CHUCK SICS ANNOUNCES DEBUT EP ‘SLIPSTREAM’
Sydney-based multi-instrumentalist Chuck Sics has unveiled his long-awaited debut EP Slipstream – a five-track journey through dread, self-analysis, sleeplessness and reflection.
Entirely self-produced and mixed, with every instrument performed by Chuck himself, Slipstream is a whimsical yet hard-hitting outing that fuses alt-pop-rock production with pensive and occasionally cynical lyricism.
From the psychedelic warmth of opening track Redo, to Britpop-tinged grooves on M.A.D, buoyant melodies in the title track and the hazy, contemplative close, the EP showcases Chuck’s versatility and emotional depth in full.
Five years in the making, Slipstream marks the arrival of an artist unafraid to explore both light and shadow in his music.
“I don’t think of myself as a reliable narrator, even of my own emotions,” Chuck shares. “There’s a healthy amount of self-doubt in this record – and for me, that often turns into dread.”
With Slipstream, Chuck Sics steps into the spotlight as one of Australia’s most intriguing new voices in indie-pop.
EMELINE SHARES PROPULSIVE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘EMOTIONAL VIRGIN’
A propulsive, vulnerable and sharply modern (yet classic) love song, today Los Angeles-via-Rhode Island artist, songwriter and producer EMELINEunveils Emotional Virgin, forging a glossy and sonically vibrant aesthetic into both the anthemic track and its evocative accompanying music video, with the Emotional Virgin also marking her first ever ode to love.
Buoyed by lush instrumentals and driving beats, Emotional Virgin dazzles alongside EMELINE’s crystalline vocals, nodding to stylistic hues of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Prince, while also intimately capturing the blissful innocence and excitement of falling in love for the first time. “A lot of my legacy as an artist has been about my past and liberating myself from the pain I’ve been through,” shares EMELINE. “With this song, I am feeling real love for the first time. I am feeling just like a kid with a crush, shocked with the way someone is looking at me with such sweetness in their eyes. Being an “emotional” virgin is about feeling real love for the first time, and I’m really happy to share with my fans that I’ve gotten there. I hope you love my very first love song.”
Working alongside producer Peter Thomas, EMELINE co-wrote Emotional Virgin with Peter as well as Sarah “Solly” Solovay and Sean Kennedy, with mixing by Victor Verpillat, and mastering by Dale Becker and Katie Harvey. And devising the accompanying music video’s concept and creative direction entirely herself, spurred by some sharp visual ideas from day one, EMELINE teamed up with Paige Strabala who co-directed and co-edited the vibrant and ultimately transcendent clip. “Paige is such an incredible creative who puts her all into the art she makes,” says EMELINE.“It’s beautiful when everyone involved cares the same amount, you can make anything happen.”
“I have a super visual mind and pictured the colors/visuals as I wrote the song,” EMELINE adds. “I wanted to bring a camp-y feeling 80’s pop-star blowing in the wind mixed with a bit of rocky horror. I have a “hands on me” theme with my project and a classic black and red color theme. I wanted to express the vulnerability that it feels to have a crush. It feels other worldly, like you’re in your own dimension. I wanted to express be the pop-star version of what my heart feels like when I’m truly falling for someone.”
With nearly 1 billion global streams under her belt, sold-out shows centred around female empowerment and a legion of fans around the world, EMELINE has rapidly become one of the most provocative and powerful new voices in pop. An entirely hands-on creative, writing, producing and directing every aspect of her artistic universe, EMELINE has become renowned for her spellbinding vocals and fearless, feminist perspective, first turning heads via her 2017 performance at the Women’s March. Since then, her strident yet insightful output, cinematic music videos and burgeoning social media presence has continued to flourish, leading to the release of her debut 2025 EP, the devil on my bra strap, which released in May this year to widespread acclaim. Ticking off major editorial support, a coveted co-sign from Elton John on Apple Music’s ‘Rocket Hour’, and securing a spot as a featured artist for YouTube Music PRIDE, EMELINE has also previously had her music featured in hit series on Apple TV and Netflix, received airplay on domestic and international radio, and achieved RIAA Gold certification.
A pop powerhouse in every sense of the word, equal parts bold, blunt, ethereal and proudly feminine, EMELINE’s creative reach also extends well into to Australia, and continually treats her fans worldwide to ongoing creative Easter eggs and pure passion poured into every facet of her work.
“I am a deep feeler and a deep thinker,” EMELINE reveals. “I love putting my all into my work and attracting intellectual fans who can obsess over little details and lyrics the way that I do for the art that I love and consume. Being an artist was never a choice for me, I’ve been one since before I could remember. I feel really lucky that I’ve always known my purpose. And I’ve been able to grow that love into something bigger than I could’ve imagined… healing myself and others.”
