Golden Plains, the smaller, but equally-cute sister festival to Meredith Music Festival, has just announced its twelfth, and best, lineup to date.
Some of Australia’s best names will be performing: The Avalanches, who have been keeping extremely busy since the release of their long-awaited sophomore effort, Wildflower, in 2016; Jen Cloher, whose eponymous album is by far one of the realest and most lyrically brilliant Aussie albums of 2017, Tropical Fuck Storm, a new project from The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin, along with High Tension’s Lauren Hammel and Palm Springs’ Erica Dunn, and The Preatures, who recently released their second album Girlhood, to critical acclaim.
And now for the international guests—wow. Both Thundercat and Kamasi Washington will be in tow; among the greatest living jazz bassists and saxophonists, respectively, the pair straddle several genres—both are heavily involved in the hip-hop world, having collaborated with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Snoop Dogg and each other, among many many others. Fingers and toes will be tightly crossed for an on-stage collaboration between these two living legends.
Comeback kids Grizzly Bear will be returning to perform their new album—their first in five years—Painted Ruins, the mysterious and much-loved King Krule will be performing his own brand new album The Ooz, and legendary Austin psych-blues rock outfit The Black Angels will be finally returning to Australia with their own new album, Death Song. Elsewhere, Floating Points will be returning to perform a highly coveted live solo set, while Daptone legend Lee Fields will be injecting a hefty dose of soul into Golden Plains 2018.
And that’s just the tip.
Golden Plains XII Lineup
The Avalanches
Kamasi Washington
Waterfall Person
King Krule
Grizzly Bear
The Preatures
The Black Angels
Jen Cloher
Floating Points (solo live)
Lee Fields & The Expressions
Perfume Genius
Wet Lips
Objekt
Rocket Science
Tropical Fuck Storm
Toni Yotzi
Adrian Sherwood
Kaiit
Batpiss
Baker Boy
Thundercat
More to come
Golden Plains XII takes place from March 10-12, 2018 at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre. As usual, you need to enter a ballot to get tickets—enter before 10pm on October 24. Head to the official website for the ballot and more information.
Born in rural New South Wales, singer-songwriter Gordi has been leaping from strength to strength with the kind of speed and agility that forces you to pay attention.
The artist—real name Sophie Payten—released her hyped debut album, Reservoir, back in August. An accomplished maiden offering, full of layered honesty and enveloping melodies, it comes as no surprise that international names like Bon Iver, Local Natives and Highasakite have already touted her as one to not only watch, but to share a stage with.
Now, Gordi has taken to the triple j studios to deliver a heart-wrenching Like A Version: a touching rendition of Linkin Park’s In The End, a poignant tribute to late frontman Chester Bennington.
https://youtu.be/mPQ7y6ZYPto
With all of this in mind, it’s not hard to realise that Gordi is the kind of artist with a lot going on beneath the surface. We wanted to get to know her better, so we asked her to share three albums that changed her life.
Billy Joel, The Stranger
I learnt to love music through this album. I learnt what good song writing is and that lyrics are just as important as the music holding them together. This album also reminds me so much of my childhood, listening to it on cassette tape in the car with my Mum. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant is incredible in how it transitions through what feels like 3 or 4 different songs, and I always wanted Only The Good Die Young to play at my funeral (obviously only if I died young).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhjNm20XbXw
Bon Iver, 22, A Million
Even writing about this record makes me emotional, I can’t really explain what it means or how beautiful I think it is. The intricate details in each track and the flow of the record as a whole is exceptional. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more affected by a song than 715 Creeks – the way you can hear the vulnerability and fragility through the vocoder is really special. The simple repetition of the lyrics “The math ahead, the math behind us” of Moon Water is incredibly moving too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Fx1yq3A8M
Gang of Youths, The Positions
This is a great record start to finish. I discovered it in 2015 when I was heading up to play at Bigsound in Brisbane and I wanted to listen to some of the other artists going up. The first song I heard was Restraint & Release and then I fell in love with Magnolia, like everyone did. I read a few interviews where Dave spoke about what inspired the songs and it made me love the album even more. I’ve always tried to be honest in my writing but more often than not I keep the inspiration for the songs private. Hearing Dave talk in such depth about the story behind his songs made me more willing to do the same when it came time to talk about my record. It allows people to connect to you in such an unbreakable way.
Run The Jewels 2018 Tour Dates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k7kk1lUnis
Image: Supplied
The full lineup for Laneway Festival 2018 has been leaked a day ahead of schedule, but with names like these, there’s really nothing to complain about.
Last month, festival organisers confirmed Mac DeMarco and Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals as its first two acts for next year and now the full hog has been revealed.
We give you St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2018:
Aldous Harding
Alex Cameron
Amy Shark
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
BADBADNOTGOOD**
Billie Eilish
Bonobo**
Cable Ties
City Calm Down
Dream Wife
Father John Misty
KLLO*
Loyle Carner
Mac DeMarco
Miss Blanks
Moses Sumney
ODESZA**
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
(Sandy) Alex G
Shame
Slowdive
Sylvan Esso
The Babe Rainbow*
The Internet**
The War on Drugs
TOKiMONSTA
Wolf Alice**
*Excluding Freo
**No sideshows
It’s a stellar mixture of homegrown and international acts with BADBADNOTGOOD, Bonobo, ODESZA, The Internet, and Wolf Alice all exclusively appearing at Laneway. Sydney staple Alex Cameron will finally find himself back in the country after some extensive overseas touring and a new album. Seattle producers ODESZA have also just released their third LP and can’t get enough of Oz; they’ll be down under this very week for a headline tour. Crowd favourite Mac DeMarco is back for “another one” as well, after hitting up Laneway in 2015.
As always, Laneway is a festival with it’s finger firmly on the pulse of the industry and next February is looking better than ever.
Pre-sale tickets go on sale 9am Thursday AEST, with general release available at the same time the following Monday.
Dates:
Friday 2 February – Hart’s Mill, Adelaide
Saturday 3 February – Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne
Sunday 4 February – Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney
Saturday 10 February – Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane
Sunday 11 February – Esplanade Reserve, Fremantle
Top image: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
Say NO to clashes and let your summer festival experience be epitomised by this absolutely delicious lineup brought to you by FOMO.
Returning for it’s third year running, the ever-expanding dance festival is bringing Kaytranada, ZHU, Post Malone, SZA, Tourist, The Kite String Tangle, Drezo, Stööki Sound, Nina Las Vegas, and Dena Amy together for one day of pure sensory overload next January, all with mastermind RL Grime taking the helm.
The deflation of Future and Stereosonic has left some room to groove in the dance festival sector, and FOMO has responded in sweet delight. Having kicked off in Brisbane last year with some eye-watering acts on the bill, they expanded to Sydney and Adelaide for their sophomore round, and 2018 is their biggest yet with the introduction of FOMO by Night in Melbourne.
If the one day, one stage, no clashes deal doesn’t quite swing it, Sydney and Adelaide punters can also opt for a payment plan to pay off their ticket in installments. There it is; literally no reason not to get in on this red hot action.
Tickets are on sale now and are selling fast. ¡Vamos!
Read our FOMO Adelaide 2017 review!
Top image: Mitch Lowe
Drake has announced a headline tour of Australia and New Zealand, bringing his Boy eets World Tour down under in early November. As if we weren’t already overwhelmed with an incredible array of visiting hip-hop and R&B artists (Migos, The Weeknd, Run The Jewels, Vince Staples, SZA and Noname among others), the 6 god himself will be gracing our stadiums with his presence, and we’re pretty damn excited.
Drake last visited Australia in 2015, where he headlined the now-defunct Future Music Festival. In the time since, he’s released two albums, Views and More Life, as well as What A Time To Be Alive, a collaborative mixtape with Future. In general, he’s spent the last two or so years continuously building himself up as one of the most successful and well known artists on the planet.
Drizzy will be performing twice in Sydney and Melbourne, with additional shows in Brisbane and Auckland. Sorry, everywhere else.
Tickets go on sale on 15 September at the times listed below, with a pre-sale available from September 12 (details here).
