Mix Tape Volume 18
We love a good mix tape at Hi Fi Way, have a look to see who made Volume Eighteen:
After an interrupted wedding in the music video for Lizzo’s 4x ARIA platinum Truth Hurts, the 3x GRAMMY® Award-winning, ARIA multi-platinum certified superstar is giving love another chance in her brand-new 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) video featuring Tyson Beckford. The single that sees Lizzo challenging herself to accept the love she deserves can be found on her latest album SPECIAL.
Recently nominated for 4 MTV Video Music Awards including “Artist Of The Year” and “Song Of The Year,” Lizzo was also announced today as a performer at the upcoming awards show on August 28. Set to perform 2 Be Loved the VMAs marks one of her many recent TV appearances including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, a double duty hosting and performance gig on Saturday Night Live, the 2022 BET Awards, and more.
Everyone Is Lying To You For Money is the second single from The Smith Street Band’s forthcoming sixth album. It is a short, loud, angry song about misinformation. This is The Smithies at their most creative yet, blending their finely honed pub rock sound with samples and robot voices all wrapped around lead singer Wil Wagner’s frustrated and vulnerable lyrics.
The chaotic film clip accompanying the new single was animated and directed by Raymond Tuifao Lalotoa and filmed by Ian Laidlaw.
8x GRAMMY® Award-nominated rock band Death Cab for Cutie releases new track Foxglove Through The Clearcut. Featuring meditative instrumentation and moving spoken word elements that ultimately crescendo into a sweeping outro, the song arrives accompanied by a striking lyric video designed by frequent visual collaborator Juliet Bryant (Justin Vernon, Japanese Breakfast, Laura Jane Grace).
Of Foxglove Through The Clearcut, lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Gibbard shares:
“Foxglove is by far the most personal song on the record. While I was writing it, I thought I was merely the narrator. But the longer I sat with it, I realized I was both the protagonist AND the narrator.”
Thelma Plum releases her highly anticipated EP and self-professed love letter to her hometown, Meanjin. Kicking off in just under two weeks, the beloved Gamilaraay artist will embark on her ten-date The Meanjin Tour in celebration of the new release, joined by very special guests GRAACE and Jem Cassar Daley.
Across its six tracks, Meanjin is a moving body of work that sees Thelma reflect and reminisce on her time growing up – and returning to – the Sunshine State. Arriving alongside the release is a music video for The Brown Snake – an ode to the locally famed Brisbane River and its affectionately known alias, which features a multitude of other references to Meanjin. The clip sees a joyful Thelma and her band venture on a ferry trip along the song’s namesake, taking in its distinct hue and city skyline, and comes to a close as they pass under the iconic Story Bridge.
The river was a significant source of inspiration for Thelma when writing Meanjin. “In strange times you always tend to look back at warm memories for comfort, and when I was confined to an apartment overlooking The Brown Snake, I found myself writing music about Meanjin, the place I grew up in and have gravitated back to,” she says. “It’s blowing a musical kiss to the things I’ve loved.”
THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA delivered the ultimate summer hit with their brand-new single Black Stars and Diamonds. The band have released a brand-new video to accompany the single.
Filmed in the heart of Prague, the new video encompasses the joyful energy of THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA.
Frontman Björn Strid reveals the story behind the video:
“After our incredible show at Metalfest in Plzen, some of us decided to stay for another day in the heart of Prague. As we had a new gem up our sleeves we couldn’t resist to record a video for it. We therefore spent 8 hours riding at the back of a trailer through Prague while waving with cupped hands and met nothing but smiles and excitement from people in the streets. It was an incredible hot day that turned into a tropical night and this is what came out of it! Enjoy and crank it loud!”
Muse share new song Kill Or Be Killed ahead of the Will Of The People album release on August 26. Featuring granite-heavy riffs, industrial production flourishes and an expansive, off-kilter prog structure, the track is one of the band’s heaviest songs to date and is already a live favourite.
