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Molly explains that ‘You Cut Me So Much Slack’ was the genesis of her coming project Slack, representing a shift in both her mindset and lyricism with a renewed focus on self-reflection and accountability. Molly explains; “You Cut Me So Much Slack is a song I wrote initially for my EP Porcupine, but decided just before it came out that it fit better in this project. In Porcupine when I wrote about friendships and relationships I was placing a lot of blame on other people, whereas my coming project Slack is more self-reflective and centres around taking responsibility for your own faults in order to grow. My anxiety used to make it almost impossible to communicate and express my feelings to someone, and when I tried it would never come out the way I wanted it to. That’s what this song is driven by, that frustration and desperation of wanting someone but not being able to tell them.”
The thematic shift is one that mirrors Molly’s return to her roots. Originally intended to be a short stay, her time in Aotearoa / New Zealand was extended as UK lockdowns prevailed. As well as spending time with the friends and places she left as a teenager, it also fuelled her resolution to reconnect with the memories and tribulations of her past, and process them through her songwriting. Revolving around the adage of looking back in order to move forward, she describes her coming output as “honest, reflective and hopeful.” Her time back home also allowed her to rediscover the catharsis of playing live, with Molly performing a series of full-capacity headline gigs against the backdrop of NZ’s low Covid rates and eased restrictions.
‘You Cut Me So Much Slack’ is out now, buy/stream it here.
Stay connected with Molly Payton:
Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
I Know Leopard are back with their second single for 2021, this time dialling up the emotional intensity in their new hyper-coloured shimmer pop setting with “Day 2 Day” which premiered on triple j’s Good Nights.
As with their previous 2021 single, “Lover Automatic”, “Day 2 Day” was produced by lead vocalist and main songwriter Luke O’Loughlin and was co-produced and mixed by Konstantin Kersting who has made a name for himself behind the board for Tones & I, Jungle Giants, Mallrat, The Rubens, Tia Gostelow and WAAX.
With its driving piano riff, pulsing synths, gliding violin and uptempo sampled drums “Day 2 Day” manages to be musically inspiring and even anthemic while paradoxically, the lyrics address a relatable feeling of persistent self-doubt. The acclaim to the band’s pivot from the ‘70s soft rock inspired Love Is A Landmine 2019 album to a sweet but smart take on alt-pop has been near universal, and the band have more new music to release this year and into early 2022.
As with most Australian other live music of late, due to ongoing COVID restrictions the trio of O’Loughlin, bassist Rosie Fitzgerald and violinist / vocalist Jenny McCullagh have had to reschedule both upcoming Sydney and Melbourne shows. The anticipation for the return of the band has been high as the shows will be the first time they hit the stage in two years.
Reactions to “Lover Automatic”
“It’s a stellar comeback with their left field, suave, pop slant sounding ace with hip hop kinda drums and a romance fuelling those grooves”
Declan Byrne, Home & Hosed / Triple J
““Lover Automatic” is one of those tracks which sucks you in with repeat listens. It has an infectious pop hook with sweet falsetto vocals from Luke O’Loughlin….The violin of Jenny McCullagh is always a joy to hear, and Rosie Fitzgerald on bass reminds us why she in such high demand.”
AU Review Track Of The Week
“It’s a taut and unpretentious three-and-a-half-minute pop package, devoid of fat but still able to accommodate a wonderfully wobbly 35-second synth solo right in the middle of it.”
Double J
I KNOW LEOPARD
‘Day 2 Day’
OUT NOW
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GRAMMY-Award winning rap legend Nas has released his new album, King’s Disease II via Mass Appeal. LISTEN TO KING’S DISEASE II HERE.
The album is a sequel to Nas’ GRAMMY Award-winning album King’s Disease, which was released in August 2020 to rave reviews. King’s Disease II was executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy, and features collaborations with Eminem, EPMD, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Hit-Boy + more.
Nas also dropped the official music video for ‘Rare’, directed by Savannah Setten and executive produced by Dave Free. Watch the video for ‘Rare’ here.
In March, Nas scored his first-ever GRAMMY Award for ‘Best Rap Album’ with King’s Disease. King’s Disease marked Nas’ first new album in 2 years. The album is entirely produced by Hit-Boy (JAY-Z, Beyoncé, Travis Scott) and Gabriel “G Code” Zardes serves as the album’s co-executive producer. In addition, Nas’s collaboration with Pantone around the single ‘Ultra Black’ to create the official colour, ‘Ultra Black by Nas’ garnered a Clio Award.
Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, recently released an expanded digital edition of Nas‘ It Was Written, in celebration of the groundbreaking hip-hop classic’s 25th anniversary. The expanded digital edition features Nas‘ original album (in its entirety and classic running order) with the addition of bonus tracks ‘Silent Murder’ and ‘Street Dreams’ (Bonus Verse), previously unreleased through digital service providers. It is available for streaming here.
King’s Disease II is out now. Listen here.
King’s Disease II track list
Stay connected with NAS:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Where are you currently based?
We are currently based out of Toronto, Ontario.
How did you first start playing music?
I always had a love for music and melody and I was often found singing and dancing around the house as a child. Thankfully my parents encouraged my passion and enrolled me in singing lessons when I was 12. I eventually picked up the old acoustic guitar in my house and started writing my own music. Soon after I met a few of the other guys and we bonded over our love of rock music and decided to form our own band.
What’s been happening recently?
As of recently we’ve been busy in the studio creating and recording our newest songs. We just released our song “Cut Me Loose” to which we are getting a great response online. We are always trying to keep up with our fans on TikTok and Instagram and can’t wait to get back out there to play some live shows and showcase our new sound.
Your new single ‘Cut Me Loose’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
We wanted to take our sound to a more professional and modern level without losing that raw energy and bluesy nature. I think we’ve retained that passion and created something sonically pleasing to both young and old and most demographics!
How did you go about writing ‘Cut Me Loose’ and what does this single mean to you?
John actually pitched the song to the band and we all immediately loved it. We posted a video of us performing the song online on TikTok, and it successfully went viral overnight racking up about 2 million views. A lot of people all over the world were asking for it to be released, so we knew we had to. We began playing the song for folks online and almost everyone was convinced it would be a hit. I’m really proud of this song because of how well it showcases our newest sound and how hard we’ve been working together as a band. It’s very well crafted and has so much energy to it, you can’t help but headband along.
Where and when did you record/produce/master the single and who with?
Much of the recording process and production of the song was done back during June in our home studio at Cosmo Cat Records. We got in touch with Canadian producer Tawgs Salter who was excited to work on the song. We sent the session to him for more production and the final mastering was done by Tokyo Speirs.
How did you approach the recording process?
A) We had been playing “Cut Me Loose” acoustically on Tik Tok for about a month so we already had a pretty good feel for the tune. It was just about taking it to the next level and letting everyone’s ability’s shine on the final product. We had recorded a few early demos during the lockdown in an older studio, but really worked and refined the core of the song at Cosmo Cat Records studio . We have a great set up in our studio so it was easy to do most of the recording and engineering ourselves before we sent it to Tawgs for further production. Recording is something that we really enjoy and do on a daily basis, and we are learning and growing everyday.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2021?
You can expect tons of new music and hopefully some announcements for Canadian show dates for later this year. We are releasing a live action music video for “Cut Me Loose” in a few weeks and are already planning for our next singles and hope to release them in the upcoming months.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
You can usually find me listening to Supertramp or some sort of classic rock band but as for current music I’ve been listening to a lot of The Blue Stones. I really dig their music, it reminds me of what we are sort of doing with our music. It’s awesome they are a Canadian band as well, modern but still incorporating those big riffs and that bluesy rock vibe.
What do you like to do away from music?
When I have the time I really enjoy cooking and making food for the people I love. Anytime you can bring your friends and family together to have a few laughs and forget about the stress of daily life.
Favourite food and place to hang out?
My favourite food has got to be tacos. I just always feel like it’s a party when Mexican food is in the mix. I’m a sucker for a good hot sauce, I love the spice. Sneaky Dees has great food for that. We love getting out and exploring new places and cities, especially getting in touch with nature and the great outdoors. We are always on the lookout for a good time. It’s been difficult with the recent lockdown but hopefully we can get back out there with everything reopened.
Facebook: /HarmAndEase
Instagram: @harmandease
Twitter: @HarmAndEase
Website: www.harmandease.com
CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM HIGHS IN THE MINUSES
SHARES LEAD SINGLE / VIDEO “HEADLINES”
ALBUM OUT OCTOBER 29TH, 2021 VIA POLYVINYL / DOUBLE DOUBLE WHAMMY
Pitchfork
Charlotte Cornfield today announces her new album Highs in the Minuses will be released on October 29th, 2021, via Polyvinyl (Squirrel Flower, Oceanator, Xiu Xiu) / Double Double Whammy (Hovvdy, Great Grandpa, Lomelda) — the first-ever co-release for both labels.
