Tag: aussie

VIDEO: Chance Waters – “Maybe Tomorrow”

Chance Waters - "Maybe Tomorrow" video

It’s been a while between posts. I have a mixtape or two in the pipes, and a big project that I’ll be starting work on soon. But I’ll still be taking time out to tell you all about my favourite new stuff. The best of the best. The music that really deserve your attention. (I completely forgot, but you should watch this later too).

If you’ve read On The Tune before, you should be no stranger to Chance Waters (formerly known as Phatchance). “Maybe Tomorrow” has been getting some regular plays on triple j, as well as some serious exposure through a National Geographic ad campaign, so it’s great that the summery, apocalyptic tune has a creative video to top it all off. Keep in mind, Chance is unsigned too. Shows just what you can do without a label’s backing.

Check it out below. The confused Dalai Lama and unicorn are the best.

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VIDEO: 360 – “Hope You Don’t Mind Ft N’Fa”

360

If there’s one thing you can’t deny, it’s that 360 has been working hard lately.

I don’t care about all the flack he’s getting from “hardcore” hip-hop heads. From all the people who like his older stuff more, or think he’s “sold out” (“OH NO, A MUSICIAN EARNING MONEY!”, they cry).

Even they have to hand it to him – the guy puts in the miles. Between competing regularly in battles, doing signings, and getting ready to work on his next album, he decided to do a proper video for everyone today. And unless it was planned in advance – which I doubt – he did it on the spot.

At 3.42pm on Facebook, 360 announced that he was going to do a video for “Hope You Don’t Mind Ft N’Fa”, and that it’d all be in one take.

At 9.05pm on Facebook, he delivered the clip.

Take a look below. It was done with the one and only Kane Hibberd – who has done stellar photography for countless Australian and international artists! So it’s no wonder it looks great.

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INTERVIEW: Coptic Soldier

Coptic Soldier

I recently sent a few questions across to Coptic Soldier – one of the members of excellent Sydney-based hip-hop collective I Forget, Sorry! I asked him about a very interesting project the guys are throwing together for this festive season…

Hi Luke! Hope all is well. I hear there’ll be five mixtapes from IFS! members dropping for free on Christmas Eve – whose work are we going to get to hear?

You will hear a full mixtape from each member in our camp. That is; Johnny Utah, Mind Over Matter, Phatchance, Smiles Again and myself all releasing a mixtape each – free. :)

How did the idea for the mixtapes come about?

Haha, it’s actually quite funny because Smiles wrote a song on his mixtape about how it all went down. Basically the mixtapes were his idea, however I’ll wait for you to hear the song, because Smiles tells the story there more funnily than I can. Maybe we can get On The Tune a Christmas Eve eve exclusive?

That’d be great! Five mixtapes is quite a lot of music though – are you worried that you could over-saturate listeners with too much new material at once?

It was definitely something we discussed. However as a fan, I love it when artists drop mixtapes in between albums, and I know all of us in I Forget, Sorry! haven’t dropped one in ages… so we are due I think. Besides, as a fan, mixtapes always make me want to hear more from an artist. It’s the artists that drop albums so close together consistently that are the ones who outstay their welcome I feel.

Any chance of a cheeky single including everyone involved in the project?

That song I mentioned earlier on the Smiles Again mixtape has everyone on it, even if they are only brief appearances. :)

Thanks for your time, and good luck with the releases!

Thanks for your support Jeremy, heads like you really help us get the music to the people!

Wondering what all the fuss is about? Check out an IFS! mixtape I put together a while ago – it’s legal and free. Get over here!

Check out a couple of teasers from the mixtapes below!

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VIDEO: Johnny Utah – Us (“Be Us” Mixtape Promo)

Johnny Utah

Aussie hip-hopper Johnny Utah, from the I Forget, Sorry! collective, has been working on a free mixtape of late. Last night we got our first taste of what to expect from the December release. I’ve been keen on some new material from Utah since I reviewed the first EP he worked on, and I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a solid release. All of the IFS! boys have been going from strength to strength lately, and rarely disappoint. Someone tag this guy into Rapper Tag already.

The teaser samples Brother Ali’s track “Us” for those of you wondering.

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BRAND NEW/VIDEO: Phrase’s “Bablyon” and new clip!

Aussie hip-hop artist Phrase just released the video for his new single “Apart”! It’s the first single from his brand new LP Babylon, and features Davey Lane (You Am I guitarist), whose vocal parts bring the whole song together. Even though the clip sees Phrase killing his troublesome piñata brother, the song is about as sunny and bright as they come.

Phrase has also put the whole of Babylon up to stream before it’s released, for those of you interested. Well worth a listen, especially as I’ve got a feeling there’s gonna be a few big ones on this release. triple j would be mad not to throw some of these tracks on high rotation.

