JAHMIELE HICKS // THE BACKBEAT // HOST, REVIEWER, WRITER
REVIEWS
All in all - emotional, intimate, energetic, filthy with aggressive production and personal, passionate songwriting, ‘Jacobus’ is a privilege to hear.
From start to finish, the brilliantly written & mixed tracks build perfectly throughout the EP, gradually introducing more and more nods to heavy influences as it plays through. Personally, I just really love the whole record. I struggled writing this up because I just wanted to listen and listen and listen, and that was it.
I legitimately hit my head on the wall behind me when bopping back and forth to the intense and emotional tunes - so yeah, it’s a literal banger.
Overall the track is a solid step in the band’s personal sound and style development, with influential nods to IDLES and Lazertits and great clear instrumental and vocal sound recording quality, especially notic…
The single itself opens with nostalgic lines, depicting the ever-familiar scene of sitting in the backseat of a car, the sun coming through the windows and ‘the sound of talkback radio sinkin’ in’ - we’re back to pretending we’re in a dramatic music video watching the world go by outside.
FOR FANS OF: The War On Drugs, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Sweater Curse, TOWNS, The Jensens, Good Boy. Acts like this always seem to draw me in with their layers of seductive guitar riffs and Future Haunts are no different. As soon as they popped up in my Spotify Radar, I was immediately obsessed, and their live performance is just as lush.
BLOG PIECES // INTERVIEWS
I had a wonderful chat with Garry Beers, bassist of world-renowned Australian rock band INXS and now, Ashenmoon! We covered the new releases and the writing process, the effects of the current COVID situation, environmentalism and dog rescue, his high school dance featuring AC/DC, life during and after INXS, and a bunch more…
“The Motion Below are back to finish what they started with "Truth Hurts", part two of their mini music series that encapsulates the inner turmoil of a man lost within himself and ultimate descent into madness.”
Jahmiele had a chat to vocalist Ryan about the release, the process, mental health, how to get the best out of your own band, and whats coming up next. We had a lot more to say so be sure to check out the full interview in the upcoming podcast episode!
PODCAST EPISODES
In this episode I catch up with new Hands Like Houses vocalist, Josh Raven, post-recovery and pre-tour for his first live shows with the band. This might just be my favourite episode yet, as another bucket-list item checked off! We talk all things HLH, including joining the band and transitioning between projects, vocal techniques, moving into new themes and musical styles, collaborating with old and new friends, Josh’s current bookworm reads, and of course preparing for the upcoming tour (starting this week!) and his top 3 current Aussie artists.
Last year, Impressed Recordings, Australia’s first direct-to-superfan vinyl brand, landed on the scene with an armada of curated releases from some of the country’s most beloved and exciting new acts.
I caught up with Luke Bevans, founder of Impressed Recordings, and - through a handful of technical difficulties - we caught up about all things Aussie music and vinyl. industry sustainability and collaboration, upcoming plans, and of course, his current top Aussie artists.
Be sure to check out Impressed Recordings, as well as the upcoming Record Store Day special releases on April 20!You’ll need to visit your local record store IRL to snap up what’s on offer, so make sure to put it in your calendar!
Spearheaded by Melbourne/Naarm-based creative Allison Watters, the DIY independent 'zine PULSE makes a comeback this year for PULSE: Issue 2. In what might be one of my favourite episodes/conversations to date, I chatted with Allison about all things PULSE, and pick her brain about her experience entering the heavy music and media industry, and why its so important to push for representation and support of non-men in the industry.
I got to chat with Callum and Jack from The Snuts all the way over in Glasgow, ahead of their first independent album on their fresh record label 'Happy Artist Records'. 'Millennials' is a content and carefree leap away from their previous album - and it's so dang happy I might cry (in a good way).
I catch up with Leo Davadi Sundli, AKA STORM, ahead of his slot with Download UK in June this year. The audio for this episode is a little iffy (good ol' Zoom Calls), but at just 15 years old STORM is smashing expectations and we're psyched to see where he goes.
Back with the second ever 2024 episode in the last month of the year - but we’re here! In this one I got to chat to Ed and Todd who’ve directed and produced a huge list of incredible projects with names including Gerard Way, The Veronicas, I Prevail, Fender, Northlane (and a bunch of early days Backbeat guests including Warwick Hughes from our FIRST guest episode, and Jess and Jay from Episode 5!).
I was lucky enough to be involved with the latest Northlane music video shoot for ‘Dante’, where I connected with the guys and we managed to squeeze a near-2-hour episode into what has been a crazy past couple of weeks!
