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Liberation Records are excited to share the new single from upsidedownhead ‘higher ft. Ric Rufio’. upsidedownhead (aka Ross James) is joined by fellow Sydney-based singer, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist and frequent Flight Facilities collaborator, Ric Rufio whose anthemic vocals soar over the track’s titanic beat and cinematic production.
“‘higher’ is an ode to that little smile when the good guy wins. It’s an ode to that feeling that you could take on the world when you walk out of the movies riding that high. It’s an anthem that was written with the purpose to create euphoria in all that listen to it…”
– Ross James (upsidedownhead)
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Hey Up – Where are you right now?
I’m in London right now looking out my window drawing some inspiration from the world and what I see and feel to write more material.
What are you early experiences with music? How have they led you to where you are now?
The first time I ever sang was in a church when I was 14 for a couple school friends who played in a band at their local church in South London. I was handed a mic and was told to just sing and freestyle over the soulful jazzy R&B-type vibe they were playing at the time and yeah, I’ve been singing ever since. After some time, I went on to sing in an R&B group inspired by Jodeci, Dru Hill, H-Town and a lot of 90’s HipHop & R&B artists. After that, I went on to sing in multiple electronic bands which is a style of music I love, having grown up in London where electronic music was always big over here. Everything from drum n bass to house music was always around when I was young. To this day I’m inspired by old school garage and based my early style on Groove Chronicles who made both of my favourite garage tunes back in the day: ‘Stonecold’ and ‘We Get Down’. When I heard them sample Aaliyah or Mariah Carey over that London sound that Groove Chronicles had back then, I knew that soulful 90’s vocals work smooth over electronic music – like ‘Talk to Me You’ll Understand’ by Ross From Friends.
You’ve now released singles ‘Better Tomorrow’ and ‘Songbird’, what influenced the sound and song writing here?
My writing as well as producing comes from nothing but feeling and deep emotions that are sometimes buried deep at the back of my heart and mind. ‘Better Tomorrow’ was written on the basis of the title, wishing everyone and everything a brighter future through the dark times we go through in life. ‘Songbird’ is about love of course and sharing that special moment with the one you truly love. For me there is no better feeling than true love.
What does it mean to you to be able to share your music since your debut?
Through my previous experiences in music being in bands and groups it’s quite scary at first releasing anything because I’m solo now. But through the love I’ve been receiving and the support… it’s a beautiful feeling.
Can you tell us a bit more about your recording and production process?
I use Ableton Live to produce and usually base my production around a warm pad or melody that makes me feel like I’m flying. Ha! Growing up my favourite superhero was Silver Surfer so whenever I’m producing music, If, it makes me feel like I’m Silver Surfer and I’m gliding through the galaxy across the universe I know I’m on the right track. Then yeah, I punch it all in and then the drums come last for me. Same for recording vocals, I like to sit and be relaxed with dimmed lights to set the mood while I record.
Who are your influences and who are you currently listening to? Is there anybody you aspire to?
I’ve been inspired by early N.E.R.D., Tyler the Creator, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Curtis Mayfield. From Roy Ayers to Sampha, from James Blake to Frank Ocean, I can go on and on… I’m currently listening to a lot of Sade, as well as Janet Jackson, Saba and a new artist called Jenevieve… her track ‘Medallion’ is my favourite song of hers. Oh, and just a lot of early 90’s hip hop, that stuff is always on rotation.
Is there anything else you like to do away from music?
Outside of music I love to skateboard… I mean street skate, no skate parks just yet, I can’t do tricks and all that. I just like to cruise the streets.
What’s your plans for the rest of the year?
My plan for the rest of the year is to continue writing new material for my first full-length album for next year. I make music every day and also do a bit of writing for other artists. I’m forever working on my craft and trying to evolve into the artist I’ve always envisioned myself as.
Tell us something interesting about yourself, that people wouldn’t know.
I was an academy football player when I was a kid. I played for Watford for 3 years and Fulham for 2. I got released after 5 years of some great memories of my life and now I still coach kids and teach them everything I know and learned when I was playing.
Anything else you’d like to share?
