CHISEKO SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘OUTSIDE’
A polished blend of abundant grooves and effortless flow, Perth dynamo CHISEKO impresses with a brand new beam of euphoria via his new single Outside. An alternative dance-fuelled paradise, Outside also arrives today armed with a music video drenched in vivid chromatics and CHISEKO himself drawing you deeper into his creative universe.
A slick, suave and confident array of warmth, charisma and grooves, Outside finds CHISEKO fusing elements of hip hop, rap and house into his own addictive style, with diverse nods to the likes of Kaytranada, Azealia Banks, Tentendo, Aluna, Disclosure, Isenburg and The Streets percolating alongside CHISEKO’s glossy flow. Crafted to capture the feeling of exhilaration on a night out as the world passes you by in an intoxicating blur, Outside began life over a year ago before finding its final form, billowing with a moody and arresting breeze as CHISEKO elaborates, “Outside is about the euphoria and rush of being on a night out and everything seeming to fly by in a blur. As we were making the track I was listening to a lot of house music. This definitely influenced most of my creative decisions. Abraham Tilbury, who produced the track, has a very unique and quirky sound which I really love. Him and I usually get into the studio and vibe out until we develop a form which has a lot of character. The rest of the process involves chiselling away at this form until we have a well thought out and detailed idea. Sometimes it takes a few hours, sometimes it takes a few months. Andi, my resident DJ/producer, was also involved and added his own flair to the drums and bass in the second half of the song.”
With equal passions and talent for multiple art forms, including graphic design and architecture, CHISEKO’s dexterous creativity comes to life via Outside’s accompanying music video. Featuring CHISEKO, vivid colour washes and a concise narrative threaded throughout, Outside saw the multi-faceted artist team up alongside videographer Lachy Ross, as well as Evie Oldham and Liam Grace, to capture the mellow yet powerful energy of the overarching track, as CHISEKO explains, “Lachy Ross and I conceptualised the clip together. I sent him a mood board of all of the ideas I wanted to include on the project so that we could tie together a consistent narrative largely based around colour and clothing. The concept is fairly simple and self-explanatory, I’m quite literally ‘outside’. I think the lighting, colour grading and graphics are what really stand out here. Lachy helped to capture the mood of the track by filming at the right time of day and enhancing the colours to make them really pop out.”
Born in Zimbabwe, CHISEKO’s journey has spanned living in London, Leeds and Switzerland, before moving with his family to Australia in 2008. With a lifelong love for visual art, music and adventure, CHISEKO’s childhood and more recent travels frequently influence his creative output, as did some of his earliest musical memories weaving between people’s legs in the living room as they danced at his parents’ house parties in London. Developing his sonic palette after receiving a Ministry of Sound CD in the mail and a copy of Lethal Bizzle’s Pow! single from his dad, CHISEKO also deepened his musical appetite listening to Jay Z and early 90s rap and R&B in his parents’ car, gospel at church services, and watching classic movies with his mother, including Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. But it wasn’t until the age of 13 that CHISEKO would inadvertently ignite his artistic journey, stemming from darker origins but ultimately guiding him to his true calling, as he reveals, “I didn’t start rapping until I was 13 at my high school talent show in Perth. I largely started doing it because I was getting bullied in school and wanted to be seen, to stand out. Hip hop gave me an identity where there were only two black kids in the whole school and skin colour was something I was constantly bullied about. It was funny seeing the energy shift around me after the talent show. I went from being uncool to everyone knowing me and nicknaming me Biggie”.
Now in command of multiple hit singles, including his ground-breaking debut Juice, the sensual Westside Story, and unforgettable collaborations with fellow Perth artists Your Girl Pho and Adrian Dzvuke, CHISEKO’s clever lyricism bolstered by introspective themes and dazzling delivery is no longer a best-kept-secret. From his acclaimed appearance at BIGSOUND earlier this year to snapping up airplay at triple j for his recent silky single Bank Account, to a host of shows at SXSW last week, CHISEKO is thriving well and truly into 2023 and beyond; as CHISEKO concludes, “At a CHISEKO show, expect high Octane dance parties with an eclectic mix of music curated for and by those with an inclination to groove, with a hip hop flavour sprinkled in between. And Outside is also the second single from my debut EP! So that’s something to be excited about too.”
