Grammy-nominated Sydney trio Mansionair have teamed up with Germany’s NoMBe for cathartic new track ‘Guillotine’, which landed last Friday with an accompanying lyric video. The track is the band’s first single release since the launch of their acclaimed debut album Shadowboxer early last year.
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Coupling effortless cool with refined rock songwriting chops, Melbourne trio The Grogans unveil their second studio record, Day / To / Day. An album that has been designed to be absorbed, Day / To / Day is a sonic journey that has The Grogans delivering melodies, rhythms and great energy throughout.
Last month saw the band release single ‘Got A Girl’, a track that offered an insight into the charged up end of the album’s spectrum. Yet as the listener makes their way through its 12 track run time, The Grogans flourish as 60’s and 70’s surf rock sounds come together with contemporary slacker influences; all up making for a perfect Spring/Summer soundtrack. Even the album image, taken by seminal 60’s surf photographer John Witzig, perfectly encapsulates the cheeky escapism found in Day / To / Day.
Previous singles ‘Got A Girl’ and ‘Dead Weight’ are two examples of The Grogans’ dynamism as a unit, with further highlights of their harmonies and melody construction shining across ‘Unnecessary’, ‘Graveyard Sleepin’ and ‘Strange Feeling’.
The laidback jam session vibe is captured and refined into a more realised and cohesive LP format by vocalist and guitarist Quin Grunden, who recorded and mixed the album, and engineer Steve Corrao. The pacing of Day / To / Day makes this great for road trips or long days hanging out in summer heat; ‘Gravel Road Blues’ and ‘Takin’ It Easy’ demonstrate slight psych influences in the band’s guitar and rhythm progressions.
“We wanted to build off of our last album and EPs, writing songs that we enjoy playing and listening to. It’s got a bit more of a 60s surf sound than our last releases; we just like that era – the style, the sound of the time, the cars. We also tried to have less limits, to show our wide variety and bigger picture of what The Grogans are, who we collectively are as people.” The Grogans
Recorded at Grogans HQ and out in Ocean Grove, Day / To / Day had the opportunity to come together outside of Melbourne, with Ocean Grove providing an idyllic relaxed setting for The Grogans to settle into. Spending their time making music, skating and hanging out made the album process far easier an experience to get through; with new ideas and sonic sessions coming naturally for the band over time.
“[The recording process] same as what we usually do; a couple of months writing, then we take a week off and lock ourselves away to get the majority of the recording done, then polish it up with added tracks at Grogs HQ. This time was in Ocean Grove, which was really relaxing. We’d surf, skate and just hang out without too much structure to the recording.” The Grogans
Forming in high school, The Grogans have got a stack of releases as well as a strong live reputation to their name in debut album Just What You Want (2019) and EP releases Grogan Grove (2018), Twangs ‘n’ Cans (2017), and Cacteyed (2016). Emerging as a dominant constant on the Melbourne music scene and an exciting presence on stages around the country.
PRAISE FOR THE GROGANS
“The Grogans are ramping things back up on this one! What an infectious, jump around, 2 min surf banger..”
Triple J, Declan Byrne (‘Got A Girl’)
“The Grogans capture the laid-back lifestyle we all yearn for.”
Beat Magazine
“The Grogans continue to kill it. This is a massive chiller. The amount of people at both your shows this weekend was insane. A line around the corner and everything?!?!! Any time now… I can’t wait to see you guys explode! “
Triple J Unearthed Claire Mooney
“The Grogans are one of the best recently-newcoming rock groups we have at the moment”
Hayden Davies, Pilerats
“Clocking in a smidge over two minutes, ‘Got A Girl’ is everything that we’ve come to love about The Grogans – fast surf rock guitars and lyrics about living life to the fullest.”
Tonedeaf
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Triple J Unearthed
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Stay connected with Dune Rats:
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
SUPPORT FOR STUPID BABY
“One of the area’s most promising newcomers.”
Pilerats (AUS)
“Are you familiar with Stupid Baby? You probably should be.”
Life Without Andy (AUS)
“It’s got a 90’s grit that twists and turns – and would be right at home on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack.”
Lucy Smith – triple j (AUS)
‘Feline’ added to rotation on Double J
‘Mr Zil’ added to Apple Music’s ‘The New Rock’
NSW Central Coast-based indie-rock trio Stupid Baby has just revealed their audacious new single ‘Fear’ – produced and mixed by Simon Dobson (Bootleg Rascal) and mastered by Andrew Edgson (Ocean Alley, West Thebarton, The Gooch Palms).
Driven by haunting guitar harmonics, groove-laden bass lines and the commanding vocals of lead singer/drummer Jake Dobson, ‘Fear’ is another masterful exploration of indie-rock by the group. The track darts back and forth between all-encompassing fervour and spacious, syncopated builds, hurtling towards a wholly satisfying ending.
Dobson talks about the meaning behind ‘Fear’:
“The song is a story about the fear of losing someone, but not doing anything to keep them. Most of the song focuses on the realisation of self-sabotage and the consequential regret. Though the story is pretty sombre, we wanted to keep the music upbeat and confident. You could say that a lot of 80’s goth pop was consumed this year. Dance, be sad, and try to feel good about it. Next question.”
In the live arena, the band have shared stages with the likes of The Chats, The Smith Street Band, Pist Idiots, Skegss, Ocean Alley, Polish Club and WAAX, as well as performing at their debut music festival Rolling Sets in January, alongside Hilltop Hoods, The Rubens, Lime Cordiale, Mallrat and George Alice.
Their first two singles ‘Feline’ and ‘Mr Zil’ saw extensive support from Apple Music and Australian radio stations triple j, Double J, triple j Unearthed, FBi Radio, 2SER, 4ZZZ, SYN FM, Edge Radio, Radio Adelaide, 2XX FM and Aussie Music Weekly. They also saw support from online blogs Pilerats, Life Without Andy, Hysteria Magazine, The AU Review, Music Feeds, AAA Backstage and Ear to the Ground Music (USA).
In the coming weeks, Stupid Baby will reveal an accompanying music video for ‘Fear’.
‘Fear’ is available worldwide now
FOLLOW STUPID BABY
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
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Photo credit: Mushroom Creative House
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Today Captured Tracks releases Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983 – 1987, the first volume of Captured Tracks‘ new venture into compilations – Excavations. Spread across two LPs, Strum & Thrum includes an 80+ page booklet with an extensive oral history of the ‘80s indie scene, an introduction by Captured Tracks label head Mike Sniper, and tons of archival images and ephemera. The release caught the attention from major music outlets including Pitchfork, Stereogum, BrookynVegan, Paste and more and has already been praised by The Vinyl District saying the comp is “an eye-opener and ear-pleaser (A Rating).” Watch the compilation teaser featuring The Reverbs ‘Trusted Woods’ and archival footage of many of the bands included on the LPs HERE.
Due to the overwhelming excitement and praise for this compilation, all limited editions of orange vinyl + black vinyl have sold out. Captured Tracks will have more LPs coming in the new year, but in the meantime, check your local record store for copies of the black vinyl. You can also listen to the entire compilation digitally HERE.
Mike Sniper on Strum & Thrum: “Strum & Thrum seems like the right fit for the first reissue compilation for Captured Tracks. I’m happy that the first compilation I’ve ever produced features overlooked records that are still affordable – anyone who enjoys this comp can dive deeper into this scene without having to take out a loan. People nowadays sometimes say that guitar music is dead. Strum & Thrum is certainly against that notion. Listening to it and reading the oral history sheds a light on a largely forgotten scene full of great bands with some really great songs. I’m glad to be able to help share this story and get the bands some of the recognition they’ve deserved all along.
