20 March 2014
It can occasionally be a rough transition for music reality show contestants to find their feet in the tough music industry, but Imogen Brough has wasted no time in laying the foundations of a strong career after her appearance on The Voice. “It was great. I guess for me I’d just finished a Bachelor of Music performance at Melbourne Uni, so it was the perfect launching pad for me to really kick-start my career as a solo artist,” says Brough. “I loved it, I embraced it and I was really happy with how I went on it.”
20 March 2014
He was named as one of the ‘Top 25 Future Guitar Legends’ by Australian Guitar Magazine for pioneering the ‘3 from 1 guitar’ technique – meaning he found a way to produce the sound of two guitars and a bass through a solitary instrument. The King of the North himself, Andrew Higgs, explains: “Somehow I stumbled across the idea of how to make a two-piece sound like a five-piece. But I didn’t have the money or equipment to test it out at first,” Andrew laughed.
20 March 2014
The Christopher Coleman Collective is the perfect way to describe namesake Christopher Coleman’s band, one which has an ever-changing line-up from one show to the next as he collects whoever is available to play, making every show unique. “It certainly helps with keeping the shows fresh and spontaneous,” explains Coleman. “It’s good because it’s not about someone replicating a part that somebody else did; it’s very much the additions’ personality bringing their own interpretations to it.”
20 March 2014
Without a doubt, one of the most exciting bands that I saw play at Queenscliff Music Festival in 2012 was All the Colours; having only just formed as a band, the indie-pop and rocky songs were infectious, and it was easy to see that they were a band on the rise. Fast forward a couple of years, and All the Colours are just resting and relaxing before heading out on the road in support of their debut album. On the massive bill that was Big Day Out 2014, my opening question to guitarist and vocalist Jono Toogood was: Did they get to drop it like it’s hot with Snoop?
20 March 2014
Our most celebrated hip hop duo, the mighty Bliss N Eso, have been quietly working away on something big. Fortunately they chose Forte to share some of the secrets of the ‘Circus Under the Stars’ tour. “It’ll be nothing like you’ve ever seen before!” divulged emcee Bliss, aka Jonathan Notley.
6 March 2014
We’ve all heard the stories and the legendary tales, and this Saturday we have a chance to catch the phenomenon first-hand. No, I’m not talking about the large, hairy mythological creature. I’m delighted to announce that Melbourne’s own soul sensation Saskwatch will be appearing at Melbourne Zoo as part of the Twilights Series. “We’re so happy we’ve been asked to play!” admitted the congenial trumpet playing virtuoso Liam McGorry. “We’ve never played the series before and I think it’ll be a great experience.”
6 March 2014
When I mention to Peter Farnan that Boom Crash Opera is in fact back, he has a little chuckle himself and then admits that it is a welcome return to the stage for the band. “I think that we were away for long enough. When we went into rehearsals and I turned on my VOX AC-30, the dust burnt off the valves. I can only speak in clichés, which obviously doesn’t help for the press, but it’s like riding a bike. It’s like opening up Tutankhamun’s tomb and there’s a party going on inside.
6 March 2014
“I always wanted to make it a trilogy – the best series are always trilogies! I wanted the series to be a growing experience and the third one definitely shows the growth. This one is definitely the “me” I believe I have grown into. I’ve brought on some new heads on this one too. Got Bwiv, Alter Ego, Spit and Dan Murphy beats, DJ Immaculate on the 1’s and 2’s, and a burners from Flu (aka Fluent Form) and Maund.”
6 March 2014
He is arguably one of the best singer-songwriter’s Australia has produced, an avid surfer, restaurateur, a doting dad – and he certainly knows how to rock a shirt vest – but what you may not know is that Pete Murray has a cheeky sense of humour to boot. “Bernard Fanning is a really good mate of mine and I’m looking forward to when Bern’s playing so I can throw some eggs and tomatoes at him!” he teased when I asked about playing at Werribee’s Live on the Lawn Festival on March 16. “Only kidding – the show is going to be great. I’ve got good friends on the bill, and it’ll be a special one. I’ll play songs from all my albums, not just Feeler.”
6 March 2014
Hard work is the foundation for any up-and-coming band to begin to reach their full potential, and it is with this theory that Ballarat post-classic rockers The Electric Sunkings have started getting themselves noticed. “People are beginning to understand who we are musically and what to expect from us as a band,” explains guitarist Chris “Barbz” Barbetti.
6 March 2014
I started playing violin at age nine, but I wished it was a guitar. I got my first guitar at age 12, and started writing songs at fifteen. First off I wanted to be Ace Frehley, then Keith Richards. Keith was closely followed by Mr Springsteen, then James Hetfield. The good news is that right now I just wanna be me.
6 March 2014
If you’re a creatively-minded arts junkie, you could do no wrong by checking out the new and fresh website, Mojo Junction. A combination of arts, music, food and culture, as well as a stack of other things, it is quickly becoming one of the most talked about pages on the Australian interwebs today. Jane Hole, or Aurora Jane as she is better known, is the creative brain behind the project, and I recently sat down with Aurora to find out a little about it and where it is likely to develop to into the future.
