INTERVIEW: KATIE WIGHTON // KIT

We jumped on for an e-interview with Kit // Katie Wighton from All Our Exes Live In Texas, about her recent jump to a solo debut and her latest release, her influences, the change to livestream shows to replace live gigs during isolation, and what she’s looking forward to once everything calms down.

Where did the name 'Kit' come from - is it just a nickname you went with or was it specifically chosen as a solo stage name?
It was specifically chosen for my solo stage name :) I was just writing down all the letters in my name and it kept popping up. I made a font by writing out all the letters and I really liked the way KIT looked together. I wish it was a better story tbh..!

 What triggered the jump to a solo act?
I had been writing some pretty rocky music and when Exes took a break from touring and playing loads, it just felt really right to start working on my solo stuff. Music is my outlet and I didn’t want that to stop just because my band were taking a break. :)

 Following your new single and music video for 'Good Guy', how would you actually describe what you believe are traits of a real good guy? Have you met many 'good guys' (the 'actually I'm a bad guy' ones)?
Haha this is a great question! I think the traits of an ACTUAL good guy would be a willingness to own their mistakes; self-awareness; a desire to learn from the women around them and strong female role models; someone who calls out bad behaviour in a positive, non-violent way - especially with their friends and someone who listens to women. 

I have unfortunately met a few ‘good guys’ which is a real shame. I mean the ones who have high-profiles are the worst because they teach other men that they can behave badly and get away with it. But I also have a lot of genuine good guys in my life, so that gives me hope! 

We heard that you performed with the first-ever streamed virtual version of Live Lounge through Instagram recently with a bunch of Collarts students and other artists. We missed it, unfortunately, but how did it go?
It was really lovely!! I teach at Collarts and so it was really nice to perform to some of my students. I really love performing and I actually miss it so so much. I only got to do ONE band show with KIT BC (before Corona) and so I am really looking forward to doing another when this whole thing gets lost.  

You're also planning your own live stream for your single launch show with Bonnie Songs, Nancie Schipper & Hannah Blackburn via Instagram in a week's time. We've obviously seen a lot of live streams being pulled together for similar shows and 'tours', with even a few international artists jumping on board for Isol-Aid, etc. Is this something you're enjoying, and what are your thoughts on the whole situation? How is it singing to/interacting with a digital audience in that way?
I really am! My friend Merpire started Isol-Aid with some other incredible women and I remember her calling me and saying “I have this idea…” and I was like, “Dude. This is huge.” And it is! I absolutely love the idea of inclusive gigs. I think festivals like Isol-Aid have inadvertently stumbled upon a whole bunch of people who have actually been left out of live music for a long time. People who are unable to leave their homes for whatever reason. And I really hope that after this we remember those people and keep including them. 

Digital audiences are very different I think because you’re hearing their thoughts! You never get 200 people watching you and saying lovely things. Partly because people are too shy and partly because it would be rude to talk so much during a gig! So I think it’s a really positive thing to come out of a real crap situation. 

 Are there any other artist's live streams that you're looking out for/forward to?
My friend Merpire (bloody banging on about her but I adore her so I am not gonna stop) is doing a live stream in the next week - I’m not quite sure when - and her music is just incredible. James Seymour plays and lives with her so I’m sure he’ll be jumping in and that’s so fun to watch at the moment when most of us can’t play music with our bandmates! 

Biggest influences - personal and/or professional/musical?
Ooh another good question! I think personally I would say my mum. She has an incredibly strong character. She’s kind, honest, generous and stands up for what she believes in. Honesty has always been rewarded in my family and I’m really grateful for that! 

I would say I’m really inspired by my colleagues at Collarts too. They’re all really great teachers and musicians - no egos which is rare and incredible to be a part of!  

What songs would you include in a Top 5 Isolation Bangers playlist to perk up your day?
OMG Okay. Juice by Lizzo FOR SURE. How can that not get you dancing?

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World. Those lyrics “It just takes some time, little girl you’re in the middle of the ride everything, everything will be alright” are so damned appropriate atm!  

In 5 years time after coronavirus calms down, what are your plans once we’re allowed out of isolation? What have you been missing most during this time?
5 years?! IT HAD BETTER NOT BE FIVE BLOODY YEARS. Ummmm my friends. For sure. I’m an extrovert which means I really need groups of people to hang with - not just one or two which is pretty much impossible at the moment. I also miss gigs and leaving Brunswick and camping and kissing and hugging and touching!! 

 Do you find you write better in times of isolation and on your own, or when you're able to collaborate/be with/around others?
I think I write better when I have the mental space to write. At the moment, I’m still working HEAPS which is so amazingly lucky but it doesn’t leave me much brain space for writing. I love co-writing with people too so I can’t wait to get back into that in a few months time! 

 How many times does it take for you to listen to a song that you love before you actually hate it instead (or the other way around)? Are there any/many songs this happens with?
Hahahaha, well I did an insta-choir version of Two Strong Hearts (where people sent me videos of themselves playing along to a cover of it that I did) and by the end of that week I needed a break from that song. But I’m back in now - didn’t take very long, haha.

Finally, and this one is important, so please pay attention. On average, how many times a week do you hurt yourself trying to dance in the shower?
Well I don’t even try to dance in the shower because I just KNOW I’d fall over and knock out my teeth on the bath. Or worse - scrape my back on the tap when I stood up!! 