Inspired by Pebbles, Killed By Death, Soul Jazz and Numero Group compilations, Excavations is a series dedicated to compiling forgotten music from the 1970s – 1990s that has a connection to Captured Tracks’ sound and aesthetic. Much like the Cleaners from Venus, the Wake, and Saäda Bonaire reissues we’ve put out, Excavations releases will bridge the past to our current roster and showcase the kinds of sounds that inspire us. It makes sense that the first volume of Excavations is Strum & Thrum. As an American label, we’ve often wondered why British, Aussie, and Kiwi indie rock from the ‘80s has had the most influence on modern acts and the collector’s market. Granted, the music released on Creation, Sarah, Cherry Red, Postcard, Flying Nun, et al. during that era was fantastic, but a parallel to this sound existed in the US and Canada as well. Outside of bands like R.E.M., the Rain Parade, the Dream Syndicate, and a few others, most of these bands received little attention from national or international press outlets and markets – unless they opted for a “big ‘80s” sound and signed to a major. The acts on this compilation are the antithesis of that, with a true DiY spirit that lead many of these bands to self – record and self – release within tiny local scenes in small cities and college towns across America.
Though hardcore dominated the American underground at the time, the indie scene was no less vital and operated utilizing many of the distribution channels hardcore set up. The two genres may have sounded nothing alike, but the DiY ethos and dedication to community was the same… But this isn’t the story we’re used to hearing. While noted underground archivist and compilation producer Johan Kugelberg has called the ‘80s the “Dark Ages” of indie rock, Strum & Thrum aims to shed light on this forgotten era of jangly, melodic rock music that emerged from the ashes of post punk and helped kick start the indie rock boom of the early ‘90s that continues to this day. Indeed, many artists featured on Strum & Thrum went on to be part of this boom – Archer Prewitt from the Sea & Cake, Jon Ginoli from Pansy Division, Ric Menck from Velvet Crush, Brent Rademaker from Beachwood Sparks, Barbara Manning, and more went on to be in well known bands in the ‘90s.”
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Lead singer Nathaniel Peacock wrote the songs with fellow band members Harry Bohmer (Guitar), Julian Addati (Bass) Ewen Stewart (Drums) and their live sounding EP was produced by Colin Wynne of Thirty Mill Studios in Melbourne.
MYLK’s debut EP encapsulates the young band’s successful journey from four school friends playing together for fun at home, to performing sell out shows on the East Coast.
Mylk’s name came about from their lead singer Nathaniel’s nickname in High School. Retelling the story, Harry says “he used to have stark blonde hair and so he naturally acquired the nickname Milky. We thought we’d throw in a bit of pizazz and change it to Mylk for our band. We do often get mistaken for vegan mylk but we’re not complaining.”
Their versatility as musicians and songwriters is highlighted throughout the EP and especially on alt- rock track ‘Holy Moly’ to the breezy indie-pop vibe of ‘Snooze’.
Their new single ‘Amends’ is “a melancholy groove about yearning for friendship and solace after a difficult relationship, even with the person you were in the relationship with.”
A staple for their loyal fans, ‘Amends’ shows a more vulnerable side to the band whilst keeping the signature easy going feel that their listeners have come to know and love.
Reflecting on their debut EP, MYLK says “It seems so strange to be releasing our debut EP and having to watch the reaction through a computer screen, but even though there is this disconnection, the support we have seen so far has almost made us forget that we’re playing gigs from our couches and broadcasting it through a phone.”
MYLK’s debut EP ‘Excursion’ is out now.
EP tracklisting:
Amends
Snooze
Laughing
Cruisin’
Holy Moly
Praise for Mylk
‘Excursion’ EP debut & track by track on Tone Deaf this week.
Not My Fault single “A stomping, rollicking good time.”
Declan Byrne, triple j
“Melbourne band Mylk have been steadily making a name for themselves since their formation in 2017, and their latest offering ‘Snooze’ is a dreamy cementing of the fact that they’re not a band to ignore.”
Music Feeds
Paired with strumming guitar and catchy vocals, this light-hearted larrikin-esque-ness is an unstoppable combo that keeps their music both fun and hyper-accessible, cornering a strong market with a captivating sound and a just as captivating image.
Pilerats
ABOUT MYLK
Band members: Nathaniel Peacock, Harry Bohmer, Julian Addati, Ewen Stewart.
Mylk are a 4-piece alternative rock band based in Melbourne producing an eclectic sound that has been compared to a mixture of the Go-Betweens & Kings of Leon. They focus on making fun, easy-listening music that encourages the body to move, even a small twitch can be a dance move when it comes to Mylk.
