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Dan Vella delivers a serotonin fuelled summer anthem through Hell or High

Dan Vella has made his way back with ‘Hell or High Water’ the beach-side anthem for your summer season. His third release of the year, it’s with this track that we see the Melbourne musician dive further into crafting a nostalgic yet familiar sound that places him in a lane of his own. 

Hell or High Water explores the lengths in which you would go to for those you share a deep connection with. “When a relationship is strong, there is no doubt you would go through hell for them knowing they’ve got your back”. 

Drawing inspiration from the late 90s and early 00s, the track (produced by MSquared duo Michael Paynter & Michael Delorenzis) is laced with a bright pop energy. Vella’s warm vocals mixed in with bright guitars and a wavy beat, this track delivers surprises at every turn and pairs perfectly with road-trips, cold beer and a healthy dose of sunscreen. ‘Hell or High Water’ has arrived just in time for a long awaited Aussie summer.

Label: MDLBEAST Records Heavyweight producer Afrojack and talented newcomers Black V Neck join the ranks of MDLBEAST Records with “To The Floor,” a house remake of a hip-hop classic. If you ever went to a house party or club in the 2010s, chances are you heard Waka Flocka Flame and Roscoe Dash‘s “No Hands.” Fast forward a decade, and it’s been given a different type of dance-worthy twist; Afrojack and Black V Neck lean heavily into tech house sound with minimal, driving basslines and complementary kickdrums, making a recipe for the perfect late-night underground dancefloor killer. Afrojack recently released “My Sound” with SLVR and Chico Rose, while Black V Neck has just dropped “More” with KrazySucio on Claude VonStroke‘s infamous DIRTYBIRD. “To The Floor” is the latest in a hot streak for MDLBEAST, which has included Steve Aoki‘s “Aurora” (as his Ninja Attack project) in addition to Salvatore Ganacci‘s “Fight Dirty,” Cosmicat‘s “Toxic Romance,” Butch‘s “Testarossa” and R3HAB, Skytech & Fafaq‘s “Sorry I Missed Your Call.”

As one of the most innovative and sought-after artists, Grammy Award-winning producer and DJ Afrojack continues to shatter boundaries that push music in bold new directions. Since making his breakthrough with the multi-platinum-selling single “Take Over Control,” the Dutch-born musician has lent his production skills to tracks that bend genres and laid the foundation for major hits for artists such as Beyoncé, Pitbull, Will.i.am, and more. In the last few years, Afrojack was named one of the 50 Most Important People in EDM by Rolling Stone and placed on the Forbes “30 Under 30” music list. In 2010, he was one of the first DJs to secure a Las Vegas residency and continues to entertain global audiences as a headlining resident artist for the Hakkasan group. Afrojack travels the world performing at the biggest clubs/festivals while producing new music with his label Wall Recordings. His most recent worldwide hits such as “Anywhere With You” together with Lucas & Steve and DubVision, “We Got That Cool” with Yves V and Icona Pop, “1234” with Fedde Le Grand featuring MC Ambush add to an impressive repertoire spanning a decade as a global performer and multi-platinum selling artist. One milestone in 2021 was when “HERO” together with David Guetta reached number 1 on the US dance radio chart through amassing an impressive over 40M streams to date.

MDLBEAST is the Middle East‘s most influential brand that is rapidly evolving. MDLBEAST Records marks another milestone on the company’s journey that allows a further cultural exchange between local Middle Eastern artists, global superstars, and audiences around the world. MDLBEAST‘s game-changing festival in Riyadh – SOUNDSTORM, held its first edition in 2019 with acts such as David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Tiësto, Afrojack, and R3HAB, to name only a few, which was just the beginning and more than an event. SOUNDSTORM was a cultural catalyst for Saudi youth, which will be back in action in December 2021 with a star-studded line-up. Until then, keep an eye out for further groundbreaking releases from this exciting imprint.

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NZ punk-rockers Sit Down In Front have just dropped what is arguably the most Kiwi punk rock tune of all time, ‘Pixie Caramel‘ featuring the legendary Tiki Taane. 

Named after an iconic Kiwi chocolate bar, ‘Pixie Caramel’ is another day in the lives of these teenage punks, a fast and upbeat punk rock anthem about going to the corner ‘dairy’ only to find out your favourite snack is sold out! The song follows their scorching slice of punk rock political commentary Don’t Drink Bleach, which had Blunt Magazine praising their ability to “turn lemons into lemonade” as “a superpower of sorts“.