Seriously though, final question; what now / what’s next? Anything in the works for after the single launch? Or outside of that, what's the next thing you've got going on in general that you're looking forward to?
I plan to release a couple more singles this year and then an album next year which is bloody exciting. Apart from that I’m looking forward to hanging out with my friends and seeing my mum and getting out of the city :)

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Thanks so much to Katie for her time answering our strange questions (we’re losing our minds a little in isolation), and be sure to check out Good Guy and her next livestream this Friday (April 17)!

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GRETA STANLEY’S ULTIMATE ISOLATION PLAYLIST

We’ve been in chats with Greta in talks about her most recent release ‘Soak Into This’, and she’s also given us her top 10 tracks for her ‘Ultimate Isolation Playlist’.

Check out the press release for ‘Soak Into This’ HERE and check out the playlist below!

“These are just a bunch of songs I love, that I never get sick of. Some make me sad, some make me happy, some make me think of the people I love, some just make me think!  A few of them are by some of my incredibly wonderful friends, so they're a bit extra special.”

Daggyman - What You Desire

Pasta - Angie Mcmahon

Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers

Rosemary Mushrooms - Jack Davies and The Bush Chooks

Sunday News - Colie

Rare Hearts - The Growlers 

Easy Easy - King Krule

With The Fire - Tayla Young

Exactly How You Are - Ball Park Music

Good For You - Alana Wilkinson 

FOLLOW GRETA STANLEY
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GROOVY LOCAL GALS - THE SPAGHETTI STAINS

The Spaghetti Stains, who describe themselves as ‘three Gippsland gumnuts slapping strings and hitting buckets’ have JUST released two brand new tracks and we can’t help but love ‘em for it.

“2018 saw the fruition of The Spaghetti Stains, an all-female three piece band with a sound derived from alternative/indie and surf rock origins, comprising of members Pantjiti Lawrence, Emmah Hellings and Rosie Verey. Their upbeat vibe blends with soulful, and at times hauntingly captivating, harmonies.”

’Route 16’ and ‘Lolly' Boys’ are both amazing alt-indie-rock vibes, along with their previous debut release ‘Toast to the Coast’, that will help you get through the social isolation of this COVID-19 season.

Check it all out on their Bandcamp HERE or their Spotify HERE

Check em out in our all-locals playlist HERE, and go give em some love on our behalf!

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A CHAT WITH MARCUS POWELL FROM CITY OF SOULS - SYNAESTHESIA

Kiwi alt-rockers City Of Souls lay down the gauntlet in 2020 with their brand new single ‘Shimmer’ from their upcoming album SYNAESTHESIA - out on May 1!

One of New Zealand’s most reputable acts, City Of Souls was formed in August 2015 by guitarists Trajan Schwencke (Cold by Winter, In Dread Response) and Steve Boag (In Dread Response, Blacklistt). Vocalist Richie Simpson (New Way Home) found their existing tracks immediately captivating and joined the band. Guitarist Marcus Powell (founding member of multi-platinum bands Blindspott and Blacklistt) then joined, and the line-up was complete with Daniel Insley on Bass (Solstate) and Drummer Corey Friedlander (In Dread Response / 8 Foot Sativa).

We had a little e-chat with Marcus to find out all about the development of the band’s upcoming release ‘Synasthaesia’, his favourite type of MnM’s, COS’s version of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, time travel, and what’s coming next!

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‘Synaesthesia’ is COS’s first full album release – what has the full writing and recording process been like in that sense? How different is it to putting out a lone single at a time?
It has varied a lot. Some songs were in their complete form from individual members and got the screws tightened on them. Others were a collaborative effort.  I prefer the latter although both can work, but being able to listen to one another and let go of your own agenda or inhibitions to jam is one of the biggest joys in music. Connection. 

The music video for that same track ‘Shimmer’ is oddly quite visually intense and seems almost claustrophobic with all of the heavy visuals and camera movement. How was that video put together and how did you decide on such a harmonious visual theme throughout the rest of your videos?
Interesting you felt the claustrophic vibe. The theme of the song is escaping a space you are trapped in so I was hoping to visually represent that in shape and movement. 

I was keen on a video with silhouettes and none of the typical close up hi res footage of people's hands playing or plugging in a guitar lead and moshing in an abandoned warehouse. Those performance videos can really make you look like a rockquest band. Marko from Delirium VF and the lads absolutely nailed it. 

The album name ‘Synaesthesia’ – where did that come from/why was that particular word chosen?
Some people say they can hear in colour, it's called Synaesthesia. I don't have it but our guitarist Steve does. There are a lot of different moods and textures on the album so it's a fitting name. I would prefer to be able to smell sounds! Is that a thing? Smellythesia doesn't have the same ring to it though, haha!

Is there anything particularly different to previous City Of Souls releases that we should expect on the rest of the upcoming album?
I think the newer songs, some of which haven't been heard yet definitely have a flow and cohesion to them that you can expect to hear more of from us as we grow and learn. 

Is there a favourite track on the upcoming record? What is it and why?
Not really there are too many I like! White Ghost, Cruelty, Lifeblood and Shimmer are probably standouts for me. There's something super special about Brushstrokes though... it breaks my heart every time. Extremely personal song and we haven't thrashed it to death live. 

Which are the better M&M’s – crispy, peanut, or just classic plain chocolate (and yes, there is a right answer)?
Plain chocolate aaallll daaaaee... If I want peanuts and rice I'll eat peanuts and rice, those aren't treats. Chocolate is a treat. 

In a previous interview at the end of last year with HeavyMag, it was said that the album was to be released in February this year (assuming we’ve actually found the right info) – we can see in the current press release it’s changed to May. What happened between then and now to create such a delay in the release?
It was a planning thing really. We wanted to be at the height of a touring run before it released so we booked all that in, including playing with Deftones. Now with covid that's all been binned. We're still going to release May 1st though. We have a really cool approach to physical copies and special content that we're super excited to share with everyone. Also the art work and design is absolutely killer. 

You published your version of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ last year – as brand newbies to City of Souls, we gotta ask- what provoked that song choice/the idea to record your own heavier version? And what was it like recreating such a staple record?
That was all Trajan. He obviously heard how large it could sound and how far away we could take it from the lofi original. I have never listened to that band in all honesty but I dig what he did with the song and could hear how I'd fit into it. 

Having supported names like Stone Sour and Bring Me the Horizon, would you say these names give an accurate impression of your own inspirations and influences? Who would you say are your biggest influences and inspirations– musically or otherwise?
I would like to be as big as those two bands. I would say stylistically neither of them for me. I can't speak for the other dudes but I'm influenced vocally by early Devin Townsend, Tool, Alice In Chains, Deftones and a lot of space rock, shoe gaze post hardcore kinda stuff. 

That's a very condensed lense though I draw from a multitude of other bands in terms of riff writing and singing. I try and stay away from the obvious ones that have already been plundered or at least mix everything up in a way that's not recognisable. 

Cannibal Corpse or Napalm Death has influenced certain elements of my guitar playing for example but most wouldn't hear it in the context I use it in. 

Who would be your dream headliner to support for a show?
Pink Floyd circa 1974 or Metallica 1989 time travelling between the two. I'd hope to have another album out though so we could alter sets accordingly 

You were also supposed to have been supporting Deftones on their upcoming tour around Australia and NZ – will you still be supporting them on rescheduled shows after the recent cancellations?
We're just waiting on them to re schedule here. Hopefully they'll have us for a full tour!!! 

We’re just recently skimming the surface in our own research of New Zealand musical acts- especially in the alt rock scene. What are some of your personal recommendations/favourites?
In all honesty Jakob are the only NZ band that gets regular spins. They have a really centred, spiritual and magical sound. Pure emotion expressed through music and classic natural production and mix, it's like watching a sunset, just washing over you and accompanying you. 

Check out the song Malachite, although there are gems on every album. 20 years they've been releasing music, lovely dudes too. Big fan.

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Thanks so much to Marcus for chatting with us (although disagree on the MnM’s front— it’s gotta be thecrispy ones for us).

Check out ‘Shimmer’ now and get ready for ‘Synaesthesia’, out May 1st.

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INTERVIEW WITH JAKE MARRA - ‘THE DAY THAT YOU LEFT’ DEBUT

One of Australia’s most exciting new pop artists Jake Marra recently announced his magnetic debut single The Day That You Left, a hard-hitting track that details the wave of emotions that follows a significant loss, and how it feels to be drowning in the swell.  This magnetic single is out now and our gal Selin chatted to Jake about his debut, his influences, and what’s up next for the Aussie singer and producer.

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Where did it all begin?
“I’m gonna narrow it down to 2010, when I started my first YouTube channel. I started uploading mashups I produced, purely for fun. I hadn’t started officially singing yet but that was my way of dipping my toes into the world of music. In 2015, I produced a mashup of Ariana Grande’s “One Last Time” and Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” which went viral. I had articles written about me by Billboard, MTV, and Teen Vogue to name a few.

In an interview with Ariana Grande, Ryan Seacrest asked if she’d heard it, to which she replied

“I’m obsessed with it! Whoever did that is a genius”.

After that happened, I started to take myself a lot more seriously as a musician and finally started to believe that I had something to offer. “

What’s your sound like?
“It’s pure pop. Heavy beats, pulsing synths, catchy melodies and stacked harmonies. Everything you’ve come to know and love about pop music over the last 40 years, condensed into a perfect pop package!”

Your debut single, The Day That You Left delves into Robyn and Troye Sivan territory – all whilst creating your own unique, exciting pop sound. Can you tell us a little bit about this single, and the writing processes behind it?
“That’s such a huge compliment, and I’m so glad it translated because Troye Sivan and Robyn are some of my greatest inspirations when it comes to my own music. “The Day That You Left” was a happy accident. I was in the studio with Ben Oldland trying to breathe new life into an old track which I wasn’t happy with. I wasn’t really feeling, so we stopped and started from scratch. He started this bass line that immediately drew me in. It happened so organically, nothing felt forced, we were just two musicians bouncing ideas back and forth and before we knew, we created a full-blown pop banger!” 

What would you like people to keep in mind whilst listening to this song?
“The overall theme is ‘Loss’, and I intentionally wrote it in a way that doesn’t detail a single experience specifically. I’ve experienced loss in so many different ways over the years. Friendships falling apart. Love interests walking away. This song captures the feeling of denial that comes after loss. Not being able to move forward, pretending it didn’t happen, replaying old conversations over and over in your head. It’s something most of us can relate to, as much as we wish we couldn’t. When you listen to it, you’re gonna think of your person. Your experience. That’s the beauty of not only this song, but music in general. It can be interpreted in a way that’s unique to each individual.”  

