EXCITING DARK POP NEWCOMER MARTIKA ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE ‘HOW DID I GET HERE’
The enigmatic Martika has today announced her debut single How Did I Get Here, a thoughtful, soulful track that explores the difficulties of chasing dreams, out March 15.
How Did I Get Here is a mellow, contemplative track, with an undeniable groove and stunning, eclectic vocals. The chorus refrain, ‘How did I get here? Am I coming, or going?’ is sung so earnestly; it’s impossible to ignore the pleading in Martika’s voice. Gentle yet driving percussion percolates underneath a constant, melodic bassline, as organ and synthesisers swirl together with unexpected and satisfying harmony. Fans of Aurora and Massive Attack will love Martika’s incisive style.
How Did I Get Here tackles the complexities of turning a passion into a career, as Martika explains, “This song explores the emotional journey of an artist; that lost feeling of being at a crossroads in life. I was unsure of which way to go. I found myself reflecting on my life and where I was, thinking that music should have brought me success at this point – and was it all worth it? It was then the decision of whether to keep on walking down the hard road, striving to make my passion a career, or to take the easy road and find stability. This song has helped me vent the frustration of what a struggling artist goes through, and has helped me find the strength to carry on.”
Martika is set to perform How Did I Get Here for a hometown crowd in Melbourne on Thursday April 11 at The Toff in Town. Thrilled to be showcasing new music as well as her exciting new single, Martika gives fans an insight into what to expect at her shows, as she says, “Audiences can expect something entertaining and amazing, yet a show that makes everyone feel equal and at home – a family. I myself love going to a show where, as an audience member, you feel like a part of a community and united, rather than fighting for a spot in a crowd.”
Martika is a natural-born performer; first discovering her passion for singing as a young child, dancing around the house to Disney soundtracks. Highly disciplined and passionate about performing, she spent most weeknights during childhood at singing lessons, piano lessons, dance classes spanning a wide variety of genres – and she even completed a degree in musical theatre upon finishing high school. Since her move to Melbourne from her country home town, Martika began gigging professionally and working alongside local label True Music (Shelley Segal, MAYA) and producer/composer Rob Upward. She spends her days in the studio, writing and growing creatively as a songwriter and artist. With so much talent to share, Martika is surely one new artist to watch.
How Did I Get Here is out March 15.
MARTIKA HOW DID I GET HERE LAUNCH SHOW
THURSDAY 11 APRIL | THE TOFF, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.thetoffintown.com
TICKETS TO MOTOR ACE A FIVE STAR REUNION TOUR SELLING FAST
After announcing their highly anticipated return to the stage in 2018, much loved Aussie band Motor Ace are just weeks away from their massive reunion tour. Celebrating 20 years since the release of their hit album Five Star Laundry, the group will kick off the epic run of shows in Adelaide at The Gov on March 29, then moving through Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and finishing up in Melbourne at the renowned venue 170 Russell with a sold out show on April 12 and a second show on April 14 – which is also close to selling out. As a special treat for fans, exclusive Motor Ace content including demos from the Five Star Laundry session archives are expected to drop on Spotify Friday March 8.
Within one month of being on sale, Five Star Laundry went gold in Australia. After that massive feat, it was months upon months of touring, performing, and making music for Motor Ace, with massive supports slots alongside Foo Fighters, Oasis and Blink-182. You couldn’t turn on a radio without coming across Motor Ace; and as sold out shows became the norm, their tracks became a mainstay on the ARIA charts. Their timely sophomore album Shoot This was released in 2002 to abundant critical acclaim. It spawned lead single Carry On that held the coveted #1 most played song on Australian airwaves for 8 weeks in a row, and Shoot This, debuting at #1 on the charts and achieving gold sales on release.
The band are thrilled to be back together to play hits and album faves from Five Star Laundry, and later albums Shoot This and Animal, for fans all across the country, as lead singer Pat Robertson says, “The tour’s shaping up well and we all left our first rehearsal in 14 years pretty surprised and excited. The tour will be heavy with tracks from the early days and first record, Five Star Laundry, so hopefully that’s good news for the punters.”
With a few rehearsals under their belt, the band are feeling confident and ready to blow fans away, as Damo enthuses, “It’s great to be in a room with my brothers. We’ve been busy working on crafting the tunes into shape and honestly now, with a bit of age and ability, we’ve come out really happy with the results. Fans will be in for a massive surprise – we played Criminal Past for the first time in 14 years and it ripped the paint off the walls! We are putting everything into this. It’s gonna be a load of fun, can’t wait to get out there and celebrate with a sense of nostalgia and share the moment with everyone.”
Motor Ace are stoked to announce that some very special, never-before-heard demos from sessions spanning the band’s entire discography coming direct to fans, too, as the band have been delving deep into the archives to find some recordings that are sure to stir up those nostaligic vibes. The 10 track collection of demos from all three of Motor Ace’s albums will drop on Spotify on March 8 “It’s really cool to listen to the initial demos and to see where they ended up on the record after it had been produced,” says Damo. “I’ve found loads of footage from ages ago from touring, as well. We are going to release some unreleased demos that we did before the records were recorded, including Shoot This demos some of which sounds better than the official recording.”
Since disbanding all those years ago, the Motor Ace boys have been up to all those regular ‘life’ things – families, kids and jobs. But for what’s set to be an amazing few weeks of shows, the band are back together just like the good old days. Fans had better get in quick, though – these tickets are moving fast.
Motor Ace is Patrick Robertson (vocals, guitar), Dave Ong (guitar), Damo Costin (drums) and Matt Balfe (bass).
Tickets to Motor Ace 20th Anniversary – A Five Star Reunion tour are on sale now.
MOTOR ACE 20th ANNIVERSARY – A FIVE STAR REUNION NATIONAL TOUR
FRI MARCH 29 | THE GOV, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92178
SAT MARCH 30 | CAPITOL, PERTH WA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92186
FRI APRIL 5 | FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/FAC19_MOTOR_ACE
SAT APRIL 6 | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92188
FRI APRIL 12 | 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ | SOLD OUT
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/motor-ace/106229?skin=747
SUN APRIL 14 | 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ SECOND SHOW – SELLING FAST
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au
BOB EVANS ANNOUNCES REGIONAL TOUR FOR MARCH 2019
After a massive 2018, which saw one of Australia’s most loved troubadours Bob Evans receiving the Best Of treatment via new album Full Circle alongside a hugely successful national tour to boot, the distinguished artist has today announced an intimate run of regional shows for March 2019. Kicking off at Narrabeen RSL in Narrabeen on March 14, the tour will head through Newcastle, Bulli, Mornington, Belgrave, and wrap up in Ballarat at Karova Lounge on March 30. On support duties will be Madeline Leman in Victoria, and Caitlin Harnett in New South Wales.
With five solo studio albums down the track, Bob Evans’ Full Circle – which also features new single Drowning – is not the traditional ‘greatest hits’ or ‘best of’, as Kevin Mitchell explains, “I like the idea of it being presented more like an introduction to my work if you had never heard of me. This would be the record for that person. So I didn’t want to just bundle the singles together or present the songs in the order they were released. Some singles didn’t make the cut, in favour of album tracks that have grown legs of their own and found some kind of special place of significance without ever necessarily being on the radio or anything… I’m proud of what I’ve managed to create.”
Fans of Bob Evans are in for a real treat with the upcoming regional shows, as Kevin enthuses, “It was always my intention to do some regional shows to celebrate the release of Full Circle. The capital city shows I played in 2018 were such a joy, but these shows are going to be a little bit different. I will be performing solo, which allows me to change the set list up a bit each night and play longer and more spontaneous sets. One thing that will carry over from the last tour however will be the song raffle, whereby everyone who enters the room will receive a raffle ticket and if your number is called out you get to request any Bob Evans song ever recorded and I will do my darndest to remember how to play it! This part of the show was pretty fun last time so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens this time around. I also can’t wait to get behind the wheel and do some long drives, listen to a bunch of music and spend time in some quality country pubs. It’s one of life’s great pleasures!”
Victoria support artist Madeline Leman has been tearing through Melbourne’s Americana scene for a number of years, singing about not only the every day experience of being a women, but also the absurdity of the gendered experience of being a woman in the music industry. NSW support Caitlin Harnett’s songs evoke Laurel Canyon of the early 70s. Combined with her guitar, banjo and harmonica, her music has the lilt of folk, a touch of pop and the honesty of Americana.
Mitchell was already under the Australian music spotlight as singer/guitarist for indie-rock-darlings Jebediah when in 1998 he found a t-shirt in a Perth op-shop with the number 15 on the back, and the name ‘Bob Evans’ printed on the front. Coincidentally at this time he was embarking on his first solo shows in Perth and a random name on someone’s discarded basketball shirt took hold. He may have grown out of the t-shirt, but the name fit and has stayed for an impressive solo career.
“This Bob Evans guy has been hitching a ride in my life for 20 years,” Mitchell laughs. “It’s an unusual relationship to have with something that isn’t real.”
BOB EVANS NATIONAL ‘FULL CIRCLE’ TOUR
THU 14 MAR | NARRABEEN RSL, NARRABEEN NSW | 18+ * WITH CAITLIN HARNETT
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 15 MAR | 48 WATT ST, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+ * WITH CAITLIN HARNETT
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlet
FRI 16 MAR | HERITAGE HOTEL, BULLI NSW | 18+ * WITH CAITLIN HARNETT
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
THU 28 MAR | THE PUBLICAN, MORNINGTON VIC | 18+ * WITH MADELINE LEMAN
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.eventbrite.com.au
FRI 29 MAR | SOOKI LOUNGE, BELGRAVE VIC | 18+ * WITH MADELINE LEMAN
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 30 MAR | KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT VIC | 18+ * WITH MADELIN LEMAN
Tickets available from www.bobevans.com.au or www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets