Sophie Kinston is Tailor Birds.
Tailor Birds newest album is music that soothes the soul, warms the spirit, and ignites your passion.
Even though the content is 6 songs they are each a 7-10 minute ‘Piece’ forming an album length body of work. Following the success of the previous work ‘Stilts on the Water’ (a single 40 minute piece) this release explores further electro/folk/world territory with more instrumentation such as Piano and Flute added to the already lush soundscape. Recorded in various studios throughout Europe while on tour and mixed and mastered at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney the sonic quality is exceptional.

In Sophie’s own words, “Tailor Birds combines electronic violin, live looping, foley art, percussion, and rich harmonised vocals, to create a sound like no other. A sound that is all about the vibe and positive energy, building an audience that is as diverse as much as it is one, you could say that Sophie is a traveling troubadour. She believes that music should not just be about playing one gig after another with just the music making an impact, but is also o about connecting people to something good again, in a world that is constantly changing. Music needs to inspire and placing Tailor Birds in a space that can do just that, it makes an impact greater than you could ever imagine.”

“Faint echoes of Kate Bush here, Enya there but really like neither and often much spookier”
-Michael Smith – Rhythms Magazine

Tailor Birds’ key influences are Sigur Ros, the Kronos Quartet, Bear’s Den, Chet Faker and more.
-=Sophie Kinston

Tailor Birds is currently touring through Australia.

Friday October 26 – Miama Marketta, Miami QLD

Saturday October 27 – Storytellers Festival, Raymond Terrace, NSW

Saturday November 3 – The Sound Society, Rainforest Green, South Bank Parklands, Brisbane QLD

Sunday November 4 – Peregian Beach Markets, QLD

Saturday November 17 – Cooran Acoustic Night, Cooran QLD

Tune into these radio stations this week to hear Sophie talk about her new album and the tour. Click the station logos to listen live via their websites!

BAY FM 99.9 Byron Bay – Arts Canvass show at 9am this Thursday November 1

4ZZZ Melbourne – Goldilocks Folk show at 6pm this Saturday November 3

Listen to the new Tailor Birds album at your favourite music site:

Connect with Tailor Birds:

News and Touring

Gareth Koch and Peter Bonner Hit Note Of Success

October 25, 2018 Marshall Cullen

With their debut release Don’t Tempt Me coming out last month on Planet/MGM, this new Tasmanian Duo have been pleasantly surprised to find a warm welcome for their collaborative effort.
Both Local and National interviews from the ABC to Commercial and Community Radio have been ongoing as well as a noteworthy piece in the local newspaper.

“From the opening verse of their title track, Don’t Tempt Me, the seamless mix of Koch’s classical guitar and Bonner’s pop-rock vocal delivery manages to give listeners a glimpse into a songwriting partnership that takes in hundreds of years worth of influences.”
The Launceston Examiner (full article)

Community Radio Syndicated Show Aussie Music Weekly were quick to jump on the case interviewing the guys for a forthcoming broadcast and featuring the EP in their new release section.

Hear the interview

The Don’t Tempt Me EP has also been sent out to over 1000 Aussie Cafes via cafe music network Soundslikecafe and found an immediate popular fit with enough cafes to achieve a number 1 on their featured album charts.

Not a bad start for what started out as a side project!

The Tasmanian-based songwriting team of Gareth Koch and Peter Bonner draws inspiration from medieval music to post-modern psychedelia, with every imaginable influence in between.? Bonner and Koch have a strong and immediately recognisable musical identity, a new sound and aesthetic that comes with a fluid movement across genres. The result is an array of catchy pop tunes, soulful ballads, blues grooves and rock songs.

Gareth: “Mine is an unusual musical trajectory. I play in the Australian Guitar Trio and also in a hard rock band. So these two audiences are quite different. One is there to listen, the other is there to dance and sort of listen! The songwriting partnership with Pete Bonner is a separate project again. A great creative outlet for me, a chance to allow a flow of ideas to take form without the need to ‘tailor’ in a specific way.”

Peter: “I think a crowd can expect a diverse music experience with rock, blues, classical, folk and pop flavours. I love a wide range for genres from the heavy rock sounds of Jethro Tull, the jazz/funk of Steely Dan, the country ballads of James Taylor through to the country/rock influences of Bonnie Raitt.”

GARETH KOCH + PETER BONNER – DON’T TEMPT ME was expertly mixed at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney and superbly mastered by Grammy Award winning Wiliam Bowden. It is out now on Planet/MGM.

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Diana Anaid – Leaving Town (Official)

Video October 22, 2018 Marshall Cullen

Videos

John Kennedy – Sun King Rising (OFFICIAL)

Video October 22, 2018 Marshall Cullen

News and Touring

UPDATE: NEW TOUR DATES – John Kennedy Releases Second Best (Greatest Bits Vol 2)

October 16, 2018 Marshall Cullen

UPDATE:

In support of his wonderful Second Best collection, John Kennedy is playing a handful of shows along the East Coast of Australia.

Catch him at these venues next month:

Sunday 9th December @ 4pm – Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville

Sunday 16th December @ 5pm – Botany View Hotel, Newtown

Thursday 20th December @ 7pm – Lounge Room, Port Macquarie (JFK SOLO SHOW)

Saturday 22nd December @ 8pm – Junk Bar, Brisbane

(JFK SOLO SHOW)

Sunday 23rd December @ noon – Phase 4 Records, Brisbane

(JFK SOLO SHOW)

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A second “best of” compilation featuring key album tracks from 8 albums.

Released on Foghorn Records October 2018.

Distributed by MGM. Available on CD and digital.

Released in 2001, John Kennedy’s Inner West album brought together the early vinyl singles and album selections from his bands JFK and the Cuban Crisis, Love Gone Wrong and the Honeymooners. That was his first “best of” collection. So, that makes this Kennedy’s Second Best of.

Since the heady days in the 1980’s, topping the Australian independent music charts, Kennedy has released a number of albums on various labels in Europe and Australia. Whether it was lack of promotion or distribution, or his audience simply moving on that was the cause, those albums went largely unnoticed. Even those who have followed his music probably wouldn’t have known they existed.

Now, with this Second Best compilation release, the key tracks from those albums are collected to show that the beat did indeed go on. It serves the purpose of giving these songs a new lease of life and hopefully points people back to those lost albums.

An enthusiastic young music journalist once described John Kennedy as a humble genius. Kennedy is neither a genius nor particularly humble. The Sydney musician is the writer and performer of many fine songs, some of which have found a place in the hearts of music fans of the golden era of Australian independent music.

Kennedy started his music career in Brisbane in the early ‘80’s with his band JFK and the Cuban Crisis. He moved to Sydney and after establishing itself on the indie music scene the band broke up leaving Kennedy to follow a solo career with his band vehicle, John Kennedy’s Love Gone Wrong. Despite numerous indie hits, commercial crossover proved to be elusive leading to his decision to leave Australia. Kennedy spent the ‘90’s living and playing music in Berlin, Hong Kong and London before returning to Sydney’s Inner West in 2000. He formed a new band, John Kennedy’s 68 Comeback Special and continues to perform and produce independent releases.