The Toronto, ON-based artist has also shared the first single from the album: “Headlines,” a driving track with an earworm chorus that belies the anxiety permeating its lyrics. Here we find Cornfield doom-scrolling in a small room, spinning her wheels in a state of helplessness. “Skimming headlines/Walking slowly/Circling around,” she repeats four times in the song’s chorus, a device that hooks the listener while emphasising the cyclical, maddening nature of anxiety.
Of the song’s accompanying video, Cornfield explains: “I wanted to express the joy of seeing people, of those little interactions that happen throughout the day that I missed so much in the last year and a half. When I wrote this song I was spending so much time walking alone through my neighbourhood, and I wanted the video to take place on the same streetscape but be the antidote to that solitude. To me the city is so much about the people in it. Adrienne McLaren Devenyi, the director, came up with this arc of me exchanging objects with people as I move through the neighbourhood and that just created a beautiful jumping off point for these interactions. We had so much fun making this video, and it was such a gift to see everybody.”
After spending much of 2020 with her thoughts and instruments, Cornfield knew it was time to take her new songs out of the house. She’d spent months writing a suite of evocative, autobiographical story-songs in near-solitude, and was ready for the immediate, regenerative experience of a band playing live in the studio. But this wasn’t mere pandemic-related longing. It was instead a long-simmering desire.
The singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s 2019 album The Shape of Your Name — which received widespread praise, including being long-listed for the coveted Polaris Music Prize — was a slow solo endeavor, written alone and meticulously recorded in fits and starts over the span of a few years, and she’d even played most of its instruments. For Highs in the Minuses, Cornfield knew she needed a cast that was representative of her journey through the DIY scene of Toronto and the music program at Montreal’s Concordia University, those friends and colleagues who’ve helped her become the incisive, witty, and generous writer and player she is.
Though the songs of Highs in the Minuses are highly personal, Cornfield wanted their sonic quality to convey the communal, aleatoric energy of live performance. With this in mind, she and the band allowed their psychic connection to convey the emotional interconnectedness that comes with stories of heartbreak, self-discovery, and new love. Cornfield (guitar, piano, vocals), bassist Alexandra Levy (Ada Lea) and drummer Liam O’Neill (Suuns) convened in Montreal at the studio of Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen), whom Cornfield had originally met through a musician’s residency he founded at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In just five days, with minimal takes and overdubs—and with contributions from guitarist Sam Gleason (Tim Baker) and Stars singer Amy Millan—they set Cornfield’s vivid mini-memoirs to an earthen folk-rock symphony.
Throughout Highs in the Minuses, it’s tempting to think of Cornfield as a narrator, given the autobiographical nature of many of the songs, but this framing discounts her deep consideration of the listener. She’s not broadcasting absolute truths but rather inviting us to feel alongside her, to acknowledge the raw, shambolic commonality found in individual experiences. Like David Berman and John Prine, Cornfield’s lyrics ring with precision — a rhythmic, poetic clarity that may devastate the heart or tickle the ribs in a simple turn of phrase.
Read Charlotte Cornfield’s full bio/download photos and cover artwork HERE.
TRACKLISTING:
2. Headlines
3. Pac-Man
4. 21
5. Black Tattoo
6. Blame Myself
7. Out of the Country
8. Drunk for You
9. Partner in Crime
10. Modern Medicine
11. Destroy Me
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TRACKLIST
My Gully
Lost Angeles
Bagga Yute
Stay connected with Skiifall:
Website | Instagram | Facebook
SUPPORT FOR ‘SMOKE IN THE AIR’
“Mesmerising new cut.”
The Music (AUS)
Melbourne-based surf-rock group Majak Door have today returned with their charismatic new single ‘Smoke In The Air’ – produced by Daniel Caswell (Dune Rats, Bad//Dreems, The Living End) and the band themselves.
Opening with suave synths and shimmering clean guitars, ‘Smoke In The Air’ fluently floats at a tranquil tempo. Steady drums and stoic bass complement the serene vocals of lead singer Frankie Vakalis, as the song swells and glides into a sparkling chorus brimming with the reverb-laden elements of superlative indie music. Spirited alternations take the track to its highpoint before sensibly alleviating for a pure finale.
Vakalis talks about the process behind ‘Smoke In The Air’:
“The single ‘Smoke in the Air’ was written during January of 2020, when Melbourne had been engulfed in smoke from the near bushfires. The upcoming album touches on many different areas; nostalgia, friendship, politics, and anything else that crosses the mind of a 20-something-year-old.”