Drake Australia & New Zealand Tour Dates
Fri Nov 3: Spark Arena, Auckland (tickets
Tues Nov 7: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Wed Nov 8: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Fri Nov 10: Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
Sat Nov 18: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Mon Nov 20: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RubBzkZzpUA
If there’s one thing Every Country’s Sun makes clear, it’s that there is no such thing as the average Mogwai sound, and no such thing as the average Mogwai fan. The Glaswegian band’s catalogue spans a wide array of sounds and styles, from loud and proud (like Mr. Beast) to the electronic beats of Rave Tapes. So it’s hard to consider any one record a definitive “best album,” or even one considered to be a magnum opus or pinnacle. Instead, all we have are our own tastes and preferences. And if you prefer the band’s sharper use of distortion à la Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will but thought that album was a bit too happy, Every Country’s Sun is your cup of tea.
We were lucky to catch Mogwai in action at the recent Dark Mofo in Hobart, where the band performed a chunk of new material live. On stage, we described it as ‘powerful’, and the sentiment has more than delivered on record.
There’s a lot to like about the direction Every Country’s Sun takes the band. Opening the album, Coolverine offers a new energy we haven’t really heard before. It borrows heavily from last year’s haunting soundtrack Atomic, which in itself was a more mature extension of the synth-driven Rave Tapes. That said, even the most subdued track on Every Country’s Sun is as guitar-led and non-electro-focused as their first few albums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZocDT3TmAE
If The Hawk Is Howling and Hardcore Will Never Die had a child, this would be it; Party In The Dark is a more radio-friendly extension of the “sillier” tracks from Hardcore (think Rano Pano and Mexican Grand Prix), while Old Poisons is pure chaos; Batcat, eat your heart out.
In 2017, describing something as guitar-focused may seem boxing, even diminishing. Yet the album, like the band, refuses a label or neat explainer, bringing together a cacophonous myriad sounds across wide, thrilling instrumentation and provocative rhythms. Aka 47 could feel at home on Happy Songs and 1000 Foot Face takes inspiration from Come On Die Young of all things. And still, it never feels derivative of their back catalogue; there’s a clear ’90s rock influence on songs like Crossing The Road Material (which has one of the most danceable riffs the band has produced) and Don’t Believe The Fife (a classic “it has bits that go from very quiet to very loud” Mogwai track).
If the album has one issue, it’s in the pacing. It dances between fast and slow like a sine wave running through the first few tracks, nestles into a languid valley in the middle, and tumbles into an all-action second half from Don’t Believe The Fife to the end. Pacing has plagued the last few Mogwai albums, bbut, luckily, not enough to detract from its wonderful sound and overall coherency.
Every Country’s Sun is truly special. It feels familiar yet fresh, deep yet penetrable, with more to discover upon each listen. It may not be your favourite Mogwai album, but it’s absolutely worth your time.
Image: Brian Sweeny
The ground is thawing and summer is finally coming. For Australian music industry, that only means one thing: festival lineups and summer tours are being announced by the bucketload. We’re especially excited to see a small but exciting list of hip-hop artists coming down under for festival appearances and headline tours, and to make life easier for you, we’ve placed them all in one big convenient list.
We’ll update this as the announcements keep rolling out. For now, here are our picks for a summer of hip-hop via festivals and live music.
Falls Festival
Our picks: Run The Jewels, D.R.A.M., Vince Staples
Run The Jewels haven’t visited Australia since Falls Festival 2014-2015, and though Vince Staples visited twice last year, he’s since released a whole new album, Big Fish Theory. D.R.A.M., meanwhile, cancelled his Groovin The Moo appearance earlier this year, so we’re hoping he makes his debut Australian appearance for New Years Eve.
Dates
28 Dec – 31 Dec: Lorne, VIC
29 Dec – 31 Dec: Marion Bay, TAS (All Ages)
31 Dec – Jan 2: Byron Bay, NSW
6 Jan – 7 Jan, Fremantle, WA
Beyond The Valley
Our picks: ScHoolboy Q, Stormzy, Sampa The Great
One of Victoria’s favourite newer festivals has had a hip-hop-loving presence across each of its three years so far, and this year is no different. Both ScHoolboy Q and Stormzy just chewed up and spat out Splendour in the Grass, and will be visiting again in just a few months’ time. ScHoolboy’s last album, Blank Face, was one of our favourite records of 2016, while Stormzy claimed the grime throne with this year’s Gang Signs & Prayer. Joining these will be our favourite local artist Sampa The Great, who always delivers one hell of a show.
