Tag Archives: australian music

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News and Touring

The Gronks Release EP ‘The Gronks Go Bang’

Bang Bang and Indie Darling were recorded by Luke Bert at Soundworks in Sydney, and feature special guest Gronks Paul Mason, Adam Griffiths and Tim Denny. The tracks were mixed by Steve Melville (Gronk adjacent) at the Burning Boat in Melbourne. Deidre Chambers Coincides and YSFR were recorded and mixed by Paul Scott and Ken Stewart at the Static Attractor II, Sydney. All songs are the product of Stewart and Scott’s imagination and any resemblance to historic ditties and/or dirges is purely coincidental.

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So, what is Gronks? Well… Ken Stewart sings, plays guitar and writes most of the words, Paul Scott plays guitar and keyboards and writes most of the music. They record at various times and places, and honestly, don’t remember too much about the process except that there seems to have been one because these digital encodings of melodies and words exist… so there’s that.  Drawing on their mutual roots in the Sydney indie scene of the early 2000’s and inspired by the possibilities of home recording, Ken and Paul have enjoyed a fruitful, if infrequent, collaboration over the last few years. Occasionally Gronks include Paul Mason, Tim Denny and Adam Griffiths.

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News and Touring

CB Ghost Releases Single ‘Beautiful Middle Finger’

UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS!!

 CB Ghost & Pinky Ring Live

@ The Baso Canberra

Thursday 24th October 7pm

 CB Ghost & Pinky Ring Live

@ The Vault Port Kembla

Friday 25th October 6pm

 CB Ghost & Gene Gibson Live

@ Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville

Friday 6th December 7pm

 CB Ghost & Special Guest

@ The Baroque Room, Katoomba

Saturday 7th December 7pm

Que catchy guitar riff, add harmonica, then a swinging beat, leads us to CB Ghost’s signature and original vocal style and we are away with Beautiful Middle Finger.

From the first line, images and themes are subconsciously drip fed into your mind and the folk-rock rhythm and country-like sway moves your hips. While the chorus is simply an elevated version of the same guitar riff it certainly lifts you and adds that needed meat to the musical bones.

Beautiful Middle Finger is a good time song, with a silly title from a serious song writer who obviously loves to have fun and not take things too seriously while putting his heart and soul out there.

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CB Ghost, 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. He 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 followed by ‘Hold Down Hymn’ and gives a strong idea of what is to come later this year.

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch Releases Single ‘Satie’

 The Gnossienne No. 1 by Satie (originally for piano) has a ghostly and ethereal quality, with the melody floating above a hypnotic chordal texture. The rhythm is almost dance-like, yet there are no bar lines in the score. The resultant swaying effect almost feels like an exotic waltz. The overall effect of the music is surreal & mysterious.

 Satie is often credited as the pioneer of ambient music, a genre which allows the listener space for contemplation & reflection.  Gareth’s transcription for classical guitar lends an intimate quality to the piece while adding a unique and plaintive soulfulness.

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About Gareth

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.

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.

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Extra Time Releases ‘The Boy Who Dreamed Of The Stars’

NEW REVIEWS

JamSphere

https://jamsphere.com/newreleases/extra-times-single-the-boy-who-dreamed-of-the-stars-captivates-with-emotional-depth-and-cinematic-elegance

This Is Hip Hop HQ

https://www-thisishiphophq-com-ng.translate.goog/2024/09/the-boy-who-dreamed-of-stars-extra.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

The third single, with accompanying video, from Extra Time’s critically acclaimed album Songs With Long Titles is the thought provoking track The Boy Who Dreamed of the Stars. Extra Time strives to produce cinematic, harmonically complex pop music.

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The song deals with the difficult subject of child abuse and reveals how predators target and lure young children. In this case with a telescope and an offer to see the stars. The sensitivity needed to address such a traumatic topic is skilfully handled by Brendan who draws on firsthand experience from his own childhood.

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The accompanying film clip from renowned Animation Director Nikita Kibirev (based in Portland Oregon), tells the story beautifully with a digital collage that combines stunning 2D backgrounds with a stylized and expressionistic approach to 3D and inspired by German Expressionism. The visual interpretation speaks of turning a traumatic experience into something positive and healing through finding a group of people that can truly understand your experience.

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News and Touring

Paul Scott Releases Single ‘It Shouldn’t Sound Like That’

Insufferable Paul Scott: ‘It’s a love song through and through. A pean to the unreliable angels. The sirens of suburbia. Glowing golden and more than a little worse for wear. I saw a fox in the countryside, and it made me think of that kind of love, glimpsed, then gone, but unforgettable. Hence the memories. You can dance to this one. My handsome brother Kieran plays the lead guitar and the dashing Steve Melville made it sing.’

