Hayden James Archives • Howl & Echoes

Downtempo maestro Hayden James did not disappoint during his hometown show in Sydney on Thursday night, closing out the Australian leg of his Just A Lover world tour. James has just finished up a run of shows across Asia and Europe and heads to the U.S next month. We were in Sydney to catch all of the glorious action, complete with a confetti canon.

Images: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes

Every week, we do our very best to provide you with the sweetest sounds from across the musical globe. From hip-hop, to R&B, to electronic and beyond, there’s so much incredible new music coming out every day. Head to our singles and playlists pages to check out everything else, but for now, here’s a playlist of the best new music that you might have missed from the past week. There’s only one hip-hop track here, as this week’s been all about the luscious pop melodies and smooth electro-soul.

Golden Vessel, Wave (ft. OKBADLANDS)
The final single from Golden Vessel ahead of his EP release, this is a beautiful, intimate piece, anchored by lingering, hollowed percussion and gorgeous vocals courtesy of Brisbane duo OKBADLANDS. An emotional track that kind of reminds me of Rhye, or perhaps Emma Louise, save this one for the feels of a grey Sunday morning.
Brandyn Burnette, State I’m In
One of my favourite new discoveries, Brandyn’s new single State I’m In is a really lovely, guitar-laden bluesy piece, packed with soul, emotion and a really catchy melody the whole way through. Brighter than some of his recent tracks, I have no doubt that he’s poised for a radio takeover any day.
A Z E K E L, Linger
I’ve been a long time fan of AZEKEL and I’m stoked that a new piece is now upon us. Continuing on from the previous two tracks, this future-soul number is slinky and sensual, featuring his amazing, husky vocals, pitted against a deep bass and flickery percussion. One for the bedroom playlist for sure.
TEN FÉ, Make Me Better (UNKLE Reconstruction)
UNKLE has long been one of my favourite artists ever, and he’s put his spin on this heartbreaking, folky track in a way that evokes all kinds of emotions. The rich, echoed vocals are embellished by ambient instrumental layers, before a synth-pop beat kicks in, elevating the entire atmosphere in an incredible way.
True Vibenation, The World Is Ours
True Vibenation are heading off to Glastonbury soon, but before they go, they have unleashed The World Is Ours, a really intricate, interesting, and seriously cool new single, a big leap away from their more hip-hop inclined roots. Packed with funky synths and a really great rhythm, it’s impossible not to wanna have a boogie to this one.
Marone, Mission Impossible
Upcoming Melbourne rapper Marone has released another slice of conscious hip-hop pie, once again demonstrating incredible lyricism and clever rhymes. Absolutely one to watch in the local hip-hop scene, he knows what he’s talking about, he’s studied the craft, and it shows. I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more from this one.
Clark, Mirage Trooper
This week’s Adult Swim single comes from legendary producer Clark, and it might just be my favourite one yet. This is a heady, beat-laden experimental production, with incredible, mesmerising sounds and effects emanating from every single layer across this intense, choppy, dense piece. At seven minutes long, there’s a lot to absorb, and a lot to love.
Hayden James, Just A Lover
New Hayden James is always a great thing! One of my favourite Australian producers, and live performers, this is a swift, dark and dirty house track with a seductive late night vibe. The thumping bass and percussive groove complements the vocals so perfectly – I have no doubt we’ll be hearing this one all over the place really, really soon.
Thomston, Float
Upcoming New Zealand singer Thomston has today released Float, an intimate track, both lyrically and musically. The melody in particular is really lovely, backed by a bold, yet restrained rhythm. Balancing the fine line between lush pop and electro-soul, this is heartfelt, and really beautiful.
Kllo, Walls To Build
Finally this week, we have a brand new single from Melbourne duo Kllo. This is a dainty, delicate new single ahead of their upcoming EP, Well Worn, due out August 5. Topped by understated vocals, a lightly bouncing rhythm and new layers building and growing throughout, the atmosphere continues to expand and change as it progresses.

Image: Hayden James / Supplied

It’s happened. The summer is well and truly over. With a bunch of festivals, sideshows and tours over the New Year absolutely blowing our minds, it’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye as it all drifts further and further back into our memory. However, before it leaves completely, there’s still some time to bring the heat.

