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Photograph by Matt Walter.
Stay connected with Dune Rats:
What is your name and role within Big League?
Travis, I sing, play guitar, and write the songs.
How did Big League form?
Marie (vocals/bass/wife) and I started messing around with a 4-track recorder, playing and writing at home. When we had enough material to share we got a couple of mates involved to complete the sound.
What’s been happening recently?
We’ve had a bit of a line-up change recently, our mate Jackson has joined us on guitar, and Marie broke her ankle, so we’ve been spending most of our time rehearsing new music from the comfort of our lounge room. We played a show at the Tote just before the city went into lockdown and Marie did it from a chair!
Your new single ‘Earth = Active Neutral’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
A mate told me I should try EADABE tuning, and said a new tuning always gets you a couple of new songs! Lyrically, the planets impending doom was definitely on my mind, and once I had the vocal melody it sounded right to layer up the singing. I try to let the music get a little weird while still being hooky, I want it to rock without being cliché.
Where and when did you record?
We recorded at home in our makeshift studio. Drums, guitar, and bass were recorded live, with everything else dubbed over the top. It’s part of the album we’ve been recording and piecing together over the last two years.
How did the concept for the music video come about? – Where and when did you film and who with?
I think Gordon (Holland) wanted to draw on the shoegazey, dreamyness of the song so we just let him do his thing. It was filmed at our friend’s house early in the year, we didn’t have to decorate at all, it was a cool place to shoot. Gordons partner Cassie brought a heap of lights for us to play with and we took turns keeping our hungover mates company in the backyard!
You also have an upcoming album, how did the songwriting take place? – What influenced the sound and songwriting for the album?
Yes! Our new album’s called A Symbol Like A Cloud. I did most of the writing during stages of semi-unemployment in our living room with my Les Paul, and a coffee or beer.
I’ve been a fan of lo-fi recordings for a long time, and I’d just started listening to Car Seat Headrest’s album Twin Fantasy, a relatively recent, and boldly lo-fi record I thought. Seeing as our last album had been well rehearsed prior to recording, and was laid down in just a couple of days in a studio, I decided I wanted to go in the opposite direction; record weird ideas as they came without rushing to get an album out.
Some of the songs were written and recorded in a day, some were ideas that sat for a year before being completed. I just kept going until the album felt finished.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I never gave the Lemonheads a proper go, but I have recently, they’re really good! I’ve also been listening to a bunch of US 80’s bands, X, Gun Club, Dream Syndicate.
What do you like to do away from music?
I tinker, we have a house that I’ve been renovating for the last few years, I’ll finish it one day.
What’s planned for 2020?
We’ll try and do as many shows home and abroad as we can, we were gearing up to tour Japan midyear but now that’s canned we’ll have to see how the lockdown plays out… like a lot of people right now, all our plans might push into next year.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Love a good pizza, although once we’re allowed to go out again, I’ll be frothing for a beer and a burger somewhere. The Union in Fitzroy’s great, and so is Leonards House Of Love in Prahran.
https://www.facebook.com/bigleagueband/
UNIFY Gathering is set to return to Tarwin Lower from January 21 – 24 2021 with an all-Australian lineup.
Read the festival statement below:
It’s no secret that the music industry is one of the hardest hit industries by the current situation, and our hearts go out to the artists, crew, agents and managers that have lost their entire touring plans with no certainty of when it is coming back. This festival launched in 2015 with entirely Australian artists, and we’ve had the pleasure of having pretty much every heavy artist in the country perform across our six events. Now we want to invite all of them back for a celebration of this community and everything it provides. We hope to get back as many artists as we can. We’ll be pushing dates back a week to make the January 21 – 24 weekend in 2021.
In all of this chaos, one message stands as true as ever: music saves lives. It’s the inspiration in our lives and it’s the basis of communities that can band together to survive through tough times. We wanted this announcement out now to declare our intentions, and give the people in our community something to look forward to.