In addition to the singles, I’m releasing on streaming platforms, I finished a 14-song mixtape called ‘The VagueTape’ that I’ve been drip-releasing on my YouTube and Soundcloud channels, one track every 3-4 weeks. The Tape is all new songs I wrote over some of my favourite Hip Hop & Lo Fi House beats spanning the past 20 years. It actually started out as a kinda joke, but I wound up vibing out 75% of the songs in one evening. I just dropped the latest instalment ‘Trust In You (Aquamarine)’ last Friday.
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TRACKLIST
Life Like?
Yonkers
Truth Be Told
Hip Hop
Frogskins
Shit Blood
Things Stuff
No Work
The Crown feat. foghornleghornn
Sexy Jawn
Shit’n Me
Friendship
Hungover14. Pimpin & Simpin
Wiki: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
NAH: Website | Instagram | Bandcamp
Where are you currently based?
I live in Melbourne.
How did you first start playing music?
I started playing Violin when I was 3 years old and then picked up piano when I was 4 (my parents are musicians).
What’s been happening recently?
Well I’ve just been really focusing on releasing this single for the last couple of weeks. But prior to that my other band Juno Disco just put out a new song called ‘Dreamin’, and now the film I’ve been working on is in post-production so I’ll be working on finishing up the score. So a lot to keep me busy!
Your new single ‘Think It’s Time To Get A Job’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
The song is primarily influenced by the Aphex Twin track ‘Iz-Us’ and ‘Older’ by Australian band Parcels. I was playing around on this synth and found a sound very similar to the one used by Aphex Twin. Once I found the sound, the chord progression of the song just wrote itself and I’d finished it in five minutes. I often find that a particular sound will really inspire me and is generally the basis of how I write music.
I had been really into Parcels earlier this year and loved their vocal harmonies and found they were very influenced by one of my favourite bands ‘The Whitest Boy Alive’ (who are sadly no longer around). You can definitely hear the Parcels influence in the ‘What Changed, Just Stay The Same” response in the chorus.
How did you go about writing the track?
Lyrically I was a bit intimidated by my previous record as the lyrics were super revealing and I was unsure how to follow that up. I found that being super revealing worked really well and I had produced my best work by doing that. So I decided to dig a bit deeper into my past, to a time where I wasn’t releasing Albert Salt music and decided to get a full time job. This really crippled me artistically. I found having so much free time and putting out a record again last year completely re energised me and gave me focus on what I should be doing. But yeah the core of the song is really about that moment that so many people have where they question their dreams and think to themselves “Maybe it’s time to get a real job?”
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
I track everything at home in my studio, then I send it to my Juno Disco bandmate/production wizard Nick Bond to mix and play around with. He then sends the mix back and then it goes to industry legend Joseph Carra to be mastered. And while that’s all happening my stupidly talented filmmaker/photographer/artist/
It’s the same approach as what I did with ’25 Not Doing Alright’ and I just love how it works. I’m extremely fortunate to work with these incredibly talented people that elevate the material to another level.
How did you approach the recording process?
A little bit differently, I don’t do this very often but I wrote the core of the song before recording it. Like a real songwriter. It’s always fun to mix up songwriting and recording processes as it generally gives you an alternate perspective on things.
What programs/equipment did you use?
I use Logic as my DAW to record everything. I use a Neumann TLM 103 into either a Scarlett 6i6 or Apogee Duet interface to record Vocals, Violin, Percussion. The Aphex Twin synth was done on the Arturia V Collection CZ V (I actually have the synth that this is based on but needs to be serviced). And then most of the other synth parts were recorded on my trusty Prophet 08 and the bass was done on the Behringer Model-D (controversial). Oh and there’s a bit of Juno-106 in there at the end and some Arturia V mellotron pianos and clav thrown in there as well. The drum parts are all done with Sequential Circuits Drumtrax samples. And I think that’s pretty much it.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
One of my favourite Australian band’s I’lls have reunited with a different project called Armlock. They’ve put 2 tracks so far ‘Power Of A Waterfall’ and ‘Turf War’ which are amazing and I’d highly recommend checking out. Let me have a look at my Spotify history. MF DOOM, Ravyn, Lenae, Boards Of Canada, PJ Harvey, Bibio, Beastie Boys, Steely Dan, Tribe Called Quest, Kings Of Convenience and of course my favourite podcast ‘The Weekly Planet’.