If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be and why?
”My answer to this question changes every day! Haha. Today, I’m gonna go with Troye Sivan. I remember watching Troye grow up on YouTube, coming out, releasing absolute BOPS and going on to be an incredibly strong and vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community. I respect him as an artist and as a human being and I would love to be able to work on a song with him. Channel our queer energies into the ultimate bop!“

 What’s in store for the remainder of 2020?
”I think I’m just going to be hiding away and recording a bunch of music. I’ve got a few songs almost finished, one of which I’m hoping to release before the end of the year, and a heap of ideas that I want to explore further. I’m only very early into my musical journey and the creative process is so exciting, I really just want to enjoy it. Be in the moment and not take any of it for granted. “ 

Where’s the best place to find your music?
“Take your pick! Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes. Wherever you like to enjoy your music, I’ve got you covered!”

Check out ‘The Day That You Left’ and heaps of other amazing Aussie/NZ artists in our very own all-local Spotify playlist now!

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HOW TO SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS, INDUSTRY WORKERS, AND YOURSELF DURING THE COVID-19 APOCALYPSE

BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE WE’RE AT RIGHT NOW…

Unfortunately, given the current world situation, we’re all being told to lock up shop and give up on any attempts at public socialising for the next few months. This means that many MANY people are out of a lot of work - artists, bookers, venue workers, managers, plenty of general hospitality staff, the list goes on. So, what can we do to support each other in this super f*cking weird time?

STREAM STREAM STREAM
As many artists have been promoting, streaming and purchasing music (and merchandise!) is the main - and potentially only, really - way to support artists right now. With the majority of live events being canceled, largely due to capacity limits (now brought down to 100px for indoor events) artists and crew aren’t making back huge amounts of dosh that were previously planned for. Chuck ya favourite artists on repeat, and if you can, go ahead and buy that band shirt/album/cap/vinyl/various other merchandise items that you’ve been thinking about for months.

Spotify also pays a higher percentage to artists from streams from paid-membership accounts so again, if you can, stop putting off getting yourself a premium account, and stream, stream, stream.

Check out our Spotify playlist full of all-Aussie (and a few NZ) acts HERE and get yo’ streamin’ on.

CHECK OUT MY BANDCAMP, DUDE
Spotify and iTunes/Apple Music aren’t our only resources though! Go buy an album from the tonnes of unearthed artists on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Bandcamp, in particular, are making a big move, waiving their revenue cut from any purchases made on March 20th (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, which is 18 hours behind AEDT - for those of you on most of the south-east coast of Australia right now, that means 6pm Friday 20th through to 6pm Saturday 21st). What does that mean? It means that the artists are going to be receiving the FULL amount you pay for the purchase during those hours.

While your five streams on a song aren’t going to replace the fee from a major gig or festival slot, if there are thousands just like you and I, it could be the difference between paying rent or not. This will also help the involved studio musicians, songwriters, engineers, and producers get a little extra cash as well.

DON’T SKIP THE ADS Y’ALL
If you’re consuming through YouTube - DON’T SKIP THE ADS. Turn off that adblocker, get yo’ mouse away from that ‘skip’ button, and just give your extra 10 seconds to allow that monetized video to actually earn something for the artist/creator of the actual video.

SHARE SHARE SHARE
Share your fave artist/band’s latest (or not-so-latest) releases. Let more people know about all the awesome music you’ve got stockpiled, like a panicking boomer and their TP. Share articles like this to let others know what they can do to help. Share your own works - who knows, you might go viral, you might brighten someones day with new creative content, you might even inspire others to create - and in times like these, our imagination and creation is all we have and that can often go either way, lets’ try and keep it somewhat productive and positive.

KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES - or don’t
Thanks to the amazing technological development that is The Internet, we are able to keep up with consistent live updates from all around the world. While it is often something to be marveled, times like these combined with the frenetic nature of our news media, means that not all news is entirely accurate or helpful. Be sure to keep yourself updated with things like symptoms to look out for, new laws coming into place (such as the new event capacity limits), areas and behaviours of higher risk, and where to get your TP and pasta from, but please, if you know in yourself that negative, world-ending-style news and media isn’t great for your personal health, then perhaps avoid social media and do your best to accommodate for yourself - which leads us to our next point…

IF YOU’RE GONNA GO OUT, KEEP IT LOCAL, KEEP IT CLEAN
Do your best to support the local, independent stores. whether that be book and music stores, cafes and restaurants, small grocers, butchers…on and on. Keep it local where you can and obviously do your best to keep yourself clean, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands before, during, and after any outdoor adventures.

DISTRACT AND RELAX
No, I’m not talking to you, ScoMo - now is not the time for you to a) use this ‘pandemic’ as a distraction from your oil rigs or b) pretend this isn’t happening at all and go on a holiday. What we mean is, for those who struggle with anxiety and a range of other mental health issues that can be triggered and worsened in times like these, now is the time to crack out your own personal distractions and relaxations. Video Games? Go for it. Colouring books? Colour away! Visual art or musical creation - get on that sh*t. Solo dance party in your lounge like nobody’s watching? You guessed it. Although many of us are indeed out of work and do have a lot of stress to, well, stress about, now is also the time to take advantage of the current quarantine state of things and give some time to yourself - we literally can’t do anything else. Chuck on some music, go and sit in the sunshine (if you have some right now), read a book, eat some strawberries (seriously, why are there so many strawberries in stores right now?), slap on a face mask, make a cup of tea, draw, write, game - do whatever it is you can that will help you calm down and get you through the next few weeks as the news continues to develop. And as always, remember to sit up and adjust your posture, relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and breathe.

TREATMENT

Of course, we are in no way medical professionals, so please keep an eye on yourself and your loved ones and seek medical attention if you feel the need to.