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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 plied 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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News and Touring

BLJ Feat. LOZ C Releases Single ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’

 If You Don’t Know Me by Now exudes romance, love, and connection. First released by Philadelphia Soul band Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1972, and then covered by Simply Red in 1989, who brought a more romantic softness to the track. LOZ C brings a whole new feminine perspective to the song. Her dynamic emotionally charged performance fashions overtones of gospel at times.

The BLJ restomod pays homage to the soul roots of the original and leans into the romance with a big strings section, and his signature grande finale. We hope it plucks your heart strings.

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. Burger Legs Joe is with Foghorn Records, and when he’s not arranging restomods, he focuses on original and collaborative music projects.

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch Releases New Single ‘Song For Stevie Nicks’

Song for Stevie Nicks draws inspiration from the Rumours album by Fleetwood Mac, a band in which Stevie is a member and songwriter. Gareth’s guitar work on the track is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsay Buckingham’s style, while the song itself is cast in the gentle yet intense mood of the ballad Landslide.

Gareth’s signature style pervades the song, with subtly nuanced playing & classical influences on display. Song for Stevie Nicks is imagined & created as a song which Stevie herself might have written.

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About Gareth

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.

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News and Touring

Tim Walker Releases ‘Love Is For The Young (At Heart)’

Love is For the Young (at Heart) is not a lovesong – it’s a song about love. It pictures the joy especially of young love, when it’s all blue sky. But cupid’s arrow is delightfully indifferent to many things – appearance, age, even intellect!

Tim: ‘The song was inspired by a couple of teenagers I saw skipping past me down a busy footpath on a crowded Saturday night, holding hands and singing: the guy was short, wearing ill-fitting jeans; the girl looked like someone from the bridal party out of the film Muriel’s Wedding. They were an odd couple, it’s true, but they had the world at their feet. King and Queen. Later seen eating pizza together down the street.’

Pilot is about the post-pandemic urge to travel and get away from all the traumas of 2020-22, its covid-19 confinements, and the resulting overseas travel boom we have now. The song’s bridge reveals the other side of the coin – what we hope to escape to: freedom and “good times”.

Get On, Saturday Night is an upbeat tribute to all the great Saturday nights, and is perhaps therefore the cousin to track 1.  Streets Of Rome is a re-release from the 2019 album Bridge of Angels. The album and that track specifically, was inspired by a trip to Rome (the location of the bridge) in 2018.

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Tim Walker is a singer-songwriter now based in Adelaide (ex-Sydney). His indie electric-folk/pop style reflects a city perspective, but with country, rock and jazz influences and universal themes. He began as a folkie at school, and continues its idea of personal stories, using electric rock guitars thrown in. As a tertiary student in Adelaide he was in a small country rock act doing mainly covers. Now as a soloist he is at his most prolific.

He moved to Sydney for work and continued playing after hours in many venues across town before releasing his first album, Fellow Traveller, with Foghorn Records in 2008. He followed this with a series of singles, then returned to Adelaide in 2018.  He released the album Bridge of Angels in 2019, again through Foghorn Records.

He has played at several major music festivals including Peat’s Ridge and the Sydney Blues and Roots Festival Windsor (NSW), and the Port Noarlunga Blues Festival (SA).

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News and Touring

Big Merino Releases Single ‘Ain’t No Shame’

Alex: ‘I’ve always been fascinated by people who are able to move through life and experience unguarded joy, it’s something that I’ve learned but it doesn’t come naturally to me and I like that idea of learning to let go of something that you love’.

During the recording process the band tried to recapture the spirit of the legendary Sun Studio recordings. Working with Phil Punch provided the perfect opportunity to try that approach especially as he had built equipment for the iconic recording space.

Formed in 2017, Big Merino play original music that blurs the lines between country, blues, roots, rock and pop. Despite an obvious passion for what’s often called ‘Americana’, their songs somehow manage to be very personal and quintessentially Australian – the words and sound shaped by the landscape and their own stories.

Their live sound is a classic combination of acoustic and electric guitars, vocals, bass and drums. Their recordings are fleshed out with multiple guitar layers, gospel style harmonies, Hammond organ, piano, horns and percussion.

In 2018 the band released their debut album ‘Suburban Wildlife’, made two cinematic film clips with director Alan Harca, and performed all around Sydney. The band has done numerous Interviews & live-to-air performances including ABC 702 & RN, 2SER Dirt Music, Radio Skid Row, Eastside Radio, Aussie Music Weekly and 2BBB. The single ‘Black Cockatoos’ was top 10 on AMRAP Metro and Regional playlists.

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