We go over video production and directing, lessons learned over their years in the industry, with a sprinkling of mental health and personal wellbeing, and ofcourse their current Aussie favourites.
Back with a new episode for the first time in a YEAR. Oops.
In this one I’m chatting to someone who I’m personally a huge fan of, while also being my first episode back in a LONG time, and my first international guest (as older listeners of this podcast and platform has previously been solely focussed on Australian music and artists). Safe to say I’m excited for this one.
On what is possibly the longest distance zoom call I’ve ever done, I’m here with Orla Gartland!
Here, in Part 2 I caught Some Heard Trouble right before they went on stage, chatting about their recent and upcoming releases, mental health and burn out, personal and professional development within the band, their top 3 Aussie acts right now, and more!
I caught up with The Last Martyr and Some Heard Trouble at Freeza and Yo Bendigo’s ‘BendiGLOW’ Youth Fest in September for my first FACE TO FACE interviews in over a year and a half (!!!). Look out for Part 2 with Some Heard Trouble coming up next!
Ahead of their mammoth 22-date national album tour for October - December, I chatted to Maz from WAAX on their latest album ‘Atleast I’m Free’, with the tour kicking off this coming week on October 6.
“You might consider At Least I’m Free something like a second debut album for WAAX — a creative and emotional rebirth that’s resulted in some of the band’s finest, punchiest songs ever” and that’s exactly what this ep is all about. Songwriting, hardships, mental health, industry struggles, and coming out the other side. Enjoy.
Without a doubt, the “feel-good” vibes of Spici Water will continue to grow their following throughout Western Australia & beyond. I chat to the band about their new track 'Truth' and catch up about the bands' history, their first show and first tour, mental health, adulting, ADHD, and why in the world they're called 'Spici Water'.
Madi is a long-time friend and live events and boudoir photographer and model, who started out down here in VIC and has moved up to Brisbane to follow her passions. Having covered locals like Tonight Alive, Trophy Eyes, Northlane, The Amity Afflication and internationals such as All Time Low, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, and Mayday Parade, moving up in the world with her business, Madi is one to watch!
James from a couple episodes ago - I HEARD A RUMOUR(S) - makes a noble return and gives the run down on Australian Owned, Melbourne based Drumstick and Apparel company, Big Sound Percussion.
In this episode, I catch up with Cam and Pat from Tassie-based indie. punk-rockers, The Sleepyheads, while they recover from covid and other fun stuff. We go over their debut album ‘Something to Balance the Sonder’. Coming full circle a little here as my old co-host Gabby mentioned them in a super early episode as one of her hometown favourites. ‘Something to Balance the Sonder’ is out NOW - definitely check it out, and enjoy the episode!
In this one, I’m chatting to Ben and James from Melbourne alt-rock band Rumours, who have the launch for their latest single ‘Blood Eagle’ next Friday (July 15) at Cherry Bar.
A slightly more lighthearted one, where we go over the new release, the upcoming single launch, mental health and supporting each other, dream collaborations, their songwriting process based on their influences and inspirations, and what to expect from them going forward.
Check out this weekend’s sister episode with Yours Truly as well!
Another short one, this time with Mikaila Delgado from Sydney ‘alternative bright lights’, Yours Truly.
Their new EP ‘is this what I look like’ comes out next Friday July 15th and in this episode we go over the background of the EP and prior releases, the surprise video debut for ‘Lights On’ at Unify 2022, working with Josh Franceschi from You Me At Six for ‘Hallucinate’, Mikaila’s fem-focussed collab wishlist, rebranding their feeds for new releases, and we touch on feelings of imposter syndrome & mental health, and how that’s changing over time for Mikaila and the band.
It’s sweet, it’s fluffy, it’s tasty, it’s Bakers Eddy. In this absolute biscuit factory of an episode, I catch up with Ian and Ciarran from Bakers Eddy, to chat about their mammoth tour announcement, their freshly baked not-so-debut album ‘Love Boredom Bicycles’, emo origin stories and their change in confidence over the years, cats, fashion, the whole loaf. It’s got a sprinkle of occasional chaos and a litre of laughs. Enjoy.
A quick one with Montaigne in lead up to Groovin’ the Moo!We chat about that ‘fucked music’ we fondly know as 'Hyperpop’, the development of her track ‘Always Be You’ with none other than American new-wave idol, Talking Heads’ David Byrne, her acting debut with ‘Time to Buy’, and hints for her upcoming album.
