EDGECLIFF SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘RUNNING ON EMPTY’ NEW EP ‘UPROAR’ OUT DECEMBER 2
Get your motor running with the classic rock stylings of Sydney’s Edgecliff and their brand new tune Running On Empty. Officially dropping into the world today, Running On Empty is a raw and riveting peek into the band’s forthcoming debut EP Uproar, which will officially thunder into the world on Friday December 2. The band will also christen their new single with two shows in Cobar on Saturday 5 November, with an official EP launch party set to take place on Friday 7 January 2023 at Sydney’s Factory Theatre.
Channelling Aussie greats like AC/DC and The Angels, Running On Empty finds Edgecliff firing on all rock’n’roll cylinders, with the track boasting swaggering grooves, fiery guitars and raspy vocals dialled up to 11. A track that has been in the works for the band for a fair while now, Running On Empty may ultimately owe its sonic soul to classic rock, but it also itself evolved after Edgecliff were approached to write a song about the eponymous Running On Empty festival which took place in Cobar, also honouring the 1982 film of the same name. “We were asked to write a song to honour the Running On Empty festival, which took place in Cobar, a town that holds great history within the band,” shares keyboardist Nick Murace. “The festival took place in September for the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Australian film, Running On Empty. We were honoured to be given the opportunity to write this track and to play the festival!”. And of the track’s deliciously rowdy-yet-familiar flair, drummer Jacob Lock explains, “For this one we really wanted to go for an old school rock n’ roll belter to get the people dancin! It’s got that dirty rock groove that you can feel in your bones and reminds you of the old school Aussie rock we grew up on”.
Working alongside Callum Howell on producing and mixing duties, as well as the Grammy Award-nominated Mike Tucci mastering the new tune, Running On Empty is a track brimming with high octane energy and catchy melodies, while also offering an electric follow up to previous singles I’ll Be Gone and Calling For More, which will also feature on the band’s forthcoming EP Uproar. Covering everything from chest-bumping anthems amid prowling basslines (Running Out Of Luck), swooning rock ballads (Broken), galloping singalongs (Blackout) and balls-to-the-wall viscosity complete with sizzling guitar solos and infectious choruses (Who Are We To Be Silenced), Uproar is a genuine and ferociously fun collection of tracks that powerfully run the gamut of human experience. “We recorded six out of seven songs at the beautiful Grove Studios over a week,” shares bassist Kai Stackhouse. “After many tweaks in the studio and Callum Howell’s touch, we were able to bring these songs to life. The EP is mostly about average human experiences, one of the tracks talks about heartbreak and another track explores protest and outrage. We think there is at least one song in the EP that people will find themselves attracted to as it could summarise a certain time in their lives or the world around them.”
Edgecliff will be busting out their brand new track live in action this Saturday 5 November, with a special all ages show at the Cobar Youth Centre, as well as an 18+ event the same day at the Cobar Golf Club. And that’s not all the live Edgecliff goodness on the cards, with the band locked and loaded to officially launch their new EP Uproar early in the new year on Saturday 7 January at Sydney’s Factory Theatre. As to what fans can expect at these upcoming shows, lead guitarist and vocalist Will Howell reveals, “Anyone that catches one of our shows can expect a loud and energetic performance. We strive to make live shows an experience for everyone. We want everyone to leave our shows craving more.”
Bringing together five best mates hailing from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the beating Edgecliff heart ultimately thrives on a love for songwriting, hard edge rock and the desire to create original music. With all band members currently completing apprenticeships in their respective trades, Edgecliff have creatively continued to turn heads via their upbeat and modern take on more vintage rock territory. Influenced by the likes of Powderfinger, Wolfmother and the Foo Fighters, Edgecliff have been hard at work in the studio and the jam room to ultimately deliver Running On Empty, which also marks the final single fans will hear before the release of the debut EP Uproar. And all signs are pointing to pure rock, as Will concludes “Rock’n’roll is our passion and we want to share that energy with as many people as we can!”.
