Month: June 2014

Jack White, The Strokes & more make for a memorable second day of the NY Governor's Ball Music Festival!

Headliners brought the house or more likely, the park, down on Day Two of Governor’s Ball Music Festival on Randall’s Island. Day One’s trend of almost perfect weather and relatively smooth logistics continued, aside from some struggling queues at the water filling station, thanks to intense sunshine and a policy of demanding pre-purchased water be…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Locke (UK, 2014)

John Donne once famously wrote that “a man is not an island”, referencing the many connections that seep into even the most insular of spaces and tug at certain sides of our human psyche even at times when we are physically alone. It’s a sentiment which rings entirely true in Locke, a truly fascinating minimal…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Buffalo Dreams (UK, 2013)

American buffalo are so physically and culturally linked to North America that it is difficult to imagine them living in any other country. So wouldn’t it be interesting to see them roaming the harsh, wet plains of Scotland? This is the basis for Maurice O’Brien’s short documentary Buffalo Dreams, which sees the struggles of buffalo…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: National Gallery (USA/France, 2014)

This beautiful documentary offers an insight into the daily life of the National Gallery in London. Unfolding over three hours, Frederick Wiseman with his characteristic unobtrusive touch allows conversations and activities to unfold in real time, giving the viewer the ability to observe in true ‘fly-on-the-wall’ style. The impressive collection housed by the gallery is…

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Live Review: Kim Churchill + Steve Smyth + Riley Pearce – Mojo’s Bar, Perth (05.06.14)

Kim Churchill’s national tour made it to Fremantle on Thursday night, with a packed out mid-week show at Mojos, the second of three shows in Western Australia. Impressively and a little surprisingly roughly 80-90% of the crowd were already milling about outside the venue before the doors had even been opened, guaranteeing a great atmosphere…

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The Governor's Ball Music Festival returns to New York City for 2014 with a lucky weather break.

After the 2013 festival is most remembered for the rivers of mud, the 2014 Governor’s Ball launched with the perfect weather for New York’s premier summer festival. With an eclectic lineup on Friday including indie and electronic favorites combined with headlining draws from years gone by, the crowds thronged on Randall’s Island and frolicked in…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Joe (USA, 2014)

In life we are more often than not reactive creatures, responding to our environment and those around us. Sometimes the unlikeliest of people and the most random of circumstances can shape our lives, in both good and bad ways. Based on the novel by Larry Brown and directed by David Gordon Green, Joe is the…

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MIAF Exclusive Interview: Elliot Cowan (USA) on his new animated feature The Stressful Adventures Of Boxhead And Roundhead.

From June 19th until the 29th, Melbourne will enjoy the Melbourne International Animation Festival at ACMI, featuring over 450 films from 35 countries over 11 days. Needless to say, fans of animation will have more than their fair share of excellent films to sink their teeth into. One of these screenings will see the world premiere of The…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: The Great Museum (Austria, 2014)

In Vienna resides the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), a jewel in the city’s crown and home to thousands of paintings, sculptures and artefacts from all over the globe. The Great Museum follows the preparation for the opening of the Kunstkammer Gallery – a specialty gallery devoted to thousands of artefacts collected by Habsburg…

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Tour Diary: Emma Davis (Sydney) at Toronto's Canadian Music Week! – Part One!

So it all started with a rather long bus ride from New York to Toronto. I thought if I was going to go all the way to Canada I may as well spend some time in the US first, eating pickles, drinking oversized beers and prancing past the cacti of Austin. Here is one of…

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Travel Diaries: A week in Toronto with Sydney musician Emma Davis (Part One)

So it all started with a rather long bus ride from New York to Toronto. I thought if I was going to go all the way to Canada I may as well spend some time in the US first, eating pickles, drinking oversized beers and prancing past the cacti of Austin. Here is one of…

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The Music That Made Us: Mind Over Matter (Sydney)

This time last week, Sydney hip hop outfit Mind Over Matter released their anticipated new album This Way To Elsewhere. We sat down with the band for an interview today which you’ll be able to see on the AU soon, but we also wanted to get an idea of the music that influenced them. In…

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CLOSED Win a copy of "Lazaretto" by Jack White on "ULTRA LP" Vinyl!

We’re really excited about this one. We have a copy of Jack White‘s brand new album Lazaretto – released today – to give away on the much hyped ULTRA LP vinyl. You can learn more about what makes it ULTRA HERE. For your chance to win, head over to your Instagram OR Twitter account and…

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Interview: Bruno Brayovic & Ben Chamie from Peabody (Sydney) talk 20 years of music makin’

It seems like only yesterday that Peabody strummed through small venues like The Hopetoun Hotel with over-distorted guitars that rush through the eardrums like a steam train. They intend to be as energetic all again this month in celebration of twenty years in existence. The only difference now is there’s more a chance to develop…

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TV Review: Fargo – Season 1, Episode 7 “Who Shaves the Barber?” (USA, 2014)

This time around we’re given a reprieve from the hefty violence and an opportunity to see the intricate web revealed as well as some surprisingly touching and sensitive moments. For a series that has been so brutal, dark and twisted this is a much brighter albeit still emotionally heavy episode to take in. At the…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Appropriate Behaviour (USA, 2014)

Played with deadpan composure by writer and feature debut director Desiree Akhavan, we meet Shirin in the last stage of her breakup with long-term girlfriend, Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). In the opening scene she is collecting her remaining belongings, exchanging final barbs and discussing the future custody of a shared strap-on dildo. The scene closes on…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: 20,000 Days on Earth (UK, 2014)

Viewers are gifted a film which is undeniably Nick Cave with (sort-of) rock bio-pic 20,000 Days on Earth ditching everything we have come to dread of rockstar-centric films and giving us something which truly seeks the mind of this infinitely interesting artist. Filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard employ various techniques to twirl around an…

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Feature: Josh Pyke, Winston McCall and Leanne de Souza talk Feedback at VIVID Ideas!

