MrHarvey – Its Kool to be Kind

October 23, 2020 Leave a comment

MrHarvey New Ep It’s Kool to Be Kind

Release Date: October 23 (Foghorn/MGM) ALL Digital Platforms

MrHarvey is the stage name of singer-songwriter Nathan Harvey. Having only picked up a guitar in 2015 at 44 years old, his music is as interesting and diverse as his life! A blend of blues, folk, country and rock, Nathan’s music is very lyrics focused as he draws on a myriad of musical and life experiences.

Former Channel V host and media personality in the 90’s, Nathan retreated from the spotlight leaving his hometown of Sydney for the Gold Coast working as a show announcer and FOH mixer at SeaWorld. It was here that he literally learnt the ropes from scratch after befriending the Ski Captain to become a professional water skier.

In 2010 a near fatal water-skiing accident in Canada whilst skiing with old SeaWorld buddies saw Nathan return to Sydney with a titanium plate and 4 screws holding his neck together. Always loving music and being a drummer in his teens, Nathan played in a fun “pisstake” band during his V days called “The Velvet Underpants” alongside Ken Stewart from Mr Blonde and Anthony Ousback former MTV host. His debut single “Brand New Day” was played nationally on the Triple M / Austereo Network and reached No 3 on the overall Triple J Unearthed Charts.

Arranged and produced by Nathan Harvey with Magnus as co-producer the EP features Nathan on vocals, guitar, some keyboards and various other instruments, Magnus on Clarinet, BVs and lead keyboards along with Catrina Bargwanna, Tara Resch on Violin / BVs, Alex Gresley on lead and bass guitar, Luke Spies on drums and Brett Chapman on Harmonica.

It’s Kool to Be Kind is OUT NOW – via MGM

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Jimmy C’s New Album The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C

October 16, 2020 Leave a comment

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Melbourne one-man-band Releases his New Album – The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C

The Jimmy C returns with an album that surprised even himself. Despite featuring a few guest contributions from Jamie’s Lava Fangs bandmates: Wesley Fahey and Andrew Horne, and Stu Thomas (The Stu Thomas Paradox, Kim Salmon/Surrealists, Dave Graney), the vast majority of instruments on the record, as always, are performed by Jamie.

Step into “The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C” – a fantasy land of catchy pop songs, self-deprecation, and the struggle for normalcy in a world gone completely bonkers.

Jamie Coghill is a musician and songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia, who has been recording solo under the moniker of ‘The Jimmy C’ since 2005. A multi-instrumentalist, The Jimmy C is Jamie’s primary creative outlet, in which he writes, records, engineers, produces, mixes and masters everything himself in his home studio, Casa de Kensington. Originally recording to four-track tape, and gradually moving to digital, Jamie’s ability to make his lo-fi gear produce hi-fi quality sound is part of The Jimmy C’s charm.

Playing primarily as a drummer in The Devilrock Four, Fez Perez and Luxedo prior to 2005, The Jimmy C was Jamie’s opportunity to showcase his unique style and abilities, and quickly became his main musical project. While still touring with Devilrock, including a tour of Europe in 2008, Jamie was working on what would end up being 2009’s Glamour and Fame. Recorded over two years “in lunch breaks and on weekends”, Glamour and Fame was a sprawling 20 track loose concept album, which established Jamie’s talent – as well as his penchant for genre hopping and very short songs.

The Jimmy C has since released three albums: 2014’s Orbital Debris, 2016’s Un Homme Orchestra (released as three EPs but spiritually one record) and 2018’s Songs For The Species; as well as recording original music for two American web series: The Adventures of Superseven and The Sandra West Diaries; and a feature film. He also released several EPs, a Christmas single, and produced a live album with The Jimmy C Group, out of which formed his latest side project: Lava Fangs.

2020 is shaping up to be a huge year for Jamie, with The Jimmy C releasing his latest album, The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C, as well as Lava Fangs releasing their debut, self-titled long player.