Running On Empty is out today, Friday November 4.
Uproar is out Friday December 2.
EDGECLIFF – UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
SAT 5 NOV | COBAR YOUTH CENTRE, COBAR NSW | ALL AGES
SAT 5 NOV | COBAR GOLF CLUB | 18+
SAT 7 JAN | FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
QUEENCY SHARES NEW SINGLE PURPLE DIAMONDS DEBUT EP PURPLE DIAMONDS SET FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 24
Perth-based singer-songwriter Queency, aka Quentin Thony, is back bustling with bold, suave and sinfully smooth retro pop tinged with modernity, with a brand new single Purple Diamonds officially out today. A delectable sneak peek into Queency’s impending new EP of the same name set to drop on Thursday November 24, Purple Diamonds is pure sonic joy that’ll bubble the soul and bewitch the ears with polished and effortless ease.
Following on from Queency’s previous 2022 single Forbidden Fruit, Purple Diamonds is an unapologetic ode to 80s pop, with nods to the opulent essence of Prince, alongside hues of Whitney Houston and a sprinkle of Michael Jackson evident throughout the infectious track. Written entirely by Queency and workshopped with producer Mason Velios and Robbie Chambers, Purple Diamonds was initially recorded live with Queency’s band at the time, before a new arrangement was conjured by Ethan French. Resulting in an effervescent retro pop jam that also oozes with modern wiles, Purple Diamonds also ultimately took some personal inspiration from Queency’s own life to achieve the sensual and buoyant end result, as Queency explains, “Purple Diamonds is a metaphor for what you have most precious to give to someone you find irresistibly attractive. You know, when they’re just your type and the chemistry is right, you just wanna give that person purple diamonds all night! This song is about feeling so in tune with your partner that you’re ready to truly express yourself in the intimacy you have built and may even fall if you keep entertaining this situation. It’s about being vulnerable yet insatiable! Look, let’s stop sugar coating: it’s a booty song! And surprise, surprise, I wrote it as I was falling in love with my partner, so he’s definitely inspired it. It’s a shameless synth heavy and vocally stacked retro pop track modernised to 21st Century’s flavours. It’s definitely an ode to 80s pop, but I wanted it to be seasoned to the taste of today! And I like it extra spicy – so we turned the heat all the way up!”.
Also teaming up with Tristan Sturmer from Sumo Studios for the overarching Purple Diamonds EP, as well as producers Brian Kruger (AKA Kruger James) and Ethan French, mixing by Brian Kruger and mastering by Adrian Sardi, the ultimate EP broadens the lustier, lush musical flair witnessed on the brand new title track, with the EP expanding out to embrace recurring themes of relationships of all kinds, and navigating each unique and individual connection. From the swooning and smooth as hell crooning of opening track, and previously released single, Forbidden Fruit to bubbling jaunt (I Wished On A Star), hot and spicy soul (Too Late) and heart-rending retro ballads (When Daddy Left), Purple Diamonds is not only as polished and colourfully engaging as its glistening namesake; the EP ultimately also showcases gripping intimacy and optimism, as well as significant catharsis for Queency himself. “The recurring theme throughout the EP is relationships,” reveals Queency of the upcoming EP. “Whether in love, lust, friendship, family, or even solitude, navigating relationships with others and the relationship you have with yourself, is not always straightforward. Writing these songs was my way of reaching catharsis in times of anger, sadness, grief, hope and joy. I’m one of these people who live their emotions intensely and sometimes the only way to process them is to turn these emotions into something productive and tangible. That’s what I’ve done with this EP.”