One of New Zealand’s most well-known and diverse artists and producers, Tiki Taane (Shapeshifter/Salmonella Dub), stars in both the single and video, which was filmed at an old abandoned Jail. The video concept is based around the Kiwiana Pixie Caramel commercial from the late 1980s, with Tiki Taane delivering the comic “any last requests” line and not missing the opportunity to drop in some Aotearoa bass culture!

“I had such a blast recording vocals & being in the video for this song. It’s got wicked energy and I loved hanging with the boys.” – Tiki Taane. 

‘Pixie Caramel’ is the second track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming EP, which is set for release in early 2022 via Best & Fairest.

“We strongly advise watching this space.” – Blunt Magazine

Sit Down In Front @sitdowninfrontband

Melbourne Bass baddies BIG BOSS & Spe3d deliver a summer infused Trap and Moombahton hybrid. Way You Move is ruder than straight up asking someone to twerk. Yet the booty moving properties of this banger are as irresistible as an order from heaven. Fast becoming a veteran of the scene BIG BOSS is renowned, not just for his club thumping tunes but also as a mastering engineer and for his production advice on tiktok. Entering the scene in 2021, Spe3d showcases production chops in advance of his contemporaries with a stellar list of self releases that are impressive and innovative. A consistent stream of quality music has lined him up to be one to watch in 2022 and his work on ‘Way You Move’ is a testament to this.

 To add extra icing on the rave cake, two solid remixes are included. First of all, bass music patron Space Prince chooses violence with his heavy as heck remixes that changes tempo, direction and grip on you like a champion wrestler. Crumpy (AKA Skrybe) pulls things back into line with a wonky bass house take that is itching to be slammed on the biggest PAs.

There’s an energy and impatience in this track that is chomping at the bit like a Melbourne raver. If you’re looking for a tune to get you gee’d up to dance again Way You Move will make all the sense.

Listen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigbossmusicmastering/

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SUPPORT FOR JUNO DISCO

“This is one of those songs that has me furiously stroking my moustache with excitement.”
Indie Shuffle (ZAF)

“Juno Disco are a duo to be excited about.”
Pilerats (AUS)

“Sounding equally nostalgic as it does future focused, familiar yet exciting and fresh.”
Purple Sneakers (AUS)

“I’ve got my disco sequence glitter boots on and I’m ready for ANYTHING. Juno sound tracking my big dreams as always.” – 4.5/5 stars
Claire Mooney – triple j (AUS) 

Previous singles added to Spotify playlists ‘New Music Friday (AU/NZ)’, ‘Indie Arrivals’ and ‘Permanent Vacation’

‘Dreamin’ added to rotation on triple j Unearthed

Melbourne-based synth-pop duo Juno Disco have today returned with their inventive new EP ‘House Of Juno’ – produced by the band themselves, mixed by Nick Bond and mastered by Joe Carra (Midlife, Pond).

Largely created at their home studios, ‘House Of Juno’ is six eclectic tracks that blend the sparkling elements of alternative pop, electronica and house. Arranged with warm synths and syrupy vocal harmonies, brimming with delicate and intricate innovation, the EP is a collective showcase of customary and established song writing.

“’House Of Juno’ was a lockdown baby, born of a deep longing for late nights and sweaty dancefloors,” the duo comments. “The beats hit heavier, the words are more sentimental, all in an effort to quench our thirst for the club. This record was actually produced in a unique way, in that a lot of it was produced via zoom due to lockdown. There were a lot of recording sessions specifically, where Albert would set up a mic and a camera in his studio and I (Nick) would be watching on from my studio, giving notes on each take and really building the songs from there.”

Opening track ‘Two Streets Over’ crescendos and bursts with multicoloured electronics and polyphonic subtleties, including the contributions of local talent Franko Gonzo, before the smooth second track ‘Left To Write’ stipulates a wash of synth pads and infectious hooks. ‘Neon Lights’ ridges the overall energy with the prosperous feature of vocalist Leon Nites, as modulated melodies and syncopated beats stimulate a sweltering, luminous environment.

Pulsing and filtered synth leads initiate the fourth track ‘Don’t Be Fooled’, an anthemic dance-floor encapsulation of phased vocals and radiating textures. ‘Waiting So Long’ sensibly crafts a regulated atmosphere with a serene tempo and judicious use of repetition throughout its five-minute duration, before the final track ‘Dreamin’ punctuates the EP as a nostalgic finale, creating a fusion of arpeggiated sequences, vivid percussion and buoyant dynamic melodies that consistently rise and fall prior to an abrupt ending.

