Music Reviews & News
Surf Psych Up - Janelle Monáe, Tightrope
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She’s been called “a different kind of diva” by Vogue Magazine and “a true visionary… one of the most important signings of my career” by Sean “Diddy” Combs. For singer, songwriter, and high funkstress Janelle Monáe, however, the impetus remains the same as it’s been since before her Grammy-nominated debut EP Metropolis, Suite I: The Chase captured the imaginations of fans and fellow artists. As she readies her first full-length LP, The ArchAndroid, her focus remains on stirring your soul, moving your feet and simply, creating good music.
Download of the Week: Emily Wells
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Emily is an anomaly among musicians, most of who spend their careers striving for a major label deal. Before she was old enough to vote, a major label was courting Emily, two music publishing companies were competing for the rights to her songs and she was recording with award winning producers. By the time she was legally buying her first drink, however, Emily had decided to choose a different path, and with true indie ethos, packed up and moved from New York, leaving in her wake a lucrative deal from a major label, the renowned producers, recording studios, and a manager. During that period of her life, Emily had been offered everything that most musicians want. Everything except what she, as an artist, needed most: creative control.
Blue King Brown
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Blue King Brown is one of those bands that make you stand up and take notice of their energetic blend of rootsy sounds and inspirational lyrics. Lead vocalist Natalie Pa’apa’a and her partner (and BKB co-founder) Carlo Santone, started out their music career busking on the streets in Byron, playing some of the most amazing street percussion that I have had the good fortune to get my groove on to. This busking laid the foundation of the band and since relocating to Melbourne in 2004 they have gone from strength to strength both musically and professionally. They have toured with the likes of Carlos Santana, Michael Franti and Spearhead and the John Butler Trio, both within Australia and abroad, and like these gurus of the music industry their music inspires both your feet to get dancing and your mind to really start thinking about what is happening in the world around us.
Download of the Week: Foster the People
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Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The group is composed of Mark Foster (vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitar, programming, percussion), Cubbie Fink (bass and backing vocals), and Mark Pontius (drums and extra percussion). The group's music, described as melodic dance-infused pop and rock, spans many genres.
Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in Los Angeles as a struggling musician and working as a commercial jingle writer. After Foster wrote the song "Pumped Up Kicks", which became a viral success in late 2010, the group was signed to Columbia Records' imprint Startime International and gained a fanbase through small club shows and appearances at the music festivals Coachella and South by Southwest.
Bleach* Music Program
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Bleach* Surfing the Fringe has announced some of the fine musical acts that will grace the stage ahead of the surf culture festival’s debut on the 11- 26th February, 2012. Blue King Brown, The Break and Inner Tube Announced as Music Headliners at Bleach*. The Gold Coast's inaugural surf culture festival will host over fifty-five art and photography installations, film screenings, music, talks, fashion, theatre and food events staged across the spectacular beaches, foreshores and major venues unique to the Southern Gold Coast.