The song’s visceral intensity inspired a huge reaction from fans (after the band performed Kill Or Be Killed at various festivals in recent months), who went on to swarm the band’s social media with calls for it to be released. Responding to the overwhelming will of the people, Muse decided to share Kill Or Be Killed ahead of the album release.
Matt Bellamy said, “’Kill Or Be Killed’ is Muse at their heaviest! We wanted to update our hard rock sound on this album and with ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ we found a modern metal sound featuring double bass drum action and even a death growl. Lyrically the song takes influence from my favourite Paul McCartney song ‘Live And Let Die’, a dark take on how life’s adversity can sometimes bring out the worst human instincts to survival at any costs.”
Ahead of her upcoming Lollapalooza performance in Chicago, and the October 14 release of her highly anticipated fifth studio album DIRT FEMME (Pretty Swede Records/mtheory), the multi-platinum selling, GRAMMY® Award nominated artist, Tove Lo has released 2 Die 4. The irresistible and undeniable club banger has summer smash written all over it; sampling the equally iconic Popcorn hook, originally released by Hot Butter in 1972. “With 2 Die 4 I wanted ‘instantly iconic’ energy. I’ve never sampled anything before, and this feels like the perfect first moment.” Tove shares. Lyrically I wanted it to be that ‘pick me up when I’m feeling down’ song. At first, it’s like a warm hug, then you shake it off, let out a scream and start dancing!”
On the accompanying scene, directed by Kenny Laubbacher, Tove Lo shares: “I wanted to make something nostalgic, sexy and iconic. The character for this scene is Wonder Woman with big dick energy, and I just love it. Now, if you know what’s good for you, go listen on repeat.”
Southeast Desert Metal have unleashed their flaming hot video for the Arrernte version of the classic Beds Are Burning. This is perhaps the most Australian version of the most Australian song ever written. The band have taken their own spark to the Midnight Oil classic, reigniting the message. A lot of love went into making this. So much fun and a lot of learning as always. Transcribing into written Arrernte was a new challenge. Have a go at singing along!
“We dedicate this to all the indigenous people around the world. Stand up for your land. Use your voice. Keep your culture strong” – SOUTHEAST DESERT METAL
Southeast Desert Metal reimagined the track with thunderous double kick drums, blazing fast lead guitar and low and heavy bass lines. Chris Wallace sings the chorus in Eastern Arrernte language while the words appear on screen. “Nthakenhe anwerne ankwe inteme antyeme ure-le ampe-lenge? (How do we sleep while our beds are burning?)
The film clip was created on Arrernte homelands, in Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) community in Central Australia. It pays homage to the original film clip with the band riding in the tray of an old ute as it burns along a dusty outback road.
A little over five years ago, 19-year-old KIAN burst onto the scene as he sung the hook for Baker Boy’s Cloud 9. Fast-forward to 2022, and KIAN has been impossible to hold down. Releasing the 4x Platinum certified, ARIA Top 20 hit Waiting as the lead single from his debut EP Bliss, he’s since nabbed multiple APRA Awards, become a two-time ARIA nominee, toured internationally, collaborated on Duckwrth’s Quick, and released 2020 singles Every Hour and Sunbeam.
Now, KIAN is heading into his most accomplished and personal territory to date with new EP, Shine which is set for release on August 26 and available to pre-order now. Working with producer Willie Tafa (ONEFOUR, Ariana Grande, Baker Boy), and enlisting the talents of artists such as Jerome Farah and members of hip-hop outfit 1300, KIAN carved out a body of work that showcases a musician hitting his creative stride, while embracing his own personal and professional maturity.
Following on from recent prequel singles Fit In Here and Direction, KIAN share’s his latest single and the title track from the Shine EP. Shine is the sound of KIAN welcoming life, growth, and adversity, and using these experiences to emerge wiser and bolder.
“‘Shine’ is about going through something and then being able to come out the other side having learned to shine; having learned to use it to your own advantage and to be able to grow from it,” KIAN explains.