Previous releases have been widely embraced by Spotify, MTV and Australian radio stations triple j, triple j Unearthed, Radio Adelaide, 2SER, 4ZZZ and JOY FM. They’ve also seen extensive support from tastemaker blogs Indie Shuffle (ZAF), Pilerats, Acid Stag, Surviving the Golden Age (USA), Purple Sneakers, Trouble Juice, Deafen County, AAA Backstage, Something You Said and Futuremag Music.

In the live arena, the duo has sold out multiple headline shows, supported LEISURE (NZ) and Luke Million, and played Australian festivals like Beyond The Valley and St Kilda Festival.

‘House Of Juno’ is available worldwide now

‘House Of Juno’ Track Listing:

1. Two Streets Over
2. Left To Write
3. Neon Lights (ft. Leon Nites)
4. Don’t Be Fooled
5. Waiting So Long
6. Dreamin’

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Across 10 dynamic tracks, produced by Dean Tuza (The Rubens, Stella Donelly) and mixed by multi-Grammy winner Stu White (Beyonce, Jay Z), N2KY continues to explore the sentiment of a partnership having the potential to either nourish and support or constrict and threaten. In his embrace of electronic post-punk, the pop fundamentals from the Scandinavian set and the recent wave of emo trap artists, MOSSY captures the sensation of surrendering to a force – whether spiritual, sonic or both – and N2KY‘s sparseness belies its optimism and intimacy.

‘Unfazed’ follows the album’s lead single ‘Shade’, MOSSY’s first single in 4 years. The track was swiftly added to rotation at FBi Radio and saw adds to tastemaker playlists like Spotify’s Friday Cratediggers, The Local List and cellophane, Apple Music’s Future Sounds, Antidote and New In: Pop globally and Amazon Music’s Hyperpop. Last month MOSSY shared ‘Shade (kmoe remix)’, an energetic remix by 17-year-old Canadian Hyperpop artist kmoe. This remix was added to global Spotify playlists creamy (696k followers), hyperpop, Friday Cratediggers, cellophane and Apple Music’s Glitch, New In: Electronic, Future Sounds and Electronic Pop.

With ‘Unfazed’, MOSSY sets the scene for what is promising to be a stunning debut.

For Fans Of: Yung Lean | Charli XCX | Banoffee

MOSSY – ‘Unfazed’
Out now through I OH YOU
Listen/watch here

MOSSY – N2KY
Out Friday 18 March through I OH YOU
Pre-order here

Tracklisting:
1. Shade
2. I Will Be the One Who Says Yes
3. Broke Again
4. Dim Rays of Hope
5. Where Does the Time Go?
6. N2KY
7. Why Can’t You See?
8. A Few Minutes of Silent Staring
9. Special Attention
10. Unfazed

@mossylovesyou

Metronomy today announce details of their seventh studio album Small World, out on 18th February 2022 via Because Music. The Joseph Mount fronted collective also share Small World’s lead single ‘It’s good to be back’, a spiky synth-laden return with a video, by directing duo Dreamjob, that finds all of Metronomy’s band members in an uncanny Truman show-esque universe, each of them trying to hold onto a chaotic kind of joy while existing in a Groundhog Day scenario of dying and then living the same thing over and over.

‘It’s good to be back’ gets its name because, Mount says, “Part of me was thinking, ‘what is the lamest platitude people are going to be saying coming out of the past two years?’, but at the same time, I was thinking how it will be true and how it might feel doing things again.

I’ve been remembering what it was like as a kid when I’d be sitting in the backseat of my parents’ car and they’d be playing their music and I’d think ‘this is awful’, but there’d be one or two songs I would like. I thought it would be fun to make that kind of album, and this is the song the kids might like. This is the ‘cool’ song,” he adds.

To celebrate the album announcement, Metronomy will play an exclusive show at London’s Colour Factory on Thursday 11 November which will also be live streamed via Doors. For more info please see here.

Metronomy’s new album Small World is a return to simple pleasures, nature, and an embracing in part of more pared down, songwriterly sonics, all while asking broader existential questions: which feels at least somewhat rooted in the period of time during which it was made – 2020. Finding appreciation in nature and our roots, while reappraising the things we value as we get older are all things that are part and parcel of the human experience: though it has all felt accelerated and emphasised in this past year or so. Through the tumultuous ebb and flow of the years, Metronomy continues to endure, and Joe Mount’s ability as a songwriter, arranger and producer shines through on Small World, evergreen.

Metronomy – Small World
Life and Death
Things will be fine
It’s good to be back
Loneliness on the run
Love Factory
I lost my mind
Right on time
Hold me tonight
I have seen enough

Follow Metronomy:
Official website / Spotify / Apple Music / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter / Instagram

Photo: Karrku Reggae Band by Oliver Eclipse

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