What do you like to do away from music?
Watching movies, cooking, having a bloody beer and going for a run.
Please tell us about working across both your solo project, side-project Juno Disco and scoring your first feature film:
A lot of work! It’s really great being able to do so many different things musically.
You produce your own film clips, how did this come about?
I started doing this in lockdown last year, making videos for covers I was doing and then eventually videoclips and ads for my music.
I absolutely love it! I approach it very similarly to how I make music and the fact that filmmaking tech has advanced so much means I can kind of experiment and shoot things and just airdrop it to my computer in a second and play around with it in Final Cut while I’m still shooting. I find it an extremely creative process almost like painting or something as it’s all kind of happening at the same time there’s no traditional pre-production/production/
What’s planned for 2021?
Finishing the film is next on the Agenda, there’s a Juno EP on the cards and of course put out more Salty music!!!
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Leonard’s House Of Love hands down.
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On the heels of May Day, coupled with sample of the (Russian translated) French anthem, “L’Internationale,” Rise Against releases The Numbers, the lead-off track from the band’s upcoming album, Nowhere Generation, due out June 4 (Loma Vista Records). Accompanying the release is a defiant visual, encapsulating the spirit of “L’Internationale,” a song that has been an anthem for working people since the late nineteenth century.
The visual for The Numbers was conceived and directed by Indecline, the American Activist Collective comprised of graffiti writers, filmmakers, photographers, full-time rebels, and activists. Indecline’s projects focus on social, ecological and economical injustices carried out by American and International governments, corporations, and law enforcement agencies.
“The Numbers has given our collective another opportunity not only to work with a band we’ve looked to for inspiration since their early records, but also a chance to create the kind of strong visual content that aims to inspire and educate. Beyond simply showcasing global protest movements, this video is to serve as a reminder that we are all living in a golden age of resistance and need to use our privileges to commit ourselves to wholeheartedly pulling the rope in the opposite direction. Or, to put it more bluntly, don’t be like your parents’ generation. Give a fuck and prove it.” — INDECLINE
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As if to underline that exact point, Simz steps behind the camera for the very first time to direct the sumptuous video. Filmed in lush, almost iridescent Technicolour tones and featuring an array of stunning cameos, Simz creates a glamorous yet sharply modern Utopia; an army of immaculately dressed, unapologetically powerful women (Jourdan Dunn, Joy Crookes and Denai Moore among them) in a rambling country estate, coolly getting things done and running the world, all the while looking effortlessly flawless to boot. The casting was not incidental – every woman in the video has personal significance to Simz, from her own cousins, Paij and Caroline, to her friend of 15 years, model Sienna King, to the likes of Zeze Millz and Kesewa Aboah, creating a moving, united front of sisterhood. The resultant video is a feast for the senses that hits on visual, social and emotional levels, and just another reason to get very, very excited indeed about what else Little Simz has in store this year.
‘Woman ft. Cleo Sol‘ is out now, buy/stream it here.
LITTLE SIMZ
SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE INTROVERT
Out September 3rd
Age 101
Pre-order HERE
TRACKLIST
Introvert
Woman ft. Cleo Sol
Two Worlds Apart
I Love You, I Hate You
Little Q Pt 1 (Interlude)
Little Q Pt 2
Gems (Interlude)
Speed
Standing Ovation
I See You
The Rapper That Came to Tea (Interlude)
Rollin Stone
Protect My Energy
Never Make Promises (Interlude)
Point and Kill ft. Obongjayar
Fear No Man
The Garden (Interlude)
How Did You Get Here
Miss Understood
Stay connected with Little Simz:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
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SUPPORT FOR ‘WHAT YOU GOT’
“What You Got’ is a single that marries SMALLS’ dance-y indie-pop sound with reflective and personally in-touch vocals, translating his feelings on his cross-state move into a gleaming and cathartic burst of The 1975-esque energy.”
Pilerats (AUS)
“Slick production and the way he’s produced it with that 1975 alt-pop feel is endearing.”
