DREAM DALI ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO LITTLE LIGHTS + LIBRARY GROUP RECORDS BIGSOUND PARTY SHOW @ GREASER BAR, SEPTEMBER 4
Enimagtic surrealists Dream Dali have today announced their new single Little Lights, a reverberous, tumbling trip into darkwave, set for release tomorrow. To accompany the track, the group, comprising of three mysterious musicians whose collective experience has seen them gracing hallowed stages at Coachella, Primavera, SXSW and more, have also announced a spectacular video, constructed from dada footage by the group and synced perfectly to the music as a harmonious sound and surreal visual experience. To celebrate the release, Dream Dali will be performing their first Brisbane show in the throes of BIGSOUND 2019 at the Library Group Records BIGSOUND party at Greaser Bar on September 4.
Little Lights feels simultaneously nostaligic, nodding to The Cure and The Doors, while also undeniably modern, evoking a darker version of Tame Impala and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Hypnotic, trance-like and moody, Little Lights is driving, soaked with defined vocal melodies and a dark, melancholic feel, as lead vocalist Aldous Emerson explains, “Little Lights comes from a personal experience in dealing with a challenging and dark time with a relationship. Lots of allegedly supernatural things were happening that caused a lot of issues with anxiety and trauma, but I always had hope. The Little Lights are the hope.”
The clip for Little Lights pays homage to the groups’ namesake Salvador Dali, with its use of found Dadaist clips to reflect the eerie, supernatural vibe of the song. The flashing lights and spooky, strange, out-of-context footage work seamlessly with the music and complement the mood perfectly, as Aldous says, “The dada footage seemed to work well with the song’s theme and Dream Dali’s aesthetic. We like how surrealism explores subconscious thought and deep emotions that can sometimes seem dark, but when looking into them can actually cause healing, especially with the expression of art and music. We gather and create a lot of the black and white surrealist art and visuals that you can see at our shows. We have synchronized footage and lights to try to create an atmosphere and feeling.”
No strangers to the stage, Dream Dali have some impressive runs on the board as individual musicians, playing for artists such as Vera Blue, Daniel Johns, Kite String Tangle and Miami Horror, and supporting the likes of Phoenix, Washed Out and Empire of the Sun. Their upcoming show at Greaser Bar on September 4 for the Library Group Records BIGSOUND party is set to be a transcendent experience for all the senses, as Aldous describes, “For this show we will have our synchronised black and white surreal footage and lights, along with a set of dreamy, but energetic songs. We hope to take you on a journey to a cave to see your spirit animal.”
Little Lights is out August 30.
Dream Dali is Aldous Emerson (lead vocals and guitar), Rene Huxley (key bass and keys) and William Hobbes (drums).
DREAM DALI BIGSOUND 2019 SHOWCASE
WED 4 SEPT | LIBRARY GROUP RECORDS BIGSOUND PARTY @ GREASER BAR, BRIS | 18+
LONTALIUS SHARES NEW SINGLE ‘SWIM’ AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM ‘ALL I HAVE’ – SET FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 4 + NATIONAL TOUR SUPPORTING JAPANESE WALLPAPER IN OCTOBER & NOVEMBER
Enigmatic NZ electronic artist Lontalius, also known as Eddie Johnston, has today announced his glowing new single Swim, a comforting, honest track about accepting the ups and downs of life, out now. Swim is also accompanied by a stunning clip, made in collaboration with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (Pacific Heights, Whim, Weird Together). The prolific young artist has also announced his new album, All I Have, set for release on October 4. Lontalius will be joining Japanese Wallpaper on the road for his first ever Australian shows in October and November this year, kicking off at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on October 25, then moving through Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and wrapping up in Brisbane at The Brightside on November 9.
Swim is an endearing track, seemingly buoyed by pessimism and optimism at the same time. Reminiscent of indie pop giants The 1975 and Troye Sivan, Swim is driven by a pounding beat and intricate guitar lines (not to mention a killer solo towards the end) while Lontalius’ idiosyncratic vocal floats above it all. Speaking on the inspiration behind the track, Lontalius says, “Swim is about the acceptance that with all the heartbreak, anxiety and stress of being young, the universe is still leading you on the right path. You can have everything seemingly perfectly lined up in front of you, but sometimes it just won’t work out… it’s a song that i’m really proud of. It hit a lot of marks I had been trying to hit for the past few years. It’s energetic and it has a pace to it that I haven’t done before, all the while still living in the ‘lontalius’ world, I think.”
The clip for Swim zooms in on the self-reflection in the song in a figurative and literal sense. Lontalius sings alone, in the gorgeous Wellington wilderness, looking deep into a mirror suspended in mid-air. The clip is beautiful, dreamy; an appropriate visual representation of Swim, as Lontalius explains, “The video follows me singing the song into a mirror, walking along various locations in my home Wellington, NZ. With the song mostly being a dialogue with my own brain – a moment of self reflection, it made sense for me to sing it back to myself. This clip was a culmination of a few ideas we’d had in our minds for a while. The picturesque NZ landscape never fails to contrast the emotion in my music…I made it with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. They’ve done all of my videos as well as a number of other NZ artists. We tend to have similar ideas around what will work, I’m not sure if I could work with anyone else.”
If Lontalius’ debut LP I’ll Forget 17 was a snapshot of his life as a teenager, All I Have documents the period in life when he was exiting adolescence and entering adulthood. Outgrowing one era but not yet ready, perhaps, for another. With a characteristic melancholic, yet beautiful temperment, paired with wistful synthesisers and soft, gentle guitar, All I Have is a superb collection of songs from this impressive artist. Working in LA alongside Grammy award winning producer Om’Mas Keith (Frank Ocean, John Legend, Jay Z), Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, Modest Mouse), Roy Blair (Kevin Abstract) and Mr Hudson (Kanye West), Lontalius dove deep into a varied array of infuences for this second album, drawing inspiration from the artists he grew up listening to, such as U2 (circa Joshua Tree), REM, and Coldplay, alongside modern pop auters Kacey Musgraves and Lorde. Reflecting on the album, Lontalius enthuses, “The main themes on All I Have are love, youth and anxiety. I started writing it at 18 so it basically follows my own experiences with love, being away from home, new pressures and pleasures, as well as that general feeling of ‘coming of age’. Just trying to make sense of it all… It was my intention to add a little more energy and life into my music than I had done before. I had built up energy and I wanted to let it out! It was also important to me that it didn’t end up being a bloated, 20 song thing. I wanted to be able to grab it all with one hand.”
Lontalius will be playing his first Australian shows ever in October and November this year supporting Japanese Wallpaper on his Glow national tour. Thrilled to be hitting the road for what is set to be a beautiful, immersive experience for audiences, Lontalius says, “I’m really happy I’m finally making it to Australia! I’m doing solo sets, playing new and older music from even my soundcloud days. Trying to create a sound that people can get lost in for 30 minutes or so.”
Swim is out now. All I Have is set for release on October 4.
LONTALIUS NATIONAL TOUR (SUPPORTING JAPANESE WALLPAPER)
FRI OCT 25 | CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC| 18+
SAT OCT 26 | SEWING ROOM, PERTH WA | 18+
FRI NOV 1 | LION ARTS FACTORY, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
FRI NOV 8 | OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY NSW| 18+
SAT NOV 9 | THE BRIGHTSIDE, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
SPIDERBAIT ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE SHOW SPIDERBAIT – THE SINGLES AT FORUM MELBOURNE ON NOVEMBER 9 + SINGLES VINYL BOX SET
To celebrate their hit-laden career, legendary Aussie rockers Spiderbait have today announced a one-off show at Forum Melbourne on November 9, with tickets going on sale at 9am Thursday July 11. And another exciting announcement for long-time fans – the show will be paired with a brand new, limited edition 7” vinyl box set of singles, SPIDERBAIT – SINGLES and will be available exclusively at the show.
The story of Spiderbait is an unlikely but heartwarming one – three friends from a small Australian country town taking on the music scene, and emerging triumphantly 25 years later, friendship intact, and now one of the biggest and best rock bands on the national landscape. Taking inspiration from far-reaching influences from all sides of the musical spectrum (everything from Slayer to The Bangles), Spiderbait took their fervent thrash-pop from their tiny hometown of Finley in NSW down to Melbourne and immersed themselves in the rich, fertile creative scene. From there they quickly consolidated their status as national treasures, with their popularity spanning three decades with no signs of abating. Spiderbait have released seven acclaimed albums, which have all racked up gold, platinum or double platinum status and have combined Australian sales of over one million units. As if that wasn’t enough, they have also racked up pretty much every accolade there is to achieve on the Australian scene, having taken home numerous ARIA Awards, chalked up a number one single (their 2004 cover of Leadbelly’s Black Betty) and even topped the prestigious triple j Hottest 100 (for Buy Me A Pony, 1996).
The upcoming show at Forum Melbourne is sure to please old and new fans alike, as drummer and vocalist Kram enthuses, “For the first time we’ll be performing every one of singles in order of release, from Circle K way back in 1990 to now. It’s been great to look back at all these singles, from number 1s like Black Betty and Buy Me a Pony… to my personal faves like Calypso , Stevie and It’s Beautiful….
They are like a diary of our lives bringing back memories from all time we’ve been playing together. The same three country kids who formed a band for fun and ended up having this fucked up, brilliant, unexpected adventure…so to all our fans, come celebrate with us at the Forum in November, it will be a special night.”
Thrilled to be dropping the SPIDERBAIT – SINGLES 7” vinyl box set in conjunction with the show, complete with original mixes & artwork, Kram explains why they chose to add an unexpected song into the mix, saying, “We included Old Man Sam from 1991 – which wasn’t actually a single back then but might as well have been, as weirdly and wonderfully it became our first big hit song! I’ll never forget the first time we played the song at Big Day Out in Sydney. This was a big moment for us as we went on stage a bit nervous, it was a massive crowd of thousands at the Sydney Show Grounds and when we did Old Man Sam, the whole crowd sang it and went nuts. That day we came off stage a very different band than the one that went on 45 minutes before. It’s amazing and dare I say fucking awesome how one song can do that.”
Spiderbait are a very special Australian band with an abundance of fans across multiple generations and this exclusive show at the Forum Melbourne will be a victory lap for the group, and they’re excited to be taking all their fans along for the ride.
Tickets to Forum Melbourne will go on sale at 9am on Thursday July 11 from https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/130056D9ABB97BB0
SPIDERBAIT – SINGLES vinyl box set will be available to preorder as a ticket & vinyl bundle, and will be available for purchase at the show.
Spiderbait is Janet English on bass, Kram on drums and lead vocals, and Damian Whitty on guitar.
SPIDERBAIT – THE SINGLES EXCLUSIVE SHOW
Presented by Triple M Melbourne
SAT 9 NOV | THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au | 13 61 00 | All Ticketmaster outlets
SPIDERBAIT – SINGLES VINYL BOX SET TRACKLIST
1. Old Man Sam / Circle K
2. Monty / Jesus
3. Buy Me A Pony / Calypso
4. Glokenpop / Shazam
5. Black Betty / Fucken Awesome
6. It’s Beautiful/ Straight Thru the Sun