INOVO SHARE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘SWIM ALONE’
Come and dive into the ambient, hazy realms of Brisbane alt-prog rockers inovo with the group today releasing a brand new single Swim Alone. An atmospheric and immersive outing that meshes grooves with moody textures, inovo’s new track also comes armed today with a visceral accompanying music video, drawing you deeper into the band’s sonic universe ahead of inovo officially launching Swim Alone in their hometown on Friday 31 March at BackDock Arts in Brisbane.
Pulsing with artsy alt-rock and explorative flourishes, Swim Alone firmly displays inovo’s love of unorthodox rhythms, a la Karnivool, Incubus and Tool, along with the colourful, textured storytelling of the likes of Tesseract, Devin Townsend and Thrice. With guitarist Rhys Tyack editing and tracking parts in the band’s studio, Swim Alone also reached its layered and dreamlike present state via James See mixing, and Steve Smartwrangling the levels for mastering. Moody, modern and sonically expansive, Swim Alone’s surreal qualities stem partially from an actual dream experienced by vocalist Declan Nicholls, with roots also flowing from a song devised by the band’s former guitarist. “It’s about a dream I once had about a gigantic humanoid entity drifting through space, swinging off of planets to change its trajectory,” shares Declan of Swim Alone’s origins. “In the dream I was a prophet on earth that had predicted its imminent approach to Earth, and wanted to warn everyone that it will be here soon and bring about the end of the world”. “Swim Alone is actually based off an old song our ex-guitarist Jamie created called ‘It Swims Above’,” adds Rhys.“We loved the elements but couldn’t perform it when we were reduced to a smaller group. It’s completely different but if you squint your ears during a full moon you can hear a glimpse of similarity.”
Perfectly complementing the glossy darkness and cascading grooves, the accompanying music video for Swim Alone marries the track’s lyrics of uncertainty and angst with riveting and disconcerting visuals. Shooting the video themselves over a series of weekends, special effects masks, costumes, body organs and props were made by guitarist Rhys, whose work as a cinematographer has seen him shoot music videos for Halfway,Sarah Stockholm, Daylight Ghosts and many more. Drawing together a team of actors, friends and crew, the clip ultimately oozes with sharp aesthetics and boundless imagination. “Declan writes all the lyrics which invokes a very vivid representation of the story and meaning,” shares Rhysof making Swim Alone’s music video. “I wanted the story to take some of that and combine it with the feeling I had when I wrote the track. In the video we incorporated quite a lot of symbolism and centralised the theme around confinement, while keeping a cosmic horror aesthetic. We wanted to create a visceral dimension to parallel our reality, or collective experience, relying on semiotics for layers of meaning. Every shot was storyboarded as we didn’t have a lot of time on-set once people had intestines glued to their stomach or full-faced latex masks muting sense receptors.”
Sharing a love for thought-provoking music and haunting tonalities, inovo started life when Declan, Rhys and drummer Jackson Caswell met at university before evolving into their present iteration, with bass player Karl O’Shea joining a few years later after meeting in a shared rehearsal space. Originally called Solus before changing to inovo, Latin for ‘in the egg’ reflecting the conceptual and embryonic nature of their songs, inovo is ultimately passion project dedicated to making music that each band member loves, with significant emphasis on storytelling, irregular rhythms and arrangements that pervade deep into your soul.
inovo’s live show is an equally memorable affair, with the band set to launch Swim Alone on Friday 31 March at BackDock Arts in Brisbane – and there may just be a few surprises in store. “We may have a few surprises coming up, maybe…” teases Jackson of the upcoming launch show. “We like to keep things fun and unpredictable,” adds Declan of inovo’s live performances. “We tend to move with the music, so one minute we might be chill, and the next minute really not so chill”.