For those in Australia, there is a 24-hour Coronavirus dedicated information line to call if you want advice before seeking an actual GP appointment - we would recommend using this line unless you are clearly ill and needing assistance as many doctors, clinics, and ER’s are being filled with many people who have a simple cold, taking appointments away from people who are seriously suffering - COVID-19 or otherwise.

Please call this number for phone assistance and advice regarding COVID-19:
1800 020 080

Please read up here for further information on symptoms, when to seek treatments, and other info and resources, and of course do your own research - but PLEASE, do not panic, do not bulk-buy items you do not need, and treat those who are still working during these times with the utmost respect - they’re human too and are doing their best to help the rest of us out.

Here’s a list of the major music industry developments and cancellations thus far, but of course there is always more to come.

Here at the BackBeat, we will try to bring you regular content as per usual - but given the circumstances certain guests and planned content will be impossible to provide for now. We are taking care of ourselves and we encourage you to do the same, and while we will do our best to keep you updated on our end, please check out this handful of other local music-based podcasts to keep you and your ears satisified;

What We Did On The Weekend
Backbone Sunday Sessions Podcast
The Loud Hour Podcast
Wall Of Sound
The Mosh Zone
The Killer Set Podcast
Our Mosh Pit

GROOVY LOCAL GALS - YERGURL

Victoria’s teen queen, yergurl AKA Fae Scott, is a songwriter, vocalist and producer, making dreamy pop beats in her bedroom.

Yergurl describes the moments of growing up as a rebellious teen and explores the power emotions have over hormonal adolescents, through confronting, raw and honest lyrics. Yergurl’s unique story-telling is paired with atmospheric synths, lo-fi beats and layered, reverb-laden vocals to create pop you could swim in.

Yergurl’s unique sound is derived from her life-long appreciation for pop music, and takes inspiration from the 80s, to horrorcore, alt rock, and the works of The 1975, Charli XCX and Lana Del Rey.

Most recently, yergurl has been peppin’ it up at St Kilda Fest 2020, just before her featured release with Mars And Bones, her announcement of her place on the bill for Grampians Music Festival, and (the part that we think is the coolest tbh) her feature on the cover of Beat Magazine.

“It’s a sound that’s dreamy, atmospheric, other worldy and heavily rooted in pop. It’s a fully immersive and emotive ride that has darkness, radiance and everything in between. If you were to look into space with a ritzy telescope, you’d see yergurl in the middle of the galaxy, lounging on the rings of Saturn.” -Declan Byrne, Triple J

Starting out as an independent bedroom creative from Bendigo, Yergurl has been slowly but surely making her way up the rankings, becoming a Triple J Unearthed finalist, scoring various festival performances and her first headlining show in late 2019, and regularly updating her socials with new covers (including her latest dreamy cover of Metro Station’s ‘Shake It’) and original songs to keep us comin’ back.

You can catch her tracks also featured in our Spotify Playlist dedicated to all Aussie (and a few NZ) acts!

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GROOVY LOCAL GALS - YARA

We recently put together a small Instagram story series featuring a bunch of local gals who are killin’ it right now, doing what they love and doing it well. Here’s a more in-depth series-style look at each of those featured legends and a few more sick chicks we wanna mention! First up…

YARA

(also featured on our Industry News Page)

YARA (Yara Alkurd) is a Palestinian singer/songwriter with a melting pot of smooth sounds, stemming from jazz, soft RnB and neo-soul.

Yara is a personal friend of ours who has seen some serious ups and downs but consistently keeps her head held high and keeps smashin’ it* out of the park (* - ‘it’ being her personal and musical achievements, and well, everything else she does). We love this gal and can not WAIT to see what she does in the next few months…years…forever… Yara is a shining example of what it means to do what you love, do it well, and do it regardless of what others may say/do to see your downfall, in both personal and professional scenes. Seriously, she’s the bomb dot com.

Following a rewarding yet strenuous upbringing at the heart of the Gaza strip, Yara migrated to Australia in 2009, to the small Victorian town of Colac. Learning english from countless hours of western television, she found herself hopelessly in love with the language and in particular, the music.

Yara’s been heavily influenced by the sounds of Amy Winehouse, Lianne La Havas, Emily King, H.E.R and Snoh Aalegra. She made the move to Melbourne to study and pursue music, which is where she founded her 7 piece band and is now an active musician in the Melbourne scene. She’s since worked with the likes of Eliott, Velvet Bloom, Emma Volard, SKŸE, Rara Zulu, Meiwa, The Senegambiant Jazz Band and Jack The Fox.

YARA’s very excited to be releasing her first track, ‘Man Hater’, into the world. According to her, it’s a piece about the poor way in which society treats women, specifically outspoken women, who request change.

“I’ve experienced an uncomfortable amount of difficult encounters with men in my life, which have been unpleasant to say the least, but what has been even more problematic are the people (men and women) who witness these situations, stand by and do nothing, or worse, dehumanise those who stand up for themselves and call them man haters”

YARA ’s debut single ‘Man Hater’ is to be released on the 8th of March 2020 (International Women’s Day).

LOVE FOR MAN HATER

“I just love the contrast between the lighter instrumental mixed with heavier, real talk. It’s like you've mixed pissed off with joy to make it more musically digestible, but topically not holding back.” - SKŸE

“So beautifully written - with such a strong message that EVERYONE needs to hear. Your melodies and voice are like honey. This one’s gonna be in my head for a while.” -Eliott

“It’s like you’ve got some real Billie Eilish tonal qualities but in this soul genre. And In terms of lyrical tone and mood it’s really unapologetic, and you’re really owning the space you’re in and not apologising for yourself.” -Sannia

You can also catch Yara on our next episode, to be released the weekend of International Women’s Day - keep your eyes peeled for that one, we’re pumped.

