MEET SIDNEY ROSE: MELBOURNE’S NEW INDIE-POP TRAILBLAZER

Pictured: Sidney Rose has made the most of lockdown, with her new single, Guarantee Image: Sarah Caust 

For some artists, the push and pull of Melbourne’s lockdown measures has stunted creativity, forming mental roadblocks. This was not the case, however, for a newcomer to the scene, Melbourne indie-pop artist Sidney Rose. Described as “pop, but left of centre” by Triple J’s Tommy Faith, Rose has established herself as one to watch with her second single of the year, Guarantee. 

Produced by Ben Oldland, Guarantee is a captivating indie-pop track, which, believe it or not, was a product of her first time in a recording studio after beginning her project in December 2019. 

After chasing musical theatre for three years post high school, Rose found herself more immersed with the notion of storytelling purely through music, and so made the switch to the Australian music scene. 

“I think my real passion, at the core, is telling either my story and expressing that... then also being able to then use that [mode of] storytelling to tell other people’s stories, I think of it as a cool craft when you get down to the crux of it.” 

Drawing on influences from Canadian musician Lennon Stella and Australia’s own Eliott, Rose blends vulnerable lyricism with alluring hooks.

“What I’ve always found with music is that it’s a lot easier to sing something that’s really raw and honest than it is to sit and say that to someone’s face, so Guarantee wasn’t necessarily written about a certain person,” she said. 

Pictured: Rose embraces vulnerability in her track, Guarantee 

Image: Sarah Caust 

“With Guarantee it was the first time I was really trying to write from just kind of what was in front of me at the time, rather than trying to pull on past experiences.”

Indie-pop as a genre is proving popular among the masses, with artists such as Rose appreciative of the sheer amount of work which goes into creating an indie-pop track. 

“Working with Ben on Guarantee I just didn’t understand the full craft of indie pop, there’s so much craft to coming up with hooks that stick with people,” she said.

“And so to try and translate really sad emotional stuff that I write with my guitar and put that into a context, it’s just really cool.”

Navigating the Australian music scene as a young emerging artist during a global pandemic is quite the task, but one which Rose was more than willing to tackle, noting her determination and much-needed optimistic nature. 

“I actually set a goal at the start of the year basically to be writing something musical every day, creating in some way, and that’s something that I’ve stuck to and I’m so grateful that I have,” she said.

“I think I’ve been able to stay growing as an artist, because I’ve either created with someone else via Zoom that day or I’ve been forced sometimes to sit at my piano or sit at my guitar and sing and figure something out because I’ve made that commitment to myself.” 

The current climate in the Australian music scene has allowed Rose to slowly make her mark and work through moments of personal growth.

“Because I haven’t experienced it in normal life,” she laughed. 

“Normal life, whatever that is, I haven’t had anything to compare it to, I’ve really just been able to grow and find ways to do it.” 

For the remainder of 2020, Rose has her sight set on collaborations and demos, and eagerly working on her live set for the return of live music, whenever that may be. 

“I think at the moment it's still up in the air but I’ve been building up a whole heap of collaborations and demos and things because I’d love to have as much released stuff [as] ready as I can,” she said. 

“At the moment it’ll look like a lot more releases and stuff to come out of lockdown – kind of like lockdown babies but [in the form of] songs.” 

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PREMIERE: Thea Fitzgerald CLOSES OUT THE BUILDING BLOCKS ERA WITH TWO FRESH VIDEOS

Thea FitzGerald closes out the Building Blocks era with two fresh videos, and we’re pumped to be bringing them to you here first! Better late than never, 23 year old Melbourne singer-songwriter Thea FitzGerald has two brand new videos to round out her debut body of work - Building Blocks.

Adding to the stunningly vibrant visuals previously released for ‘Stuck’ and ‘Holding Your Hand’, the killer team at Thick Heart Productions have worked with Thea to add to the collection with videos for ‘Breathe’ and ‘Higher Ground’. With a huge focus on colour to build the emotional narrative of each story, these new videos are absolute eye-candy.

The new videos add aesthetic and emotional symmetry to the body of work - the upbeat playfulness of ‘Higher Ground’ bears resemblance to the somewhat chaotic mix of cheek an pain in ‘Holding Your Hand’, whilst the solitary power of ‘Stuck’ is mirrored in the confined discomfort of ‘Breathe’. There’s a stellar cast involved too - Stephanie Wall, Ed McCullough and Sarah FitzGerald beautifully execute the story of Higher Ground, and Tamara Bailey nails her performance in Holding Your Hand.

WATCH THE NEW MUSIC VIDEOS HERE!

If you haven’t yet sussed the Building Blocks EP, you’re bound to love something in there – it’s a catchy fusion of pop, indie and R&B with infectious hooks, and will not disappoint! These new videos are the perfect ending to the Building Blocks chapter, making way for the release of Thea’s highly anticipated second EP later this year!

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INTERVIEW: NEON PATTERN SUNDIAL (FKA BEN ALPINE) IS TAKING IT ALL IN HIS STRIDE

Hey there Ben! First off, a huge congrats on your debut single 'All In Your Stride'! How has the single been received so far? Any favourite critiques?
Thank you! Yeah the reception has been really great and to be honest a little overwhelming! I’m not sure what I’d expected, but I don’t think I realised I’d be spending the entire release day responding to messages from friends and reading blog posts about the song. It was so cool though, definitely very very stoked and thankful.