A labour of love, Swim Alone is just the beginning of a huge 2023 for inovo, with the group primed to reveal even more musical goodness in the near future. “It’s very relieving to release Swim Alone,” says Rhys. “We’ve been working on these songs for quite some time so it’s exciting to release our child outside of our collective womb into the big wide world”. “We worked so hard on this song and the video,” concludes Declan, “and now that it’s finally going to be out there in the world I just hope it’s something people connect with and enjoy. We have so much more to show you guys, so if you like what we do – then watch this space. Also, I love you.”
Swim Alone is out today, Wednesday February 22, and the band will be sharing a new single every fortnight thereafter, leading into the album, Desmoterion, which is set for release on May 10.
FRI 31 MAR | BACKDOCK ARTS, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.tickettailor.com/events/backdockarts/860530
ULTIMATE AUSSIE ALT ROCK FESTIVAL SPRING LOADED ANNOUNCES SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL EVENT ON JUNE 3
ULTIMATE AUSSIE ALT ROCK FESTIVAL
SPRING LOADED
ANNOUNCES SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL EVENT ON JUNE 3
HEADLINED BY SPIDERBAIT, ESKIMO JOE, RATCAT, SHIHAD, FRENZAL RHOMB, MAGIC DIRT, BODYJAR, SCREAMFEEDER
After rocking its way right around the country last year, the Aussie rock revolution that is Spring Loaded is back for 2023, with its first event (of many) set to shake up Bribie Island’s Sandstone Point Hotel (Queensland) on June 3. Boasting yet another reliably colossal lineup drenched in 90s Aussie alt rock nostalgia, 2023’s incarnation will host a haul of the decade’s most celebrated acts, including Spiderbait, Eskimo Joe, Ratcat, Shihad, Frenzal Rhomb, Magic Dirt, Bodyjar and Screamfeeder.
Tickets to Spring Loaded at Sandstone Point Hotel will go on sale at 10am AEST on Friday 24 February through Ticketmaster and Oztix, with a 48 hour presale kicking off at 10am AEST on Wednesday 22 February.
“What a great lineup, we are so stoked to be headlining, will be awesomely awesome!” says Kram from Spiderbait. “A lot of great memories for us playing with amazing bands like Magic Dirt & Screamfeeder – to have 3 legends like Janet, Adalita and Kellie all on the same show will be brilliant and beautiful, and all the other great bands of brothers as well, we can’t wait!”
Keen to be getting in on the action, Eskimo Joe frontman Kav Temperley explains, “When I see lineups like the upcoming Spring Loaded festival, I get so excited, these are all bands that have influenced our band in a major way, so to be included in this stellar lineup is just such an honour – Spiderbait, Ratcat, Shihad, Frenzal Rhomb, Magic Dirt, Bodyjar and Screamfeeder, seriously, who could ask for more?”
Excited to be back for another round, Magic Dirt’s Adalita enthuses, “We’re mega excited to be rockin’ the Spring Loaded stage again this year. Back with our good mates, back with the awesome fans and ready to rock out! And this time we get to play with one of favourite bands that totally influenced us as kids – RATCAT! We can’t wait!”
The man behind it all, the vibe creator, Empire’s Marc Christowski says, “We are so stoked to announce this first Spring Loaded show for 2023, again we’ve assembled a killer lineup, the bands are pumped and so are we, it’s going to be a non-stop throwback to the good old days of Homebake and the Big Day Out… bring it on!”
Covering all bases, the festival will be bustling with craft beer and an enviable collection of the locale’s cherry-picked food trucks. Spring Loaded is a fully licensed 18+ event, strictly no BYO food or alcohol. The outdoor show will go ahead rain, hail or shine. No tables, tents, sun shelters or umbrellas are permitted, punters are urged to bring ponchos/raincoats and gumboots if rain is forecast. Picnic rugs and low camp chairs are permitted, as are sealed bottles of water, and there will be water refill stations.
VIP tickets will be available for the VIP Bar offering a premium viewing area, exclusive VIP entry, private bar and food area.
