http://www.billboard.com/articles/co…00-top-10-hits

ATRL – Charts

ATRL – Charts

"Party Rock Anthem" became the 11th video to reach 1 billion views on VEVO

http://www.vevo.com/watch/lmfao/Part…m/USUV71100390

Others videos with 1 billions views on VEVO

Justin Bieber: Baby (feat. Ludacris)	Katy Perry: Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)	Taylor Swift: Blank Space
Katy Perry: Roar	Enrique Iglesias: Bailando (feat. Descemer Bueno & Gente De Zona)	Taylor Swift: Shake It Off
Meghan Trainor: All About That Bass	Mark Ronson: Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars)	OneRepublic: Counting Stars
Sia: Chandelier

ATRL – Charts

Let’s rock: Bruce Dickinson gives Iron Maiden fans the metal sign before flying them to Paris.
Source: Supplied

The kazoo is one of the items Dickinson took with him on August 26, otherwise known as the day he made Maiden fans’ dreams come true by getting high with them. Really, really high.

Dickinson personally flew around 150 Iron Maiden fans and media from Cardiff, where he owns an aircraft maintenance facility, to Paris, where the British metal band recorded their new album The Book of Souls.

Fans were bussed to Guillaume Tell studio, a converted art deco cinema from the 1920s to see where the metal magic happened.

All aboard: Bruce Dickinson is a pilot when he’s not busy fronting Iron Maiden.
Source: Supplied

Dickinson, 57, introduced the first airing of the 92 minute double album which entered the Australian chart at No. 2 and the UK charts at No. 1 this week.

At Cardiff airport passengers were officially able to write ‘Flight 666’ on their customs declaration, the Maiden-friendly number given to the flight.

The Maiden fans, who paid around $ 600 for the return flights and accommodation in Paris, got

bespoke Flight 666 T-shirts.

Maiden’s monstrous mascot, Eddie, is visible all over the airport and even on the paddles on-ground safety staff are waving.

Dickinson pops his head out of the cockpit window as fans climb the stairs to the plane, many posing on the ground below him, throwing up metal signs for selfies.

Once on board, the pilot unnecessarily introduces himself to a round of cheers.

After the usual safety instructions, Dickinson has a special weapon to make sure everyone behaves on his watch — that kazoo.

The metal warrior then busts out the Benny Hill theme on kazoo.

“That song does sound especially ridiculous when played on the kazoo,” Dickinson explains a few days later.

Not your average flight: the boarding pass for Flight 666 with pilot Bruce Dickinson.
Source: Supplied

Turns out Dickinson packs a kazoo whenever he flies. As well as the occasional charter flight for Maiden fans he’s also flown commercial routes for passengers who probably have no clue they’ve got a multi-millionaire, multi-million-selling rock star in the cockpit.

“The kazoo is very good for cheering people up at 4am when you need to do another flight to get people home and everyone’s down in the dumps,” Dickinson says. “Leap around a bit with a kazoo and everyone’s back on side.”

Unsurprisingly, the instrument has yet to surface on any of Iron Maiden’s 16 albums.

“Me, Nicko (McBrain, drums) and Davey (Murray, guitar) used to have a kazoo orchestra going in the back of the tour bus,” Dickinson says. “We had one of those drunken conversations, where we should all be locked up in a padded cell. We were saying ‘We could do a whole album on the kazoo’ and you wake up the next morning and go ‘What were we on? No. We won’t be doing that’. So the kazoo has yet to be on a Maiden album, but you never know your luck.”

Back on the short flight to Paris fans can’t hear The Book of Souls yet for security reasons, but are treated to a special in-flight refreshment: Trooper, Iron Maiden’s very own beer.

The fans range from lifers who discovered the band before their breakthrough 1982 album The Number of the Beast to teenagers who have had Maiden worship passed down. Two French teens discuss which eBay site they use to locate the vintage Maiden patches sewn onto their denim jackets, part of the metal uniform.

But aside from waving to Dickinson when boarding, the fans respect that for the flight to Paris he’s their pilot, not their rock hero.

Dickinson says he finds it strange to switch between his two jobs on special occasions like this.

Lengthy: the new Iron Maiden album The Book of Souls goes for 92 minutes.
Source: Supplied

“You have to compartmentalise it. You’ve got stuff going on outside the cockpit, you’re waving at people, they’re taking pictures, there’s lots of distractions. As soon as it’s down to business it’s a case of ‘Shut the window, shut the door, no we can’t do any more autographs, let’s get serious about the actual business of the flight’.”

For a man with a pretty interesting day job already, his work as a pilot is more than a mere hobby.

“It’s a completely different headspace from Maiden,” Dickinson says. “The flying bit is very internal. In Maiden you run around and show off the music to people and entertain them, it’s all very external. Flying is much more inside your head.

“Obviously it’s difficult to leap around the flight deck of an aeroplane when you’re strapped to the seat. Nobody really knows who you are, the flight deck door is always locked if you’re doing a normal flight.

“The satisfaction is in being anonymous and getting the job down efficiently and being on time. That involves quite a bit of problem solving, stuff that goes on in the background that hopefully the passengers never ever suspect. As far as they’re concerned it should be boring and seamless. But as far as you’re concerned as part of the flight crew your days can be quite interesting. But your job is to make the passenger’s day really quite dull.”

Not on this flight. Troopers downed, the plane lands in Paris and excited fans head to the studio. Dickinson arrives and points out where each band member set up to be recorded live.

“Put a drum kit in the middle of the room and it’s got space to breathe,” Dickinson says. “We’re recording real instruments and not enhancing everything electronically afterwards. Nothing wrong with that, kids record albums in their bedrooms now that sound amazing, but we’re Iron Maiden and we just can’t do that.”

Captain’s call: Bruce Dickinson in the cockpit of Ed Force One
Source: Supplied

As the 18 minute epic finale Empire of the Clouds ends, a 30-something man from Helsinki is in tears, proclaiming the album to be a “masterpiece”.

Relayed to Dickinson later on, the metal icon gets a bit misty himself.

“That’s so sweet,” Dickinson says. “That emotional response is the best thing you can possibly have.”