You can stream the whole album over here, and grab a free mp3 of “Shut Em Down”, provided you part with an e-mail address.

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TOUR: Phatchance and Coptic Soldier’s “Hey, Where’s Your DJ?” tour

So you may have noticed I recently reviewed Inkstains (Acoustic) and The Sound of Wings 2, the most recent releases from Phatchance and Coptic Soldier.

Well, they’ve recently announced a co-headline acoustic tour around a few of Australia’s major centres to showcase their new material, and if you’re a fan of hip-hop this is not something you want to miss. They’re touring with a full live band, alongside collaborator and musician Jon Reichardt, and if their recent EP releases are anything to go by, this tour will be special indeed.

It’s a shame they can’t make it to more cities, but if you can make it out to see them you really should. Best of luck to everyone involved, I’m sure you’ll smash it!

See the below poster for details.

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VIDEO: Guineafowl – “Little Fingers”

Awesome indie-rockers Guineafowl have had quite a big Wednesday!

On top of being able to tell everyone they’re playing SPLENDOUR IN THE FREAKIN’ GRASS (congratulations guys!), they’ve released their latest video for “Little Fingers”.

I’ve gotta hand it to them – I thought Botanist was done extremely well and had absolutely no idea what this clip was going to be like. Sure, people will complain that the reversed video is a gimmick or whatever. Those people are probably overly cynical and whinge about anything that comes there way. I for one don’t care that Coldplay and Eskimo Joe have done it before. This is a brilliant effort and would’ve taken a hell of a lot of practice.

In the order we watch the video, Guineafowl is actually regurgitating a banana. Seems kinda funnier when you think about it that way. But I digress. The vocals are extremely well done and it looks really cool.

TAKE A LOOK.

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BRAND NEW: Death Cab For Cutie – “You Are A Tourist (Phatchance Hip Hop Remix)”

You might have heard about Death Cab for Cutie’s new track “You Are A Tourist”. They did a film clip for it which was broadcast live on the internet (the first ever, I believe). It was a pretty impressive effort.

Well, Aussie hip-hop artist Phatchance recently stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to remix it. Throwing some amazing rhymes in-between Ben Gibbard’s lyrics, Chance manages to preserve the tone and themes of the original while putting a new spin on the song. The result? A remix that actually works incredibly well. As much as I love Death Cab, I think I find it a bit more interesting than the original. Sometimes Death Cab seem to have those spaces in songs where they just lose my attention a little bit, but this remix seems to take care of that altogether.

Take a listen below, download it, and share it around. It’s brilliant.


When SoundCloud runs out of downloads (which I’ve heard it will), you can grab the mp3 here.

If you like your music a bit less lossy, you can grab the wav here.

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LIVE: Mind Over Matter, live at the ANU Bar, Canberra (07-04-11)

Coptic Soldier and Johnny Utah.

I Forget, Sorry! can be credited for really broadening my interest and faith in hip-hop. The Australian based collective create some brilliant, innovative music that deserves much more attention than it’s currently receiving. I’ve been a fan for quite a while, and recently I was lucky enough to catch a few of them live on Mind Over Matter’s Just Like Fireworks tour.

My friend and I arrived at the ANU Bar a bit before 7. The place didn’t look incredibly lively, but by the time the first supports took to the stage there were a few people wandering around. Unfortunately I think Illy playing a show the next night may have had a small effect on the turnout, but everyone looked like they enjoyed themselves throughout the night. Even if they’ve probably played to bigger crowds before.

If I’m blunt, I don’t remember a whole lot about some of the local supports. That’s not an insult to Canberra’s hip-hop scene (if there is one – I’m new here), it’s just they didn’t grab my attention and I was hanging out with a few mates. Although I do remember a duo called Domesticated Apes. Their songs got better towards the end of the night, although a few were hit and miss. Repeatedly saying “Sh*t C**ts” over and over didn’t do much for me to be honest.

I think it was about 9.30 or so before Coptic Soldier and Johnny Utah came on. To say the least, I was a little excited. Johnny Utah’s EP The Welcoming Party was a solid release, and I love Coptic’s acoustic stuff I’ve heard lately. At any rate, these guys have been a part of my hip-hop diet for almost a year now, and I was pumped to see them perform live. They did not disappoint.

Coptic Soldier and Johnny Utah (with Count Effectz DJ’ing)

That night was the first time Coptic and Johnny had performed live together, and I was incredibly impressed. The interplay between the two was great. Playing tracks they would normally perform individually, each knew the right moment to jump in and the right moment to hang back. As a result, the older songs sounded collaborative and fresh, but didn’t take anything away from the original.