Ahead of the FEEDBACK music conference in Sydney on Monday, three members of the rather esteemed list of guest speakers let us know how they got into this crazy industry of ours and offer small nuggets of advice for those of you looking to gain entry into music as well. JOSH PYKE Who are you…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013)

  For Those Who Can Tell No Tales is a provoking film, which serves as a poignant reminder to Australian tourists about the often silent and traumatic histories that haunt the European cities they visit. The exposure of this past forms the central premise of the film, based on the experience of Australian performance artist…

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TV Review: Game of Thrones – Season 4, Episode 8 “The Mountain and The Viper” (USA, 2014)

Well I sure feel like one of those beatles Tyrion was so eloquently advocating for in “The Mountain and The Viper”; even if you knew what was coming, the sheer brutality of it all was shockingly affecting and – even though it crushed me – was beautifully done. Many characters moved forward in leaps and…

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Our 10 Sydney Film Festival Picks for 2014!

Last night, with the premiere of Nick Cave’s film 20,000 Days… the Sydney Film Festival kicked off its 2014 season in style. Today, we look ahead to the rest of the film calendar to bring you our 10 film picks – in no particular order. Wish I Was Here Struggling actor Aidan (Zach Braff) has…

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Live Review: Royal Blood – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (03.06.14)

UK duo Royal Blood have something of a history in Australia. The project seemed to have been formed while lead vocalist and bass guitarist Mike Kerr was living in Brisbane, and started popping up performing with the likes of Tape/Off, DZ and many more Brisbane favourites. It wasn’t until he returned to Brighton and teamed…

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the AU sessions: Michael Bublé's touring mates Naturally 7 perform "Keep the Customer Satisfied" in a park in Sydney.

the AU review presents acclaimed vocal group Naturally 7 performing “Keep the Customer Satisfied” in a park in Sydney. Part of the AU sessions series, captured while the band were in the country on tour with Michael Bublé. CREDITS Cameras: Larry Heath and Johnny Au Audio Edit: James Caran Video Edit: Larry Heath Music: Naturally…

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Tour Diary: Tim Commandeur from Panama at SXSW 2014!

Following the release of our second EP Always last November, 2014 has been an exciting year for Panama. Starting the year off playing Field Day, followed by a national tour, it also saw us take to foreign shores for our first international run of shows. Here’s some brief words and imagery to help better describe…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Boyhood (USA, 2014)

With Boyhood, director Richard Linklater further asserts himself as one of the most innovative in the business, his body of work – which includes Before Sunrise and it’s sequels – already coated with more acclaim than most of his peers. He excels with minimalist plots, painting seemingly dull and everyday occurrences as happenings which are…

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the AU interview: Charles Lloyd (USA) on working with Maria Farantouri on the ‘Greek Project’

Memphis Jazz legend and iconic Greek vocalist Charles Lloyd has arrived in Australia, bringing his fantastic Greek Project for a very special performance in Sydney’s City Recital Hall. The performance is an exploration of traditional Greek music and is a collaboration with political activist Maria Farantouri. Ahead of the performance tomorrow (Wednesday June 4), we…

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It’s Summer Up There! A Festival Guide on Lollapalooza 2014

Lollapalooza, one of America’s biggest summer festivals, will be running again this August, and as per usual, it’s got a hell of a lineup. Rap god Eminem, will be joined by massive acts such as the reunited Outkast, Kings of Leon, Artic Monkeys and Lorde. The quality isn’t simply top heavy, with an array of…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Brianna Carpenter "In Our Hearts" (2014)

Brisbane’s Brianna Carpenter is a one-woman powerhouse. She wrote, produced and engineered her forthcoming album On So It Goes herself and has created the wonderfully summer video (just in time for Winter) to accompany the frolicking nature of her first single “In Our Hearts” with her friends. We’re proud to be exclusively premiering the track…

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the AU sessions: Eleanor Dunlop performs "Disguise" acoustically in Sydney!

the AU review presents Eleanor Dunlop performing her single “Disguise” acoustically in a park in Sydney accompanied by Andrew Campbell on the guitar. The track comes off Elanor’s debut EP, available now!

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Box Office Report: X-Men takes the top spot again while Maleficent opens strong

After having the biggest opening weekend of the year by taking in almost $8.4 million, Fox’s superhero sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past had another solid weekend, securing the top spot with almost $4.5 million. The film has received excellent reviews, including our own rave review, which you can read here. The film has succeeded in being a…

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