The band start touring The Book of Souls in February, a jaunt that will include their first shows in China and El Salvador. They’ll return to Australia in May.

At the Paris listening party, fans wonder out loud how the band will accommodate the lengthy new songs when touring a 92 minute double album.

Dickinson says they’re in the midst of trying to work out those logistics themselves, but there’ll be one absentee.

“Three songs off the new album is not enough. There’ll maybe be four or five. But we won’t be playing Empire (of the Clouds). It’s too ambitious and it’d dominate the set too much. That makes life a little bit easier.

“Some of the classics that we haven’t played for a couple of tours, we can bring some of those back. There’s a few songs people have been demanding for a couple of years, we might make a few people happy, they might get what they want. But you can’t do all of the tunes.

“Some songs we’ve been playing repeatedly over the past few tours so we can put those ones into mothballs for a while, make way for some other ones. We haven’t done the setlist in stone yet, we’ll put that out closer to the tour.”

Dickinson says the band take note of online feedback from fans.

“You get a feel of what the fans what, but you also have to go with what feels right for us and the effect we want to create as well. It’s important we’re not just a karaoke band. With the reaction to the new album, the excitement over it, and the last few albums, we’ve pretty much dismissed the idea of Iron Maiden being a nostalgia band, it’s just not the case.”

Bruce Dickinson turned 57 last month
Source: AP

For Iron Maiden statistics fans
Source: Supplied

Indeed, for a double album released in 2015 by a band decades into their career The Book of Souls is getting roundly praised by critics.

“People genuinely seem to like it,” Dickinson says. “Even the people giving us begrudging praise, they seem to like it. When every single review is good some of them may be right!”

As with their last few tours, Maiden will tour the globe on their own private aircraft, Ed Force One, piloted by Dickinson. For this tour they’re upgrading from Boeing 757s to a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet, which can transport the band, crew, mammoth stage production and equipment.

Dickinson will need special training to fly the new plane (he has a simulator set up in Cardiff) but isn’t rushing into it.

“Ideally you want to schedule the training to as close as possible to operating the real aeroplane,” he says. “You don’t want, what do they call it? Oh yeah, skillfade.”

During the Paris listening session, Dickinson is the first to embrace the elephant in the room. The singer was diagnosed with throat cancer early this year after finishing the recording of The Book of Souls, and this is the first chance for many fans to see him back in rude health.

“There’s reasons too tumerous to mention,” Dickinson jokes because he can.

Once diagnosed he obsessively researched what was being put into his body during chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

“In radiation your liver unzips itself and goes running down the road screaming ‘There’s a maniac inside!’ I did ask the doctor where it goes, they said the body tends to get rid of it. That means they don’t know! I’d like to know what they’re shoving into me, obviously it’s toxic, it’s not nice stuff.

Take off: this baby will be touching down in Australia next May, piloted by Bruce Dickinson
Source: Supplied

“I was very keen to know why things worked, how they worked, what was being done to me. All the various mechanisms. For me it helped me stay positive and be in some way enthusiastic about all the crap that was going on. That’s me. Other people might deal with it in a different way.”

The singer, who has never smoked, has said getting a tumour on his tongue was likely due to the human papilloma virus. The HPV generally presents as a lump on the neck; Michael Douglas claimed his throat cancer was due to performing oral sex. Dickinson hopes his diagnosis will encourage men over 40 to get checked; the virus is the same that causes cervical cancer in women.

After having part of his tongue removed, Dickinson said his voice is almost matchfit again, but admits the new tour, 35 countries, 88,500km over seven months, is daunting.

“I look at the schedule and said to our manager ‘This is kind of exactly the same intensity of touring we had before, if not more so’. And he went ‘Ah, yeah, we’ve got to get around to all these places’. That’s okay, as long as you appreciate this could be a work in progress for the first few weeks. But let’s see.

“The key to all this is to allow a really good long period of rehearsal and run up to this to get the voice dialled in, get everything back in shape. Don’t try and climb the mountain by the steepest path, take the gradual way up.”

And as for those nagging rumours about the end being nigh? “I really hope this isn’t the last album.”

Iron Maiden tour

Brisbane Entertainment Centre May 4

Allphones Arena Sydney May 6

Rod Laver Arena Melbourne May 9

Adelaide Entertainment Centre May 12

Perth Arena May 14

On sale September 24, midday, Ticketek.

Fan club member presale details at ironmaiden.com

In the air: Bruce Dickinson is preparing for another gravity-defying Iron Maiden world tour.
Source: Supplied

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Blank Realm behind bars, making a potent political statement about Illegals In Heaven (without realising it, this picture is from last year)
Source: Supplied

Brisbane detuned future pop unit Blank Realm had no strategy when they started out.

“We dubbed 50 cassettes to make our first album and sent it around the world to any weirdos that would listen,” shrugs Daniel Spencer, lead yelper, guitarist and songwriter.

“There wasn’t any masterplan. I never expected to be playing at the Opera House or Glastonbury or any of that crazy stuff that’s happened. Our dream was to be on vinyl,” he says.

“Then we’d break up. We started from a place very much outside the music industry, as a sort of home recording project with little ambition beyond that. Obviously it’s evolved.”

Mild understatement, ol’ bean.

Tomorrow their fifth album drops through Bedroom Suck Records, Illegals In Heaven, a quicksmart follow-up to Grassed In, which was Shortlisted for 2014’s Australian Music Prize. SCOOP: it came fourth behind REMi, CW Stoneking and Total Control.

“The AMP Shortlist felt to us like an acknowledgment that this weird stuff we were doing up here in Brisbane was significant. So yeah, it was very important to us!” he says. “I feel like it’s generated a lot more interest in us domestically. In Australia a lot more people are excited and interested by our new record than by any of our other ones, even before it has come out. I think that’s probably the AMP effect.”

Illegals In Heaven refers to the appalling state of offshore detention centres we send people who have the audacity to flee their countries and seek asylum.

