Afrobeat Artist D.Matthews Releases New Single ‘No Frontin’

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"Afrobeat Artist D.Matthews Releases New Single ‘No Frontin’"
Introducing Nigerian Afrobeat singer, songwriter, and musician “D.MATTHEWS”

“D.MATTHEWS” has collaborated with New Zealand producers Edyonthebeat and Shaan Mehta, as well as Ghanaian producer Possigee, who has worked with the likes of Wizkid, Mr. Eazi, Sarkodie and Stonebwoy. To list a few.

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 The recently Australian based afrobeats crooner also showcased his penchant for creating contemporary and progressive afropop throughout each & every one of his songs. Always paying homage to the foundational flavours of the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Flying the flag for afrobeats music in New Zealand over the past few years, D.Matthews was the first artist to bring afrobeats to New Zealand Fashion Week, as well as the first afrobeats artist to perform at one of the country’s biggest festivals, Splore Festival. His music has also garnered critical acclaim and support from Australian and New Zealand tastemakers such as Triple J Unearthed, The Beat Magazine and Base FM among others, as he continues to spread the gospel of afrobeats music down under, while representing NZ/AU afrobeats on the worldwide stage.

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Listen to the New Single ‘No Frontin’

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Listen to Two Previous Singles

Don’t Leave Me

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Africa

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Throwing Shapes Releases Single ‘Mind Filter’

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"Throwing Shapes Releases Single ‘Mind Filter’"

An up-tempo drum & bass track with an edge. A heavier rock vibe to this track with soaring synth lead lines and pumping rhythms – a fusion of rock and dance music. It’s about how we tell ourselves certain stories about our own lives, which aren’t always true. Sometimes they become an observation of life through a tinted glass or a ‘Filter’ for the ‘Mind’, distorting our view of the world and preventing us from seeing the truth of our own lives.

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About Throwing Shapes

Throwing Shapes is Fox Shannon: a musician, DJ and producer from Perth, Western Australia.  Unique and forward thinking electronic music.  With influences from Pendulum, Sub Focus and Shock One to Disclosure, Deadmau5. Pink Floyd and David Bowie.

Throwing Shapes have performed alongside other well established D’n’B artists such as Terrence & Phillip at local dance music festivals such as Reawakening and Back2Funk. Their energetic performances and catchy dance floor hooks have seen them feature on numerous compilation and won growing interest from community radio, with air play around the country and some US stations.

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PG Naylor’s Latest Singles ‘Better Left Unsaid’ and ‘Sensible’

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"PG Naylor’s Latest Singles ‘Better Left Unsaid’ and ‘Sensible’"

Checkout these new tunes for 2022 from 60’s fanatic PG Naylor

PG Naylor brings a new original visit to 60s classic rock music. All songs are written and performed by PG – who was there then in the 60s and is still here now! Although all the songs are new, they slot perfectly into a 60s rock playlist. PG has been playing in rock bands based in Sydney, Australia since the 60s, and after a life in the corporate world he has returned to his first love – 60s rock music. The title track to his album, Sanctuary, was announced as a semi finalist in the 2019 International Songwriting Competition, based in Nashville, USA; the tracks Sanctuary and Hollywood Road were both announced as semi finalists in the 2020 Voyager International Songwriting Competition based in Melbourne, Australia as well.
Demonstrating that there is still great interest in ‘old rockers’, since 2020 his songs have attracted over 80,00 listeners and just under 160,000 streams on Spotify (and still growing every day!)

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Better Left Unsaid – Hate to be a name dropper but I was having lunch with Mike McClellan at the Greengate Hotel in Killara (he was an old schoolmate of mine) and he told me he’d just written a song about seeing a lady at the airport and wondering who she was waiting for. He also thought he knew the lady but couldn’t place her till after she’d left. It turns out she was a well known personality but he wouldn’t reveal who.
Anyhow, I was searching through my old songs and I found this song that I’d written 20 years before for my wife’s birthday which sounded pretty catchy. So I adapted Mike’s idea to a railway station – changed my old lyrics to a tale about being tempted to say something to a lady at the station but deciding – ‘better left unsaid’.

