Some of our picks for the week.
ANIMAL VENTURA REVEALS NEW SINGLE ‘ALL THE LOVE WE KNEW’
Brazilian-born, Byron Bay-based singer-songwriter Fernando Aragones aka Animal Ventura today unveils his new single ‘All The Love We Knew’ – his first official release since 2017’s critically acclaimed 8-track record, ‘Forrest Street’. ‘All The Love We Knew’ is a soulful blend of coastal-folk, with a solid pulsing drumbeat and simple yet elegant guitar riffs, topped by Animal Ventura’s signature soothing vocals and meaningful lyrics.
Recorded through late summer 2019/20 in Lennox Head, the track was produced by Grant Gerathy (John Butler Trio, Ray Mann Three, Pete Murray), mixed and mastered by George Georgiadis (Gang of Youths, Last Dinosaurs, Kim Churchill), and also features Charles Wall aka Bobby Alu on percussion and brothers Shannon and Danny Stitt on keys and bass, from family band Uncle Jed. “I think it’s my best work to date and explores the ups and downs of falling in and out of love with the muse.” says Animal Ventura. “Sometimes you can feel burnt out and doubtful but the love always prevails”.
As a boy, Animal Ventura followed in the steps of his father in “Rodas de Samba” (samba circles) in Brazil, and also played punk rock and reggae in noisy garage bands. As he matured, so too did his sound. These days he’s known for his rich tone and timeless vocals, served with a tasty side of new-wave live looping and strong songwriting skills.
A fusion of the funky rhythms of his native South America and the coastal-indie-folk of Australian shores, Animal Ventura transports listeners around the globe. It’s this contemporary spin on world music that’s earned him airtime on Triple J, as well as supporting big-name line-ups like The Presets, Art vs Science and The Beautiful Girls.
“It sounds like the end of a summer love. It’s sad that it’s ending but, you know the ending was coming. That, and now you know that you had a great time, have grown as a person and appreciate the memories and the lessons you’ve learned along the way – BUT – you’re also eating a giant ice-cream watching the sunset, and don’t care.” – Nkechi Anele –Triple J
FROZEN IN LA by ALAE
RELEASE DATE: 6 NOVEMBER, 2020
LABEL: XELON ENTERTAINMENT – NZ ARTISTS
Indie/Pop Act Alae set to release NEW track: ‘Frozen in LA’, Alae’s debut Album ‘Henry St’ hit #1 on the iTunes Alternative NZ Chart & IMNZ Chart in New Zealand. Following up their HIT singles: ‘Hit Me Where it Hurts,’ ‘Summer Thing,’ ‘Lucy,’ ‘Please’ & ‘Lucy’s Mix Tape EP’
‘Hit Me Where it Hurts’ Video: 75K views. ‘Summer Thing’ Video: 61K views, Streams: 275K – Added to 1000+ Playlists, #1 Most Added to NZ Radio, Top 5 NZ Radio Airplay Chart, Top 20 NZ Radio – Top 40 Chart. ‘Lucy’s Mix Tape’ EP 920K streams / 150K YouTube views. Spotify Figures: Alae have 2.9K Spotify Followers, 55K Monthly Listeners and a total of 5.7 Million Spotify streams
Kiwi indie pop Act Alae are back with yet another funky sounding, Summer number: ‘Frozen in LA,’ right in time for the Southern Summer and it’s their fifth major release, following up their successful most recent EP release: ‘Lucy’s Mix Tape.’
Frozen in LA shows yet another musical side to Alae, who have infused their latest collection of singles with a heady blend of pop, served with a side order groove. Frozen in LA highlights Alex Farrell-Davey’s smooth yet funky vocals, which are underpinned by Marika Hodgeson on bass. Stay tuned for the funky House remix of the track, which is sure to get DJs spinning this groove either on Dancefloors or via Livetsream DJ sessions (depending on lockdown restrictions).
“‘Frozen in L.A’ is all about working hard and forgetting about the opinions of others. My internalisation of other’s thoughts of my music, has always limited what it is that I’ve thought I’m capable of as a musician and I’m so over limiting myself because of it. Ultimately, as individuals, we are in control of our journey and what it is that we can and can’t do. This song is about making that connection.” – Alex Farrell-Davey / Alae
While it’s been a challenging year for musicians and artists in the wake of Covid-19, Alae have continued to make their mark, consistently releasing tracks throughout the year. The band issued a second remix of Hit Me Where It Hurts with local hip-hop hero Kings and unleashed the radio smash hit Summer Thing in NZ, Australia and the U.S. This single hit the #1 spot on the Most Added Radioscope charts, Top 5 NZ Radio Airplay chart, debuted at #2 On the NZ Hot 40 singles chart and has been added to 1100+ playlists across Spotify and Apple Music alone. The video for Summer Thing is clocking in with over 61K views on YouTube since release.
