David Wright Releases Album ‘Fade’

May 15, 2024

‘Fade’ is a musical odyssey blending all the elements of David Wright’s thematic music styles, drifting between waves of gentle ambience and the dynamism of pulsating sequences. Gentle passages caress the listener, then strong rhythmic passages tease with an evolving combination of ideas peppered by a gorgeous array of synths, gentle pads and effects.

But more than anything, ‘Fade’ is an album of emotional reflection channeling David’s many influences in remembrance of friends lost.

Bio

2024 finds David Wright celebrating 35 years since his first music release, and he is now considered a veteran of the ambient/electronic music scene. His large body of work is varied, embracing Electronic, New Age, Ambient and Space Music, often with subtle ethnic influences.

During a musical journey that began in the late 1980’s, David’s uniquely emotive and multi-layered sound and style has been compared to Kitaro, Klaus Schulze, Mike Oldfield and Vangelis. He has established himself as a respected musician, live performer, producer and promotor of electronic music events.

David Wright is co-founder of the Tangerine Dream influenced ‘Callisto’ and the avant-garde electronic rock band ‘Code Indigo’. He has recorded music as the new age project ‘Trinity’ as well as with Ian Boddy, Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock and Robert Fox amongst others.

He also founded the AD Music label in 1989 and continues to push new music from unknown artists though his label. His solo music has been synced for TV use, while other projects include involvement in the production of albums in many different genres, including folk, opera, rap and rock.

Watch the Video for ‘Android Caravan’

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Bec Taylor & The Lyrebirds Release Album ‘Limbs & All’ Plus Tour Dates

May 10, 2024

After two successful singles and the entire album out today (both digital and CD), Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds head out on an East Coast tour in support of the release.

Upcoming Tour Dates

FRIDAY MAY 17th MELBOURNE
Bar Open, 8pm with Happy Axe & James Fahy Happy Axe James Fahy Music

SATURDAY JUNE 1st SYDNEY
Gasoline Pony, 3pm with Julia Johnson & Tate Sheridan

SUNDAY JUNE 9th CANBERRA
4pm, The Street Theatre with Owen Campbell @owencampbellmusic

SATURDAY JUNE 29th TOMAKIN, NSW
Smokey Dan’s, 12pm with Jason Recliner

SUNDAY 30th JUNE
South Durras Garden Studio, 1pm

Limbs & All, the second album by Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds is chock full of moody, folk-pop gems that touch on loss, grief and joy. ‘Limbs & All’ is a collaborative album which features all five of the Lyrebirds on every song, weaving together a gentle americana-folk sound palette with acoustic and pedal-steel guitars, drums, bass, mandolin, keyboards, banjo and the Lyrebirds’ signature vocal harmonies.

Bec wrote the lion’s share of the songs while pregnant and nursing her first baby, and you can sense her inner turmoil throughout the songs. Whether it’s the darkly rhythmic and poetic ‘Wormhole’ or the elated but hesitant ‘Whisky’, the album is subtler and broodier than the last album, featuring connecting themes and ideas across songs. A musical connection is weaved into tracks ‘Photograph’ and ‘Goner’, referencing their sister-song origins: they begun as one song but evolved into two separate songs.

All recording and mixing was done by Louis Montgomery with some additional mixing on ‘Photograph’ was done by Marshall Cullen at Damien Gerard Studios NSW. The album was mastered by Andrew Edgson at Studios 301.

About

Hidden treasures of the Canberra music scene, Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds are a five-piece alt-folk-pop band. Described as Canberra’s Seeker-Lover-Keeper, their unique harmony-laden sound combines with “charming melodies and lyrics brimming with heart” (Scenstr).

Bec Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has recorded over a dozen studio records. She has also performed on some of the biggest stages and festivals around the country, including BIGSOUND, Groovin’ The Moo, and the Woodford Folk Festival. She has played alongside the likes of Gotye, The Darkness, and been on tour as main support for Regurgitator and Shonen Knife in her previous projects Fun Machine and Glitoris.

The Lyrebirds is her most recent project, showcasing her song-making through a new alt-folk-country repertoire. Bec started the Lyrebirds in 2020 after writing and producing her first full-length solo record “Adrift” with producer Louis Montgomery (SAFIA, Peking Duk. Consisting of versatile musicians with rich experience in different genres: Hannah Beasley (PaintonPaint), Sam McNair (JD McNair, The Burley Griffin), Sophie Chapman (Brass Knuckle Brass Band, Andy and George Band) and Grahame Thompson (Cracked Actor, BabyFreeze, Mr Fibby).

Bec and the band have built an incredible musical chemistry, with soaring harmonies and rich instrumentation of guitars, piano, drums, bass, banjo, mandolin, and occasional cello parts which complement Bec’s heartfelt songwriting.