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ICYMI: BackBeat’s Spotify Playlist - Full Of Local Goodies

Ecca Vandal

In case you missed it; the BackBeat has put together a playlist to end all Aussie playlists (…maybe). We think it’s pretty cool anyway.

Featuring both well-knowns and a bunch of unearthed gems, ‘The Back Beat’ includes a mix of releases we’ve covered in our News Updates, as well as a bunch of local artists that we’re just personally diggin’ at the moment! Tunes from artists like Tonight Alive, Tame Impala, Spacey Jane, Stella Donnelly, The Kite String Tangle, Ocean Grove, and of course, The Veronicas, all the way to more local lesser-knowns (but still just as eargasm-ous) such as Velvet Bloom, Mia Rodriguez, Redferrie, Forever Renter, Astronaughty, Nothing Really, and Barefoot Bowls Club - and the list goes on!

Ocean Grove - Photo Credit: Bree Wallace

With already over 130 tracks added since it was initially pulled together in the first week of Feb, we know that there are plenty more to be included, so we’d love y’all to put your hand in and suggest some amazing local Australian (and maybe some cheeky NZ) artists and their tracks to add. Whether they’re super well known or totally new to the scene, if they’re Australian, we wanna hear about it! Hit. Us. Up.

In the meantime, get ya boogie on and give it a listen, pop it on shuffle and who knows, you might find your next favourite Aussie act - can confirm we already have!

LISTEN HERE

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BackBeat Season 2, Comin’ At You!

Photo: Falls Festival Byron Bay

Hello, and welcome to 2020!

We are well into the new year now and we’ve just uploaded our first episode of Season 2 for the new year! We want to wish you all a warm welcome into the new year, and if you’re new here, a warm welcome to us and the BackBeat podcast. We’re up to our 7th episode now, and we figured we’d start the new year with a new season too!

In this episode we’ve gone back to basics with just Jahmiele and Gabby havin’ a chat, recounting our previous episodes, our December of 2019 which featured Good Things Festival and New Years, along with our plans for BackBeat in 2020 - including some funky new announcements coming super soon!

We also briefly talk about our New Years resolutions and what we personally want to achieve - both within BackBeat and elsewhere. We’d love to know what your resolutions are, and what you’d like to see from us over the next 12 months. Whether that be particular topics, guests, interviews, reviews - whatever it may be, we wanna know! Contact us via email, Facebook, or Instagram and shoot us a message telling us what you’d like to see and hear from us., and while you’re at it, check out the latest episode and catch up on our previous episodes if you missed ‘em.

Listen To The Full Episode Here

We wanna send out a huge thanks to those who’ve followed and supported us so far. It’s been slow and steady but we’ve got a good feelin’ about it, and we’d love to see this get bigger and better in 2020 so don’t stop (me) now! We’ve got some big plans in the works and you don’t wanna miss out, I promise.

Much Love,
The BackBeat.

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Chats with; Jess and Jay - Don't Fret Club

In our most recent episode, we chatted to Jess Hope and Jay Wennington about, well, everything. Here’s a funky snippet where we talked about one of their primary projects (amongst many others, including Bad Seed Agency), Don’t Fret Club, a podcast about mental health in the music industry - what it is, how it came to be, and where it’s going next! Check out the full episode here.

When and why was Don’t Fret Club started?

JESS: It started about 4 years ago just before we moved out here. It basically started because I completely burnt out in the music industry, no other way to really describe it. But it was also kind of everywhere; it was in a lot of the interviews that I did, like mental health would always come up and at the time – it doesn’t really happen so much now but at the time it was always either edited out or glamourised, or I remember it becoming art of the taglines or headlines when it wasn’t really a major part of the story. I think back even 4 years ago people didn’t really know how to talk about it. I hadn’t really thought about doing a podcast, even podcasts weren’t big then, so I didn’t really even know how to do it, but it was the only way that it couldn’t be edited, we could kind of give people a platform.

The idea was to talk to musicians about topics related to mental health and it was kind of broad enough that people didn’t feel forced to say a certain thing or touch on a certain topic. And luckily, I obviously have relationships in the industry with managers and artists and people who knew the right people to be on it. So, we actually started the podcast with Jenna from Tonight Alive and obviously she was the perfect person to start with, she steered the convo as much as I did and was very open to that, but definitely when we started no one was talking about mental health in music honestly.

We’re still not completely, in terms of the wider music industry, but it was just to get the conversation out there and not have it changed or misguided or anything like that, it was exactly what people wanted to say. That being said, being a podcast format can be a bit tricky in the sense that a lot for the artists will come to us when they’re on their promo cycle or when they’re in the mind of being very positive, not really always ready to talk, so every interview is very different and 4 years on every conversation is new and kind of challenging because we have to put a lot of ourselves into it as well. In order for people to feel comfortable, we have to create that safe space and be quite honest and open, so there have been dips in it when I’ve personally been not feeling like I was in the place to do it or vice versa.