“For a long time I never said anything overtly political, but these days things are so farcical you kind of have to speak up,” he contends. “Almost no one believes that the Prime Minister or his counterpart in opposition are the best people to lead this country. Yet through our political system, which favours underhanded gamesmanship over vision and integrity, these are the two clowns we are stuck with,” he spits.

“It’s one of those it-would-be-funny-if-it-wasn’t-so-serious kind of things. While I do find Mr Abbott’s complete lack of personal charisma compelling to watch, I can’t help but remember that we elected this guy to pretty much have his way with our country. It hasn’t really worked out for him though has it? Sucked in Tony!” he bellows.

Blank Realm entering the Palace of Love via a ferris wheel.
Source: Supplied

Blank Realm are stayers.

They’re sticking around while others have come unstuck. It’s like that quote from Tony Windsor: The world is run by those who turn up.

“I think we’ve always just done things on our own terms and tried to make what we see as good art. Hopefully that doesn’t sound conceited! I see a lot of bands these days with an army of publicists and huge budget around their first album, or even their first single. They make medium to big splash and then retreat into obscurity forever.”

Illegals In Heaven starts with No Views, a song written from the perspective of a…Speedway driver. “He’s living on the edge of life and death and the only way he can do that is by not questioning things, it’s just something he does. I really don’t know anything about speedway though, I was just inspired by the idea of it. I feel like my version of the speedway is filtered through Kenneth Anger’s Kustom Kar Kommandos film and Alan Vega’s Jukebox Babe album. It’s mythological.”

The record was made with eccentric sound curator Lawrence English in The Plutonium, a studio owned by John Steel Singers. Were things kept in check or was there some astral travelling?

“Oh geez, I feel like it was a long way from the lysergic atmosphere you may be imagining. About the craziest thing we did was order a pizza that had banana on it, which was surprisingly good,” he says.

“We do like to party pretty hard, but in the studio we are actually pretty tame and almost business like. There was a lot of beer, there always is, but anything more than that and the playing gets the wrong kind of sloppy.”

Speaking of sloppy jalopy, Spencer recalls looking out at the crowd at Meredith Music Festival last year, a performance which crowned the incredible year they went got in everyone’s crosshairs. “It was almost this kind of ‘Where’s Wally’ style panorama of people of people having a good time all the way up the hill. Some people throwing a ball around, some people on a couch, some people making out, some people dancing, some even watching us play. We had a great time. I want to go back to that place, he says. Golden Plains next year? 70-30 chance you’d think.

As a record Illegals In Heaven has a blueprint of sorts. “Our only plan was to really go for it. For a while it was unholy mess, but the more we worked on it, the more it became clear the shape it would take,” he says. “The album is kind of a dark night of the soul,” he pauses and reflects “This is a strange one. Illegals In Heaven is the first time in my life I’ve been totally happy with something. It’s a really weird feeling, like the record is actually everything I wanted it to be.

“I might hate it in a few months, but right now I’m really glad about how it turned out. I’ve never felt that way about any of our records before. For a while I thought that meant that was it, we should just stop there, but we’ve already started on the next one,” cue SAY WHA’? in Stewie Griffiths voice.

“Just keep rolling, that’s our strategy.” Album number six underway then, us fans better deal with the speed.

Shortly, Blank Realm will announce an album tour then a “touring fest I can’t really talk about yet.”

Laneway Festival!?

Head here to buy their 4.5 star record so they can be paid in full.

bedroomsuckrecords.com/shop/blank-realm-illegals-in-heaven/

facebook.com/blankrealmband

SOUNDS OFF BROADWAY

For the first time ever in history (an excitable triple tautology) Rock City is premiering a new video. Melbourne group Broadway Sounds are super-fun, high-life, post-calypso, soca-disco, tribal-terriers and all the right people are digging their music including triple j’s Richard Kingsmill who premiered their latest single Shonky Man on his 2015 show last Sunday night.

Broadway Sounds area Melbourne high life band ready for their close-up below.
Source: Supplied

The song is described by the band as “Boney M’s tour bus getting hijacked in downtown Johannesburg and its wheels getting taken off.”

The Shonky Man film clip was shot during a jaunt through Victoria Market and highlights the overconsumption of the modern human and reminds us he/she who dies with the most toys still dies.

Higher Plains’ smart operator Ash Sambrooks, in conjunction with the band led by banana-peeling, the-way-ya-make-a-me-feelin’ showpony Andrew Diamond Phillips (NIKE Employee of the Year 2011-current) offered up the exclusive launch of the Shonky Man clip and without further ado, here it is below, shonky tonk men and women.

Turn it up and remember hot dogs slide down better when you wet the bun, hun.

Broadway Sounds play Good Manners next Monthly party at Boney on Sept 17 and Paradise Music Festival and Beyond The Valley Festival. facebook.com/broadwaysounds

HE KNOWS JACK

Jack Colwell where have you been all my life? Um. In Sydney.

Colwell was selected to feature at 2010’s Surry Hills Festival and Newcastle’s This Is Not Art Festival, was involved in Karen O’s (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) 2012 production of Stop the Virgens at Vivid Sydney, and most recently performed as part of the Sydney Festival’s Folk series. He’s on the up.

Colwell has shared the stage with Architecture In Helsinki, Rainbow Chan and Brendan Maclean and was previously leading The Owls before going solo, a wise (sorry) move.

He’s been compared to Patrick Wolf and Nick Cave and the brooding whippersnapper has a new EP titled Only When Flooded Could I Let Go out through Independent/small FRY.

The clip to new single Don’t Cry Those Tears was directed by Brian and Karl and it’s bo diddly bonkers. ‘Tears is basically the solo song Julian Casablancas has been trying to write but failing miserably.

Empty Gallery, 471 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Sept 20. $ 10

WHAT A SELL OUT, MAN

The 25th Meredith Music Festival has completely sold out of tickets. Aunty Meredith has closed off Aunty’s Last Chance tickets too for those veterans who made a watertight case.

A reminder of who’s on the line-up: Big Daddy Kane, Briggs, Bully, Father John Misty, Floating Points, Fatback Band, GL, Goat, Harvey Sutherland, Jessica Pratt, Julia Holter, Levins, Lucy Cliche, The Peep Tempel, Master Khalil Gudaz, MC Jane Clifton, Mighty Duke and The Lords, Moon Duo, Neon Indian, Optimo, Pearls, Power, Ratatat, Shellac, Steve Miller Band, The Thurston Moore Band, Tkay Maidza, Totally Mild, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Nephew Woody has promised two more bands will be added to the bill. Email me at michael.cahill@news.com.au and I can point you in the right directions for *potential* online purchases. Oh boy oh boy.

Jessica Pratt will charm the pants of those still wearing them at Meredith Music Festival.
Source: Supplied

Meredith Music Festival, Dec 11-13, sold out, mmf.com.au

OYSTER SHOTS & ROT

Astral traveller Dan Kelly has returned with new single Never Stop the Rot from his fourth studio album Leisure Panic! out Oct. 9 through ABC Music.

soundcloud.com/abcmusic/never-stop-the-rot/s-pWKlW

facebook.com/dankellymusic

Mushroom artists World’s End Press. Mild mannered by day, dance demons by night.
Source: Supplied

THINK LOCAL ACT GLOBAL

WORLD’S END PRESS

TWITTER: /worldsendpress

2243 followers

FACEBOOK: /worldsendpress

7396 fans

THE ARTIST: Melbourne’s new wave, no-wave throwbacks who point their hips/lips forward.

Current release:Tall Stories EP set to drop on September 25 via Liberation.

THE DEAL: WEP have been toiling away, working on the follow-up to the lauded, pitch-perfect pop adventures of their self-titled debut album. The Crystal Waters meets Simply Red track Tall Stories dropped this week and lit up the blogosphere.

Premiering on The 405, they wrote “Like their contemporaries The Presets and Cut Copy, Melbourne band World’s End Press make disco-tinged, energetic dance music bursting with dizzy energy.” Athens’ site Last Gas Station says it “delivers an addictive slice of dance pop with ridiculously catchy melodies. It’ll be rattling around your head for days.” Acid Stag quipped ‘Stories is “a super fun, energetic tune that is said to be the first taste of a larger announcement that will be made next week — wonder what that could possibly be…?” An EP tour, see ‘em at Howler on Oct 17.

BUZZ RATING: 8/10

MUST SEE THREE

1 THE DRONES & BATPISS

Gareth Liddiard was recently misquoted as being a “stay-at-home dad”. Yet he has become a paternal figure to intelligent, wild rock bands like King Gizzard et al. Hear 2005’s AMP-winning opus Wait Long By the River & the Bodies Of Your Enemies Float By in full.

Forum Theatre, city. Sat, 8pm. $ 48.20. ticketmaster.com.au

2 CHANTOOZIES DINNER/SHOW

The ‘90s revival is in full swing but the ‘80s have still got it. The Chantoozies will sing Witch Queen Of New Orleans, He’s Gonna Step On You Again, Wanna Be Up, Kiss and Tell as well as dorky, fun covers. See Eve von Bibra, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith show why they sold 300K+ LPs.

Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. Sat, 6pm. $ 33.

3 HOLY HOLY & FRACTURES

You need triple j all up in your grill to really break through and Brisbane/Melbourne duo Holy Holy have found favour with Kingsmill and his minio..team with debut album When the Storms Would Come. An apt alternative title? The Importance Of Being Earnest. For your solemn rock needs.

Howler, Brunswick. Sat (sold out) Sun, 7pm. $ 20, moshtix.com.au

Not Holy Holy and definitely not The Chantoozies….it’s The Drones and there’s only 42 tickets left for their Forum Theatre show. Don’t get caught in the Tropical F–km Storm trying to find tickets on Saturday, buy now or forever hold your peace.
Source: Supplied

For life tips on how to be rad (lesson one: humility) follow twitter.com/joeylightbulb

big love

mikey

xo

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Adelaide’s playful punks band The Grenadiers play Ding Dong Lounge this weekend and have been Longlisted for The AMP.
Source: Supplied

The first albums Longlisted are: Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit, Grenadier’s Summer, Oisma’s Nicaragua Nights, Hermitude’s Dark Night Sweet Light, High Tension’s Bully, Marlon William’s self-titled album, and Methyl Ethel’s unimpeachable Oh Inhuman Spectacle. Swoon.

Yesterday four more were announced: Royal Headache’s High, Peter Bibby’s Butcher/Hairstylist/Beautician, Oh Mercy’s When We Talk About Love and Melanie Horsnell’s Quatre Chemins.

Dave Faulkner, chairman of the AMP judges’ panel and Mr Freelove in Hoodoo Gurus, has been “immersing myself in Tigersapp by Szymon, Kill It Yourself by Jess Ribeiro and When We Talk About Love by Oh Mercy, lately,” he says.

“Oh Inhuman Spectacle by Methyl Ethel snuck up on me. I didn’t like it at first but it just clicked for me one day.”

Following last week’s Rock City Adelaide love-in with Bad//Dreems, their local buddies, playful punks “Grenadiers were a surprise to me,” he says. “That album took me a few listens to hook into as well, but then the best albums often do.

“What can you say about this one? Relentless, frenetic. File under: piss and vinegar.”

The Grenadiers play Ding Dong Lounge on Friday too, gig pigs.

As for prevailing trends, he says: “Music continues to split into a million shards, going every direction at once so there is never any ‘direction’, but I will say that hard rock is coming on pretty strong this year.”

Shard, yeah.

“The women are leading the way with lyrics. Jess Ribeiro and Courtney Barnett being two prime examples. I probably shouldn’t mention this … but I had a sneak listen to Sarah Blasko’s new album — due November — and that has wonderful lyrics on it, too.

“That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, given her past work.”

Faulkner wishes Australian music was better disseminated internationally. “Obviously a little support from government would go a long way to helping spread our music further around the world. Well, it gets a little support — precious little — and it needs more. For the rest of us, we need to support Australian music right here at home – going to gigs and buying albums so that our artists have a strong base that they can use to promote themselves elsewhere. That way they may be able to spare a few dollars to help promote themselves and pay for those outrageous airfares and hotels.