A self-proclaimed “stage whore”, Queency’s live performance alongside his delectable and increasingly signature take on funky, soulful pop and modern R&B has seen the charismatic singer-songwriter draw comparisons to the likes of Ari Lennox, Daniel Caesar, Erykah Badu and Charlie Puth throughout his career. An artist inherently focused on crafting memorable melodies and punchy hooks, Queency’s wit, honeyed multi-octave vocals and dynamic dance moves has also seen him increasingly turn ears and heads, with a nomination in 2021 for a Western Australian Music Award alongside an ever-growing abundance of sonic material. First discovering his musical obsession with gusto at the age of five hearing the Spice Girls on the radio, while also singing along to Stevie Wonder as a child, it would be Prince and Whitney Houston, Queency’s ultimate biggest musical influences, that cemented the Réunion Island born artist’s eventual creative pathway. Already generating buzz with a string of singles, and live performances seared into the minds of fans in Western Australia, the Queency story is truly only just unfolding, with the slick, sleek and sexy debut EP Purple Diamonds ready to dazzle and catapult Queency to even greater heights in late 2022.
For now, fans can salivate over the impending EP’s title track, with Purple Diamonds firmly flaunting Queency’s relatability, technicality and showmanship in one extremely sleek package. “Purple Diamonds is my precious baby, so I’m genuinely overjoyed to finally be able to put it out in the world,” Queency concludes of his brand new single finally releasing into the world today. “And I’m excited AF to release the EP soon. This EP is my very first body of work and I’ve poured my soul, sweat and tears in it, so I cannot wait to put it out there!”.
Purple Diamonds is out today, Thursday October 27.
The Purple Diamonds EP is out Thursday November 24.
JACK PANTHER SHARES NEW SINGLE ‘WEEKEND AT BERNIES’
Tāmaki Makaurau-based queer artist Jack Panther has unveiled his latest single, with Weekend At Bernies arriving as an equally quirky and anthemic piece of summery pop. The first taste of new music from Jack since the release of his why don’t you come over? EP back in June, Weekend At Bernies sees him leaning heavily into refreshingly honest territory, while harnessing influences from energetic pop names such as Remi Wolf, Dora Jar, and Omar Apollo.
Beginning life during a visit to friends in Wellington, Jack met up with producer Tarn PK for an impromptu writing session. Before long, the pair gelled creatively, with the demo of the track being crafted in just a matter of hours. The result is a track that looks at some of the harsh realities that occur during relationships, but ruminates upon the topic in a way that the enigmatic pop stylings of Jack Panther can.
“Weekend At Bernies is a fun, playful track about the panic moment when a relationship is fizzling out,” he explains. “It all sort of just poured out of me, something I never set out to write about. As Tarn and I were writing it I began to realise that in order to grow with people sometimes you’ve got to have the conversations you don’t want to have. The chorus bursts out with a dilemma begging, ‘How are we going to address this? Are we going to address this?’ with the lyrics ‘How you gonna break it down for me?’. However, the tangy, sweet vocals lie perfectly with the quirky, bright production suggesting that if we’re as bad as each perhaps in some twisted way we belong together.”
Mixed by Nathan Phillips (Remi Wolf, Omar Apollo, spill tab, Jean Dawson) and mastered by Hector Vega (Doja Cat, Justin Bieber), Weekend At Bernies sits alongside Jack Panther’s already-strong discography as a powerful example of his slick songwriting skills, and his inimitable pop sensibilities. “Having Nathan Phillips on to mix is huge, he works with some of the biggest alt-pop artists around, making some of the strongest new-wave alt-pop coming through,” he explains. “Honestly I’m really really excited to have Weekend At Bernies out. It’s a song still so fresh to me and probably my strongest track to date. It’s a relief but more importantly I feel so ready to have this track out. Writing this felt like a breakthrough, the chorus just poured out of me so organically, I think we ended up using parts of my very first vocal take.”
With a three-date New Zealand tour scheduled to take place with his full band throughout November and December, Jack Panther is looking to close out 2022 at the top of his game, before launching into dazzling new heights next year. Having just wrapped up a writing trip to Melbourne, Sydney and London, he’s eagerly looking forward to what next year holds in terms of both new experiences, new surroundings, and most importantly, new music.
Weekend At Bernies is out today, October 28.