Bec Taylor – vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, Hammond organ, felt-muted piano, percussion
Sam McNair – vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo
Sophie Chapman – vocals, bass guitar
Grahame Thompson – drums, cello
Hannah Beasley – vocals, wurlitzer piano
Matt Dixon – pedal steel guitar
Jacqui Bradley and Donal Baylor – violins

VIDEO PREMIERE FOR ‘Go On Without Me’

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Gareth Koch Releases Album ‘Carmina Burana’

April 26, 2024

Remastered and Released to streaming for the first time in 2024 here is one of Gareth Koch’s Master Works.

My first encounter with the Carmina Burana was as a young chorister in a performance given in 1983 at the Sydney Opera House. The choir and orchestra were directed by one of my teachers, the late and great Richard Gill. The excitement of that musical experience made a lasting impression on my musical consciousness.

During the European summer of 1995 in Vienna I began a draft version of the Carmina Burana for Solo Guitar. Transcribing the medieval & folk-inspired movements came first, then the challenge of the mighty opening chorus O Fortuna. In an attempt to interest record companies in the project I recorded a ‘demo’ version of O Furtuna, in a single take, in a Viennese cellar!

My publishers and several record companies showed great interest in my interpretation of Orff’s work and very quickly plans started to come together to record in a venue in Vienna. Unfortunately, these plans fell apart due to some pre-existing contract obligations. An opportunity arose to record the work in Australia, and this prompted my return.

The recording of Carmina Burana for Solo Guitar was completed in 1997 over three consecutive nights in Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral. The natural resonance & ambience of the cathedral compliment the recording. There are no added effects to this recording which is completely natural & live sounding.

Recording the Carmina Burana was both a physical and mental achievement that has become one of the highlights of my career. The opportunity to re-master the recording and release it digitally brings back to mind the exhilaration of that performance in that venue, over those three nights – still deeply embedded in my memory. It is the synthesis of a lifelong interest in medieval music and the desire to create an exciting and unique live performance piece for guitar.

About Gareth Koch
Gareth Koch is an ARIA Award winning multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, guitar soloist, composer & songwriter. He has recorded a sizeable repertory across multiple genres spanning works for classical guitar, flamenco, original compositions, arrangements, medieval projects, rock & songwriting. He has appeared at major festivals within Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.

Born in Milan, Gareth 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 scholarships for advanced guitar study at The Royal Madrid Conservatorium & the Vienna Academy of Music. He holds a PhD in Music & has lectured in music across Australian & European universities.

In 2002 Gareth formed the first guitar supergroup with Karin Schaupp & The Grigoryan Brothers, Slava & Leonard. Saffire – The Australian Guitar Quartet soared to #1 on the Classical Music Charts and even featured on ARIA pop charts. The quartet released a total of 3 best-selling albums & was Australia’s biggest selling classical act for several years.

Gareth is involved with many cross genre projects & has released a succession of collaborative albums with Martin Kennedy & with ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kilbey (The Church). His recent release ‘The Guitar Player’ received a coveted 5 star review from The Sydney Morning Herald. Gareth’s current output has a strong rock bias with classical overtones & his writing is increasingly focussed on the ethereal nature of music.

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Carla Cargal’s Posthumous Album Release ‘Leap Year’

April 22, 2024

Here’s one of those special records which we can all relate to – bittersweet but superb composition and performances, we are proud to add this to our album collection for your listening pleasure

Born with an innate love of music and performing in childhood years, Carla Cargal set aside musical ambitions as an adult. Her desire to create music of her own resurfaced years later.

With unwavering support of loved ones and friends, Carla rediscovered her musical identity guided by her life lessons.

With mentor John McNicholas and producers Jonny Daly and Dan Dixon, Carla created a genre-transcending album that touches the depths of the human spirit.

Just as Carla’s music was about to be released, a tragic accident ended her life. Her legacy lives on through the timeless melodies she left behind.

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Siri Lini Releases Album ‘Beautiful Day’

April 22, 2024

Checkout our latest Feature Album all the way from South West USA

Siri Lini is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose new alternative album Beautiful Day is filled with rock, folk, and pop stories of Southwestern landscapes and the people that populate them.

Raised in Dallas, Texas, Siri learned guitar and started singing in the 3rd grade. She found Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and folk standards and sang for friends, family, and neighborhood events. Siri formed post-punk, all-female power trio Disbanned at the height of the Dallas indie scene, writing, singing, playing bass, releasing their debut album, and touring.

“I’m a Libra,” she says. “My mission is and always has been to create.”