It’s definitely been well received here in Australia, and we’ve had artists from all over the world do it and luckily we can jump on the phone with them, but I always [preffered] the face to face time versus a 10-minute phoner - it’s kind of like, I’m not really willing to put someone in that position of having to go over delicate topics on the phone with someone they’ve not met, so a lot of the episodes are with people I know or have worked with a lot, or interviewed before, it was helpful that I had already done those things that so I had those relationships already there. It was basically something that I needed to hear, and nobody had made it yet.

There’s a hashtag ‘#ShreddingTheStigma’ that pops up a lot on your social media and the website, where did that come from?

JESS: We’ve done a lot of content and admittedly a lot of it isn’t even out there, we’re very protective of it and almost to our detriment a lot. We have a lot of videos and interviews and an almost finished documentary that’s just not out because we want it to be right and perfect, and we don’t want people to think that we’re trying to glamourize the topic, which since we launched has happened a lot. People launch clothing brands with ‘I Am Sad’ and they’re almost proud of that, and we’re very wary of the reception we were getting. Some people thought they kind of had to say that they were depressed so that they could be part of the club, which is not the case at all. So [Shredding The Stigma], it’s essentially what the future documentary will be called I think, tying it back to music and widening the conversation. A lot of it is around stigma and that people aren’t ready to talk about it or deal with it or kind of put in mechanisms for people to cope with it and that's at every level.  Like its artists, managers, labels, its people at the venue, everyone, and there are different kinds of stigma at every level. So, I guess the hashtag is an overall kind of thing, to kind of battle that in a way.

A lot of people kind of think that we're at the point where we can talk about it and that the stigma is not there, but I think that’s just not the case. Obviously, it is in certain cases, but so often we talk about it and there's no kind of repercussion or act after that - there's no aftercare if you like. So, we still think talking is what's needed to kind of lead to the next step.

Do people from the general public come to you, either in person or online, asking for advice or telling you their stories?

JESS: Kind of. The ‘zine fairs that we've done, I think was kind of us there and offering that space for people to come up, but a lot of the time if I've ever brought it up people don't really realize, that either it’s us or that we've done it, or we haven't put a lot of ourselves. It's weird because even though there's obviously a lot of me on the podcast whereas on our socials there’s not. You wouldn’t know the people behind it, and even that was a transition from in the UK when we started, my profile as a writer was bigger there, so when I moved here nobody knew me, nobody kind of connected me to the podcast, which is a good and bad thing. It’s obviously important to have that so that people feel comfortable [knowing who they’re talking to] but it’s also good not to have a single face because if someone doesn’t necessarily feel they can identify with me, I don’t want that to stop them finding something in the brand.

View this post on Instagram

Today is #worldmentalhealthday, here are some ways you can steadily help to manage your own mental health, even as they serve as a reminder on those difficult days. On days like today, it’s important to listen to yourself and your body, and if you feel overwhelmed or concerned, to speak to someone you trust about how you’re feeling. 💙

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Oct 9, 2019 at 3:09pm PDT

And that branding change that we’ve seen on the socials and the website, what boosted that to be changed?

JESS: I think selfishly we just needed something fresh because we've obviously been working with the same ‘creative’ if you like for four years. And also, I think it's been kind of done and other people have done it and we just wanted to broaden out and I think we almost want it to become, well I think it's naturally become a wellness general space. It's not necessarily a heavy music thing even. And I want to, because we've done other content like video and some written posts and obviously we did a ‘zine and that was super popular - I want to make sure that it's maybe not even just a podcast or it doesn't just rely on that content and that other people can start kind of putting their voice into it without me even needing to kind of interview or do a podcast or anything like that. And we've kind of built the community but I think it needs other voices, not just mine and the person I'm talking to at that time.

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Have you stumbled upon our Feel Good Playlist yet? It’s on @spotifyaunz with new additions from @thehardaches, @bugsbandau & @essieholtmusic! 💙 #nowplaying #playlist #feelgood #dontfretclub #positivity #posivibes #newmusic #ausmusic #wellness

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Sep 27, 2019 at 4:53am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Today is #worldmentalhealthday, here are some ways you can steadily help to manage your own mental health, even as they serve as a reminder on those difficult days. On days like today, it’s important to listen to yourself and your body, and if you feel overwhelmed or concerned, to speak to someone you trust about how you’re feeling. 💙

A post shared by Don't Fret Club (@dontfretclub) on Oct 9, 2019 at 3:09pm PDT

So you’ve been primarily covering the heavier music but you talk about interests elsewhere, where else would you like to see it go?

JESS: Yeah that's kind of happened just again because that's where my relationships with artists are and I want to make sure that they feel comfortable. But we've actually done one with Kwame which is only out it’s like a 30-second video. He's maybe the first hip hop artist we've done and we've had we've been given the option recently of a few more, we definitely want to do more within that kind of scene, but it’s just it’s making sure we really know the artists and that they’re comfortable and not just doing it in a 15-minute phoner when they’re allotted that time, because we’ve done that and it’s just not ideal for either party, you’re not given the time to really delve deep or explain who you are.

JAY: Yeah it is tricky because like Jess says, with the whole you kind not necessarily ‘stick to what you know’ but like, all of our friends and the connections we have are in a heavier world and I think it's hard sometimes for merit to translate into other genres. For example, just under a year ago we were lucky enough to have Corey Taylor on the podcast, and if we mentioned that to kind of anyone in the alternative scene obviously he's like royalty and we're very proud of that because it carries a certain level of merit to his name, but to someone in the hip-hop scene or like an urban scene or even a pop scene to an extent it perhaps doesn't quite carry the same thing as it does here. I do think that we both feel that we've kind of hit a bit of a glass ceiling with the genre, I mean we've done the frontman of one of the biggest bands in the world. I think Jess and I both agree that there's only one person that we would like to do more and that is Ozzy Osborne. I think once we had those two, we could die happy, we’d be done.