Previous releases have been extensively supported by the likes of Spotify, triple j, triple j Unearthed, FBi Radio, SYN FM, Radio Adelaide, 4ZZZ, and 2XX FM. It also received online praise from Pilerats, Milky, The Australian Music Scene, Deafen County, Something You Said, Backseat Mafia Downunder, The Soundcheck, AAA Backstage and Like Velvet.
Majak Door’s debut self-titled album, which also features previous singles ‘Will She Leave You’ and ‘L’acqua Salata (Ain’t So Sweet)’ is due for release on Friday, September 17, and is available to pre-order now via 24Hundred.
Since their inception, the band have consistently traversed the East-Coast of Australia, packing out shows across Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Melbourne, as well as supporting local contemporaries Planet, The Grogans, Seaside and Merpire.
In the coming weeks, Majak Door will reveal an accompanying music video for ‘Smoke In The Air’.
‘Smoke In The Air’ is available worldwide now
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
THU 26 AUG | THE BARWON CLUB, GEELONG VIC
FRI 27 AUG | VOLTA, BALLARAT VIC
SAT 28 AUG | WRANGLER STUDIOS, FOOTSCRAY VIC
SAT 11 SEP | BROADCAST BAR, ADELAIDE SA
FOLLOW MAJAK DOOR
Where are you currently based?
Australia!
What’s been happening recently?
Well… without sounding negative, we had a whole tour and a bunch of other things planned that all got taken away a week out from doing them because of a recent outbreak of COVID in Aus, so we’re just trying to keep writing as much as possible and do anything we can to stay busy during lockdown 2.0 haha.
Please tell us about how you first got involved with Fender Next and your experience to date:
I kid you not, we have always played fender. It’s always been our number one company we wanted to get involved with. We’ve been approached by other guitar companies and we’d decline so when we were lucky enough to have been contacted about being a part of Fender Next, it was an absolute no-brainer.
What does being involved with Fender Next mean to you?
As I said before, we’ve always been huge advocates for Fender. They are so versatile and never fucking break no matter what you do to them. The first guitar I ever bought was a Fender Telecaster Blacktop. I saved up all my money and bought it like 10 years ago and still use it to this day with only one modification. We use it for everything from recording to live shows. It’s never failed me despite it being through the absolute ringer while touring. To be a part of Fender Next just seemed like destiny if I’m being completely honest.
Please tell us about your thoughts on the Fender Artist Playbook:
I think it’s great and I wish there was something like that from actual musicians when we were younger. The tough thing about navigating the music industry is that, although there are some key things that you need to have in order, there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule and every artist’s story is different and that’s what makes it so hard, I think. So, it’s great to have something concrete and spelled out like – ‘these are essential’.
What’s planned for the band for the rest of 2021 and going into 2022?
This year we’re focusing on releasing new music, and 2022 will be nothing but touring. Can’t wait to be back on the road.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I find it hard these days to find stuff I really like, maybe I’m too cynical and jaded now haha. Having said that though I’ve been getting into Kid Laroi quite a bit, Phoebe Bridgers, the new Turnstile record, Teenage Joans – a young band from AUS. I’ve actually going back and listening more to the artists my dad would play for me quite a bit as well like Nirvana, Hendrixx even Janis Joplin. The classics are just where it’s at for me right now.
What do you like to do away from music?
I love art. I love creating things whether it be graphic design stuff or just fooling around in photoshop doing dumb things to keep my mind active. It’s so hard to feel inspired at the moment but I’m trying to stop that muscle from dying haha.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
My favourite food will always be chocolate I don’t care how basic that is. It was my first love. But I really love ramen, Indian food, Thai… ill find most things delicious… favourite place to hangout is a great bar with my mates BUT since we’ve been unable to tour for so long I would literally settle for a shitty greenroom in the middle of no-where at this point haha.
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WATCH: ‘Central Station’ (Official Music Video)
‘Central Station‘ is the last single lifted from MAY-A‘s debut EP, which threads together previous releases, ‘Swing Of Things‘, ‘Time I Love To Waste‘, ‘Apricots‘ and ‘Green‘, an opening statement, years in the making, from an artist who has been writing since the age of 12 but has only, over the past year, begun to share her once private creative trove with the wider world. Plaudits for MAY-A‘s generational songwriting have flowed from far and wide in due course, racking up tens of millions of streams, amassing over 250k YouTube subscribers and heralded as “glorious” by Variety, the mark of a “proper pop wiz” by triple j and “a soon-to-be-star” by GayTimes, “your favourite new artist” by Dork Magazine, amongst others.