Dates
Dec 28 – Jan 1: Lardner Park, Vic
Meredith Music Festival
Our picks: Noname
The eclectic Meredith Music Festival lineup isn’t particularly hip-hop heavy, but it does include the incredibly talented, soulful artist Noname, who will be visiting Australia for the very first time. Originally emerging as Noname Gypsy, the Chicago singer was largely noted for her association with Chance the Rapper, namely for her guest verse on the Acid Rap track Lost.
Since then she’s well and truly made a name for herself, releasing one of last year’s best albums, Telefone, and establishing herself as a beacon of honey in a world
Dates
Dec 8 – 10: Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, VIC
Laneway Festival
Our picks: Anderson Paak
The Laneway lineup hasn’t even been fully announced yet (we’ll update this when it is), but it’s already whet our whistles with the news that the amazing Anderson Paak will be on our shores once more in January and February 2018. The Malibu artist last toured for Listen Out 2016.
The Laneway lineup does traditionally feature a slew of great hip-hop acts, and we’re expecting a few more to join in – my guesses include Tyler, The Creator, if he’s actually allowed into the country this time, The Internet, Aminé (that’s just wishful thinking) and Frank Ocean (okay now I’m just fantasising, this guess has literally zero basis in fact).
Dates
Mon 29 Jan: Auckland
Fri 2 Feb: Adelaide
Sat 3 Feb: Melbourne
Sun 4 Feb: Sydney
Sat 10 Feb: Brisbane
Sun 11 Feb: Fremantle
Migos
6lack
LVRN upcomer 6lack (pronounced “black” ) will be supporting Migos at their shows, but he’s also making his debut headline appearances, and well worth a mention on his own. His debut album Free 6lack was a dark, smooth display of things to come, spawning huge singles Ex Calling and PRBLMS. There’s something about 6lack that really sets him apart from many of his contemporaries, and we have high hopes for his headline sets.
Dates
Wed 11 Oct: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Mon 16 Oct: 170 Russell, Melbourne
Khalid
Crooning R&B upstart Khalid has already had a killer 2017, delivering one of the year’s smoothest debuts with the amazingly earwormy American Teen. Following sellout tours in the USA and Europe, he’s just announced his debut shows in Australia, and it looks like fans can’t get enough – he’s already upgraded and sold out almost every show, so get in quick if you’re planning to catch the magic in action.
Dates
Tues Nov 7: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (Sold out)
Wed Nov 8: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Thurs Nov 9: Festival Hall, Melbourne
Fri Nov 10: Eatons Hill Outdoor Stage, Brisbane
The Weeknd
Abel Tesfaye himself is finally, finally bringing his mammoth tour down under for the very first time. The ludicrously successful Canadian singer, who tiptoes the line between pop and R&B with more Max Martin-produced finesse than a Cirque du Soleil performer, is coming in hot with a full round of arena shows this November.
Joining Tesfaye will be French Montana and Nav, whose recent album with Metro Boomin was one of the shittiest records of 2017 so far, but hey, maybe his live show will be more fun. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Dates
Wed Nov 29: Spark Arena, Auckland
Sat Dec 2: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Sun Dec 3: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Wed Dec 6: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
Fri Dec 8: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Sat Dec 9: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Mon Dec 11: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Thurs Dec 14: Perth Arena, Perth
GZA
Wu-Tang Clan’s brilliant GZA is returning to Australia once more for a solo tour, having last visited with (most of) the full Clan in 2016. His last solo tour was way back in 2012 (I was there and can personally guarantee this is not a show you’ll wanna miss), so this is set to be pretty damn exciting, especially given how small the venues are. It’s not often you get to see a living legend in such intimate settings.
Dates
Sat 11 Nov: The Studio, Auckland
Sun 12 Nov: San Fran, Wellington
Wed 15 Nov: Fowlers Live, Adelaide
Thurs 16 Nov: Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
Fri 17 Nov: Manning Bar, Syd
Sat 18 Nov: Max Watt’s, Melbourne
Sat Nov 19: Rosemount Hotel, Perth
With summer festival lineups starting to trickle through, arguably the biggest, Falls Festival, has just announced its huge 025th anniversary lineup. Headlining this year’s festival, which makes stops in Fremantle, Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay, will be our very own Flume in his . first local shows since December, Seattle’s Fleet Foxes, and the amazing, explosive Run The Jewels.
As always, there’s a fantastic mix of local and international acts; Brighton pop rockers The Kooks will be returning to Australia for the first time since 2015, as will hip-hop’s most eloquent young upstart in Vince Staples, whose latest album Big Fish Theory continues to be a huge hit, while Glass Animals will be returning once again, having last visited for Laneway 2017. The always amiable Liam Gallagher is along for the ride with LA quartet Foster The People, and possibly the happiest rapper in the game, D.R.A.M., who will hopefully actually show up this time, having cancelled his appearance at Groovin The Moo earlier this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWaljXUiCaE
Closer to home we’ve also got Angus And Julia Stone, Peking Duk, who by all accounts delivered Splendour’s wildest set, Dune Rats, The Smith Street Band, Julia Jacklin, Bad//Dreems, Methyl Ethel and DZ Deathrays all coming in hot.
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Daryl flaming Braithwaite too, because what party would be complete without everyone screaming every word to The Horses.
While the lineup is pretty great overall, it would be remiss of us to ignore the ongoing issue with Australian festivals being completely non-diverse. It’s weird, frankly, considering the industry itself is diversifying at a (slightly) faster rate than ever, but for some reason these major lineups aren’t really changing to reflect that. There’s like five women on the entire, almost exclusively-white bill. Sigh.
You can find the full lineup below (individual locations will vary as always) and there’s still plenty more to be announced. Tickets are on sale to the general public from August 29th and you’ll no doubt have to be right on the ball to get one as it’s going to sell out quicker than a hiccup.
Falls Music And Arts Festival 2017/18 Full Lineup
Fleet Foxes
Run The Jewels
The Kooks
Glass Animals (No Sideshows)
Peking Duk
Angus & Julia Stone
Foster The People
Liam Gallagher
Vince Staples
Jungle
Dune Rats
The Smith Street Band
D.R.A.M.
Daryl Braithwaite
Everything Everything
Allday
The Jungle Giants
Thundamentals
Methyl Ethel
Slumberjack
D.D Dumbo
Anna Lunoe
DZ Deathrays
Confidence Man
Julia Jacklin
Bad//Dreems
Cosmo’s Midnight
Winston Surfshirt
Luca Brasi
Alex Lahey
Camp Cope
Flint Eastwood
Ecca Vandal
Dave
Total Giovanni
It’s that time of year when leading Sydney tastemakers Volumes put together another crackingly wholesome party. These folks launched their annual festival in 2015, set across three inner-city venues, and have brought together the likes of Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders, Nicholas Allbrook, MOSSY, Slum Sociable, Scott and Charlene’s Wedding, and an absolute hot pot of distinctive emerging artists that you had no clue you needed to have a clue about. Expertly curated for the last three years now, it’s an all-immersive dream for music lovers that hinges on the dynamics between music, art and technology.
The Oxford Art Factory, Cliff Dive and Brighton Up played host to this year’s extensive lineup, which saw the return of World Champion and Gold Class, and also featured Sunscreen, Body Type, Gauci, Hideous Sun Demon, Willaris K, The Ocean Party, Straight Arrows, Moaning Lisa, Publique, The Goods, Hatchie among many, many more.
The lineup may be packed but clashes are amazingly few and far between; getting from one venue to the next is a breeze. It’s honestly one of the most enjoyable festival experiences you’re likely to have. If you happened to miss out, Volumes also curates a bunch of other parties from time to time, including this year’s FREEDOM gigs – a four part series of free events to celebrate Oxford Art Factory’s 10th birthday. We suggest you get the heck around those.
For now, peep some of the action from the weekend.
The Ocean Party
Gold Class
Gauci
Publique
The Goods
Willaris K
World Champion
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl and Echoes