While UNIFY prides itself on connecting with the global heavy music community, it was with the local community of artists, crew, agents and managers that we launched our festival in 2015. In that first year, it felt like most of the Australian heavy music community got together to create one of the most memorable weekends of our lives. At the time, Australian heavy music artists were mostly unable to play festivals in AUS. We launched UNIFY because we wanted to see what it would be like for The Amity Affliction, Northlane and In Hearts Wake to play 40 minute sets at night at a festival. Looking at that lineup, it included many of the bands that defined the next half decade of Australian music, and that poster has become an iconic moment in the history of this community.
We are also aware that Australian artists are right now doing their best to reschedule current dates and look for opportunities that can work once life resumes. As such, UNIFY will also have no restriction on artists wanting to do tour dates surrounding our dates. We also won’t worry about putting through artists that played last year or the year before. It’s not about exclusivity for us, it’s about community.
We will be back with more details soon, but for now please join the event page to stay up to date as we roll out.
After two years of long work, even working across winter to finish the tune, Just A Gent & Xavi release their melodic masterpiece – ‘Miso & Memories’ this Friday March 20. The song is produced by both Just A Gent and Xavi, with vocals by the extremely talented Akira Flay released independently.
‘Miso & Memories’ is an emotional track blending the best elements of pop and dance music creating an earworm you won’t soon forget. The catchy vocals paired with the bouncy feel of the production could sit across a nightclub dancefloor or commercial radio station. The track’s strong swing influence, along with the laid-back future bass style of the drop, keeps the listener wanting more.
‘Miso & Memories’ is also a sonic tale that brings about a sense of not only love, but also loss. This track expresses a feeling about the fabled “one that got away” and getting over them.
Just A Gent is a young pioneer for the future bass music scene, teaching himself to produce at a young age accumulating millions of streams before he was legally allowed into a nightclub. In 2019 he released his third EP ‘URCA’ through Monstercat which was well received by media and fans alike, with Just A Gent going on to perform at FOMO, Groovin the Moo and Falls Festival over the year. With over 75 Million plays on Spotify alone, Just A Gent continues to grow with each release reaching new heights.
Xavi is a St. Louis based melodic bass music producer, who has seen support from artists like Porter Robinson, San Holo, Luca Lush, and many more. His most recent releases include an official remix of “Kids” by Lione, released on Tiesto’s record label Musical Freedom, and a single on Electric Hawks recent compilation Rebirth, titled “She’s Beyond Us.”
Akira Flay is a Santa Barbara, California based songwriter and producer blending hip-hop and electronic music with a varied somber or bombastic vocal delivery. Last month he released an EP titled “Hello, Goodbye.”
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Southern California twin duo, The Garden, share the video for “Clench to Stay Awake” off their recently released fourth studio album Kiss My Super Bowl Ring. The album debuted #1 on the Alternative New Artists Albums Chart in the US and #6 on the Top New Artists Albums Charts in the US while just clicking over 1 million streams for the album worldwide.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “CLENCH TO STAY AWAKE”
The Garden have been carving their own path since their formation in 2011. Known musically for their fast, punk-influenced jungle and DnB styles, they have a total of four studio albums and four EPs under their name, including LPs The Life and Times of a Paperclip (2013), Haha (2015), and Mirror Might Steal Your Charm (2018), Kiss My Super Bowl Ring (2020). Touring at a constant rate across the US, Europe, UK, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Mexico since 2013, their show is a mix of aggressive, unpredictable and trickster-ish tendencies. Additionally, The Garden made their Coachella debut in 2019 with previous festival appearances at Camp Flog Gnaw, Sasquatch, Riot Fest, Concrete & Grass in Shanghai, Neon Desert, End of the Road Festival, Tropicalia, and more.
Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, though primarily self-produced, includes tracks co-produced by Dylan Brady, and Wharfwhit, along with tracks featuring Ariel Pink, Khalif Jones (aka Le1f) and even a snippet from Carrot Top. The new album rivals the band’s previous work lyrically and sonically with unmatched belligerence. Kiss My Super Bowl Ring boasts a roster of songs that just might be the most creatively rattling yet from the duo
LISTEN TO KISS MY SUPER BOWL RING NOW
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Two-time Grammy-nominated DJ/producer and entrepreneur, Steve Aoki, has released his star-stuffed genre-bending album, Neon Future IV, alongside lead single ‘I Love My Friends’ featuring Icona Pop.
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Download / Stream
After teasing listeners with the releases of “Sexy” and “Love Like That” over the last month, dance music veteran and icon Kaskade releases his highly-anticipated “Redux 004” EP in full. Redux series has become a much-loved tradition for the fans of Kaskade around the globe, and the new installment of the EP delivers a rich dose of intimate, deep and groovy vibes that the concept has become so well known for. In addition to “Sexy” and “Love Like That,” the full release includes two brand new tracks that will transport you to another place and time in dance music, where underground shows were the norm, and the music took precedence over special effects. “Feel It” delivers a deep, driving bassline and liquid melodies that are born for making dark rooms groove. Next up is “Find Love,” a sultry vocal-driven and melodic song on the lighter end of the spectrum for the EP. “Sexy” is perhaps the most provocative track, evoking images of balmy Miami nights, while “Love Like That“‘s haunting piano riffs and sultry vocals will make you want to find a beautiful stranger on the dance floor. Just like its predecessors, “Redux 004” provides an immersive experience that takes listeners to the heart of dance music as it was years ago. It has always been a concept close to the hearts of Kaskade and his fans, and we hope it continues for many years to come.
As a household name in electronic music for nearly two decades, Kaskade needs no introduction. His list of achievements is a mile long: 11 studio albums, 7 GRAMMY nominations, the first solo electronic dance artist to sell out both Navy Pier in Chicago and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the first DJ to ever secure a Las Vegas residency, and the first electronic artist to headline Coachella. Less tangible but even more important has been his influence on dance music tastes and culture for generations of listeners. Often Kaskade is one of the artists who introduced now-veteran listeners to the genre, and such fans are usually fans for life. In 2019, he worked with multi-award winner Meghan Trainor on “With You” and Gorgon City on “Go Slow,” among solo releases, such as “My Light,” “Come On,” and official remixes for the likes of Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, and Gwen Stefani earlier. Kaskade continues what has become a nostalgic tradition for many dance music veterans and a cherished experience for new listeners. Stay tuned for more news from Kaskade in 2020.
London-based DJ and producer Alex Virgo is the latest artist to debut on TRICK, dropping ‘Cheap Thrills’, a club-ready, four-track EP, out 3rd April.
The title track kicks things off, a slick, synth-driven dancefloor-filler that sets the tone for the rest of the EP. ‘Flex’ then follows a similar route – high-energy, pumping house music that builds to a climax, before ‘Tallywhacker’ shifts things into more metallic, techno-oriented waters while losing none of the intensity. EP closer ‘Chorus Tool’ asserts itself with the kind of four-to-the-floor throb that the TRICK imprint is quickly becoming synonymous with.
“So excited for these tracks to get released,” Alex enthuses. “Patrick has been hammering them for a while now so I can’t think of a better home than TRICK.” It follows on from ‘The 302’, DJ Deeon & Gettoblaster’s rollicking EP that marked TRICK’s first release of the new decade.
Something of a fledgling artist, Alex Virgo launched his own label, Pomme Frite, last year, kicking it off with the release of his ‘Let Me Through’ EP, which received support from the likes of Dan Shake, Horse Meat Disco and Mella Dee.
TRICK was initially launched as a platform to exhibit Topping’s versatility as a producer, as well as a platform to showcase the wealth of emerging talent which he has been pushing in his DJ sets.
