Tag Archives: new album

Gareth Koch Releases Album ‘Carmina Burana’

April 26, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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.

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Carla Cargal’s Posthumous Album Release ‘Leap Year’

April 24, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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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Siri Lini Releases Album ‘Beautiful Day’

April 24, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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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Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy Release Album ‘Premonition K’

April 4, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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

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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Daxton Releases New Album ‘Fahrenheit’

March 21, 2024 Marshall Cullen

The new album from NSW Central Coast troubadour already garnering airplay and reviews around the world following from the Single ‘Kiss The Girls’ earlier this year.

Daxton’s new album ‘Fahrenheit’ features tracks inspired by personal experiences, relationships, and journeys, encapsulating a wide range of emotions from love and heartbreak to resilience and empowerment. The title track was inspired by a studio groove that embodied the intense emotional heat and passion that defined the production and recording of the songs. The album brings a fresh twist to the classic blues genre, infusing it with psychedelic elements and experimental sounds, creating a sonic landscape that is Daxton’s Psychedelic Blues Sound.

Song Descriptions for 2 Key Tracks

Fahrenheit

The title track to Daxton’s new album features bass, drums, dobro, slide guitar, Hammond organ and his signature vocals. A chilled out blues rock with a mid-tempo feel, this would be a great song to sit back on the porch with a beer and admire the grass.

Ocean Size

Great surf blues ‘a la’ Jack Johnson here. Slides and dobros, acoustics and electrics, sweet guitar and vocal tones throughout underpinned by drums and bass.

Out March 22 on Foghorn/MGM

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Extra Time Receives Extra Accolades in Europe

February 5, 2024 Marshall Cullen

Extra Time Receives Extra Accolades in Europe with their Video Now in the Berlin Film Festival

The brand new release ‘Where Is The Light’ from Brendan McNamara’s project, Extra Time, is already scoring goals since its release on 22 January. The first single from the second album, ‘Songs With Long Titles’, is beautifully supported by an animated film clip created by renowned Sydney based Brazilian artist, Gabriel Gareso. The film clip has just been officially selected for the Berlin Lift Off Film Festival, screening in Berlin, Germany between 15 and 25 February.

‘Where Is The Light’ speaks of the Japanese ‘Hikikomori’ – a severe social withdrawal most prevalent in young adolescent males whereby they isolate themselves in their rooms for months on end. A highly relatable concept in today’s modern era and especially apt given Brendan’s day job as a video game creator and director.

The clip is the freelance 2D animator and illustrator’s first music video, so he has certainly made his mark being included in the international film festival.

“My goal was to delve into the emotional aspects of loneliness, highlighting that despite being more virtually connected than ever, loneliness and depression also seem stronger than ever. The main challenge of this project was to create an engaging visual interpretation of the song while keeping it within budget. 4 minutes of animation is a LOT. The band’s creative freedom was crucial, making the entire process exceptionally smooth.”

To date the video has amassed over 84,000 views! A unique opportunity to be part of the interactive release of Extra Time’s latest album is to look out for billboards featuring the album cover art created by German artist Lucas Zimmerman popping up worldwide. Extra Time invite you to take a selfie with one of the billboards and post it on social media tagging @extra_time_music in your post.

The vinyl release is available now for preorder – 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 ex Los Angeles engineer Andrew Beck and mastered by Grammy Award Winner William Bowden.

WATCH THE FULL MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘WHERE IS THE LIGHT’

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Extra Time Releases New Album ‘Songs With Long Titles’

January 22, 2024 Marshall Cullen

So it has been four years since our last album. We have been winnowing down the stories that we would like to tell and twelve new tunes made the cut. Taking badly recorded demos and some wildly inaccurate charts to Damien Gerard Studios in Gosford, Australia, we spent four days recording and knocking together arrangements into some kind of shape. Many of the musicians who played on the first record kindly agreed to go around again and try and make sense of what we had.

We had a few base principles. No samples, no Click, no Grid and no Autotune. Everything on the album was performed live by a musician. Our drummer was our click track. The whole album was recorded to 2” tape and then digitized into Pro Tools. The whole process was a lot of fun and hopefully that comes across in the music and the performance and in the behind the scenes videos that we will be releasing. We were looking for a high fi, harmonically interesting sound that would live up to all of the great records made by our heroes. Its up to you to decide whether we succeeded.

‘Songs With Long Titles’, the second album for 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 if you like references.

Lyricist, composer and singer Brendan McNamara has been honing his craft over many years and for this record 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.

The record was mixed at the same facility by Brendan and Andrew and Mastered by Grammy Winner William Bowden. Now released to the world in double gatefold vinyl – 3 songs per side for maximum quality, and digitally across all platforms on 22 January 2024.

About Extra Time
When you think of classic albums names like Sting, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan and Supertramp spring to mind. You might be surprised to know there is a Sydney based band that has been toiling away for some years creating some truly classic sounds and songs with a similar aesthetic and instrumentation.

The guys met at school and hit it off as a young band and writing team, but ever since have been involved in other projects and built careers locally and internationally. Extra Time became a creative outlet to record and release music they love.

The first album came out pre-covid, scoring some decent streaming figures and TV sync activity.

