Tagged By brisbane

LISTEN: James X. Boyd – ‘Paul K & The Downtown Specials’

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It was a sad day for Brisbane when James X. Boyd moved to Edinburgh earlier in the year, so it’s super exciting to hear new stuff from him coming over the seas.

‘Paul K & The Downtown Specials’ is a low-key slice of the kind of deeply lovely jangle stuff that we expect from Boyd. It makes you feel good but in a sad kind of way that you don’t quite get but you definitely like. The lyrics are simple but striking (‘true romantics always sleep alone’), and you hear another great line every time you listen to the song, which you’ll want to do a lot.

You can download the track for free on James’ Bandcamp. While we’re there, check out this very sweet and weird home-movie style video.

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WATCH: Violent Soho – ‘Dope Calypso’

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The official video filmed by director Timothy O’Keefe for Violent Soho’s ‘Dope Calypso’, which is the opening track from the band’s third studio album titled ‘Hungry Ghost’ out September 6, 2013 through I OH YOU.

Back to their roots, rocking the streets of Brisbane and getting blazed with Adalita. And is that music’s most influential under 30, Johann of IOHYOU smoking up? Great song. Great band. Get on the tour bus:

Thursday Oct 24 – Great Northern, Byron Bay NSW

Friday Oct 25 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW

Saturday Oct 26 – The Zoo, Brisbane QLD

Thursday Oct 31 – Mojo’s, Fremantle WA

Friday Nov 01 – Amplifier, Perth WA

Saturday Nov 02 – Uni Bar, Adelaide SA (Lic AA)

Monday Nov 04 (Cup Eve) – Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC (This will be HUGE)

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PRESENTS: ‘COOL PARTY’

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Cool. That word still hurts. I gave up a long time ago at 13 where my aspirations ended at owning at least two pieces of Dada Damani clothing and saving enough pocket change to buy an Amanda Perez CD. No regrets though. Turns out all the other gawky kids who also spent recess labeling their floppy disks in the library and tinkering with the Casios at concert band practice ended up doing alright. Most of the them turned out to electronic freaks of nature (see list below for proof).

We’ve teamed up with our friends from incredible Brisband/NYC electronic label Silo Arts for a not-so-official BIGSOUND showcase & after party, aptly named ‘COOL PARTY’.

 

☯ FEATURING ☯


CHARLES MURDOCH
FRIENDSHIPS
RAINBOW CHAN
CASSIUS SELECT
THE HARPOONS
NAKAGIN
GUERRE
TINCTURE
HTML FLOWERS
MOTION PICTURE ACTRESS

+MYSTERY DJS 

 

Come and celebrate all things fun with 10 of Australia’s best electronic/pop acts + FREE entry. It also happens to fall on my birthday, so there’s a high chance you’ll find me in a corner of Alahmbra Lounge cradling a loop pedal and eating cake.

Full event details here. See you there. #COOL

 

 

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INTRODUCING: Cypher

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I wish I was somewhat of a talented songwriter. Probably just to be a straight up show-off. I’d flog my material through every social channel I would find, making sure all my friends and their friends know I’m kind of a Big Deal. This is also probably why I hold reverence to Cypher (and why the world is a better place without me having a ‘talent’).

Cyper is 15 year old Brisbanite ‘Faith T’. When I last looked, her Unearthed profile was the only place on the internet I could find her material. She started a Facebook page only a few days ago and it’s already off the hook. Cypher’s track ‘Liar’ is hauntingly beautiful; all breathy vocals over sparse piano and a rich atmospheric soundscapes. It’s alarming that a 15 year old can produce such a mature sound. Then again, the world seems to be hyping anyone who’s still going through puberty now, so Cypher will probably have her moment in the sun soon.

One can surely make comparisons to early Sia but ‘Liar’ suggests that Cypher has heaps of potential. Although it’s surprising for such a talent to have such little material online, it only adds to this teenager’s humble, self-effacing charm.

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Listen to

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LISTEN: Jeremy Neale – ‘In Stranger Times (feat. Go Violets)’

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This song has been around for a little while now but it makes me so flipping happy that I’ve decided to bring it back. A collaboration between Jeremy Neale and Go Violets, ‘In Stranger Times’ is a terrific, 60’s-indebted tune that conjures up daydreams of milkshakes, roller-skates and TV dance parties.

If you haven’t already heard of him, Brisbane playboy Jeremy Neale fronts the 12-piece band Velociraptor (so named because ‘Dinosaurs rule’, obviously), as well as his solo work. He’s basically the Australian Jonathan Richman, with his effusive charm and knack for writing naive and catchy pop songs.

Fellow northerners Go Violets love 60’s soul and garage too. They’re one of a wave of new Aussie bands referencing the riot grrrl movement. We posted their single ‘Teenager’ last year (it also featured on NME and an American Kellogg’s commercial) and we’re still vibing the girls’ latest release, ‘Josie’.

Check out the video for ‘In Stranger Times’ co-directed by Neale and Jesse Hawkins. It’s a technicolor mod gem.

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Both Jeremy Neale and Go Violets are scheduled to play Brisbane’s Four Walls Festival on 3 August. Keep your eyes peeled for Go Violet’s debut EP, which is due out some time this Spring.

Bandcamp/Go Violets

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LISTEN: Holy Holy – ‘Impossible Like You’

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Holy Holy is singer/songwriter Timothy Carroll from Brisbane and guitarist/producer Oscar Dawson from Melbourne. Their record was pieced together in Berlin, as you do, then recorded with Matt Redlich back in Aus. Redlich has knocked out very accomplished sounds with Emma Louise, Hungry Kids of Hungary, and Holy Holy’s current touring buddies The Trouble With Templeton.

‘Impossible Like You’ is easy to like. It’s catchy. Has a great breakdown and a vintage 70’s period sound that doesn’t define the track but rather compliments the vocal and story telling talents of Timothy Carroll. To say that ‘Impossible Like You’ is well constructed would be a gross understatement. This is perfect modern rock and roll for the masses.

Holy Holy are touring with Ainslie Wills:

Sun 11th Aug – Queen Street Mall, Brisbane (daytime show)

Tues 13th of Aug – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane

Thur 15th Aug – High Tea, Sydney

Fri 16th Aug – News Agency, Sydney

22nd Aug – Workers Club, Melbourne

And supporting The Trouble With Templeton:

Thur 29th Aug – The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba

Fri 30th Aug – The Zoo, Brisbane

 

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