Ben Madden wrote a review on the song which was so cool to read. I just feel like he took from the song exactly what I want people to, especially saying that “you’ll feel positive about your day by the end of it”. Otherwise it’s just been so cool to hear from friends. I had shown it to a few people that I’m close with as we were making it, but tried to keep it under wraps for the most part. So it was awesome to now have people really dig into it and ask about the details in the artwork and things like that, which is exactly what I want people to do.

Tell us about your creative processes; how did 'All In Your Stride' come to be?
I don’t really think I can say that I have a definitive creative process as that sort of thing always changes. it’s sort of split up into two parts….

Firstly, I’ll create the demo mostly by myself. I’ll just work on it whenever; in my bedroom, on trains, at uni, mostly with headphones. I’ll just record everything really rough and try to not get too caught up in lyrics or synthesis or getting the right take.

Then I’ll bring the demo to my friend and producer/mixer Marc Scollo, and we’ll go through and flesh things out, tidy up the arrangement and basically re-record everything at a much higher quality. Marc is basically like 49% of the project if you ask me. This is where we replace the sample drums with a live kit, and start arranging vocal harmonies and all that stuff. Usually the song changes a lot during this process. I definitely rewrote some of the lyrics right before recording them...

All In Your Stride was in it’s ‘demo’ stage for over a year before Marc and I started on what became the final production. And I started it at a time that I wasn’t very inspired so it sat dormant for months and months before I picked it up again. I rewrote a lot of the lyrics at the last minute which seems to be pretty standard for me at the moment. I don’t really consider myself that great of a lyricist and feel like I have a lot to learn.

My friend Bek Nafiz was pretty important in the process, we did a session mid-2018 that basically got the entire foundation of the song down. It was her idea for all those funky guitar lines. I should also mention Alex Siderov who played drums on the track.

I'm very intrigued by the single's cover art, it's quite beautiful. Tell us about the concept and the images you've used.
Yeah! The artwork seems to be getting a lot of attention which is so awesome. It was basically all Jack Mackinnon. I just gave him a bunch of photos I had taken that reflected the aesthetic of the song to me. Which were mostly these vast landscape images that gave off this optimistic feeling, to me at least. He picked those ones and put them together that way and I loved it immediately. He absolutely killed it I reckon.

The photos are either from my travels or places that I’ve spent a lot of time and are all important to me. I picked up photography about 2 years ago, and I wanted the aesthetic of this project to be very rooted in reality and that sort of dreamy representation of it, so using those photos was a no-brainer.

Some of your influences include Hippo Campus and The Japanese House, how do these artists inspire you and your music?
Like everyone I listen to a lot of different music, especially electronic music and a lot of pop, but I feel like those two artists reflect the more ‘indie’ guitar-driven side of my sound, especially on All In Your Stride. I was listening to Bambi by Hippo Campus and Good at Falling by The Japanese House a lot during making this so the input was definitely there, both of those albums are some of my favourites. The Japanese House’s tuned and harmonised vocal arrangements were 100% a huge thing for me.

COVID-19 has had an extreme effect on the music industry, and I’m sure you’re missing festivals and gigs as much as me. What was the last gig you went to? Any events you were looking forward to that were cancelled/postponed?
The last show I went to was my friend Earnest Jackson’s single launch for his song Sweaty, which is a massive tune and their performance really went off. Before that I saw Golden Features who is always amazing. And I was getting really really excited to see Bon Iver and Tame Impala before they both got postponed!

Give us your Top 10 songs that are getting you through lockdown.

In no particular order! A real mix here of random stuff I’ve picked up and had on repeat...

Phone Numbers by Dominic Fike & Kenny Beats

Ego Death by Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West, FKA twigs & Skrillex

Firing Rifle by PNK FME

Day After Day by Goldwater

You by Tennyson

Nirvana by ELLIANA

Playing On My Mind by The 1975

Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers

Strobing Light by Ishq

All The Way by Tom Cosm

Finally, what’s next for NEON PATTERN SUNDIAL?

I don’t know how much I want to say! I’ve got a bunch more songs ready so there will definitely be another single sooner or later. A lot more on the way.

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INTERVIEW: SYDNEY RAPPER TUKA PERSONIFIES HIS SOUNDSCAPE WITH HIS NEW ALBUM ‘NOTHING IN COMMON BUT US’

Pictured: Sydney rapper Tuka breaks genre boundaries with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us
Image: Supplied 

For those who are accustomed to the Australian hip-hop scene, the name Tuka would almost be synonymous with Blue Mountains hip-hop trio, Thundamentals. Iconic moments for the hip-hop group like their 2012 cover of Brother by Matt Corby for Triple J’s Like a Version segment (amassing over 4.9 million views) may also spring to mind, as well as their popular light-hearted tune Sally. Tuka is one third of that trio, and is hoping to define himself as a solo artist with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us. 

In the last five years, Tuka had a semi-hiatus from his solo career, making two albums with Thundamentals and subsequently touring those albums. A major defining moment in that five year period for Tuka was a relationship which influenced a large part of his work. 

“Nothing In Common But Us is from my perspective, it’s about personifying a relationship into the one character,” he said.

“I definitely got the idea for the album from spending a lot of time with someone and them uprooting a lot of things that I didn’t know about myself.” 

Listeners are greeted by tracks such as the first single from the album, Wish I Knew, which was co-written with The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, and premiered on Triple J’s Good Nights. Tuka is renowned for his warmth when it comes to hip-hop songwriting, however this track finds him experimenting with deep house influences and breaking down the barriers of conventional genres. 

“I guess the sonic soundscape was a victim to whatever I found exciting, that didn’t put me in the box of being a hip hop artist - I wanted to be an artist in general for this one,” he said.

