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“‘Somewhere’ will give you that same euphoric tingle you felt after falling in love with your first underground jangle pop band. Nimble guitar riffs swarm around Garvin’s subtle, sweet vocals, and it captures everything great about fuzzy rock and good-natured, classic indie-pop.” – Paste Magazine

“A phenomenal slice of totally ’90s droning guitar-pop bliss” – Stereogum

“Fuzzy guitar riffs, dynamic drumming, and lo-fi ambience.” – New Noise

Gum Country are an indie rock band brought to you by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Courtney Garvin (The Courtneys) and multi-instrumentalist Connor Mayer. Their self-described “harsh twee” project began back in Vancouver as a series of lo-fi four track recordings made in an apartment, very quietly. After relocating to Los Angeles where they currently reside, the pair recorded their debut full-length album Somewhere with Joo-Joo Ashworth at Studio 22, this time at full volume.

Today they’ve revealed a video for the album’s lead single and title track “Somewhere” that was inspired by 80s and 90s performance music videos. Courtney explains,”I wrote ‘Somewhere’ a couple years after moving to LA. It’s about leaving a place that you are comfortable in and landing in a strange new one, and discovering what parts of your identity remain and which were left behind. The first line I wrote was ‘haven’t felt this way in a while, I can’t think straight can’t hide my smile, I guess this is gonna be my life for a while’, and then it was just a process of unravelling that thought.  I think the song could be about the range of emotions that come with any big change, and ultimately settling on a mellow excitement for vulnerability.”

Watch Somewhere video. Stream/buy Somewhere.

The songs on Somewhere meander through the highs and lows of daily life, touching on subjects ranging from love, loss, and anxiety, to tennis, video games, and gardening. Garvin navigates these topics with humor and sincerity, her unassuming delivery riding amidst the swirling instrumentals like a snowboarder shredding fresh pow.

Gum Country draws on groups like Stereolab, The Replacements, The Breeders, Beat Happening, Yo La Tengo, Meat Puppets and The Magnetic Fields, enveloping and transforming these influences in the warm embrace of Garvin’s fuzzy open-tuned guitar tone. Mayer’s driving drums and melodic keyboard accompaniments provide a backdrop for these rich textures, casually blending digital and analogue to produce a sound that would feel right at home on NME’s C-86 compilation.

Somewhere (album) will be released digitally, on vinyl, CD and cassette on June 19 via Dinosaur City Records (Aus/NZ), Kingfisher Bluez (Canada), Burger Records (USA) and Waterslide Records (Japan).

Keep up to date with Gum Country via their blog.

“Honestly, one of my fave new voices right her“
– Bridget Hustwaite, triple j

“…seriously worth keeping an eye on…”
– Pilerats

“DVNA gonna be making some huge waves real soon“
–The Aston Shuffle

Raw, emotional and stripped back, DVNA (pron. Da-na) returns today with her most passionate single yet and first offering of 2020, ‘Half Past Sober’, premiering via triple j’s Home & Hosed last night. 

Writing songs about her friends is somewhat DVNA’s trademark and ‘Half Past Sober’ is no exception. A true story about heartache and betrayal, the track’s origins are cemented in a conversation with a mate two years ago. “My friend’s told me about her relationship that was equally as passionate as it was toxic. A dysfunctional, heated, electric love affair that probably never should have happened, though glad it did. We’ve all been in situations where feelings aren’t reciprocated. You begin to feel weak, desperate and a slowly turn into a shell of your former self. Pricking your fingers on the staples barely holding the relationship together and learning to love the pain.”

Fusing her soulful vocals with a more stripped back production, the song was originally just acoustic but DVNA felt it needed a little more. “I teamed up with my good friend Fractures in his cute little Melbourne studio to bring this song to life,” she says. The result is musically dynamic, soft and intimate in times of vulnerability and climactic/ chaotic towards the end when frustration and anger begin to take over.

‘Half Past Sober’ lands fresh from a huge 18 months for the Gold Coast-based artist. Captivating the market with her first three singles ‘Sushi In Tokyo’, ‘Looking Like a Snack’ and ‘Girl On The Move’, DVNA has since racked up an impressive 3.2 million streams and caught the attention of triple j, becoming a triple j Unearthed feature artist while taking out their coveted spot to open up the main stage at Brisbane’s Laneway Festival. Recently signing with Falcona booking agency, DVNA has also supported the likes of LEISURE, Alice Ivy, Kira Puru, Arno Faraji and performed at various tastemaker festivals including BIGSOUND, Bleach Festival, Arcadia and The Mountain Goat Valley Crawl. 

With more releases planned and a few sobering surprises, DVNA’s ‘Half Past Sober’ is the first sip the next phase for this talented producer, performer and songwriter.

DVNA’s ‘Half Past Sober’ is out NOW.

