Tag Archives: rock

Montana Release EP ‘Nearer’ (2024 Remaster)

July 4, 2024 Marshall Cullen

Montana was formed in Sydney in 1998 by Paul Scott, Ken Stewart, Steve Melville and Michelle Margherita. They began playing at friend’s parties and around the Sydney inner-city indie circuit, sharing the bill with Mr Blonde, The John Reed Club, Youth Group and 78 Saab.

Within a few months they had booked time at Damien Gerard Studios to begin work with legendary in-house engineer Russell Pilling, the tracks recorded including the debut single ‘Koolest Band’, formed part of their debut EP.

Koolest Band received significant airplay on independent stations across Australia and national broadcaster JJJ put the song on high rotation. Interest from US labels resulted in the band playing shows in Los Angeles, including a spot at the Whiskey a Go Go and at SXSW.

Following the release of Koolest Band EP and another year of constant gigging in Australia and the US, the three piece (Michelle Margherita, Steve Melville and Paul Scott) felt confident enough in the studio to stretch out sonically. Tracks for the follow up were recorded at Velvet Sounds studio under Pitt Street in the heart of Sydney.

There were many talented people involved in the recording of the Nearer EP, but special mention must be made of Tony Wall and Adrian Grigorieff who tracked most of the songs and the late, great Craig Porteils who mixed them. The EP sold out its first pressing in less than a week, causing a few headaches for their small indie label Velvet Lounge and debuted at number 9 in the indie charts.

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Kalen Hogan Releases New Single ‘Right There’

June 28, 2024 Marshall Cullen

‘Right There’ is a song about not knowing what you’ve got, until it’s almost ending or gone. Lyrically, the song highlights the tendency of people to lose focus on the passing of time in life and take for granted their surroundings and the people in them. When writing the music, Kalen said the echo in the guitar created the sound of wistful yearning and encouraged his lyrics that followed.

About Kalen

Kalen Hogan debuted onto the local Central Coast music scene in late 2022. At age 17, Kalen proudly launched his debut album ‘Isolation’ in May of the following year. Keen to kick off the new year with new music, Kalen went into Damien Gerard studios to start work on a collection of new material. He released ‘On The Phone’ in April and has continued working on the other songs to keep a steady stream of new material coming out through the rest of 2024.

Kalen says he is inspired by the 1990’s grunge movement, with a real reverence for bands like Nirvana and describes himself as an alternative indie rock singer song writer. Kalen sings about the complexities of everyday life, with an open heart and keen observing eye. His pure vocal tone, with a moderately high pitch, may reflect why some tracks have been compared to Thom Yorke from Radiohead and the late Jeff Buckley.

You can catch Kalen live at various venues and events across the coast. ‘Right There’ is dropping on all the popular streaming platforms this June and stayed tuned for more singles throughout the year.

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Extra Time Scores Again at International Film Festivals

June 25, 2024 Marshall Cullen

Extra Time, Brendan McNamara’s collaboration project, brings together premium artists on his newest labor of love, Songs With Long Titles.

The first two singles, Where Is The Light, and the current release The Girl Who Rules The Sea are available now alongside the album release.

Both singles have been brought to life by inspiring video clips, with both achieving high view numbers on YouTube and also capturing the attention of international reviewers.

Where Is The Light, released in January 2024, features animation by renowned Sydney-based Brazilian artist Gabriel Gareso. The video has been officially selected for Lift Off International Film Festivals in Berlin, Tokyo, Austin, and Manchester, while also making the official selection for the Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF), one of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest and most sought after international competitive festivals, and AniMate, the Australian International Animation Film Festival, now in it’s fifth year.

The video for Extra Time’s newest single, The Girl Who Rules The Sea, is brought to life through live drone and underwater footage shot by Leonard Clifford and Chris Flaxman, and motion art by renowned French artist Veronita Va, who brought to life McNamara’s concept of a Piet Mondrian artwork, drawing the eye to the ‘girl who rules the sea’ as she swims through the crystal blue waters of Bondi Beach.

Recent quotes:

“The soft jazz undertones add a calming element that is similar of peaceful beach days spent taking in the grandeur of the ocean and the peace that it provides after the chaos. More than just a song,”The Girl Who Rules The Sea’ is a love letter to Bondi Beach and an ode to the unsung heroes who have a profound effect on our lives.” - Skylight Webzine

“Extra Time stands as a testament to the power of genuine musical craftsmanship in an era dominated by digital enhancements. Renowned for its cinematic and harmonically rich compositions, the project blends intricate musical narratives with authentic performances.” - Fenomen Magazine

“The romantic track from Extra Time is a wonderful combination of light, airy music and deep, but at the same time light text that can fill everyone’s heart with a feeling of freedom. The melody is full of tenderness and emotions, giving an exhaustible opportunity to dissolve in it again and again. Music that comes from the very depths of the soul” -nagamag.com

The vinyl release of Songs With Long Titles is available now – a beautiful gatefold presentation released globally on Foghorn Records, recorded and mixed at one of the industry’s leading spaces, Damien Gerard Studios at West Gosford, featuring a veritable who’s who of Sydney Session Musicians including Amanda Easton and Serena Jennings on sublime female backing vocals, Tim Firth on Drums, Brett Hirst Bass Guitar, Aaron Blakey Keyboards, Peter Koopman Acoustic and Electric Guitar, plus Horns and Strings all engineered and mixed by ex-LA engineer Andrew Beck and mastered by Grammy Award Winner William Bowden.

