Month: May 2016

Marcus Whale set for Australian east coast tour with solo record Inland Sea

Marcus Whale is set to take his much anticipated debut album Inland Sea down the east coast this June and July! The album, set for a June 10th release, is Marcus’ first under his own name and a step outside his work with Collarbones and BV while remaining very much in the pocket of some great and forward…

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Album News Weekly: 27th May 2016

In This Issue: A wide range of fresh tunes this week from electro to thrasher, broaden your ear drums and enjoy! FLUME After writing in hotel rooms, aeroplanes, trains, taxis and tour vans, Flume’s album Skin is available today via Future Classic! FUJIYA & MIYAGI Brighton based outfit Fujiya & Miyagi will be releases new music in EP…

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Ryan Mc Closkey & John Doherty chat Little Hours’ forthcoming debut album at The Great Escape

Irish duo Little Hours came to my attention somewhere between the Norwegian indie pop and German rock selections on my Great Escape Spotify playlist last month. Between John Doherty and Ryan Mc Closkey, some gorgeous indie-folk sounds present themselves and after discovering their debut EP, I knew theirs was a set I’d wanted to see out in Brighton. Sitting down with both…

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Wes Studi on the significance of Penny Dreadful‘s Kaetenay and portraying iconic Native American leaders on film

After a multitude of powerful performances on the big and small screen over the last three decades, renowned Cherokee actor Wes Studi is amassing a new legion of fans as the enigmatic Kaetenay on John Logan’s critically lauded gothic drama Penny Dreadful; a show teeming with literary horror characters including Dracula, Dorian Gray and Victor…

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Film Review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (NZ, 2016)

Have you seen that ad where the three kids sit in the car and talk about how their dads drive when they’re blazed? If so, you’ll probably recognise Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), though he’s done some growing. When he arrives at his latest foster home, deep in the New Zealand bushland, he steps out of…

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Talking Hunt for the Wilderpeople with Julian Dennison and director Taika Waitiki

Taika Waititi‘s Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a delightfully off-beat trek through the New Zealand bush, starring Julian Dennison and Sam Neill. We caught up with Waititi and Dennison to chat about what it was like working on the film, its origins and what’s on the cards next for the two. Taika, how do you feel Hunt…

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DVD Review: Orange is the New Black Season Three (USA, 2015)

When we were first introduced to the inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary in the 2013 debut season of Orange is the New Black, it was quite clear that we were supposed to be introduced to this new environment through the show’s protagonist, Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling). The upper-class NYC dweller’s transportation to a world completely different to the…

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Film Review: Pawno (Australia, 2016)

A film this intrinsically Aussie must exist as an enigma to international audiences. Something very alien, and as I thought once before, about what those people distant from the Antipodes would have made of Crackerjack, I again think for Pawno, and wonder whether subtitles could comprehend or merely transcribe the dialogue of a film so…

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Top ten horror films that you really haven’t seen (Part 1)

In an assault on horror, popular critic and academic Morris Dickstein wrote that the genre had become a “routinized way of playing with death, like going on the roller coaster”. It’s not impossible to see where his criticisms are founded, given the whole genre has been so formulated; mathematicians have actually developed a generic horror…

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Vivid Sydney kicks off 23 nights of lights, music, and ideas with spectacular Songlines

As part of a massive growth for the eighth annual Vivid Sydney, the now world famous festival of lights, music, and ideas has been expanded to 23 nights throughout May and June, and it all kicked off last night. Beginning with the traditional lighting of the sails, which this year features Songlines by six renowned…

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Refugees take centre stage at the New Beginnings festival

A desire to connect communities and celebrate the diverse cultures that exist within Australia is the driving force behind the New Beginnings festival, to be held on 18 June at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. Showcasing the talents, cultural expressions and stories of people with refugee backgrounds and those who are seeking asylum, New Beginnings features…

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Pizza World Champion Johnny Di Francesco opens gelateria in East Brunswick (Melbourne)

2014 Pizza World Champion Johnny Di Francesco, one of the best known names in Australia’s Italian dining scene, has recently expanded to a bit further than his two renowned pizza-focused restaurants 400 Gradi and Gradi at Crown, leaning towards the sweet tooths with his very first stand alone gelateria, Zero Gradi. Opened in East Brunswick,…

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Murray’s Craft Brewing Co to release 8 dark beers throughout June

Port Stephans based Murray’s Craft Brewing Co are once preparing for their annual Dark Beer Month this June, planning several new releases that will be available progressively throughout the the month, starting from Saturday 4th June. A total of eight beers – 3 bottles, 5 draught – have been brewed for this time of the…

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Christine Manfield has created a Salted Caramel Popcorn Cookie

As part of their 25th anniversary collaboration series, long-standing Australian brand Byron Bay Cookie Company has tapped celebrated Chef Christine Manfield to launch a new, playful flavour that is sure to fly straight off the shelves. Manfield has whipped up the Salted Caramel Popcorn Cookie to add to the brand’s range, debuting it at David…

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Interview: Bartender of the Year Charlie Ainsbury pours out the inspiration behind his award-winning cocktails

For those willing to go beyond the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street between the CBD and Taylor Square, you will find This Must Be The Place. This neighbourhood small bar is the combined success of two award-winning bartenders and cocktail connoisseurs, Luke Ashton and Charlie Ainsbury. Luke and Charlie have both claimed the title…

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Music Video of the Day: Methyl Ethel “Twilight Driving” (2016)

Methyl Ethel have continued to spread their music to more and more crowds around the world, most recently bringing the sounds to the UK as part of The Great Escape. Their debut album Oh Inhuman Spectacle showcased the Perth group as a talented band of musicians as well as been fiercely equipped with the skills to pen…

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Impressions at The Great Escape: Who made their mark at Brighton in 2016?

Heading to the UK last week, I had no proper idea of what to be expecting from The Great Escape. I had assumed it would be like SXSW but colder and by the beach, but aside from that, all I had to go on were stories from friends who’d showcased in Brighton in the past or…

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Sharmill Films picks up Bruno Dumont’s comedy Slack Bay after Cannes premiere

Sharmill Films has acquired director Bruno Dumont‘s French comedy Slack Bay (Ma Loute) for cinematic release following its new-in-competition premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Set in the north of France in 1910, Slack Bay explores the mysterious disappearance of tourists from a picturesque coastal community and the increasingly odd behaviour of its local…

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Aquarius Season 2 steaming direct from the U.S. Exclusive to Presto

Presto announced yesterday, that NBC’s period crime drama Aquarius will return to the online streaming service in a special triple episode premiere event. Episodes one to three of the 1960s drama will stream express from the U.S on Friday June 17. Following the three-episode premiere, episodes will continue to steam week-by-week, direct from the U.S…

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Stan announces first feature film project: The Second

Online streaming service Stan this week announced its first feature-length project, The Second, to be funded by Screen Queensland. Billed as a psychological thriller, The Second will be given a cinema release before streaming exclusively on Stan (jointly owned by Nine Entertainment Co and Fairfax media). Mumbrella reports that the film will follow “two female…

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Video Games Review: Alienation (PS4, 2016)

If there is one thing I love, it’s a twin stick shooter. If there is something I love even more, it’s a twin stick shooter made by Housemarque. The Finnish developer gave us Dead Nation in 2011 and Resogun in 2014 and while Alienation, their newest IP has nothing in common with the latter, it…

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John Noble talks Lord Of The Rings, Elementary and Fringe: “I loved Walter Bishop”

Aussie John Noble has some pretty prolific pop culture roles under his belt. Since his time as an All Saint, John has found himself the covetable intelligent, slightly wicked choice for Hollywood producers looking to cast someone with that versatility (it’s not by his choice he swears). The result has been a flourish of eloquent…

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TV Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 (USA, 2016)

It’s hard to know what to make of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the landscape of superhero television. It lacks the allegorical nuance of Jessica Jones, the gritty hyperviolence of Daredevil and the comic-book stylings of The Flash and Arrow. The show has always been a bit of a hybrid with an appeal of its own – though one…

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Tech Review: Parrot Zik 3.0 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

Long gone are the days of simple headphones that keep the everyday consumer largely ignorant of the listening experience they often miss out on. That’s changed drastically in recent times, with more consumer headphones designed to bring the same power and quality as professional devices, and Parrot are among the biggest and trendiest of this…

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We ride Los Angeles’ Expo Line expansion to Santa Monica on its first day in operation

Who says you can’t move forward by looking back? After decades of promises and planning, and years of development and construction, last Friday, the long awaited Expo Line officially launched public service on its expansion from Culver City (which opened in 2012) to the beaches of Santa Monica – connecting the city to Downtown LA via…

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Hotel Review: Private Rooms at the YHA Melbourne Metro & Central Locations (Melbourne, VIC)

While in Melbourne for the annual PAX AUS convention, I was given the opportunity to stay in two of YHA’s hostels. YHA are known around Australia for running popular, well-appointed youth hostels for travelers on a budget, and their Melbourne Metro and Melbourne Central locations are prime examples of this. My first night was on…

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Billy Crystal has announced extra shows in Sydney and Melbourne

In his first tour of Australia since 2007, tickets for Billy Crystal’s upcoming appearances around the country have been unsurprisingly flying out the door. So promoters have added two extra shows to his itinerary – one in Sydney on the 13th of July, and the other in Melbourne on the 4th of August. “The show…

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Nina Raine’s Tribes to be presented by Ensemble Theatre

Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, lead by director Susanna Dowling, will present a season of Nina Raine‘s awarding winning play Tribes, previewing later this week. In Raine’s acclaimed show, Billy, a deaf man from a intellectual, though comically dysfunctional, Jewish family, meets Sylvia, who teaches him sign language. Exploring the idea of families and communities as ‘tribes’, governed…

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MakMak and Bakedown Cakery open a collaborative dessert store in the CBD titled MADE (Sydney)

Both MakMak and Bakedown Cakery are, as separate entities, two of the most sought after dessert purveyors in Sydney, fueling many a sweet tooth over the years with successful pop-ups and residencies. Now the two businesses have teamed to open a store in the CBD (near QVB) that they are called MADE, a small, playfully…

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Selena Gomez bringing The Revival Tour to Australia this August

Selena Gomez is finally coming over to Australian fans for some unmissable shows this August. Her worldwide Revival Tour has been able to fit in a short three-date east coast Australian run which will see Gomez tour with the Joe Jonas-led DNCE. Gomez’s latest record has seen the singer come into her own completely, demonstrating a mature and…

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