THE CORONAS SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘ONE LAST TIME’ + ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM THE BEST OF THE EARLY DAYS FOR NOV 24 RELEASE + TOURING AUSTRALIA NATIONALLY IN NOVEMBER
Dublin’s finest, The Coronas, return today armed with a new single; a previously unheard song One Last Time, which was recorded in 2009 when the band were just getting going. With sweeping strings, acoustic guitar and the magnetic vocal stylings of Danny O’Reilly, One Last Time also heralds the upcoming release of The Best Of The Early Days; an album that celebrates the early back catalogue of The Coronas, due out November 24, alongside the band’s return down under the very same month. Lined up to charm Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne alongside special guest Roison O, both the upcoming Coronas album and tour are guaranteed to continue the trio’s reputation as one of the most consistent and impressive acts on the scene.
One Last Time fittingly closes out The Coronas The Best Of The Early Days on an emotional and delectably lush note. Inspired by the likes of The National, Gang Of Youths, Radiohead, Oasis, Coldplay, The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac; One Last Time is an acoustic wonderland that simultaneously uplifts and breaks your heart. With The Coronas detailing deep emotions in this previously unreleased track, as the band elaborates; “We’re delighted to be releasing this album. It’s something that we’ve been planning for a while. It’s a collection of songs from our first three albums. When we remembered One Last Time, an unreleased song from this time that we always loved, it seemed right to add it to the album as a bonus single. It’s a breakup song that describes the tricky time just after a relationship ends, where you meet up and there’s so much emotion and feelings still there. And spending that time together.”
A multi-platinum group who can claim supporting Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park, playing for President Biden, and making chart history as the only independent Irish band to claim three consecutive chart-topping albums, The Coronas have also previously been voted as the #1 Live Act of the Year by Hot Press. The Coronas are certainly not ones to rest on their laurels, consistently evolving their melancholic pop, singalong-worthy anthems and cinematic indie rock creations; whilst thriving against the odds even despite the unfortunately named virus that momentarily halted the world. Off the back of the pandemic years and releasing their 2022 album, Time Stopped, The Coronas embarked on their biggest world tour to date, christening their seventh full length album – selling out venues in London, New York and Vancouver, as well as a sold out performance at Sydney’s Metro Theatre.
Now set to return to Australia this November to perform at some of the country’s most iconic venues, also armed with some fresh magic with the impending November release of The Best Of The Early Days, there’s plenty to look forward to as 2023 draws to a close – both for The Coronas and fans alike, as the band concludes; “Our last show in Sydney was pretty special. To sell out a venue the size of the Metro Theatre, with all its history, was an amazing moment for us. In the past we’ve tended to just be there for short visits but it’s great that this time we’ll have a few days off in Sydney where we can enjoy a bit of downtime! We always try to put on an energetic live show. Expect big choruses, sing-along moments and fun times!”
One Last Time is out today, Friday October 13.
The Best Of The Early Days is due out November 24.
THE CORONAS – UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
FRI 10 NOV | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
Tickets available from moshtix.com.au
SAT 11 NOV | THE ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
Tickets available from ticketek.com.au
FRI 17 NOV | BADLANDS, PERTH
Tickets available from oztix.com.au
SAT 18 NOV | NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE
Tickets available from moshtix.com.au
RIDZYRAY SHARES RADIANT NEW SINGLE KEEP YA HEAD UP LIFTED FROM FORTHCOMING EP SINGING OUR FUTURES VOL.1 DUE OUT NOVEMBER 17
A radiant fusion of hip hop, brassy tones and uplifting joy, the brand new single Keep Ya Head Up from Wemba-Wemba MC Ridzyray releases today as part of the Singing Our Futures program, The Archie Roach Foundation’s mentoring experience centred around helping First Nations artists on their songwriting and recording journeys. Adding to already released singles from Emma Donovan, Kee’Ahn, Kiwat Kennell and Madi Colville-Walker, the brand new Singing Our Futures Vol.1 EP is set to land on Friday November 17, amalgamating of all of the incredible Singing Our Futures tracks together as one powerful and unified collection. And Ridzyray will launch his single at Workers Club Melbourne on Friday October 20.
Finding Ridzyray teaming up with prolific hip hop artist and drummer DOBBY to bring the brand new single Keep Ya Head Up to life, the end result is nothing short of pure feel-good vibes, and oozing with authenticity. Drawing stylistic inspiration from Kayne, Bob Marley and Tupac as well as a multitude of artists who have left their own indelible influence on Ridzyray throughout his lifetime, Keep Ya Head Up seamlessly blends vulnerable lyrical origins with fresh and enigmatic sonic surrounds – and some long-awaited familial shout outs, as Ridzy elaborates, “I don’t really know how to describe it, music is still such a new thing for me so most of the time I just throw some sounds and words together till I feel good about it so I guess it’s a “feel good sound”. Keep Ya Head Up is kind of like a message and reminder to myself to be proud of the things I’ve over come in life, what I have accomplished and who I am and to not let that self-doubt and negativity consume my brain. And I’m hoping that people can relate. Plus, all the family always ask for a shout out in the songs so I threw in as many as I could at the end there.”
With glittering trumpets, saxophone, trombone, grand piano, synths, guitar, backing vocals, percussion, and Ridzyray himself on lead vocals, Keep Ya Head Up dazzles as a cohesive and exuberant venture, powerfully driving home Ridzyray’s positive message while also celebrating the power of music at its heartfelt core. And for Ridzyray, a talented and eclectic artist who has swiftly earned the moniker as one of Australia’s best kept secrets, the opportunity to work alongside his Singing Our Futures program mentor DOBBY was as effortless as the affable charm on display throughout his brand new track, as Ridzy shares, “The experience was so simple and smooth, I had an idea of what I wanted and shared it with him. It’s like he knew exactly what I wanted and what it needed to bring it to life and next thing I know we had a track there ready to go.”
An all-encompassing artist who writes and self-produces all of his own music, Ridzyray has become renowned in and around the industry for his fresh eclectic style fusion in his music as well as his insatiable positivity. Whether dropping bop after bop or wowing with slick delivery and compelling wordplay, Ridzyray’s latest single releasing as part of Singing Our Futures, the vision of beloved song man and storyteller Archie Roach, is a gleaming extension of Ridzyray’s own creative and personal journey to date, as Ridzy elaborates, “For me, Uncle Archie Roach stands as a symbol of what is possible for indigenous artists, he’s paved the way for so many of us, and I’m honoured to be mentioned in the same sentence. I was always playing sport and was sure that would be what I’d end up doing but injuries led to mental health issues which led to addictions and substance abuse and the only way out of that hole for me seemed to be music. I’m just doing what brings me joy, I feel very, very lucky.”
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, burgeoning in 2023 with the impending release of the anticipated Singing Our Futures Vol.1 EP due out on Friday 17 November.
Bringing together all previous singles unveiled under the Singing Our Future program this year as well as some still to come, this extraordinary upcoming 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 Yinyarr Mulana Winyarr by Yorta Yorta creative Madi Colville-Walker, and pure serenity courtesy of Narrm artist Maylene Yinarr’s This Is For Us.
Keep Ya Head Up is out today via Cooking Vinyl Australia.
The Singing Our Futures Vol.1 EP is due out Friday November 17.
FRI 20 OCT | THE WORKERS CLUB, MELBOURNE | 18+ | TICKETS
CHAVEZ CARTEL SHARE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘NO ONE’S WATCHING OVER’
With hazy propulsions and billowing soundscapes, the new single No One’s Watching Over out today from the Gold Coast’s Chavez Cartel is a cool, calm and deeply collected outing, shifting tack slightly from the group’s earlier 2023 EP Man’s Best Friend, but still undeniably Chavez Cartel. Also accompanied by a new music video, complete with an imposing mansion and sharp aesthetics, No One’s Watching Over amalgamates the building blocks of Chavez Cartel’s sonic DNA while also building towards a new EP release in 2024. Unfurling as an effortless and authentically charming journey, No One’s Watching Over will also undoubtedly be a fixture on the band’s setlist at The New Colossus Festival in 2024 following their invitation to perform at the event in New York next year.