CONNECT ONLINE WITH DVNA

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

THE GARDEN – KISS MY SUPER BOWL RING – OUT NOW KISS MY SUPER BOWL RING TRACKLIST     1. Clench To Stay Awake 2. A Struggle 3. Sneaky Devil 4. Kiss My Super Bowl Ring 5. A Fool’s Expedition 6. AMPM Truck 7. Hit Eject 8. The King Of Cutting Corners 9. Lurkin’ (feat. Khalif Jones) 10. Lowrider Slug (feat. Ariel Pink) 11. Please, Fuck Off

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.

LISTEN: ‘I Love My Friends’ by Steve Aoki & Icona Pop

Neon Future IV is Steve Aoki’s most pop-focused album yet, standing as the largest creative output from the futuristic concept series to date, featuring music from countless collaborators across global genres, including names such as Tory Lanez, Mike Shinoda, Lights, Desiigner, AGNEZ Mo, and actress/singer Zooey Deschanel amongst many more. Most recently, Steve teamed up with one of China’s biggest superstars Lay Zhang (from Exo) and will.i.am for ‘Love You More’, Travis Barker and Global Dan for ‘Halfway Dead’, and Latin pop sensation Maluma for the release of ‘Maldad’, which was #5 on Billboard’s Vamos a Bailar: The 10 Best Collaborations Between Dance & Latin Pop Artists list. Last year, Steve Aoki also worked with the iconic Sting and platinum-selling trio SHAED on contemporary love anthem ‘2 In A Million’ which received praise from the likes of The New York Times and Billboard, and capped things off with the Backstreet Boys on the emotional single ‘Let It Be Me’. Steve Aoki says, “I have songs that are intrinsic to the DNA of what Neon Future is about and I have my club bangers and all this stuff, and they all work together, because at the end of the day they’re all musical expressions of this period of time of Steve Aoki. “The central force of Neon Future is more about the narrative of the evolution of Neon Future I, II, III and IV. If you listen to each album back to back, you can hear this musical evolution and that is most important for my fans to take away. Each volume in the series goes hand in hand with the songs that are meant to tell our future story.” In addition to including the biggest names in music, Neon Future IV stays true to other albums in the series by incorporating some of the leading minds of today, with the 17th song on the album ‘Homo Deus’. The track is named after the book Homo Deus: A Brief History Of Tomorrow, and features its writer: historian, philosopher, and bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari, who is also known for New York Times chart-toppers Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind, and 21 Lessons For The 21st Century. Continuing with the effortless fusing of literary and intellectual flare, the record includes Kita Sovee in the intro and outro, otherwise known as the character modelled after Steve Aoki from his Neon Future comic series with Impact Theory that explores the world of techno-optimism.

Neon Future IV  Steve Aoki Album out now through Liberator Music/Ultra Music Available to buy/stream here Neon Future IV tracklist: 1. Steve Aoki – Closer To God (feat. Kita Sovee & Julen Marchall) 2. Steve Aoki – I Love My Friends (feat. Icona Pop) 3. Steve Aoki – Halfway Dead (feat. Global Dan & Travis Barker) 4. Steve Aoki – Daylight (feat. Tory Lanez) 5. Steve Aoki & Slushii – One True Love 6. Steve Aoki – GIRL (feat. AGNEZ MO & Desiigner) 7. Steve Aoki & Maluma – Maldad 8. Steve Aoki – Last One To Know (feat. Mike Shinoda & Lights) 9. Steve Aoki – Love You More (feat. LAY & will.i.am) 10. Steve Aoki, Sting & SHAED – 2 In A Million 11. Steve Aoki & Backstreet Boys – Let It Be Me 12. Steve Aoki – 1 4 U (feat. Zooey Deschanel) 13. Steve Aoki & Felix Jaehn – Inside Out (feat. Jamie Scott) 14. Steve Aoki & Monsta X – Play It Cool 15. Steve Aoki & Darren Criss – Crash Into Me 16. Steve Aoki – New Blood (feat. Sydney Sierota) 17. Steve Aoki – Homo Deus (feat. Yuval Harari) 18. Steve Aoki & Alan Walker – Are You Lonely (feat. ISÁK) 19. Steve Aoki & Alok – Do It Again 20. Steve Aoki – Terra Incognita (feat. Bryan Johnson) 21. Steve Aoki & Going Deeper – 2045 22. Steve Aoki, Ummet Ozcan & Dzeko – Popcorn 23. Steve Aoki & Bassjackers – I Wanna Rave 24. Steve Aoki & Timmy Trumpet – Hava (feat Dr Phunk) 25. Steve Aoki, Showtek & MAKJ – Rave (feat. Kris Kiss) 26. Steve Aoki – Cut You Loose (feat. Matthew Koma) 27. Steve Aoki – Eevos Atik foes ireht (feat. Kita Sovee)

STEVE AOKI

April 6, 2020 0 comments

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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.

Connect with Franky Rizardo