LT ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘ROLLERCOASTER’
Renowned as one of Queensland’s hardest working independent artists, enigmatic pop dreamweaver LT returns in joyful and theatrical fashion via her brand new single Rollercoaster out today. Also armed with a hard-hitting accompanying music video, Rollercoaster is a shimmering blast of polished dreamy pop with stirring thematics that you’ll fall in love with over and over again.
Helmed by LT’s vibrant vocals and an effervescent sonic coating, Rollercoaster deals in bouncy beats, shimmering strings and swooning harmonies. A fun, deep and explosive outing, Rollercoaster brings together LT with an all-star team, including co-writing and producing courtesy via Joel Quartermain and Edwin White, mixing by Tony Buchen, and mastering by Leon Zervos. Drawing from a variety of personal influences in the writing process, Rollercoaster may, on its surface, present as a bright and bubbly pop gem, but this utter earworm also comes brandishing significantly personal and hard-hitting thematics, as LT explains, “Rollercoaster is about caring for someone who battles with bipolar disorder. It’s about navigating through sleepless nights and uncontrollable highs, and keeping afloat during days of slumber and sweeping lows. It’s about love, perseverance, and riding that rollercoaster until you next see light.”
The music video for Rollercoaster painstakingly and respectfully reflects the mental health undertones of the accompanying single, with LT working alongside Brendan Shoenmaker, an emerging Brisbane creator, to bring the captivating clip to life. Featuring dancers and actors Katie Woods and Ellie Bankowski front-and-centre in a modern twist on vintage arthouse cinema, and filmed at Smoke Creative in Brisbane, the video for Rollercoaster showcases duality in its many forms, presented in realistic yet optimistic fashion. Marrying the many modes of mental health, manic depression, love and perseverance with a sharp, circular spotlight alongside the glimmering track itself, the clip elegantly embodies darker thematics while also paying visual homage to a filmmaking great, as LT elaborates, “Due to the sensitive subject matter of Rollercoaster, it was really important we created something beautiful that in no way added to the stigma that people battling mental health issues can experience. Brendan used inspiration from filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s persona, creating a film depicting inner duality. The story demonstrates a study of yin and yang told through the cat and mouse relationship of two dancers, representing not just the duality of bipolar but the togetherness of the relationship as well as a healthy dose of self-love. It explores the relationship of duality from a perspective of absence and presence, with the dance built around two characters slipping in and out of each other’s space. It is the tug of war between these moments that we wanted to showcase along with connection, endurance and the will to push on through.”
No stranger to the Aussie musical landscape, LT has continually charmed with her refreshing take on the indie, pop and electronic realms. With her previous single Hold Ya appearing as Song You Need To Know on Rolling Stone Australia in 2021, LT is also a multi-award winning powerhouse, with three Queensland Music Award wins under her belt as well as taking out 2018’s Carol Lloyd Award. Proudly flying the flag for her hometown in Cairns, LT has also snagged international acclaim, with her track How Would It Feel picked up on BBC Radio in the UK as well as being remixed by London artist JHustl3 earlier this year. And while her releases continue to delight and enamour at every turn, creating new music is LT’s ultimate happy place, with 2022 offering a renewed chance to continue her passion and deliver some new tunes along the way, as LT concludes, ‘My favourite thing to do in the world is to write and record music, so I feel very fortunate that I still have the opportunity to release new work after such a tricky time. Happy days!”.
Rollercoaster is out today, Wednesday July 20.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT SHARE NEW SINGLE VISITING HOURS ANNOUNCE RELEASE DATE FOR NEW ALBUM IV FOR SEPTEMBER 2 SELL OUT MELBOURNE + ADD SECOND MELBOURNE SHOW TO NATIONAL TOUR
Fusing smouldering intensity with existential exploration, the latest track Visiting Hours from Aussie rock legends The Butterfly Effect continues the quartet’s passionate journey towards the release of their long-awaited fourth studio album: the aptly titled IV, with the official release date today unveiled to be September 2. An emphatic anthem that harks back to earlier Butters territory while staunchly showcasing the group’s ongoing evolution, Visiting Hours is another triumphant peek into the brand new LP that will arrive 14 years after its predecessor, 2008’s The Final Conversation of Kings.
With a stacked national tour also on the cards from late September into October, the band’s first full tour since 2019, fans can catch old and new favourite tunes across the country, with Ben Hall, Clint Boge, Glenn Esmond and Kurt Goedhart, aka The Butterfly Effect, bringing local heavies Thornhill and Caligula’s Horse along for the ride, kicking off in Cairns at Tanks Art Centre on September 30 before hitting Townsville, Mackay, Toowoomba, Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide before bringing proceedings to a close in Fremantle on October 16. And for fans in Melbourne who missed out on tickets to the sold out October 14 show at Northcote Theatre, The Butterfly Effect have also confirmed a second Melbourne show at Northcote Theatre set for October 13. For tickets and information, head to www.thebutterflyeffectband.com.au.