Watch The Music Video for The Girl Who Rules The Sea

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CB Ghost Releases Single ‘Hold Down Hymn’

June 21, 2024 Marshall Cullen

Three days before hitting Damien Gerard Studios to record his album CB extended a poem he had been working on into a song with instrumentation and a chorus. An ode to the ocean, a ballad only a true surfer could write.

In order to embrace the inevitable ‘hold-down’ surfers encounter, CB Ghost wrote a Celtic hymn to sing to himself, to keep him calm, under a wave, at the ocean’s mercy.

CB Ghost: ‘The ocean is a mighty teacher, and the song reflects surfing’s hazards as much as life’s. Sometimes you get beat down, nothing you can do about it, just roll with it and resurface.

This song has become my secret weapon to calm my mind when I’m in the ocean’s belly. I use it to count down from 10, but get to zero, still under, next stage, panic! Now I have Hold Down Hymn to keep me company, it works amazing’.

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 heartfelt 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.

Having recently toured Northern NSW and Queensland with Sydney band Pinky Ring, The Ghost is finding his feet live and now incorporating a full band at most shows (his solo shows are still a must see for that intimate intensity). His first single ‘Hollywood Hills’ was a wee glimpse into what’s to come.

The second single ‘Hold Down Hymn’ takes you to places you never want to go (namely under waves at the bottom of the ocean), lyrically, spooky and totally relatable. With its oceanic tempo the song sends you adrift with its simple melodic ambience and features a guitar solo that soothes the soul. The video clip, shot under the ocean is a visual accompaniment that adds to the salty surfers tale of near drowning.

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BLJ Releases Single ‘Make You Feel My Love’

June 14, 2024 Marshall Cullen

This is the song that got Burger Legs Joe ft Andi started. He’d been doing some guitar samples for the Dance Around and Be Stupid EP, and as thanks, I said pick a song and we’ll record it. He chose Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan. I hadn’t heard it before, so I was a blank page. I recorded Andi singing with his guitar and arranged the song out from there.

We had so much fun doing it that we just had to do more. It’s a beautiful song, with such heart-felt lyrics. I was surprised when I heard the original later and discovered where we’d taken the song to. I think Andi’s dreamy vocals work so well, and the instrumentation makes for an absorbing, romantic, ballad groove. Well, I hope you feel that. Relax and soak up the romance.

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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Paul Scott Releases New Single ‘Old People On Drugs’

June 7, 2024 Marshall Cullen

‘Old People on Drugs’ is the first track from a new collection of songs from Scott and Melville exploring the tones and textures of eighties electronic pop. Lyrically it rummages through the hazy interworld of various ‘drugs’, from pharmacy to propaganda, prescribed, self-medicated or addicted that suffuse the soul as the animal vigour fades.

Older adults engaging in recreational drug use can be a complex and overlooked phenomenon often resulting in addiction. As people age, their social circles shrink, leading to feelings of isolation or boredom. Dumb ideas can be addictive too…So that’s what I think, but really, I’d rather not say anything – Paul Scott.

Paul Scott began his career in music, writing and playing bass in angular NZ group Pop Mechanix. Despite court cases, a revolving cast of singers and multiple record labels, their single ‘Jumping Out A Window’ became a staple of New Zealand pop culture.

Relocating to Australia, Paul formed Montana with Ken Stewart (Mr Blonde), Michelle Margherita and Steve Melville. Their first release featured ‘Koolest Band’ which received national airplay and high rotation on JJJ. A brief tour of the USA and a performance at SXSW, led to ‘Koolest Band’ being included in the Hollywood movie ‘You Drive Me Crazy’. The subsequent album ‘Bubblegum Love’ was released in Australia, Spain, France and the USA.

Scott has since played bass for various Australian acts, playing everywhere from community halls and malls in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to the Sydney Opera House. Teaming up with Steve Melville (ex Mr Blonde and Montana) Paul and Steve have established a studio production relationship, playing on each other’s tracks (Stewart and Melville, The Likes of You) and coproducing The Insufferable Paul Scott’s well received 2021 album ‘Tea and Medals’ (which Melville also mixed).

Their most recent project is a closer collaboration with Melville adding drums, percussion and keyboards to Scott’s voice, guitar and bass, a line up very close in sound and feel to their youthful unit ‘Montana’. “I was looking for the kind of pop thrill I used to get from great Aussie indie bands such as The Falling Joys, Smudge, The Hummingbirds, pop thrills… you know?” says Scott. An album has been completed and tracks will be released over the next few months on Foghorn, home to most of their releases to date.

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Kaijin Solo Releases Single ‘Elektra’

May 31, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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?’

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.

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

May 22, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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.

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.”

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.

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

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BLJ Releases Single ‘Friday I’m In Love’

May 17, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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!

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.

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

Stream the Single

Connect

News and Touring

CB Ghost Releases Debut Single ‘Hollywood Hills’

May 2, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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.

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.