Dave Ruby Howe – triple j Unearthed (AUS)
Following on from the well-received release of ‘Tail Lights’, Sydney-based indie-pop artist SMALLS has today returned with a shimmering new single ‘What You Got’ – produced and mixed by Lewis Mitchell (Birds of Tokyo, The Jezeabels, Kota Banks), and mastered by Ben Feggans (Mallrat, Vera Blue, Sampa The Great).
Featuring swooning bass, cheerful percussion, and serene guitars, ‘What You Got’ is a stylish offering of cultured alternative-pop. Taking cues from influences such as The 1975 and LANY, SMALLS’ charismatic vocals provide elegant melodies to a track soaked in speculative instrumentation. Opulently layered hooks lead into a power-pop bridge, attentive to dynamics, before the song’s cathartic finale.
SMALLS talks about the meaning behind ‘What You Got’:
“Moving to a new city is scary. I’ve known friends who have relocated to new places during peak covid and really struggled to make friends and feel a sense of connection. This song is about how much we rely on other people’s actions to make us feel connected or appreciated. I wanted to write a song that captured city nightlife and dance floor anthems while not letting go of the 80s/90s nostalgia in the production.”
Previous single ‘Tail Lights’ was supported by the likes of Australian radio stations triple j Unearthed, Radio Adelaide, SYN FM and Indie Discotheque (INT). The track also received online praise from The AU Review, Australian Music Scene, AAA Backstage, Ear to the Ground (USA), Music Feeds, Forte Mag, and Indietronica (UK).
SMALLS is the project of artist Will Robinson, who originally hails from country NSW. Speaking on his experience – “I grew up on a canola farm in rural NSW during the peak of the drought. When you live 20km from the nearest township and there isn’t a lot of coin in the bank, there isn’t much else to do except pick up an instrument and try to smash out Metallica covers on a nylon string acoustic to cure the boredom.”
‘What You Got’ is available worldwide now
FOLLOW SMALLS
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
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Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021) – Track listing:
Disc 1
1. Everybody’s On The Run
2. The Death Of You And Me
3. AKA … What A Life!
4. If I Had A Gun …
5. In The Heat Of The Moment
6. Riverman
7. Lock All The Doors
8. The Dying Of The Light
9. Ballad Of The Mighty I
10. We’re On Our Way Now
Disc 2
1. Black Star Dancing
2. Holy Mountain (Remastered)
3. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By
4. This Is The Place
5. It’s A Beautiful World
6. Blue Moon Rising
7. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
8. Flying On The Ground
Bonus Disc
1. It’s A Beautiful World (Instrumental)
2. If I Had A Gun … (Acoustic Version)
3. Black Star Dancing (Skeleton Key Remix)
4. Black Star Dancing (12” Mix Instrumental)
5. The Man Who Built The Moon (Acoustic Version)
6. International Magic (Demo)
7. Blue Moon Rising (Sons Of The Desert Remix)
8. The Dying Of The Light (Acoustic Version)
9. This Is The Place (Skeleton Key Remix)
10. This Is The Place (Instrumental)
11. Black Star Dancing (The Reflex Revision)
12. Be Careful What You Wish For (Instrumental)
https://www.noelgallagher.com/
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https://twitter.com/
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Stay connected with Cian Ducrot:
TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
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ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM
KERBER
OUT AUGUST 27 ON MUTE
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SUPPORT FOR SUNSLEEPER
“Trust us when we say it’ll be stuck in your head for the rest of the week!”
Hysteria Magazine (AUS)
Sunsleeper is an indie rock band hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah. Today, they are unveiling a beautiful and captivating cover of Mac Miller’s ‘Come Back To Earth’. With the tour cycle of their previous album cut in half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band found time to pay homage to the late rapper with their rendition of the track off of his 2018 LP ‘Swimming‘.
Speaking on the track, frontman Jeffery Mudgett recounts finding solace in the track, “to me the record perfectly captures self-reflection and hopefulness while in the midst of a dark season. There’s a beautiful conflict of hope and defeat throughout the album that resonated with me deeply during the start of the pandemic.”
Debut full-length, ‘You Can Miss Something & Not Want It Back’, released by Rude Records in 2019, boasts a nostalgic quality while still feeling fresh and new. The bands 90’s indie rock influence is apparent across the record, as is their contemporary emo sound; a sound that has solidified a name for them in the scene since the release of their debut EP ‘Stay the Same’ in 2016.