“Dropping a genre or trying to create my own genre was the objective, there really weren't any rules.” 

Nothing In Common But Us expands upon hip-hop more broadly and invites the listener to sit with a wide spectrum of emotions, with Tuka including spoken word poet Anne Casey to explore these feelings and as an ode to his relationship with poetry. “When I saw Anne perform it just hit me right in the head because it’s what I was writing about, and she actually coined the phrase ‘Nothing In Common But Us’, within that poem,” he said. 

“...and so afterwards I talked to her on the side of the stage and we had big chats, and I asked her if I could use that line and she was so cool about everything I asked her.” Oftentimes, you can catch Tuka heading to Glebe in Sydney to share wine with friends and listen in adoration to poets who grace the stage.

“You just watch all of these people come out of the woodwork, they’ve had this whole life of experience, and they’ve put a lot of effort into writing a piece of poetry about their perspective and a lot of the time it’s just so beautiful,” he said. 

Tuka also collaborated with rising Brisbane indie-pop star Sycco (the brainchild of Sasha McLeod), who features on his track Click Bang. 

“Oh my god, she’s a genius! When I sent it to her I didn’t send her any harmonies or anything, but I just sent her a lead,” he said. 

“She got it first try, I didn’t even give her any notes. She just came back with her own take on it and I loved everything about it.” 

It’s hard to tell what’s in store for the rest of the year for Tuka, as the live music scene is on halt due to COVID-19, but Tuka assured us that it’ll be full of the thing he loves most: writing music. 

“All I have to do is write music, and if I told myself that when I was a 17-year-old kid when I started this, I would have been elated! And I am, I am very happy - I’m in a super privileged position where I can wake up and I write a song and that’s my responsibility for the day – and that’s absurd.” 

“I’m using COVID to just do a proper reset and hopefully write some of the best music of my life that will be relevant when I go to play it live, whenever that is.” 

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INTERVIEW: CHRISTOS ON ISOLATION, INFLUENCES, CATALOGUE-BUILDING, AND WORKING WITH HIGH-PROFILE PRODUCER JAMES ANGUS

New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.

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How does it feel to be releasing music through this weird time- were any of your methods changed or different?
It definitely is a weird time at the moment but I personally think its a good time to be releasing music. A lot of people are still stuck at home with not much to do so us artists have to use that to our advantage! I've just tried to be more interactive online as that's where a lot of the attention is during this time. 

I know you come up with songs based on your life experiences, what do you think is the best topic to write or sing about?
For me writing about relationships that I've been in is the best topic. Whether its being in love or being hurt, it's something a lot of people can relate to and I like to express these emotions and feelings through my music in hopes of connecting to my listeners.

 I noticed that Movin’ leans a bit more towards the ‘cloud rap’ type genre than the other songs you’ve put out and Calling is different still, would you say that your style differs depending on the song? 
For sure, I like all of my songs to sound different in their own way. At this early stage of my career I'm trying to build my catalogue to show my versatility as an artist. I love experimenting and I'm always trying new things with my music and style.

 How would you describe your sound? 
It's hard to limit my music to just a single genre, I would describe it as a mixture of a few genres. My sound is mainly Hip hop, R&B and even Pop while my style is melodic rap.

Who are your influences or musical idols?
A lot of the new gen artists like Juice, Trippie and X. I love how those guys have underlying messages that are usually quite sad, coming from their own struggles and experiences, similar to my music. Each of those artists still produce their stuff in an upbeat and vibey way. When I am creating music across genres, other influences would be Travis Scott and Don Toliver.  Funny, because I grew up listening to a lot of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Violent Femmes and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A lot of Michael Jackson, Andre 3000 and Chris brown too. It was just always something that was playing at home or on the radio.

 What were you thinking about when writing “Calling?”
I remember pulling the beat up, vibing to it for a bit and I instantly had a melody in my head that I wanted to use. From here I wanted to take my listeners on a personal journey of an up and down relationship. Each verse kinda builds on this, making it something people are able to relate to with their own experiences. You know when someone is trying to reach out to you but you know you shouldn't go back down that road with them? That was the motive for this track. 

How was it to work with James Angus?
Basically I was looking through his BeatStars and stumbled across this really cool beat but it was super short! Only like a minute long I think. I hit him up and sent him the demo I made and he liked it so he extended the beat for me, sent it over and I made it into a full song! It was really cool to work with him being the high profile producer he is. 

What do you do in your spare time, when you’re not creating?
When I'm not making music I'm working some part time jobs and spending time with my girl, friends and family but managing my own career as an artist definitely is the most time consuming!

 What are you working on right now?
I actually just finished filming a music video which I plan to drop a few weeks down the line so stay tuned for the 'Calling' visual! At the moment I have a bunch of unreleased music that I'm planning to release over the rest of the year.

 Last question- Ice cream or cake? 
That's a tough one because I enjoy eating them both together.... But it's gotta be ice cream. 

 Actual last question: top 3 current Aussie artists and why?
There are loads of talented Aussie artists breaking through at the moment but some of my favourites would have to be Oliver Amun, Vic August and Youngn Lipz. I feel like they are all making dope music and their melodic rap style is what I'm also doing with my own music. 

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INTERVIEW: KYLE FROM BABIRUSA TALKS ‘HUMANOID’, DREAM LINEUPS, AND ALL-AUSSIE FAVES

On the back of their first three releases Brisbane Deathcore outfit Babirusa (or Pigdeer as they may now be known!!) are about to release their debut album Humanoid. A concept album that follows the journey of 343, vocalist Kyle Williams sat down with me to talk about the band and the album.

