After an extended hiatus where they spent their time away from the touring circuit, travelling, writing and recording new music, Pierce Brothers have today announced the release of their new single Kanko. A mellow acoustic, harmony-based single with a driving beat, Kanko calls to a freedom found in the mountain air, reminiscing on that free feeling and remembering it will come again after this time of isolation. Pierce Brothers have also released a clip that throws back to their extensive time on the road travelling, together with performances filmed in isolation at their homes.
Co-written over a weekend with singer/songwriter and producer Garrett Kato (Ziggy Alberts, Pete Murray) who has recently released another co-write with Julia Stone (Breath It In), mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering (The Tesky Brothers, The Cat Empire) Kanko has catchy hooks and an uplifting message. For fans of the chilled folk vibes or Angus and Julia Stone, Ziggy Alberts and Garrett Kato, Kanko is a smooth, beat driven track that calls out to easier times to come.
The first release from Pierce Brothers since 2018, Kanko recalls heavily back to their acoustic roots beginning with two acoustic guitars; something that they really wanted to reach for again. “We’ve done a lot of varied styles over the last few releases and we really wanted to get back to our folk roots, simple songs with heart and a basic message behind them,” Jack says, “We’ve taken some time off touring for the first time in 8 years and this song is about going to that place. Going to be free. Finding solace and freedom in the mountain air – that’s what ‘Kanko’ is; a mountain I visited while travelling in Japan, when we came home I loved it so much that we used the name for my dog.”
The clip for Kanko was a bit of a process in the time of COVID-19. With the music video shoot in New Zealand (and Jack’s wedding) cancelled, brothers Jack and Pat had to get creative in how film the new clip for Kanko. Setting up in Jack’s home studio, they ran footage taken from their extensive touring around the world with Tash Sultana in 2019. “We had big plans on making a little trip while we were in New Zealand and getting some of the beautiful landscapes and mountains as a feature, but then we had to cancel it all, so we had to improvise,” Pat recalls. “The song is about holding on and knowing that those times will come again so we used the footage from tours we’ve done over the last few years, and filmed new stuff in our little home studio, with a cast and crew of just the two of us. I think it reinforces that feeling, that we will get through all this, that this isolation won’t be forever, and we can always make do!”
Whilst touring plans have been heavily impacted, the brothers will be doing several Live from the Loungeroom livestreamed single launch shows on Friday May 22 at 7pm AEST and Monday June 1 at 7pm – to kick off a warm winter for all with Pierce Brothers. “Playing live has been the most important aspect of our career and now that that has changed we’ve wanted to set up our home studio into a stage of sorts,” Jack says, “it has given us an opportunity to try new instruments like the banjo… sparingly!”
In addition to the new music they’ve been working on, Pat Pierce (along with social worker friend Prue Walker) has started Balancing Act, an initiative providing online sessions to persons with a disability. The platform connects artists, musicians, performers, and entertainers with children and young people who need support to engage in community or social activities.
KANKO will be the first 100% independent release from Pierce Brothers since they jumped onto the scene with 2014’s It’s My Fault and is the first single from a larger body of work being released throughout 2020. “We’re going to be releasing a new single every 6-8 weeks this year. We can’t tour these new songs at the moment, so we’ll be slowly rolling out songs from the new album all year. We’re so stoked to be finally releasing music again, even if we can’t play live,” says Jack. “To be releasing independently again is so exciting, we’ve found ourselves more excited now with the songs we have coming up than we’ve felt for years! We can’t wait for you all to hear it.”
KANKO is out today, May 15 through Ditto.
KANKO LIVESTREAM SINGLE LAUNCH SHOWS
FRIDAY 22 MAY @ 7PM AEST | LIVE ON INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/
MONDAY 1 JUNE @ 7PM AEST | LIVE ON INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/
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As with anyone attempting to create something new, Ryan Fennis’ music is defined by the lack of guidelines in place. Freed from any responsibility to what’s come before, he finds room to experiment with a collage-style songwriting process and bent production sensibility that throws left-of-field samples and genres ranging from subterranean club music, psychedelic-tinged indie rock, jazz and new wave up against one another. Governed by intuition, innovation and a sense of authenticity, his music is a constantly evolving experiment in progress, always opening itself up to new styles while growing more refined and assured at the same time.
Growing up in the nation’s capital feeling distant from the music being released, locally and around the country, Fennis was initially drawn to outside influences as his songwriting talents began to incubate as an adolescent. Now, he locates inspiration from within, consolidating and refracting everything that makes up the Canberra he lives in through his own music and visual art: the landscapes, local dialects, iconographies, communities and creative collectives, weekly parties and more.