After debuting a new name with their late 2021 track ‘Now Or Later’, Sydney indie pop quartet 90ivy (formerly The Flowers) are thrilled to soon be revealing their brand new single ‘Tiffany’. We chat about the band’s personal and creative inspos, introspection, mental health, soap-box trash TV, and of course, their Aussie faves.
In this smashing solo return, I've got the scoop with Dale Tanner from Ocean Grove, chatting a little more in depth about the intention behind upcoming album 'Up In The Air Forever', mental health and wellbeing, and the development of Ocean Grove's personal mantra 'PMA'.
The end of an era! I say goodbye to Gabby and we go over some of her highlights in her time as co-host on the BackBeat. Will we see her on here again? Only time will tell! Thankyou to Gabby for her involvement and efforts in kicking off this whole project, and we’ll catch you next week with one HECK of a guest - like, seriously…
We catch up with Nick & Tristan from Brisbane band, Waxflower, about songwriting, search engine optimisation, mental health, developmental changes, and of course their latest single 'Soak'.
We jump on a call with Maddy Herbert of neo-soul band Velvet Bloom to chat all about their latest release, their upcoming EP, christmas carols, songwriting processes, recording for vinyl, and fundraising for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, all featuring some adorable adopted kits and pups.
We chat to our very own photo whiz, Lauren, to chat about all things photography, study, imposter syndrome, touring, rebranding, career dreams, and....geese? It's a long one, so strap in.
Let us know what you think of our new intro too - we think it’s pretty funky but we’d love to hear your thoughts!
This episode we've got another all girl party, with Jaz Yates from JY Management Group and 'Your Music, Your Business' podcast, talking about mental health, cancel culture, artist management, and "proving how being a young, entrepreneurial, and driven woman comes with strength & mistakes."
Moaning Lisa give us the low on their latest album release 'Something Like This But Not This', touring plans, living and gigging in Canberra, their experiences and focusses on gig etiquette and social activism, and of course, their 'BIG 3' star signs (the important stuff, we know).
We're super excited for this one - we get to chat to Ben Lee about social media presence, indigenous awareness, personal identity, tik tok, collaboration, Taylor Swift, and heaps more; and of course his latest release 'Born For This Bullshit'.
We’re back and almost better than ever, with everyone on their own mic and sounding great!In this episode we chat to Sez, a comedian, musician, tik-tok creator, podcaster, and otherwise creative Brunswickian originally from the Blue Mountains NSW.
We've returned from another unplanned hiatus and this time we're back with Jimmy and Cam from The VANNS! We chat about the new single 'Feels Good Now', COVID life, Triple J lols, BTS funnies, and more. Stay tuned for some super funky chats coming your way as we attempt to get back into. the swing of things! Hold tight! <3
This episode is a hot mess. It’s been a while and we’re out of practice, but settle in for 45 minutes of updates, shit-talking, and a chat with Sly Withers!
BLOG POSTS
I had a wonderful chat with Garry Beers, bassist of world-renowned Australian rock band INXS and now, Ashenmoon! We covered the new releases and the writing process, the effects of the current COVID situation, environmentalism and dog rescue, his high school dance featuring AC/DC, life during and after INXS, and a bunch more…
“The Motion Below are back to finish what they started with "Truth Hurts", part two of their mini music series that encapsulates the inner turmoil of a man lost within himself and ultimate descent into madness.”
Jahmiele had a chat to vocalist Ryan about the release, the process, mental health, how to get the best out of your own band, and whats coming up next. We had a lot more to say so be sure to check out the full interview in the upcoming podcast episode!
Victoria’s teen queen, yergurl AKA Fae Scott, is a songwriter, vocalist and producer, making dreamy pop beats in her bedroom. 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.
We recently put together a small Instagram story series featuring a bunch of local gals who’re 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 (Yara Alkurd) is a Palestinian singer/songwriter with a melting pot of smooth sounds, stemming from jazz, soft RnB and neo-soul.
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. 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 Ro…
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!
The holiday season is in full swing, and while festive events are of course booked on every block, we wanted to push a reminder of all the local artists performing and doing their own thing over the Christmas and New Year period. Here’s a small collection of what caught our eye, from late December to the earlier half of January 2020 - because yeah, we’re pretty much there already…yikes.
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!
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 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.
Self proclaimed ‘noodle flavoured noise punx’, KNT, recently released their newest single ‘Fix My Head’, a heavy garage-rock-esque tune about mental health. ‘For fans of Amyl and the Sniffers, Violent Soho, and IDLES’, the heavy track cracks open with immediate drums, heavy guitar and gnarly vocals from vocalist Fuji which track the whole way through, and jumps straight into the bulk of the song. It’s like KNT is reading our minds…