7th Level Music

Medicine Singers announce fall U.S. tour.

Medicine Singers announce a fall headlining tour and present a live video of “Sunrise (Rumble),” a standout track from Medicine Singers , their self-titled debut album out now on Stone Tapes/ Joyful Noise Recordings.

Recently highlighted in a New York Times article as a group on the forefront of Native experimental music, the Medicine Singers’ groundbreaking debut LP acts as a guided tour de force of decades of musical genres influenced by Native American music, and their live show remains the stuff of legend. The Medicine Singers often set up in-the-round, and go into a trance-inducing set where the walls between band and spectator – as well as between psychedelic rock and shamanic chants – are blurred. Full dates are listed below and tickets are on sale tomorrow, Friday August 19th.

The Medicine Singers’ tour kicks off with a very special “immersive” performance on September 24 at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works to celebrate the release of Medicine Singers and the launch of Stone Tapes, Yonatan Gat’s eclectic new label. The show will be opened by two site-specific duo performances from Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) & Hassan Ben Jafaar (Innov Gnawa) and Laraaji & Mamady Kouyate (Bembeya Jazz) performing inside the Charles Atlas video installation in Pioneer Works’ main hall, followed by a special Medicine Singers 10-piece band featuring jaimie branch, Thor Harris, Lee Ranaldo, Laraaji and Gat.

BUY TICKETS TO SEE THE MEDICINE SINGERS

WATCH “RUMBLE” LIVE VIDEO

Half a decade after the spur-of-the-moment story of how the musicians first met and unraveled their sound on an unsuspecting audience during SXSW 2017 when Gat saw Eastern Medicine Singers play on the street and invited the band to spontaneously join his show – the collaboration between the musicians reaches a climax with this breathtaking debut album as Medicine Singers, helping pave the way to this year’s rising wave of Native contributions to experimental music – shining a spotlight on guest vocalists representing indigenous nations from outside of the Northeastern Woodland tribal area. “Where else can you get all these different native people singing together on an album?” bandleader Daryl Back Eagle Jamieson asked. “On this album you have east, west, north and south all coming together. That’s why we say it’s medicine.”

For Jamieson, this album is more than a collection of songs, it’s a vessel of culture, history and language; a symbol of the strength and creativity of the Eastern Algonquin people in contemporary American society. “I want to show people not only that our Indian culture is just as good as the rest of the culture that’s out there, but also that the two can exist together, side by side.”

Medicine Singers Tour Dates
Sat. Sept. 24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works (RECORD RELEASE / STONE TAPES LABEL LAUNCH) *
Wed. Sept. 28 – Troy, NY @ No Fun
Thu. Sept. 29 – Montreal, QC @ Pop Montreal
Fri. Sept. 30 – Toronto, ON @ Vashe ZDorov’ye
Sat. Oct. 1 – Cleveland, OH @ Happy Dog West
Sun. Oct. 2 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Mon. Oct. 3 – Indianapolis, IN @ Square Cat
Sat, Oct 8 – Washington, DC @ Down in the Reeds Festival

* w/ Lee Ranaldo & Hassan Ben Jafaar (Duo), Laraaji & Mamady Kourate (Duo)

Watch Medicine Singers’ “Hawk Song” Video

Watch The “Daybreak” Lyric Video

Watch The “Sunrise (Rumble)” Video

Listen to “Sanctuary”

Purchase Medicine Singers

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Blackwater Holylight’s Sunny Faris and Night Heron’s Cam Spies combine their super powers to create WHIMZ.

Portland, OR synth-doom duo WHIMZ share the first single from their forthcoming album PM226 today via Metal Injection. Hear and share “AM2” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

Sunny Faris (vocalist/bassist and founder of Blackwater Holylight) and Cam Spies (Night Heron) have been friends for years. Cam recorded the first BWHL record several years ago and they hadn’t had a chance to collaborate again, until 2021 when they decided to spend a day in the studio to see what emerged. The result was a seamless blending of their two projects: dark, synth heavy, austere doom-pop, with hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies, and sexy bass lines.

Sunny’s characteristic voice is immediately recognizable from opening track “AM1”. Although it may at first seem confusing to hear her singing over low-end rich, heavy synthesizer and vintage drum machines, it quickly becomes apparent how perfectly suited her voice is for these songs. While the music evokes the icy, consumer excess bliss of mid- to late-80s synth pop, Sunny’s melancholic voice permeates like the angelic harmonies of Julie Cruise and Cocteau Twins.

The emotionally intense, melodically lush shoegazey doom of Blackwater Holylight’s widely hailed 2021 album Silence/Motion provides a good touchstone for WHIMZ, but Night Heron’s pawn shop deep collection of carefully curated retro synth instrumentation and Cam’s tasteful production also gives the album both its skeleton and a wealth of subtle and clever tones tucked neatly into each song.

Upon completing the 5-song, 26-minute album they decided to release it on Portland label Literal Gold Records, and assembled a live band which includes members of YOB and Spoon Benders joining Faris and Spies.

PM226 will be available on LP, CD and download on October 28th, 2022 via Literal Gold Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

WHIMZ LIVE 2022:

Nov 10 – Portland – Doug Fir Lounge

Nov 12 – Seattle – Freakout Fest – Sunset Tavern

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Tan Cologne take us to a lovely “Space in the Palms” with their new single.

As TAN COLOGNE head to Italy to kick off their European tour with a residency at Pescetrullo in Puglia, today they have shared a final pre-release track from their forthcoming new album ‘Earth Visions Of Water Spaces’, set for release on September 9th on Labrador Records.

Continuing the expansive, gravity-defying psychedelia on the New Mexico duo’s second album, latest single “Space In The Palms” shows a delicately brooding, woozy side to the record. The band comment: “Space in the Palms” is about a day we spent on a secluded beach in Baja Mexico where wild horses ran free and played in the waves and found relief from the sun under naturally formed palm huts. There was a small stone structure on the path to the beach that plants and elements had eroded and taken over. We eventually found the beach after many palm tree observations and mile marker searches. The beach was found off of a dirt road that descended from an old highway. It was like a treasure. This song is about that space. While recording guitars, we experienced a major lightning storm in New Mexico.”

Listen to “Space In The Palms”:https://song.link/i/1636678302

Listening to the ethereal, spangled, psychedelic grandeur at the heart of ‘Earth Visions Of Water Spaces’, it feels appropriate that Tan Cologne reside and record amid the sparse, almost lunar landscapes of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Their weightless songs appear to defy gravity, with the voices of Lauren Green and Marissa Macias floating in an empty sky while guitars shimmer on a distant horizon. That said, these same songs feel fluid, almost aqueous, their evolution unhurried as they ripple gracefully towards the skyline. It’s no surprise, therefore, to discover the album’s central theme, one highlighted by its name and more than a few of its song titles, because it’s inspired by something precious to all who live in such environments.

“We would like listeners to feel they are submerged within or near the presence of water,” the duo says. “The entire album is about water: droplets of water, atmospheric exchanges of water, and the transformation of Earth by and through water. We were drawn to this through finding shells within the desert landscape. We also read a story in the newspaper about a 300-million-year-old shark fossil found in the mountains in New Mexico thirty miles southwest of Albuquerque. There’s a lot to consider in reflecting on where the Earth’s path has been, and where and what it may be, water of course being the vital experience for existence.”

Green and Macias began recording their second album, the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Cave Vaults On The Moon In New Mexico’, in the summer of 2021 at their home, a relatively remote location. Swimming became an important daily ritual, as did gardening and visiting a nearby dry river bed, where they wrote recent single “Topaz Wave”, in whose video it can be seen. “The sides of the arroyo walls are shaped like curved waves,” they say, “reflecting the experience of tidal and earth transformation, and how the desert land was once ocean.”

The rest of each day was spent writing and recording. Tan Cologne are an entirely self-contained unit, responsible for every sound on the record, sharing vocal, guitar, lap steel, synths and percussion duties, with Green adding drums, bass, autoharp, and melodica and Macias keyboards as well as bouzouki, not to mention the artwork’s photography. At all times, however, their proximity to nature and the ferocity of its elements made its own crucial contribution to the record’s development. “The summers in New Mexico have major monsoons and lightning storms,” they explain. “Most of the recording was done during moody and wild weather in days full of contrast, from lightning storms to dust devils to snow. The album was created to tell stories of water on Earth, with all of its songs being reflections of past, present, and future civilisations.”

“The present and future being of Earth’s water and lands are an ever-present concern and prayer cycle for us,” they conclude. “The fires in the western United States are becoming omnipresent, and everything feels different and, at times, bleak. We hope humanity can shift to care for and heal our Mother Earth together.” ‘Earth Visions of Water Spaces’ is consequently the work of a band who’ve seen first-hand the crisis unfolding around us, and it’s a vivid, ingenious and aptly atmospheric reminder of what’s at stake. There’s really no excuse not to dive in.

‘Earth Visions Of Water Spaces’ will be released on September 9th via Labrador Records.

Tan Cologne live dates:
September 2 – Pescetrullo (Artist residency performance) – Ostuni, Italy
September 9 – Landet – Stockholm, Sweden
September 10 – (Day) at Delicious Goldfish Records – Stockholm, Sweden
September 10 – (Night) at Patricia (boat show) – Stockholm, Sweden
September 13 – Kazimier Stockroom w/ Sunstack Jones – Liverpool, UK
September 14 – Abbeydale Picture House w/ Bobby Lee – Sheffield, UK
September 16 – The Betsey Trotwood – London, UK
September 18 – La Pointe Lafayette – Paris, France

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Drugdealer look for “Someone to Love” on their new single.

Los Angeles-based project Drugdealer officially announce their forthcoming album Hiding In Plain Sight, due on October 28th via Mexican Summer.
The album features Tim Presley (White Fence), Kate Bollinger, Bambina, Sasha Winn, Sean Nicholas Savage, Video Age, and John Carroll Kirby amongst others.

Alongside the announcement, Drugdealer shares new single “Someone to Love“ along with a video directed by James Manson and Drugdealer’s own Michael Collins. The new track marks their second musical offering of the year following the June single “Madison.” Led by frontman and primary songwriter Michael Collins, Drugdealer expands on their 1960s and 70s-inspired sonics with the new single while the visuals see Collins on a night drive through the city and dancing around a neon-lit club as he performs the track.

Speaking about the new song, Collins says:

“‘Someone to Love’ came out of an impromptu extended jam that my band and I developed show by show on the last full US tour. Then when we got home and I started working on this new stuff I realized it was one of the best moments of us naturally playing. I turned it into a fully fleshed out song about wanting to be truly loved unconditionally, and pretty instantly became my favorite thing I had written and pretty much still sits there. The recorded version is really boosted by contributing performances from John Carroll Kirby and Video Age, who help give this track a unique feel. It definitely breaks out of a certain sound or form that I have been using in this project, and went more faithfully into a real soul tribute that I never thought I’d be able to represent as a lead vocalist.”

Drugdealer Live

Drugdealer are set to embark upon a US tour, tickets on sales this Friday at noon local time.
Support from Reverend Baron, aka Danny Garcia.

10/31 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA
11/2 – Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
11/4 – The Aladdin – Portland, OR
11/5 – The Crocodile – Seattle, WA
11/6 – Vancouver, BC – The Fox
11/9 – Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
11/11 – UW Madison – Madison, WI
11/12 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL
11/13 – The Magic Bag – Detroit, MI
11/15 – Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ON
11/16 – Theatre Fairmount – Montreal, QC
11/17 – Crystal Ballroom – Boston, MA
11/18 – Columbus Theatre – Providence, RI
11/19 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
11/21 – Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
11/23 – Union Stage – Washington, D.C.
11/25 – MotorCo Theatre – Durham, NC
11/26 – Aisle 5 – Atlanta, GA
11/27 – Third Man Records – Nashville, TN
11/28 – Hi Tone Café – Memphis, TN
11/30 – Tulips – Fort Worth, TX
12/2 – Far Out Lounge – Austin, TX
12/6 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
12/9 – Lodge Room – Los Angeles, CA

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Mexican Summer.]

Review: The Chats – Get Fucked

One of the many fun things about The Chats‘ new album, Get Fucked, is that its title can have at least three different interpretations: 1. The Chats (say), “Get fucked.” to all their critics, ticket inspectors, tobacco sellers, stuffed shirts, politicians, and anyone who doesn’t like a good pint or a party now and then. 2. The Chats get fucked over by those mentioned in option #1. 3. The Chats get laid. My theory is that the first option is the closest to their original intention, judging from the album cover and the middle fingers being flipped to everyone – including those of us picking up the album. The cover is supposed to shake you out of your current reality, and the whole record pretty much throws a pint of lager in your face.

The album’s opening track, “6LTR GTR,” gets us off to a gas pedal-stomping start as they rip off a track about a hot rod being driven by a douchebag idiot who doesn’t deserve it. “Struck by Lighting” is even faster and brings to mind both AC/DC and The Ramones with its punk ferocity. You’re almost out of breath by the time we reach “Boggo Breakout” – and that’s only the third track. “Southport Superman” is barely over thirty seconds and feels like a mosh pit erupts in your head.

The build-up of “Panic Attack” gives you a brief respite from the chaos, but soon the vocals are coming at you like a belt-fed machine gun. “Ticket Inspector” has the band railing against a jerk who flaunts power he doesn’t really have. “The Price of Smokes” starts off with blues-like lyrics about not having enough money for rent and smokes and slowly builds into a rager about the Australian economy in general. “Dead on Site” and “Paid Late” keep the fire burning, and “Paid Late” has some of Eamon Sandwith‘s funkiest bass licks. “I’ve Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane” is a great track that we can guess is based on true events.

Not much of your face is left by the time you reach “Out on the Street,” because most of it has been shredded off you by now. New guitarist Josh Hardy has a burning solo on it, and across the whole record. It’s difficult to choose which is best. “Emperor of the Beach” could be an early King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard track with its groove that evolves into a wild, psych-surf punk banger. Matt Boggis‘ cymbals wash over you like ocean waves by the end. The album ends with “Getting Better” – a pep talk of a track that turns into a drag race between nitro-burning hot rods that have time bombs attached to them.

Get in, sit down, shut up, and hold on with this album.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

The Beths are “Knees Deep” in riffs on their new single.

The Beths present the new single, “Knees Deep,” from their forthcoming album, Expert In A Dying Field, out September 16th on Carpark Records, and announce a 2023 North American headline tour. Expert In A Dying Field is a capsule of The Beths’ most electrifying and exciting output, a full spectrum of their sonic capabilities. “Knees Deep” was a last minute addition to the record and features one of Expert In A Dying Field’s best guitar lines, courtesy of guitarist Jonathan Pearce.

Liz Stokes adds: “I’m the kind of person who wants to go swimming, but takes like ten minutes to get all the way into the cold water, slowly and painfully. I hate this about myself, and am kind of envious of people who can just jump straight in the deep end. In a shocking twist, this is also a metaphor?! For how I wish I was the kind of person who was brave and decisive instead of cautious and scared.”

Watch “Knees Deep” Video by The Beths

Expert In A Dying Field, the third LP from the New Zealand quartet The Beths, houses 12 jewels of tight, guitar-heavy songs that worm their way into your head, an incandescent collision of power-pop and skuzz. With Expert, The Beths wanted to make an album meant to be experienced live, for both the listeners and themselves. They wanted it to be fun – to hear, to play – in spite of the prickling anxiety throughout the lyrics, the fear of change and struggle to cope. Expert is an extension of the same sonic palette the band has built across their catalog, pop hooks embedded in incisive indie rock.

Stream/Watch:
“Expert In A Dying Field”
“Silence Is Golden”

The Beths Tour Dates
(Tickets available at thebeths.com) (new dates in bold)
Sat. Aug. 20 – Covington, KY (Cincinnati) @ Madison Live
Mon. Aug. 22 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Tue. Aug. 23 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
Thu. Aug. 25 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Fri. Aug. 26 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
Sat. Aug. 27 – Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music
Sun. Aug. 28 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
Wed. Aug. 31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
Thu. Sep. 1 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
Thu. Sep. 15 – Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
Fri. Sep. 16 – Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
Sat. Sep. 17 – Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
Tue. Sep. 20 – Adelaide, AU @ The Gov
Wed. Sep. 21 – Perth, AU @ Magnet House
Fri. Sep. 23 – Wellington, NZ @ Opera House
Sat. Sep. 24 – Nelson, NZ @ Theatre Royal
Fri. Sep. 30 – Christchurch, NZ @ James Hay Theatre
Sat. Oct. 1 – Dunedin, NZ @ The Glenroy
Fri. Oct. 7 – Auckland, NZ @ Auckland Town Hall
Thu. Feb. 16 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 17 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Wed. Feb. 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Fri. Feb. 24 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Sun. Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Tue. Feb. 28 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Mar. 2 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri. Mar. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. Mar. 4 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Mon. Mar. 6 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Tue. Mar. 7 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Heaven
Wed. Mar. 8 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. Mar. 10 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
Sat. Mar. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Tulips
Tue. Mar. 14 – Denver, CO @ Summit
Thu. Mar. 16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Fri. Mar. 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
Sat. Mar. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

babychaos signs to Cleopatra Records and releases new single – “Babylon.”

babychaos is the creation of 21-year-old model Lyzzie Larosa. Using influence from industrial, metal, rock, pop and club music, she hypnotizes with her words on her personal experiences and the world she creates through her music and expression. Born and raised in witch city Salem, Massachusetts, babychaos has now arrived.

Los Angeles-based independent record label Cleopatra and babychaos have now joined forces to present the creation and video for “Babylon”.

babychaos is learning to dance her way through the dark model and musician babychaos has released her fifth single ‘Babylon’, and the video has just arrived to the party.

Watch “Babylon” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzIUnWTXxZE

“Post-apocalyptic Bratz doll from hell,” babychaos has carved out a unique space in music, which she dubs ‘industrial pop. ‘Combining the harsh electronic tones and distorted guitar of industrial metal with a vocal and songwriting sensibility that aims for big pop hooks, babychaos’s newest single ‘Babylon’ is her most accomplished musical statement to date. Check it out we are very excited to her what y’all think! She’s definitely an icon.” – Ken Tighe, Cleopatra Records

“‘Babylon’ is about the inevitable vilification of people living their authentic truth. I’ve found that no matter what, people will project their inner wounds and fears into others no matter how morally good you may think you are. My mom told me growing up that people are going to talk no matter what, so you may as well give them something to talk about. This is exactly what that song is about as it’s been such a prominent theme in my life. Learning to dance in your darkness, even at your loneliest is something that no one can take from you.” – babychaos

When it comes to 21-year-old babychaos, the alternative model turned solo musician is anything but predictable. With a multi-range of influences that extend from industrial, rock, classical, and club music genres to nostalgic 90s and 2000s rock/metal soundscapes, babychaos delivers an intense, heavy, electronic, eclectic experience that is refreshing to the music scene. babychaos is no stranger to being confident in her skin. Her journey of breaking away from spiritual ties and turning that religious repression into art is one of many undisguised lyrical subjects the multi-genre artist touches on within her music. While babychaos is just getting started in the music industry, she hopes to use her stories to connect with others. With the Salem/Florida-based artist’s first 2021 single, “Flesh”, approaching over 1 million streams and currently working on her first EP with Cleopatra Records, the future looksbright for the up-and-coming artist.