Sensible – Was written about 20 years ago about my frustration with people who procrastinate instead of ‘just doing it’. It also started with some more fiddling around that Em7 chord to which I added a sequence of G, Bm and C followed by a C#dim to link to the chorus. It made, I thought, a nice melody with a ‘sing along type’ chorus. But my demo and Kim’s original tracks were all guitar-based. John Roy had other ideas.
He has a grand piano in the middle of his studio and he decided to record a sole grand piano track – he and Kim sent it to me for my reaction and I was blown away. Some guitar, bass and drums plus vocal and harmonies were added and voila! there we have Sensible as you hear it today.

Producer Kim Humphreys(John Farnham Band, Ted Mulry Gang) on working with PG
I really enjoy shaping Phil’s demos and seeing them evolve into what you can now hear, having taken the songs beyond the boundaries PG considered.
His songs all have a ‘’Back to the 60’s’ slant . . .     the period which continues to inspire my own approach to guitar playing ,recording and producing.
If this was the mid 60’s he would no doubt have Top 40 hits on his hands!

Recent International reviews

“Sensible is a beautiful, serene piano number with PG Naylor’s subtle vocals. It’s interesting in the 1:00 minute that the song takes a different turn as if we were stepping into a musical and later being embraced by guitar riffs”- TECO APPLE

“Showland ProductionsI really enjoyed the smooth and mellow entrance to Sensible. The instrumental is extremely catchy, and ready for a scene in a major motion picture. The tone and cadence in your vocals are soothing and perfect for singing along with.”

“PG Naylor is able to make something refreshing and retro while staying as clean and crisp as modern music can be. An A+ effort.” James McQuiston, Neufutur Magazine

Stream on Spotify:
Better Left Unsaid
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Sensible
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Steve Williams Releases New Single ‘Pump’

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"Steve Williams Releases New Single ‘Pump’"

Steve Williams releases the new single from his forthcoming album today and had this to say about it

‘Pump was actually written about a friend who went to jail for the crime of fraud. I’ve never been in jail but was locked up for a few hours once due to unpaid parking fines in the late 80’s en route to a support with Cyndi Lauper in Brisbane.t It’s my version of a modern day blues I guess.’

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About Steve Williams

Steve Williams came to prominence as the lead guitarist in the 80’s pop group Wa Wa Nee, who had top 5 hits and ARIA Nominations in Australia and chart action in Europe and the USA. Following Wa Wa Nee’s breakup Steve worked with prominent local artists, James Freud and Richard Clapton, before relocating to Europe.

In London, Steve built a successful career as a session guitarist working with Jon Lord from Deep Purple, Ray Parker Jr, Real Life and many more. He returned to Australia in 2005 and continued session and production work including musical theatre and television appearances playing with The Choir Boys, Matt Finish and others.

In 2020 Steve released the ‘Surry Road album’. All the tracks were co-written with musicians that he has worked with over his many years of touring and recording. Tracks feature guest vocals from Pat Powell (Melbourne Ska Orchestra and many more) and other well-known vocalists such as: John Kenny (Rockmelons), Tim Watson (Taxiride), Vince Contarino, Terry Slesser (UK) Louise Person as well up-coming Melbourne singer Nic MC.

Steve’s new album ‘Déjà Vu’ is scheduled for release later in 2022. All songs were written by Steve except ‘Pump’ with Pat Powell and ‘Ronnie’ with John Kenny. Steve played all instruments but with help of a few very talented guests: Gus Fenwick, Nic MC, John Kenny, Pat Powell , Glen Muirhead, Ralph Franke, Raechel Summers, Mac Johnson.

The album was mixed by Steve with the exception of ‘Bouquet Of Life’ which was mixed by Russ T Rock.

