It’s spooky Friday, and to celebrate we’ve added ten new tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including two we exclusively premiered earlier in the week. Our track of the week is “Ultraviolet”, from singer/songwriter and storyteller extraordinaire, Alana Wilkinson.
Everyone should have a friend like Alana. In “Ultraviolet”, she tells the story of a close friend who was bullied at school because of his sexuality. It’s vivid, filled with compassion and a potent reminder of why folk music is so awesome.
‘Ultraviolet was inspired by my dear friend Jack. It’s about all of his vibrance and some of the many moments that I’ve been disappointed in the world’s response to it. His story is important and I wanted to share as much of it as I could fit into a few minutes because our rainbow brothers and sisters deserve the fucking spotlight, and should not need to hide themselves away to be safe.’
This is the focus track from her debut album, Half Time Oranges that was released yesterday. Alana is heading out on tour, kicking off tonight in Byron Bay, and finishing up in Fremantle on the 17th November. Check out her website for all the dates.
We’ve made no secret of the fact that we’re fans of The Terrys here at the AU. So we were pleased to see a fresh release pop up from them this week. Following the release of their much praised second album Skate Pop, the boys from Gerringong have teamed up with proud Yuin & Thunghutti man and rapper Nooky for their new single “Ghost of Bendigo”. It’s a raucous, thundering stomper of a track, that’s full of atmosphere and energy. Add in Nooky and his subversive delivery and we’re onto a winner.
The band will be seeing out 2024 at Beyond The Valley in Victoria on December 28th. So if, you’ve got tickets make sure you head along – it’s a guaranteed good time!
New Zealand artist and producer Fazerdaze (Amelia Murray) has released “Cherry Pie” and dropped the good news that her long-awaited new album, Soft Power will be released on the 15th of November. A pulsating beat, ethereal vocals, and triumphant swirling keys gives for a grand, rich and lush sonic journey. We can’t wait for the rest of the album.
Australian indie royalty combine this week with the release of “Want You”, the first collaborative single from Boy & Bear and Boo Seeka. The two acts have been spending a lot of time together lately with a run of sold-out shows throughout Australia, the UK and Europe over the past 18 months; and now a thirteen date tour across the US and Canada together. So, it’s probably only natural they’ve teamed up on a song. Beautiful vocals, compelling lyricism and bright vibrant soundscapes – it’s everything you’d expect and want from these two teaming up. The best of both, distilled into one exciting end product. Can we have more?
It’s been nine years since Miami Horror last dropped an album, so it’s very welcome news indeed that a new one is in the works. The first single to be released is “TOGETHER”, and features vocals from some of our favourite artists – namely Ayoni, Ngaiire and Beckah Amani.
This month sees the return of a few old favourites. Last week singer-songwriter Tyler Ramsey released “Song Out Of My Head”, a previously unreleased B-side. The track features on the deluxe edition of Ramsey’s fifth studio album New Lost Ages, which is due out October 18th. According to Ramsey, “Song Out Of My Head”, is ‘a study of recurring thoughts. Memories or images or maybe regrets that might keep you up in the middle of the night. At the same time, it’s a search for hope.’ It’s also utterly beautiful, with Ramsey’s emotive and exquisite vocal taking centre stage.
September also sees a return, of sorts, for American singer-songwriter John Murry. His 2013 album The Graceless Age was highly acclaimed; and rightly so. It’s an absolutely stunning record. It should have been his big break, but following its release Murry’s life fell apart thanks in part to a heroin addiction. Murry is now the subject a documentary film The Graceless Age: The Ballad Of John Murry. The film’s ‘sort-of’ soundtrack is released next week and sees Murry teaming up again with Canadian music legend Mike Timmins. “What Remains” is the first track to be released from the soundtrack and is welcome reminder of the rich quality of Murry’s vocal and his poignant songwriting.
Also added to the playlist this week is “Waiting On The Right Time” the latest single from Thee Sacred Souls, from their forthcoming album Got A Story To Tell, which is out October 4th on Daptone Records. And finally, we have two premieres from earlier in the week – “Couch Song” from Terra Rouge and “Bat’s Wing” from The Rayes.
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Alana Wilkinson “Ultraviolet”
The Terrys “Ghost of Bendigo (feat. Nooky)”
Fazerdaze “Cherry Pie”
Boy & Bear & Boo Seeka “Want You”
Miami Horror “Together”
Thee Sacred Souls “Waiting On The Right Time”
Tyler Ramsey “Song Out Of My Head”
John Murry & Michael Timmins “What Remains”
Terra Rouge “Couch Song” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
The Rayes “Bat’s Wing” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Header Image Credit: Jack Fenby, edited by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore
