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
RADICAL SON SHARES MAGNETIC NEW SINGLE ‘UNTIL YOU CALL MY NAME’
A magnetic meeting point of shimmering soul and beauty, the new single Until You Call My Name out now from Radical Son is a striking ode to gratitude and the power of love. A goosebump-inducing moment in time from the revered Kamilaroi artist with Tongan heritage, Radical Son will bring his new track as well as his forthcoming album Biliyambil (The Learning) to vivid life at the Sydney Opera House supporting Emma Donovan on October 20, as well as 2024’s National Folk Festival.
Produced by Andrew Robinson, Until You Call My Name is a proud, calm, yet stirring outing from Radical Son, aka David Leha, inspired by its producer Robinson as well as Marcus Longfoot and Darkinjung local Phil Bligh. With humid percussion, bright piano and the emphatic, immersive vocals of Radical Son himself, Until You Call My Name flourishes in its beautifully-crafted simplicity, beating at its core with the magic sparked between Radical Son’s work with Robinson and Longfoot at Full Circle Audio in Redfern, alongside Wantok Music. And for Radical Son, Until You Call My Name holds a special place in his heart, as he explains, “Proud of this piece. Of all the works that I have created, it’s one of my favourites.”
Another taste of Radical Son’s highly anticipated sophomore album Biliyambil (The Learning) which is set for release in early 2024, Until You Call My Name is a poignant yet powerful ode to finding happiness in moments of chaos, with Radical Son’s commanding vocals soaring above an ambient glow, declaring “I hear you call my name / Wanting to engage / We’re all finding our way / We’re coping with the struggle”. And in a world consistently divided and full of unrest, Until You Call My Name offers a calming balm as well as a timely reminder to look for what matters most in the darkness, as Radical Son shares, “For those divided and lost, pulled or drawn in many directions both externally and internally. I’m mindful that we are all finding our way and that as hard as it may sometimes be just getting by in life, it is my hope that we find a way to live life, to love.”
One of the mightiest and most compelling artists in the Australian cultural scene, Radical Son channels his experiences from his challenging past into immense power and resolve, with his trademark sound burgeoning with the urgency of hip hop and emotionally-charged soul, as witnessed by these new songs, and his first full length album 2014’s Cause N’Affect. A festival favourite, cemented recently by his show-stopping cover of his mentor Uncle Archie Roach’s Walking Into Doors, Radical Son has performed to standing ovations at Bluesfest, St Kilda Festival, VIVID, the AFL Dreamtime 2032 game, and the official Uncle Archie Roach memorial in Melbourne in 2022.
A highly-skilled concert artist, with performance with classical ensembles and high-profile collaborations under his belt with David Bridie, Emma Donovan, Frank Yamma, Lady Lash, Mau Power and Deline Briscoe, Radical Son’s artistry also expands to film and TV, with credits including Defining Moments, a six-part NITV documentary exploring life-defining experiences, and theatre work, including the lead role of Pemulwuy in I am Eora at the 2012 Sydney Festival.
Studying as a musician at The Eora Centre for Visual and Performing Arts in Redfern, as well completing a Bachelor of Music from Newcastle Conservatorium, Radical Son’s creative prowess is only matched by his otherworldly stage presence that equally transfixes and transcends with authenticity and sheer, compelling power. Cultivating his transformational life into his place as a bright fixture on Australia’s cultural landscape, Radical Son’s moving soul vocals and unique flair only strengthen with time, potently witnessed today via Until You Call My Name. And with an appearance on the horizon over the Easter weekend in 2024 at the National Folk Festival, a hub for the Australian folk community, as ever, magic is guaranteed when Radical Son takes the stage.
Until You Call My Name is out today via Wantok Musik and distributed by MGM.
FRI 20 OCT | SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE WITH EMMA DONOVAN, SYDNEY, NSW
Tickets available from https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/birthday-festival/emma-donovan
THURS 28 MARCH – MON 1 APRIL | NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL, CANBERRA ACT
Tickets available from https://www.folkfestival.org.au/