“I’ve built a community of my listeners who are simply visionaries, and I love how they

use my music and art in general to fuel their own visions and creative endeavors.” – babychaos

“Babylon” was produced by: Goodjohn Productions and mixed/mastered at Wolfe Studios. The “Babylon” video was shot by 4102 productions.

babychaos online:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/itsbabychaos

Twitter: babychaos (@itsbabychaos) / Twitter

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdjxBo6L/

YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/BABYCHAOSOFFICIAL333

Keep your mind open.

[It’ll be chaos if you don’t subscribe.]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Midnight Oil announces final shows of final tour.

Since Midnight Oil’s new album Resist debuted at #1 early this year, the legendary Australian band has toured around Australia, North America, and then Europe, on their last concert tour. The final leg of this epic run kicks off this week at the Mundi Mundi Bash near Broken Hill followed by rescheduled gigs in Cairns, Darwin, New Zealand, Perth and Canberra to make up for various climate and Covid disruptions earlier this year. In addition, this final leg will include shows at Broome’s Stompem Ground Festival (after a 20 year hiatus) and a new WA gig in Busselton (see below for all details).

Today, the last four dates of this tour were revealed with Midnight Oil announcing two uniquely intimate extra shows in both Melbourne and Sydney. A portion of proceeds from each of these new gigs will be donated to environmental and Indigenous causes and general public tickets will go on sale 10am local time on Monday 22 August via: midnightoil.com/tour

Melbourne will finally experience Midnight Oil playing their classic album 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 in its entirety at the Palais Theatre on Monday September 12 under the banner “One For The Planet”. The band had originally announced this special idea for a benefit show back in March, but Covid got in the way so, like their other cancelled gigs, they are now making good on that earlier promise.

Two nights later, on Wednesday September 14, the Oils will play a final show at the Palais under the banner “One For The Road”. This extra Melbourne date will see the band performing the entire show (ie: no support) and delivering an extended set that will include classics from every Midnight Oil album and EP across their storied career.

Sydney will experience these same two special shows a few weeks later, as “RESIST: The Final Tour” ends with a bang back in the band’s hometown. “One For The Planet” (featuring “10-1” in its entirety) will be staged at the Luna Park Big Top on Wednesday September 28. Then “One For The Road” (an extended concert including classics from every album and EP) will celebrate the end of Midnight Oil’s touring career on the Labour Day public holiday – Monday October 3 – at the famous Hordern Pavilion where the band staged some of their most memorable Sydney gigs back in the day.

“The shows we’ve just done overseas have been some of the best and most enjoyable of our career”, said Midnight Oil guitarist/keyboardist, Jim Moginie. “Every gig on this last tour has had extra emotion around it so we’re looking forward to bringing those feelings back home again.”

“We’ve always supported causes that we believe are important during our tours so these four extra gigs are partly a way of doing that”, explains frontman, Peter Garrett. “They will allow the band and the audience to have a different experience each night by digging deep into the back catalogue in venues that are a bit smaller than the ones we’ve usually been playing in over recent years.”

“From the opening track on our first album through to the last song on our new one, we’ve always been blessed to have fans who are really passionate about what we do”, observed drummer Rob Hirst. “One For The Planet and “One For The Road” are our way of acknowledging that connection over 45 years. We’ve all shared an amazing journey together, so we want to celebrate that by playing something for everyone in places that feel special”.

The Midnight Oil fan pre-sale for these new shows kick off from 10am local time (staggered times – see below) on Thursday 18 August before the General Public on sale starting 10am local on Monday 22 August. Tickets from midnightoil.com/tour

The newly announced RESIST show at Barnard Park, Busselton, WA with special guest Regurgitator on Friday 23 September now joins the existing RESIST shows at Munro Martin Parklands, Cairns with special guests Busby Marou on Thursday 25 August, Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin with special guest Leah Flanagan on Saturday 27 August and Fellows Oval – ANU Campus, Canberra with special guests King Stingray, Emily Wurramara (solo) and Moaning Lisa on Saturday 1 October. Tickets via: midnightoil.com/tour

The band’s a day on the green Nikola Estate, Swan Valley, WA show with special guests Goanna and Stephen Pigram on Sunday 25 September is on sale now.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Auragraph takes out of the ordinary with his new single, “Escapism.”