“I also think Australia is full of tastemakers,” EMELINE adds, “and I cannot wait to tour there one day soon.”
Recently releasing the single PORN STAR, and with a follow up debut album slated for release in 2026, EMELINE continues to wow with her sound, embracing the glamour and drama of ABBA, Queen and Madonna with a raw, modern-day honesty. But before the arrival of her forthcoming album, fans can devour EMELINE’s latest sonic charmer, Emotional Virgin.
“It feels cathartic to be releasing Emotional Virgin,” shares EMELINE. “This project has been close to my chest for a long time and I got to make it with such a tight knit crew. I am more than ready to jump into this new era and my debut album head first.”
Emotional Virgin is out today.
ATLAS FRANKLIN ALEXANDER SHARES ETHEREAL NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘DOLPHINS’
Painting a sonic universe equal parts dreamy, ethereal and fluid, the new single Dolphins out today from Tasmanian-based psych pop artist Atlas Franklin Alexander also takes full flight with an elusive accompanying music video, and will equally enamour at a run of special single launch shows in Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and Wollongong this October.
Straddling immersive nostalgia and dreamy soundscapes, Dolphins finds Atlas channelling elements of iconic sonic dream-weavers Massive Attack, Radiohead, The Smiths and Brian Eno, with his new single also seamlessly capturing a rare moment of connection that transcends time and space in a modern setting, as he elaborates, “Dolphins is about the rare, eerie sensation that you’ve known someone longer than your life allows. Like their presence kinda predates your birth. Like you borrowed each other’s names in a past timeline and forgot to give them back. Dolphins is a hazy fragment – a song about a rare kind of bond. Some connections aren’t meant to be understood, they arrive, they shimmer, and disappear again.”
An entirely DIY affair as always, with Atlas producing, engineering, mixing and mastering in his home studio, Dolphins further burrows into your soul via its accompanying music video, with long-time collaborators and friends Harri Gilbert and David Fulham joining forces with Atlas to weave storytelling with compelling imagery, and balancing a fever dream quality with real-world relatability. “I directed the video, Harri was DOP, and Dave managed the lighting department as the project’s gaffer,” shares Atlas of the music video. “Those boys always help me bring my concepts to life.”
“The video is like the song’s visual counterpart,” Atlas continues. “It’s fragmented, elusive, and a little unsettling. I wanted it to feel like you’re watching something familiar but distorted – kind of like how you remember a face you haven’t seen in years.”
A purveyor of kaleidoscopic hues and exhilarating sonic landscapes, Atlas Franklin Alexander has spent the past few years expanding his compelling and entirely DIY trademark sound. Capturing attention performing at BIGSOUND in 2018, Atlas went on to release his debut EP Enter Echo in 2022, going on to command triple j and triple j Unearthed airplay, community radio support and coverage across the likes of Rolling Stone Australia, Pilerats, Life Without Andy, Tone Deaf, The Music and VICE. A gifted musical alchemist, Atlas has also had music videos air on MTV and ABC’s RAGE, and his magnetic live presence has led to him sharing stages with the likes of Boo Seeka, Art VS Science, Surely Shirley, Velvet Trip and Raave Tapes. Releasing his sophomore EP Flexible New Replica earlier this year, Atlas continues to push his sound into new and ever-engaging new heights, woven with modern yet nostalgic sensibilities, hooks, vocoder-laced vocals, angular guitar riffs and syncopated rhythms, ultimately leading to his style being perfectly dubbed as “the love child of New Order and Daft Punk”.
Ticking off a string of East Coast performances to accompany the earlier release of Flexible New Replica, Atlas is set to bring the magic to stages in Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and Wollongong this October, and, as Atlas reveals, fans can expect evenings of pure magic. “We are touring in October in support of the new Dolphins video release,” shares Atlas, “and the live shows will focus on atmosphere—lots of layers, both sonically and visually. We’ve been working on creating something that feels immersive, like stepping into the world of the music itself.”
“Dolphins” has always been one of those songs that felt intangible to me, like a fleeting moment,” Atlas concludes of his brand new single. “Releasing it feels like finally sharing a wacko weird lucid dream. The whole vibe of it is similar to a misremembered memory — not quite real, but familiar in the way certain dreams echo long after you wake.
Dolphins is out today.
ATLAS FRANKLIN ALEXANDER – UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
Tickets available from http://www.instagram.com/atlasfranklinalexander
SUN 05 OCT | WESTBEST BLOCFEST, NEWCASTLE NSW
THUR 09 OCT | PLEASURE CLUB, SYDNEY NSW
FRI 17 OCT | CHERRY BAR, MELBOURNE VIC
FRI 31 OCT | TBH FRIDAYS TOWRADGI HOTEL, WOLLONGONG NSW