This week, as with every week, the competition has been fierce when it comes to new releases. Constantly spoiled for choice, below are ten of the best songs that have been released over the past seven days, and once again there is something for everyone.
My city, Brisbane, features heavily in this one, with SIX entries into the playlist. I swear it wasn’t intentional, but it’s a great coincidence considering Young Franco, Emma Louise, Golden Vessel, Machine Age, White Wash and Good Boy are all exciting acts in their own rights, and all brought their A-games for their latest releases. In between them, we’ve got some UK talent in Jodie Abacus which has been reworked by the amazing Armand Van Helden, another fantastic remix of Shura‘s Touch by Four Tet, a fantastic collaboration from German music makers Moglii & Novaa and of course, the incredible Boys Noize to round things out. Enjoy!
Jodie Abacus, Hot Kitchen (Armand Van Helden Remix)
Jodie Abacus’ Hot Kitchen has been on high rotation since it’s release last year, but the news that the one and only Armand Van Helden had been locked in for a remix was almost too much. The results are unsurprisingly ridiculously good, with Van Helden’s reputation preceding him. Sounding like Jodie Abacus suddenly became a member of Duck Sauce (remember that song?) which, funnily enough, Van Helden was one half of, the funk is amped right up to breaking point, and Van Helden’s groovy synths provide a warm bed for Abacus’ soulful vocals. It’s a song made for dancefloors, and is more than enough to rival the original in terms of good vibes.
Young Franco, Drop Your Love (Ft. DiRTY RADiO)
Brisbane producer Young Franco takes his time with his releases, but it’s okay because they’re always worth it. Drop Your Love is the latest release from the young gun, and it continues along in the direction he was heading in with last year’s Don’t U Want Me. It might sound a little too similar at times to his previous single, but it’s a tight disco funk track nonetheless, with some liberating good vibes to bring it home. Teaming up with DiRTY RADiO for vocals, we have our suspicions things are just getting warmed up for Young Franco, and we can’t wait to see where he goes next. This single also comes alongside the announcement he has linked up with a new crew by the name of Of Leisure, which you can learn all about from their hilarious introductory video. Big things to come!
Emma Louise, Talk Baby Talk
Emma Louise has one of the best voices in Australian music, and her new material shows off her incredible set of pipes beautifully. Talk Baby Talk comes after last year’s sensational comeback single, Underflow which actually got the remix treatment from none other than Little Dragon. This latest single is a seductive number, with thick synths, trudging beats and a warm bed of ambient sounds that provide the perfect backdrop for Emma Louise’s vocals. It’s rich in emotion, dripping in vulnerability and frustration, and once again shows her in all her glory. We can’t wait to hear what comes next!
White Wash, Time
White Wash is the electronic persona of Brisbane music maker Connor Brooker. He’s also in a band called Bugs, and a surf rock band called Pro Vita, as well as probably a bunch of other things that we can’t keep track of. However, we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about White Wash and his new track, Time. Sounding like a combination of Phoenix and Gypsy & The Cat, Time sounds like it was taken straight out of the indie-electro boom of the late 00’s and thrust into 2016’s production styles. It’s nostalgic, catchy as hell and a whole lot of fun. Brooker, whilst a very clearly talented man, doesn’t ever take himself too seriously in his many projects, and I think this is the key to his success.
Good Boy, No Love For Back Home
Fresh from opening up the Brisbane leg of Laneway festival this year, Good Boy are wasting no time capitalising on this momentum, and have shared another great new track to add to their catalogue. Titled No Love For Back Home, the boys are getting better at just about every element of their sound, and I just can’t get enough of it. The intricate little intro quickly changing into a loud, rock’n’roll growl, the unique vocals that borrow influence from the likes of Mac DeMarco among others, and the groovy breakdowns that intersperse the track throughout, No Love For Back Home is their best single yet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they get invited to play more and more festivals throughout the year by the sounds of this! GREAT boys more like it!
Shura, Touch (Four Tet Remix)
I have to admit that I haven’t been entirely sold on Shura just yet, but this remix is enough to sway me. The one and only Four Tet shared this bad boy only last night, and it’s now sitting at a cool 34.7K plays in just 15 hours (at the time of writing). Not. Bloody. Bad. It makes sense though, thanks to the stunningly lush rework that he’s given. Working in beautiful harmony with Shura’s delicate voice, Four Tet always seems to know what’s best, and Touch is yet another shining example of this. It’s a track that just makes you feel good from the inside out, with the sped-up vocals, funky bass line and garage beats. Her exposing, vulnerable lyrics still maintain that sensitive side, but they’ve found a new home on a late night dancefloor, and that is something we are very okay with!
Golden Vessel, Do You Think About Me (Ft. MTNS)
Brisbane is bringing the goods this week, with two more of the River City’s finest teaming up for a new track. Titled Do You Think About Me, Golden Vessel has joined forces with MTNS for his first release in a fair while, but proving that it was definitely worth the wait. If you look on his Instagram, the kid is constantly in the studio, and it seems his hardwork is now paying off. Preferring to play with his own styles instead of sticking to the mainstream styles of Australian dance music, Golden Vessel’s production gets better and better with each release, and Do You Think About Me is his best so far. MTNS provides some almost RnB vocals over GV’s forward thinking future-electro beats, which are lush in the way his synths swirl and bloom over the shifting drums. Do You Think About Me is a really great song and an even more exciting step further for both artists, but especially Golden Vessel. Keep your eyes peeled for this guy!
Machine Age, Don’t Look
This song technically came out last week, but it kind of counts for this week if I only heard it on Monday. Machine Age is new on the scene in the scheme of things, but is already showing prowess and raw talent beyond his relatively short time. Taking influence from the likes of Seekae, Machine Age works dark, haunting electronica into Don’t Look, a track that sticks with you from the first listen. Pulling out all the stops, it’s rich and vibrant whilst still dreary (in the best possible way) and forlorn, playing with dark, industrial synths and his dramatic vocals. Hold tight for around the 3:30 mark, where things get even bigger – it can almost bring you to your knees.
Moglii & Novaa, Down Under
German based musicians Moglii and Novaa have come together to release a 5-track collaborative EP titled Down Under, and this week they have shared the first of these. Sharing the same name as the EP, the pair are a match made in musical heaven, and this track is as harmonious as they come. Vibing off each other perfectly, Down Under is a glitchy but serene, smooth but stuttering tune that feels almost alive in the way it quickly deviates when you least expect it. With its warbling bass, future bass break downs, serene vocal harmonies and more, every time you listen to this one, you hear something you hadn’t before. It’s the musical gift that keeps on giving, and what it is giving is pretty fucking good. Keep your ears pricked for the next four tracks, which will hopefully be just as great as this one.
Boys Noize, Euphoria
Any week that Boys Noize releases new music is a good week in my books. The legendary techno wizard’s reputation precedes him, and I can credit him for absolutely blowing my mind at FOMO festival earlier this year during his Australian tour. Euphoria is just hours old, but is well on it’s way to becoming one of this week’s, maybe even this month’s, most played tracks. The simple computerized, acid house beat works so well with featured artist Remy Banks, who only says three words for the entire track- “Inhale, Exhale, Euphoria“. It’s a glitchy trip you can’t help but getting lost in, and I think Banks himself summed it up best when he said of making music with Boys Noize, “From the moment I walked in the studio, I knew something dope was going to be made.” Dope indeed.
We hit up Queensland’s Red Deer Festival, and had the pleasure of catching up with Machine Age again. We chatted with Adrian Mauro about creating his fascinating music, falling off stages, and the Cowboys – the day before they won the premiership.
So is it Adrian Maw-ro or Mow-ro?
Maw-ro.
I was debating with myself.
It’s actually Italian, “mow-rrrro” if you want to roll your R’s.
You’ve performed a lot with other artists like Big Scary and Banff, was it always your intention to go out on your own?
Yeah, I’ve played for a few years in different bands, served my time. I grew up in Cairns, moved to Brissy to do music. I got more involved in the recording side of things which lent itself to working on other people’s stuff rather than my own. It wasn’t until a few years later and I kind of had an epiphany that I should be doing my own thing. That came in the form of having knee surgeory, spent a few weeks in bed and after that I finally started doing my own thing!