JESS: I've not actually thought about it until this moment, about what he'd say, but I think the best ones we've had are where people have no inhibitions and say how it is and have a lot of stories to tell.

GABBY: I feel like he'd be an open book.

JAY: Definitely, though I'm not sure what language that book would be written in.
But yeah, I don't know. It's a good question. I don't know where it's going to go next and I think that's why we feel like internally we feel like we've perhaps plateaued slightly because we're a bit confused in ourselves where it's even going to go next.

JESS: We are very protective. We want to make sure it's done for the right reasons. We've had lot of offers from bands which obviously is amazing that people want to be involved but I always kind of want to make sure it's in their interests as much as ours and if someone's mentioned anxiety in one song on one album, it doesn't mean they're going to want to sit there and talk to Don't Fret which is absolutely fine. We’re kind of we're getting ready to record what I'm calling a second season. We've had a bit of a rebrand we'll finally bring the documentary out and then I think we'll just see where the conversation’s at and what people want Don't Fret to be and go from there let people kind of take it for what they want it to be.

We’d like to say a huge thanks to Jess and Jay, and all of our other guests, for dropping by and lending their time to chat with us .

Listen to this and more in the entire interview with Jess and Jay, in the full episode here, give them a follow below, check out our past episodes and stay tuned for our next one (and last one for 2019!) with Laura Imbruglia!

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Jahmiele: "What This Is Actually About"

Photo Credit: Bree Wallace

So we’re just over 1 month into our official debut of The BackBeat - and it’s early days, I thought I’d take a moment to delve a little deeper into what it is we hope to achieve here, and what you can expect from us.

The Big Picture

We want to create a resource for everyone in the music industry, put together by everyone in the music industry. While this is definitely a passion project for the both of us, this is also something that we hope will turn into somewhat of an entertaining educational tool for all aspects of the community. Whether you’re interested in live events, booking, recording, touring, management, publicity, performing & actually creating music and/or entertainment, or anything else, we aim to dig into it and find out what makes those cogs turn.

Why?

Originally, this project was (and technically, still is) a project for my final trimester of university at Collarts, and like anything else I do, it’s go big or go home, so here we are.

But seriously.

Ideally, the world would be a pure, transparent, honest, and kind place where everything is fair and justified and true - unfortunately, that is often not the case, and the music industry is no different. Don’t get me wrong, I love the industry. I love being a part of it, as both a consumer and a creator. I’m grateful that I’ve been born into a generation where we are so lucky to have the things we do have, including the modern music industry. I am. However, there’s just a lot of…well, dodgy sh*t. Everywhere. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors and misinformation. There are people struggling to get by because they can’t keep their head above water - financially, mentally, the list goes on. There’s also a lot of amazing things. There’s sometimes so much to learn and do and see that sometimes it all seems a little too good to be true - sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t and you’re truly blown away and blessed by your experiences, but sometimes…just sometimes, you gotta learn the hard way that not all is as it seems in the land of dreams.

…What?

Sorry, nevermind.
My point is - there’s a LOT going on out there, and sometimes you can feel lost in the current and genuinely not know what the heck is going on. I’ve been lucky enough thus far to (more-or-less) know what I want, and what I want to do with myself and my life. I am painfully aware, however, that that’s rarely the case for many people. I want to bring together everyone who has (again, more-or-less) figured it out for themselves and can pass on their wise words, to help the newbies who’re coming into it blind.

Photo Credit: James Proctor

Thinking about it, I felt like there wasn’t really something that pulled that all together in one place; there are plenty of mentor programs out there (like The Push’s Music Industry Mentor Program, which I was lucky enough to participate in myself), and there are a few random forums and a bunch of courses out there to help you specialise in whatever it is you choose to do - but the problem there is…what if you don’t know what you want to…choose to do?

What I’m Trying To Say Is…

I want this to be an entertaining yet informational support hub of sorts; for music fans, for those who are even just slightly interested in entering the industry, for music and industry pros, and everyone everywhere and in between. I want this to be entertaining and educational. I want this to provide knowledge, comfort, assistance. I want to ask the questions that everyone really wants to ask, find out the things you really want to know - and maybe even the things you didn’t know you wanted to know - and do it all in a space that is safe, comfortable, and real for everyone involved, without all the bullsh*t. Most of all, I want it to be honest.

So, Thanks In Advance.

Thank you for reading, liking, following, listening, sharing, whatever it is you may have done or do for us while we get things rolling. Thank you for supporting Australian music and arts, whether that be through buying an album, streaming a song, sharing a local band with your friends - whatever you do, keep doing it. This could very easily flop on its face - but we’ll do our best. We at least owe ourselves that.

Stay hydrated, and keep streamin’.

-Jahmiele

Introductions

Photo Credit: Bree Wallace

The BackBeat Podcast.

Monthly episode updates on the Australian Music Industry, direct to your ears. Featuring interviews and performances with guest artists and industry pro's, letting you know what really goes on behind the scenes.

BackBeat Podcast aims to bring the behind-the-scenes of the Australian Music industry to the audience, with an entertaining yet honest, transparent look into all facets of the industry, all while bringing new local music to new ears.

We’re working out the kinks here, but we hope you’ll stick around - we promise we’ve got a great playlist for the ride.