US operatic rockers The Protomen have announced their first visit to Australia, playing festival dates at PAX in Melbourne and Featherfest in Sydney, as well as sideshows in both cities. Well known to geeks and epic prog rock fans alike, the group have earned a dedicated following worldwide for their bombastic and theatrical approach to
US outfit OM are bringing their unique blend of spiritually resonant and essential drone to Australia for a national tour this May. The band formed in 2003 from the rhythm section of the disbanded stoner doom metal band, Sleep, with a line-up comprised of Al Cisneros on vocals and bass and Chris Hakius on drums.
Texas group This Will Destroy Youhave amassed a sizable underground following for their instrumental compositions, spanning ambient, melodic odes, to crushing ‘doomgaze’ atmospherics. Ahead of their first ever Australian visit in a few weeks, I got the word from guitarist Jeremy Galindo on a few choice questions covering their sound, touring and the musician’s life.
Fingers and toes and wishes on stars this wasn’t the last one! With its future still under a dark cloud, this year’s end to the St Kilda Festival was bloody marvellous. What started decades ago as a weekend arts festival nurturing the growing bohemian culture, it has evolved into a Melbourne institution; a hub for
Adelaide’s Unitopia have long been touted as one of Australia’s biggest progressive rock exports – everywhere except Australia that is. It’s indicative of their position in the world prog rock scene that they are able to release a prog tribute album and have it so well received, selling multiple pressings overseas and finally seeing Unitopia
US ambient rock group This Will Destroy You have announced their first ever Australian tour for March 2013. The band rose to worldwide prominence with the release of their debut Young Mountain and since then have seen their popularity explode with a series of EPs and follow up albums S/T and Tunnel Blanket. Australian fans
Much to the excitement of progressive rock fans around the globe, legendary Australian prog ensemble Unitopia have released a tribute album titled Covered Mirror. Featuring songs by the band’s influences, including prog and rock giants Yes, Genesis, The Flower Kings, Led Zeppelin and Supertramp, as well as lesser-known groups such as Klaatu, the album is
UK electronic-rockers 65daysofstatic have released their seminal 2004 debut The Fall of Math in Australia for the first time. To celebrate the band’s recent Australian tour with sleepmakeswaves, the release comes as a deluxe edition featuring a plethora of rarities and unreleased material, including the hidden gems The Major Cities of The World Are Being
For the last 6 months I’ve been traipsing the globe to experience different worlds, cultures, amazing food, and discover music scenes in far off lands. And guess what…I’m not done. 2012 was an amazing year. For now though, Strum A Note and I are back ready to discover some fresh blood around Melbourne to share
Most of you should remember Cody’s super hit Look Good In Leather (or “Ode to Tnev” as referred to by nobody) from 2001, and perhaps more well-known re-working of The Seed which featured The Roots, but admittedly, the southern soul man has been pretty quiet since then (sparing a brief appearance in Dave Chappelle’s Block
Modern Rivals take their name from a group of inferior and plagiaristic mathematicians identified in a 19th century geometry textbook. But don’t let that fool you, they’re actually complete nerds. Hailing from Brooklyn (of course) Modern Rivals are five friends who met at different school levels in New York and Chicago. They make dreamy indie
One of my very last stops before returning to Melbourne was the seaside city of Brighton, England, and it’s here, after returning from New York, that I discovered Brooklyn singer Eddi Front. A little write up in local publication XYZ in Brighton caught my eye, describing her as Lana Del Rey with jazz overtones, and
65daysofstatic are UK electronic rock “legends” whose influence and significance amongst underground experimental rock artists is spoken of highly and consistently. They exploded onto the world scene with their innovative debut The Fall of Math in 2004, following up with the electronic-post-rock amalgamation seen on One Time for All Time in 2005. The success of
Andrew Haug is a name many in the Australian heavy music scene will be familiar with. Over the last 20 years, he’s forged a career in radio and on the stage, both as the host of the hugely popular triple j program The Racket and as drummer for Melbourne metal outfit Contrive. Since his tenure
No indie music lover’s visit to Los Angeles is complete without a night at Hollywood’s The Viper Room on the Sunset Strip, famously known to most as the club once owned by Johnny Depp and for seeing the passing of River Phoenix outside its doors. But there is so much more to this awesome venue.
Animals As Leaders are coming to Australia for the first time this November. The instrumental math-rock/metal trio have created quite a buzz since forming, with their impressive guitar chops being a much-talked-about aspect of their performance. Despite seemingly killing it with successful international tours, gear endorsements and being on every kid’s ‘best guitarist’ list for
Recently I interviewed Between the Buried and Me singer Tommy Giles (see here) about the band’s upcoming tour of Australia. I had put the word out to BTBAM fans to send me some of the questions they wanted answered, but unfortunately we ran out of time on the phone for me to ask all of
I tried the doof doof clubs in Berlin, I really did. And while that was an amazingly unique experience, it just doesn’t beat the live music scene I’ve been lucky enough to submerge myself in here in Berlin. BERLIN: a city too cool for the coolest hipster, a city with amazing graffiti art on every corner,
Progressive metal icons Between The Buried and Me are returning to Australia this November, following the release of their latest album The Parallax 2: Future Sequence next week. I spoke briefly to lead vocalist Tommy Giles ahead of the shows, asking about the process behind the album, life in a working band, and a few
So my travels have taken me to the Czech Republic, home to absinthe, green fairies and the most amazing little city of Prague, where I’m kicking back with the Bohemians. I have heard some ridiculously talented indie bands and buskers whilst cruising around the city. I caught super quirky Balkin busking ensemble Praguematique – ingenious