Spring Loaded will be making its way around Aus again this year, so keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground… or you can just keep up to date on all things Spring Loaded by visiting https://linktr.ee/springloadedfestival
SAT 3 JUNE | SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL, BRIBIE ISLAND | QLD | 18+
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 1300 364 001 | All Ticketek Outlets
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
ABOUT EMPIRE
Empire Touring is a widely respected entertainment, promotions, marketing and events company. We have been producing live entertainment across Australia since 1982 and will continue to do so because WE LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL.
ABOUT SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL
Located on the glistening shores of Pumicestone Passage, overlooking Bribie Island is Sandstone Point Hotel. Take a trip to Queensland’s most iconic waterfront entertainment venue, just 45 minutes between both Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Offering return buses from a range of locations as well as on-site accommodation at BIG4 Sandstone Point Holiday Resort.
THE REGIME SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘BE A LOVER’
Forget the roses this Valentine’s Day, get set to fall madly in love with the deliciously smooth new tune Be A Lover from Sydney funk collective The Regime. Oozing with silky soul, funk flavours, sensuous instrumentation and effortless flow, Be A Lover will have you crushing hard on The Regime as they continue their enamouring pathway to a full-blown, loved-up funk revolution.
Hailing from Sydney’s inner west, The Regime collide a horde of 20+ talented musicians under their collective musical umbrella, drawing inspiration from funk, soul and electro genre realms, with new school and old school nods fused with a lush and invigorating twist. Taking cues from the likes of Sam Cooke, D’Angelo, Space Buoys, Wim Hof and George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, The Regime once again bust out a sonic indulgence that’ll keep you coming back for more via their brand new single Be A Lover – and the love is truly overflowing. “Be A Lover is a soulful ode to funky liberation,” shares The Regime of their latest release. “The song is about ‘what it feels like to dance away all of your constrictions’. Inspired by the indigenous Jesus Christ, Mother Mary full of funk, and the omnipresence of our non-binary creator aka The greatest Mac of all, also known as the big ‘G’.”
Featuring The Regime’s “cult leader” Liam Stacey on lead vocals, alongside Jaspar Gubbay (Majun Bu) and Dylan Frost (Sticky Fingers). With in-house production by Liam and his brothers Matt Stacey and Andrew Charra, Be A Lover was also co-written by Danny G Felix (Malo Malo, The Monday Jam), Ned Olive and mastering courtesy of Joe Carra (Crystal Mastering). A celebration of unbridled love and captivating sensuality, Be A Lover also fittingly finds its way into the world on February 14, aka Valentine’s Day. But whether you’re loved up or not, the new single is undoubtedly all the romance you’ll need.
Thumbing the authoritative and constricting connotations associated with their namesake, The Regime have relentlessly crusaded to blend fun, raw energy and infectious tunes to move your feet and your soul since the group’s inception. From the irresistible grooves and good times coating The Regime’s 2019 debut EP If it is, it is! Isn’t it? to the breakout single Never Gonna Stop, which currently boasts close to 1.5 million streams on Spotify alone, The Regime relentlessly flex their dazzling formula of full-bodied brass, palpitating basslines and silken vocals with each new release. And frequently seducing audiences in a live setting with their love-funky-disco-circus flair, The Regime have also previously ticked off supporting American hip hop legends Digable Planets, a takeover at Newtown Festival in 2019, Splendour In The Grass in 2022, and multiple rousing performances at Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney, as well as unforgettable showings at Subsonic in New South Wales, Strawberry Fields Festival in Victoria and a standout set at Bluesfest in 2022, complete with a pre-show conga line through the festival campsite that led to the band playing right up to the moment they erupted onstage.
Undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic Australian acts in the scene right now, The Regime bring voluptuous sonic delights with polished and affable flair, and Be A Lover is just the beginning of a jampacked year for this extremely talented collective that has not one but two full length albums set to drop this year. Grab your sweetheart or treat yourself, join The Regime and give your ears a dose of sweet, sonic love today courtesy of Be A Lover. “Releasing Be a Lover feels like the emancipation of our eternally-imprisoned-collective-kundalini,” the band concludes, “multiple tantric orgasms exploding in an emotional mist of infinite juicy rainbows.”
Be A Lover is out now