In 2019, the release of Detour saw Fennis receive praise from KCRW, FBi Radio, Bandcamp, Best Before, Peril Magazine and more for his undefinable, genre-defying mix of sounds. Following his debut headline tour and showcase at BIGSOUND Festival, ‘What You Want’ featured in Season 2 of Matt Okine’s comedy series The Other Guy. His forthcoming music is his most mature, purposeful and true-to-himself work yet, as Ryan Fennis continues to grow into his ever-mutating sound.
Stay connected with Ryan Fennis:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
Ivy League Records is thrilled to release Live At The Forum, the incredible new live album from The Teskey Brothers – available on double blue vinyl, CD & all digital services! In the tradition of some of history’s greatest live records (James Brown, Woodstock, Donny Hathaway, The Who), the band undertook the arduous task of recording to analogue tape, during their sold-out four-night stand at the beloved Melbourne venue last November.
To coincide with the release, the band have unveiled a behind-the-scenes documentary of the live album recording experience. The 16-minute video includes performances from the night, musings from the band members and a glimpse into the ambitious (and triumphant!) recording process.
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Australian producer and DJ Torren Foot reveals a new tech-house remix of Yung Bae’s hit single ‘Bad Boy’ out today via Sony/Artista. Listen HERE.
Torren Foot spins the original funk track into a club ready tech-house heater with minimal dub elements and intricate house rhythms. Torren Foot is no stranger to lending his talents to developing club anthems, with his recent track ‘More Life’ (over 2 million streams) spending 5 weeks at #1 on Beatport and was the most played single on triple j. The Torren Foot remix follows a piano house edit from UK producer Low Steppa and a disco remix from SMLE.
Torren’s previous works have scored him an ARIA nomination for best dance release in 2017 of collaborative single ‘Be Randy’ alongside Dom Dolla, with other successful club tracks ‘Hot Sauce’ & remix for Tiga’s ‘Bugatti’ via Diplo’s label Mad Decent (over half-a-million streams). Torren Foot has been supported by key tastemakers including Adam Beyer, Claptone, Anna Lunoe, Wax Motif & Destructo to name a few. Most recently, Torren Foot debuted a brand new livestream set for Untitled’s Virtual Day Party alongside Dom Dolla, Willaris K and more.
Torren Foot’s remix of Yung Bae’s ‘Bad Boy’ is available on all streaming platforms now.
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud
Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn stepped out of 2019 with a UK Top Ten album under their belt, Eton Alive, their biggest sold out tour to date and the swagger of a band that have never been more relevant, topically challenging and downright entertaining. Sleaford Mods continue their onslaught into 2020 with the release of All That Glue out today via Rough Trade / Remote Control Records.
All That Glue is a collection of songs spanning the last seven years of the bands career; an array of crowd pleasers, B sides, unheard tracks and rarities for fans and the curious. It includes the previously unreleased live favourite ‘Jobseeker’ and latest single ‘Second’, which comes with a Robin Lee-directed video featuring Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones) and Emma Stansfield (Skins, The Tudors) – WATCH HERE.
Over the past few years, the Nottingham-based duo have become one of the most intractable British pop stories. One of its best. Their music is drawn at a flawless fault-line of anger, tenderness and humour, a triumvirate of raw energy which frequently jostles in the space of a cadence for supremacy. On record you can hear their sinews, live you can touch their veins.
All That Glue follows Sleaford Mods sold-out debut Australian tour in March, which included standout performances at Golden Plains Festival, WOMADadelaide, Farmer & The Owl and more.
This Saturday 16 May, join Jason and Andrew on the red couch as they guest program Rage on ABC TV – tune in from 11AM – midday, and again from 12:15AM onwards.
Stream / Purchase Sleaford Mods – All That Glue: https://sleafordmods.ffm.to/
Sleaford Mods
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roughtrade.com
remotecontrolrecords.com
“Inspired by Tracy Morgan, Vic Fontaine and true events in The City That Never Sleeps” – 1010 Benja SL
Today 1010 Benja SL releases a new single ‘Woodrow’ via Young Turks / Remote Control. Following last month’s release of the ingressing minimal r&b song ‘Dobby,’ 1010 calls ‘Woodrow’: “…nostalgia Jazz music for listening to while watching Starlink satellites,” harking at “the therapeutic madness that becomes available to a person who is truly lost and alone.”
Recorded with his father (a gospel pianist and minister from Flint, Michigan), ‘Woodrow’ blends together an uncomfortable conflict of spiritual emotions, non-sequitur stress points and snapshots of mental un-health which Benja calls: “the sound of living under the city.”
Having seemingly come out of nowhere with his release of the generatively perplexing song ‘Boofiness’ in 2017, 1010 Benja SL immediately earned whispered curiosity and intrigue from some of the biggest voices in music. Followed by the emotional 2018 single ‘Wind Up Space’ and the six-track Two Houses EP, 1010 Benja SL continues to develop his emotionally direct yet cognitively nebulous style with ‘Woodrow.’
