 |
|
Latest Forum Posts
|
|
| |
|
Tuition : International Artist Academy
iaa writes"International Artist Academy is on the forefront of artist development in Australia.
We specialize in singing, piano, guitar, song-writing and performance tuition.
International Artist Academy also runs Beginner's Gospel Choir and Advanced Gospel Choir.
"
Read More... |
|
|
|
News : Laura Jean launches Eden Land at The Corner
Lenglert writes"Supported by Sly Hats, luluc and Biddy Connor.
Date: March 2nd
Time: 7:30pm
Cost: $15 or $12 pre-sale through http://www.cornerhotel.com
Sydney-born,
Melbourne-based songwriter Laura Jean
first came to national attention in 2006 with the release of her debut album
Our Swan Song. Lush and
pastoral, adorned with strings, woodwind and Laura’s beautiful modal harmonies,
Our Swan Song was a
critical and popular favourite, gaining Triple J high rotation and introducing
Laura Jean as a powerful, exotic new voice in Australian
music.
Our Swan Song
also made waves overseas,
most notably reaching the ears of Gary Lightbody, leader of Scottish pop stars
Snow Patrol, who raved about the album on the BBC and then invited Laura to join
his band onstage for two successive Australian tours in 2007. Each night, Laura
sang Martha Wainwright’s part of the duet Set The Fire To The Third
Bar, and in doing so reached
a whole new fanbase.
Laura also found
herself asked to support other international bands such as M Ward, Midlake,
Okkervil River and Richard Buckner, as well as homegrown stars of the likes of
New Buffalo and Darren Hanlon. This attention culminated in her signing a deal
with UK label Co-Operative/V2, who will release Eden Land later this year, after bringing British
listeners up to speed with a condensed EP version of Our Swan
Song.
After this kind of
reception, Laura Jean felt confident enough to aim for the stars on her next
album. An unashamed concept record, Eden Land explores ideas of self-discovery, sexual awakening and
loss of innocence through a suite of nine interconnected
songs.
“On one level it’s
a breakup album,” she says. “On another level it’s about leaving a safe
situation to experience life. And on another level this album is about becoming
aware of my sexuality. And that all ties in with the concept of Eden, someone
leaving an idyllic place, kind of pre-awareness, to experience life, which is
bound by physicality.”
As opposed to
Our Swan Song, which was
a three year labour of love, Eden Land came effortlessly, the songs written in seemingly direct
communication with Laura’s subconscious, and recorded in just five days with
Sydney producer Chris Townend (whose credits stretch all the way from The Sleepy
Jackson to Natalie Imbruglia) at his BJB Studios.
Additional vocals
and overdubs were completed back in Melbourne with Simon Grounds, producer of
Our Swan Song, at
Bakehouse Studios. But compared to her debut, Eden Land was born almost fully-formed. “It came
together very naturally,” says Laura. “It’s very hard to explain, but it was
just there.”
Unlike the
arm-long list of musicians on her debut, Laura assembled a core band for Eden
Land, featuring Biddy Connor
(viola), Jen Sholakis (drums, percussion), Geoff Dunbar (bass) and Martin
Mackerras (clarinet). The Eden Land Choir, whose massed vocals grace tracks like
Yellow Moon and Love
Is Going To Lead Us, is made
up of Laura and her bandmembers, plus guests such as Paddy Mann (Grand Salvo),
Oliver Mann, blues performer Liz Stringer and Lehmann Smith (Kes
Band).
Singularly assured
and strikingly beautiful, Eden Land is a powerful, ambitious record, suffused with an
otherworldly atmosphere which struck even Laura as she was writing it. “I
realised that I was speaking about a reality that wasn’t necessarily earthly,
but could be from a parallel place,” she says. “I decided about halfway through
that I could hear a land called Eden Land.”
"
Read More... |
|
|
|
Bands & Artists : DOWN RIVER
Lord_Of_The_Unknown writes"DOWNRIVER. Heavy rock, bluesy doom tinged old school 70's metal. Proudly leading the charge of screaming leads, heavy riffs, hairy chests and chins and the smell of old beer. This is a fanatically driven band of lost souls whose primary concern is to rock the unrockable and bang the heads of the heathens.
DOWN RIVER formed in Ballarat, Victoria in 2001 as a three piece and a loose concept to jam on heavy doom and blues based riffs. Then nothing much happened. HOWEVER, in 2006 the celestial forces of the unknown aligned and DOWNRIVER became more than a concept...it became a working band. These 4 horsemen of the rockalypse bore their dragon helms and played their first gig at the Karova Lounge in Ballarat in August 06 and the very roots of Yggdrassil did shake.
In Nov 06 they released a full length self titled cd of demo material that had been recorded as a 3 piece which garnered some mediocre and some really good critical acclaim. To be fair, the material was now 5 years old and reflected a different era...not that it doesn't contain some awesome tunes and much of the "heavier" press such as Metal Hammer magazine gave it an 8/10 (June 2007 issue). This release at least established DOWNRIVER on the international (and most importantly local) musical map.
Playing with a wide assortment of bands in venues such as The Espy, The Karova (Ballarat), Ruby's, The Tote, The Brunswick, DOWNRIVER are now on the eve of the release of their first "real" full length which has been recorded in it's entirety and is scheduled for a release in April 08.
So with faces turned to the wind and a battle of epic proportions imminent, DOWNRIVER is a name that will soon become familiar to those with an understanding of the subtle nuances involved in saddling dragons (and who enjoy watching a band who plays for the pure unbridled energy of it and aren't just trying to look cool in a music scene that is flailing and failing due to the many shortcomings of those with a high level of self importance).
Now, go here:
www.myspace.com/downriverband
and contact us here:
downriverband@gmail.com
"
Read More... |
|
|
|
Bands & Artists : Winterun
Winterun writes"WINTERUN – Into The Underground
Below the shallows of mainstream rock music there lies an alternative scene running rich and deep. Having spent the last five years building a strong clan within this healthy community in Australia and abroad, Winterun now lure you Into The Underground.
Following on from the success of The Full Effect (2004) and Welcome To... (2006), Winterun have captured their live energy with album number three. Into The Underground sounds like a truckload of logs set loose down a mountainside. It’s a rolling blend of infectious heavy rock - chockfull of chunky riffs, grooves and stomp.
Into The Underground was recorded by Neil Thomason at Head Gap Studios (Magic Dirt, The Slits, Batrider) and mixed/mastered by Paul Fox (Deftones, Dirty Three, Nation Blue). The album was tracked onto two-inch tape, giving it a thick analogue sound - adding extra depth to Winterun’s heavy grooves.
Winterun remain proudly independent with distribution in Australia through Amphead Music, in Europe through Undertow Records and online through The Orchard (including iTunes).
An international following has been generated through strong online marketing, reviews in foreign press, airplay on overseas radio and inclusion on internationally released compilations.
Winterun’s relentless live presence has seen them headline nationwide and support some of Australia’s finest rock bands including Rocket Science, The Butterfly Effect, The Angels, Peeping Tom, Mammal, Rollerball, Fort and Dreadnaught. With their formidable live set and the new album as ammunition, Winterun plan to tour Europe in 2008. In the meantime, they’ll continue burning up the road across Australia touring Into The Underground and the first single Stompa.
Contact:
winterun@winterun.com
www.myspace.com/winterun_band
www.winterun.com"
Read More... |
|
|
| |
|
|