They say absence only makes the heart grow fonder, which is case in point if Fazerdaze’s first release in five years is anything to go by. Returning with the agile and invigorated Come Apart, the New Zealand based producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist reminds the world what they’ve been missing. Out now through her new label home section1, she will also perform at Splendour In The Grass this Friday 22 July – her first live show in three years.
Talking about the single, Fazerdaze aka Amelia Murray comments, “Come Apart is an angsty surrender to growing apart from people in my life. I wrote this at a time when I wasn’t accepting that some of my closest relationships were just not working. I was contorting myself to fit others, doing everything I could to keep the relationships going instead of allowing them to be what they were; ending, done. I believe this song was a way for my subconscious to shout at me to surrender and to allow things in my life to come to an end.”
Acclaimed US groove rockers Clutch share a spirited new single, Slaughter Beach. Chockfull of bluesy rock swagger, the brand new track is available from all streaming services now.
Discussing the track, frontman Neil Fallon confides, “The lyrics for Slaughter Beach were inspired by a late night walk along the southern Delaware Bay. Odd things happen there.”
The official video for the track was directed by My Good Eye’s David Brodsky and embraces the band’s trademark story-telling skill.
The track is included on Clutch’s upcoming thirteenth studio album – Sunrise On Slaughter Beach – a slamming summary of everything that makes the band great and another giant leap forward into career longevity.
Following the release of several successful singles pulled from her forthcoming debut album SUCKERPUNCH, Maggie Lindemann delivers her latest effort self sabotage.
“The song is about not allowing yourself to receive the love that you deserve,” Maggie shares. “I crave a little bit of action in my life and when things are going too good, I tend to do something to test the pliancy of the positiveness.”
Maggie’s forthcoming debut full-length is a 15-track collection that chronicles a journey of self-discovery and actualisation following the success of her brightly received 2021 EP PARANOIA. “It’s the journey from being upset to being angry to being hopeful – a hopefulness I want listeners to know exists for them, too,” Maggie shares.
Breakthrough hyperpop sensation, Peach PRC reveals a melodramatic dance while you cry anthem with her new single Forever Drunk out now. The new song also marks the first collaboration with Peach PRC and Grammy nominated pop songwriter Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Britney Spears).
Peach PRC says about the song, “‘Forever Drunk’ looks back at my first heartbreak, when at that time I thought this teenage relationship was all I had in my life, I had no family, I hated school, I didn’t think I was smart or talented. So once I lost this person, I went into full on teenage melodramatic devastation, grovelling on my hands and knees begging to be taken back. I thought I would NEVER get over it at the time.”
Peach PRC continues about collaborating with Bonnie McKee, “Originally ‘Forever Drunk’ was a much sadder song, but Bonnie and I turned it into an anthemic “dance while you cry” bop, which is what I wanted the song to blossom into anyway. Bonnie’s like a big sister to me, we talk all the time with each other, sharing our little DIY creative endeavours and random ideas at ridiculous hours of the night. We’ve had such similar lives and have so much in common, not just in our bubblegum pop music but with our personal journeys too.”
Following hot on the heels of the release of their first new single in 4 years, Top Of The World, Thundamentals drop an accompanying bright and energetic visual.
The band said, “To us, feeling ‘on top of the world’ is relative. We wanted to take the focus of this video away from ourselves – to shine some light on the incredible creatives that Sydney has to offer – each on their way to the ‘top’.
“Local brands, designers, creative directors, skaters, musicians, film crew – everyone on their own journey, figuring out what success means to them. We were all once growing up, living for the small wins. It’s an honour to share this experience with the team that worked on this video, and we hope they & our fans each feel ‘on top of the world’ with the final product.”
After years spent as part of one of Australia’s most popular musical exports, Amy Sheppard has gone solo, with new single Blue Guitar offering a second taste of her forthcoming debut EP, Nothing But Wild – set for release on September 16. Following on from the arrival of the title track in April, Blue Guitar is an immersive piece of vibrant country pop from the iconic Queensland artist.
