Tag Archives: New single
Margaret Anne and The Rock It Man Lay Their Souls Bare
Margaret Anne and The Rock It Man’s debut album is called Soul Laid Bare. Lyrically it’s an intensely personal exploration of emotional turmoil after a marriage breakup, while musically it’s an exciting blend of Americana, country, roots, blues, funk and rock.
The title track is due for release on October 25. It was written while singer Margaret Anne was making the agonizing decision to leave a 20 year marriage, break up a family and family home. The song conveys a search for clarity and expresses the fear and recklessness in making such a massive and life changing decision for all involved.
Another album highlight is a song Margaret Anne wrote with renowned Australian singer-songwriter Shane Nicholson. Entitled Don’t Look Back, the track is an exploration of marriage in the aftermath of her breakdown. “Just 2 months after leaving my husband,” says Margaret Anne, “Don’t look Back was written on a sheep station in Nundle (outside Tamworth). It has undertones of loss, sadness and questioning and the decision to move on from the wreckage and not look back.”
Growing up in a seaside town on the south coast of NSW, she was blessed to belong to a musical family so classical piano, guitar and song became a big part of her life.
Margaret Anne says she was heavily influenced by her surfing brothers as she grew up. “We would pool our pennies to buy the latest records. My favourites, and certainly most early influences were Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Stones, Carol King, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Hair! Anything Woodstock!”
Adventurous and a passionate singer songwriter, Margaret Anne continually touches her listeners with her inclusive heartfelt singing, dynamic stage presence and empowering songs. She currently manages and performs in the successful band Firefly.
Soul Laid Bare is a collaboration with Doug Weaver, a talented multi instrumentalist, producer and screenwrite. He has produced and written music for over 200 episodes of the American TV show The MythBusters and also many local programs including Border Security and Beach Cops.
Margaret Anne has always been an adventurer, having previously travelled the world for 11 years and visiting 56 countries. This time her attention is turned inwards and the result is an emotive album full of vulnerabilities and strength.
Soul Laid Bare (the single) is out on October 25.
The album of the same name is due in March 2020.
Download or stream from October 25:
Watch Soul Laid Bare here:
Connect with Margaret Anne:
Umbrella Man – The Likes Of You(Paul Scott)
Apsara – Tandem Venit Amor (Official)
Big Merino-Sweet Little Angel(Official)
Coen Cashin & Mark Cashin- Move Your Body(Official)
Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch- Lost At Sea(Official Video)
Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch Release Second Single ‘Lost At Sea’
UPDATE:
‘Lost At Sea’ looks set to exceed the streams of the first collaborative offering from Steve Kilbey and Gareth Koch, Broken Toys (50K + streams on Spotify). ‘Lost At Sea’ has notched up 7000 streams in only its first two weeks of release!
‘Lost At Sea’ also sitting at #1 on the SoundsLikeCafe Chart, getting serious amounts of spins in cafes all around the country.
The video for Lost At Sea is out now. Check it out at YouTube here!
Gareth Koch just announced the exciting news that the duo will be returning to the studio this October, to record several tracks including one called Thylacine (the scientific name for the extinct Tasmanian Tiger).
Koch recently talked about the song with British music journalist Jason Barnard. “The idea was to write a soulful ballad filled with ocean and journey references,” he explained. “Musically it harks back to a tuneful and almost Italian style of writing. The harmony owes a little to J.S. Bach’s ‘Sheep May Safely Graze’, as does of course Procol Harum’s ‘Lighter Shade of Pale.”
He also talks about how he ended up writing music with Steve Kilbey, saying he’s been a fan since seeing The Church way back in 1980 at The Mosman Hotel in Sydney!
For the full interview, head to thestrangebrew.co.uk.
(photo credit: Tony Mott)
“I’m just a guy holding the pen” is the poignant opening line of the recent Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch collaboration ‘Lost at Sea’.
The statement seems innocent enough at first glance, yet it elegantly addresses the mystery of creativity. How does art come into being, and is the creator just a filter or medium for the creative process?
The sentiment is even more interesting given the background of the two protagonists. Steve Kilbey, perhaps best known as the frontman of veteran rock band The Church, has a lifetime of esoteric lyrics to his credit. Kilbey’s themes pose questions and riddle-like answers. Perhaps this is why his lyrics continue to engage us. Gareth Koch on the other hand, a Viennese-trained guitarist/composer, has explored the nature of creativity head-on in his PhD thesis. Perhaps between the pair, Kilbey & Koch might have some answers.
These considerations aside, this collaboration has yielded a truly beautiful and timeless ballad. There is a wistful and haunting lilt to ‘Lost at Sea’, as it floats seamlessly through a narrative of stolen hearts, voyages into solitudeand roaming in no-man’s land. And to compliment these lyrics is a delicious instrumentation, weaving and wafting, ghostly and waif-like, present yet elusive.
This is possibly why this collaboration works so well. Kilbey & Koch are both masters of the esoteric form. As they step sideways from their respective genres this coming together highlights a close aesthetic connection.
‘Lost At Sea’ is sure to follow in the footsteps of the first collaborative offering, Broken Toys, which last week was sitting pretty at #1 on the Radio Indie Alliance chart:
Lost At Sea will be released on July 5 via MGM.
Download/stream from July 5:
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Big Merino Release New Single and Album ‘Sweet Little Angel’
Big Merino have put the finishing touches on their second album at Damien Gerard Studios in Sydney. It’s official release date is July 27 but you can pre-buy the album ahead of time by heading to the band’s online shop.
The first single to be lifted from Sweet Little Angel is the balladesque title track, while it’s B-side accompaniment is a cover of the politically-charged protest song of 1970, ‘Ohio’. Penned by Neil Young and recorded with his band Crosby Stills Nash and Young, the song is a guitar-led melodic track that will be familiar to most music lovers.
The single will be released on June 28.
Tracklisting for the album is:
Sweet Little Angel
I Watched The Light
I Lay Me Down
Mama’s Gonna Fall
Satellite
Ohio
This Song
Hard Lesson
Living In The Past
Day Without You
Hummingbird
Guest musicians on the record are:
Alice Papademetriou & Lisa Spence : additional vocals
John Gauci, Mike Gubb : Keyboards
James Greening : Horns
Jess Ciampa : percussion
Watch a sampler video by clicking on the YouTube link below:
UPCOMING SHOW DATES ARE:
Sat June 8 @ Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Fri June 28 Murringo NSW
Sat June 29 Quandialla NSW
Sat July 27 @ Marrickville Bowlo
Big Merino is a genre-busting band featuring Stuart Davis (lead vocals/guitar), Alex Craig (lead guitar), Peter Richardson (bass) and Colin Sevitt (drums).
Their songs blur the lines between rock, country, blues, soul and pop. Despite an obvious passion for Americana (blues, country and Gospel) their music somehow also sounds quintessentially Australian, shaped by our landscape and their own stories.
“Great songs, great songwriting and best of all – full of a real sincerity and commitment”
Michael Smith – Rhythms
The album will be released on July 27 on Foghorn Records through MGM.
Stream or Download Big Merino’s music:
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Lily Duval Offers New Single ‘The Last Goodbye’
Full bodied acoustic guitar is the hallmark of this terrific new original single from Lily Duval. The classic sound of this song has its own time and place and transports you somewhere else.
Her writing comes from her own experiences and also longtime influences such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin. Lyrically, The Last Goodbye explores the sense of an ending, the realisation that you may never again see the person you love. Lily describes this song as, “a love story. I wrote this last winter. I deliberated over the key change at the end but then felt it worked.”
With help from accomplished session men – Peter Holz on guitar and Andy Beck adding the medieval sounding Celesta, the track is woven together by the expert ears of producer Russell Pilling.
Previously Lily has digitally released a number of acoustic blues originals to a warm response on Community Radio and online.
Download or stream now:
Connect with Lily: