RUNAWAY BELLES DROP EXQUISITE NEW SINGLE ‘THE WEEKEND’
Tasmanian indie folk pop duo Runaway Belles have today released their debut single The Weekend, a story of a love that is never set to last. Featuring the exquisite voices of Tash Parker and Emma Anglesey, the duo are also housemates which is convenient in these isolation times. To celebrate their first release, the girls have announced a Facebook livestream set for 8pm every Monday in May.
Breathtakingly stunning vocals and flawless harmonies dominate The Weekend, as the girls’ voices unite as one – even their own mothers cannot tell who’s singing. “This song is about that person who you can’t help but be in love with despite knowing it’s never going to work out in the end,” explains Tash. Self-produced with the help of Lachlan Carrick (Sia, Lior), Becki Whitton (Tash Sultana, Huntly) and Josh Barber (Gretta Ray), The Weekend is a timeless and catchy folk pop track. The piano, cello and guitars were recorded in Wally DeBacker’s (AKA Gotye) studio just outside of Melbourne and the vocals were recorded in an 1800s bluestone cottage on the edge of Tasmania’s wilderness. “When we recorded this song we imagined we were sitting around a campfire in a forest with a guitar telling the story. We wanted to capture that intimacy in the verses. In contrast, in the choruses we imagined our voices and music carrying out into the expansive night sky and beautiful surrounding mountains – much like a weekend camping trip where you can forget about the troubles of the week,” says Emma, “and with everything that’s going on in the world right now it feels like a good time to be sharing new music and connecting with people.”
Best friends and having lived together for the last two years, the storytelling duo have been writing music and performing together for over 6 years. Through word of mouth and without ever releasing a recording, Tash and Emma have been invited to mesmerise audiences at Dark Mofo, The Woodford Planting Festival, A festival called Panama, Festival of Voices and Party In The Paddock. They have also supported Katie Noonan, The East Pointers and Liz Stringer along the way. Due to the overwhelming support from their community and fans, in 2018 the girls decided to record their original songs and launch their act as Runaway Belles.
Thrilled to still be able to write and perform together during isolation lockdown, Emma explains, “We live in a country town in Tasmania which means we’ve been iso buddies and can play live together in the same room for this livestream.” “We’re going to play 4-5 songs per stream which will give us some time to chat and share stories while not frying people’s eyeballs from looking at the screen for too long,” adds Tash. And creating and innovating during isolation is exactly what the duo have been busy working on, aside from writing a heap of new material, the girls even organised their press photoshoot to be done over Skype with Melbourne-based photographer re._stacks.
Runaway Belles is Tash Parker and Emma Anglesey.
The Weekend is out today, May 1, and is the first of three singles set to be released in 2020 by Runaway Belles, funded by Arts Tasmania.
RUNAWAY BELLES // LIVE STREAMED SHOWS // ALL MONDAYS IN MAY
MONDAY MAY 4, 11, 18 & 25 | FACEBOOK – LIVE STREAM | 8PM | ALL AGES | FREE
NYC’S ELECTRO WUNDERKIND MINDCHATTER DROPS NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO SCARED TO GO HOME
NYC’s experimental electro maven, Mindchatter has released the entrancing video clip for his daring new single, Scared To Go Home.
Thought provoking, vulnerable and oozing effortless cool, Scared To Go Home bends genres and will lure listeners in with an intoxicating, chilled magnetism – an exciting release for fans of Jamie XX, LCD Soundsystem and Bonobo. “Scared To Go Home is about how lonely nightlife can feel,” explains Mindchatter. “It was inspired by a night out in NYC at a trendy club with way too many people in it. Trying to connect with others through alcohol, strobe lights and aggressive music can be incredibly depressing at times. I’ve always wanted to capture that feeling because I think it’s one we’ve all felt but rarely talk about.”
Innovative and meticulous when it comes to his craft, Mindchatter, also known as Bryce Connolly, says he was unsure how fans would react to the song. “The track is quite different from what’s out and it’s more in the hip-hop/pop lane than I ever imagined myself in, but it’s exciting for me to be in uncharted territory.” And he needn’t have any concern, as fans and industry are already lapping up this exciting new artist, and Scared To Go Home has already been added to a bunch of huge global playlists including Spotify’s NMF and Chill Tracks, Amazon’s Introducing Electronic and even made the cover of Tidal’s Rising Electronic.
Created by digital artist Kay, the Roman-Greco-meets-Bauhaus inspired visualiser is sure to mesmerise all that press play, and perfectly complements the track, celebrating Mindchatter’s unique and deeply considered nature. “The video consists of looping animations meant to capture the message of the lyrics in an abstract way. One scene takes you through an endless room with figures dancing by themselves on walls and ceilings to convey a feeling of being trapped in a nightclub. There’s also a lot of Roman statue imagery which is an extension of a visual motif I use in my release artwork and my stage graphics.”
Fortunately the recent Covid19 uncertainty isn’t affecting Mindchatter, and 2020 is set to be a bumper year with the singer / songwriter / producer still set to drop his debut album in a few months’ time. “I’m used to spending a lot of time alone and inside, so my day to day hasn’t changed as much as most people, and I haven’t noticed much of an impact on my music yet. My creativity and rate at which I finish songs is always in flux because I’m constantly experimenting,” insights Mindchatter.
Scared To Go Home is out now through Mind Of A Genius Records, the Los Angeles based label that launched the careers of Zhu, Gallant, THEY., Karnaval Blues, and Klangstof – all globally acclaimed, genre-redefining artists.
DIP ROAD DOGS DROP NEW SINGLE ‘LAZY’ AHEAD OF FORTHCOMING EP ‘SHAKSHUKA’
Reemerging from that dusty dirt track deep in the Mallee are the Dip Road Dogs, who have today dropped their dreamy new single, Lazy, a comforting, hypnotic journey into Americana. Lazy is the third taste of their new EP, Shakshuka that is set for release on May 21.
Dip Road Dogs are back with some of their finest music to date. Lazy is exquisite Americana folk rock from the fun loving Aussie country boys. For fans of The National and The Church, haunting cello, and mesmerising, deep vocals will entice the listener, but it’s the unassuming emotional force that will sock you right in the feels and keep you coming back for more. Contrastingly, Lazy is a song about a relationship where one partner is not pulling their weight with the household chores and the other becomes fed up with this behaviour and finally leaves for greener pastures. “It’s a warning to everyone to make sure you mow the lawns and do the dishes or you will end up alone!” Jests lead singer and songwriter Dave Chirnside.
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee between The Amber Sound Studio, The Secret Genius Studio and producer Josh Frigo’s home studio, and mastered by John Davis (The Killers, Gorillaz, Royal Blood, The XX) at Metropolis Studios in London, the EP is a real mixed bag, with all six tracks working as a commendable package that showcases the band’s diversity and capability. “The EP title Shakshuka is a very apt analogy for the EP as it is a delicious tomato-based dish that can be served at dinner or breakfast and you can throw nearly anything in to make it work. Our EP is a collection of old and new ideas that have created quite a variety of genres and sounds, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag but we think the songs gel well together,” explains Chirnside. “Once we had recorded the demos we got in touch with Josh Frigo in Nashville and set a date in June 2019 to head over and start recording. Josh’s time was very tight between touring so I locked in the dates without asking Matt, Ollie and Jack – better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Jack had been travelling around Australia and was in Rockhampton when I called him to ask if he would come and record in Nashville, he had to put his trip around Australia on hold, but there wasn’t a whole lot of objection!”
Dip Road Dogs are a group of friends who once shared a house on Dip Road in the Mallee – now living miles apart from each other all around regional Victoria, they are one of the few bands that haven’t been hugely affected by these bizarre Covid19 times. “We have been practicing isolation all our lives, so we feel we are well placed in these interesting times. There are a lot of challenges living so far away from each when it comes to live touring, but it doesn’t affect our writing, as long as our internet doesn’t cut out! And we have a studio in Appin where we can put our collective ideas together – demos for the next release are well underway.”
Dip Road Dogs is Jack Pay, Dave Chirnside, Oliver Close and Matthew Close.
Lazy is out now and Shakshuka will be released on May 21.