Levi-X Releases Debut Single Amazing Grace (Grace Amazing)

October 30, 2020 Leave a comment

Levi-X is a young singer/saxophonist (12 yo), based in Queensland. Levi has been performing at several markets in North Brisbane with his father since he was 11 years old, entertaining crowds with his saxophone and singing. He plays all genres of music but has a style that is rooted in light Jazz improvisation. His debut song, Amazing Grace (Grace Amazing) was recorded when he was 12 years old and is the first of a number of songs he is working on.

Amazing Grace (Grace Amazing) is a new interpretation of the well know traditional song, and digs into the song’s history and meaning with the rawness and innocence of the 12 year old singer, Levi-X. The songs uncomplicated composition aims to delicately remind us of the youthful simplicity where we start life; a place that we often seek to return to along the tumultuous journey that life often unknowingly takes us. Amazing Grace (Grace Amazing) is Levi-X’s debut song, which he worked on with his father, and is played with his older brother (aged 15) on guitar. Levi-X both sings and plays saxophone on this single. With his young voice soaring in all the right places and carrying the heartfelt lyrics with feeling beyond his years this is a beautiful rendition of the timeless classic.

Amazing Grace (Grace Amazing) is OUT NOW – via MGM

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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

FOG512 The Entirely Unremarkable World Of The Jimmy C front 3000px

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.

Stream

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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.

Radio/Media Downloads

Stream the new album here:

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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Stuart Dwyer-Wait Another Day Single and Video

September 16, 2020 Leave a comment

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.

Listen here

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Official Site

Adam Jones – Fool In The House

September 11, 2020 Leave a comment

Australian blues, folk-rock and alt-country singer/songwriter/musician Adam Jones’ new single Fool In The House is released 11 September 2020. Adding ‘hip-hop’ to the acoustic blues that features on his first 3 studio albums, this socio-political song in support of racial equality, features a rap written and performed by 22 year old South African artist Sabelo Cyprian.

After seeing on the TV news the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the murder of African-American George Floyd, and some subsequent actions by the US President, Adam wrote this song on the 1st of June during the ‘pandemic lockdown’ in Melbourne, Victoria. Coincidentally, just after the decision had been made to record the song, Sabelo made contact with Adam after seeing his profile on social media and enjoying his music, and a rap was written and added to the song, with Sabelo going in to a recording studio in Durban, South Africa, to track his vocals.

Fool In The House was recorded at Echidna Studio in Christmas Hills, up the Yarra valley from Melbourne, by studio owner, engineer and talented musician Greg Macmillan, who performs bass guitar, electric lead guitar and congas, along with programming the drums and percussion and mixing the song. Fool In The House was then mastered by Andrew Beck at Damien Gerard Sound Studios, Sydney Australia.

“He’s the fool in the house on high while we fight on the street and die!”, implores Adam, before Sabelo raps about his experiences of racism growing up in South Africa. Adam concludes that “the righteous will no longer hide” and “we must give this world a better turn”.

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

Andrew Barnum New Single – Dear Ancestor

July 30, 2020 Leave a comment

Andrew Barnum’s Single Dear Ancestor

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.