Hey Kyle thanks for dropping by for a chat.  Who are Babirusa?

So originally the band was started by Dean and Tate about 6 years ago.  Roughly 2 years ago Dean moved in with Rangi and I’d always go round there and hang out. Dean had recently started up the band again after about a 4-year break so Rangi and I jumped on and started doing some stuff. Checking out what they had written previously. Reece came around and he and I started writing lyrics and trying to see what we could come up with. It was decided that Reece would join the band too. It all just fell into place. Basically we were all just hanging out and it happened!

Your album Humanoid is out on the 28th August.

Yes the album. Originally there was just an EP written about 6 years back, but we added on to it and just decided to go with the full album. The whole album concept is based around a character known as 343 as he’s being ripped between reality and a cybernetic world run by a sinister artificial intelligence.

“Upon re-entry 343 quickly finds that he should not have chosen to return to the Cybernetic world as he is captured and held against his will. Told by a disembodies voice that he is akin to this technological entity, a mirror of sorts, and that he should be willing to cast aside his body if only to elevate himself to a higher form and plane of existence. The voice eerily telling him that it is time to become a part of all things… Unable to understand exactly what was meant he begins to panic, wanting desperately to wake up and be rid of this nightmare. In a catatonic state, his mind races as he feels more fear than he ever imagined possible, questioning the very essence of his being and the reason for the existence of all humanity if he is to be turned into something unknown against his will”

You guys all collaborate on the writing process?

Dean and Tate usually write their thing and Rangi adds his drums. Reece and I then sit down and write the lyrics together. We’ll change the song up a bit if needed, sometimes we will add a bit to the instrumental side too. It’s a step process, it’s pretty cool though and it works well. A little conveyor belt to get the song ready.

Did you guys have any gigs lined up for the release?

No, we were hoping to tour off the album, but nothing is confirmed yet. With restrictions we aren’t sure what we are allowed to do gig wise or what’s even available. We will just keep pushing our presence online. Making a post and having people share it really gets the reach out further, especially at the moment.

What bands do you guys draw your inspiration from?

We’re all very different. Tate listens to a lot of Volumes, The World Alive, Issues etc. Dean and I are more into bands like Within Destruction and Vulvodynia. Reece is an old school boy, his would be As Blood Runs Black and that era of Deathcore and Rangi listens to bands like Meshuggah, and Animals as Leaders. He’s also in a punk band called Pandemic so he listens to that kind of indie rock stuff as well.

What would be your dream line up to tour with?

Signs of the Swarm, Slaughter to Prevail, Within Destruction and especially Vulvodynia.

What about an all Australian line up?

Inhibitor, The Gloom in the Corner (they’re the sort of band you can get up on Spotify, hit shuffle and the content is always good) and Thy Art is Murder.

If you’re a fan of Deathcore then you don’t want to sleep on these guys. What they have released so far has been damn good and I’m keen to listen to this album from start to finish.

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Babirusa’s album Humanoid is out on all platforms on the 28th August.

Hit the link to pre-order the album HERE

Babirusa is:

Rheese Peters – Vocals

Kyle Williams - Vocals

Tate Senhenn - Guitar

Dean White - Guitar

Rangi Barnes – Drums

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INTERVIEW: GRACE FARRIS - ‘ALL THE PEOPLE’. GRACE TALKS HER WRITING PROCESS, GROWING UP WITH FAMOUS FAMILY, AND THE STATE OF THE WORLD

What inspired you to write ‘All the People’? 

‘All The People’ was one of those songs that came to me so fast that I even and often asked myself or the universe where did this come from? It came through within an hour and then I had a full song. Including the feel, the groove, the bass, melody and lyrics, the arrangement followed soon after. I feel though that I was tuning into the worldly events happening at the time that really affected me in one way or another and ‘All The People’ came through as almost a song of reassurance for me and for my greater community being the people of the world. We all have our darkness and our lightness to face every day and I feel ‘All The People’ is such a beautiful and very much a uniting song of strength and love. When I wrote my song ‘All The People’ it was one of those rare songs I knew was meant for others to hear and not just for me. Some songs and art is just for myself and some songs I know is for other people to listen to and to share. 

Was the idea of the track a slow process or was it something that came to you quickly?

I did not have an idea before writing ‘All The People’ which is unique for me. Some songs I have a feeling about what I am going to write about or a certain emotion I honour while I am writing. Although ‘All The People’ came into my life and through me like a beautiful gust of wind. I wrote it so quickly that the minutes felt like hours and seconds felt like minutes. It is still to this day one of the most awe inspiring songs I have ever written and I still wonder where the understanding for exactly how it wanted to be came to me so quickly. Around an hour to be exact and then the arrangement followed soon afterward.

In light of the recent world events it seems that the notion of coming together is incredibly important right now. What message are you hoping to reach your audience through the lyrics?

My biggest message in my lyrics and music is to come back to yourself and who you truly are and what is your own path in life is as a person as well as coming back to how I can serve within my own community. This is my biggest message that I feel shines through in ‘All The People’. This is usually the place I come from when I am writing. I never write music because someone wants to hear something in particular. I write from the heart with the intention that it will help me find solace in processing these emotions as well as help others in finding and feeling the same emotion and feelings I felt or feel. Which is something that happens naturally because It comes through very naturally. Which is such a beautiful feeling. ‘All The People’ is all about uniting and coming together to do the best we can and to be the best we can for our family, friends and others we meet along the way. I knew it was a very grand song when it came through and I knew where it needed to go as soon as it came to me. The music and the feeling is the most important component to me when writing a song. This came through very strongly for my song ‘All The People’.  