As Melbourne headed into lockdown in early 2020, Jamie found himself stuck at home: which conveniently also houses his home studio. With the studio becoming a place of therapy, “The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C” became an album borne out of boredom. Continuing the DIY journey started with “Project E.G.O.” in 2005, “The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C” is The Jimmy C’s most accomplished and fastest finished album to date with Stage 3 Coronavirus restrictions unexpectedly giving Jamie much more time to spend working on new songs.

While The Jimmy C’s previous releases have all spanned genres, “The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C” showcases Jamie’s creativity and musical diversity on another level. No stranger to straight up rock’n’roll, he delivers that on ‘Standing in Doorways’, a track written for and about the Coghill family’s cats and kittens, while ‘Where Was She’ is perhaps the most straightforward pop jangle on any The Jimmy C record to date and melancholy album closer ‘Kings of the Earth’ departs from Jamie’s usual wheelhouse and introduces strings and a trumpet to The Jimmy C’s ever-expanding sound palate.

The Entirely Unremarkable World of The Jimmy C is out now on Foghorn/MGM.

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Andrew Barnum’s New Album Dear Ancestor

October 16, 2020 Leave a comment

Andrew Barnum’s New Album Dear Ancestor

Andrew Barnum is a singer-songwriter, whose music is a modern take on folk-blues based alt-rock. He has been recording and releasing his own original songs as a solo artist in Australia since the 1990s. With long-time collaborator Boris Hunt, they’ve now produced 8 albums. Their sound is a blend of the acoustic and electronic arcane – forgotten analogue technologies, merging with digital interfaces and an array of musicians. Boris and Andrew call it ‘Homefolktronics.’

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.’ YouTube clips: https://bit.ly/2Ctb1qo. The band stopped recording and touring in 1988. Andrew has never stopped writing, recording and performing his own songs since then.

Dear Ancestor is a letter to our past, asking for directions for the future. The songs have a dark smoky quality to them, musically they speak volumes, and have a sense of longing, lingering and meandering that is full of romance. There is a continual dark, menacing feel to the tracks that really captures the zeitgeist of today’s isolation.

The tracks were recorded live at Black Rabbit Big Room in Kanimbla NSW, Australia with Boris, Lucius Culliton (drums), Andy Gordon (bass) and Andrew (vocals guitar). Boris added more bass, keyboards and pedal steel, Andrew recorded the final vocals at home on the South Coast of NSW. 27 tracks were recorded, 11 made the cut, 9 released.

This album is part of a continuum of albums that began between Andrew and Boris starting in 1993. Dear Ancestor is their 8th album. The unique process required recording the initial 27 songs over 2 days. The final version of the album was mixed by Boris and mastered by Nat Love. Recorded before the Australian bushfires and then finalized during the arrival of the Pandemic.

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Social media links
www.facebook.com/andrewbarnumsongs
www.twitter.com/andrew_barnum

Official site
www.andrew-barnum-songs.squarespace.com

Gareth Koch New Album The Guitar Player

October 6, 2020 Leave a comment

GARETH KOCH NEW ALBUM THE GUITAR PLAYER

Following the EP Code Blue earlier this year and taking time out from multiple Steve Kilbey projects Gareth has put together this superb selection of his classical guitar work recorded in two European locations, a remote Austrian village chapel & a baroque Viennese monastery, while living in Europe for over two decades.

A curious & ancient bond unites the selections on this recording. Performed entirely on the ‘Spanish’ guitar, these works have been moulded by the traditions of Spanish classical music & the passionate folk art of flamenco. The musicological connection between folk & classical music is well documented, a phenomenon in which composers incorporate the spirit of folk music into their work. Spanish music is often imbued with the fire of ‘Gypsy song’, whose powerful artistic reach extends well beyond Spain.

ARIA Award winner Gareth Koch is uniquely placed as an interpreter of Spanish music. Trained in Vienna & Madrid, he brings both classical & flamenco perspectives to his interpretation. He is joined on tracks 3, 9 & 12 by Viennese cellist Herwig Tachezi – former Principal Cellist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

‘The Guitar Player’ is an entirely natural acoustic recording using direct source microphones and purely the ambient spaces of the chapel’s thereby avoiding any extra processing.