What did you do to your knee?
It’s a funny story. I play in another band called Silent Feature Era, it was actually our album launch and I fell off the stage. I was completely sober I must add, and I partially tore my ACL. I didn’t realise it until playing footy a couple of weeks later and then I totally fucked it.
Ouch!
But it was good, a good little moment to take stock and see where I was heading.
I love the story. Bedridden for two weeks, just you, a laptop, and your dog “Tux”.
It’s all true and I’ve still got the dog.
How’s Tux doing?
He’s alright! He’s getting older but he’s good.
So you grew up in Cairns, and then after high school you moved to Brisbane, and went straight into audio recording?
Yep, moved to Brisbane and never went home.
What was it like growing up in Cairns?
It’s awesome actually! It’s a great place to grow up, spend a lot of my childhood running amok in cane fields with my school mates, building cubby houses! I loved it!
Where does the name Machine Age come from?
It was kind of weird actually, I’ve always loved, particularly recording, epic industrial sounds, but then my childhood nickname is ‘Age’ being Adrian, So I toyed with the name ‘Age’ but when I decided to do this project I decided to build everything around samples, beats and loops, so then I was like “Machine Age” that kind of works. It kind of ties in with my love of that whole industrial revolution but also a bit of my name’s in there or whatever.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndjhYVxqPik]
So you have a lot of industrial influences – you’ve mentioned Aphex Twin and similar artists before.
Yeah, I’ve basically always played in rock bands, I’ve always loved electronic music, so it’s just an opportunity to kind of mash the two together.
Is it a bit refreshing to do your live show by yourself?
Yeah. So I’ve got samples, with a lot of my guitar stuff and vocals and the way I kind of build my set it’s not pre-recorded structures it’s lot of little elements that I build into a song so if I can see the crowd’s really vibing on a particular moment I can let that go longer if I want.
A bit improvisational then?
Yeah, particularly because I’m playing on my own I like to go off on tangents.
So Chivalry is the debut single, I caught your Black Bear session recording of it, it was great!
Yeah it was fun.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ecih4hTn8]
So tell us the story of how you came up with Chivalry?
Well it all happened around the same time, I’d just broken up from a long term relationship and was just finding my feet as a song-writer and a singer, it all kind of fell together and it was all kind of about getting back out there.
In the description of the song you talk about how in the single world the idiosyncrasies are interesting, how a smile will keep you buzzing for days.
Totally, when you’re newly single if a good looking girl just gives you a wry smile you’re like “oh my god!”
“I’m the best!”
Exactly, so that’s where that came from.
Is there any out of the box influences that maybe people wouldn’t expect from you?
I don’t know. I feel like I wear my influences on my sleeve I guess, I always take bits of the artists that I like. For example once I come up with the basic idea for a song… I kind of never write a song with the intention for it to sound like a certain thing, it’s more like what does this song remind me of and then I might push it in that direction.
Feel your way through it?
Yeah, I’m really inspired by a lot of female a artists, Bjork, and Feist, her album Metals is an amazing record, I really love Sharon Van Etten.
She’s amazing.
Absolutely! So during that period when I was writing my stuff I was addicted to Tramp, and I got to watch her from side of stage at Womad this year, it brought all these memories back of this really formative time in my life and I think I was sobbing like a little bitch to be honest.
She’s phenomenal. So when writing you never really come to the table with a fully formed idea?
I guess because I only work on my own it’s very much like a “this song could do with Led Zeppelin drums”or Aphex glitchy beats,” particularly when I’m in that production space.
And that’s easier without a band I guess? Less arguments?
Kind of, you can start wandering in any direction. I always find when I’m listening to other stuff, I’ll hear one element and I’ll be like “what is that keyboard” and I’ll find any video I can and be like “Oh that’s that sound” and then I backtrack and figure out a way to put that into a different context. For example, I’m on a really crazy classical kick at the moment!
So you have an EP coming out soon then?
I’m not sure if it’s going to be an EP or a record at this stage, I’m just writing as much as I can and I’ve been playing so much this year and doing so much touring, which when you’re touring on your own really helps the writing process, for me anyway.
You’ve been playing a lot this year!
Yeah I think already this year I’ve played something like 28 gigs, it’s kind of crazy actually.
And which other shows do you have coming up?
I’m doing a tour with Ainslie Wills so that’s going to be awesome. We’re doing Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane at the end of October. Then also playing The End Of The Line Festival in Woolangabba which will be great! I don’t know if you’ve seen the line-up but there’s so many awesome bands!
Machine Age’s set was an absolute highlight of Red Deer Festival and everyone should make the effort to catch Adrian at his upcoming shows with Ainslie Wills for her Oh The Gold EP as well as The End Of The Line Festival!
Dates:
Fri, Oct 23rd: The Howler, Melbourne W/ Ainslie Wills
Tickets
Sat, Oct 24th: The End Of The Line Festival, Brisbane.
FREE
Thu, Oct 29th: Newtown Social, Sydney W/ Ainslie Wills
Tickets
Sat, Oct 31st: Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane W/ Ainslie Wills
Tickets
Words by Hayley Simpson
I have a confession to make: this article may be quite subjective, because it turns out Machine Age and I barrack for the same NRL team (the North Queensland Cowboys, in case you were wondering). Nonetheless, there is more to Adrian Mauro, the one-man band that constitutes Machine Age, than impeccable taste in sporting teams.
Adrian’s singer-songwriter story began in quite an unconventional way. He began working in audio production straight out of school and shared a studio space with Shawn Cooke, who produced Big Scary’s first album. They worked on a few tracks together in-house and then Adrian started working alongside Banff’s management and is now one of his band members, playing guitar and keys. We agreed that the Brisbane music scene is like two, not six degrees of separation.
Adrian then found himself stuck at home for two weeks recovering from knee surgery. This is when he got his laptop and, with his dog Tux for company, began to experiment and rearrange his own demo recordings. And Machine Age was born.
Machine Age’s debut song, Chivalry has only been released a matter of weeks but it has already received positive reviews on Triple J Unearthed, including 5 out of 5 stars from the God of Triple J himself, Richard Kingsmill. “This has class written all over it” was Kingsmill’s take on the hit, and Adrian admitted that although he was trying to not get too excited over reviews, he acted like a teenager when he saw this one in particular. “I was pretty bloody excited.”
Chivalry is the song that asks listeners: “Does chivalry still exist in this age of stalk book and booty call dating apps?” The single includes an interesting and exciting mixture of different production elements. “Sonically it was a combination of all the things I liked.” Adrian’s influences include working with folk musician Banff, writing the songs on guitar and electronic production from the likes of Chris Clark and Aphex Twin.
Adrian works as a one-man band and was influenced by Flume in that respect, with his complex computer setup. “I play with a guitar, sampler and other gadgets.” He said it allows him to have more freedom as he knows it can be hard to organise a band, and thus expensive, from his experience playing with Banff. It also allows him to focus on the performance element. He did tinker previously with using a drummer, so fans will have to wait and see if he follows this path in his upcoming shows.
As I have flown the North Queensland coop and am now based in Melbourne, I had to ask Adrian if we would see him down south later in the year. He said he had visited Melbourne this year already, but there are a few dates in the works so hopefully southerners get the chance to experience the one-man band that is Machine Age before the year ends.
Adrian also said that he doesn’t know whether it will be EP or a record that he eventually releases. “I have a batch of songs put together at the moment and it was going to be an EP but I am still writing now.” Adrian thinks there is definitely a place for albums still, but for now may release another single and see how it is received, which might sway him towards the EP side. Nevertheless, expect more Machine Age.
To through Adrian a slight curveball on a Friday afternoon, I asked which three musicians – dead or alive – he would invite over for a dinner party. As eclectic as his debut single, Adrian would invite Bjork (“good value at the dinner table”), John Cage (“classical composer who did a lot for experimental music”) and Jimi Hendrix (“who wouldn’t want him there playing in the corner?”) After thoughtful consideration though, Adrian admitted that what would inevitably happen is Bjork would chew off Cage’s ear and he probably wouldn’t get a word in. To be a fly on the wall.
Keep an eye on Machine Age’s Soundcloud – hopefully we’ll be hearing more music soon.
