Monthly Archives: April 2024

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch Releases Album ‘Carmina Burana’

Remastered and Released to streaming for the first time in 2024 here is one of Gareth Koch’s Master Works.

My first encounter with the Carmina Burana was as a young chorister in a performance given in 1983 at the Sydney Opera House. The choir and orchestra were directed by one of my teachers, the late and great Richard Gill. The excitement of that musical experience made a lasting impression on my musical consciousness.

During the European summer of 1995 in Vienna I began a draft version of the Carmina Burana for Solo Guitar. Transcribing the medieval & folk-inspired movements came first, then the challenge of the mighty opening chorus O Fortuna. In an attempt to interest record companies in the project I recorded a ‘demo’ version of O Furtuna, in a single take, in a Viennese cellar!

My publishers and several record companies showed great interest in my interpretation of Orff’s work and very quickly plans started to come together to record in a venue in Vienna. Unfortunately, these plans fell apart due to some pre-existing contract obligations. An opportunity arose to record the work in Australia, and this prompted my return.

The recording of Carmina Burana for Solo Guitar was completed in 1997 over three consecutive nights in Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral. The natural resonance & ambience of the cathedral compliment the recording. There are no added effects to this recording which is completely natural & live sounding.

Recording the Carmina Burana was both a physical and mental achievement that has become one of the highlights of my career. The opportunity to re-master the recording and release it digitally brings back to mind the exhilaration of that performance in that venue, over those three nights – still deeply embedded in my memory. It is the synthesis of a lifelong interest in medieval music and the desire to create an exciting and unique live performance piece for guitar.

About Gareth Koch
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.

Born in Milan, Gareth began his musical studies on piano and clarinet, and at age 12 was accepted into the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before winning  scholarships for advanced guitar study at The Royal Madrid Conservatorium & the Vienna Academy of Music. He holds a PhD in Music & has lectured in music across Australian & European universities.

In 2002 Gareth formed the first guitar supergroup with Karin Schaupp & The Grigoryan Brothers, Slava & Leonard. Saffire – The Australian Guitar Quartet soared to #1 on the Classical Music Charts and even featured on ARIA  pop charts. The quartet released a total of 3 best-selling albums & was Australia’s biggest selling classical act for several years.

Gareth is involved with many cross genre projects & has released a succession of collaborative albums with Martin Kennedy & with ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kilbey (The Church). His recent release ‘The Guitar Player’ received a coveted 5 star review from The Sydney Morning Herald. Gareth’s current output has a strong rock bias with classical overtones & his writing is increasingly focussed on the ethereal nature of music.

Stream / download here

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News and Touring

Carla Cargal’s Posthumous Album Release ‘Leap Year’

Born with an innate love of music and performing in childhood years, Carla Cargal set aside musical ambitions as an adult. Her desire to create music of her own resurfaced years later.
With unwavering support of loved ones and friends, Carla rediscovered her musical identity guided by her life lessons.
With mentor John McNicholas and producers Jonny Daly and Dan Dixon, Carla created a genre-transcending album that touches the depths of the human spirit.
Just as Carla’s music was about to be released, a tragic accident ended her life. Her legacy lives on through the timeless melodies she left behind.
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Stream the album
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News and Touring

Siri Lini Releases Album ‘Beautiful Day’

Siri Lini is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose new alternative album Beautiful Day is filled with rock, folk, and pop stories of Southwestern landscapes and the people that populate them.
Raised in Dallas, Texas, Siri learned guitar and started singing in the 3rd grade. She found Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and folk standards and sang for friends, family, and neighborhood events. Siri formed post-punk, all-female power trio Disbanned at the height of the Dallas indie scene, writing, singing, playing bass, releasing their debut album, and touring.
“I’m a Libra,” she says. “My mission is and always has been to create.”
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Stream the album
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News and Touring

Kalen Hogan Releases New Single ‘On The Phone’

Cracker new single from Central Coast artist Kalen Hogan

This song narrates the tale of a mate watching two separate friends lost on their phones, scrolling to date strangers, whilst he knows they would be perfectly matched, if they just got out of their phones and rooms.

The chords and melody for the track had been bouncing around in Kalen’s mind whilst he finished off the ‘Isolation’ album in 2023, but the story behind the lyrics had yet to unfold. Kalen believes ‘On the Phone’ has a bit of an attitude and would never have fitted in with his melancholier sounding tracks of the previous year.

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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 has emerged from recent studio time to release his latest single ‘On The Phone’.

 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 and stayed tuned for more single releases throughout the back half of the year.

Stream the single

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News and Touring

Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy Release Album ‘Premonition K’

With the third album in less than 3 years things are gaining momentum with Premonition K Vinyl pre-orders sold out and a repress underway. Plus 5000 spotify followers can’t be wrong. 

Building on the success of Jupiter 13 (2021) and The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus (2022), Steve and Martin release their latest epic, ‘Premonition K’. The album unveils sumptuous sonic soundscapes courtesy of Kennedy paired with Kilbey’s lyrics that delve into the dark and enigmatic realms that exist between the boundaries of life and death. They invite you to break out the ouija board, turn off the lights, and immerse yourself in the mysteries of ‘Premonition K’.

First checkout the video premiered on Scenestr

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Steve Kilbey (The Church), band singer, songwriter, bassist, painter, writer, poet, actor, sage, and dispenser of arcane wisdom, is one of Australia’s most loved artists.
Martin Kennedy (aka All India Radio) is the ARIA nominated composer whose music has featured in CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, The Lying Game, Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery and Bondi Rescue.

This album, a testament to their musical synergy, encapsulates a darkly beautiful soundscape, drawing inspiration from diverse sources, ranging from the haunting tones of Roger Waters ‘The Final Cut’ to the shadowy depths explored by early 1970s Pink Floyd or Hawkwind.

Steve Kilbey infuses each track with an emotional resonance and sense of mystery. Martin Kennedy co-pilots this sonic odyssey with Steve Kilbey. Together they weave an intricate musical bed for Kilbey’s lyrical dreamings with layers of sonic complexity, at once warmly familiar and mysteriously strange, creating an immersive experience for the listener.

Song Descriptions 

Breaking The Fourth Wall
The opening track on the new Premonition K album from this prolific pair starts with an almost spoken word delivery from Steve with minimal backing. The track is reminiscent of Pink Floyd around The Wall era. As the song moves the textures build as it heads towards a massive outro.

Nowhere
This tune features ethereal female backing vocals and a full band mix. Kennedy’s lush guitar and keyboard textures flow over the drum and bass rhythm section. Steve Kilbeys highly distinctive voice is in great form and the lyrics as intriguing as ever.

The Song That Wrote Itself
An up-tempo radio track with all the elements that make this record a great piece of work. Steve’s voice and lyrics, lush backing, smooth but strong female backing vocals, especially on the chorus, easy catchy melodies, riffs and vocal lines.

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