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Gareth Koch Releases Single ‘Flamenco Arabe’

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"Gareth Koch Releases Single ‘Flamenco Arabe’"

Soundslikecafe presents the next in this wonderful series of Flamenco Spanish Guitar pieces by Gareth Koch.

Moorish influence in flamenco music goes back thousands of years, but it was the Islamic invasion in 711, that determined the musical influences from North Africa. The Moors and Arabs brought their musical forms to the Peninsula. The Emirate, and later Caliphate of Córdoba became a centre of influence in both the Muslim and Christian worlds where it attracted musicians from all Islamic countries.

Song Description

This flamenco piece starts with a Tabor drum and includes some bass guitar filling out the lower frequencies. The song evokes a Middle-Eastern as well as a flamenco mood and as always the playing is superb and is a worthy addition to the monthly single releases Gareth is undertaking.

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About Gareth Koch

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).

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Anirban Jee – New Single Will Above My Wish

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"Anirban Jee – New Single Will Above My Wish"

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Just added to our playlist is this exciting new single from one of our favourite artists who has previously reached our number 1 chart position.

Will Above My Wish was penned, composed and performed by award winning singer-songwriter Anirban Jee. It was recorded, produced and mastered by Sydney’s multi-platinum producer Steve Peach from Stereo Missile Recordings, Sydney.

‘Will Above My Wish’ is about realizing that sometimes our dreams or wishes remain unfulfilled despite our ardent efforts. But eventually through life’s humbling experiences we realize that those desires wouldn’t have yielded the best outcome for us. This makes us ponder whether there is some Will above my Wish that paves the possibility for something much better – Anirban Jee

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For Anirban Jee, his musical awakening spawned at the vibrant age of 12, when he received his first electronic keyboard. Heavily influenced by a diverse range of musical genres through the 80’s and 90’s, Anirban found himselfheavily inspired by pop icons such as Elton John, Richard Marx, Maxwell, Sting, Carol King and many more. During his teen years, AJ found himself dabbling in numerous tuition courses and on the back of many years studying Piano/Keyboard through school and university, Anirban had honed his musical growth to original songwriting, musical compositions, artist collaborations and performing.

In his early years of songwriting, Anirban managed to catch the attention of Australian music industry heavy weightproducer and ‘song doctor’ Matt O’Connor (Thirsty Merc, The Beautiful Girls) from the A&R Department, Sydney. Originally discovered from a rough demo, Matt O’Connor took Anirban under his wing to further develop and hone his craft.

His last two self-featured releases “Mayday” (2020) and ‘Move Out’ (2021) generated  positive and exciting reviews on online music magazines such as GongScene, Vents Magazine, Around the Sound, BMA Magazine and even pegged at #1 on Soundslikecafe Singles Chart!!

Anirban’s current series of composition alone range from POP, Urban, Dance, R&B which feature a unique and un‐ patterned soulful infusion that’s embedded in an expressive lyrical muster. Having recently worked with many sought after music producers such as Simon Cohen (Will.I.Am, Guy Sebastian, Vera Blue, Thelma Plum), Steve Peach (Icehouse, Marcia Hines, Sophie Monk), Adrian Hannan (Delta Goodrem, Gabriella Cilmi, Taxi Ride, The Androids), Sven Tydeman (Josh Pyke, Tina Cousins, Candice Alley), AJ’s compositions and songwriting repertoire have resulted in numerous radio plays spanning both commercial and community radio stations across Australia.

Will Above My Wish is now available for download through all good music stores. Listen now!

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Julie-Anne Marshall – Featured Artist Interview

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"Julie-Anne Marshall – Featured Artist Interview"

The new single from Julie-Anne Marshall Let Go has just been added to the soundslikecafe digital espresso playlist and we spoke to her about her music on the interview below

Julie-Anne says “I have learnt to embrace the fluidity of my songwriting and that I am a multifaceted artist…the song says to me, ‘ready’ and I say ‘yep, where are we going this time?’” 

