The crowd was massive for Day two of Byron Bay Bluesfest. The major drawcard of course was Midnight Oil, who are on their swansong live tour. They didn’t disappoint, playing a two hour set filled with their classic hits, and a few new ones from their latest album, Resist. Peter Garrett‘s voice was better…
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Our Track of the Week is “Shadows”, from hip-hop artist and Yorta-Yorta man, Briggs, featuring Troy Cassar-Daley. The track is an adaption of Troy Cassar-Daley’s “Shadows On The Hill”. These two potent artists have combined to share and acknowledge a shameful and important part of this country’s history. Troy shares the background of the track, and how…
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Given the date, we thought it appropriate to showcase a track which sadly has as much relevance in 2021, as it did when first released in 2016. “January 26” by A.B. Original perfectly encapsulates the rage which we should all feel about the injustices perpetrated by white settlement, and the failure of our governments to…
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Sydney Writers’ Festival and Sydney Festival are joining forces for one weekend in January to present four major events at Carriageworks. The four events, presented under the banner Something to Talk About will see Sydney audiences spending time with the 2020 Booker Prize Winner, Douglas Stuart; perennial Festival favourites Jennifer Byrne, Michael Mohammed Ahmad and…
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It may surprise you that Tim Minchin, despite his bounty of accolades including Helpmann Awards, Oliviers, Logies and an Order of Australia, is yet to release a debut studio album. That is until now! Off the back of some devastating blows – his Los Angeles production of Larrikins was shut down after spending four years developing…
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Briggs, or Senator Briggs as he’s referred to as, has been charging through this year churning out project after project like the world was never in disarray. On top of his huge collaboration with Tim Minchin on “HouseFyre”, Briggs has also penned a children’s book and is gearing up to release his first body of…
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Today the nominations for this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards were announced, with Miiesha and Baker Boy leading the way with three nominations apiece. The awards, with their sizeable geographic and genre range, honour the best of First Nations musical talent. The twenty-four finalists are spread across seven categories and represent a diverse and rich…
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Every year, Adelaide is home to WOMADelaide, one of the world’s most eclectic, unique and diverse cultural festivals that combines music, dance, cooking demonstrations, workshops, talks and much more. The massive four-day event meanders throughout the trees and clearings of Adelaide’s beautiful Botanic Park, with seven stages and over sixty-five acts from across the globe. Proceedings kicked off with a…
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It was another glorious World of Music and Dance in Adelaide at the 2020 WOMADelaide festival. In spite of everything that is going on in this crazy world at the moment, people from every corner of the globe came together to celebrate our differences. But, also the many things that we all have in common….
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For a first time festival, Land Of Plenty, held in Shepparton, managed to get a lot of things right. Hopefully setting it off on a bright path for future years. The festival, which for its debut brought along a stellar line-up of local Australian artist, managed to keep the focus firmly on Shepparton’s local scene,…
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Every January, Sydney Festival helps kick off the new year with a massive cultural celebration, and 2019 is looking to be no different. The 2019 instalment of the festival includes eighteen world premieres, five Australian premieres, and eight Australian exclusives, and features a programme which runs the gamut of cutting edge contemporary theatre, visual arts and…
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The emergence of Spinifex Gum over the last few months has been totally welcomed one, as we’ve been introduced to Marilya in particular. The story of how this collaborative project between Felix Riebl, Ollie McGill, Marilya and their family of special guests is one we’re glad has been told and moreover, we’re stoked to see that two Spinifex…
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Another big night for Trials and Briggs went down overnight in Melbourne, as the 2017 Age Music Victoria Awards saw A.B. Original walk away with Best Album and Best Hip Hop Album for the acclaimed Reclaim Australia. At the ceremony, held at 170 Russell, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard also emerged as big winners, landing awards for Best Band and Best…
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From Australian movies Jasper Jones and Don’t Tell, to international productions Alien: Covenant and The Get Down, some of the small and large screens’ most compelling stories of the past year have been set to a musical backdrop created by some of Australia’s finest screen composers. Overnight, these screen composers were honoured as the winners…
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It’s been a little while since fans have seen A.B. Original and Bad Apples powerhouse Briggs perform solo but for punters in Melbourne, the chance to get round him is coming next month, as Section 8 and Ferdyduke are set to host their ZOO Laneway Party on November 25th. As part of this year’s Melbourne Music Week, the…
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Spinifex Gum is a name to be taking note of this week – the collective comprising of The Cat Empire‘s Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill, Gondwana Choirs‘ Marliya and a Cairns-based all-female choir of Indigenous singers have released on hell of a debut single in “Locked Up”. Featuring Briggs on co-writing duties and vocals, the tune highlights the treatment of Indigenous youth…