Four masterful, dancefloor-focused cuts, TRICK 007 could well have been made by a dance music James Bond.
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Franky Rizardo announces the launch of his new label, LTF Records with four-track EP ‘Primrose’. The culmination of a number of years hard work, the Dutch DJ, producer, promoter and now label head proudly presents an outlet for his own music.
Encompassing an immersive feeling of energised focus, involvement, and enjoyment of his journey within the industry so far, LTF Records (Listen To Flow) is Franky Rizardo’s new platform to transport his listeners and followers into a flow state of mind.
One of The Netherlands finest exports, Franky Rizardo has long established himself as an international touring artist, as well as a name well renowned within his own country. Being ever present on Dutch national radio station, SLAM! has provided him with the perfect platform to develop and nurture a label that is crafted with clear intentions and identity; delivering uncompromising music based on his own experiences with the industry. Building a career based on strong philosophies, Franky has consistently aimed to do his own thing, keep everything in perspective and most of all, have fun.
From ingraining himself within the ANTS and elrow camps, to releasing on labels such as Strictly Rhythm, Rejected, Saved and 8Bit, Franky has become a name synonymous with deep driving house music that blurs the lines between Techno and House. The multi-faceted Dutch artist has also represented himself and his brand FLOW, at events such as Tomorrowland, Fabric – London, Shelter – Amsterdam, Amnesia – Ibiza and Soho Garden Dubai, further cementing his status as a one of electronic music’s most dynamic individuals.
Across four-tracks on the ‘Primrose’ EP, Franky focuses his energy firmly on the dancefloor, keeping people locked into his flow state. Opening with ‘Primrose’, the tracks low-end rumbles throughout, supplying the perfect atmosphere to keep the crowd moving. ‘Faze’ offers a wonky blissed out vocal alongside stabbing synth. Whereas ‘DC Terrace’ is a nod to the peak-time movements at Ibiza’s famous club, DC10. Closing the EP ‘Clouds’ provides an energised up-tempo focus track to engage to zone.
The label launches at time when authenticity within the industry is key. Franky continues to focus on his own output, never taking himself too seriously and always keeping full perspective on the task at hand. Inviting you to join him with LTF Records, Franky wants you to enter his flow state of mind.
Franky Rizardo’s ‘Primrose’ EP is out now via LTF Records.
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VIRGIN EMI
GORGON CITY & DRAMA – ‘NOBODY’
OUT NOW
Following the success of their 2019 hit single ‘There For You’ in collaboration with US DJ producer MK amassing over 45 million global streams, Gorgon City are set to drop their first new music of 2020. Here they collaborate with Chicago soul / dance duo DRAMA bringing an emotive, beautiful and fluid house jam entitled ‘Nobody’.
With each release setting a new standard for Gorgon City, ‘Nobody’ is a deviation in sonic feel for them as producers and also for their own imprint Realm. ‘Nobody’ shows the acts varied and versatile production range, downtempo but retaining its energetic feel, with a soulful vocal at its core making it a standout and unique release.
Collaborators DRAMA are Ne’el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa, a multicultural collaboration blurring the lines between R&B, Soul and Dance. The pair have self-released several EPs and have just released their debut album as well as previously working with Chance the Rapper and Kanye West. Matt & Kye (Gorgon City) discovered DRAMA and fell in love with their sound and Via Rosa‘s amazingly stirring
‘Nobody’ also comes equipped with a new video involving a street dance interpretation of ‘West Side Story’, shot in DRAMA’s hometown of Chicago with a local street dance crew, paying homage to the city that inspired Gorgon City & Drama’s collaboration.
For Gorgon City their REALM releases came in thick and fast last year to include singles; ‘Lick Shot’, ‘Delicious’, ‘Elizabeth
On top of a busy year of productions, Gorgon City had a packed touring schedule, the duo played out across the globe at festivals including Coachella, EDC Vegas, Israel’s Get Lost Festival as well as sold out UK shows at Printworks, Warehouse Project and Tobacco Dock, in addition to dates all around Europe and the US.
With over 1.2 billion global streams to their name and over 8 million singles sold across their careers, Gorgon City are titans of making house music hits, with each release reaffirming their status.
Gorgon City & DRAMA’s ‘Nobody’ is out now on Virgin EMI
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It was April 2017 and as the sun rose on the North American West Coast, it seemed something particularly outrageous would ensue on the beautiful coastline. Landing in San Diego, a pair synonymous with a thirst for life, German electronic duo and ‘Superhouse’ pioneers Andhim arrived to embark on their North American Tour, yet something different was afoot; they would travel for an entire 10 days, 2,000 miles in a 30ft RV, hunting the American dream for beers, boobs and burgers. Now bringing together a detailed and aptly humorous account of their travels, Andhim present their west side story tour diary and movie, ‘Miles To Go’.
“We rented this 30feet speed monster for a 10-day road trip along
the west coast of America. In the end we went 4000 kilometres in this RV.” – Andhim
A crew of five, Simon, Tobi, Camera man Manoah and tour managers, Griffin and Josh, they took for the open road, immersing in an array of musical, cultural and culinary experiences as they travelled across San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, before ending in Vancouver. Following the highs and lows of their journey, ‘Miles To Go’ sees Andhim proceed in true Andhim style; the lows were always approached with a distinct sense of comedy; overflowing toilets, fridges flying open in transit and 39 cent microwave burritos that tipped the scales on their inadequately arranged eating habits across the tour.
“The whole tour was terrible for our bodies. Shitty food, no motion, no sleep
and a lot of parties. It was like an anti-health campaign. A defiant protest
against all the cold pressed juices and Acai bowls in the world.” – Andhim
Embracing the wild and whacky areas of their trip, Andhim can be found eating interesting, off-kilter taco selections and hosting an after-hours at their RV in San Diego, moonwalking across Hollywood’s walk of fame, camping in the Red Woods of California, before spontaneously heading towards Big Sur. Embracing the freedom that travelling in an RV offered, ‘Miles To Go’ is an amplification of Andhim’s outward charm and infectious hilarity.
Having been shown at film festivals across the globe including Filmarte Festival, Berlin, Filmfest Bremen and Universal Film Festival in Kansas City, ‘Miles To Go’ was awarded ‘Best Score’ at Swindon Independent Film Festival, UK and ‘Best Documentary Feature’ at San Diego’s IKFF.
Andhim’s ‘Miles To Go’ is an all-encompassing look at two DJ’s taking touring back to its roots and ditching the private jet and champagne lifestyle.
Shown At:
Filmarte Festival – Berlin 2019 (Germany)
On Art Film Festival (Poland)
Filmfest Bremen 2019 (Germany)
Universal Film Festival, Kansas City (USA)
Cuzco Underground Cinema Festival (Peru)
Short Long World Festival, Corrientes (Argentina)
BangkokThai International Film Festival, Bangkok (Thailand)
Great Message Int’l Film Festival, Pune, Maharashtra (India)
Awards:
Best Score – Swindon Independent Film Fest (UK)
Best Documentary Feature – San Diego IKFF (USA)
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Jemma Tweedie, otherwise known as LILURA, has announced the release of her new track Disaster. Released today, it was planned for a Summer release date alongside tour dates but with those now postponed indefinitely given the current situation she decided to share it with the world today.
LILURA, said: “Disaster came about when I was out on a writing trip in LA back in 2017 so I’ve had the song for a while now. It was originally written about a confusing crossroads between two relationships, so it has a bit of a dark meaning, but it still sounds fun and bouncy. I wanted to get that feeling across to the listener also. However bad a situation is we can always find a bit of a bright side! In the current world climate, I feel like it now takes on a bit of a double meaning. This is why I had the urge to release it now, it just feels right!”