‘Let Go’ features slide guitar and piano matched with sassy earthy vocals. She has teamed up again with Matt Williams (from Adelaide) to record a song that is forlorn but also defiant in feel.  

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Soundslikecafe recently spoke to Julie-Anne about her musical  journey

  1. Tell us a little about your writing process, how does a song come along? What gets you going creatively?

It can differ, but my general process is the words and melody come as one in my head when I’m just going about life thinking about something. I can hear it in my head as a song. So, I grab my voice memo and get it down. I then expand it with more lyrics, decide on verses, chorus, structure and make handwritten notes.  Then I start putting the chords/music behind it. ‘Let Go’ was different. I was going into the studio and I wanted to write a new song about where I was at. I tried for a few days and nothing came, so I let it be. Then one night I got on my piano and thought if something comes, it comes. I knew inside what I wanted to express. I started on the piano and the words and melody and chords all came at once. Within 30mins I had a song. Tweaks came later.

2.  What is the first record you bought and why?

Pretty in Pink soundtrack album. I loved all the songs in the movie – from INXS to The Smiths.

      3. What current/new Artists/Bands inspire you and why?

It feels at the moment that everything old is new again, but I also enjoy discovering new Aussie artists and the SLC playlist is a great place to do that.

4. What is the one thing you want/need that you think will make you a successful artist? Why?

Success has a different meaning to everyone, that said, I would say ‘courage’. As an artist all the other things are a given. Love, passion, determination, persistence, dedication, etcetera. But, courage, it takes you to places that you wouldn’t go if you let fear (yours or others) stop you.

5.  What are your future plans for 2022/2023

I have two more singles ready for release, they’ll be coming out in the next few months. I’ll also be in rehearsals to get ready for live performances. Exciting times ahead in my new city Melbourne.

Hear the song

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Luke Escombe – New Single – Whale Beach Road

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"Luke Escombe – New Single – Whale Beach Road"

Luke Escombe’s personal and professional life reached a high point in 2019, culminating in him moving into a new home with his young family in one of Australia’s most sought-after postcodes.  Everything was going great.  Then the world ended.

A giant cloud of bushfire smoke descended on his Northern Beaches paradise, and the excitement of 2019 was replaced by a creeping sense of anger and despair.  “Whale Beach Road”, the first single from Luke’s upcoming album, his first in over five years, came at the start of an intense period of song writing and soul-searching fuelled by his desire to reclaim a sense of love and hope.

Recorded at Damien Gerard studios on the Central Coast in 2020 and then added to in stolen moments between lockdowns, the track features soaring strings and Luke’s fiery electric guitar over a tense rock-reggae groove laid down by some of Australia’s most acclaimed players, drummer Evan Mannell, bassist Zoe Hauptmann, guitarist Aaron Flower and organist Clayton Doley.

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“Luke Escombe is a rock-soul singer, raconteur, blistering blues guitarist, comedian and songwriter, and very good at them all” – Sydney Morning Herald

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Luke Escombe is an ARIA-nominated singer-songwriter who combines his blues, rock and soul influences with subversive humour, poetic lyrics and heartfelt storytelling.  He is the creator of the internationally acclaimed one-man show “Chronic” and the writer and front man of multi award-winning Aussie kids band The Vegetable Plot.

Checkout The New Single OUT NOW on Foghorn/MGM

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Gareth Koch Latest Single Buleria Flamenca

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"Gareth Koch Latest Single Buleria Flamenca"

More superbly articulated traditional flamenco guitar on this fine new tune from Gareth Koch.  The classical nylon string flamenco guitar tells the whole story and the sound of Spain comes through very strongly.

The Bulería originated among the Calé Romani people of Jerez during the 19th century.  It is among the most popular and dramatic of the flamenco forms.  The name bulerías comes from the Spanish word burlar, meaning ‘to mock’ or bullería– ‘racket, shouting, din’.  The style allows freedom for improvisation along with a lively metre which is dramatic & highly virtuosic.

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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).

Listen

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