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

Songs With Long Titles is OUT NOW

MUSIC VIDEO FOR SINGLE ‘WHERE IS THE LIGHT’

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Videos

Extra Time – ‘Where Is The Light’ (Official Music Video)

Video January 22, 2024 Marshall Cullen

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Foghorn Christmas Releases

December 6, 2023 Marshall Cullen

Get Into The Christmas Spirit With Gareth Koch’s Instrumental Album & Daxton’s Homegrown Blues/Jazz Album

‘Exquisite & ancient music reimagined with a shimmer of jangle. An audiophile recording.’

Imagine timeless European Christmas music played instrumentally, as if upon a choir of lutes. Ancient & exquisite songs, deep within the human psyche, are now newly arranged by ARIA Award winning guitarist Gareth Koch. The interpretations reveal his signature blend of contemporary flair laced with medieval sensibilities.

The arrangements are both elegant & appealing, sidestepping any notion of commercialised Christmas clichés. Re-imagined as troubadour-like ballads or tender Austrian folk songs, each carol receives a unique treatment. The listener is invited into an array of soundworlds, ranging from the early medieval to English folk-revival.

The music of this album leads us away from the bustle of many modern realities. Instead, we are drawn into a gentler universe, filled with subtlety & nuance. In any year, at any time, this album presents a Christmas message we all need to hear.

Song Descriptions
Little Drummer Boy
This timeless mid-tempo classic Christmas carol is dealt with not just using multiple classical guitar parts but with hand percussion and rice shakers.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
A very old piece, dated to the 16th century and referred to in Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’. Gareth recreates the vocal melody perfectly and becomes a terrific hum along piece. Bass guitar rounds out the arrangement featuring multiple guitars: acoustic, nylon string and electric creating a lush sonic tapestry.

About Gareth Koch
Gareth Koch is an ARIA Award winning recording artist, guitar soloist, composer & songwriter. He has recorded a diverse repertory across multiple albums spanning works for classical guitar, flamenco, original compositions, arrangements, medieval projects & song writing.
Gareth is involved with many cross genre projects. Over recent years he has released two collaborative albums with ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kilbey (The Church).

All DSP’s and CD’s from official store below

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Daxton ‘On The Eve Of Christmas’

There is a good chance in any Christmas album you will hear the well known traditional songs about mistletoe, stockings and large jolly gentlemen in red suits. Many artists have been there but not all write their own songs. Daxton Monaghan has just released his own unique jazz style Xmas album for 2023.

After deciding last Christmas that there wasn’t an album of Christmas songs that suited him, Daxton has spent the past year slowly crafting a tasty array of melodic songs for his own special Christmas album. Entitled ‘On The Eve Of Christmas’, the nine tracks include some well-known and Daxton family favourites: White Christmas, Little Drummer Boy and of course, Jingle Bells. The rest of the album is made up of Daxton’s own songs. These compositions have been inspired by Daxton’s family Christmas gatherings. Bouncy rhythms, heart warming lyrics, sing along harmonies, strings, brass and Daxton’s familiar vocals all feature.

Let The Carols Sing
A classic sing along Xmas tune from bluesman Daxton. Some fine holiday vibes from the sax, beach boys style ‘ooh aah’ backing vocals and keys.

Little Drummer Boy
This timeless tune gets fine reworking by Daxton. Programmed drums and keys give the song a modern edge with Luke Gallen’s sax the icing on the cake.

About Daxton
Daxton has appeared at major festivals including the Sydney Blues & Roots and Tamworth Country Music Festival where he supported artists such as Kasey Chambers and Beccy Cole. He also has had one of his tracks ‘Moody Liz’ featured in the popular American TV series Doll House.

Based on the Central Coast, Daxton is best described as a blues/rock artist with a twist of pop and rock. He plays slide guitar rock/blues songs with a fresh and innovative sound. His last album, ‘Electric Satellite’ was released in 2022 and featured his signature heavy and rustic blues rock sound.

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Halfway Homebuoy-New Self Titled Album

October 26, 2023 Marshall Cullen

In the hallowed halls of Damien Gerard Studios, the band embarked on a three-year-long musical odyssey, painstakingly sculpting each note, lyric, and sonic texture that would eventually coalesce into their magnum opus. This album is more than a collection of songs; it is a testament to Homebuoy’s unyielding dedication to the craft of music production.Time was thier greatest ally throughout this creative journey. Over the span of three years, the band meticulously poured their hearts and souls into every track, allowing each one to evolve and breathe, unfettered by the constraints of hurried production. Damien Gerard Studios provided the ideal canvas for this sonic masterpiece, a space where creativity flowed unhindered, and every sonic nuance was perfected. The result is an album that is not just a collection of songs but a sonic landscape that invites listeners on a transformative and emotionally charged voyage

It’s been a strange path for Halfway Homebuoy to finally end up as ‘based’ on the NSW Central Coast, an hour north of Sydney. The band was formed almost 10 years ago on the ski slopes of Switzerland where all of the (then) members were working the season and playing shows at night.

With three Englishmen and one Aussie the band moved out here and were recommended to Foghorn Records where they quickly found a home. As things happen after a few years the visa’s ran out, the Aussie moved back to Europe and the sole remaining member, principal writer and singer, Jack Davison, married an Aussie and stayed here. Unfortunately, he was left without a band.

Not to be deterred, Jack found local musicians, new songs were written, live shows booked, a new album released, the band continued on. Now based on the coast and with a new record almost finished the guys are ready to reboot post lockdown into 2022.

Checkout the new album OUT ON OCTOBER 27 (Foghorn MGM)

OUT NOW

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