Inspired to share a modern twist on the classic ‘90s ballads from iconic names like LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, and Shania Twain, Blue Guitar is as fierce as it is sparkling, bolstered by impassioned lyricism, a mesmerically powerful performance style, and dreamy instrumentation that transports the listener to the glory days of country music. Working with producers Lindsay Rimes (Kylie Minogue, Luke Bryan, Troye Sivan) and Stuart Stuart (Sheppard, Dean Lewis, The Veronicas), it emerged as the first country song that Amy wrote, who took it to brother George Sheppard for some further musical insights. Before long, it took on a new life as her favourite song from her upcoming EP.
As Amy explains, “I really leaned into the beauty of country music storytelling. Country music gives permission for songwriters to weave creative stories and this is where Blue Guitar was born. The storyline follows a woman who returns to visit her small hometown. When she enters a local bar, she is taken aback by a familiar voice. The man singing on the stage is her former lover who never quite made the big time. She notices he is still playing his blue guitar- the same one he used to write love songs to her on. She is filled with the same old feelings she had for him and begins to wonder if the songs he is singing today are still about her.”
Luke Steele (Empire Of The Sun, The Sleepy Jackson) explores the hazy, dewy-blue realm of Get Out Now, one of the most emotionally poignant, stand-out tracks off his recent debut solo album, Listen To The Water. As the track smoothly embraces self-confrontation, Japanese synthesizers, pedal steel, acoustic guitars, and atypical percussion melt together into a restrained yet lush arrangement.
Filmed on a fog-laden lake in Northern California, the music video for Get Out Now pulls the listener into the shadowy, ultramarine world — a dreamlike setting that perfectly mirrors the intensity of the moments spent between falling and the fear of letting go.
“There are moments in your life where there is danger, mentally and emotionally speaking, which if you don’t act on it can lead to some scary places,” says Luke on the inspiration behind the track. “If you don’t get out now, and make a courageous call, you just feel trapped, which is never a good feeling. Sometimes you have to walk away from something you’ve spent a long time building. It’s not failure, it’s strength.”
Truck are Unconventionally Rising. Releasing the band’s third single in just 8 months and announcing a bunch of shows with both Baby Animals and Rose Tattoo, Truck are steadily climbing the ranks of must-see Australian rock bands.
Unconventionally Rising has a fresh ‘active rock‘ appeal, while unashamedly tipping the hat to the ‘classic rock’ vibes. The drums are thundering, the grooves are mighty, and the keys add some explosive colour. Mixed by the legendary Kevin “Caveman” Shirley (Aerosmith, Baby Animals, Cold Chisel, Iron Maiden, Silverchair), this track is exactly how you want your rock to sound … BIG. And it’s a sound reminder that, no matter what shit is flying your way, a great rock song – and a great rock band – can save you!
Lead singer Andy McLean said, “This is a song for anyone who has risen to greatness in their own unconventional way, simultaneously rescuing those that have given their love from the start. It’s our 70s style soundtrack for everybody’s ‘mission impossible’ moment. It’s like Deep Purple & Tom Cruise had a love child, and TRUCK is just breaking the news!”
Cover versions of classic songs can be dangerous. Songs that have become a fabric of society to the point where listeners know them intimately and have a deep personal connection. It takes a special artist to take a classic song to a different place and put their own unique stamp on it.
Kasey Chambers fans who have seen her shows in 2022 know this all too well with her incredibly emotional interpretation of Eminem’s 2002 8 Mile classic Lose Yourself. Performed on banjo none the less.
Due to the overwhelming reaction to her performance that has compelled audiences to standing ovations and rapturous applause night after night on her recent Behind the Barricades tour, a live recording of Kasey Chambers Lose Yourself is released today by popular demand from fans and festival goers.
Mentioning Kasey Chambers and Eminem in the same sentence will make most music fans raise an eyebrow. Kasey explains: “Eminem has been one of my favourite songwriters for many years. We listen to a lot of him in our house. I’ve been mostly influenced in my life by writers who bravely put fearless emotion into lyrics and no one does that better than Eminem. I don’t really care too much about what genre music fits into, just that the sound comes from a real, authentic place from inside the artist. Eminem makes me feel things when I hear him. Not always the most comfortable things but I’m not sure that music is always meant to make us feel comfortable.”
Paul Kelly has released his new themed compilation Rivers and Rain, the latest in a series of albums highlighting the threads running through his vast catalogue of songs.
Northern Rivers is the album’s new track offering. Brimming with musical and lyrical hooks, it sounds like an instant classic. Written last year and recorded soon after with his band, the timing of its release couldn’t be more apt. As residents of the Northern Rivers cleaned up – twice – after the floods earlier this year, Kelly’s songs could be heard coming out of shops, houses, halls, boats, utes, vans, cars and trucks, lifting spirits. Meanwhile, the long, hard work of picking up the pieces and rebuilding lives goes on.
Northern Rivers once again shows Kelly’s deep engagement with the natural world. Says Kelly with trademark succinctness, “It is a love song set in contrasting landscapes. I took it to the band and it came out really easily like they’d been playing it forever.”
It’s more than a love song, it’s a hymn of praise to the region and to our harsh and beautiful country, replete with vivid imagery, close observation and irony. Yet at its heart is the mysterious ‘girl from the Northern Rivers’ whom the coloured birds sing out of bed each day.
After the success of his recent Australian tour, award-winning singer-songwriter Kim Churchill invites you to soak up his new release Please Come Home. Featuring touching vocals from Melbourne singer/songwriter Steph Strings, the track offers heartfelt themes and acoustic soundscapes. A gentle and sincere single, Please Come Home leaves you feeling safe and sound.
Steph’s compelling melodies and Kim’s organic storytelling is the perfect pairing. Over time their friendship has blossomed, swapping stories and songs, Steph joined Kim on the road for his recently wrapped up “Fighter” tour. Kim says, “When it came time to sing this as a duet with someone it just flowed on so nicely from our tour. The touring adventure had come to a close but the creative adventure was just beginning.”
Kim reflects on what Please Come Home means to him; “I wrote this track 12 years ago in a hotel room in Memphis. I took it to Sun Records that evening and stood where Elvis stood and sung it. From that first night it was this beautiful raw expression of a feeling I’ve often felt about missing the people closest to me.”
“It’s been beautifully emotional for me too – to travel with this song through the year and gain a maturity and understanding around my feelings.”
Adelaide rock band Bad//Dreems are set to release their first new music in two years. Mansfield 6.0 was recorded in February 2022 with producer Dan Luscombe (The Drones, Courtney Barnett, Amyl and the Sniffers) at engineer Andrew Idge’s Soundpark Studios in Melbourne. It’s the first taste of the band’s forthcoming fourth LP, more detail of which will be revealed soon.
Mansfield 6.0 was inspired by the bizarre evens of late 2021 when the “Hi Vis Riots” of anti-vaccination construction workers coincided with the largest earthquake in Victoria for 50 years.
The band explains: “At 9:15 a.m. AEST on the 22nd of September 2021, an earthquake measuring 6.0 was recorded in the town of Mansfield, Victoria and felt in Melbourne and around the state. At the same time, a mob of 2000 men wearing hi-visibility workwear and shouting anti-vaccination slogans marched through the streets of Melbourne, vandalising cars and clashing with police. They gathered on the West Gate Bridge, where they sang and drank. This song was written at that strange time.”
Newcastle, Australia alt-pop quartet Eat Your Heart Out – Caitlin Henry (vocals), Will Moore (guitar), Dom Cant (bass), and Jake Cronin (drums) – have announced their second album Can’t Stay Forever.
It arrives on September 9 via Fearless Records.
The band has shared the video for the new single Twenty Something.
“Twenty Something is something a bit different for us as it’s definitely one of the more poppy songs we’ve ever written,” Henry offers. “It was written in mid-2021 with Stevie Knight. It’s about the weird stage of being in your mid-20s and seeing everyone around you in all different stages of life. It can definitely throw some doubt and make me question if I’m on the right path sometimes, even when I usually feel very solid in my choices. It’s definitely one of the more lighthearted tracks on the record.”