Outside is out today, Friday October 27.
CHISEKO – UPCOMING TOUR DATES
FRI 17 NOV | WAMFEST, MUSEUM STREET BRIDGE, PERTH, WA
MON 20 NOV | LEAVERS FESTIVAL, YALLINGUP WA
CUB ANNOUNCES ‘LIV LOUD’ TO SUPPORT AUSMUSIC T-SHIRT DAY, FEATURING YOU AM I, BOY & BEAR, TOUCH SENSITIVE, CROOKED COLOURS, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, HOCKEY DAD, KELI HOLIDAY AND MORE
Carlton & United Breweries will support the local live music and hospitality industries to the tune of around $100,000 as part of CUB’s LIV LOUD 2023 program collaboration with Ausmusic T-Shirt Day next month.
Around 40 venues across the country are participating in the program’s inaugural year, with each venue to receive a cash grant to host live events on off-peak days throughout November.
Breakout artists such as Pacific Avenue and radio personality Matty O’Gorman will play alongside some of Australia’s leading acts such as You Am I, Boy & Bear and Touch Sensitive.
Additionally, CUB will donate funds directly to charity Support Act in December to further assist their incredible work delivering crises relief support, mental health programs and more across the country.
CUB Artists & Events Manager Marcus Knight said CUB’s LIV LOUD 2023 builds on its long-standing tradition of supporting a vibrant live music industry.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Support Act to deliver this initiative and continue our long-standing tradition of supporting Aussie pubs.
“Venues will use the grants to bring these events to life, including paying the performers, production costs and hiring some extra staff. This will help bring punters through the door on off-peak nights when they might otherwise have stayed at home and help ensure they have a great time. Bands, trivia nights and live performances are a quintessential part of the pub. LIV LOUD 2023 not only supports them, but the broader hospitality industry too.”
Thrilled to be a part of LIV LOUD, Boy & Bear lead singer Dave Hosking said: “We are really looking forward to playing as part of the inaugural LIV LOUD lineup alongside so many other great acts supporting Ausmusic month, AusmusicT-shirt day and Support Act. And it’s so good to see so many gigs and tours coming out to regional venues after such a rollercoaster few years for the music industry.”
AusmusicT-Shirt Day, scheduled for November 30 this year, is coordinated by Support Act annually to raise urgently-needed funds for music workers in crisis. Aussies can show their support by buying an Aussie music t-shirt throughout November, making a donation to Support Act or setting up a team to fundraise.
Support Act’s CEO Clive Miller said: “We welcome this wonderful initiative from CUB to promote and celebrate live music during Ausmusic Month and encourage fundraising for the Ausmusic T-Shirt Day campaign. LIV LOUD 2023 creates opportunities for live performers and hospitality staff while giving people a terrific night out and supporting a good cause. It really is a win-win all round.”
Marcus Knight added: “CUB are proud to partner with Ausmusic T-Shirt Day and Support Act in 2023 uniting with Australian artists and the hospitality sector who consistently service the Australian community. We acknowledge and support the critical service of Support Act in the delivery of crisis relief to musicians, managers, crew and music workers.”
For all tickets and further information about LIV LOUD 2023, visit CUB ‘LIV LOUD’
For more information about Ausmusic T-Shirt Day visit www.ausmusictshirtday.org.au
DIESEL ANNOUNCES 2024 AUSTRALIAN FOREVER TOUR NEW ALBUM ‘BOOTLEG MELANCHOLY’ OUT NOW
Ahead of releasing his sixteenth studio album tomorrow, Australian icon Diesel has today announced a special run of shows in 2024, with the Forever Tour set to kick off in January next year celebrating Diesel’s brand new outing, the multifaceted masterpiece Bootleg Melancholy – available to preorder now.
Set to perform across Australia next January at Avoca Beach, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Margaret River, Sydney and Brisbane, including an appearance at the hallowed Sydney Opera House while in New South Wales, pre-sale tickets to these unforgettable evenings will be available for Diesel and venue members from 10am on Thursday 19 October until Sunday 22 October, with general public tickets on sale from Thursday 26 October at 9am AEDT. To keep up to date with all things Diesel, including upcoming tour pre-sale opportunities, head to dieselmusic.com.au/mailinglist.
All of the myriad talents of Diesel‘s musical abilities coalesce on Bootleg Melancholy, an unabashedly exuberant 14-track LP that is at once the most diverse and most cohesive album Diesel has recorded to date. Loaded with hooks, these songs greet with the warmth and familiarity of a good friend, songs about family, mortality, childhood, and dreams. Travelling across time, place, and memory, this is rousing yet reflective pop music that celebrates the joys of everyday life while braving the difficult stuff – the challenges we all eventually face – with insights and tenderness. Featuring the single Forever, the listener is going to take from Bootleg Melancholy what they best need, whether the pop rush of an infectious chorus, the reassurances of a heartening lyric sung with Diesel’s trademark soulfulness, or the satisfying interjection of some exhilarating solos on vintage guitars. And for Diesel, this album finally feels like a return to some form of normality after the previous few years and releases, as he explains, “After recording and releasing two albums in a pandemic, it feels great to be releasing this new album! I’m not sure what normal is, but it feels great to be still doing this with others around me. It’s always inspiring for me to see the excitement of people, especially as the recording process starts out as very insular, in this case a one-man journey. It’s always a challenge to put into words what something sounds like, but I feel like there are a lot of influences going on, probably more than any record I’ve made but somehow it feels the most cohesive at the same time.”
Spending the pandemic years revisiting artists like TLC, Elliot Smith, Leon Bridges, Khruangbin and Angel Olsen, Diesel also dove deep into guitar sounds and the first three Prince albums as he worked towards new material amidst a backdrop of extreme uncertainty. Recording, mixing and mastering his latest album entirely on his own, with drummer Lee Moloney appearing on some of the tracks and Bernie Bremond on saxophone for Never Giving Up, Bootleg Melancholy is as much an exercise in catharsis and joy as it is a snapshot of Diesel’s own personal journey; a reflection on places past tread during a time when travel seemed a distant memory, as Diesel reveals, “I would describe this album as almost a travel log recall of all the places I’ve been or lived in, I kind of had to as we weren’t going anywhere! There are also a lot of bright sounding songs with quite close to the bone lyrics, I like to have that juxtaposition.”
One of Australia’s greatest success stories, the American-born Diesel, aka Mark Lizotte, has spent three decades weaving an effortlessly magic musical touch into his rock and blues-fuelled sounds, both as part of the band Johnny Diesel & The Injectors and, more recently, as a solo artist. With multiple #1 ARIA charting albums under his belt, six ARIA award wins and millions of streams alongside a legion of fans, Diesel’s creative skillset also expands beyond his own projects, with the talented artist also renowned for his work as a producer and multi-instrumentalist.
Now set to wow fans once again with his new album Bootleg Melancholy this week, Diesel is definitely not slowing down as 2023 draws to a close, with his extensive national tour in early 2024 marking just the beginning of another exceptional year for this creative powerhouse. “It’s always exciting bringing a song into the live realm,” shares Diesel of the upcoming 2024 Australian tour. “A lot of times I want to record it again after touring it! It’s also like bringing new friends into the fold with old friends. And I’m most excited to feel the reaction from the audience with the new songs, it’s always a ‘butterflies in the stomach’ kind of feeling – but I thrive on that.”
Diesel’s Forever Australian tour commences in January 2024, tickets on sale Thursday 26 October from 9am from dieselmusic.com.au
Bootleg Melancholy is set for release Friday 13 October via Bloodlines, and is available to preorder now.
DIESEL – FOREVER NATIONAL TOUR DATES
SAT 13 JAN 24 | AVOCA BEACH THEATRE, AVOCA BEACH NSW | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from dieselmusic.com.au
SAT 24 FEB | DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, FESTIVAL CENTRE, ADELAIDE SA | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
FRI 01 MAR | ATHENAEUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE VIC | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au | 1300 446 925 | All Ticketmaster Outlets
FRI 22 MAR | REGAL THEATRE SUBIACO, PERTH WA | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
SAT 23 MAR | HEART THEATRE, MARGARET RIVER WA | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from dieselmusic.com.au
FRI 12 APR | SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, SYDNEY NSW | AA | 8-10.15pm
Tickets available from dieselmusic.com.au
SAT 13 APR | THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE QLD | AA | 8:00-10.15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au | 1300 446 925 | All Ticketmaster Outlets