Such a patient and astute approach has yielded a debut EP which is remarkably cohesive for such a young artist, indicative of not only the talent and wisdom that MAY-A possesses in spades/quantities beyond her years, but that she is also an artist who carries an essential and compelling story to share, with an acute, discerning vision for exactly how she wants to tell this story. From her vantage point of nineteen years, she is able to survey her adolescence, infusing the EP with a strong narrative drive that reflects both an authentic, in-the-moment maturation and a retrospective awareness of all the important moments, realisations, and experiences that led MAY-A to where she now finds herself.
In her words, Don’t Kiss Ur Friends “follows the course of a relationship, a journey of queer discovery and the growth from an adolescent to a young adult. Each song is a piece of the last four or five years of my life, the most recent track having been written last year and the earliest at 16. As the music developed, so did I. You can listen to me grow up, gain confidence and understand myself through the way I approach my relationships.” With her gift for writing about universally felt emotions coming to the fore throughout Don’t Kiss Ur Friends, MAY-A hones her ability to take these small moments in life and make them feel larger than they seem, injecting her vignettes of navigating relationships and everyday existence with an intoxicating vulnerability that invites you in and then hints at something more left unseen.
Don’t Kiss Ur Friends EP is out now, buy/stream it here.
TRACKLIST
Amiinmyhead?
Swing Of Things
Central Station
Daffodils
Time I Love To Waste
Apricots
Swing Of Things ft. Powfu
Stay connected with MAY-A:
Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | TikTok
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Prior to stepping into the spotlight as one of Australian music’s breakthrough artists of 2020 and recent national tour support for Tones And I, Farah had already established himself as an APRA-Award winning, ARIA-nominated songwriter and a much-sought-after collaborator, having worked with Tash Sultana on ‘Willow Tree‘, Baker Boy (‘Marryuna, ‘Mr La-Di-Da-Di’, ‘Meditjin’), KIAN on ‘Waiting’, Tkay Maidza‘s ‘You Sad’, plus enjoying a long-running relationship with Adrian Eagle and Dallas Woods. The range of credits speaks to his status as a stylistic polymath, fusing neo-soul, R&B, and alternative rap threads together in a manner informed by his multicultural upbringing – a limitless, free-genre approach that is all over Jerome’s solo material.
Affirming his star magnetism, his first three singles garnering back-to-back premieres on Good Nights with Bridget Hustwaithe for ‘Vibrate’ and ‘Mikey Might‘ respectively and full rotation on triple j for ”I Can’t Breathe‘ and ‘Vibrate’, alongside praise from NME Australia, Acclaim, Pilerats, Purple Sneakers, AUD$ and more. Collectively, his debut singles have amassed over a million streams worldwide to date, featuring on playlists across Spotify and Apple Music ranging from RADAR AU & NZ to Alt Rap, Breaking R&B, Fresh Finds, and more, following his inclusion in Youtube Music’s #BlackVoices for 2021.
‘Concrete Jungle Fever‘ is out now, buy/stream it here.
Stay connected with Jerome Farah:
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Title: Fight Dirty
Label: MDLBeast Records
MDLBeast Records welcomes Salvatore Ganacci with his new single “Fight Dirty,” a unique house track accompanied by a visually stunning music video. Inspired by the Japanese composer Toshiyuki Kimori‘s record “Dirty Fight,” it opens with an energetic, driving beat, while Ganacci ups the ante with a bouncy buildup and groovy vocal riffs for a bit of 80s disco influence. The music video is an Anime-infused animation and takes the viewer on a wild journey as our protagonist attempts to battle the infamous Ganacci gang and its thugs. It draws inspiration from classic films like “Cowboy Bebop” and “Fist of the North Star” and features cameo appearances from several characters from Salvatore‘s own sketches and previous music videos. “Fight Dirty” follows MDLBeast Records‘ “Toxic Romance” from Cosmicat, and earlier “Testarossa” from Butch and R3HAB‘s “Sorry I Missed Your Call (Ringtone).” Check out both the track and video for the full experience.
Swedish artist Salvatore Ganacci has always forged a lane he can uniquely call his own. He made serious waves in the electronic scene in 2019 with his cult-classic music video “Horse” on Skrillex‘s OWSLA label and has since established himself as an unmatched visual artist. Taking a unique approach of pairing his music with stunning visuals, Ganacci has had a succession of eye-catching releases with the likes of Tommy Cash and more. His release “Fight Dirty” brings him to join the exciting ranks of MDLBeast Records. and is Salvatore‘s 2nd release this month, after “Step-Grandma.” Stay tuned for more music.
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