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Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy Release Album ‘Premonition K’

April 4, 2024

With the third album in less than 3 years things are gaining momentum with Premonition K Vinyl pre-orders sold out and a repress underway. Plus 5000 spotify followers can’t be wrong. We are delighted to add 4 of the album tracks to our Soundslikecafe Playlist.

Building on the success of Jupiter 13 (2021) and The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus (2022), Steve and Martin release their latest epic, ‘Premonition K’. The album unveils sumptuous sonic soundscapes courtesy of Kennedy paired with Kilbey’s lyrics that delve into the dark and enigmatic realms that exist between the boundaries of life and death. They invite you to break out the ouija board, turn off the lights, and immerse yourself in the mysteries of ‘Premonition K’.

Steve Kilbey (The Church), band singer, songwriter, bassist, painter, writer, poet, actor, sage, and dispenser of arcane wisdom, is one of Australia’s most loved artists.
Martin Kennedy (aka All India Radio) is the ARIA nominated composer whose music has featured in CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, The Lying Game, Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery and Bondi Rescue.

Video

This album, a testament to their musical synergy, encapsulates a darkly beautiful soundscape, drawing inspiration from diverse sources, ranging from the haunting tones of Roger Waters ‘The Final Cut’ to the shadowy depths explored by early 1970s Pink Floyd or Hawkwind.

Steve Kilbey infuses each track with an emotional resonance and sense of mystery. Martin Kennedy co-pilots this sonic odyssey with Steve Kilbey. Together they weave an intricate musical bed for Kilbey’s lyrical dreamings with layers of sonic complexity, at once warmly familiar and mysteriously strange, creating an immersive experience for the listener.

Song Descriptions

Breaking The Fourth Wall
The opening track on the new Premonition K album from this prolific pair starts with an almost spoken word delivery from Steve with minimal backing. The track is reminiscent of Pink Floyd around The Wall era. As the song moves the textures build as it heads towards a massive outro.

Nowhere
This tune features ethereal female backing vocals and a full band mix. Kennedy’s lush guitar and keyboard textures flow over the drum and bass rhythm section. Steve Kilbeys highly distinctive voice is in great form and the lyrics as intriguing as ever.

The Song That Wrote Itself
An up-tempo radio track with all the elements that make this record a great piece of work. Steve’s voice and lyrics, lush backing, smooth but strong female backing vocals, especially on the chorus, easy catchy melodies, riffs and vocal lines.

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Peter Calandra Releases Album ‘Spirit’

March 27, 2024

Spirit, the 2024 release by Peter Calandra, is an album of beautiful piano based compositions. The 13 tracks on the album contain 10 original pieces composed by Peter along with 3 arrangements of early 1970’s songs Calandra played as a teen in bands. The music ranges from sweet folk-like solo piano melodies to spacious, soulful piano accompanied by deeply ambient synthesizer washes and lyrical ballads. Quiet music for a loud world.

Kathy Parsons (mainlypiano.com 12/13/2023): “Peter is an artist who is very comfortable in a wide range of music genres, and if I had to put this piece into a category, it would likely be ambient, but like so much of Peter’s music, it really defies classification and is simply a beautiful piano solo by Peter Calandra and one of my favorites for the year. Very highly recommended!”

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Peter Calandra is an award winning, prolific composer and keyboard player whose solo albums are wonderfully diverse, spanning world music, jazz, contemporary jazz, new age, pop, and neo-classical. Three of his recent albums of original music — First Light (2015), The Road Home (2017) and Carpe Noctem (2018) were nominated for ZMR Awards.

As a Film & TV composer, Calandra scored over 100 films and wrote over 2000 compositions for television. He has composed music for every major television network including the FIFA World Cup Theme for FOX Sports, the Special Olympics World Games and Invictus Games Theme for ESPN, as well as writing music for the Kennedy Center Honors on CBS from 2015 thru 2020.

Calandra has been immersed in the New York City music scene for most of his life. As a keyboard player he performed in the Broadway productions of Miss Saigon, The Lion King, Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Little Shop Of Horrors. He has also performed with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, NY Pops Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Don Cherry, Aretha Franklin, Allen Ginsberg, Annie Golden, Donna McKechnie, Lillianne Montevecchi, and he spent 16 years as the keyboard player in the NYC-based Climax Band, the creative vehicle for artist and musician Larry Rivers.

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Bob Yonker Releases Album ‘The Seeker’

March 27, 2024

The songs on this album were almost entirely composed in the moment during the recording session. It was my intent to just allow the musical tones and energy of the Universe to flow through to create an album that will “speak” to the listeners in whatever way is needed.

Bob Yonker creates solo piano music with the intent of calming the mind, soothing the soul, and healing the planet one note at a time.

Growing up in the northeast, Yonker’s earliest musical memory is of his mother singing and playing the piano in his childhood home. He can remember his curiosity while watching her play and was always fascinated by the sounds created by the piano and how it worked.

