ISLA NOON SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘BODY’
Lush, hypnotic and brimming with alt pop whimsy, the brand new single Body from Aotearoa New Zealand artist Isla Noon is an electrifying ode to growing up from one of the scene’s most exciting up-and-comers. A dynamic addition to Isla Noon’s ever-growing repertoire, Body is also accompanied by an enigmatic music video featuring the artist herself in a potent display against a fittingly eerie locale.
A single lathered in introspection and intelligent, dense pop sensibilities, Body was originally conceived by Isla Noon in her bedroom, with its early form veering towards ballad territory. Embracing inspiration from the likes of MUNA, Caroline Polachek, Wolf Alice and Troye Sivan, the end result for Body morphed from Isla Noon’s own private musings into a song with ricocheting relatability; and following Isla Noon teaming up with friend and collaborator Maude Morris, Body soon became a robust and vibrant affirmation for self-esteem, vulnerability and the ever-complex road to growing up, as she explains, “It was when I brought the song in to produce with Maude Morris that we realised we needed to embrace the chaos. We pushed the dynamics to the limit when it became clear that the song wanted to take up a lot of space – and so we let it. Growing up, it was always very important to me to be recognised for my ideas, for my creative work, for what I had to say. As I grew into a young woman, I became uncomfortable with the sense that my physical form was preceding those things, that the way I was perceived and treated seemed to hinge on how I looked, dressed, and carried my body. At times, this body felt like a risky vehicle to be in. From such an early age we are flooded with input and commentary on what is and isn’t ok about our bodies. It’s such an overwhelming intrusion on what is really a private relationship. Writing Body was a step toward excavating some of that unwelcome noise from my own mind and extending a quiet peace offering to myself. I think of Body as reclamation of self. I put it forward in all its messy self-contradiction and intensity, in all its cautious intimacy, in all its strength and light.”
With Morris on production and engineering duties, alongside Chris van de Geer, Body’s commanding holistic experience heightens further via its accompanying music video. Directed by Oshara Ardelean, a cinematographer and director also renowned for her work with fellow Kiwi indie artist Kiki Rockwell, the visual accompaniment to Body finds Noon’s raw lyricism and clever arrangement soaring to greater heights in one of the spookiest places Auckland has to offer, as Noon reveals, “I knew from the outset that I wanted to work with a female director for this video and approached Oshara Ardelean, who had co-directed the video for my previous single I Need To Go Home, with an idea for a follow-shot style video that I had in mind for Body. We heard through the grapevine about a mysterious location – a storeroom building at the now closed, and for the most part abandoned, Kingseat Hospital. It is considered the most haunted place in Auckland, and there’s a lot of history, so it was a pretty unforgettable experience shooting the video there. The building we shot in really shaped the final storyboard, which Oshara and I wrote together. Throughout the video, I wanted to play with the idea of making the psychological space physical. The camera functions as a reflection of self that I am at first curious about and questioning, then hesitant to trust, and later fearful of and trying to outrun. The building I travel through represents a headspace, a place where I am alone with myself and that doesn’t always feel safe. Ultimately, I find a way out of this place but instead of leaving, I turn back – thinking maybe it doesn’t have to be like this, maybe I don’t have to run from myself any longer.”
Emerging in 2020 with hit tracks Summer in August, Talk About Us and I Need To Go Home, Isla Noon has swiftly established herself as a dexterous and fresh songwriter. Weaving her unique, alt pop universe, Isla Noon’s releases have been described by Rolling Stone as “glistening dance-pop perfection”, while her musical journey itself stems back to listening to Boney M’s The Rivers of Babylon every night before bed; a core memory and key inspiration for this sharp and engaging artist. Embracing pop music as a vehicle for both physical and emotional release, Isla Noon’s foundational years saw her devouring her parents’ CD collection, with Boney M, Leonard Cohen and lashings of 80s pop morphing alongside her later influences, including Caroline Polachek, Muna, Wolf Alice, Lorde and Robyn. From starting guitar lessons at the age of 10 to studying music at university, Isla Noon’s pensive and vibrant style ultimately took full flight when she harnessed her post-graduate free fall into seeking creative fulfillment and breaking down her own walls as an artist and as a human. Thus, Islan Noon the artist truly arrived.
An avid lover of science and pop, Isla Noon’s carefully-crafted and crystal clear creations, alongside her seamless ongoing collaboration with producer Maude Morris, is now set to build towards a groundbreaking album on the horizon; and for Isla Noon, the continued transition from her solitary creating to sharing her creations with the world is one she is entirely ready for, with Body marking the perfect perpetuation of her incredible journey to date, as she concludes, “Writing Body was such a private experience but when I finished it I realised I just couldn’t leave it there. Almost like the song was saying “hey, I’ve turned into something so much bigger than just you! Release me!”. Playing early versions of it to friends, I realised very quickly that it took on a lot of varied meaning for different people. In that sense it feels like the song is already charting its own course in other lives beyond mine.”
Body is out today, Friday September 22.
PORTER ROBINSON ANNOUNCES NURTURE LIVE AUSTRALIA TOUR FOR NOVEMBER
Acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and producer Porter Robinson has announced details of his first Australian tour in over 6 years. The tour celebrates his critically acclaimed album Nurture, and will take place in November, with stops in Sydney and Melbourne – see full dates below. The Nurture Live show features Porter singing and playing the piano and an array of digital instruments, accompanied by a stunning, carefully crafted visual production.
Performing at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on 6 November and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on 10 November, the shows will step into a world where music becomes an ethereal experience.
Artist pre-sale tickets will kick off on Tuesday 25 July at 11am AEST, with a What’s Lively pre-sale beginning on Wednesday 26 July at 10am AEST, and a TEG LIVE / Ticketek / Venue pre-sale beginning Thursday 27 July at 10am AEST. General public ticket on-sale is set for Friday 28 July at 10am AEST from premier.ticketek.com.au.
Supporting Porter Robinson is DJ and producer jamesjamesjames.
Also on the schedule for the Australian tour are performances on the This That festival stage in Sandstone Point and Newcastle.
TEG Group CEO Geoff Jones said: “TEG is delighted to bring genre defying producer and songwriter Porter Robinson to Australia this November. Porter’s Nurture Live tour has been impressing fans across the globe, which included a main stage Coachella set at this year’s festival. We are incredibly excited to be bringing this show to his Australians fans – they are in for a treat.”
Porter Robinson has expanded the universe of electronic music for over a decade. In April 2021, Robinson brought Nurture, his first album in seven years, to life. Nurture was a commercial hit, topping the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and marking Robinson’s second number one debut after 2014’s genre-defining Worlds. Robinson’s own festival, Second Sky, welcomed a sold-out crowd of 45,000 fans to the Oakland Arena Grounds in the fall of 2021, followed by ‘The Nurture Live Tour 2021’ spanning 38 dates across the United States. The Australian tour follows on from sold out UK, EU and Asian tour dates.
He has over one billion streams across his catalogue and over one million YouTube subscribers. His most recent single, ‘Everything Goes On’, in collaboration with Riot Games and League of Legends, has amassed over 40 million streams and charted in 18 countries on iTunes.
General public tickets will go on-sale Friday 28 July at 10am AEST from premier.ticketek.com.au.
LIVE DATES
SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER | THIS THAT FESTIVAL, SANDSTONE POINT, QLD
MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER (Melbourne Cup Eve) | MARGARET COURT ARENA, MELBOURNE VIC | AA | TICKETS
FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER | HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY NSW | 18+ | TICKETS
SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER | THIS THAT FESTIVAL, NEWCASTLE, NSW
NIALL HORAN – ‘THE SHOW’ LIVE ON TOUR COMING TO AUSTRALIA NEXT APRIL & MAY + THIRD STUDIO ALBUM THE SHOW OUT GLOBALLY ON 9 JUNE
Chart-topping, global superstar Niall Horan has today announced that he will be bringing ‘THE SHOW’ LIVE ON TOUR to Australia in April and May 2024 to celebrate the release of his upcoming third studio album, The Show. Presented by TEG Live and Nova Entertainment, the Australian shows will kick off on 28 April at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, before heading to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on 1 May and wrapping up in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena on 3 May. This will be Niall’s second headline tour of Australia since his Flicker world tour in 2018.
Tickets to ‘THE SHOW’ LIVE ON TOUR will go on sale to the general public at 10.00am (local time) on Friday 2 June from www.ticketek.com.au.
Australian fans who pre-order The Show directly from Niall Horan’s official store by 5:00pm (local) on Monday 29 May will receive an exclusive ticket presale link for his Australian shows. This album pre-sale will commence at 10:00am (local) on Tuesday 30 May. The Show is set for release on 9 June and is available to pre-order here: https://uma.lnk.to/NiallHoranTheShow.
Thrilled to be including Australia on his worldwide tour, Niall says, “I have said it many times, but I do mean it when I say that the times I have spent down under are some of the best periods of my life… I have had amazing shows in Australia and New Zealand, and I cannot wait to be back in 2024. My favourite thing in the world is being on tour. Performing my songs for my fans and sharing those incredible moments together are the reason why I write music in the first place. This is going to be my best tour yet and I cannot wait to see all you ‘lovers’ in 2024.”
A deeply felt meditation on everything from mental health to the infinite complexity and uncertainty of love, The Show is an endlessly spellbinding statement on following your heart to its absolute truth. As he gears up to share his most personal material yet in a truly extraordinary career, Horan is particularly eager to return to the stage.
“There’s nothing better than watching the crowd sing back to you with all that emotion on their faces and knowing that they’re attaching the song to something meaningful in their own lives,” says Niall Horan. “To me, that’s always the greatest thing that can ever come from songwriting.”
TEG CEO Geoff Jones says, “TEG is delighted to be bringing Niall Horan out to Australia and New Zealand in 2024. We know his fans have been waiting since 2018 for these shows, and we’re thrilled that it’s finally coming to life. Niall is a masterclass entertainer with incredible stage presence, so there’s no doubt this tour will include many magic moments for fans.”
Originally from Mullingar, Ireland, Horan has sold over 80 million records and toured the globe multiple times as part of the iconic One Direction. His full-length solo debut Flicker entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in October 2017 and contained the 8 x ARIA Platinum single Slow Hands and 4 x ARIA Platinum This Town. The album hit the top 10 in 20 countries total and charted #2 on the Australian ARIA charts. With combined global streams surpassing eight billion, Flicker has gone Platinum in five countries (including the U.S.) and Gold in additional seven countries. Heartbreak Weather followed in 2020 and topped the UK’s Official Albums chart and Billboard’s Top Album Sales tally and came in at #2 on the ARIA charts.
The album The Show will feature the already released singles Heaven and Meltdown. Across Australia and New Zealand, both singles are soaring with over 6.8 million combined streams across all platforms.
Pre-order The Show album from HERE prior to 5:00pm (local time) on Monday 29 May to access the Tour Presale from 10:00am (local) on Tuesday 30 May.
General Public ticket On-Sale at 10:00am (local time) on Friday 2 June at https://bit.ly/NH-AUS24
NIALL HORAN ‘THE SHOW’ LIVE ON TOUR 2024
SUN 28 APRIL | BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE QLD | ALL AGES | https://bit.ly/NH-AUS24
WED 1 MAY | QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY NSW | ALL AGES | https://bit.ly/NH-AUS24
FRI 3 MAY | ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE VIC | ALL AGES | https://bit.ly/NH-AUS24