The first single off of the first installment of Michael C. Duguay’s four-part “Tragicalia EP’ series, Caesura was recorded by Michael and Owen Davies in Michael’s home in east-central Ontario in mid-February, 2020, with a small group of friends and collaborators.
The Tragicalia EP series features an ongoing song-cycle that explores Michael’s return to work as a professional musician and artist after a lengthy time away, during which he struggled with mental illness and addiction resulting from PTSD, institutionalization, and homelessness. Serving as both a cathartic writing practice, as well an effort to shift his work which deals with this experience and themes into one body of recorded material, each EP in the four-part series offers one lyrical piece which digs deeper into these experiences, his recovery from them, and how they continue to influence and intersect with his artistic practice, accompanied by an ambient instrumental piece which draws its musical themes from the lyrial single, and offers a meditative, reflective obbligato.
Caesura is a song about song-writing. Returning to his career in music in 2018, after nearly a decade away, Michael returned to a drastically different professional landscape. Digital streaming services and social media had surfaced as the most prominent marketing and sales tools and, with them, a new and distinct emphasis on personal brand. Adapting to these new technologies, Michael experienced disconnect and apprehension about how to best present work that is deeply personal and confessional through the lens of scrolling culture. Caesura is a song which explores this disconnect, tackles the catharsis of song-writing, and asks how to remain honest in an age of insincerity, if it’s even worth doing at all.
https://www.facebook.com/michaelcduguaymusic/
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“Ben Harper has put in some work. He has had a long and substantive career releasing one quality album after another. Old fans love it and his work gathers new fans into the fold at every turn. Why? Because quality and honesty are hard to find. Sincerity and vision are a scarcity in a musical landscape littered with the benign and ordinary.” – American Blues Scene
‘Don’t Let Me Disappear’ is about the fine line between loneliness, isolation and invisibility, to where you can’t seem to find a way not to be hiding in plain sight,” Multi-GRAMMY award winning artist Ben Harper said of his new single.
Directed by Kristin Sudeikis and Gabriel Judet-Weinshel, the black and white video for the song features two modern dancers intertwining fluid and fragmented movements while Harper performs the song on acoustic guitar. Watch “Don’t Let Me Disappear” HERE.
Last summer Harper released the single “Uneven Days”, a track that also dealt with difficult emotions. “‘Uneven Days’ attempts to explore the depths of how dependent we can become on other people for our own sense of wholeness and stability,” Harper explained. Directed by Scott Keenan and Kristin Sudeikis and choreographed by Sudeikis, watch the video for “Uneven Days” HERE .
Harper has also recently produced music for many of his ANTI- label mates including Christopher Paul Stelling’s 2020 album Best of Luck, Hey, King!’s debut single “Don’t Let Me Get Away” and in 2019 he both produced and wrote We Get By, the 12th studio album by living legend Mavis Staples.
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Today the enigmatic Lewis Coleman, a striking new voice in Australian music, releases his immersive new single & video, ‘Going Your Way’.
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“new and exotic electro pop” – Purple Sneakers
“one of Melbourne’s most underrated smash-smiths” – Project U
Melbourne singer-songwriter Evangeline has returned with her latest dark-pop offering, the moody anti-party anthem ‘Bad Parties’ featuring Los Angeles-based rapper Julius.
Stream ‘Bad Parties’ ft. Julius here.
Creating an impression of otherness from the opening line ‘You say to eat these vitamins, I’d have more fun if I try to fit in’, Evangeline evokes a sense of powerlessness that everyone has felt at some point, when displaced in an environment that doesn’t feel authentic to their self. Combining her equally hypnotic and haunting vocals, the chorus amplifies Evangeline’s ‘them versus us’ outsider attitude, ‘Bad parties, filled by people with perfect teeth. We’re just at the bad parties, distract ourselves with nicotine.’
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Starting June 2nd, Stereo is launching 4 albums with 20 new remixes each pack with the most relevant tracks of their history.
Steve Lawler, Hector Couto, Matthias Tanzmann, D-Formation, Andrea Oliva, Dosem, Matador, Roger Sanchez, David Herrero, Mark Knight, Rafa Barrios, Gorge, Oscar L, Joeski, De La Swing, Carlo Lio, Fer BR, Nick Curly, Ramiro Lopez, Matt Sassari, Mendo o Siege are just some of the artists that have participated in this milestone for the label.
Two decades of music, 20 years of Iberican Sound. The pioneering Spanish label founded in Madrid by Chus & Ceballos in late 1999 has established itself as one of the most successful and stable platforms in the electronic music industry. Its success and permanence in the international market confirm that. Among its great achievements are having exported a 100% own and recognizable sound, having achieved an enviable level of implantation in the American market, having discovered and promoted dozens of talented artists and having held events of its own across the world. It’s time to celebrate this vast musical legacy in the form of remixes with the STEREO2020 REMIXED series.