The band formed in 2017, and have managed released 5 singles, which have garnered praise from fans and media.
https://www.instagram.com/mylkband/
https://www.facebook.com/MylkBand/
![ALISON WONDERLAND & VALENTINO KAHN RELEASE 'ANYTHING' [OUT NOW ON MAD DECENT]](https://thepartae.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ALISON-WONDERLAND-VALENTINO-KAHN-RELEASE-ANYTHING.jpg "ALISON WONDERLAND & VALENTINO KAHN RELEASE ‘ANYTHING’")
Friends, collaborators, and accredited pioneers of modern dance music, Alison Wonderland and Valentino Khan join forces to deliver their atmospheric single ‘Anything‘, out today via Mad Decent.
Although their respective styles were raised by the influence of different cultures, the shared synchronicity between Alison Wonderland and Valentino Khan is palpable. While Alison Wonderland was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and Valentino Khan found his footing in Los Angeles, the power of electronic music was a conduit to their creative relationship and impending single. With a career that spans over the course of a decade, Alison Wonderland has forever changed the landscape of dance music. The electro-pop starlet manipulates fragments of heavy-hitting electronica, intergalactic synths, and her own crystalline vocal work to define the fabric of her signature sound. Fresh off the release of her lyrically profound and markedly futuristic single ‘Bad Things’, this forthcoming collaboration is a riveting follow-up. Despite a string of tumultuous months for the music industry, Valentino Khan has had an explosive and exciting year. At the heels of an official remix for DJ Snake and his French-inspired EP French Fried, Valentino Khan takes his final strides into the new year alongside Alison Wonderland for the release of ‘Anything‘ A luminous triumph, ‘Anything‘ is a marriage between dance-floor ready house music and electronic pop. Where two styles seamlessly collide, ‘Anything‘ is textured and layered with a four-on-the-floor beat and a feminine prowess courtesy of Alison Wonderland’s captivating vocal work. Expected to send a shotgun blast into the EDM atmosphere, ‘Anything‘ is out on Diplo’s heavyweight record label Mad Decent.
About Alison Wonderland:
Alison Wonderland architects a world of her own design as its chief author, creator, and voice. The Sydney-born and Los Angeles-based singer, producer, songwriter, and DJ realises this vision at the intersection of future-facing pop, explosive beat-craft, and eternal dance rhythms.
Emerging in 2009 with regular night club sets around Australia and a series of remixes for everyone from Little Dragon to Justin Bieber, she ignited an international splash in 2015 with the full-length debut, Run. It reached gold status in Australia and earned two ARIA Awards nominations, for Best Dance Release and Best Video for “U Don’t Know”. She went on to debut her live set in the US that year at Coachella. Fast forward to 2017, she achieved the Best New Artist honour at the first-ever Electronic Dance Music Awards, while her remix of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” soared to #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts.
Her sound has quietly inched towards mainstream ubiquity as the sonic sorceress received the “Highest Female DJ Billing Ever at Coachella,” captured #1 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart twice consecutively, headlined sold out arenas around the globe, and clocked upwards of 100 million streams by 2018. Not to mention, triple j declared that “both sonically and vocally, Awake is Alison’s biggest work to date”, The Music called Alison “an intuitive songwriter, who wires into any sort of emotion”, and Stack Magazine named her an “Industry Leader”. In the US, Billboard gave Awake rave reviews whilst ELLE proclaimed her one of its “Women On The Verge,” and she garnered features from FADER, Glamour, Seventeen, Interview, and more. Simultaneously, Alison’s Radio Wonderland show, now broadcasting to over 20 countries and featuring prominently on the Sirius XM channel Diplo’s Revolution.
For more info on Alison Wonderland, visit:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD
About Valentino Khan:
Valentino Khan is a Los Angeles-based DJ and producer whose music truly knows no bounds. From producing records for Grammy-winning artists to pumping out anthems on the biggest stages such as EDC Las Vegas, Lollapalooza, and Ultra Music Festival, he is continuously evolving his unique personal sound.
