Here’s the new single from Stuart Dwyer’s Debut EP ‘Before The Night’ featuring on soundslikecafe.
Stuart Dwyer is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Sydney, Australia.
There are many ways to describe Stuart, unique, talented and charismatic just seem to scratch the surface. However, there is one word that ties them all together and is true to their character: Stuart’s music is Real. Few people sing so honestly from their heart and soul. Stuart’s music does so in just the right way, combining art, story, and song in perfect unison.
You can get a great sense from the video for the song shot in Tasmania
Stuart’s first EP “Before the night” was released in February 2020 with his next single “Nobody Else” due to be released in October 2020.
"Margaret Anne and The Rock it Man – Don’t Look Back"
After releasing the inspiring and amazing Americana song and video clip ‘Soul Laid Bare’ at the end of last year, Margaret Anne and The Rock It Man have released two exciting new songs. ‘Don’t Look Back’ co-written with Shane Nicholson and ‘My Mumma’ written while watching the passing of her mother 2 years ago.
Just 2 months after leaving a 20-year marriage, ‘Don’t Look Back’ was written with country artist Shane Nicholson at The Dag Sheep Station in Nundle, near Tamworth. While sitting on the porch of a farmhouse, Shane helped Margaret Anne peel back the layers to look deep within. Doug Weaver (aka the Rock It Man) produced and played not one but all of instruments on the song.
The result is a song that examines the essence of her marriage, the struggle to get it right, the decision to move on from the wreckage and not look back.
‘My Mumma’ was written on the back of a bereavement envelope in about 10 minutes. When faced with the death of her mother, Margaret fell back into childhood, writing this emotional ballad of grief while waiting and watching her pass away. Played by her brother, the accompanying guitar forms the song into both a collection of vulnerable memories and a haunting goodbye.
Motivated by adventure and passion, MargaretAnne continually touches her fans and listeners with her inclusive, warm, heartfelt singing and dynamic stage presence. She grew up in a musical family, singing and playing classical piano from the age of 3,through her teen years, and then spent her 20’s travelling and singing through far reaches of the world and into the mountains of Bolivia, Alaska and Tibet.
Margaret Anne has also co-written original songs including the already released ‘Cassidy’s Blues’ with Kelly Brouhaha of Beccy Cole and the Lionesses, ‘The Tree’ with Greta Ziller and ‘The Ones you Love’ with Luke O’Shea. Doug Weaver has used his expertise to skilfully play, arrange, and mix these songs which will feature in their Albums.
The Don’t Look Back video captures the essence of escaping to the open road and is a mix of scenic, action and pensive footage thoughtfully cut with flash backs of old super 8 footage of Margaret Anne at the age of 3 through to the end of the marriage.
STEVE KILBEY PRESENTS HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM FOR 2020 – ELEVEN WOMEN
Catch the new LIVE SHOW – click image for tix.
Checkout The Latest Review
We’ve become used to seeing many of our favourite artists and acts taking advantage of their enforced isolation to complete albums or other musical projects that might normally have been put aside to fulfil touring obligations, but Steve Kilbey was already well into perhaps his most prolific period to date beforeCOVID overwhelmed us. This year already there have two albums in collaboration with Gareth Koch, another with Kate Ceberano and now comes a solo album, Eleven Women. All the collaborations in which Kilbey has been involved over the past couple of decades have certainly helped him push his muse beyond the expected pop/rock references points, but at the end of the day he’s still the archetypal pop sponge; his love of ‘60s psychedelia and artists like The Beatles and Bowie with a dash of The Small Faces remains paramount, the more exotic elements absorbed providing quirky flourishes and whimsical embellishments – which makes for a very accessible and enjoyable classic record. The references, musical and literary, are replete and once in a while they quite cheeky – Birdeeneven sees Kilbey toss in a little reference to Abba’s ‘Money Money Money’. While the title suggests this collection presents Kilbey’s musings on a variety of women, historical, literary and some perhaps even actual, he’s happy to toss in something more oblique – ‘Lillian in Cerulean Blue’ for instance references a brand of metallic paint, while the aforementioned ‘Birdeen’ seems to be about particularly greedy lorikeet. So Mary Shelley is name-checked in ‘Poppy Byron’, though of course Kilbey’s Mary “was watchin’ the telly/on SBS it was in Mandarin”. Elsewhere he advises his listeners not to cross the “bewitching” ‘Doris McAllister’. Kilbey’s lyrics have never been straightforward of course. The fun has always been to test his listeners, to tease them with possible meanings – and so too with Eleven Women. Professionally enigmatic? Perhaps – and why not?
Steve Kilbey has created a fine new album for 2020. His first solo release for an astoundingly creative year reveals a dazzling array of songs brimming with ideas, personality & effervescence. The collection is at once whimsical yet personal, and in a masterful sleight of hand Kilbey’s Eleven Women are not quite as one might expect.
The album leads us through a shimmering whirlwind of encounters. After the disarming love song Baby Poewe are plunged headlong into the dark world of Doris McAllister, an evil witch who takes us ‘by the bells’. We are regaled by the Celtic wistfulness of Josephineas she forbearingly awaits her ‘wine & roses’ while Birdeen, a greedy lorikeet with a sweet tooth, beguiles us with infectious bounce & colour.
Eleven Womenis full of melodic invention & lyrical surprises. Singling out tracks for special mention is frankly impossible since this album consists entirely of highlights. Amongst these bijous however the timelessly beautiful Think of Youshines brightly. This song has the unmistakeable stamp of eternity & evokes a sense of having existed since music began.
