CROOKED COLOURS ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE HOLD ON OUT TODAY + NEW ALBUM LANGATA OUT MAY 17 – PRE-ORDER NOW
Ahead of their highly anticipated second album Langata, electronic dance trio Crooked Colours have released another cut from the record, Hold On, out now. The simmering track follows previous hit singles I’ll Be There and Do It Like You, and is another piece of the enigmatic puzzle that is Langata. The trio, consisting of members Philip Slabber, Leon De Baughn and Liam Merrett-Park, have revealed that the album will be out on May 17, with preorders available now. The group have also announced the tracklist for the record, available below. Tickets to the upcoming Langata national tour are moving quickly, with a second Melbourne show being announced for May 26 after the first sold out within days, and shows added for Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle. Joining Crooked Colours on the headline dates will be fellow triple j faves Nyxen and Kayex.
Hold On opens with a dreamy, swirling synthesiser, then blossoms into a hook-laden electronic dance pop jam, buoyed by percolating rhythms and sharp synthesisers. It feels like a love song, but there’s a darkness there; as Philip Slabber’s gentle vocal dives smartly in and out of the layers of the track, it’s impossible not to feel moved. Speaking about the track, Leon De Baughn says“I remember the idea for this track first came to me while I was driving home from the beach. We had just got back from touring in the US and getting back to our summer inspired this track. It started with the chords and the floating vocal line that ended up building into a club beat with the bouncing bass line.”
On Langata, Crooked Colours have created a new world; atmospheric beats, soft vocals, synths and guitars that move harmoniously throughout – it’s addictive bliss. Singles I’ll Be There, Do It Like You and Hold On are highlights, but there is so much more to this record – Never Dance Alone featuring the fabulous Ladyhawke is meditative, tender, and soft, while I C Light is deep and heavy. Written, recorded, and produced entirely by Crooked Colours, and mixed by Tim Watts and David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The XX, Caribou, FKA twigs), Langata contains multitudes and is a masterclass in the ecstatic simplicity of electronic dance music. Speaking about the album Philip Slabber says “Langata carries forward what we created with Vera while including what we learnt connects with fans while touring around the world. We’re incredibly excited to release this record and even more excited to perform it live.”
After taking Australia by storm with their ambitious and impressive new live show, Crooked Colours will be heading overseas to perform at some of the hottest festivals in the world, including Bonnaroo and Firefly festivals, plus more. Thrilled to be hitting the road, Liam Merrett-Park enthuses, “The response to the tour so far has been crazy. We never thought we would be able to headline the Forum Theatre and now we’re doing two. Also, we’re very excited to be heading to New Zealand for our first ever headline tour there.”
Crooked Colours have established themselves as one of the hottest rising acts with the debut Vera. Now they are on track to become one of our biggest electronic exports with this superb sophomore release.
LANGATA OFFICIAL TRACKLIST
I’ll Be There
Do It Like You
Heart String
Just Breathe
I C Light
Hold On
Langata
Mirror Ball
Never Dance Alone (featuring Ladyhawke)
Lose Someone
CROOKED COLOURS LANGATA NATIONAL TOUR
Presented by Falcona, Select Music, Sweat It Out and triple j
FRI 26 APR | GROOVIN THE MOO, WAYVILLE SA | 16+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SAT 27 APR | GROOVIN THE MOO, MAITLAND NSW | 16+ *SOLD OUT
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SUN 28 APR | GROOVIN THE MOO, CANBERRA VIC | 16+ *SOLD OUT
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 03 MAY | UNI BAR, HOBART TAS | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUEST KAYEX
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SAT 04 MAY | GROOVIN THE MOO, BENDIGO VIC | 16+ *SOLD OUT
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SUN 05 MAY | GROOVIN THE MOO, TOWNSVILLE QLD | 16+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 17 MAY | METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE WA | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 18 MAY | THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE QLD | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUEST KAYEX
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au
SUN 19 MAY | COOLANGATTA HOTEL, COOLANGATTA QLD | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 24 MAY| ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | LIC/AA | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
SAT 25 MAY | THE FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX *SOLD OUT
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au
SUN 26 MAY | THE FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au
FRI 31 MAY | MEOW, WELLINGTON NZ | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CLAYE AND JOISE MOON
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com.au
SAT 1 JUNE | GALATOS, AUCKLAND NZ | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CLAYE AND IMUGI
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com.au
FRI 7 JUNE | UC REFECTORY, CANBERRA ACT | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SAT 8 JUNE | UNI BAR, WOLLONGONG NSW | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SUN 9 JUNE | CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+ | *WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NYXEN AND KAYEX
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
CROOKED COLOURS LANGATA INTERNATIONAL DATES
Friday, June 14 Bonnaroo Festival Manchester TE
Friday, June 21 Firefly Festival Dover DE
Saturday, June 22 Bonanza Campout Herber City UT
Friday, June 28 Electric Forest Festival Rothbury MI
Saturday, June 29 Westword Music Showcase Denver CO
Friday, July 19 Capitol Hill Bloc Party Seattle WA
Saturday, July 20 Northern Nights Festival CA
EXCITING DARK POP NEWCOMER MARTIKA ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE ‘HOW DID I GET HERE’
The enigmatic Martika has today announced her debut single How Did I Get Here, a thoughtful, soulful track that explores the difficulties of chasing dreams, out March 15.
How Did I Get Here is a mellow, contemplative track, with an undeniable groove and stunning, eclectic vocals. The chorus refrain, ‘How did I get here? Am I coming, or going?’ is sung so earnestly; it’s impossible to ignore the pleading in Martika’s voice. Gentle yet driving percussion percolates underneath a constant, melodic bassline, as organ and synthesisers swirl together with unexpected and satisfying harmony. Fans of Aurora and Massive Attack will love Martika’s incisive style.