“And when I talk about going to gigs, I don’t just mean on a Saturday night when it’s walking distance from your house and free to get in! We also need to increase the local content quota on commercial radio, perhaps with an additional incentive to play new aussie music. Unfortunately some people have to be dragged kicking and screaming to support our local talent. It’s our patriotic duty.” he proselytises. Bravo Faulko.

The judging continues. Visit the Facebook page to keep abreast of all the AMP updates.

facebook.com/australianmusicprize

twitter.com/the11thAMP

#the11thAMP

BROWNE NOSE THE WAY

Clairy Browne’s recent work on Paul Kelly’s Merri Soul Sessions stood above the rest. Keep On Coming Back For More and Where You Were When I Needed You went toe-to-toe with Paul Kelly.

Cleary, she’s not intimidated. Vanity Fair is the brand spanking new single from Browne sans Bangin’ Rackettes.

“So juicy, like Fuji, it’s fresh not frozen,” she sings.

Browne is a solo artist now and Vanity Fair exudes brassy, sassy ’tude.

The bootylicious clip is inspired by the ample behinds of Coco T, Nicki Minaj, Serena Williams and Jennifer Lopez.

Also, she sounds more Beyonce than ever before, not a comparison I make lightly, nodding reader. Her debut solo album is due later in the year and an expansive tour is in the works.

facebook.com/clairybrownemusic

NO ZU = GOOD ZU

Chapter Records have signed Heat Beat’s™ number one ticket holders NO ZU for their second album Afterlife, due early 2016. Flammable.

New single Ui Yia Uia (pronounced “Yi Yah Yah”) was premiered by London’s Test Pressing blog and features the fox vox of Becky Freeman (Sui Zhen) and Daphne Shum. Buy it here:

chaptermusic.bandcamp.com

SILICON VALLEY

Chet Faker has announced the supports for his oh-you-know-really-quite-massive-shows in Oct/Nov. Silicon, Awesome Tapes From Africa and Cleopold will join Faker and Otologic will DJ between sets. Yesterday Faker dropped a reworked track, Killswitch, via Future Classic’s Soundcloud.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Oct 30. $ 79.90, ticketmaster.com.au

You Am I will rock Croxton Hotel. That’s not a typo.
Source: News Corp Australia

CROXTON RETURNS

You Am I recently posted “15 songs cut and a new rekkid in the can folks”.

They’ll play the relaunched Croxton (!) Hotel.

Croxton Hotel, 607 High St, Thornbury, Oct 1, thecroxton.com.au

AT THE ‘DETH

Last week we told you about Megadeth’s tour, sports fans. Megadeth and Children of Bodom will play in October. Led by 53-years-young Dave Mustaine, the LA thrash metal band will rock the good city of Melbourne and you have a chance to be one of two winners of doublepasses if you email michael.cahill@news.com.au with the subject heading MEGA EXCITED ABOUT FREE MEGADETH TICKETS.

Festival Hall, Dudley St, West Melbourne, Oct 24, ticketmaster.com.au

US band Megadeth return to Melbourne. Win tickets!
Source: Supplied

MUST SEE GIGS

1 RAT & CO, KLO

The Shadow Electric team deserves a bloody Helpmann Award. Visions begins this weekend with a 34m square cinema screen. It’s Teeth & Tongue and Pearls, then Rat & Co and Klo performing with kaleidoscopic projections from visual artist Oliver Elmers.

For your chance to win one of two double passes to see Rat & Co email michael.cahill@news.com.au with the subject heading RAT & CO ARE ENCINO MEN OF ESTONIA.

Estonian House, Brunswick West, Fri-Sat, 7pm, $ 21. shadowelectric.com.au

2 LOWTIDE, THE SHIFTERS

Roo-gaze is a god-awful name for a genre (don’t worry, it won’t catch on, Skip), but Lowtide are bounding forth with an original take on My Bloody Valentine et al. Nine-minute epic Julia/Spring (and cool clip by Jamieson Moore, jooost below) marks the quartet as something special. AA side vinyl launch.

Northcote Social Club, Sat, 8pm, $ 12, ticketscout.com.au

3 TOTALLY MILD & TERRIBLE TRUTHS

Say goodnight … not goodbye. Totally Mild and Terrible Truths are off to Europe to play Incubate Festival in the Netherlands. This is a fundraiser with The Shifters, Small World Experience and Simona Castricum. Cracking!

The Tote, Collingwood, Fri, 8pm, $ 15, thetotehotel.com

THINK LOCAL ACT GLOBAL

LUCIANBLOMKAMP

TWITTER/lucianblomkamp

349 followers

FACEBOOK/lucianblomkampmusic

4244 fans

THE ARTIST: Melbourne polymath beat purveyor goes boldly into a flotation chamber.

CURRENT RELEASE: From Afar single is the follow-up to his 2014 Post-Nature album.

THE DEAL: He likes to watch. From Afar unfolds themes of alienation, mistrust and unquenchable lust. Cello strings bring levity to the song then they’re toothpicked apart by Massive Attack meets Nicolas Jaar synth washes. This is where Blomkamp’s classical training shines through. He won FBi Radio’s Northern Lights competition and scored a slot on Reykjavik’s Iceland Airwaves Festival. Blogs be buzzin’. Konbini says: “Another precious pearl from Melbourne’s music scene is loudly emerging this month … get ready for this musical journey.” Indie Shuffle chips in with: “I can safely say he’s one of the most exciting, talented artists in Australian electronic music today.” Thump commends Lucian for being, “not afraid to play with your heart and your mind either”. Second LP early 2016.

BUZZ RATING: 7/10

Let’s talk it over on twitter.com/joeylightbulb and I’ll follow you back.

Probably.

Big love

Mikey

x

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Rock on … Amity Affliction step up to arenas for their final tour of 2015. Picture; Supplied.
Source: Supplied

That was the case earlier this week when rumours circulated online that Australian melodic hardcore band chart-toppers Amity Affliction would be joining with their American mates A Day To Remember for a run of concerts in December.

The tour is a milestone for the Australian band, putting them into the same arenas hosting Sam Smith, Cold Chisel, Elton John and Oprah that month.

It also signals that hard rock, and we are talking the kind of music which is best played at volume of 11, is doing big business in Australia despite what the gatekeepers of the airwaves may think.

Amity Affliction’s album Let The Ocean Take Me went to No. 1 with gold sales last year before the band headed out on a sold-out tour of Australian beer barns and the first of several legs of shows in America and Europe.

Just back home from the Warped tour in America, vocalist and bassist Ahren Stringer said joining forces with A Day To Remember, with support acts Motionless In White and The Ghost Inside, gave them the “muscle” to stage the biggest tour of their career.

Naming rights … American band A Day To Remember won the battle to call it the Big Ass Tour. Picture: Supplied.
Source: Supplied

“It’s pretty mind-blowing because we never thought we would be playing venues of this size,” Stringer says.

“I never thought this kind of music would get as popular as it is has. When we were telling our friends about the (arena) tour, they didn’t believe it. The most common response was ‘Holy s …!’”

Fans of the heavier brands of music, whether hardcore, metalcore or any of the subgenres under the umbrella of hard rock, are fiercely loyal.

They buy the new albums the week they come out and in enough volume for a top 10 debut.

Since Amity Affliction released their last record in June, their Australian heavy rock peers Northlane claimed No. 1 with Node, Thy Art Is Murder debuted at No. 7 with Holy War and Skydancer by In Hearts Wake peaked at No.2. Dead Letter Circus are expected to debut in the top 10 this weekend with their hypermelodic third album Aesthesis.

Chart toppers … Northlane debuted at No. 1 with their latest album Node a few weeks ago. Picture: Peter Kelly.
Source: News Corp Australia

The devotion to hard rock music in Australia and demand to see it played on the big stages has kept the annual Soundwave event afloat as the other major national festivals which don’t target a niche audience struggled to survive.

Stringer said most forms of heavy rock are far more accessible than people suspect.

“Heavy music is becoming more and more popular and we are getting people from 16 — or younger — to 60 because I think they do find it is more community based,” he said.

“The fans feel connected in a way because it is positive music with generally positive lyrics which I think is a key factor.”

The closest hard rock gets to decent airplay is late night specialist shows on community stations but Triple J has been featuring more local acts across their programming with Northlane and Dead Letter Circus scoring the coveted feature album of the week recently.

The DIY ethic of the genre’s protagonists works in their favour because it creates a more direct link with fans via social media and shows.

“For a lack of a better word, we are self made and social media helps with that. We’ve never been given a leg-up by bigger Australian bands in our career or scored much support from the mainstream and I think it’s great to know we have got to this level on our own,” Stringer says.

While they are the bigger band on the bill, Amity Affliction lost a very Australia versus America cultural war over the naming of their joint tour with A Day To Remember.

It is called the Big Ass tour.

What happened to arse?

“We tried to tell the A Day To remember guys that you don’t spell arse like that in Australia. But the kids on the internet these days do spell it as ass. So there’s another word in danger of being Americanised now,” Stringer said.

The Big Ass Tour kicks off at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney on December 12 and then heads ti Perth Arena on December 14, Adelaide Entertainment Centre on December 16, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne on December 17 and The Riverstage, Brisbane on December 19. Tickets are on sale from September 1.

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Bad//Dreems are a mauling Adelaide band with Dogs At Bay debut album nipping at your heels
Source: Supplied

Yes, strewth-core, it’s a genre here to stay. Adelaide rock band Bad//Dreems ply deranged, potato-sack, hodgepodge rock‘n’ roll and it’s catching on.

Recently at Splendour In The Grass, Bad//Dreems avoided trench foot as they took the main stage on the Sunday. “Before we started they had these Bobcats to fix up the mud so the crowd was kept back by security guards, 60 metres from the stage,” recalls guitarist and mouthpiece of the band Alex Cameron, above far left.

“We started playing and in between the songs you could hear the ‘beep beep beep’ and I could see our booking agent arguing with the security guards ‘What the hell’s going on? This is bulls—!’ Every now and then some young guys would break through and make a run for the stage and it’d be a Benny Hill situation as security chased them,” he says.

“About halfway through our set the Bobcats finished their job and then everybody came to the front. It was a big rush forward, Braveheart-style, right at the start of Hiding To Nothing,” Cameron explains.

Hiding to Nothing is the third single following Dumb Ideas and Cuffed and Collared. Their debut album, Dogs at Bay, is out tomorrow and was recorded over a fortnight with producer Mark Opitz (AC/DC, The Angels) and Colin Wynne in a 1950s condo in West Brunswick.

“Opitz has a soft spot for a hard-rock, cock-rocking banger,” Cameron says, “he was always pushing songs like Hiding To Nothing forward.”

Bad//Dreems is completed by Ben Marwe (vocals, guitars), James Bartold (bass) and Miles Wilson (drums). They formed in 2012 in a white -goods repair warehouse on a sultry day and played the local football club.

Ivy League Records are putting their resources behind them and their fanbase takes in old rockers, gen X grunge and garage fans and loose young units starting their gig-life.

“We had a guy fresh out of jail come to our gig in Brisbane, Clint, he was a legend, he got into it, he was wasted… but behaved,” says Cameron.

That’s the truth. Strewth.

Northcote Social Club, 301 High St. Oct 24. $ 15+bf. ticketscout.com.au

DOM DOM DOMMMM

Here’s an exclusive announcement, sports fans. Megadeth and Children of Bodom will play in October. Led by 53-years-young Dave Mustaine, the LA thrash metal band will rock the good city of Melbourne. Watch this page for ticket giveaways. On sale Mon.

Festival Hall, Dudley St, West Melbourne, Oct 24, ticketmaster.com.au

N13wp606 a1 Megadeth will tour Australia with a new album next month.
Source: Supplied

BORN IN THE ECCAS

Ecca Vandal kicked all kinds of butt at Splendour in the Grass last month, everyone watching her knew they were witnessing an artist on an upward trajectory, her status set to rise up like her voice in the chorus of new single Father Hu$ $ la, part Bad Brains, part Skunk Anansie. South African born with Sri Lankan Heritage, Ecca Vandal’s latest cut has been featured on The Line of Best Fit, Spin and Tone Deaf.