6 March 2014
Monique Brumby has achieved a lot in her career: she’s a two-time ARIA winner, played shows alongside the legendary Jeff Buckley and The Bangles and written a song with Paul Kelly. But despite all these successes she’s definitely not afraid to mix it up and try new things. The release this month of her 5th (and self-titled) album sees an addition of electronic sounds to her repertoire – something that her fans are embracing.
6 March 2014
That hair, those eyes, the rhymes – it’s safe to say Melbourne-based rapper Allday is pretty hot right now. His busy schedule will take him to four different states over the next couple of weeks, so during some rare downtime we caught up for a chat.
6 March 2014
Rumour has it there ain’t no party like a Dub Inc party! These French reggae roots revivalists are credited with single-handedly reviving the dancehalls across France, so it makes sense their Australian debut is part of the world’s biggest party: Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD Festival. We caught up with drummer Grégory “Zigo” Mavridorakis ahead of their first show.
6 March 2014
British India are currently on tour with Hunters and Collectors and Something For Kate and things are “groovy” in the world of Declan Melia, lead singer and guitarist for the band as he talks from their rehearsal room in Preston whilst in the writing stages for the follow-up to their highly successful fourth album Controller, which is most likely to see the light of day towards the end of 2014/2015.
6 March 2014
Sadly the summer festival season is drawing to a close, but rather than staying in, early nights and re-runs, it’s time to look to the future – viva la Future Music Festival. This year, organisers have promised that the production will blow our minds, and they’ve managed to wrangle some of the world’s most electrifying acts, from Eric Prydz to Pharrell, Deadmau5 to Phoenix. Fold Aussie-born EDM darlings the Stafford Brothers into the mix and you have yourself one helluva farewell to summer.
20 February 2014
For Emily Lubitz, family and music seem to go hand in hand: her brother Jesse is the guitarist in their band Tinpan Orange, she is married to the Cat Empire’s Harry Angus and their two-year-old son has already been to more gigs and festivals than most people will in their lifetime. And while Lubitz and Angus both being in successful bands is great, it can be hard to find time together, but they’ve found a simple solution – book the same gigs.
20 February 2014
This week sees the release of Real Feel (out Feb 21 through Liberation), the sophomore album from Sydney band The Holidays. “We’re excited!” revealed frontman Simon Jones when he spoke with Forte ahead of the release. “We’ve had a lot of these songs for a really long time now, so we just can’t wait for people to hear them.”
20 February 2014
In the late eighties/early nineties, Nick Barker and the Reptiles were one of the biggest bands in the Australian music scene. With two top forty albums – Goin’ to Pieces and After the Show – they were at the top of the game. One of the main players on the Friday billing at Motor City Music Festival, Nick Barker and the Heartache State are bringing a string of new tunes, but Nick also assures me that your old favourites such as ‘Timebomb’ and ‘Make Me Smile’ will get a guernsey as well. Ahead of rocking out the Southern Cross stage, I caught up with the man to have a chat about his illustrious career.
20 February 2014
John Butler has just released his latest album entitled Flesh and Blood. A combination of his previous works, Flesh and Blood is Butler’s most ambitious release to date. Produced by Jan Skubiszewski – longtime collaborator with Owl Eyes – Flesh and Blood is taking a different direction. Off around the country in support of the album throughout March and April, I recently got the opportunity to sit down with John to have a chat about the different direction and sound of the band.
20 February 2014
The Smith Street Band is one of those bands that you hear and from the very first moment you are hooked. With an energetic stage show and some killer tunes, they are definitely developing into a special live experience. With two studio albums under their belt (The Smith Street Band and Sunshine and Technology) as well as an EP entitled Don’t F*ck With Our Dreams, this is a band on the edge of super stardom – although you would probably say that they have already made it after just one look at their CV. In the lead up to their first show of the tour, I caught up with lead songwriter and frontman for the group, Wil Wagner, for a chat.
20 February 2014
Although it may be clichéd to say, after considerable research and having a chat to Hollie Smith ahead of her performance at the upcoming Apollo Bay Music Festival, I think it’s fair to say that she is definitely one of the most creative and successful musicians to come out of New Zealand in recent years – if not ever. Lorde and the Finn brothers are obviously up the top of the list too when you think of the greatest NZ acts of all time, but having shared the stage with Bob Dylan and Coldplay as well as Fat Freddy’s Drop, I can say with confidence that Smith is definitely one talented lady.
20 February 2014
30 Seconds to Mars are not scared to dream big and shoot for the stars. Whether that means putting those stars in their music video, or reaching them in space rockets, the band certainly aren’t afraid to do things their own way. Their always extravagant music videos went one step further last year when they recruited some of Hollywood’s most controversial stars – Kanye West and Lindsay Lohan to name a couple – for their ‘City of Angels’ clip.
