorts’ has been very well received by critics and fans alike (4 1/2 STARS BMA Magazine). Launching his album with two shows at the Belconnen Arts Centre on 2nd April 2022, CJ is excited to be playing these songs live. Dubbed “the ultimate family gig”, the first show has already sold out so get in quick.

ABC Canberra placing ‘Adelaide’ on rotation:

CJ Shaw’s single Adelaide is gaining frequent airplay on ABC Canberra radio. This song about the birth of CJ’s first child draws on the nuances of living in the Nation’s capital, evoking a sense of place. The hand- drawn video clip to accompany the song, referencing the scenery of the Capital was accepted by the Canberra Short Film Festival shown at Palace Cinemas.

Australian Spectrum Show Live in Person Interview April 5

Ross Fear’s internationally acclaimed album show will feature CJ and his acoustic guitar, plus album tracks and a hefty chat on the show next week April 5. Broadcast from Sydney’s Alive 90.5 and streamed worldwide.

Ain’t Many Like Lennie:

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CJ Shaw’s latest single and video clip ‘Ain’t Many Like Lennie’ has gone from strength to strength.
With the support of Arts ACT, Canberra animators Eleanor and Giovanni created a music video with felt puppets following the journey of legendary 9 year old Lennie Gwyther and his horse Ginger Mick travelling unaccompanied for 600 miles to witness the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
SBS has selected this music video ‘Ain’t Many Like Lennie’ to be aired on April 1st 2022 and will feature on SBS on Demand streaming platform. The video was also shortlisted in the Munich Music Video Awards 2021 and is a finalist at the Animate Film Festival.
Tony Mott photo shoot
Earlier this year, CJ Shaw had an artist photoshoot with Tony Mott who is Australia’s premier music photographer. CJ Shaw said working with Tony Mott was a ‘career highlight’.  Taken over one day, these photos will form the press kit for his future publications.
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Latest Review
Nominated for a 2020 Music Teacher of the Year ARIA, CJ Shaw is an unadulterated, unashamedly Australiana rather than Americana singer-songwriter, sort of Shane Howard meets Fred Smith if you will. Shaw keeps it all pretty simple too, two and three chords at most as he spins his stories, some aimed at younger listeners – as you’d expect from a teacher – rambling, cheeky ditties full of whimsy – others serving more mature musical tastes with tales that ponder life as it’s lived in this wide brown land. “We would all do a lot less harm,” he suggests in ‘Choose to Chew’, “If we ate our Coat of Arms” – which makes sense of the recipe card for CJ Shaw’s Fair Dinkum ‘Roo Bolognese included! Obviously one of his children’s songs, but hey, we all need a bit of fun once in a while. ‘Werewolves’ straddles the generations, delivered straight-faced yet obviously not to be imbibed in that spirit. The seraphic Hannah Czaben takes the vocal spotlight on ‘Full on Heart’, another gentle two-chord stroll, a rumination on separate lives that could have been more lived more happily together that, along with songs like ‘Lonely Road’, is proof that when he allows himself, Shaw is quite the poignant singer-songwriter.
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Stream or download the album here
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Driftwood Releases New Video & Single ‘Bremfields’ Feat. Still Greedy

Endlessly prolific, multi-disciplinary artist Driftwood has a remarkable new single BREMFIELDS featuring British rapper Still Greedy. It’s a truly creative and thoughtful track, a glowing addition to this growing artist’s impressive discography. In addition to being an innate singer-songwriter, his videos are self-directed and self- published, all with his readily identifiable stamp of authenticity, perfection and professionalism. Fiercely independent and intriguingly enigmatic, Driftwood proves over and over again that he is someone to watch.

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BREMFIELDS evokes feelings of Kanye West at his most exciting and most innovative. Classic Ye albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus have both clearly influenced the electronic/RnB stylings of Driftwood during the creation of this song, yet BREMFIELDS still feels fresh, unique, and new. The song arcs creatively, synths spiking in unexpected moments, while Driftwood and Still Greedy’s vocals provide the smooth melodic, rhythmic anchor. Speaking on the otherworldly inspiration behind the song, Driftwood says, “This single is about breaking the fourth wall. It’s about the idea that there could be subterranean energies and other factors operating within other paradigms of consciousness. It’s about feeling like I’m trapped within this paradigm, and I don’t belong here…the one thing I love about art is I have a licence to explore ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem.”

The video for BREMFIELDS is the perfect visual representation of this exchange and exploration of energies. Slow, deliberate shots of bodies moving purposefully in the just-risen, just-set sunlight peppered throughout with closed shots of darkly lit bars and eerie cliff faces, one step away from oblivion. It’s a beautiful triumph, created by an artist completely in charge of his own vision, as Driftwood explains, “I direct and edit all my videos now. I came up with the idea and the aesthetic behind the visual as well. They represent the ebb and flow, the push and pull, the yin and yang of energies which are manifested within the material universe…my creative team is small, but we get it done. Too many bodies fuck up the flow and a lot of the time are unnecessary for what I am trying to accomplish.”

Click to play the Official Video:

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These are wise words from an artist who’s been in the game long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. To be so immune to the chaos and noise of the modern music industry and so completely, totally immersed in one’s art is no mean feat, but Driftwood does it all with ease. He offers more wisdom on the subject as he reflects, “I’m just an artist creating pieces of work I want to create and doing it independently. I’m not signed to a major record deal, and up until late last year, I did everything on my own, with the help of a few friends, and without any backing. You don’t need to be signed, or in the cool crowd to create what you want to create. No one has a monopoly on art.”

Stream the single on Spotify:

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