From the album’s opening salvo it is clear we are in the most capable of hands. Steve Kilbey is a veteran song writer at the very height of his creative powers.
“Steve Kllbey was born in England a long time ago and arrived in Australia as a ten pound pom with his parents in 1957. in 1980 he formed The Church who have gone on to have many hit singles including Unguarded Moment, Almost with You and international best seller Under The Milky Way. Their 1988 album Starfish sold over one million copies in America alone. Kilbey has released many solo albums and collaborations making him one of the most prolific songwriters in the world. He acts , paints , writes books and juggles dangerous objects . He lives in Coogee Beach NSW and is hoping to one day own a Daschund .”
A great new single from Adam his first from the forthcoming album on the soundslikecafe playlist
A casual loan of a classic Fender Jaguar Guitar inspires this heartfelt new single from Sydney Songman Adam Blacksmith
Adam Blacksmith is a thought provoking songwriter from Sydney, Australia. He is a talented wordsmith and a storyteller. He draws his influences from far and wide, from his contemporaries Augie March and the Drones to his workplace, Long Bay Gaol in Sydney where he works as a Special Education teacher. Blacksmith’s music doesn’t fall neatly into any conventional category although musically, he gives folk and blues an indie make-over resulting in a refreshing and unique sound.
Photo: Matt Weddis www.instagram.com/mattweddis
The story behind ‘I Hope I’m wrong’
“Just prior to leaving, a friend of mine asked me to help him sell some of his guitars while he was away and gave me a white Fender Jaguar as a show of thanks. I thought this was a little over the top so I accepted and vowed to store them for him for when he returned. I have not heard from him for a few years now and I am extremely worried. (I hope I’m wrong)
This song reflects my emotions oscillating between fear, anger, sorrow and hope in relation my friend.”
"Julie-Anne Marshall-(feat Nikolai Egel) Presents New Single Rich Woman(Dollar)"
One of soundslikecafe’s most consistent, well loved and prolific song writers Julie-Anne Marshall has stepped right up with this new tune featuring some rapping from Nikolai Egel for your listening pleasure.
Currently sitting at Number 1 on our Spotify Playlist and not going anywhere soon, a great track.
As a solo artist Julie-Anne continues to surprise us with her genre crossovers, however, her songwriting still shines through with her lyric-driven, melodic and easy listening style. Rich Woman (Dollar) is Julie-Anne’s latest single release and it has an urban pop 40’s vibe and features Melbourne based rapper Nikolai Egel.
Andrew Barnum is a singer-songwriter, whose musical style is a combination of folk-based Aus alt-folk and home-pop-tronic-rock. Welcome to a visually transporting road-trip of the Australian experience today.
The song-writing-performance duo of Andrew & Lissa Barnum, aka Vitabeats, had a national hit with ‘Boom Box’ (Hot/EMI) in 1985. This was followed by singles ‘Audrey’ and ‘Build it Right’ from the album ‘Spot the Spanner.’ The band stopped recording and touring in 1988. Andrew never stopped writing, recording and performing his own songs.
Andrew’s current sound is a blend of the acoustic and electronic arcane – forgotten analogue technologies, merging with digital interfaces and an array of musicians, including vocals from Lissa and Cayenne Barnum, all coming together in accomplished composer-producer Boris Hunt’s Black Rabbit Studio in Hartley, NSW.
Dear Ancestor is a personal letter to our past about the future. It’s a lament to someone trusted and wise, asking for a way to awaken with purpose. Like the Zen master, it’s not with a gentle nudge, but with a crack from their stick. The track was recorded live with Boris Hunt, Lucius Culliton, and Andy Gordon,
at Black Rabbit Big Room, Kanimbla NSW Australia. Mastered by Nat Love.
The overall sound has a a dark, smoky, haunting lyrical quality. Musically, it speaks volumes with a sense of longing, lingering, and meandering, that is full of romance. Video (recently premiered on Scenstr Magazine) click image to view
The video clip was a collaboration with students from Billy Blue College (Andy Marsh, Christine Kemeny, Bailey Sii, and Tony Taulaga), where all the footage was shot in 2 isolated locations, Sydney and the South Coast, then edited. The creative direction was based on the silhouette style of Indonesian shadow puppetry. The team set out to create the smoky, burnt atmosphere of the recent bushfires, the spirit of the Ancestor is represented by Australian birds. Special thanks to Christine Kemeny for the final production.
At its base we find tranquil synths, but as a whole our ears are assaulted with the addition of some enchanting bass and drum electronic grooves. The fourth EP (since 2013) ‘Tranquility Base’ from Throwing Shapes, the innovative and progressive Perth dance music duo – Fox Shannon and Matt Huxtable – delivers some frenetic beats over melodic stylings using piano, bass and some powerful synthesised sounds.
This instrumental dance outfit are known for their energetic and captivating live shows as they garner more interest and entries in dance music compilation albums and Spotify Playlists. From the opening title track through to the moody closer, Throwing Shapes are ‘Defiant, Yet At Your Mercy’, with five solid tracks given some cool titles, such as ‘Wonders To Behold’, ‘Demons Run’ and ‘Marauder’!
These guys are to electronic dance music today what Pink Floyd was to progressive rock back in the late 60s and 70s, providing some creative, moving and beautiful melodic sounds over some of the best bass’n’drum electronic beats you will ever hope to find.
Whether you want to indulge your aural senses at home, in the car, or down the club, with some superior quality dance music, go no further than Throwing Shapes and their latest offering. It will be worth it!