Last month she signed with signed to Dew Process Australia/New Zealand and Island Records in the UK.

facebook.com/eccavandal

EPIC MIGRAINE

Australia loves a comeback/redemption story. Royal Headache didn’t wrong us in any way, it’s just that the Sydney lout-punks left fans wanting more after their self-titled debut. Then there was that rambunctious Vivid Live Sydney Opera House performance in May…phew…now they make good on all the talk with a second album, High, out tomorrow, reviewed next week.

High will be released through Distant and Vague Recordings and What’s Your Rupture.

Pre-order it at their website and hear cuts High and Another World.

When’s the tour, lads?

royalheadache.com.au

Royal Headache – Sydney garage punk pop band with new single High.
Source: Supplied

HER STORY

I danced around the house yesterday morning, starkers, to Banoffee’s debut EP.

Right on time, her new single With Her was debuted by I-D Magazine yesterday too and Dot Dash / Remote Control Records will release the EP Do I Make You Nervous? on Oct 2. Oscar Key Sung is on co-production duties, it looks and sounds like she’s in good hands.

facebook.com/Banoffeeme

MUST SEE THREE GIGS

1 MONDO ROCK & MI-SEX

Ross Wilson and his well seasoned charges Mondo Rock are up for it. The Besto Mondo show will see fans sing along to Come Said the Boy, Cool World, State Of the Heart and Chemistry. In support, Mi-Sex will play Computer Games both backstage and out front.

Palais Theatre, St Kilda, Sat, 7pm, $ 49/$ 111 ticketmaster.com

2 MUSICIANS 4 HEARING GIG

This benefit will raise funds for NGO All Ears Cambodia, who will use the money to assist an outreach program treating thousands of Cambodians in abject poverty with hearing loss. I’ve been there, it’s still a desperate place. See Fraser A. Gorman, ALTA (1/2 right) and LANKS.

The Gasometer, Collingwood, Sun, 6pm, $ 15/$ 20.

3 OH MERCY & TOTALLY MILD

Alex Gow likes pulling the rug of expectations out from under his fans. Fourth LP When We Talk About Love dropped the puns and popped the runs (on the board) for an introspective innings. Locals on the rise like a loaf of Helgas, Crepes will open then the unstoppable Totally Mild and finally, Gow and co.

Howler, Brunswick, Sat, 8pm, $ 20, h-w-l-r.Com

Peachy keen. Totally Mild Melbourne art-pop band with debut album Down Time on Bedroom Suck Records. They support Oh Mercy this weekend.
Source: Supplied

THINK LOCAL ACT GLOBAL

SLUM SOCIABLE

facebook.com/slumsociable

The artist:Melbourne genre-snappers who throw jazz, blunted hip hop and electronic lounge into the pot for an organic gumbo stew.

Current release:Serene, kissin’ and a cussin’ single All Night. This follows Queen of the Harpies’ slowburner Anyway.

The deal:There is a reason Thievery Corporation, Portishead and James Blake gathered up a legion of fans with laid-bare soul. They have electronic tentacles scratching around the edges like a soft-shelled crab burger trying to escape its box — bewitching music that moves the head first then the body. Similarly, Slum Sociable tie themselves to the right tracks. All Night was premiered by US blog Pigeons and Planes, they liked the “shimmering mix of jazz hop and sample heavy electronica”. It’s now in Hype Machine’s Most Popular Chart having jumped from No.20 to No.9 in the past week. Indie Shuffle likened them to “Prelow, Jungle, M.I.L.K” and the duo play Shebeen on Sept 19, juuust after they hit their straps at the BIGSOUND Music Conference in Brisvegas. Very sociable.

Buzz rating: 7/10.

Follow ol’ mate on twitter.com/joeylightbulb

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Triple R FM – Breaking and Entering: Lauren Taylor and Simon Winkler. Picture: Paul Armour.
Source: Supplied

“In a time threatened by monochrome media monopolies, community radio is made by many hands and paints with the sound of diverse voices across a spectrum,” says Lauren Taylor, of Breaking and Entering (Thu, 4-7pm) and Live to Air Coordinator.

The theme this year is Paint The Town, celebrating “Melbourne’s full colour wheel of experiences and emotions”, says Simon Winkler, also of Breaking and Entering, the Triple R Music Coordinator and the best samurai bow in Melbz.

“Pantone is yet to designate an official colour to capture Melbourne on its chart, but it looks like enlightenment and sounds like Triple R,” they say together, staying on message.

As trend forecasters and oracles of the best new music, the didactic duo have noticed “a couple of themes in 2015: damaged post-punk, pensive-pop, winter-wave cold-core, volcanic disco, psychedelic dream gaze and nightmare-noir”, says Winkler, giving your scribe a run for his money.

“Something else we’ve detected as a strong trend in some favourite songs is the return of Kenny G’s instrument of choice: the saxophone,” Taylor adds.

“It resumes its place at the top of the mix with appearances from favourites Totally Mild, Ara Koufax and Retiree,”

Subscriptions cost $ 40 to $ 150 but you can always give (more) that they may grow. Prizes are courtesy of Intrepid Travel, Michaels Camera Video Digital, Blackhearts & Sparrows Wine Purveyor and more.

During the photo shoot the Keith Haring mural changed the colour of their day: “We feel like breakdancing!”

9388 1027 rrr.org.au

GRATE EXPECTATIONS

Brisbane pop tarts The Grates win the award for tour name of the year: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work.

Patience Hodgson dreams big, she wore a “Rainbow Shaman” outfit at Splendour In The Grass and warned the crowd: “You should see what my tent looks like.”

Their latest album Dream Team was produced by Owen Pengliss of the Straight Arrows and that band Pleasure Symbols will support them. “Ohh dreeeam weaverrrr.”

Corner Hotel, Swan St, Richmond. Sat, 8pm, $ 33, ticketscout.com.au

A NEW REALM

Bedroom Suck Records have high apple pie in the sky hopes for Blank Realm’s next album, Illegals In Heaven, produced by sound artist Lawrence English.