Visiting Hours unfurls with haunting guitar work courtesy of axe-man Kurt before steadily building a world of melodic beauty and oscillating beats around frontman Clint’s raw yet intimate vocals. A dark, brooding and, ultimately, optimistic outing that draws inspiration from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Tori Amos and Kate Bush, Visiting Hours showcases an assured and steady technicality from the Brisbane quartet, with the occasional heavier textures signposting the band’s rockstar status alongside sparser moments juxtaposing previous riff-heavy singles like Nil By Mouth and So Tired. An instant and unmistakable The Butterfly Effect opus, Visiting Hours holds a special place for the band while lyrically traversing life and the human condition, as Clint explains, “It feels amazing as always to be releasing new music and I really think this song is one of our best. To me it is about our eternal search for meaning and worth. It’s about the human condition and an existential crisis that faces us all, but at the same time as asking questions it has an undertone of hope and I hope that resonates with everyone that listens to it.” Echoing Clint’s sentiments, bass player Glenn shares, “This is probably my favourite of the new songs. I’ve loved this tune ever since we first demoed it back in 2009. I’m so excited that everyone’s going to finally get a chance to hear it. All of us in the band have acutely felt the passing of time, and I think Clint’s words reflect this. Our time here, as people and as artists, is very fleeting. Life is delicately impermanent and we’re never guaranteed a second chance.”
Following a chance meeting at a gig back in 2017 between Kurt and Clint, absence had entirely made the heart grow fonder following Clint’s departure from the band in 2012 and the ultimate disbanding of The Butterfly Effect announced back in 2016. And from fortuitous meetings to reuniting the original lineup back in 2018, The Butterfly Effect soon set their sights on album #4, bringing in the likes of Forrester Savell, Nick DiDia, Matt Bartlem, Clint Vincent, Luke Palmer and Stuart Stuart to bring various pieces of the new release to life; and the end result for IV is nothing short of electrifying. Journeying through love and hate, gains and losses, highs and lows, life and death and beyond, IV burrows into themes of dreams and the realities of the dichotomies of life, as well as the variables we all face on a daily basis. Opening with hazy, brooding intensity via title track IV, the broader IV album brushes with soaring melodics (Dark Light), crushing textures (The Other Side), searing riffage (Nil By Mouth) and a horde of inspiration from the likes of Faith No More, Gojira, Jeff Buckley and Deftones. Showcasing The Butterfly Effect at their most elegantly ferocious and focused to date, there’s significant balance throughout IV between show-stopping rock and riffing roar alongside significantly hard-hitting thematics, as Glenn elaborates, “It feels like there’s lots of contemplation of death and rebirth. Disconnection and then reconnection. The temporary nature of time, the passing of dreams, getting older, dealing with change, finding new meaning in life. All of these are completely understandable when you consider the history of the band over the last 10 years and where we all find ourselves as we get older”.
A band significantly well-versed in writing, recording and life on the road, The Butterfly Effect remain one of the all-time Australian greats of their generation, from their critically-acclaimed previous releases to their voracious live shows, both at home and abroad. And while the upcoming new album may be arriving at a very different stage of life, both for the band personally and their legion of lifelong fans, IV is a textbook example of expecting the unexpected, offering a chance for a collection of songs to finally leap into the world alongside freshly written material, as Clint shares, “I am so happy we got here to this point in time. Some of these songs were written straight after Final Conversation of Kings and would have been on the next album had we stayed together. So for these songs to see the light of day and for us to be able to present them to all who wish to listen is a huge privilege and a moment I won’t forget.”
Fans can look forward to a healthy mix of new Butters tunes alongside plenty of fan favourites when The Butterfly Effect take to stages to celebrate IV later this year, and the band themselves couldn’t be more excited to make their way around Australia armed with their brand new album. Of the upcoming shows, Clint says, “I’m excited about all the shows from the smaller stages in the north where it’s up close and super personal to the bigger stages and bigger rooms down south, it’s going to be great getting back out there”. And while fans are already ecstatic about the impending tour, with the original Melbourne date already sold out and a second one jumping in for good measure, the band can’t wait to hit the road, as Glenn concludes, “I’m most excited about playing fantastic new songs. The familiar faces of fans that have been supporting us for so long. The camaraderie with the crew and the other guys in the band. Life can be pretty busy, and the opportunities to socialise and hang out seem to get fewer as we get older. Beers, shit talk, fried food from the servo, I am going to enjoy every moment”.
Tickets for The Butterfly Effect’s upcoming national tour are on sale now from www.thebutterflyeffectband.com.au.
Visiting Hours is out today, Friday July 15.
