ALEX L’ESTRANGE ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE NOTHING TO HIDE AND DEBUT EP AUCHENFLOWER
Exceptional young songwriter, producer & multi-instrumentalist Alex L’Estrange has today announced his new single Nothing To Hide, a gritty mystery of a track lifted from his debut EP, Auchenflower, both set for release on December 16. Following several vibrant singles which have gained the attention from a bunch of large tastemaker blogs including DIY (UK) and Hilly Dilly (US), L’Estrange’s debut EP Auchenflower is a clear, confident collection of songs, named for the sleepy Brisbane suburb in which they were written. L’Estrange has just finished traveling around the country supporting Holy Holy on their Darwinism national tour and will launch his EP with a hometown show at Black Bear Lodge’s Last Party Before Lockout on January 28.
Nothing To Hide is hazy, evoking a nebulous feeling of early Tame Impala, or even The Beatles of Revolver times. L’Estrange’s voice sits defiantly atop an intoxicating, guitar-driven instrumental that pulls towards the magnetic, soaring chorus. L’Estrange reflects on the track, “It was written on one of those strange days that felt more like a dream. I’d been working away at this tune, I knew it had something about it that I’d never felt before, but I didn’t find out about what that really meant until later that night. That evening, a stranger visited me at the house I was living at in Auchenflower. I ended up going back to her mansion that she lived at alone. She divulged her life story. When I finally got back home, the song made sense. It was for her.”
The video for Nothing To Hide is a delicate gem, framing the track with finesse. Directed by Corey Donaldson (Cloudfall), the clip depicts a young woman living in a lifeless world, inhabited by mannequins. Eventually conforming, she transforms into a mannequin herself, leaving the audience to wonder whether she can maintain a sense of individuality in a world where everyone looks the same. Of the clip, L’Estrange says, “It’s clear that deep within her mind there is an original voice struggling to get out, she’s questioning her environment, and trying to understand why she feels so disconnected…(Lead actor) Cecilia Griffiths’ incredible expression really created the atmosphere of the clip and brought an air of mystery to the role. She has an innocence that is both charming and devastating.”
L’Estrange has arrived at a conclusive new juncture with the upcoming release of his debut EP, Auchenflower. The thoughtful collection of songs is natural, personal; the result of years of practice, years of listening, writing, and learning. Lurching guitars thread themselves around towering choruses, while quieter moments are buoyed by oblique acoustic arrangements and introspective lyricism. For the most part, Auchenflower was self-produced, however Australian music industry veterans Matt Redlich (Holy Holy, Ball Park Music, Ainslie Wills) and Andy Aubin (MTNS) both played a part in the production of the stunning debut. Reflecting on the ideas explored on Auchenflower, L’Estrange says, “Each song tackles a different thing. Some of the themes are focused inwards and concern feelings of fleeting love. Some of them concern others around me, like troubled relationships or exciting, enigmatic people. I’m often more interested in the listener’s interpretation of a song – A song like Nothing to Hide evokes a whole range of different moods and atmospheres within different people.”
L’Estrange has been on the road with Holy Holy on their Darwinism national tour this month, wrapping up at The Triffid in Brisbane on the weekend. Excited to be on the road playing live, L’Estrange enthuses, “Playing live has shed a whole new light onto the songs. I’m lucky enough to have some of my best friends (and some of the best musicians), play on stage with me. My line up at the moment usually consists of Sam Cromack and Dean Hanson (Ball Park Music) on guitar and bass, and Zac Moynihan (Mid Ayr) on drums. We try and recreate the feeling and atmospheres of the songs in a live setting without just replicating the recordings. We change stuff up and play off the crowd. Each show is different and unique.”
Auchenflower will be out December 16
SAT JAN 28 | ‘LAST PARTY BEFORE LOCK OUT’ BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRIS | 18+ | TICKETS http://blackbearlodge.oztix.com.au/?Event=68822
RÜFÜS ANNOUNCE THE FULL BLOOM AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL TOUR
Fresh off the back of their five ARIA 2016 nominations, several laps of the globe including headline festival appearances in Australia, RÜFÜS have today announced an expansive 13 date regional tour of Australia, The Full Bloom Tour. This summer RÜFÜS will be hitting the road, stopping for shows in regional destinations previously missed during their sold out Australian tour in May this year. The Full Bloom Tour marks the one-year anniversary of their #1 gold accredited album Bloom, and will be the last chance for Australian audiences to see the band live before they take time off the touring circuit to start work on their next album.
The tour kicks off at Nightquarter on the Gold Coast on January 20, moving through Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle, Wodonga, Geelong, Margaret River, Rottnest Island, Canberra, Port Macquarie, Cairns, Townsville, and wrapping up at Magnums at Airlie Beach on February 26, 2017.
RÜFÜS are thrilled to be heading out on The Full Bloom regional tour, bringing the stellar live show to audiences that may have never witnessed the group live before. After much of 2016 being spent abroad, playing coveted slots at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Outsidelands and Red Rocks in Colorado, the band are excited to be spending summer back home in Australia, as Lindqvist enthuses, “We’ve been talking about doing a full summer tour of Australia for such a long time, but have never found the right time for it until now. Spending the Australian summer out on the road with friends playing in all these beautiful places – half of which we’ve never been to… it’s something that’s really exciting. We’ve got a healthy mix of outdoor shows in this run to try to take advantage of those summer nights.”
The Innerbloom remix pack drops this Friday, featuring the Hype Machine #1 Lane remix, as well as the festival favourite remix by What So Not. Keep an eye out for the upcoming full length video for Innerbloom, directed by long time RÜFÜS collaborator, Katzki, alongside renowned Australian artist Jack Vanzet.
RÜFÜS ‘THE FULL BLOOM’ REGIONAL TOUR
FRI 20 JAN | NIGHTQUARTER, GOLD COAST QLD | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67776 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
SAT 21 JAN | BIG PINEAPPLE FIELDS, SUNSHINE COAST QLD | 18+
www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
FRI 27 JAN | UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG GARDENS, WOLLONGONG NSW | 18+
http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/rufus/90943 | 1300 GET TIX | ALL MOSHTIX OUTLETS
SAT 28 JAN | WESTS CITY, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67780 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
FRI 03 FEB | THE CUBE, WODONGA VIC | 18+
http://sa2.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/TicketRequest?&presenter=AUWODONGA&event=H17RU | 02 6022 9311
SUN 05 FEB | GEELONG ARENA, GEELONG VIC | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67781 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
SAT 11 FEB | 3 OCEANS WINERY, MARGARET RIVER WA | 18+
http://3oceans.oztix.com.au/?Event=67777 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
SUN 12 FEB | CASTAWAY ROTTNEST ISLAND, ROTTNEST WA | 18+
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/1300514DA1AF26D8?did=promoter | 136 100 | ALL TICKETMASTER OUTLETS
FRI 17 FEB | UC REFECTORY, CANBERRA ACT | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67766 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
SUN 19 FEB | PHILLIPS LANE STREET PARTY, PORT MACQUARIE NSW | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67783 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
FRI 24 FEB | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS QLD | 15+
http://www.ticketlink.com.au/whats-on/popular-music/rufus-full-bloom-tour | 1300 855 835
SAT 25 FEB | STREET PARTY, TOWNSVILLE QLD | 18+
http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=67785 | 1300 762 545 | ALL OZTIX OUTLETS
SUN 26 FEB | MAGNUMS, AIRLIE BEACH QLD | 18+
http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/rufus-magnums/90951?offercode=brighter | 1300 GET TIX | ALL MOSHTIX OUTLETS
HOLY HOLY ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE ‘ELEVATOR’ + REVEAL NEW ALBUM DATE & TITLE, AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Currently mid-national tour, Holy Holy have today revealed details of their sophomore LP alongside the announcement of their new single, Elevator (out today). Their anticipated new album will be titled Paint, and is set for release on February 24, 2017. The release comes at a busy time for the band, who have just embarked on a massive national tour which has already seen them play packed out shows in Adelaide, Bunbury, Perth and Fremantle, with upcoming shows set to hit a sold out Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Geeling, Ballarat, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane in the coming weeks.
Buoyed by arpeggiated synths and the band’s classic driving guitar lines, a nostalgic yet contemporary feel and a chorus that will not leave your head, Elevator propels even further into exploratory territory. Vast and satisfying, with a clear, affecting narrative, Elevator is an exciting taste of Holy Holy’s enigmatic new album expected to drop in early 2017. Lead guitarist Oscar Dawson reflects on the writing process of the track, “I can’t recall how it germinated, but before we knew it we were playing this same two chords, over and over. And it built from there, like a conversation; starting softly, then bouncing around to become louder and louder… It had been caught on a phone when we were touring in Europe, and back in Australia we put it together and decided that, in fact, it is a song.”
It has been a remarkably eventful year for Holy Holy, who have been writing and recording their eagerly awaited new album featuring singles, Elevator and Darwinism in between wildly successful national and international tours. The band were hand-picked to record an intimate performance of Darwinism for the world renowned Mahogany Sessions in the UK, who have just announced their partnership with Distiller Music, with stunning results. They dropped into their Bath studios whilst on their recent European tour which saw them selling out their third London show, several shows in The Netherlands and playing packed showcases at Reeperbahn Festival in Germany.
If the critics are to be believed, now is the time to catch Holy Holy live. With Darwinism reaching the coveted #1 most played spot on Triple J, debut album When The Storms Would Come being nominated for Triffid Queensland Album of the Year 2015/16, Dawson being nominated for Guitarist of the Year at THE NATIONAL LIVE MUSIC AWARDS, the band making the Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition Longlist this year, not to mention Liam Gallagher addimg himself to their long list of supporters, they have become a band that is impossible to ignore.
In light of these achievements, lead vocalist Timothy Carroll is thrilled to be back touring in Aus, saying, “It’s great to be out on the road again – especially with a bunch of new tunes to try. We’re in the studio again in December so this a last chance to try some songs out before we get them carved in stone….or vinyl as the case may be.”
Paint is available to pre-order now. All album pre-orders will receive Darwinism and Elevator instantly.
HOLY HOLY ‘DARWINISM’ NATIONAL TOUR
Supported by I Know Leopard & Alex L’Estrange
Presented by Musicfeeds, Tiny Monster & Select Music
FRI 11 NOV | CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC **SOLD OUT**
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 724 867
SAT 12 NOV | THE WORKERS CLUB, GEELONG VIC
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SUN 13 NOV | KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT VIC
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
THU 17 NOV | CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 02 4968 3093
FRI 18 NOV | METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
SAT 19 NOV | UNI BAR – WOLLONGONG, WOLLONGONG NSW
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SUN 20 NOV | THE BASEMENT, CANBERRA ACT
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
THU 24 NOV | MIAMI MARKETTA, GOLD COAST QLD
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 25 NOV | SOLBAR, SUNSHINE COAST QLD
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 26 NOV | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD
Tickets available from www.holyholymusic.com | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
*Dream Rimmy appearing in place of I Know Leopard