NAOMI DIANE SHARES DIVINE DEBUT SINGLE ‘CHASING THE SUN’
Bursting with warm grooves, supple basslines and glossy vocals, the divine debut single Chasing The Sun out today from Gamilaroi singer-songwriter Naomi Diane is an entirely sunny affair, capturing carefree summer vibes with polished delivery.
Now based in Melbourne but originally growing up in Wollongong, Naomi Diane’s experience adapting from coastal living to city life ultimately sparked the core thematics at the heart of Chasing The Sun, with the buoyant and joyous track also drawing inspiration from Lianne La Havas, Tennis, Men I Trust and Harry Styles’ sophomore 2019 album Fine Line. An upbeat amalgamation of pop elements, indie hues and jangly grooves, Chasing The Sun is the ultimate summertime bop painstakingly crafted to soundtrack warm adventures, as Naomi Diane explains, “Chasing The Sun speaks to the challenge of moving to a colder city, and finding a new community and a sense of belonging. And I have terrible circulation, so I ended up on many trips north to soften that chilly blow”.
Inspired by her own personal experiences, with heightened inspiration also arriving courtesy of her housemates at the time, producer and co-writer Tyler Millott (The Terrifying Lows) and the sun-soaked stylings of fellow singer-songwriter Ben Wright Smith, Naomi Diane’s maiden solo release traces its origins far beyond its joyous release in 2023, with the irresistible earworm recorded two and a half years ago amongst Melbourne’s extensive lockdowns, as Naomi Diane elaborates, “I’m so stoked to finally release this track. It feels like the right time to put it out there. It was mostly recorded in our loungeroom in Eaglemont, after many nights around the fire listening to music and sharing hearts when Melbourne was shut down. I want to it to be pumped in car speakers as people get out of the city for adventures! I want people to dance to it under the summer sun, feeling free.”
An all-round creative with equal passions for music and nature, Naomi Diane can usually be found hanging with friends at gigs, cooking, or exploring parks and rivers. Currently also balancing her burgeoning solo musical pursuits alongside working full time as a mentor and advisor for a non-profit Indigenous internship program and singing backing vocals for The Deans of Soul, Estelle Conley, Quinny and Angus Montaigne.
Naomi Diane’s effortlessly affable and enamouring sensibilities shine as bright as the radiant tones on her brand new single; and it’s certainly a beautiful beginning for plenty of future Naomi Diane magic still to come alongside plans to grow with and foster emerging Indigenous artists like herself.
“I always thought I’d be a folky or jazzy artist, but this pop banger has taken me down a really exciting path and I can’t wait to let that flourish,” Naomi Diane concludes. “An EP and some glorious musical collaborations are on the horizon for 2024. And providing space for mentorship, workshops and yarning circles for mob who want to get their music out there.”
Chasing The Sun is out now
DAN KEYES + THE NEW RIDES SHARE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘LONDON’
Somewhere between the country music heartland of Texas, the bustling palm trees of Los Angeles and the sandy shores of Australia, a sublime ode to yearning and living in the moment was conjured, with the debut single London from Dan Keyes + The New Rides officially out today. Also arriving armed with a captivating music video, London not only marks the first official single for Dan Keyes + The New Rides – it also features the group as the first new signing to the resurrected Wheatley Records, first established in 1980 by the late Australian music icon Glenn Wheatley.
A project many years in the making, helmed by the eponymous and enigmatic Keyes, Dan Keyes + The New Rides flow with warm country tones alongside fresh and unique twists, with the group’s debut single London finding Keyes writing alongside Australian songwriter and producer Tim Metcalfe, whose previous work includes work on Robbie Williams’ platinum 2012 album Take The Crown. With its distinctive 80s synths juxtaposed with acoustic and slide guitar, the balanced sentimentality merged with modernity throughout London was no accident, as Keyes elaborates, “We wanted it to sound classic, familiar and new all the same time. A modern, Aussie take on Americana, if you will… The song lyrics are quite intentionally vague; it’s how you interpret it. Do I sound like I come from London? No. Does Tim, who I co-wrote the song with, sound like he is? Maybe. Its about wanting to walk, or run to someone, in the middle of the night, for no real reason other than wanting to be with them; in that moment.”
With the accompanying music video for London weaving a narrative starting in the desert under the sun before ending in a city late at night, Keyes brings to life the longing and languid love story beating at the overarching track’s core. With Keyes himself beckoning the listener and watcher to follow as he walks “through the night just to be with you”, both lyrically and in person in the clip, London flows with a powerful poignancy; and it’s one that has been growing for years through Keyes musical upbringing, as he explains, “When I was a kid, I used to sit on the porch and listen to my Grandfather play country songs that he wrote in San Antonio, and that’s how I started writing songs. After he gave me that guitar, he told me I should become a plumber because I’d always have work. Now, we want to make music that people can dance to, drink tequila to, make love to, and live their lives to. It even sounds good driving too.”
Born and raised in Texas and now splitting his time between Los Angeles and Australia, Keyes began touring nationally at the age of 18 after his band, Texan post-hardcore quartet Recover, inked a deal with Fuelled by Ramen. Touring alongside the likes of Jimmy Eat World, AFI, My Chemical Romance and Thrice at the time, Keyes’ personal musical tastes also developed alongside his craft, with the talented artist going on to form a dance rock project Young Love in New York City in the mid 2000s. Releasing their debut album Too Young to Fight It in 2007, Young Love garnered significant and high-profile attention, with Keyes soon finding himself sitting poolside with Beyonce and under the wing of Jay-Z, aka the man powering Def Jam Recordings at the time. But for Keyes, it became a case of “too much too young”, who soon packed up and headed west, leaving Young Love behind. And it was this very move that would ultimately lead to the birth of Dan Keyes + The New Rides, alongside the revival of the iconic Wheatley Records; an independent record label established in 1980 by Glenn Wheatley that changed the landscape of the Australian music industry, flourishing the careers of John Farnham, Real Life, Pseudo Echo and countless others.
Post-Young Love and with Keyes initially embarking on a songwriting fellowship with friend and fellow creator Tim Metcalfe, the pair soon revisited their roots, weaving tales of musical sojourns and fusing their eclectic backgrounds in a coating of warm, compelling country-hued music. Bringing together Keyes and Metcalfe and also featuring Jy-Perry Banks (Kasey Chambers, Lime Cordiale) on pedal steel for the project’s debut release, Dan Keyes + The New Rides is Keyes riding high once again – and the chance to be the first new signing for the revitalised Wheatley Records is a shining cherry on top of many great things to come for the group, as Keyes concludes, “It feels sensational. We’ve been working on this project for a few years now and it’s finally ready for people to hear. We’ve put our heart and soul, quite literally into this, so I hope you like it as much as my mum does.”
London is out today, Friday November 17.
MAYLENE YINARR SHARES POWERFUL NEW SINGLE ‘THIS IS FOR US’ TAKEN FROM NEW EP SINGING OUR FUTURES – RELEASED TODAY
Radiating poise and soul equipped with a powerful narrative, the new single This Is For Us from singer-songwriter Maylene Yinarr is a sonically lush and thematically important outing, bustling with hope and healing from the talented Naarm artist. Marking the final single released as part of the self-titled Singing Our Futures EP, also out today, This Is For Us joins a stunning collection of songs from fellow artists Ridzyray, Kee’ahn and Emma Donovan, Madi Colville-Walker and Kiwat Kennell under the inaugural Singing Our Futures umbrella, aka The Archie Roach Foundation’s mentoring experience centred around helping First Nations artists on their songwriting and recording journeys.
A stirring and polished ballad, This Is For Us draws on Yinarr’s captivating knack for weaving creations that are equally haunting, uplifting and thought-provoking, while also seeking to inspire conversations about identity and vulnerability. Mentored by the Singing Our Futures leader and fellow artist Candice Lorrae to bring This Is For Us to life, Yinarr balances diverse inspiration alongside a poignant tribute to First Peoples native to any land, as she explains, “This song is a tribute to the frontier wars on the soil that is now known as ‘Australia’. The war that existed between the Aboriginal warriors, hunters and gatherers of many nations at the time of Invasion, colonisation and European settlement. We are their children. I am their daughter. For this song, I was inspired by our blak music royalty, as well as gospel music, blues roots, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Evanescence, Nina Simone, Etta James, Sia, Sigur Rós, Andrea Bocelli, Fleetwood Mac, Patty Griffin and others like Brandi Carlisle, Sara Bareilles, and Ingrid Michaelson.”
Penned from a place of hope and healing, This Is For Us also furthers Yinarr’s ever-growing legacy, with her work alongside both Singing Our Futures program leader Candice Lorrae and other mentors in and around the program also offering her a chance to rejuvenate her creative spirit and meaningfully connect with other creatives and her community following a devastating personal loss. “For This Is For Us, the amazing Candice Lorrae was my mentor and she is a fierce, talented and powerful woman,” shares Yinarr. “We’ve taken my music to a whole new level – within the program to my other tracks that will be released in 2024. I’ve also worked closely with Linc Yow Yeh (The Deans of Soul), I’ve met one of my idols, Gina Williams and Shellie Morris, Uncle Kutcha Edwards, and, as a community, I still have my mentors, Uncle Robert Bundle, Uncle Brad Brown (Kool Mist), Uncle Dave Arden and of course, my Mum, Sharon Slater and my Dad, Mel Burns. Singing Our Futures is so heart-warming and community driven. It’s been a beautiful road. My journey in the project was a heartbreaking start with the loss of my twin sister, Marjorie, so our family was in deep Sorry Business. When I joined the project, it was an exciting secret that I didn’t get to tell her before we lost her. I’ve drawn strength from that – I’ll keep going and living out my dream of music. She was my biggest fan. She would have been right here with me on this journey. Everything that I do, I do for my family and my community. Music is a core healing energy for us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I have been standing alongside incredible talent – our darling Madi Colville-Walker, Kiwat, Kee’ahn and Ridzyray. It’s an honour to start my recording career this way.”
Offering insight on the single art, Yinarr says, “It was exciting for me to engage a young First Nations graphic designer to design the single artwork, her name is Rubii Red. We worked together to create this artwork, Rubii really captured the essence of the song and the vision of our country when it is healing.”
Sparking her musical journey writing songs at the age of 15 at high school, Yinarr’s experience and inspiration under the tutelage of her high school music teachers led her to her ultimate creative pathway, with teachers Claudia Mameli, Sonny King Ismail and Peter Jones imparting a formula to songwriting that Yinarr still incorporates to this day – with the influence of her culture. Offering her an outlet that was missing in her youth, Yinarr learned to express and explore her feelings via music, with her first official song written in honour of her grandfather, Kamilaroi Elder Tom Slater. From songs penned in her Year 10 music book to adding her voice to the incredible inaugural Singing Our Futures program, Yinarr’s passion spills over vividly into her creative world, as does her admiration for the man behind the program: the late, great Archie Roach himself. “Uncle’s legacy has helped heal our people and shape our nation,” shares Yinarr. “Without his song with Aunty Ruby Hunter, Took The Children Away, our people would not have the international recognition and compassion that we do today. He will always be remembered. A man from Charcoal Lane, Ngar-go to the big stage, who showed the world the sounds of our longest living culture on Earth. He gave our generation the opportunity to follow in his footsteps with pride and with love. With my music, I am drawn to exploring the complex layers that we experience, the heartache and the victories. I love how we can tell a story in a melody and empty our soul into a song and in turn, fill up with the energy of music. I love the place that I go to in my mind and Spirit when I sing. I feel like that is the place beyond the stars.”
A meaningful and culturally safe songwriting program that supports emerging First Nations artists to tell their story through songwriting, Singing Our Futures was devised pre-COVID and was one of the leading programs of the Archie Roach Foundation. Led by Candice Lorrae (The Merindas), an established singer-songwriter and music producer with Jawoyn and Torres Strait Islander roots, Singing Our Futures has since evolved into an impactful and ever-growing initiative for emerging artists and storytelling that spans genres and generations, culminating for 2023 with the long-awaited release today of its inaugural self-titled EP, Singing Our Futures out now.
Bringing together all previous singles unveiled under the Singing Our Future program this year, this extraordinary EP includes the spell-binding debut track Take No More, by Kee’ahn and Emma Donovan, the powerful dive into deep connection, Disconnected from Torres Strait Islander artist Kiwat Kennell, as well as the mesmerising ode to home and country via Yinarr Mulana Winyarr by Yorta Yorta creative Madi Colville-Walker, and pure serenity courtesy of the EP’s final track, Yinarr’s This Is For Us, with the latter unforgettably teaming Yinarr up with program leader Candice Lorrae.
“It’s been a journey and a memorable experience producing the Singing Our Futures program,” shares Lorrae. “There’s nothing else quite like it. It’s meaningful and we get to share our stories through music. This program was born from Uncle Archie’s legacy. We feel him and our ancestors standing with us throughout this journey. Working with Maylene as a mentor taught me so much about the power of healing through music. I knew that music was healing from the start, but Maylene Yinarr has proven it to me through her songs, kindness, strength and wisdom.”
“I feel this is a good way to land the EP release with Maylene’s song as the feature,” Lorrae concludes. “This If For Us, it’s all for us. Uncle Archie has really paved a way for us all and I’m extremely honoured continuing his legacy by running the Singing Our Futures program.”
Maylene Yinarr’s This Is For Us single and the Singing Our Futures EP are both out today via Cooking Vinyl Australia.