The duo went through tracks from Johnny’s debut EP and Coptic’s The Sound of Wings. We even got to hear “I Hate Sleep” from The Sound of Wings 2, the acoustic release (which you should all buy by the way! – acoustic hip-hop sounds brilliant. I’ll have a review up soon). I was lucky enough to hear some of Johnny’s new songs too, which will hopefully feature on his debut album Handful of Gravel. They sounded brilliant, and I’m keen to hear the studio versions.

Coptic Soldier and Johnny Utah were a great support act, and despite the fact they didn’t have a live band like Mind Over Matter, they energy they put into the performance was amazing. Great songs performed by great musicians, with enough energy to get everyone pumped up. Count Effectz was DJ’ing for them and did a great job as well. Seeing these guys was a highlight of the night, and has only reinforced my belief that I Forget, Sorry! deserve more attention across Australia.

Mind Over Matter

Next up Mind Over Matter came on stage, and the crowd reacted incredibly well. I haven’t heard Just Like Fireworks yet, although I’ve heard good things about it. After seeing them live, I’m convinced I’ll enjoy it. The songs they played had amazing hooks and sing-a-long choruses (see “Be A Pirate”), and everyone really got into it.

The addition of a live band did the set wonders. Ernst Carter Jnr’s back-up vocals were amazing and added a whole new dimension to the songs. It really did sound great, and the live bass and drums gave the whole act more stage presence. Everyone had more to look at, and the way it all meshed together is a testament to their talents and preparation.

The general consensus from the media is that Mind Over Matter have really launched themselves into the Australian hip-hop scene with this album. Their live show reflects this in a way that you have to see to understand. I thought they were going to play longer, but I think noise restrictions came in or something. At any rate, they put on a great show, and for $10, I think everyone felt like they got more than their money’s worth.

Mind Over Matter

It’s a pity that brilliant artists like the ones that performed all night aren’t getting the recognition or airplay they deserve. I could go into a large rant about support of Australian musicians, but it’d detract from the review. Suffice to say, like Coptic and Johnny, Mind Over Matter put on an incredibly entertaining and engaging show. In my case, familiarity with the songs means that I personally enjoyed Coptic and Johnny a tiny bit more. In some cases familiarity can go a long way, but Mind Over Matter buck that trend. Despite the fact I knew only one or two songs they played, their show emphasised their talent as live artists, and these days that talent can be quite rare.

I Forget, Sorry! are a brilliant collective. Download the free mixtape I put together last year and give them a go.

Don’t forget to get over here and check out the rest of their dates. You should definitely head along.

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LIVE: Grafton Primary, live at The UC Refectory, Canberra (11-02-11)

Last Friday I got a chance to see Australian dance act Grafton Primary at the University of Canberra’s Refectory.

We arrived at about 9 o’clock, hoping to get in early and nab a good spot. To my dismay, it wasn’t necessary for two reasons. Firstly, various DJ’s had been booked to play until Grafton came on – their set time started around 11:30. Secondly, there were no more than 30 odd people in attendance, and with a venue the size of the Refectory, the crowd seemed even smaller and scattered around the room.

Luckily, my friend convinced the organisers to give us a pass out, and we left for the pub. Returning two hours later, we only missed the first song or two of Grafton’s set, and the crowd hadn’t grown too much, but I can say this – the band were cool enough to put on a show for us anyway. I always imagined that for some it could be hard to play to such varying crowd sizes, and it could be hard to get excited about playing in what looks like an empty room, but Grafton Primary did it, and they did it fairly well.

Being unfamiliar with most of the set material, I will say some of the songs sounded very samey – but that happens to me when I see some artists live with no prior knowledge. Sometimes it all kind of blends in. Though they did “All Stars” as an “encore”, which was nice to be able to sing along to something I knew.

The three of them put in a solid effort (although I was disappointed I didn’t see the keytar from the “Relativity” clip), and for such a small show, I was pleased they got an excited response from a few listeners up the front in the crowd. It’s always good to see people showing their appreciation and enthusiasm for a band, and Grafton certainly seemed to enjoy the people who sang along and got into it all. Time will tell whether their sound evolves into something more, or if they sit on what they have now. At any rate, it’s good fun, and their dance-floor electro style no doubt hits it’s target market right on the head. I have an underlying feeling that if it isn’t happening already, that the Australian public will soon become tired of a band like Grafton – not because Grafton are bad, they’re not, but because there seem to be a flood of bands like this around doing this thing already. Nothing reaches out and grabs me as a listener and demands my attention, or says “look at me – I do this exceptionally well”.

It was a fun gig, and Grafton play music which has a lot of appeal. Unfortunately, to get the exposure they probably want, they either need to move out more creatively, or somehow refine their style to reach that upper echelon of dance and pop music.

It’ll be interesting to see where they go, but they’re clearly a band determined to stick around – which is always a promising sign.

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