Mix Tape 35
Plenty of awesome new selections in Mix Tape 35, give it a spin…
9x GRAMMY® award winning, 2x Oscar nominated and 1x Emmy award winning artist, producer, actress and entrepreneur Mary J. Blige releases a brand new single Breathing featuring Fabolous.
The single, released through Blige’s own Beautiful Life Productions in partnership with 300 Entertainment, was produced by Shaun “S Dot” Thomas. The song was written by Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, Jocelyn “Jozzy” Donald, PurpleKBeats, and Jay Hawkins and contains samples of Kick In The Door by The Notorious B.I.G and I Put A Spell On You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Blige was additionally inspired by Nina Simone’s rendition of I Put a Spell on You.
Breathing is Blige’s second single since the release of Good Morning Gorgeous, her critically acclaimed 15th studio album that received six GRAMMY® nominations at the 65th GRAMMY® Awards including Album of the Year and Best R&B Album.
Academy Award and 13-time GRAMMY-winner Lady Gaga and 15-time GRAMMY Award-winner Bruno Mars teamed up to release their new single Die With a Smile. Die With a Smile marks the first collaboration for the duo, bringing together their innate musicality and creativity together on this anthemic love ballad.
True artists dedicated to their craft, the musical titans came together to create this standalone collaboration as a treat for their fans.
On how this epic duet came to be, Lady Gaga states, “Bruno and I have a lot of mutual respect for each other and were talking about collaborating. I was finishing up my own album in Malibu and one night after a long day he asked me to come to his studio to hear something he was working on. It was around midnight when I got there and I was blown away when I heard what he had started making. We stayed up all night and finished writing and recording the song. Bruno’s talent is beyond explanation. His musicianship and vision is next level. There’s no one like him.”
On collaborating together, Bruno Mars adds, “Getting to work with Gaga has been an honour. She’s an icon and she makes this song magical. I’m so excited for everyone to hear it.”
COTERIE, the Perth based band of four brothers who hail from Aotearoa, New Zealand – have dropped their latest single One More Chance featuring none other than Samoan-New Zealand legend, Savage.
Savage firmly cemented his music royalty status in NZ when he became the first NZ rapper to ever have commercial international breakthrough success with a platinum record in the US. His debut solo single Swing spent 5 weeks at #1 in Australia, is 4 x Platinum in AU and is 2 x Platinum in the US. Freaks was an instant global success with remixes featuring Soulja Boy and Pitbull seeing the song sell over 1.5 million units and reach double platinum status in the USA.
Speaking to the song, COTERIE explain: “The song is about chillin on all that ‘you did this I did that’ to and fro of a relationship & just not pretending to be perfect… everyone needs to ask for ‘One More Chance’ every now & then…”
One More Chance comes hot on the heels of previous singles Paradise and with Sir Dave Dobbyn; this month also see’s COTERIE hit the stage as the national support for Tones And I’s SOLD OUT Australian & NZ tour.
Breakthrough alternative star ratbag returns with the disorderly new single pinky boy. It marks her first new music since last December’s highly-praised debut EP why aren’t you laughing?, and sets the stage for the beginning of a brand new and characteristically chaotic new era.
pinky boy further solidifies ratbag as one of the most unique and exciting new artists to emerge in recent memory. It’s a vociferous kiss-off to boys who are incapable of treating women right, and finds ratbag experimenting with electronic elements for the first time while still holding onto the punk spirit that her debut EP brims with.
ratbag shares: “‘pinky boy’ is a song about shitty boyfriends and poorly treated pussycats. It describes the dynamic between an unappreciative boyfriend infuriatingly unable to recognise the talent, intelligence and deep coolness of the woman he’s dating.”
Global pop sensation Benson Boone returns with his highly anticipated new single Pretty Slowly. The track became an instant fan-favorite as a standout moment in Boone’s set at Lollapalooza and his Fireworks & Rollerblades world tour.
Pretty Slowly follows Boone’s latest track Death Wish Love from the Twisters movie soundtrack and the staggering global success of ARIA #1 single Beautiful Things — which is now RIAA certified 3x Platinum and ARIA certified Platinum — from his acclaimed debut album Fireworks & Rollerblades. The viral smash logged an impressive 7 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, hit #1 at Top 40 and US Hot AC radio, and vaulted to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also recently joined the Billions Club on Spotify and has amassed over 2 billion total streams to date.
Fireworks & Rollerblades also includes the fan-favorite tracks Cry, What Do You Want, and the rapidly-rising Slow It Down, which is currently in the top 20 at Top 40 and US Hot AC radio, the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and climbing.
Multiple GRAMMY® and Academy Award-winning artist, songwriter, and producer, FINNEAS returns with a brand new single and album announcement; For Cryin’ Out Loud! Both the title for his single [OUT NOW] and forthcoming studio album, set for release via Interscope Records on October 4, FINNEAS’ self-produced second solo studio album was born out of a series of live studio sessions in Los Angeles, bringing together some of his closest friends and peers into one room.
In contrast to his debut album OPTIMIST which featured instrumentals written and performed solely by the artist himself, this time, For Cryin’ Out Loud! sees FINNEAS expand his creative horizons, steering things away from the bedroom producer mentality and to a classic studio/band environment, freeing FINNEAS and ultimately resulting in his most uplifting and raw body of work to date.
For Cryin’ Out Loud! the single comes with an official music video starring FINNEAS, and was written and directed by Isaac Ravishankara.
Bright Eyes have released a new track, Rainbow Overpass, from their forthcoming tenth studio album, Five Dice, All Threes, out on 20 September via Dead Oceans. The bright, punky anthem is propelled by acoustic guitar, horns, and fist-pumping gang vocals featuring Alex Orange Drink of The So So Glos, the accelerating tempo like a speeding car driving off the eponymous rainbow overpass.
Of the new track, Bright Eyes’ frontman Conor Oberst says, “Alex and I wrote a lot of the songs together, but ‘Rainbow Overpass’ is the only one he gets [to sing] a verse. He’s kinda like my hype man, getting a little Beastie Boys on the shit! They grew up on punk rock and the Beasties, so there are a lot of little bursts of other voices. I like that. It creates energy. Sometimes music can feel flat until you get into a live situation, when there’s adrenaline and raw energy. Instead of working in reverse, where that happens as we tour, I was trying to get some of that energy onto the record.”
Exploring the heady spectrum of emotions that come with starting a new relationship, Sydney’s Gia Darcy’s new single Nice Things is a prime example of how good pop music can truly nourish. Following a string of impressive singles to date , Nice Things is a beautiful addition to Gia’s body of work; ultimately leading to the release of her anticipated EP project, Crash Test.
Across the record’s as-released singles, Make Me Wanna, Next Life and Crash Test, Gia has established herself as a dynamic fresh voice – Nice Things further cements Gia’s place as one to watch. Recording the song with collaborator Liam Quinn (Ruel, Keith Urban, Rita Ora, Peach PRC) in Sydney, Gia created the Nice Things demo in Los Angeles with producer Alex Koste (Go-Jo) and songwriter Emma Lov (Demi Lovato, Cheat Codes).
“’Nice Things’ is about the excitement and uncertainty of a new relationship. That intense feeling of wanting to dive in but feeling scared because of past heartbreak. It’s all about the struggle between self-sabotage and letting yourself be happy with someone special.” GIA DARCY
Gia describes the process of working with Emma and Alex as being a cathartic process; putting herself out there in the lyrics may have been nerve-wracking, but having the support and encouragement of the team in LA, and then with Liam in Sydney, made the process a beautiful one. The song itself, upbeat and sweetly nostalgic, leans into those butterfly feelings of having a new crush – something any listener can relate to.
“The vibe of ‘Nice Things’ is fun and upbeat, with a nostalgic touch that reminds me of having a crush as a kid. It’s got an energetic, feel-good sound that makes you want to dance and relive those fluttery, early relationship moments!” GIA DARCY
Multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes released the lead single from his upcoming album, Why Why Why, alongside a second song Isn’t That Enough. The accompanying music video for Why Why Why was filmed in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York location where songs from the album were written and recorded. Watch here. Both songs will appear on his newly announced self-titled album, Shawn, set for release on October 18.
Acclaimed Australian guitarist, 3-time ARIA winner, singer-songwriter and producer, Jeff Lang, releases the first single from his forthcoming album.
Seek High with John Butler is the brand-new song lifted from the forthcoming album, More Life, which will be released on Friday 13th September.
The Australian roots visionary has held an extraordinary career spanning three decades, over 32 albums, three ARIA Awards, a book (now in its second printing) and inclusion in the National Film and Sound Archives. His recordings and live performances have moved audiences across the globe from Japan to Geelong. New Delhi to Newcastle. His work, while based in the “roots” genre transcends and defies categorisation as evidenced in the diversity of the upcoming album, More Life.
More Life is the culmination of a few years of work, beginning with the concept of an album of songs co-written by Lang and some of his favourite artists.
Says Jeff Lang “Seek High is the first single from my new album More Life, a duet with my friend John Butler. John and I wrote this song together a few years back when I was first thinking about putting together what ended up being the More Life album, and we sat on the song until things started coming together for this project before we recorded it. I really enjoyed discovering how our two voices blended in harmony, as well as contrasting when singing on our own sections.“
He then went on to say “Instrumentally, Seek High features John playing amplified banjo alongside my electric lap steel, which we recorded together with my lead vocal, live off the floor at Head Gap Studios alongside the hypnotic groove of Danny McKenna on drums. John then added his vocals, a synth bass part and I put on a bass part of my own, using a Danelectro longhorn bass. Having two different types of bass made for some effective shifts in the feel of the track between sections, sometimes moving from the bass guitar to the synth bass or vice-versa, eventually having them both at once when the track started building up steam.”
Enigmatic indie electro pop band Alter Boy have returned with another electrifying track set to ignite the senses, Prepare The Moon is a love song dedicated to its self-demoralising author and Alter Boy singer Molly Priest, from the imagined perspective of a selfish ex-lover.
Molly comments, “I spent many years writing love songs and preparing gifts and accolades for entitled and arrogant men, so I wanted to write a love song for the self I was at that time. To recall myself from the perspective of the person receiving me, naïve and pining, fresh off god and searching for a surrogate. I think the person who is infatuated and desperate to please is degraded for building that kind of attachment, but this song is like ‘hey you thought you were entitled to it, this is embarrassing for you'”.
On the surface they create a highly accessible brand of electro pop, the sort you can dance to, snuggle up in bed with and introduce to your significant others. Alter Boy’s take on 21st Century contemporary noise is as woozy and charming as it is innovative, as dense and muscular as it is accessible, and as take-you-away from the humdrum and anxiety of modern life as it is challenging and thought provoking.
“Different frequencies of sound induce different states in people,” Molly says. “There’s a lot of frequencies we can’t hear, but that doesn’t mean the silence doesn’t affect your reality. I like that we’re seen as accessible, that people think we play pop music, because we do. We also play music that aims to help people step outside their subjective reality and see the world differently.”
Australian breakout producer CYRIL and Australian pop artist Kita Alexander release their irresistible collaboration True. Teaming up to deliver an uplifting interpolation of Spandau Ballet’s iconic song, CYRIL and Kita pay homage to the nostalgia through their infectious blend of dance-pop.
“I love bringing the old into the new and “True” does that exactly thanks to some help with Kita” shares CYRIL. “Kita has always been an artist I’ve respected and I’m so excited for the world to hear our remake of such an amazing classic. I remember listening to “True” as a kid so I was really excited to put a new spin on it with Kita.”
Kita continues, “When the opportunity came up to collab with CYRIL on this song, I didn’t hesitate. CYRIL has a way of bringing a fresh twist to old songs. I am a massive fan of the 80’s with those sounds coming through everywhere in my music. So when he told me he wanted me to sing “True” it made me so happy.”
Katy Perry unveiled her new single, LIFETIMES, a shimmering, high-octane reflection on the infinity of love. The song is from her new album, 143, which will be released on September 20 via Capitol Records.
Complementing the summertime vibe of the song, the official video directed by Stillz (Bad Bunny, Rosalía) was shot in beautiful Ibiza, Spain. The video made its broadcast premiere on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV Biggest Pop and on the Paramount Times Square billboards.
“‘LIFETIMES is a song about eternal love,” says Katy Perry. “It’s about finding that one deep and satisfying love of your life. A soulmate doesn’t always have to come in the form of a partner – it can come in all different ways, a child, a best friend, a pet. For me it is my daughter – I ask her every night, ‘Will you find me in every lifetime?’ She says yes, and I feel found. You’ll find each other, over and over again, for lifetimes.”
Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling UK sensation Jorja Smith has returned with her gorgeous new single, High; a slick, house-tinged offering, produced by her long-term collaborators DAMEDAME*. The single follows the announcement of the singer’s forthcoming Australian tour across Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney this October.
On today’s single, Jorja says:
“High is a song I wrote about finding a friend within myself, even through the lows, you have to find the highs.”
High also arrives alongside a visualiser which showcases a compilation of candid footage from Jorja and fan submissions. Aggregated back in March via a call out on social media, the footage spotlights people partying and celebrating; generally high on life. Directed by Jorja alongside Ivor Lawson-Adamah.
Jorja touches down in Melbourne on Tuesday 8 October for an all ages performance at Margaret Court Arena, before heading to Adelaide’s Hindley Street Music Hall on Tuesday 10 October. The following week on Tuesday 15 October, Jorja takes over Sydney’s ICC Sydney Theatre in the heart of Darling Harbour for an unmissable performance as part of SXSW Sydney® 2024. SXSW Sydney badgeholders can gain access to Jorja Smith’s Sydney performance by registering here.
The new single marks the first piece of original music from Jorja since the release of her highly anticipated second album, falling or flying, which arrived late last year. A sonically vast record – sometimes sleek and shiny R&B, elsewhere intense and raw alternative – but above all, a record which found Jorja stepping into a new chapter; acknowledging the ever-whirring cogs of her brain but also moving through it, in turn growing and learning to love and respect herself. After its release in September 2023, the album quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed records of that year, subsequently earning Jorja a BRIT Nomination within the ‘Best R&B’ category at the 2024 ceremony.
It’s been less than a year since The Pleasures dropped their brilliant debut album, The Beginning of the End.
Now they’re back with a brand new song, Let’s Go Again, a fitting title, as that’s exactly what they intend to do! Out now on all digital platforms, Let’s Go Again is the first release from their imminent second album.
The lyrics, although not necessarily intentional, could be used to sum up The Pleasures’ story so far, particularly when Catherine sings:
We didn’t ever plan for things to go this way
But I’m here, and you’re here,
and all I really wanna say is
Let’s go again!
Americana meets early-2000s indie—rock here. A signature guitar-and-organ riff kicks things off before dual lead singers Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan trade verse lines and chorus harmonies, all backed by heavy-hitting rhythm section Brad Bergen and Damian Cafarella.
Wild Boys is the third single off Home Fires, the upcoming record from Melbourne outfit Small Town Romance. Heartbreaking in its tenderness, Wild Boys is an intimate portrait of two brothers and their mother. Recorded live in one take, it’s the sort of track that seeps down into your bones and stays with you long after you listen.
‘We’ve all known young men who fly too close to the sun. Some get away with it, grow up, and those wild years become fodder for nostalgia filled anecdotes, and some of these beautiful boys are lost. The older I get, the more I think about the mothers, holding their breath, and praying that their wild boys make it to the other side.’ Flora Smith
Drenched in organ, baritone guitar and accordion, the track swells and recedes around Flora’s stunning vocal, simultaneously cinematic and plain speaking. The visual accompaniment to Wild Boys sees Flora and Jim dipping into their own personal histories. The music video is a striking and reflective patchwork of home movies, charting their respective coming-of-age stories and echoing the melancholic nostalgia of the song.
Global superstar and cultural icon, Paris Hilton, has debuted her newest single Chasin’ featuring Grammy-Award winner, Meghan Trainor. Chasin’ is the second single from Paris’ highly anticipated upcoming album executive-produced by Sia, INFINITE ICON. Written by Meghan Trainor, Ryan Trainor, Yannick Rastogi, and Zacharie Raymond, and produced by Banx & Ranx and Jesse Shatkin, this new, calypso-inspired hit promises to inspire listeners around the world to free themselves from past relationships and dance into their best futures.
“I wrote this song with the intent of giving it to a special artist and never imagined in my wildest dreams Paris would be that icon to record it and do it justice.” Trainor shared.
Hilton expressed “Meghan’s writing paved the way for me to bring life to this track that represents self-love and confidence, and I am so happy we get to duet and call each other sisters! #Sliving”
GRAMMY® nominated, genre-blending artist Halsey released her highly anticipated new single, Lucky. The song, produced by Michael Uzowuru (Frank Ocean, SZA, Rosalia), features an interpolation of Britney Spears’ Lucky in the chorus, as well as the #1 Billboard HOT 100 Hit, Angel of Mine in the track’s production.
Alongside Halsey’s first single in over 2 years, she shared the video for the new track. Directed by Gia Coppola (Palo Alto, Mainstream) with cinematography by Alexis Zabe (The Florida Project), the video stars Halsey and features a cameo from actor Simon Rex.
Multi-Platinum global pop superstar Kesha officially declares her independence with the recent landmark release of her eagerly anticipated new single, JOYRIDE, available everywhere now on her own label, Kesha Records. JOYRIDE was produced by Zhone (Troye Sivan’s GRAMMY® Award-nominated “Rush”) and co-written by Kesha, Zhone, and Madison Love (Lady Gaga, Ava Max).
An assertive and empowering pop anthem celebrating Kesha’s unapologetic right to freedom and long overdue empowerment as an independent artist, JOYRIDE marks the first chapter of a milestone new era for Kesha, serving as both a return to classic form as well as a powerful sonic evolution following 2023’s critically acclaimed fifth studio album, Gag Order.
Multi-platinum and ARIA award winning genre-defying Australian artist Illy returns with the anthemic Stubborn via Warner Music Australia.
Produced by Cam Bluff (Hilltop Hoods, Amy Shark), Stubborn is for anyone who needs a reminder to enjoy life and embrace everything that happens, including the ups and the downs. It also serves as the first (“and for real this time, definitely not last” – Illy) taste of new music from Illy in 2024.
“In these times where everyone is in a constant state of “working on themselves”, and the incessant hum of the entire world is kept inches from our junk at all times, songs that say “f**k all that, we don’t care”, and celebrate ignoring the opinions, hot takes and judgement of others, are important, even when that’s all they’re saying. Stubborn is cut from that cloth. Don’t overthink everything, enjoy this beautiful life and the mistakes we will inevitably make as we live it, cause why not.” says Illy of the track.
Ray LaMontagne – the celebrated Grammy award winner—has released a new single, I Wouldn’t Change A Thing. The track, releasing via the highly independent artist’s newly created label Liula Records, is the third taken from LaMontagne’s forthcoming, highly anticipated studio album, Long Way Home, out August 16.
Additionally, last week LaMontagne shared a new video for Long Way Home, the previous single and the album’s title track. A somber, bittersweet rumination on times past, the video features visuals from his son Tobias and collage art by his daughter-in-law Bella.
I Wouldn’t Change A Thing sees LaMontagne reflect on his journey traveled, accepting the downs with the ups. “If I had the chance to turn back time // I could tell you this my friend // I’d do it all over again // I’d get right back in the ring,” he sings. The track’s jangly guitar strums are complimented by the sorrowful wail of a slide guitar and an easy drumbeat.
The first single Step Into Your Power released early June and is the fastest moving track of LaMontagne’s in the last ten years. Accompanied by a stop-motion music video animated by his son Tobias, the foot-tapping, nostalgia laden track features choral backing vocals from The Secret Sisters and was praised by Atwood as “a gosh darned groove […] easygoing and uplifting, yet smooth and relaxing.”
The core of Long Way Home reverberates deep into LaMontagne’s youth—at 21-years-old, in a small club in Minneapolis, he recalls seeing Townes Van Zandt perform live. A line from To Live Is To Fly has stuck with him ever since; Van Zandt sang, “When here you been is good an gone, all you keep is the getting there.”
LaMontagne reflects, “Thirty years later it occurs to me that every song on Long Way Home is in one way or another honoring the journey. The languorous days of youth and innocence. The countless battles of adulthood, some won, more often lost. It’s been a long hard road, and I wouldn’t change a minute. It took me nine songs to express what Townes managed to say in one line. I guess I still got a lot to learn.”
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