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As part of this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival, punters will be able to sit in on some exclusive sessions run by APRA AMCOS; four one on one conversations with Australian songwriters with discussions surrounding professional and creative development. Sitting down with moderator Chit Chat, Briggs, Katy Steele, NGAIIRE and Sally Seltmann (all recipients of the APRA Professional Development Award) will…
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The Other Guy is a new series that looks at life ten years after the ‘happily ever after’ we usually see portrayed in rom-coms. It examines the complexities and awkwardness of returning to the dating scene, of having to find new watering holes, avoiding the people who make you feel awful and generally just trying…
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Last night at The Toff in Town in Melbourne, A.B. Original were crowned the winners of the 12th Australian Music Prize. Along with the $30,000 cash prize, their win with their debut album Reclaim Australia marked a significant moment in the Prize’s history: for the first time, the accolade had been taken by an Indigenous group. Briggs and Trials (Yorta…
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The 2017 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival kicked off for another year yesterday, celebrating the public holiday out on the east coast at the Brisbane Showgrounds. With acts including A.B. ORIGINAL, Gang of Youths, Whitney and Tame Impala all taking to stages throughout the day and evening, punters showed up in strong numbers to get around it. Photos by Andrew Wade. [print_gllr…
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The Golden Era Records Cypher is finally here! Hip hop heads have been hanging out for this one for what’s seemed like an absolute eon but considering the year the Adelaide hip hop label and its artists have had in 2016 – we shouldn’t have worried, the GE crew were always going to deliver. Swapping the 2015 cypher…
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Today, A.B. Original‘s highly anticipated and much publicised debut album Reclaim Australia was officially unleashed on to the public. Over the course of 12 tracks, both Briggs and Trials have made a definite mark on Australian music and as the bigots and uneducated internet trolls have continued to beat their chests and crack their knuckles, ready to take to their keyboards,…
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The nominees for the National Live Music Awards have been announced around the country today, with 51 categories being unveiled across the board. Winners are to be announced on November 29th at events being run nationally, with both national and state-specific categories being voted on by a judging panel of industry professionals from right around Australia….
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The 2016 Face The Music conference has announced its second speaker announcement following on from a strong initial reveal including the likes of Robert Forster, Ricki Astin, Zan Rowe and Anthony Fantano. Taking place at the State Library Victoria during Melbourne Music Week this November, Face The Music co-programmers Ash Sambrooks and Zac Abroms have today announced the following artists and industry figures will also be joining the event…
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BIGSOUND 2016 opened its conference stage for one of Australian hip hop’s most polarising acts to come through and, as Trials simply puts, explain themselves. For the Funkoars legend and Briggs, their 2016 collaborative project as A.B. ORIGINAL has woken the hip hop music community (and the wider music industry) up with some hard-hitting and unapologetic music that highlights crucial issues facing our…
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Like an audible fist in the face, Indigenous Australian emcees Briggs and Trials, collectively A.B Original, are back to shake you awake with a powerful song and clip directed at one of Australia’s most contentious issues. With the video revealed at a recent BIGSOUND keynote, “January 26” is a bouncy, funk-inspired track that moves away…
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The National Indigenous Music Awards took place in Darwin on Friday night, with a huge event hitting the Darwin Amphitheatre and celebrating Indigenous musicians, both established and emerging. Gurrumul won the NIMA for Artist of the Year for the fifth time running, while up and coming star Gawurra took home a bunch of awards himself including New…
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The finalists for this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards have been revealed this morning, along with the full list of performers confirmed for the ceremony’s live music program. Artist of the Year nominees at this year’s NIMAs are Emma Donovan, Dan Sultan and Gurrumul Yunupingu, while up for Album of the Year are Gawurra with Ratja Yaliyali, Gurrumul with The Gospel Album and Dan Sultan with Open…
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The first names confirmed to perform at this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards have been released and already, it’s looking to be quite the diverse and entertaining night under the stars in Darwin this August! With 2016 standing out as being quite the significant year for Indigenous people, it’s expected that this year’s NIMAs will…
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Ah, Groovin’ the Moo. The one festival on the Australian live music calendar that offers city slickers an opportunity to ‘head regional’ (even if, in SA, this means a half hour drive up into the hills), underage music fans can thrive on copious amounts of Red Bull and whatever else for the day and everyone can enjoy…
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