It’s all coming together for their fifth record. The first single, River of Longing, was premiered by Pitchfork and today those on-point journalists at Stereogum will introduce
the world totheir next single, Palace of Love.

Following their AMP Shortlisted Grassed Inn album, Brisbane’s anti-pop bruisers sound more live and lively than just about anyone right now. It’s as if they can feel Illegals In Heaven (the title is namechecked on Palace) is going to truly make them. Cool.

After acquitting themselves tremendously at Meredith Music Festival, I’ll chance my arm and say they’ll get an invite back very soon.

First, they’re off to Europe for a lengthy tour. Keep an eye on their FB page for “a River of Longing vid by the amazing Helena Papageorgiou”, which will drop shortly.

facebook.com/blankrealmband

A GOOD KIND OF SEEDY

The Seed is the brainchild of John Butler (first ever Rock City appearance) and Mama Kin and is a music-focused, not-for-profit organisation aiming to facilitate musicians in their quest to become self-sustained professionals. Superb idea.

Their fundraising campaign begins with a concert hosted by Triple J’s Zan Rowe, featuring Missy Higgins, San Cisco, Emma Louise, Paul Kelly and John Butler. The event will run with a smart Pozible campaign.

The Athenaeum, 188 Collins St, city, Oct 12, $ 101 to $ 142. theseedfund.org

CHRONIC ANHEDONIAC

Local garden-gnome-done-good Andrei Eremin’s debut EP Pale Blue is out Aug 28. NME just debuted his Anhedoniac clip and he sure is growing up fast.

andreieremin.com

Pony Face – Melbourne band/trio who play psych, rock, indie and Springsteen style songs
Source: Supplied

MUST SEE THRE GIGS

1 COBRA SNAKE NECKTIE

For their fifth birthday, Cobra Snake Necktie will smash you across your Pony Face (above) and it’ll feel like a kiss. Baptism of Uzi, Saint Jude, The Bowers and The Sugarcanes will play and DJs Mojo Juju and Ali E will keep the party partying until 3am. Happy birthday, Cobras.

CURTIN HOTEL, CARLTON, FRI, 8PM, $ 15, JOHNCURTINHOTEL.COM

2 PACES & LEON OSBORN

I’m liking the trajectory of Paces’ career, it’s like a laces-out Matthew Suckling kick into the forward line. The glitch-step guy has a jumping new cut Hold It Down, like Major Lazer before they got too rich.

SHEBEEN, CITY, FRI, 8PM, $ 20 TICKET SCOUT.COM

3 HIATUS KAIYOTE & JAALA

Have you set aside enough time to get to know Hiatus Kaiyote’s second record Choose Your Weapon? It won’t happen overnight but it will happen. The new-soul, futurist jazz group cap a patch as purple as that heading with three hot shows.

HOWLER, FRI-SAT, $ 35, H-W-L-R.COM; CORNER HOTEL, AUG 27, CORNERHOTEL.COM

Agree? Disagree? Let’s yak about it: twitter.com/joeylightbulb

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

Chart toppers … Northlane’s Jonathon Deiley, Josh Smith, Alex Milovic and Nic Pettersen claimed their first No. 1 debut with new album Node and new singer Marcus Bridge. Picture: Peter Kelly.
Source: News Corp Australia

The surprise No. 1 debut from the five-piece band based in Sydney’s western suburbs who formed six years ago was achieved with no commercial radio airplay or other mainstream exposure and due mostly to their devoted fanbase.

The metalcore band are just the latest of a raft of Australian hard rock acts who are ruling the ARIA charts or selling out tours throughout Europe and America including Parkway Drive, In Hearts Wake, Hellions and Thy Art Is Murder.

Northlane’s alternative rock stablemates Dead Letter Circus are expected to debut in the top 5 with their third album Aesthesis when it drops on August 14.

Northlane’s success comes after they decided to follow AC/DC’s lead and find a new lead singer to record their third album after original frontman Adrian Fitipaldes quit the band for health reasons.

Hard workers … Northlane rehearse in a tiny storage unit in Penrith. Picture: Peter Kelly.
Source: News Corp Australia

Founding member Josh Smith said they involved the fans in helping to decide who would be their new singer from more than 2000 audition tapes in late 2014.

“That was quite overwhelming; there was no way we were expecting that many auditions and it was such a broad scope of people to choose from,” he said.

“It made the process longer and a lot harder for us but I think the fact we did it so publicly and were honest with our fans about what we were doing did not go unappreciated.”

Frontman Marcus Bridge, a 22-year-old rock journeyman from Sydney’s northern suburbs was selected in October, filmed the video for their single Rot two days later and made his debut in front of 2500 rabid Parkway Drive fans in Stockholm three weeks after that.

Bridges said he was a fan of the band for a few years before deciding to throw his hat into the ring.

“It is so insane and amazing the gigs and other stuff we get to do and I never really thought I would get to be a part of it,” he said.

“Everything we have done is another step to getting bigger and bigger; we’ve just played at some Europeans festivals that I dreamt of playing for most of my life.”

Smith, who studied marketing before devoting all his energies to the band has furthered their popularity online with clever guerilla promotional campaigns.

“You should always involve your fanbase as much as you possibly can when it comes to promoting records,” Smith said.

“With one of the songs leech, we scattered it around the internet in parts with a hashtag with fans having to piece it together. Things like that keep people interested as much as the singer search did.”

World leaders … Byron Bay metalcore champions Parkway Drive have a huge following in Europe. Picture: Supplied.
Source: Supplied

Node has received critical acclaim throughout the UK, Germany, America and Canada, with local hardcore critics celebrating its ambition and heavy precision.

Smith, Bridge and their bandmates Jon Deiley, Alex Milovic and Nic Pettersen tour North America throughout August and Europe in October before returning home for a headlining run of concerts in November.

“The chart is cool recognition of where we stand in the industry but I don’t think it’s the best indication of success. Gigs are where bands make their bread and butter with the way records sell these days,” Smith said.

The band kick off their Node tour in Fremantle on November 4.

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music