At the age of 4, he started playing simple songs all by himself. At 6 he started lessons, but after a year, his teacher realized that Bob was playing by ear and not reading the notes. Bob had had his sister play the song for him and he would then learn it by listening, and was “found out” after playing his piece for a recital in the wrong key. He later did learn how to read, but has always been more comfortable playing his own style and his own compositions best.

Being told by colleges that his style of music was not what they were looking for without classical training, Bob decided to change career paths and received a degree in agricultural science from Penn state, and worked many years helping the environment, while working second jobs in group homes for the mentally challenged, which he enjoyed immensely, as well as being the organist for his hometown church.

In the 90’s, while still working full-time, Bob went back to school and received a triple degree in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Education, which allowed him to switch career paths once again to become a special needs teacher.

Now “re-passioned” from his teaching career, Bob has returned to his first love – music – and has composed 7 albums of contemplative, contemporary, and meditative solo piano music as well as one Christmas album. His 8^th, and latest, album, The Seeker, is comprised of songs improvised on the spot at the recording studio with the intent to bring calm and joy and maybe even emotional healing to the listener. Many pieces were inspired by Bob’s new life in Europe with his wife Karen. Bob has performed for local fans in the town where he lives and has begun working cooperatively with a local therapist in sound healing and breath sessions playing intuitively for those participating.

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Daxton Releases New Album ‘Fahrenheit’

March 22, 2024

The new album from NSW Central Coast troubadour already garnering airplay and reviews around the world following from the Single ‘Kiss The Girls’ earlier this year.

Daxton’s new album ‘Fahrenheit’ features tracks inspired by personal experiences, relationships, and journeys, encapsulating a wide range of emotions from love and heartbreak to resilience and empowerment. The title track was inspired by a studio groove that embodied the intense emotional heat and passion that defined the production and recording of the songs. The album brings a fresh twist to the classic blues genre, infusing it with psychedelic elements and experimental sounds, creating a sonic landscape that is Daxton’s Psychedelic Blues Sound.

Song Descriptions for 2 Key Tracks

Fahrenheit

The title track to Daxton’s new album features bass, drums, dobro, slide guitar, Hammond organ and his signature vocals. A chilled out blues rock with a mid-tempo feel, this would be a great song to sit back on the porch with a beer and admire the grass.

Ocean Size

Great surf blues ‘a la’ Jack Johnson here. Slides and dobros, acoustics and electrics, sweet guitar and vocal tones throughout underpinned by drums and bass.

Out March 22 on Foghorn/MGM

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Evening Ocean Releases New Album ‘The Great Love’

February 23, 2024

Starting 17 years ago with Evening Ocean’s first album The Attraction, then again in 2011 with The Kiss, Evening Ocean returns 12 years later on fire with a stunning album of wordless beauty and hushed intimacy: The Great Love.

The album opens with the upbeat synths of “Believe In Good Things”, showing Evening Ocean at a creative peak and doesn’t let go until the very last note. It mesmerizes the listener with what could be called passionate ambient. The album floats over a Bermuda’s Triangle of hopeful melodies nested inside haunting strings; while fractured ambient pianos are hand painted with lush synth textures and otherworldly effects.

The Great Love has the feel of a heartbreakingly beautiful movie, with raindrop notes now a fevered séance – painting the ether with a love felt too deeply for words. Evening Ocean performs an act of sonic cinematography that lingers in a way that only a favorite album can.

Track Listing

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“The Great Love” is the third album from Evening Ocean, the band name of 17 years for Robert Shahidi who wrote, performed, mixed and produced as the two albums prior. An album 12 years in the making, Evening Ocean’s prior 2 albums “The Attraction” & “The Kiss” reached 14 million streams on Pandora and reached the top 25 on Echoes, the syndicated nationwide radio show for electronic music played on over 80 radio stations nationwide.

At 31 songs, the new album pushes the limits of a single CD. The elusive sound is captured as an unapologetic love letter to electronica. Seeking visuals that matched the album’s range of instruments and emotions: synths/strings, pianos, upbeat, melancholy and haunting, Robert studied AI mediums that were just being made available when the album was being finished. Robert’s videos for Believe In Good Things, What We Hear, The Outside World and Keepsake made their debuts on VEVO and helped Evening Ocean become a Featured Artist on the new music video platform GOGOPIX.TV

“The Great Love” is a magical, electronic instrumental album and visual journey showing Evening Ocean at their creative peak. Fans of electronica music will quickly list it among their favorite albums of 2024.

“The Great Love” was mastered by Zino Mikorey in Berlin. He also mastered for Ludovico Einaudi, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Rival Consoles.

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Tag: new album