Amongst its woozy guitars, driving beats and creamy vocals No One’s Watching Over revels in moody aesthetics and harder-hitting moments. Like a modern jolt merged with The Velvet Underground & Nico, No One’s Watching Over’s origins quickly evolved during a well-timed jam session, with the hypnotic track seamlessly flexing the band’s trademark HBO soundtrack-worthy swoon alongside themes of feeling lost in the moment, as the band explain, “No One’s Watching Over is about feeling lost and having a fair assessment of where you’ve gone wrong in life (and right) to get you to where you currently stand. It’s about being harsh but being fair. It’s about being held accountable but accurately accountable. It’s not about getting to the answers though. That stage where we have more clarity comes after this song. This song is about the feeling of going round in circles when we don’t know what to do with ourselves. It’s the first step towards repair but we can’t even see that yet. The hazy sounds of the song really do paint the picture so well of the hazy feeling of not feeling all there. The song was written in a time of self-work after a heavy break up.”
Teaming up once again with ARIA Award-winning producer Govinda Doyle to bring No One’s Watching Over to life, Chavez Cartel also sought to actively step beyond their comfort zones when it came to creating the perfect accompanying video for their latest release, pursuing more artistic territory with Direct Entertainment’s Anthony Brown at the helm of the band’s creative vision. And fluidly balancing the old with the new, the band’s team and lack of creative barriers proved to be the pivotal spark to lead Chavez Cartel into this new chapter. “Govinda Doyle did everything that we could not,” says the band. “We worked together on our last record, and we started to feel things changing for us and we want a lot more of the same. ‘Don’t fix what isn’t broken’ as they say. We also wanted a more arty video than anything we’d done previously, relying less on performances and making it more of an artistic introduction of the band. We hired the perfect location while we were away on tour earlier in the year – a really old mansion full of art, history, books and character, and the storyboard just sort of wrote itself. Once AB, our video guy, had familiarised himself with the property, we just let him do his thing. All we did was dress accordingly and get drunk on set. He did the rest. We always try to give our collaborators as much freedom as possible so that they can get into the project as if it were their own. I mean technically it is their own, so once we’ve outlined the concept and explained our style, we really do just hand the rest over. It’s important for creatives to be authentic and have their stamp on things, otherwise what’s the point?”
Releasing two EPs in 2019, Lucky Lucky and Confidence Is All I’m Taking Home, Chavez Cartel bunkered down during the pandemic years, turning their gaze and full focus into sharpening their sound and songwriting. The end result was their 2023 EP release Man’s Best Friend, which was unveiled after the group signed with End Of The Trail Records. Following Man’s Best Friend, Chavez Cartel embarked on an extensive East Coast headline tour, with 2023 also finding the group supporting The Reytons for their What’s Rock N Roll Australian Tour, as well as their first ever UK show, ticking off headline shows in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham alongside performances at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and at the End Of The Trail Creative Showcase in London.
Gaining support from BBC Radio while across the pond earlier this year, Chavez Cartel have also recently appeared at Rockhampton River Festival, as main support for The Delta Riggs, and will trek back overseas in 2024 after being officially invited and scheduled to play at The New Colossus Festival in New York next March. And for Chavez Cartel, the prospect of another imminent international adventure is one that affirms that the sky is the limit for this talented Gold Coast collective. “It was sort of like a before and after moment in our career thus far,” shares the band. “Looking back, before that UK tour, we were half the band we are now, and we owe it all to the vital experiences that tour gave us. There’s something really boosting about getting on planes and being received well at the other side of the world for doing your thing. The top up of self-belief and surety we got from that tour was an acceleration that we’ve never felt before; or at least not at the pace we felt it. It just goes to show that there are some things you just have to do to move forward, and that first international tour was one of those for us. Playing at a showcase event too was great for us because it wasn’t just new fans that we picked up, industry personnel also bought into us which again gave us more confidence in what we are doing. It’s like if the moguls see potential then it adds to the argument that there’s a career to be had here. We picked up some New York connections which shows as the next showcase event we were invited to play at happened to be in New York. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? A band from Gold Coast playing shows around London and picking up festivals in America. What a ride!”
No One’s Watching Over is out today, Thursday October 5.
CHAVEZ CARTEL – UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
6-10 MARCH 2024 | THE NEW COLOSSUS FESTIVAL | NEW YORK, USA | 21+
Tickets available from Dice.fm
Soundcloud: NO ONE’S WATCHING OVER