This release features over 80 new remixes divided into four albums grouped according to their genre. To beat the drum in such an iconic celebration, the guys have invited artists who have been a direct or indirect part of the label’s history. DJs and producers such as Steve Lawler, Hector Couto, Matthias Tanzmann, D-Formation, Andrea Oliva, Dosem, Matador, Roger Sanchez, David Herrero, Mark Knight, Rafa Barrios, Gorge, Oscar L, Josh Butler, Dennis Cruz, Joeski, Carlo Lio, De la Swing, Hector Vatos Locos, Danny Serrano, Junior Sanchez, Ramiro Lopez, Nick Curly, Mendo, Dee Montero, Fer BR, Dario D’attis, Matt Sassari, Miane, Senzala, Siege, Tini Gessler, Hoten, Lexa Hill, FNX Omar, Javi Bora, D-Unity, Sparrow & Barbosa, Andrew Meller, Piem, Loco & Jam, German Brigante, Drunken Kong, Tini Garcia, Marco Lys, Vidaloca, PEZNT, Simone Liberali, Paolo Martini, Collective Machine, Daniel Lera o Harry Romero among many others.
STEREO2020 REMIXED includes great classics from Stereo’s catalog such as ‘That Feeling‘, ‘Afrika‘, ‘Strong Rhythm‘, ‘In Stereo‘, ‘El Amor‘, ‘Iberican Sound‘, ‘Echoes from Doruma‘, ‘The Sun‘, ‘All I Want‘, ‘Lost In Music‘, ‘We Play House‘, ‘Black Rock City‘, ‘Senja In Bali‘, ‘Abisinia‘ or ‘Now or Never‘ to name but a few.
STEREO2020 REMIXED will be released one album a week: the 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd of June 2020.
Photo Credit: Colette Pomerleau
“Hypnotically blissed-out”
Gorilla vs Bear
“The electronic producer uses her equipment’s store-bought settings as a means to explore our melancholic modern world. Turns out she’s speaking in a language we all know by default”
NPR
New York born, Berlin based musician and film maker JJ Weihl is set to release her debut solo record as Discovery Zone having previously played bass and sang in acclaimed experimental pop band Fenster. Remote Control is out via cult Berlin label Mansions and Millions on June 5th. Discovery Zone announced her debut album with trippy video Blissful Morning Dream Melody which received praise from the likes of Loud & Quiet, Gorilla Vs Bear and NPR.
Today, Discovery Zone shares lead single ‘Dance II’. On the single, Weihl says “I remember finding this beat on an old Yamaha keyboard and playing the chords on the guitar in my studio. I was absolutely elated. I was dancing around the room. In the beginning stages of writing the songs that ended up on this record, I lacked a lot of confidence. I’ve been making music and touring for the past several years with my band Fenster, but this project is the first time I ever tried to write and record music on my own.”
“At a lot of moments throughout the process, I really had to trick myself to keep going, to not give up out of frustration or fear of failure. I think the lyrics of this song really capture the struggle and ongoing conversation I was having with myself at that time” she continues. “Dance II deals with inner conflict, paradoxes, and the endless digital archiving of reality. Some funny thing I’m trying to find and capture in myself and in the world and save but can’t quite. The thing I’m chasing. A feeling. A song. Myself. Whatever it is. It’s a Dance, too!”
Her album Remote Control, with its palette of chimes, chirps and shimmers, is a glowing meditation on our contradictory moment in history. In her hands, the limitations of the default setting form a territory of unbounded experimentation, from the system-notification synth funk of “Dance II” to the trance incantations of “Blissful Morning Dream Interpretation Melody.” There are bits of sound collage and a lot of operatic robot choirs woven through tight emotional electronic pop.
Live visuals and music videos are a big part of Discovery Zone. Presenting a wild curation of green screen, found footage, and original material, the visual palette is one of digital bricolage – weaving narratives out of youtube videos, personal beach vacation footage, television commercials, early computer animations, and 3d renderings. Utilizing sci-fi and lo-fi aesthetics in the deep web, the sonic and lyrical themes of nostalgia, paradox, love, physics and philosophy are further explored and enhanced by visual journeys through second life and the funhouse mirror of the internet.
The accompanying music video for Dance II is a split screen of images in the background that are in conversation with each other either visually or conceptually with Weihl in the foreground in relation to those images. Compiled by Fenster bandmate Lucas Chantre, the video is compiled of mobile phone clips, little moments we see and shoot on our own.
PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM ON LIMITED EDITION WHITE VINYL
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