Future Classic’s series of MCA shows have over the last few months seen some absolutely legendary performances. Kenton Slash Demon, Roland Tings, Harvey Sutherland, Tornado Wallace, Sampa The Great, Wafia, Anthony Naples, Pelvis and Kenji Takimi have all graced the MCA’s Sculpture Terrace with their presence, and crazy fun shows. So it’s only fitting that the mega-label is seeing it off with a bang, putting on a final show this Sunday packed full of Future Classic Allstars. They’re being super secretive about the lineup and not giving any hints until it’s actually happening, so we’re here to speculate and myth-bust as to who may be jumping behind the decks.

BASENJI

Our little dog friend is barking all over the northern hemisphere at the moment. He’s just done a bunch of shows in the U.S. and Paris, and his Saturday night is taking place in London. That’ll be the 9^th of April, which, with time differences, is almost exactly when the FC Allstars show will be going on. We can sit on his latest track Chroma, to make him feel a little bit closer, but we won’t be able to see him do his thing at the MCA.

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CHET FAKER

Since the release of Built on Glass in 2014, Chet’s been all over the world playing shows, and even making an appearance on Ellen. Towards the end of last year though, he released Work, an EP he produced alongside London’s Marcus Marr. It’s 4 tracks of beautiful house, which would be phenomenal to see played live. He’s proven himself to be very comfortable behind the decks, having a slap at the Ray Ban x Boiler Room show in Melbourne late last year, so we can hope we get to see it go down again.

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CHROME SPARKS

His show alongside Cyril Hahn in late February is still fresh in our minds, and sadly, leads us to believe that he won’t be back to play so soon.

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CLASSIXX

Though it’s been a while since we’ve heard from LA duo Classixx, their last album releasing all the way back in 2013, it’d make sense to get a surprise appearance from them on the Sculpture Terrace. They’ve just released their latest single Grecian Summer from their second album Faraway Ranch, and been announced as part of that absolutely mammoth Lollapalooza lineup, we imagine to tie in with its release. So, maybe to kick off what is to be an absolutely massive year for them, we’ll see them Sydney-side this weekend? Fingers crossed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3q_Pr9hYzo

FLUME

Though we’re on the precipice of the release of Skin, Flume’s second album, and yes it would make sense for a huge hometown show before it releases – it’s super unlikely. He’s playing Ceremonia Festival in Mexico on Saturday, so we can live in the hope that maybe his set is early and he could make a flight, but let’s not get them up.

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HWLS

Side-project of beatmakers Ta-Ku and Kit Pop, HWLS’ most recent release was two months ago with Ty Dolla $ign as part of Adidas’ #songsfromscratch series. They’ve played a few shows here and there, their last one in Sydney being the Laneway Festival afterparty with Hudson Mohawke. With them going quite for a while, it’d make sense to have them as part of the allstar lineup, but Ta-Ku is doing so much at the moment that he legit may not have the time. He’s debuting his live show with Wafia (who just released her own EP) at VIVID LIVE, and has a residency at the MCA starting next week – though maybe that’s in our favour set-wise?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UQ3WHMfcD8

JAGWAR MA

It’s been quite a long time since we’ve heard anything from these two boys from Sydney. They’re playing quite a few shows in Europe over the next three months, starting in May, but haven’t done a Sydney show in quite some time. Reading between the lines though, Future Classic call specific attention to the fact that the Allstars are “jumping behind the decks”, and so we may not be able to get the full Jagwar Ma experience if they are to make an appearance. Maybe a lil DJ set though? Time will tell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP8k6fmxWe4

MIDNIGHT TO MONACO

Not much is known about Midnight To Monaco, the project of Donnie Sloan, co-producer for Empire Of The Sun, and Ricky Ducati, but their sound speaks for itself. 50’s doo wop flung far into the future, Midnight To Monaco are set for big things the world over. Their latest single One In A Million was released on the latest Future Classic compilation, also called One In A Million, so we can clutch at straws and hope that they’re on the lineup, but would we consider them allstars yet? No doubt they will be eventually, but so far they’ve only been around a minute.

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PANAMA

Panama have just come home from a tour across Asia, though their last release was a while ago with Jungle just last year. Unless they do a DJ set, we imagine they won’t be gracing the MCA stage due to the fact that they use live drums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1m0mceKkx4

SEEKAE

The boys are doing a bunch of European shows in September, and just last week did a DJ set in Berlin. They seem to be spending more and more time overseas at the moment, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were still kicking it European style, but they are definitely one of Future Classic’s most allstar teams, so it’s very possible they’ll come home to pay a visit.

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THRUPENCE

Melbourne producer Thrupence has been flying under the radar for a while now, releasing New Light, his only track since Lessons all the way back in 2014, in September of last year. Though his lush and textured sounds would fit right at home at the MCA, if you follow his Instagram you’ll know that he’s been much more busy working in his design and art scheme of things.

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WAVE RACER

Off the back of his remix of Flume’s Never Be Like You, Wavey is unfortunately, for those of us at home, also on tour. Taking his Flash Drive tour across North America, Saturday night sees him play Madison, Wisconsin, alongside Promnite. This Sunday won’t be as wavey as we’d hoped in Sydney, take care of him Wisconsin.

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WORLD CHAMPION

They’ve just wrapped up their Avocado Galaxy tour to promote their EP of the same name, but it’s unlikely we’ll be travelling through the Avocado Galaxy come this Sunday. Why? Instruments.

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OTHERS

Now though everyone else has gotten their own section on why they might or might not play, there’s some very simple explanations for the ones in this section. Though we’d love to see them again, Kenton Slash Demon and Perth singer songwriter Wafia have already played as part of this round of FC x MCA shows, so we’re banking on them not making a return just to give others a red hot go. Sidenote: Wafia could maybe come back, but it’d probably only be to accompany Ta-ku like she will be as a part of VIVID Live. Now, you may have also noticed that Charles Murdoch, Flight Facilities, Hayden James and Touch Sensitive haven’t been mentioned till now. Though all these artists are phenomenal in their own rights, and definitely all a part of Future Classic’s Allstar roster – these boys are the real allstars. Allstars are the players who come back and play in the game day after day, or in this case, rock the house again and again. They’re our best bets for Sunday’s show, but we can’t wait to found out properly.

New Year’s Eve is always a bit of a gamble, usually resulting in either a roaring success or an absolute flop. However, there is one route which is always guaranteed to be fun and that’s choosing to spend your last few days of the year at a music festival. The music festival of choice for me this time round? Lost Paradise.

Lost Paradise is a festival still in its infancy; it only began last year and was much smaller in numbers. This year, they chose to amp up the patronage as well as the scope. Once again set in the idyllic Glenworth Valley, the drive down the punishingly steep 5km road into the festival gave you the kind of views normally reserved for a fairytale.

Set just a stones throw away from Sydney at a brisk one hour car journey, Lost Paradise was certainly easy to get to. Festival are jammed packed events chock full of activity, so we’ll aim to give you a categorical breakdown of the attributes that went into making Lost Paradise as good as it was.

Location, location, location…

The Lost Paradise organisers could not have chosen a more idyllic location. Set in the gorgeous and edenic confines of a beautifully forested valley, swathes of lush eucalyptus trees blanketed the valley walls under the blue summer sky. A cool breeze swept through the valley, and through the geographic good fortune of being situated in a valley, managed to create a gentle wind tunnel which kept temperatures down to an enjoyable 28 degrees.

It is hard to understate the impact that one’s environment has on the experience you have, least of all at a music festival. The stresses of work fade away, the banality of everyday life dissolves and you can just be. You come away feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to take on another year. And as clichéd as it sounds, a better appreciation for good ol’ Mother Nature. Never underestimate the impact of your environment. This is in part a reason for Lost Paradise’s impetus on the ‘Leave No Trace’ mantra, which aims to minimise the impact of the festival on the Glenworth Valley.

Amenities

One of the best things about Lost Paradise was the sheer amount of space. The smaller patron numbers can account for this, and unlike bigger events, our campsite never felt boxed in. We’d especially like to shout out the lovely river, snaking through the valley, perfect for a soothing late night swim.

However, one of the detriments of big open spaces is a lack of shade. It was hard to keep cool. Sure, you have your Bunnings tarp to keep you out of the sun, but the shade has a funny habit of shifting throughout the day, leaving you and your friends frying under the harsh summer rays. Similarly, portaloos aren’t exactly enjoyable in strong sunlight, effectively turning into giant ovens. The smell almost knocked us over backwards. I suppose this is an inevitable byproduct of summer, but it didn’t help that many of the toilets very quickly went out of commission, with those in need left waiting in massive queues.

The food, however, was sensational, offering a wide variety of cuisines like German, Vegetarian, Mexican, Yemeni and pizza, to name a few. Even better was the money system, or lack thereof, on hand. The ‘cashless’ wristband system in place meant that you had to go to a cashier and deposit credit of your choice, which would then be placed in an electronic account you could access by paying with a little microchip inside your wristband. This is an incredibly convenient, modern, shrewd system: you, as the patron, didn’t have to carry around cumbersome loose change and the vendor doesn’t have to fiddle around either; a seamless, quick transaction that benefits both parties. A friend, who worked at the festival in 2014, even mentioned that a benefit is preventing her co-workers from stealing from the till, which apparently happened a lot during the festival’s inaugural event.

Music

Of course, a music festival is nothing without the music, and Lost Paradise well and truly delivered. Offering up a hearty selection of electronic, acoustic and indie tunes, punters could chill out during the day in front of the main stage on the grass, catching the more down-tempo acts while saving their energy for the DJ sets playing at night.

City Calm Down and Angus and Julia Stone brought the chill factor, keeping crowds placated under the heady summer sun while they swung in tune to the mellow cadence of the music. At night, revellers would head towards the thumping beat of the teepee stage, a triangular stage housing all the DJs who came show off their skills on the turntable.

On the first night, it was Hayden James, revered homegrown DJ act, who energised the crowd after a successful first day of festivities. Permission to Love and Something About You were obviously pleasers, as well as the Odesza remix of Something About You.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfttyNSCI-g&w=560&h=315]

Touch Sensitive really needs to release some new material, because his set felt both tired and short. He didn’t seem to be into at all, looking like someone who was simply going through the motions, or a worker desperately praying for his shift to be over. However, his lack of energy was certainly made up for by his perpetual partner in crime George Maple, who strutted onto the stage shortly after, looking seriously lit in a fishnet body stocking. Absolutely destroying her most iconic hits like Talk Talk, Vacant Space and What So Not’s Gemini, the only question on my mind is, why isn’t this songstress bigger? She’s immensely talented and so charismatic, with huge vocals seldom possessed by any other Australian female singer at the moment.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6nt3Sw3Isk&w=560&h=315]

Of course, the main act everyone was hoping to catch on the second night was the wonderful Jamie XX. Appearing on the main stage at around 11pm, he completely enraptured the crowd with tracks from his recent solo album, In Colour. Loud Places was simply a treasure, swaying the crowd in gentle, rapturous glee as everyone danced to one of the best tracks of 2015. Playing most of the tracks of his critically acclaimed debut, In Colour, the crowd was lost to to hypnotic beats of his music.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP9luRtEqjc&w=560&h=315]

Lost Paradise was awesome. It was a great way to ring in the new year, surrounded by your best mates and the gorgeous Glenworth Valley. A real concluding highlight was how easy it was to leave; we just packed up, headed out and were on our merry way.

The festival is undoubtedly still young and developing, but its teething issues were no deterrent. It was one of the best New Years experiences I’ve ever had.

Hayden James is the Sydney wunderkind behind certified rompers like Permission to Love and Something About You. Aside from crafting infectious, deep and soulful beats, he’s also blessed with some incredible pipes and serious chops on the decks, remixing the likes of Odesza and Dillon Francis. He’s in good company; having been signed to Australian EDM powerhouse Future Classic along with Flume, Chet Faker and plenty more.

This year he’s come off a massive US tour including a blistering set at Coachella, and recently graced his homeland with performances at Listen Out. We had the pleasure of talking to Hayden about in-house competition, nerves and Zac Efron.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVJJvx04_w

First up – congratulations on the ARIA nomination.

Thanks mate, I’m really excited about it. It’s pretty ridiculous really.

I see that you’ll be going head to head with your label mate Flight Facilities – is it very tense in the Future Classic offices at the moment? Are you guys on speaking terms? Are you giving them dirty looks? Spitting in their coffee?

Fight yesterday. Huge fight. No, no, no, it’s mad being involved with these guys. We’re actually; all of us were at Listen Out, all of us on that list we’re just hanging out together on the weekend. We’re actual mates.

Speaking of Future Classic – you, Chet Faker, Flume, Touch Sensitive – what is it like being part of the Avengers of Australian EDM rosters?

This is my favourite interview already. It’s obviously really cool to be a part of Future Classic because everyone pays attention to you, what you’re doing. And the calibre of the artists on that label is just ridiculous.

Do you guys hang out heaps? Is it the Big Brother house that I’m imagining?

Not as much. Everyone travels. I mean Harley (Flume) now lives in LA. Chet and I don’t actually know each other very well. I know he lives in Melbourne. But he travels a lot. But a few guys, Touch and I hangout. Wave Racer lives down the road from me. So yeah, a few of us hang out when we can. But we usually see each other at the Christmas Party.

What is the Future Classic Christmas party like? Who mans the decks?

Whoever! We use their offices. Mason, Chad and Ed from the label, get some beers and play ping-pong.

Lets talk Something About You. Heaps of people are saying that the most incredible part of Something About You is the vocals. I had a friend who though that it was a new SBTRKT song, and that the vocals were provided by Sampha.

The vocal track is me and a girl called George Maple, who is also on Future Classic. We wrote that together a while ago. And then I started to piece together the whole track and the way it sounded, and the production – I actually hit up Sampha a while ago, he was working on his album, about a year ago, I would really like to work with that guy, I love his work with SBTRKT, that ‘d be cool. It’s amazing what the track has done for me this year, really excited to bring out new stuff to be honest.

And how do you feel about getting props purely as a singer?

It’s good. Well it all started from Permission To Love and singing Embrace. I would need vocals for a demo, and I don’t know anyone that can sing, or will sing like I want them too.

Because previously you hadn’t done work as signer yourself

No, exactly. And I don’t really sing on other people’s tracks. There’ll be lots more to come with the new music.

The tune is a bonafide babymaker. How do you feel about the idea of a generation of children conceived to Something About You?

Totally, totally cool with that. It’s awesome.

Would you prefer that babies were named ‘Hayden’ or ‘James’ in your honour?

I’d like a 50/50 split.

The song is even featured in the new Zac Efron film “We Are Your Friends” – if you could give Zac Efron one DJing pointer, one tip, DJ to DJ what would it be?

Stop DJing. I haven’t seen the film either. I’m waiting for it to like be on a plane or something that I’m on.

Not gonna buy the DVD?

I don’t think so, no.

Apparently there’s one scene where he talks through the art form of DJing and he explains that the beat of EDM has to be in sync with the human heart beat. Can you either confirm or deny that claim?

I deny it. Because Something About You is 116 BPM. If that were true – I’m in a lot of shit.

Do you still get song requests by fans and how do you deal with them?

I was playing an impromptu set with Alison Wonderland in Brisbane on the weekend after Listen Out. And someone gestured to their iPhone with Something About You on it. And I’m like yeah, yeah okay. I had been on the decks for 5 minutes.

You came up very quickly. How did you prepare for being a big stage performer?

It’s really important to me to play all my own music when I perform live. So anything you heard at Listen Out, was either stuff you’ve heard, or new material, or remixes. I didn’t want to just DJ, I wanted a performance. What I have on stage if a MS20 Mini Korg, I play like bass notes and effects and things on that. I have an SPD-SX Roland drum pad that I love playing with live. It’s important for people to see something. I think people enjoy that too.

And how about your visuals and the future of the live show?

That will be a big part of the live show when I bring out an album next year. I kind of envisioned it like Daft Punk Interstellar the movie where all the tracks coincide with an actual event. I’m working with a good friend at the moment, a lot of 3D work, a lot of simple stuff as well. While I like the visuals, to me it’s more about the music, it’s just a nice visual representation of what I’m trying to do.

You’ve mentioned the new album. What can we expect from it?

Well I’ve got a new single that will come out this year. It’s poppy, but its dark. It’s accessible, darker electronic music. I love writing like pop hooks. It’s very poppy and catchy. But it’s very moody as well. There’s a lot of artists that kind of describe the sound. But at the same time I think I make my own sound.

Absolutely. You’ve just come off an American tour where you played Coachella. Your sound is almost going to be more popular to American audiences. Did you find they were more receptive to your style?

They call my music over there ‘Deep House’. What? In my head I’m just writing songs. But Coachella was an incredible place to play. I played on a pretty cool stage to a huge crowd and I didn’t expect it, and a lot of people came out to watch me. So it was really great.

When is the most nervous you’ve ever been in your whole life?