The world was introduced to the DJ and producer in 2014 when he burst onto the scene with his debut EP “In Khan We Trust” on Skrillex’s OWSLA imprint. Shortly after, we were introduced to the genius of Valentino Khan.
It was songs like “Deep Down Low,” becoming an international sensation, “Pump” accumulating over 40M streams, and his latest “House Party” EP where you’ll find the viral TikTok anthem “Better” with Wuki that solidified Khan’s status as an artist. The versatility of Valentino Khan granted him production credits for the likes of Lil Pump, French Montana, 2 Chainz, T.I, and Dizzee Rascal. His collaborations as a producer further include working with Major Lazer, Skrillex, Diplo, Bruno Mars & Tyga.
A heavyweight in his own right, Valentino Khan continues to break barriers with original tracks, production credentials, live sets, and viral remixes. Praised for his ability to provide his own adaptations, Khan has found himself remixing some of the biggest artists in music such as Katy Perry, DJ Snake, Calvin Harris, RL Grime, and Alison Wonderland.
For more info on Valentino Khan, visit:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SOUNDCLOUD
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With 2020 closing in on us, Jaecy looks to kickstart the Australian summer with a certified street anthem. Notching up just under 4 million streams since his first release under The Area Movement this time last year, he is joined by Sydney’s very own 46 sergeant, Hooks (who is also coming hot off his international Rover remix).
Jaecy & Hooks give listeners a clear indication that their money is never to be messed with. The duo deliver a story type flow over a jumpy, percussive beat by the experienced OpenTill8.
With the Western Sydney Australian hip-hop scene slowly turning international heads, this summer is definitely going to be special and Cool G from the 9 is ready to go.
Inspired by a new era of music and songwriting, former RACKETT frontwomen Rebecca Callander announces her official name change to Beks and debut single ‘Stars in My Eyes’ out Friday, 6th November, from her upcoming mixtape.
‘Stars in my Eyes’ is an indie-pop track that showcases Beks rich vocal tones and progressive songwriting. With a swelling bass, layers of melodic vocals and velcro accents and beats, the single echoes similarities heard from artists such as Caroline Polachek, Sophie and Allie X.
“‘Stars in My Eyes is based on a personal confession or realisation I had the day before entering the studio. I’ve always struggled to balance my personal life with my music, the latter taking priority. Finding myself in a familiar cycle of imbalance, holding onto the threads of an unravelling relationship, revealed a phrase that felt symbolic of my fantastical obsession with music; ‘I’ve got stars in my eyes’. This phrase became the closing statement of the relationship and the beginning of the story told in the song” – Beks.
Produced by Tasker, the song was written at Fear and Loathing studios, Sydney, during a songwriting session between the pair who met on Sydney’s punk rock scene. Upon leaving the session, ‘Stars in My Eyes’ set Beks on an intensified songwriting journey, collaborating with artists and producers throughout Australia and the UK, which she has encapsulated in her upcoming mixtape.
Since September 2020, Beks has been working daily with songwriters and producers in studios within Sydney and also in the UK via Zoom to create 12 unique tracks which will feature on her debut mixtape set for release mid-2021. The mixtape features co-writes and production by Taka Perry, Jim Eliot (Ladyhawke, EAST), Xira, Cam Nacson, Tasker, Lucy Neville, Nina Jirachi, Kim Moyes (The Presets), Airports, Clara Fable and more.
Artist biography:
Beks is songwriter and DIY girl, Rebecca Callander. Beks makes indie-pop music centred around her life’s stories with remnants of her past experiences as the front-women guitarist of all-girl punk band RACKETT and drummer of Bec and Ben serving the songwriters journey to becoming Beks.
Based in Sydney, Australia, Rebecca has toured Australia and Japan, playing more than 364 live shows from dive bars to major theatres and festivals, shaping the artist into a highly engaged performer; “thrilling live shows, technically proficient and powerful sounds and a DIY hyper-femme aesthetic.” – The BRAG. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Music, Music Feeds and more and has been played regularly on community radio stations Triple J, Triple J Unearthed, FBI and more.