Gareth Koch is an ARIA Award winning recording artist, guitar soloist, composer & songwriter. He has recorded a diverse repertory across multiple albums spanning works for classical guitar, flamenco, original compositions, arrangements, medieval projects & songwriting. He has appeared at major festivals within Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.
Born in Milan, Koch began his musical studies on piano and clarinet, and at age 12 was accepted into the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before winning a scholarship for advanced guitar study at the Vienna Academy of Music. He holds a PhD in Music.
In 2002 Koch formed what might be termed the first guitar supergroup. Saffire – The Australian Guitar Quartet soared to number 1 on the classical music charts and appeared on the pop charts. The quartet released a total of 3 best-selling albums.
Gareth is involved with many cross genre projects & in 2020 released two collaborative albums with ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kilbey (The Church).

The Guitar Player is OUT NOW – September 18 via MGM
All DSP’s and CD’s in store from October

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Adam Blacksmith – I Hope i’m Wrong New Single

August 28, 2020 Leave a comment

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.”

Stream the new single here:

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Andrew Barnum – Dear Ancestor(official video)

August 7, 2020 Leave a comment

Fiona Joy Hawkins New Album Moving Through Worlds

July 15, 2020 Leave a comment

Fiona Joy Hawkin’s Presents New Album and Video
Moving Through Worlds

As the Australian Bushfires crept toward her rural home, Fiona Joy Hawkins turned to her Stuart & Sons piano to do what has always bought her solace: writing music. After crafting 4 songs that she later marketed as fundraisers for firefighters and wildlife rescue – and which are included on this album – she began final preparations on Moving Through Worlds.

Although she began recording and conceptualizing the album three years ago, one could say it is an album 44-years in the making. One of the more classical-crossover pieces is “For the Roses” which a 12-year-old Fiona wrote for her Grandmother’s funeral.

Fiona says, “I believe music is a gift from another world, from ancestors of the past communicating to inspire and give us hope. Music is a universal language that connects us without prejudice, it speaks to us all equally, yet is received with great variation. My wish is to open a few more hearts to the power of music. Now more than ever we need the connection to our past to find the pathway to our future.”

The 14-track album was beautifully produced by Will Ackerman (Founder Windham Hill Records) and Tom Eaton. As per her usual style, Fiona defies genre by bringing Classical, Contemporary Piano, and New Age instrumentals together to create something uniquely her own, and reflective of all the worlds that she has moved through so elegantly while this powerful music gathered in her soul.

Fiona Joy Hawkins is an Australian Pianist, Composer and Singer who enjoys and regularly tours China and the USA and is also a member of the Contemporary instrumental group FLOW (Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, Jeff Oster, Will Ackerman). Fiona Joy Hawkins is best known for her romantic, melodic songs and lush arrangements. A prolific composer, she has always been interested in creating music that evokes images, emotions and tells stories.

Fiona Joy is known for ‘Grace’, her song on a Grammy Winning album in 2014 and for her extensive catalogue produced by Will Ackerman (Founder Windham Hill Records). In 2016 she won two categories of the Independent Music Awards at the Lincoln Centre in New York and has been awarded Best Piano Album by International Radio (ZMR Awards) for several of her albums. Nominated alongside Pete Seeger for Best LIVE Performance Album in the Independent Music Awards,Fiona was an ARIA Finalist in Australia in 2008. Fiona works with Australian piano maker Stuart and Sons, and has several albums with Blue Coast Records (content partners with Sony Music for hi-resolution releases).

Watch the Video (Premiered on Scenstr) for Calling County Clare here

In the case of Fiona Joy Hawkins’ latest collection Moving Through Worlds, there are glorious exceptions where it’s not hyperbole in any sense and fits today, tomorrow and for all…let’s just say I can’t imagine there ever being a time in the future when listening to this deeply personal, socially conscious, stylistically expansive 14-track musical narrative would grip me any less than it does today, in the midst of world gone mad 2020. – Jonathan Widran, JWVibe

“Moving Through Worlds” is OUT NOW (July 7) via Little Hartley Music.