About the album, Henry offers, “Everything always moves into a new phase. It might feel bad at the time. When you look back on change, it’s always for the best. The pandemic showed me that in a way. It changed everything we’d been planning for the band. We just had to work our jobs and be at home. We established more adult routines, which gave us a chance to experience normality. Nothing is permanent. Anything can change at any time. You have to see the positives.”
Acclaimed singer songwriter Kyle Lionhart has released his brand new single, LIGHTHOUSE today.
Kyle explains, “I wrote “Lighthouse” with one of my best friends Paul Ruske, we wrote it as somewhat of an ode to our children. Paul lost his 7yr old son to a brain tumour in 2017 and expressed to me once that one of the hardest parts of his son’s illness was not being able to protect him from it. This broke me; as a father I think one of our highest primitive callings is to protect & provide, the thought that this could be taken away from me, the thought that there were going to be a lot my boys will have to endure on their own and I won’t be able to guide & protect them from scares me more than almost anything in this life. This is where the song was born; in that emotion, in that fear of the unknown, in the realisation that much of life is out of our control. With this song we both wanted to express to our children that no matter what happens in this life, our love for them will travel further than just this physical realm.”
Mixing angst-pop melodies, with low-fi and vibrant instrumentals, BoysnLove have made a mark for themselves across Sydney & Wollongong. Performing alongside the likes of Middle Kids, Tia Gostelow, Tyne-James Organ & more over the past 12 months, the quartet have emerged as Australian front-runners for emotional & raw indie-pop. New single Honeymoon Diver combines the delicate & fraught vocals of singer & songwriter Annie-Rose Collis to draw listeners & tug at their heartstrings, floating atop the driving rhythm section below, pulsing the song to its crescendo. The urgent song of heartbreak & betrayal sets BoysnLove up for an electrifying backend of 2022, with more music on the horizon.
“This song was created after hearing the true story of the death of Tina Watson. A woman on her honeymoon and ‘allegedly’ drowned by her new husband. The most harrowing part was imagining that moment under water when it dawned on her, not that she was drowning, but that her husband didn’t love her. It made me think about all those times when I’ve trusted someone and then they reveal who they really are, and how it’s hard not to blame yourself for not seeing them clearly. It was inspired by a true story, but I very much drew from my own experiences of betrayal.” Annie-Rose Collis, BoysnLove
A swooning burst of grooves, good vibes and rugged sheen, the brand new track Out Of My Hands from an almighty team up between Wollongong indie poppers Pirra and Aussie music icon Tim Wheatley is more irresistible than ice cream on a summer’s day. Infectious, buoyant and effortlessly charming, Out Of My Hands also gifts an insight into Pirra’s upcoming new album Spirals which will officially release on Friday September 30 via BLK&WHT Records. Fans can also catch Pirra busting out their sumptuous tunes in September and October, with appearances confirmed at Jungle Love Festival in Queensland, sets at Listen Out festivals in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane and, on the very day of their new album release, a performance at Relish Festival Bellingen Australia alongside the likes of Winston Surfshirt, Ash Grunwald and The Black Seeds.
New single Out Of My Hands showcases Pirra in peak form, with the bubbly ballad fusing the Wollongong quartet’s signature grooves and affable arrangements, with the smooth addition of singer-songwriter Tim Wheatley. Complete with jangly guitars, a bouncy bassline and contrasting vocal interplay between Pirra lead singer Jess Beck’s silk and the raw yet lush stylings of Tim, Out Of My Hands also sees Pirra step slightly ajar from the electronic hues seen on the group’s earlier singles, while also completing the track with Tim remotely, as vocalist Jess elaborates, “Out Of My Hands is a slower burn than our last few dancy tracks, so it’s always exciting to see what the people think. It’s always fun when it’s a collab too, and working with Tim has been a great experience. It didn’t matter that Tim was on the other side of the world in London, when we got his vocal stems sent over we just knew he was the perfect fit for this track”.
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