The track is incredibly funky, it has effortless amounts of groove brought forth by the combination of drums and the sax. Has the track changed considerably from its conception? What was the recording process like with Tony Buchan?

I knew as soon as I wrote ‘All The People’ that it would be a heavily funky, groove based song. I felt its power and its heart the minute it came out. I had the song two years before I went to record ‘All The People’ so I knew it better that I thought anybody ever could. So when I approached Tony and I was wondering for a long time who to choose as a conscience and producer. I decided Tony could grasp what was going on in my head the most after all of these years. Tony was amazing and his musicianship and knowledge is so incredibly wide. I knew exactly what I wanted for all of my songs and compositions as well as the arrangements on my album ‘Grace’ so to have someone that understood this was a very important and a wonderful feeling. ‘All The People’ was one of my songs I spent the most time on in terms of sound and feels, especially the bass throughout and the way it felt was so important to me. I spent hours and hours and hours getting the bass just right and one day I finally heard it. I would be up all night long figuring out all of the layers, vocals, bass. I wanted to work on ‘All The People’ in the studio as long as possible until I heard in the studio what I could hear in my mind. I was so strict and so focused and firm on creating what was in my head for so long for each of my songs on my album ‘Grace’. I am very much so happy and proud with how each of my songs and compositions turned out. My song ‘All The People’ is one of my greatest songs and I am so proud and so glad it is now there for the world to listen to it.

You have been surrounded by music from a young age, having a father renowned for his songwriting talents with INXS. What was growing up like in such an artistic family?

I was raised in a very normal way. Although we were surrounded by beautiful artwork and beautiful architecture and went to some of the most amazing schools in the world. I think at the end of the day my experiences in nature are what grounded us as a family and me as a child. My father and mother made sure that our childhood was as protected as possible and that nature influenced us as much as possible. If we felt like making art we would. Although I enjoyed history and science and geography so much. I painted a lot growing up and started writing at a very young age. I thought most families were as creative as my family, although this was not always so. I was surrounded by nature everyday growing up. This is the foundation of life and I really honoured this as well as the innovative nature of mankind, which I had a huge appreciation for. I had written over 2000 songs by the age of 18 as well as poems and stories. This came to me so naturally and very much so by my own will and joy for writing. 

You seem to be extremely passionate about the environment, being an ambassador for both Sea Shepherd and the Jane Goodall Institute. What is it that inspires you to take environmental issues into your own hands?

I have always been surrounded by nature in its natural state and all at once I find mankind's ability to be creative and innovate equally fascinating. I have found many moments of solitude and some of the greatest moments up until now have been in nature in its natural state. I find you are able to listen to the real rhythms of the earth and your own self rather than others or other people's inventions. I feel that so many children grow up without being in the natural world and the beauty and peace it can bring to someone's life. Being the ambassador for “The Jane Goodall Institute” I am shining a light on her program “Roots and Shoots” which involves families and children and anyone who wants to be involved in growing their own plants and food and growing their awareness of being more connected to the natural world and its need for us to honour it. I believe that Jane Goodall’s work along with many other scientists and people of this nature provide information that is just so wonderful and so integral in the health of our amazing home. My awareness of the natural world has come from many different sources. I grew up around and surrounded by the traditional indengous Aboriginal people of Australia both up in Arnhem land and in Garma festival as well as in my home all of the time. Weaving baskets and learning about the knowledge of the Aborgininal elders and in particular about the plant  medicine in different parts of Australia that have influenced me greatly. I grew up on a working farm and near the ocean which brought a lot of solace and comfort to me when I felt I needed it, which also led me to become the ambassador for “The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society”. I garden and bush walk a lot and enjoy looking and being around trees for long periods of time. Listening to the birds and other creatures and the elements is the most uplifting and peaceful feeling to me. My own organisation “The Grace Earth Organisation” will be launched in November/December 2020. My organisation will be a place for people to come and find out more information on the many different ways to help us all to be much more mindful about our footprint and the health of our local environments. It will cover many different topics and areas and will have information from other institutes and organisations as well as there being events to help raise awareness about our connection to the natural world and our place and impact on our ever changing home. 

Your debut album, titled ‘Grace’, is set to release later this year. What can fans expect from the new music?

My album ‘Grace’ is one of the proudest moments in my life and I already had 6 of the songs for around 15 years and 4 of them around 2 years before I went on to record my full album ‘Grace’. When a song comes to me I can hear what it wants very clearly and quickly. I listen to the song and what I feel the song is asking to sound like once recorded. This is something I thought very long and hard about for each song I wrote. I consider myself a writer first and foremost and I write everything from the heart, including the arrangements and each layer for each song has its purpose and its place. I loved writing each and every song for my album ‘Grace’. It is one of the greatest achievements of my life and I am so looking forward to others being able to enjoy and listen to my music, dream and find a world of their own within the music. 

What are your favourite Aussie artists? What music inspires you?

I really enjoy Australian music. There is so much art and amazing music in Australia that I have so much respect for. I enjoy ACDC, INXS, The Seekers, Paul Kelly, Nick Cave, Slim Dusty, Yothu Yindi, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. The music that inspires me the most and I always seem to come back to is classical and traditional indigenous music from all over the world. It feels so beautifully raw and so wonderfully uplifting to me. I have always gravitated towards this kind of music. Hymns and opera music inspires me greatly too and always has. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart inspires me greatly. When I first heard ‘Clarinet Concerto in A major and A minor, K.622’ I felt it’s lightness, darkness, softness and suspense he carries throughout these entire pieces in particular. So many times these pieces of music have brought me great solace. It is so brilliant and has inspired me more than I can even say. I do not know how to not think of Mozart’s music when reflecting in particular on my own musical arrangements to bring my writings to an accompanied setting.

When I first heard ‘Four Seasons’ by Antonio Vivaldi I laughed and cried with happiness and all of the emotions one might have in each season going about their daily life. I could feel in his compositions the very essence of our natural world and how we change and turn to move with the beautiful season’s we all adjust to through every year. I love how the leaves on the tree’s turn red and yellow in the Autumn and bare in the winter, and how all of the animals and land gets quieter and much more silent, there is a median feeling in this section of ‘Four Season’s’ that is just so incredibly beautiful. Then in Summer and Spring everything feels bright and warm and passionate and so sensual. This very essence is found so deeply and so beautifully in ‘Four Seasons’. This Artist has inspired me so greatly. 

“Jules Massenet” When I first heard ‘Meditation From Thais’ for violin and piano. This artist has inspired me so much and I will forever be learning from and unveiling the incredible intricate writings and compositions of Jules Massenet. 

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INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN CAVALERI: PLAYING WITH JIMMY BARNES, BATTLING LEUKAEMIA, MENTAL HEALTH, AND COMING BACK STRONGER

As a kid, having the opportunity to play with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Diesel and other music legends would have surely been a transformative experience. Could you please describe to us a bit about what that was like? 

I went from busking out front of my mum’s coffee shop, to playing on Hey Hey It’s Saturday to playing to 10,000 plus people per night supporting Jimmy Barnes and Diesel on the Soul Deep / Hepfidelity tour. At 10 years old, this was my first real snapshot of what a life in music would feel like. I loved it. Tour buses, semi-trailers, road cases, rehearsals, security, backstage passes, riders, dressing rooms, sound checks, driven by a management team and crew all working to put together a night for both the artist and the audience. It was my first experience on a real stage and as a sponge, I absorbed it all. Watching Jimmy and Diesel sing and play their hearts out leaving nothing but puddles of sweat on stage was a pivotal point in my career. I learnt that playing on stage is not just about expressing yourself. It’s about connecting. For them, it seemed as if they played like it was their last night no earth and as a kid going through Leukaemia at the time, this really resonated with me.

 Is there a favourite artist you have played/ worked with? 

I have 2 favourites for different reasons. B.B.King and Diesel. Having the privilege of playing 3 songs on stage with B.B. in the middle of his set for 3 weeks on one of his US tours is an experience that I’m still digesting! I learnt so much on tour both through observation and receiving advice. It was also the first time I witnessed blues music on a big stage and was able to see how powerful a blues show can be. My relationship with Diesel has many dimensions. I was learning from him at 10, and I’m still learning from him today. We’ve always bonded over song-writing, production and gear but now as an independent artist and father of 2, our connection has expanded into the world of music strategy as well as the more “human” aspects of being an artist. I love and respect him dearly.   

How do you think the highs and lows of your life have influenced your music?

Battling Leukaemia as a kid took a hobby into a form of self-expression and therapy. Even during recent years when I decided to call it quits, song-writing and playing even if alone, brought me catharsis. My empathetic imagination allows me to make art of what I see and feel - Be it experiences that someone else has had or through reflecting on my own, my music is definitely hinged to the dynamics of my life and is the reason why my stage shows and recordings are anything but linear. Weeping melancholy melodies to stink face triggering struts.. It’s all in there!  

 ‘Before You Check Out’ is a beautiful melody, carved by the acoustic guitar and gentle vocals. It has a powerful message, one that you have described as being “a song for those who are low on hope”. What would be your message to those who are struggling in these current circumstances? 

There’s always a way. Just because you can’t see a path, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. No matter what people say, there’s always a way and there are millions around the world who are proof of this and there are MANY paths to suit all different walks of life. The master key for me was learning to adjust my perception of adversity / discomfort / pain. When we start to see our pain as indicators rather than bullets, the situation goes from bring a battle to an opportunity for growth. I can see and learn more when I’m having a conversation rather than throwing punches or covering up. Most of my growth and resilience has come from challenges in my life. Don’t demonise them. Embrace them. Learn from them and trust that despite how it feels, it’s leading you to good places! An awakening is suppose to feel fucked because unfortunately, growth can only happen outside of our comfort zone.  

‘Hug’ is another beautiful track, with the lyrics; “All my hugs come from behind, no matter how many times you walk away from the crime”. Could you please expand on those lyrics? What does the power of forgiveness mean to you? 

For years I misunderstood the definition and purpose for forgiveness. I believed that the act of forgiving was the same as condoning and also believed that it’s purpose was to bring relief to the offender. I couldn’t be more wrong. My new understanding is that forgiveness is for the victim and is a form of acceptance. Holding a grudge, wishing something wasn’t so, hating on a past self are all acts of resistance. As long as that resistance is there, our past will continue to haunt us. For some, the past is haunting them daily through memories that are played on repeat. When we reach a state of full forgiveness we’ve accepted and are therefore released from the past. My song “Hug” is about making peace with abandonment. “Better the back of your head than the front of a lie..” means that you are willing to face the truth no matter how much it hurts. “All my hugs come from behind” is a metaphor for forgiving someone who has turned their back on you. 

The album ‘Demons’ is set to release on August 9th this year, followed by an album tour. What can fans expect from the new music? 

When I was a kid, I had something to play but now I have something to say. It was written at a time when I wasn’t intending on returning to the stage which kept the writing process from being corrupted by business goals. The sentiment of these songs are inspired by my own experiences and those around me. Organically, almost all of the songs relate in someway to how we relate to our “demons”. Whether profound or tongue and cheek, the attitudes of each song mirror the dynamics of my life and are amplified by styles of music that move me the most - Psychedelic folk, hiphop, funk, country all brought together by all my favourite types of blues. On stage, I string these songs together by sharing my own personal stories.  

 What are your favourite Aussie artists? What music inspires you?

My favourite bands are all over the place - Teskey Brothers, Ash Grunwald, Diesel, Julia Jacklin - OMG Julia Jacklin, Thelma Plum, Baby Animals, Cold Chisel, Guy Sebastian, Dope Lemon, LOVE Dope Lemon, Delta Riggs, Kingswood, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, TAME IMPALA! All different types of music inspires me…If it takes me away and makes me feel something, I’m in! 

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INTERVIEW: BRISBANE’S HARDCORE ‘HEADWRECK’ TALK NEW MEMBERS, NEW SINGLES, DREAM LINEUP, AND AUSSIE FAVES

After their previous band disbanded in 2018 three Brisbane mates decided to continue their music journey together. After some searching they added a fourth member and in late 2019 Headwreck was born. Their first single As Is (featuring Luke Harriss from She Cries Wolf) also dropped at the same time. Headwreck have just released a killer second single Good Grief. I caught up with vocalist Connor Hickman

You have a new single! I was excited to see it pop up on my newsfeed. It’s been a minute between singles for you guys.

We released ‘As Is’ in December last year and we were actually trying to push for ‘Good Grief’ to be out mid-April. With all the quarantine and stuff we just got shut down. I had to fly to Mt Isa for work and then we couldn’t get our promo photos done. It was just a nightmare.

It’s a bizarre time that’s for sure.

It is. We’ve been trying to stay as busy as we can and working towards trying to get more new music out by the end of the year.

As in an EP??

Oh no. That’s the big scary thing! We are just big believers in the whole single game. We really like doing that. Not everyone always stops and listens to the whole EP apart from a select few. It’s better for us to just stick to singles and put out our best work. Our drop box is full of music so it’s good to just try and figure out what’s best at the time and drop that.

The single game seems to be the way a lot of bands are going now. Redhook being a great example of how well it can work.

That’s the exact example I was talking to Callan about the other day. I didn’t realise that they hadn’t actually done an EP or album

Speaking of Callan how did he end up in Headwreck?

He’s been involved in the band one way or another since day one. We actually asked him if he could fill in on bass and just from that it developed so much further. Instantly he was helping with aesthetic ideas for our graphic designs for logos and ideas for music videos, helping with song writing and the vision process of what we were going to do next. He told us from the start that he wouldn’t be able to be in the band because he’s super busy with Days Like These stuff and that was all good with us.  We actually asked him before we played with She Cries Wolf back in February, probably about 30 seconds before we went on stage, if he wanted to be our full-time bassist and he said yeah! We did kind of put him on the spot a bit…

And speaking of She Cries Wolf how did Luke (Harriss) end up doing guest vocals on ‘As is”?

We approached Luke ages ago. When we were recording As Is, originally we really wanted to have a feature of some sort. we talked about it and decided we may as well shoot for the moon and ask Luke. Growing up in the Brisbane music scene I’ve been watching She Cries Wolf since I was 15-16. Luke’s always been approachable and happy to have a chat with me. I shot him a message and just said Hey man would you like to be on our first song, and he said yes. We got him to record his section and it’s all history from there.

What’s your writing process?

So it’s pretty much bare bones. We self-record ourselves so it makes it a lot easier. Jamo spends a lot of time writing stuff and coming up with ideas. He’ll record an instrumental and put it into a drop box and we will nit pick at it for a bit, make changes and restructure songs a little bit. We complete the instrumental part and then I come along, start listening and think about what I want to write about. Then I do what I think pretty much every other vocalist in Australia does, and looks to the phone notes and find one of the 1000 little one liner’s I’ve written and try to work off something like that.  So I put some lyrics to it and then Jamo, Callan and Sam have a look at it. We may reshuffle and reword things a bit and then we record it. We sit on the demo for a bit till we are sure we like it and then record it. Jamo has a little home studio and we do the final take then he will mix and master it all.

It’s good to be able to do the whole process ourselves Factors like the cost, being able to sit on it and listen to the song to make sure it’s 100% what we want. I feel you get a much better result, from a vocal stand point, you ‘ve got all the time in the world to perfect it. I think that’s the way of the world now.

And with social media and music platforms these days you can release it and hit your audience immediately...

100%. With both singles that we have out we’ve done a little campaign before with Ophelia from Collison Course. She is an absolute gem. I was saying to the boys the other day that she obviously really cares about what she does, and we are so thankful to her for that.

If you could tour with your dream line up who would that be?

We’ve actually been asked this question a couple of times and I’m not sure if the boys would have the same answer, but I have a very definite one.  Days like These (Callan’s and Jamo’s other band) we always joke about it and say how much fun it would be. You know the four guys in Headwreck and the 4 guys in Days Like These but 2 of them overlap!! So the 6 of us plus Andrew who does the photos and filming for us.

You’d only need one van!!

Exactly! And it just sounds like so much fun because we are all really good friends. It’s actually something that is super achievable for us too which is really exciting.  Before the world ended we actually had a show booked and Sam was getting married the next day, so he wasn’t able to play the gig. So we were looking at who we could get to replace him and instantly the first person we thought of was Noah!! Sorry if you read this Callan…. Then we were like we can’t have 3 members of Days Like These and me playing and then straight after them playing again. It’s going to look pretty stupid!! That gig ended up getting canned with Covid.

Who are your Top 3 Australian acts?

Alpha Wolf: they are just so so good. I remember seeing them in 2017 for the first time with their new line up and being absolutely blown away by how good they were. And that’s a band that you can listen to their discography from start to finish and really appreciate the progression. Their new song Akudama and the video for it is crazy. I saw a comment on the YouTube video –

 Producer: How many special effects do you want

 Alpha Wolf: Yes!

Slowly, Slowly:  I first heard Aliens a couple of times on JJJ and have been absolutely hooked since then. I try to see those guys live as often as I can. Benny’s just so amazing. It’s definitely a genre that I have always listened too – bands like Violent Soho The Smith Street Band etc.

Stepson: I’ve always loved these guys; they are the nicest people. Here’s a story for you.. In 2015 I was going to catch about 3.5 hours’ worth of buses to try and go see them on the North side of Brisbane and I actually managed to convince one of my friends who had their license to go. That was the second time I saw them and I spent most of the set singing along,  it was such a good show. Since then I’ve been hooked on every release. I get so excited for the music that they put out.

I’m pretty confident with those answers and I’m so glad you said Australian.

Special mention Ocean Grove, Trophy Eyes and Columbus

People are taking the time during lockdown to explore the bands more and spend the time listening to the releases and discographies-

I think its way better to sit down and listen to someone’s discography. Say a band drops an EP, it’s so important to listen to it right through from start to finish. Give yourself the chance to sit and relax and really appreciate why they picked those songs in that order, why there’s a little flow on bit at the end of one song that rolls into another. Just little things like that, like we talked about The Rhapsody Tapes before. You listen to that and it’s pretty much one song for that whole album because each song flows into the next. The songs have been picked for that reason; it’s been made like that from start to finish. And some of the songs on there if you listened to them on their own you’d be like well that’s a bit weird. The way What I Love About a Natural Woman flows into Beers, that’s just how an album starts, it brings you in and puts you in the mood and then bang straight in to it. Same with Slowly Slowly, their lyrics are so unique, I can’t even explain it. You almost have to read it to make sense of it, they’re so good.

Another band that I have just started to get into that I’m beating myself up for not doing sooner is Bloom. They are so good, and their lyrics are awesome. They are going to be huge they are just so good and so personable. I was watching the hate5six full live set; you could see that their music is obviously pretty important to them.

You can find Headwreck’s latest single Good Grief on all platforms.

HEADWRECK ARE:

Vocals -Connor Hickman

Guitar – Jamo Benadie

Bass – Callen Batson

Drums – Sam Conroy

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A GENTLE REMINDER IN THE FORM OF MUSIC FROM PEAK PARK’S NEW SINGLE: PLEASE DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF

 Pictured: Callum Lausberg, Mitchell Summers, and Thomas Hoeft from indie-rock band Peak Park.
Image: Todd Riley

As July begins, 2020 is half way through and the winter months are in full-force. Winter, along with a second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria, presents a somewhat difficult time, especially for those who are confined to the safety of their own homes. Enter Melbourne three-piece project Peak Park, who have released their new single, Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, and you’ve got yourself a seasonal remedy which is sure to provide a sense of comfort amidst the uncertainty.  

 Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, released on 25 May, touches on feelings of shame surrounding mental health struggles, and is an attempt to bring relief in the form of a four-minute track.

Multi-instrumentalist, producer and mixer of Peak Park, Thomas Hoeft, spoke of the source of inspiration which led to Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself.

“The complete process of writing, recording, producing and releasing this song in and of itself ended up being an enlightening journey for us to realise how important song writing is for our own mental health,” he said.

“It wasn’t till we started recording and finishing the mixing process that we began to critically discuss what the song was about and why we’d written it.”

This process allowed the three-piece to really tap into vulnerable moments people may encounter when facing troubling thoughts.

 “The themes explored in the song can be quite intimidating and confronting but the challenge for us (or anyone for that matter) is to find your own way of expressing these emotions,” he said.

“You should also never feel ashamed for talking about them. It’s a nice notion to be reminded that sometimes you need to cut yourself some slack.”

Pictured: Peak Park helped each other with their mental health during isolation periods of COVID-19.
Image: Todd Riley 

Hoeft added that during COVID-19 the band collectively helped each other to maintain a healthy mindset. 

“We’ve been fortunate enough that through the band the three of us have become quite close and have created an open forum to discuss our emotions and to rely on one another,” he said. 

“Talking to friends and family and admitting when things are rough has really helped me get through iso, and working on music when I’m stressed is also a big thing for me.” 

The song itself encompasses a whirlpool of genres: the beginning starting as what seems to be a lofi-bedroom sound, which quickly transcends into a synth driven indie-electronic mood, and then eventually culminates in an alt-rock breakdown (my favourite kind!) reminiscent of English alt-rock band Foals.

All of these components blend and build upon one another, ultimately creating an incredibly unique sound for Peak Park.  

 Hoeft said if Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself reaches even one person, the band would be “incredibly stoked”. 

“The hope is this song speaks to at least one person and they feel a sense of comfort or reassurance through the music and lyrics,” he said. 

Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself is a gentle reminder from Peak Park to take it easy, and whilst doing so, absorb all of the swirling sounds they’ve so wonderfully produced. 

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If you, or someone you know needs help:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

Headspace on 1800 650 890

MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services

LGBTIQA+ Support 

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