UK experimental artist EXCAVATE (Charlie Tappin) swiftly nestled onto my ‘Artist To Watch For’ radar earlier this year with his atmospheric minimal piece ‘How Time Flies‘ as well as the impressive soulfulness of ‘The Philanthropist‘.

This stunning new track, ‘We Move’, is a collaboration piece with fellow UK musician PATTERNS IN PLASTIC.  Yet again, the vocal work is just to die for. It hits all the right places and makes you want to drown yourself in it. What more can you ask for?

Be sure to check this gem out below or for more of an adventure trek to Soundcloud for other talent-filled material.

Words by Joanna Cheng.

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that we give to you the CANT SAY army. The only thing stronger than their numbers is their constant drive to keep the patrons of CANT SAY dancing each and every week.
Between them, there isn’t much they haven’t done, from supporting some of the biggest international bands and DJs from the far corners of the globe, playing the country’s leading music festivals, holding down residencies across Melbourne, spending hours each and every week sourcing the best music, perfecting their technical skills behind the decks to ensure that their sets are a non-stop party, right through to the hours they devote partying in the CAN’T SAY tunnels. This week, we salute our residents for the countless efforts they put in both on and off the decks.

But who is it that makes up the CANT SAY army I hear you ask? Look no further…

SWICK versus TRANTER
MAT CANT versus PLAY
J-HEASY versus JAMES FAVA
CONKER versus TOMDERSON
WEDNESDAY THE RAT versus GLASS MIRRORS
AIRWOLF versus JASPER

You pooped in the refrigerator? And you ate a whole wheel of cheese?

I’m not even mad.

CANT SAY

Venue:                   Platform One, Vault 8, Banana Alley, Melbourne
Date:                       Friday 25^th May, 2012
Time:                      9pm till late
Cost:                        $20 General Admission / $15 with Password

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THE DRINKS

$5 CANT SAY stubbies
$5 bourbons, vodkas and scotch
$5 wet pussy shots
2x skittle-bombs for $10

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http://cant-say.tumblr.com/

DEVIN is taking down Australia, one East Coast capital city at a time. He’s got the charm, swagger and the swoon-worthy looks to get all the girls’ and boys’ hearts beating super duper fast. His album Romancing has graced the airwaves for some time now and has acquired quite a fan base, including our friends at Triple J. 

This New York looker has been named one of NME’s “20 Acts that Will Matter in 2012.” We feel that he matters. And we wish we could hoard these free tickets we have for ourselves. But no, this time we’re offering you a double-pass to either his Sydney or Melbourne show. He hits Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory May 23 and Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club May 24. Keen?

Now it’s time to tell us about the best way to eat devon (the meat). Do you like it on a sandwich? Do you think it’s disgusting but have come up with some semi-witty comment about how you like to eat it when you’re riding your pet unicorn to the supermarket? Get creative, ladies and gents, and we will reward your bizarro minds.

Check out our interview with Devin HERE.

THE TEMPER TRAP have no problems creating catchy indie-pop all on their own – so imagine what happens when RAC take a The Temper Trap tune and rinse it through their slick and gleaming beats machine. RAC have remixed everyone from Lana Del Ray to Kings of Leon and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and always with stellar results (I especially recommend listening to the latter).

Their take on ‘Need Your Love’ warps an 80s-inspired synth riff with the rich vocals of Dougy Mandagi and a warm thumping bass. Mandagi‘s voice has matured and developed a depth that the RAC remix showcases. The pulsing electro backbone moves ‘Need Your Love’ along at an upbeat while not frenetic pace. The most striking undertone is the distinctly retro flavour, and the melodic playfulness RAC mixes are known for.

I found myself so amped up on happy ’80s vibes that I went in search of Echo and the Bunnymen, Duran Duran and The Church (the Donnie Darko soundtrack is a good place to start!). Get your legwarmers and crimping irons out, the decade of shoulder pads is back! If only for 3 and a half minutes.

Wanna hear more TEMPER TRAP remix action? A free download for FORT ROMEAU‘s adaptation of ‘Need Your Love’ has just dropped through RCRD LBL.COM, grab it HERE!

Words by Rebecca McCann.

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

Okay, I think this is how it goes. MR LITTLE JEANS is actually Ms. Monica Birkeness, a Norwegian artist generally working within that whole lo-fi indie dance trend. Her major label debut is out in August and about a month ago, the video for lead single ‘Runaway’ was released.

It’s been remixed a few times already by acts like WAVVES, but now TEPR, from the French electropop band Yelle, has given it his own spin under the name Yelle DJs.

Here’s the less confusing part, which is the song itself. It’s an instantly groovy, club-friendly take, making full use of that ‘seductive feminine vocal over four-to-the-floor bounce’ house music trick. It’s been getting comparisons to Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs which is kinda who you want to be getting compared to if you’re making dance remixes in this day and age.

So if you want something bright and relentlessly euphoric to dance around your room to, give it a spin (or a click, I guess).