That is easy. It happened not to long ago. From Norway, in Bergen to Reading festival in London. I had to go through customs. I arrived at about 1pm, had to be at the festival by 3pm. Reading is about an hour and a half away from the airport. I jumped into an Uber. Got there about 5 minutes before I was supposed to play. It takes me about 15 minutes to set my gear up. I nearly spewed I was that anxious. I literally got wheeled on, as I was still plugging stuff in. That was the most intense crowd I’ve ever played too as well.

Hayden James will be performing at Sea N Beats, Australia’s FIRST EVER cruise ship festival! Headlined by Alison Wonderland, Peking Duk, Kilter, Slumberjack, Tkay Maidza and more, the festival runs from March 5 – 8, 2016. Tickets and more info at their official website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfttyNSCI-g

Hayden James’ Something About You is definitely one of the biggest Australian tracks to have come out this year. With almost 4 million plays on SoundCloud, it’s propelled James into a whole new sphere of popularity, even further than where he was before. It’s no surprise that it’s had a fair few people try their hand at remixing it – but now, around seven months since it came out, Seattle super-duo ODESZA have released their own version of it.

The two have a history of working together. Hayden James has been support for ODESZA both in their tour of ‘In Return’ North America and some of their Australia shows in January – so it’s no surprise they’ve tackled one of his most well known tracks.

Smooth piano drifts into the signature vocal line, which have been re-recorded by a different vocalist – much more suited to the style of track that the two are going for. It builds, and the break of the song is in typical ODESZA style – lots of lush sounding synths and high pitched vocal cuts before it hits back to the piano. It’s a great transition from house to a more explosive kind of synth driven track, but even though the genre change is so obvious, the remnants of the original still ring true – both in the vocals and the hooks.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/216542711″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Both Hayden James and ODESZA are playing the Listen Out Festival Tour in September/October, and this writer’s really hoping for some cross-set interaction between the two. Tickets are still available, so definitely check that out if you vibe on this remix.

With Splendour in the Grass headlining acts like Blur, Florence + The Machine, Of Monsters And Men and The Wombats to name just a few, smaller, lesser known acts have big expectations to live up to.. But hey, that doesn’t mean they can’t fulfill them, hell, even smash it out of the ballpark.

I often think the smaller acts during the day or in the early evening are the best. In fact, my favourite performance of last year was on the last day of Splendour 2014, watching Chrome Sparks play to a tiny, worn out crowd of devoted revelers. It was such an incredible, happy experience for me, and definitely one of my best Splendour mems.

These lesser-known artists often cater to a very niche, dedicated group of fans who will show up rain or shine to see them. And plus, the benefits of being in a smaller crowd means that you can have a stronger connection to act you’re seeing.

So now we launch into a list of non-headliners who we can’t wait to see perform at Splendour in the Grass 2015. Most of these acts are playing Splendour in the Grass sideshows too, so jump on those if you can’t make it to Byron Bay!

Dune Rats (Saturday)

You can assume that any band that makes a song called Dalai Lama Big Banana Marijuana, and a music video, which includes them smoking, bong after bong, gives absolutely zero fucks about, oh well, just about anything.

But it also means they are a really good time. Fans of the Dune Rats (calling themselves ‘Dunies’) are so dedicated to the band that they will get tattoos saying the aforementioned to forever immortalise their love for the trio.

We can’t make this shit up

They will definitely make for one of the most bangin’ acts there. Don’t believe us? Check out their red hot music video for Red Light Green Light below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAkBYSbMYA8&w=560&h=315]

Check out our interview with them here.

Years and Years (Saturday)

Burning up the charts with their hit King, British electronica trio Years & Years is definitely an act not to miss. Frontman Olly Alexander’s impressive vocals will have you attempting to reach the same heights as him, only to fail miserably, because let’s face it – who can actually sing that high? Singing’s not his only talent – he appeared on the seventh seasons of Skins Pure.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_uoH6hJilc&w=560&h=315]

Safia (Saturday)

Which big Aussie act hasn’t collaborated with Canberra three-piece Safia yet? The dumb ones, that’s who. Since winning Triple J’s Groovin’ the Moo competition back in 2013, the Canberrians have gone form strength to strength.

Included by the likes of Alison Wonderland and Peking Duk into their works, perhaps we can hope to see an onstage performance between the aforementioned?After all they’re also appearing at Splendour, so we may be getting a triple dose of Safia and his hauntingly beautiful vocals.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv_FnbBqnWs&w=560&h=315]

Hayden James (Saturday)

Sydney Singer/songwriter/producer Hayden James is just more evidence of the amazing electronic acts coming out of Oz in recent years. His works have been remixed by fellow electronic demi-gods Touch Sensitive and Charles Murdoch, and track Permission to Love created some serious buzz when it was released.

Signed to the music label with the Midas touch, Future Classic, he’s toured with ODESZA and already played at Splendour in the past, so James is definitely an easy predication for awesomeness.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVJJvx04_w&w=560&h=315]

Mansionair (Friday)

Oh. My. God. I am literally obsessed with this band. Their two releases Hold Me Down and Second Night are just so incredibly beautiful to listen to. Jack Frogatt’s vocals soar to incredible heights with members Lachlan Bostock and Alex Nicholls using a ethereal, magical blend of guitar, bass and electronics to create something so beautiful and enchanting. If their recent performance for Triple J’s Like a Version, covering Future Islands Waiting On You, is anything to go by, they will be show stopping live.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5AInHhyXzE&w=560&h=315]

Porter Robinson (Friday)

This guy achieved international superstardom by the time he was 18 and three of his records had reached number one on Beatport by the time he was 21. He’s collaborated with Thomas Jack and ODESZA, been commissioned by Avicii and Lady Gaga for official remixes and is a self-taught producer.

Needless to say, Porter Robinson is kinda a big deal. With millions of streams on Spotify and SoundCloud, and a song like the one below, he’s going to be fucking incredible live.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/200818581″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

San Cisco (Friday)

An easy prediction for greatness here. Their performances at Groovin’ the Moo and at my uni were incredible. They give their all and sound great live with their effusive brand of charming indie-pop. Definitely catch them when they play for their acclaimed hits like Awkward and their excellent cover of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCaVZ3fmU0&w=560&h=315]

Catfish and the Bottlemen (Friday)

The best British indie-rock group to come out in years, Catfish and the Bottlemen put in 110% effort for every performance, just read our review of them here.

The charming lead vocalist and guitarist Van McCann’s crowd interaction will leave you guffawing, and their feel good, old-school rock will have you jumping up and down for the entire set. Despite their modesty and self-proclaimed mediocrity, they really bring something special and genuine to all of their performances.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrrcVxnjJO8&w=560&h=315]

George Maple (Friday)

The beautiful and very talented George Maple always puts on a good show. How could you not with those powerful, soaring vocals, amazing wardrobe and Touch Sensitive on keyboard? She is, without a doubt, the Next Big Thing coming out of the Australian music scene.

Why you ask? Take a look at her hauntingly beautiful live recording of her song Vacant Space, which sounds like a manifestation of the name of the song itself.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcRnr7HlkqA&w=560&h=315]

Having had seen her play at the Future Classic Xmas Party, I can attest to the fact that she is a genuinely talented and beguiling as she seems. And Future Classic has very good track record of picking up and representing hugely talented artists. Flume anyone?

Client Liaison (Friday)

Holy shit. If I could stress that you absolutely go and see one band, it would be these guys. You simply have to catch these 80s revivalists live. When you think of someone putting on a show, these are the kinds of artists who do it. They do not mimic the whole 80’s thing – they live, breathe and eat it. They inhabit it. Their performance at Secret Garden Festival was one of the best things I’ve ever seen full stop.

These guys are the real deal

Lead vocalist Monte Morgan strutted across the stage like he invented the damn thing. A bevy of aerobics-clad dancers with their leotards pulled up eye-wateringly high, mirrored his swagger, while Triple J’s Tom Tilley was killed it bass.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVv79XEent8&w=560&h=315]

Simply a must see. Above all, they are hella fun. Don’t believe us? Check out our review of their Pretty Lovers tour here, and our interview with them here.

We loved his single Something About You, and now Hayden James is back in the spotlight.

To celebrate the success of the single, he has released the dates for a national tour! Catch him in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, kicking things off from February 6th. Supporting act for the whole tour with be producer Mickey Kojak.

Hayden’s first track, Permission to Love, was released in late 2013 to critical acclaim. Since then, he has torn up the airwaves with a cool six million plays across Soundcloud and YouTube, not to mention supporting and playing alongside some of the biggest local and international acts to grace our shores. Labelled the“face of the new Australian production music scene”, he is in for a long ride.

Something About You was released late last year. It was the second track on Future Classic’s Teen Idols compilation. The track combines his soft and silky voice with that smooth, smooth beat – the results are wicked and so catchy.