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Fiona Joy Hawkins – Calling County Clare(Official)

June 24, 2020 Leave a comment

STEVE KILBEY AND GARETH KOCH NEW ALBUM SONGS FROM ANOTHER LIFE: MUSIC OF ANTIQUITY

May 29, 2020 Leave a comment

Soundslikecafe is very proud to present this exceptional, spacious, fresh and different album from two of Australia’s most interesting ARIA Award winning artists joining together once again ……

Songs from Another Life (Music of Antiquity) is the second collaborative album by Steve Kilbey and Gareth Koch. It follows their successful debut Chryse Planitia earlier this year.

These two artisans have produced a unique musical creation – an esoteric masterpiece which is difficult to define. It is an entirely new body of work, evoking a living connection to the past which resonates with us all.

It is tantalising to reflect on how music of the ‘ancients’ might have sounded. Our clues lie in the iconography and artistic representations of the pre-Christian era, and within specific types of folk music which have a living tradition. This continuum provides a valuable framework for the attempt at reconstructing ancient music. Indian folk music and flamenco for example create an interesting template, since both these traditions merged and are further coloured by the Moorish invasions of Andalucia.

It is significant therefore that the earliest form of notation was created in Babylonia, probably in about 1400BC. The instructions are fragmentary, but the cuneiform tablets suggest that the music was composed using scales, harmonies and gestures not altogether unfamiliar to today’s listener.

In Steve’s words on the liner notes to the LP he says:

“Working with language scholars and local musicians, we have attempted to bring these ancient songs alive. They have rendered the songs in a manner that is comprehensible to the modern listener. The songs and recordings represent the thoughts and sounds of a distant antiquity. Here then is the past – and now the past is here.”

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Graham Gouldman Album Modesty Forbids New Review

May 26, 2020 Leave a comment

Review

By Michael Smith

Imagine being invited to play with one of the guys who inspired you to become a musician. For Eric Stewart, that became a reality for a few productive years when he joined Paul McCartney, not only playing guitar for but cowriting songs with him for his Tug Of War, Pipes Of Peace, Give My Regards to Broadway and the unfortunate Press to Play albums. For Graham Gouldman, Stewart’s one-time partner in 10CC, it came with a call to join Ringo Starr on a tour. Well, he was never going to get a call from Paul was he, being a bass player? Gouldman may be getting on a bit but as the opening track of his third solo album, ‘Standing Next To Me’, makes clear, Gouldman remains as youthfully starry-eyed about having had the chance to play with a Beatle, who adds his drums to this most Beatleish of tunes, as he would have been when he first heard The Beatles as an aspiring 17 year old playing in bands around Salford and Birmingham back in 1963.

Within a year, Gouldman was churning out songs that matched his obvious inspiration, McCartney, that were being recorded by everyone from The Yardbirds – ‘For Your Love’ and ‘Heart Full of Soul’ – to Herman’s Hermits – ‘No Milk Today’ – to The Hollies – ‘Bus Stop’, even if his own band The Mockingbirds never quite managed to break through. From 1970 on, Gouldman seemed happy to submerge his gifts within 10CC, cowriting within the initial four-piece then, after the split in 1977, with Eric Stewart, until he too stepped away. Across the 11 songs on Modesty Forbids, it’s obvious we’re in the presence of a master – and versatile – songsmith who, as it happens, has proven himself far more consistent in terms of quality control than McCartney, who obviously remains an unmistakeable influence, Gouldman’s bass lines often as stylishly melodic and unexpected as anything by the Fab One. There’s even a touch of the George Harrison’s not only in the lyric and melody of ‘What Time Won’t Heal’, but in Gouldman’s voice! It’s also not just silly love songs – Gouldman still has something to say, in ‘All Around the World’, cowritten with Beth Neilson Chapman, and the melodically very 10CC ‘Hangin’ by a Thread’ joining the call to face the reality of climate change. Modesty Forbids is the album McCartney fans have been hoping their man might make for years – a pretty bold statement, I know, but really, ‘Waiting All My Life for You’ is pure McCartney. Altogether, this is a truly quality album in the classic sense.

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