On the title and theme of YCMS&NWIB, Mudgett says, ‘You Can Miss Something & Not Want It Back’, “chronicles the process of wrestling with the understanding of change and learning to accept it.”
‘Come Back To Earth’ comes off of a larger body of work slated to be released in the coming months.
‘Come Back To Earth’ is available worldwide now
Click to stream ‘Come Back To Earth’
FOLLOW SUNSLEEPER
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
Twenty-eight years ago, a sentient, sensual and vulnerably innocent presence framed Tricky’s trip-hop pioneering white label debut release, Aftermath. Hauntingly unique and immediately recognisable, that voice became the defining timbre of a new music movement.
Behind this voice was mysteriously soft-spoken, London-born Martina Topley-Bird who came in and out of the music industry gifting and teasing with her exquisite voice inspiring and infusing other pioneering artists from different genres.
“Forever I Wait” is Topley-Bird’s fourth long awaited studio album and her very first self-produced and curated piece of work to date. The 12-track album, set for release 10th September captures an extensive journey describing, confronting, analysing, reflecting and sometimes goading as it ultimately seeks to make peace with what life is.
Starting off with “Pure Heart”, in what appears to be a pledge to the muse’s muse, segueing into, and winding through painful echoes and dreamy illusions of “Wanted” then morphing into tense and punchy lines of “Hunt” the album takes many turns and ends on cleansing and self-accepting “Rain”.
It is “a trip through my (MTB’s) psyche, switching through different states and frequencies of emotions and reflections”.
“Forever I Wait”, as the title alludes, was written and re-written over a long period of time.
“I had to recalibrate/reconfigure my way of relating to music and the music industry in order to make the record I wanted to make.…and that took time. And I took the time I needed. I started in London, moved and lived in America for the first time in my life, then briefly moved back to London and finished the record in Spain.”
“After trying to work on a new record for a couple of years, I came to a realisation that in order to move forward I had to separate the concept and vision I had for this record from me as a person. That made it less personal and therefore possible for me to defend and fight for the concept of the record rather than making it about myself and my ideas. It had been difficult for me in my previous projects. I was conflating the work with myself and my ego and by separating I was more assertive about communicating the bounds of the project. That was a big personal win and the beginning of “Forever I Wait.”
“Forever I Wait” leans on a multitude of tense sounds, dubby atmospherics and natural instrumentation to demand the listeners attention leading to over two decades of observations, experiences and musical sacrifices. It is a bi-product of the new perspective featuring carefully selected and tailored supporting arrangements from a handful of collaborators including Robert del Naja (Massive Attack), Rich Morel (Deep Dish collaborator and re-mixer for t.A.T.u., Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Yoko Ono, Seal), Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray and Depeche Mode), Benjamin Boeldt (Adventure) and California based Tiadiad.
“By creating, selecting, and tailoring all the materials myself – backing tracks/ beats, collaborators and lyrics – eventually I was able to get to where I wanted”.
Amorphous compositions often buoyed by warm strings, delicate and intimate – Topley-Bird’s distinctively pliable voice reaffirms not only her talent in songwriting and production but an unquestionable devotion to solo artistry.
A truthful expression of desire and heartache “Forever I Wait “Is Topley Bird’s most precise and accurate album to date.
Background:
After appearing as a featured artist on Tricky’s debut album, Maxinquaye (1995) and on subsequent albums Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) and Angels with Dirty Faces (1998) Martina Topley-Bird released the understated Mercury Prize nominee debut “Quixotic” in 2003 followed by a five-year gap when she enlisted the help of Danger Mouse on sophomore album “The Blue God”.
In 2010, Topley-Bird appeared on Massive Attack’s album Heligoland on tracks “Psyche” and “Babel” and toured with Massive Attack from 2009 to 2016. Her third album, “Some Place Simple” was released in July 2010 in which the minimalism and intimacy of her songs subtly captivated her listeners.
Her hypnotic voice has been part of collaborations with Diplo, Common, Gorillaz, Clark, Prodigy and Massive Attack.
Tracklisting
- Pure Heart
- Wanted
- Hunt
- Weasel
- Wyman
- Love
- Game
- Free
- Collide
- Blood
- Sand
- Rain
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