SAMANTHA JADE BACK 2 BACK
Today, Samantha Jade releases her new single ‘BACK 2 BACK’ through Sony Music Entertainment Australia. The Australian singer-songwriter is thrilled to be returning with new music after the sultry ‘In The Morning’ and the infectious ‘Bounce’, which has totalled over 4.7 million worldwide streams.
Co-written by Samantha Jade and long-time collaborator Carmen Reece (Arianna Grande, Fifth Harmony, Guy Sebastian) and produced by G’harah “PK” Degeddingseze (Chris Brown, Paloma Faith), ‘BACK 2 BACK’ is dedicated to all the fiercely loyal friends who continue to support their friends time and time again. Speaking on the track Samantha Jade says, “I wrote this song about the importance of the sisterhood and the bond between women that is real and strong. When we stand by each other through the highs and the lows, we are celebrating each other and there an unspoken empowerment.” She continues, “We are daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, nans, lovers, friends, we are united. Friends are the foundation of our lives and our safe place to be accepted for being our true and authentic selves. I believe there is incredible strength in kindness towards each other, especially with your friends that just ‘get you’ and that always have your back.”
LISTEN TO ‘BACK 2 BACK’: Leaning on that empowered sisterhood, Samantha Jade invited her friends and inspirational women to be a part of the Bonnie Hansen directed music video. Joined by TV host, Health Coach, Founder of Kissed Earth & mum of 2 Rachel Finch and her daughter Violet, Jules Sebastian (Presenter, Stylist & Author), Emma Watkins (Yellow Wiggle/World Class Performer), Leah Howard (Triple-threat performer/Resident director/Choreographer), Suzan Mutesi (Actress/Author/Musician), Amali Golden (Actor/Musician) and Gemma Peanut (Photographer/Actor) Samantha is in good company for the beautiful clip. Samantha notes, “When women support each other, incredible things truly happen and I wholeheartedly believe that happened for this video – I was so honoured to be joined by such strong and kind females.”
WATCH ‘BACK 2 BACK’: Earlier this year fans caught Samantha Jade live when she joined three-time Grammy Award-winning and US multi-platinum-selling group – Pentatonix – on their five-date Australia/New Zealand tour in February.
Busy as ever, there is more exciting music to come from Samantha Jade.
AMY SHARK C’MON feat. Travis Barker
Amy Shark will release her brand new single C’MON feat. Travis Barker this Friday, the follow up to ‘Everybody Rise’.
Everybody Rise has had over 14M streams and is certified Gold in Australia. C’MON was produced by Dann Hume and M-Phazes, and the official video will also be released on Friday at 8:30am. Amy Shark burst into the global music scene in 2016 with her breakthrough 5x Platinum single ‘Adore’ putting her on the map as one of Australia’s most formidable emerging songwriters. This was followed by 4 x Platinum and number one AU Airplay Chart hit, ‘I Said Hi’ and the 2019 platinum single ‘Mess Her Up’. Amy’s debut/breakthrough #1 ARIA album and Platinum certified LOVE MONSTER was recognised in 2018 with four ARIA awards (“Album of the Year”, “Best Female Artist”, “Best Pop Release”, “Best Producer’ [Dann Hume]) and was nominated for another five. LOVE MONSTER went on to become the highest selling album by an Australian artist for 2018. Amy has toured extensively throughout Australia and abroad, performing on several major US television shows including The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. GET IT NOW!
MARSHMELLO X IMANBEK FEAT. USHER TOO MUCH
Renowned electronic DJ Marshmello has joined forces with rising superstar DJ Imanbek on the track ‘Too Much’ featuring the world class R&B icon Usher. The track merges the talent of three globally iconic artists, fusing their classic electronic sounds with Usher’s instantly recognizable surging vocals. For Marshmello, this release follows his October single ‘OK not to be OK’ featuring Demi Lovato, which has more than 32 million streams across the globe. However, he’s more well-known for the smash-hits like ‘Happier’ featuring Bastille, and ‘Silence’ featuring Khalid. Imanbek’s career skyrocketed following his monumental remix of SAINt JHN’s track ‘Roses’, which is currently sitting at more than 920 million streams. Imanbek has also remixed the tracks of other R&B artists such as 24kGoldn and XXXTENTACION, both contributing to the success of his career. ‘Too Much’ is a powerhouse track with an infectious beat and exhilarating chorus build-ups that will be played all summer long.
THE KID LAROI SO DONE
17-year old Australian rapper The Kid LAROI, originally hailing from Waterloo, continues his path to take over the world with new focus single ‘SO DONE’ which follows the release of his breakout mixtape “F*CK LOVE” earlier this year.
He was recently nominated for three ARIA Awards, his first:
Best Male Artist, Breakthrough Artist and Best Hip-Hop release.
“F*CK LOVE” debuted #3 ARIA Album Chart and #8 Billboard 200 Chart, as well as top 15 in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland. The mixtape includes ‘GO’ featuring Juice WRLD which is now LAROI’s third Gold accredited single in Australia, whilst also hitting Gold in USA and Canada.
In Australia alone on release day the mixtape received over a million streams, with LAROI’s total combined streams now sitting at 65M in his home country and well over half a billion globally.
The late rapper JuiceWRLD was a close friend and mentor for LAROI. The pair toured together in America and twice around Australia, which were some of Juice’s last shows.
2018 saw the young rapper release his debut EP “14 WITH A DREAM” on Soundcloud, before later releasing fan favourite ‘Blessings’ across all digital platforms. The release led to him being labelled Independent Artist Of The Week by FBi and landing a finalist spot in triple j’s Unearthed High competition.
“the pride of Waterloo taking the US by storm” – Sydney Morning Herald
“just a Kid but he’s smashing it in America” – The Daily Telegraph
“The Kid LAROI may be only 17 but he’s already hit the big time” – The West Australian
“firmly at the forefront of Australia’s evolving hip-hop scene” – Acclaim
TIGERLILY RETURNS WITH HER NEW SUMMER-JAM ‘ME, YOU & TEQUILA’ feat. AYDAN
One of Australia’s premier producers and DJs, Tigerlily returns today with her new single Me, You & Tequila. A self-described, “summer jam,” it’s a sizzling, pop-tinged tune featuring up-and-coming artist AYDAN.
Having already spent 2020 rolling out a colourful collection of music ranging from the bass-rattling electro-house of Take U Back to the speaker-shattering house sounds of Get Down, her new single, shows Tigerlily’s ability to flick between both club-ready and pop-centred songs. “In the past DJs couldn’t do that so much but now they can release what they want, whenever they want. I wanted to capitalise on the flexibility of the industry we’re in,” she says noting both Martin Garrix and David Guetta as influences.
Me, You & Tequila is co-produced by Ivan Gough (Nervo, Timmy Trumpet) and mixed by Eric J (Flume, Louis The Child). AYDAN’s vocals on the track, bring a fresh and vibrant attitude to the table. “In the studio, he nailed it first take,” Tigerlily says about working with AYDAN. “He got the whole celebratory, summer vibe that I wanted so perfectly.”
Collaborating with AYDAN is just one example of Tigerlily’s longstanding passion for showcasing new talent. Her podcast Team Tiger Radio provides a platform for predominantly new, Australian-based talent to share their music and skills on the decks. It’s quite the platform with the show generating an average of over 30,000 monthly unique listeners in more than 20 countries.
With over 10 years of experience in the industry, the Tigerlily has earned a reputation for having one of the most electrifying shows around while also making the music to match.
The Sydney artist was voted Australia’s #1 Female DJ three years in a row and she’s one of the most in-demand producers both in her home country and globally. Playing some of the most esteemed clubs in the world from Las Vegas’ Hakkasan to LA’s Create Nightclub, she’s also graced the stage of the world’s biggest festivals including Lollapalooza, Ultra Music Festival and Tomorrowland.
Throughout the past decade, she’s amassed an impressive collection of originals. Never one to stay in the same lane, she’s pushed herself forward with diverse sounds that often traverse boundary-breaking electro and feel-good pop. She now has an excess of 50 million streams globally and a #1 on Beatport as well as 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
With a new track in hand, Tigerlily is ready to soundtrack the summer spreading the joy and good vibes both in the clubs and on your speakers. Listen Here!