The palette and precision of prolific synthesizer composer Hector Carlos Ramirez aka A uragraph has heightened incrementally since the project’s conception in 2018, but Reflection Plane – his 8th full-length, and first for Dais Records – finds him streamlining his sound even further, to its gleaming chrome essence.

Moody pads and sequential circuits cycle through cybernetic galleries of marble, ferns, and flickering screens, at the threshold of film score, slow techno, and hard vapor. The album’s nine tracks deploy an array of 80’s tonalities, from night drive arpeggios to Art Of Noise sample stabs to Seinfeld slap bass, but fused into a hybrid landscape of lucid dreaming and hypnotic horizon lines.

Today, Auragraph shares the first look at Reflection Plane with its sleek, glossy first single, “Escapism.”

Watch (+ share) the virtual reality video for “Escapism.”

Born in the Texas border town of Laredo, Ramirez relocated to Austin for film school, where he became fascinated by the local electronic underground scene spearheaded by S U R V I V E and the Holodeck Records network. But it was only after moving to Los Angeles to work in the music department of a film trailer house that he crossed paths with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of S U R V I V E, who were in need of an assistant for multiple ongoing projects. After helping out on National Geographic’s Valley Of The Boom miniseries, Ramirez officially joined the Stranger Things soundtrack team as a Score Mixing Engineer.

This intuitive expertise for audio design infuses Auragraph with a unique sense of fluidity and finesse, able to shift gears and integrate contrasts: sleek yet strange, icy but emotive, minimal though rich. Shades of classic EBM, 90’s electronica, and Dreamcast-era video game music glimmer here and there on certain tracks, but the cumulative effect of Reflection Plane is of entering a place outside of time and space, post- human and pristine. These are songs of parallel realities and second lives, freed from friction and gravity, playing on loop in a skybox sculpture garden at the ends of the earth.

Reflection Plane is available on digital formats now from Dais Records. Order here.

Auragraph, live:

August 14 – Medium Studio – Salt Lake City, UT

August 17 – Pop’s Blue Moon – St Louis, MO

August 18 – Cole’s Bar – Chicago, IL

August 27 – Al’s – Lexington, KY

August 28 – Pandora’s Box – Nashville, TN

August 29 – Rubber Gloves Studios – Dallas, TX

Keep your mind open.

[Escape to the subscription box.]

[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]

Live: Sir Elton John – Soldier Field – Chicago, IL – August 05, 2022

It was Sir Elton John‘s first time playing in Chicago’s Soldier Field, but it would be his last time playing in Chicago or Illinois after scores of performances in the city and state. He’s on the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, which he has stated is his final one. As he told the packed stadium, he’s now seventy-six years old and wants to spend the rest of his time with his husband and sons.

So, he and his top-notch band, some of whom, like drummer Nigel Olsson, have been with him since his first record, played their hearts out and had a great time. The audience did, too, dancing and singing in the heavy humidity to “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man.”

He and the band (which, by the way, included Olsson behind a drum kit and two other percussionists) went nuts on “Levon,” which boomed through the entire stadium. “Candle in the Wind” was also a big hit with the crowd.

They tore through “The Bitch Is Back,” “I’m Still Standing,” “Crocodile Rock,” and ended the main set with “Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting” – any of which could’ve been a finale.

The encore started with his newest number one single, “Cold Heart,” and he followed it with his first number one hit – “Your Song,” which I must admit brought me to some brief tears. He ended, of course, with “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” to a standing ovation to the huge, sweaty crowd.

This was the middle of his North American tour before a short summer break. Don’t miss him if he comes near you. You won’t get another chance.

Keep your mind open.

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