How Did I Get Here tackles the complexities of turning a passion into a career, as Martika explains, “This song explores the emotional journey of an artist; that lost feeling of being at a crossroads in life. I was unsure of which way to go. I found myself reflecting on my life and where I was, thinking that music should have brought me success at this point – and was it all worth it? It was then the decision of whether to keep on walking down the hard road, striving to make my passion a career, or to take the easy road and find stability. This song has helped me vent the frustration of what a struggling artist goes through, and has helped me find the strength to carry on.”
Martika is set to perform How Did I Get Here for a hometown crowd in Melbourne on Thursday April 11 at The Toff in Town. Thrilled to be showcasing new music as well as her exciting new single, Martika gives fans an insight into what to expect at her shows, as she says, “Audiences can expect something entertaining and amazing, yet a show that makes everyone feel equal and at home – a family. I myself love going to a show where, as an audience member, you feel like a part of a community and united, rather than fighting for a spot in a crowd.”
Martika is a natural-born performer; first discovering her passion for singing as a young child, dancing around the house to Disney soundtracks. Highly disciplined and passionate about performing, she spent most weeknights during childhood at singing lessons, piano lessons, dance classes spanning a wide variety of genres – and she even completed a degree in musical theatre upon finishing high school. Since her move to Melbourne from her country home town, Martika began gigging professionally and working alongside local label True Music (Shelley Segal, MAYA) and producer/composer Rob Upward. She spends her days in the studio, writing and growing creatively as a songwriter and artist. With so much talent to share, Martika is surely one new artist to watch.
How Did I Get Here is out March 15.
MARTIKA HOW DID I GET HERE LAUNCH SHOW
THURSDAY 11 APRIL | THE TOFF, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.thetoffintown.com
TICKETS TO MOTOR ACE A FIVE STAR REUNION TOUR SELLING FAST
After announcing their highly anticipated return to the stage in 2018, much loved Aussie band Motor Ace are just weeks away from their massive reunion tour. Celebrating 20 years since the release of their hit album Five Star Laundry, the group will kick off the epic run of shows in Adelaide at The Gov on March 29, then moving through Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and finishing up in Melbourne at the renowned venue 170 Russell with a sold out show on April 12 and a second show on April 14 – which is also close to selling out. As a special treat for fans, exclusive Motor Ace content including demos from the Five Star Laundry session archives are expected to drop on Spotify Friday March 8.
Within one month of being on sale, Five Star Laundry went gold in Australia. After that massive feat, it was months upon months of touring, performing, and making music for Motor Ace, with massive supports slots alongside Foo Fighters, Oasis and Blink-182. You couldn’t turn on a radio without coming across Motor Ace; and as sold out shows became the norm, their tracks became a mainstay on the ARIA charts. Their timely sophomore album Shoot This was released in 2002 to abundant critical acclaim. It spawned lead single Carry On that held the coveted #1 most played song on Australian airwaves for 8 weeks in a row, and Shoot This, debuting at #1 on the charts and achieving gold sales on release.
The band are thrilled to be back together to play hits and album faves from Five Star Laundry, and later albums Shoot This and Animal, for fans all across the country, as lead singer Pat Robertson says, “The tour’s shaping up well and we all left our first rehearsal in 14 years pretty surprised and excited. The tour will be heavy with tracks from the early days and first record, Five Star Laundry, so hopefully that’s good news for the punters.”
With a few rehearsals under their belt, the band are feeling confident and ready to blow fans away, as Damo enthuses, “It’s great to be in a room with my brothers. We’ve been busy working on crafting the tunes into shape and honestly now, with a bit of age and ability, we’ve come out really happy with the results. Fans will be in for a massive surprise – we played Criminal Past for the first time in 14 years and it ripped the paint off the walls! We are putting everything into this. It’s gonna be a load of fun, can’t wait to get out there and celebrate with a sense of nostalgia and share the moment with everyone.”
Motor Ace are stoked to announce that some very special, never-before-heard demos from sessions spanning the band’s entire discography coming direct to fans, too, as the band have been delving deep into the archives to find some recordings that are sure to stir up those nostaligic vibes. The 10 track collection of demos from all three of Motor Ace’s albums will drop on Spotify on March 8 “It’s really cool to listen to the initial demos and to see where they ended up on the record after it had been produced,” says Damo. “I’ve found loads of footage from ages ago from touring, as well. We are going to release some unreleased demos that we did before the records were recorded, including Shoot This demos some of which sounds better than the official recording.”
Since disbanding all those years ago, the Motor Ace boys have been up to all those regular ‘life’ things – families, kids and jobs. But for what’s set to be an amazing few weeks of shows, the band are back together just like the good old days. Fans had better get in quick, though – these tickets are moving fast.
Motor Ace is Patrick Robertson (vocals, guitar), Dave Ong (guitar), Damo Costin (drums) and Matt Balfe (bass).
Tickets to Motor Ace 20th Anniversary – A Five Star Reunion tour are on sale now.
MOTOR ACE 20th ANNIVERSARY – A FIVE STAR REUNION NATIONAL TOUR
FRI MARCH 29 | THE GOV, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92178
SAT MARCH 30 | CAPITOL, PERTH WA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92186
FRI APRIL 5 | FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/FAC19_MOTOR_ACE
SAT APRIL 6 | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=92188
FRI APRIL 12 | 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ | SOLD OUT
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/motor-ace/106229?skin=747
SUN APRIL 14 | 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+ SECOND SHOW – SELLING FAST
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au