IV is set for release on September 2.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT – IV 2022 TOUR:
with guests Thornhill & Caligula’s Horse
Tickets available from: www.thebutterflyeffectband.com.au
FRI 30 SEPT | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS, QLD | 18+
SAT 1 OCT | MANSFIELD HOTEL, TOWNSVILLE, QLD | 18+
SUN 2 OCT | HARRUP PARK, MACKAY, QLD | 18+
THUR 6 OCT | BLANK SPACE, TOOWOOMBA, QLD | 18+
FRI 7 OCT | EATONS HILL HOTEL, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
SAT 8 OCT | UNSW ROUNDHOUSE, SYDNEY, NSW | 18+
SUN 9 OCT | HOBART UNI BAR, HOBART, TAS | 18+
THUR 13 OCT | NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC | 18+ *NEW SHOW*
FRI 14 OCT | NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC | 18+ *SOLD OUT*
SUN 15 OCT | HINDLEY ST MUSIC HALL, ADELAIDE, SA | 18+
SUN 16 OCT | METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE, WA | 18+
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT – IV – Tracklisting
IV
Dark Light
So Tired
The Other Side
Wave of Tides
Unbroken
Nil By Mouth
Great Heights
Start Again
Visiting Hours
BOO SEEKA SHARES NEW SINGLE ‘REAL’ + NEW ALBUM ‘BETWEEN THE HEAD & THE HEART’ OUT JUNE 30 + SUPPORTING HAYDEN JAMES THIS AUGUST
A breathless moment of cinematic aural euphoria, the new single REAL from electropop artist Boo Seeka is a tangibly immersive and sublimely produced outing, born from the COVID-19 pandemic but ultimately presenting with glistening ease. REAL also firmly sets the scene for a long-awaited second Boo Seeka album, with Between The Head & The Heart officially confirmed for release on Thursday June 30 and available to presave now. And shortly after gifting his brand new opus to the world in late June, Boo will also be taking to stages across Australia alongside multi-platinum producer Hayden James, supporting James in Brisbane on August 12, before travelling to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and finally in Sydney at the Hordern Pavilion on Saturday September 3.
REAL gleams with drizzled synths and vibrant beats, as Boo’s dreamy vocals effortlessly billow you into the clouds above. And while generally not drawn to devouring music while he creates, it’s on both REAL and its broader album Between The Head and the Heart that Boo allowed himself to melt into artists like Billie Eilish, Moby, Massive Attack and Glass Animals during the writing process; and the end result is nothing short of chilled whimsy and multifaceted meaning, as Boo explains, “REAL is definitely one of my favourites on the record for me and has so many different messages embedded in the meaning. I wrote this song at a bit of a low point, with the idea of creating a song that can be a bit of a sing-a-long wherever the listener may be. My album, Between The Head and the Heart, is twelve separate messages that I wrote throughout the COVID period. I really needed to do this for myself, and it has undoubtedly helped me get through the last 12 months. I never want to give away the exact message or meaning of why I wrote a song, firstly, because some things are incredibly specific and personal, but mainly, I love the idea of a listener creating their own meaning to the track. That’s the most important thing about art and music to me.”
The broader impending new album Between The Head & The Heart is as equally heartfelt and enigmatic as the etheareal latest single REAL; from the swooning overtones of opening track Dream to moments of deeper electronica on I Like It Like, dance-anthem vibes on previous single Next To Me, dreamy pop-driven jaunts on the Glass Animals-esque Superstar and, finally, acoustic beauty on closing track on Let Me In, the impending new album truly captures intimacy and sonic eloquence with fluent ease, enrapturing you momentarily in a breathless and astonishing space somewhere between thought and feeling.
Working alongside producer Matt Bartlem for Between The Head & The Heart as well as input via Jay Bainbridge, Hayden James, Luke Palmer and Ian Peres throughout the album, the end result for Boo is one remarkably driven by finesse and introspection, as Boo elaborates, “This record is the most personal record I’ve written to date. I had another record written before this but it didn’t feel like it was the right one to release at this time in my life, so I wrote another one. While writing this one, I basically stood in front of a mirror and spoke to myself. That is the best way I can describe what it’s all about.”
Already an established act in the Australian musical landscape since Boo Seeka’s astral debut single Kingdom Leader back in 2015 and a debut album Never Too Soon in 2017, 2022 for Boo continues to shape itself as a year of triumphs, not just with the approaching reveal of a hotly-anticipated second full-length album and a collab with acclaimed Aussie artist Hayden James on the track Free, but also with Boo’s milestone moment appearing with James onstage at the iconic Coachella Festival in Californa back in April. And fans at home can catch both Boo and James live in action this August, with Boo set to support James on his Aussie Lifted national tour. Reminiscing on his Coachella exploits as well as the ultimate power of live music, Boo concludes, “Having the honour of playing Coachella with Hayden was incredible. It was something I’ll never forget, and I can’t believe people were already singing our song back to us. Playing live honestly is the most amazing way to connect with people, we are all one entity at that very moment.”
REAL is out now
Between The Head & The Heart is due out Thursday June 30 and is available to presave now.