Hailing from the Junction, and citing influences like Wilco, Kurt Vile, and Cage the Elephant  – the band is a fully collaborative endeavour of Toronto music stalwarts Damian Coleman (vocals, bass), Edmund Cummings (vocals, keys), Craig Keeney (lead guitar), Phil Skot (drums) and Dave Suchon (vocals, guitar). Dripping guitar tones, billowing keyboard melodies, and defiant bass / drums all contribute to the textured sound of The Sarandons. Songs are bittersweet, rich with nostalgia and tell stories that are familiar but just out of reach.

Half Waif, the musical project of Nandi Rose, has shared a lyric video for her latest digital single “Take Away The Ache.” The song continues a new chapter in Half Waif’s ever-evolving story and sound.

WATCH THE “TAKE AWAY THE ACHE” LYRIC VIDEO

“This is a song about the paradoxes of loving. How we ask the impossible of each other, how we promise what we can’t give. But I don’t mean this cynically – I actually find it quite remarkable” says Nandi Rose. “It’s kind of an incredible feat of imagination and will, the way we help each other transform our darkest moments into something bearable, like a game of make-believe. ‘It’s not an ache,’ you might say, ‘it’s an ember.’ And so together we stay warm by the fire of what we’ve created, lit by a sweet lie that makes it all okay for a while. To love is to believe in a kind of magic.”

“Take Away The Ache” follows the release of her “Orange Blossoms” b/w “Party’s Over” 7″, out now via ANTI-.

“Half Waif’s new album, The Caretaker, evokes the stifling feeling of wanting to force time forward and charge into a future that’s nebulous and perpetually out of reach. These songs inadvertently speak to a period of uncertainty and isolation, and, though they’re weighty, Half Waif’s sombre elegance reflects the steely-eyed strength of a person who might just get through it.” -The New Yorker

“Beautifully rendered and deeply layered synth-pop.” -Pitchfork

“The swooping blend of organic instrumentation and fluttering electronics that has marked Nandi Rose’s solo career as Half Waif looks to come into stark clarity with The Caretaker. A musician who has built her career on enigmatic presence and ambiguity steps into a lusher and more mature territory with her fourth album, guided as always by her clear and restless vocals, delivering poetic turns of phrase that can twist from grandly universal to painfully intimate within a single measure” -The AV Club

“A whirring, deeply emotive window into self-sufficiency and the highs and lows of personal growth.” -NPR “Stormy chord progressions and eerie pitch-shifts convey disquiet, while sweeping strings and Rose’s soaring vocals crash in waves of catharsis.” – Nylon

“Sparse and spectral.” -The FADER

“Characteristically gorgeous, emotive.” -Stereogum

“Often resembles a reversion to her sparser early work and away from the cavernous jolts of her more recent output.” -Paste

“Whereas her debut solo record, Lavender, took a more intimate approach to music, this new one goes for big emotions and even bigger music.” – Consequence of Sound

“Nandi Rose dials into the electronic elements of her musical repertoire.” – UPROXX

“Downright euphoric.” – MTV

Germany-based Turkish producer Butch becomes the next artist to join the fledgling MDLBEAST Records with his new track “Testarossa,” bringing underground vibes to the Saudi label. Opening with tech-house-inspired minimal percussion, Butch artistically ups the ante by weaving in moody synths and increasingly progressive basslines. The result is a dark but euphonious and dance-worthy tune that also represents a cultural connection between Butch‘s own heritage and MDLBEAST‘s mission to expose the talent of the Middle East region, burgeoning a new era of discovery for that part of the world. The label’s first release was R3HAB, Fafaq & DNF‘s “Ringtone,” and Butch‘s “Testarossa” continues the strong start for Saudi Arabia‘s most exciting brand in music.

“It’s been a full year without clubs, locked in a studio for introspection, and I’m happy to present ‘Testarossa‘ as a result of that time. I think that as artists and fans, all we want is to drop some sonic bombs, future club classics, and make things better so we can all dance together again soon.” – Butch

Butch has one aim with his music – to take listeners on a sonic journey. Whether he’s dropping eastern-inspired psychedelia or pounding prime-time techno, fans can only be sure that they are at the mercy of one of the industry’s most creative selectors. If he’s not honing his sounds in the studio, he’s channeling his wit into the Butch TV series (always with a healthy dose of sarcasm). Butch‘s exploration into the trippier side of house and techno led him to collaborate with a fellow master of the psyche, Riccardo Villalobos. The duo has produced deep, experimental EPs under the combined alias ButRic. Now, officially as a part of MDLBEAST Records, Butch adds to his discography “Testarossa,” in addition to earlier releases on such labels as Watergate, Cocoon, Crosstown Rebels, Drumcode, Desolat, Hot Creations, Rekids, Saved, Rebirth, to name a few.

Fresh from their signing to UNFD and first new music in over 6 years earlier this month, Short Stack are backing it up with the reveal of ‘Burn You Down (Acoustic)’ today. Meanwhile, fans can also head to 24 Hundred to grab a limited Burn You Down 7″ featuring the original & acoustic versions.

Causing a stir with industry and fans with their new music, ‘Burn You Down’ has amassed over 88,000 streams, radio pick up from the likes of Triple M, triple j and US Rock Radio and press from Rolling Stone Australia, NME, The Music, The Industry Observer, Blunt, Dead Press, Bring The Noise + more.

Short Stack celebrated their rebirth with an intimate show at Sydney’s Crowbar which sold out in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, the band will play their rescheduled headline tour later in 2021 – keep up to date with Short Stack’s socials for more details soon.

The original ‘Burn You Down’ found Short Stack embracing their hardcore roots at last, offering screams and riffs never before heard from the trio. Today’s acoustic cut dials down the intensity completely and lets the band’s softer side shine.

“We were blown away with the reception to ‘Burn You Down’ and it was really exciting for us to completely reimagine the song acoustically  for the vinyl release. We produced the track entirely ourselves in Bradie’s home studio and approached it as turning the most aggressive, heaviest song we’ve ever released into something soft and beautiful.”

On their comeback to music, Diviney explains how everything about how the band approached recording this time was different.

“I think a lot of bands at the time when we first broke out were put together by labels and a lot of people threw us in that basket, but we were just a bunch of dudes that went to high school together and played Blink covers and it snowballed from there.

“To go back to our roots now and really just strip things back and play together in a room was really important to us. The reason we broke up was that it just wasn’t fun… it’s been a fair chunk of time now, so coming back finds us in a different stage of life with a different idea about what we want out of music.”

From beginnings in a Budgewoi garage at 16 to their explosive debut album ‘Stack Is The New Black’ at just 20, Short Stack quickly made a playground of the Australian landscape and were one of the biggest names in the country by the late ’10s. Beyond ascending to #1 on the ARIA Album chart with their debut record, the band claim credits including Channel V’s Oz Artist Of The Year (twice), a coveted Rolling Stone Magazine cover, two certified Platinum records and tens of thousands of tickets sold throughout their career. ‘Burn You Down’ (Acoustic) is out now via UNFD. Stay tuned for more details on the band’s upcoming rescheduled Australian headline tour.

Stream ‘Burn You Down’ (Acoustic) now: http://unfd.lnk.to/BYDAcoustic

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March 31, 2021 0 comments

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Introducing 16-year-old singer-songwriter Elke Schon and her debut single ‘Talk To Me’. Not to be underestimated due to her age, the Gold Coast based artist has been taking singing lessons since she was young and had music as a foundational part of her childhood. She explains, “singing has always been a gateway for me to express myself”, and now she is taking the natural next step. Fulfilling her childhood dream to release her own music, this single marks the beginning of her journey as a professional musician.

Listen to ‘Talk To Me’ here

Sourcing inspiration from key contemporary artists like Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Lana Del Ray, Elke has created her own polished version of modern pop. ‘Talk To Me’ is a moody, cinematic piece of music, produced by Josh Beattie. It’s a slow-burner, with piano-heavy instrumentation culminating in a soaring finish carried by her subtly raspy voice. There’s a depth to her vocals that shows talent beyond her years- a genuine softness accompanied by undeniable strength that is incredibly endearing. The track is an intimate expression of unconfined emotion, outlining the inimitable experience of first love and Elke’s struggle grappling with this. Whether this feeling is long in the past or something yet to be felt, this song is guaranteed to tug on listeners heartstrings. With this single showcasing her clear potential and a promise of more to come, it’s no doubt that Elke Schon will soon be finding her way into national consciousness.

March 31, 2021 0 comments

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Ben Harper has revealed B-side versions of the songs “Joshua Tree” and “Inland Empire”, which originally appeared on his 2020 album Winter Is For Lovers. While the original tracks are solo instrumental slide guitar performances from Harper, the new B-sides feature an ensemble including Robert Glasper, Jimmy Paxson and Mike Valerio.

Listen to the new versions of “Joshua Tree” and “Inland Empire” HERE.

“It is hard to call these B-Sides,” Harper explains. “They are another iteration of the album that exists and I am very excited we found a way to release these versions. Going into Capitol Studios with Robert, Mike and Jimmy – 3 of my all-time favourite musicians in the world – with Niko Bolas engineering, was off the chain. Music happened between the laughter and the joy. I hope you can hear that in these sessions.”

Winter Is For Lovers is in many ways a culmination of Ben’s entire musical life. The intimate and ambitious solo recording is his first-ever entirely instrumental project, 15 original compositions that seamlessly flow together, imagined as a symphony for guitar. Watch just Ben and his Monteleone lap steel guitar perform Winter Is For Lovers in its entirety at The Folk Music Centre, the famous music shop that his grandparents opened in the late 1950s in Claremont, CA, HERE.

The music heard on Winter Is For Lovers is deeply ingrained in Harper’s DNA and leads directly back to aforementioned Folk Music Centre. The shop and community centre has hosted music legends of all stripes, many of which Ben met while working there. Some of the album’s many musical inspirations were visitors, including John Fahey, the godfather of the American Primitive movement, slide guitar master Taj Mahal, who Ben would later study with, plus the likes of Leonard Cohen, Jackson Browne and more.

Listen + Order ‘Winter Is For Lovers’

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