Words by Matt Nielson.

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

On Saturday June 9, music communities PURPLE SNEAKERSand PARTY BY JAKE will be launching a new event series at TRANSIT BAR under a united banner: NITE SOCIETY.

The launch, supported by local clothing label MCMLX, will feature one of Australia’s most exciting live electronic pop artists – ELIZABETH ROSE, touring her critically acclaimed  single “Ready“. The launch will set the tone for this new event movement, which focuses on curating artists of classic and innovative indie, electronic and club sounds.

What Nite Society aims is to sustain a culture in Canberra for supporting breaking artists from interstate. The collaborative effort will allow for a greater range and calibre of acts to be presented to Canberra’s nightlife and music event communities.

Comments from event manager Duncan Brown:

“We are looking forward to inviting independent and signed boutique music acts to perform in our city in an intimate yet dynamic setting, so that people can celebrate the weekend with exciting new music and friendly party vibes.”

Nite Society dates for the diary with more to be announced:

• Saturday June 9 – LAUNCH – supported by MCMLX clothing – Elizabeth Rose (live/Syd) + PhDJ (Syd) + more TBA

• Friday June 29 – Softwar (Modular/Syd) + more TBA

• Saturday July 14 – Millions (live/Bris) + Step-Panther (live/Syd) + more TBA

• Friday July 27 – Special guest TBA

• Saturday August 11 – Hunting Grounds (live/Vic) + Gung Ho (live/Bris) + more TBA

Nite Society invites you to join their social media community here, where we run ticket giveaways, competitions, event galleries, and guest-list details.

LEWIS CAN CUT is a huge deal on the Melbourne DJ scene. Seriously. He plays these tropical tracks that transport to you to an entirely different place, like Hawaii or one of those sweet Caribbean islands. Are you holding a coconut shell cocktail yet? Are you ready to dance, bitches?

Top 5…

Albums

Australian artists

Africa Hi-Tek
Mat Cant
Congo Tardis #1
The Cumbia Cosmonauts
World’s End Press

Todd Terje – Inspector Norse
Storm Queen – It Goes On
Jimmy Edgar – Too Shy
Mickey Pearce – Don’t Ask, Don’t Get
Inkswel- Tu Machito featuring Chico Mann

Gigs you’ve been to

Dan Deacon
Big Freedia
Marc Pritchard
Scotty B
Legowelt

Places to go for a night out in Melbourne/Australia/the world
Revolver, Saturdays
Coburg RSL
The Toff
The Empress Of China
CAN’T SAY

Music/entertainment websites

Discogs
The Late Show Blog 
Top Documentary Films 
Scatterblog 
Pistol Fingers

Songs to lose your virginity to

Brisbane has never truly been accepted as a hive of cultural progression with the same enthusiasm as Australia’s other great cities, and this is particularly true when discussion turns to music. To me, this has always been perplexing: Brisbane has played home to some of Australia’s biggest indie game changers.

Don’t believe me? Well, first of all, you should be ashamed of yourself, naysayer. Second of all, I submit for your consideration THE GO-BETWEENS , one of the most important bands of the Eighties and Nineties at home and abroad. If you don’t recognise the name, rest assured that you’ll know their music.

Ok, so maybe – and that’s a pretty hefty ‘maybe’ – you didn’t know their music before, but I’ll bet you’re glad you do now. ‘Streets of Your Town’ was released in 1988, and I hope you’ll agree when I say, it wouldn’t have gone astray on last year’s Hottest 100 (and not merely because of the plethora of 80’s pop-rock that dominated the body of the Countdown). The wide reach of The Go-Betweens influence is clearly evident.

What made The Go-Betweens so exceptional, and continues to set their music apart to this day, is the sweet-and-sour coupling of lyrics designed to coax a genuine emotional response (quite often one of sadness or angst), masked by charming melodies. Listen to ‘Streets of Your Town’ enough and you’ll start to realise it’s not an ode to a beloved hometown, but a tale of rejection – an assertion that there is no worse place to be than “your town”, where the ills of society are glossed over or misconstrued and championed; an implication of longing and hope that there is some place better to run and be free.

Sound familiar? This sort juxtaposition has framed the success of any number of currently prominent bands. Admit it: the first time you listened to ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster the People, you didn’t know it was about a high school shooting either.

Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, the band’s two founding members, were accountable for the bands unique sound. Their work spawned a legacy that continues to benefit the music industry holistically – and with a wide reach, encompassing much of the US, UK and Australia – despite never achieving great commercial success or securing a Top 50 chart single. They left Brisbane – suspected to be the subject city of ‘Streets of Your Town’, though this was never quite confirmed – and travelled the world.

After six albums and countless successes, the band disbanded. They reformed in 2000, with a lineup featuring the two founding members and a handful of “new” talent, and released two new albums. However, when McLennan died of a heart attack in 2006, they once again disbanded. Triple J and JTV broadcasted a tribute concert at the Tivoli in Brisbane to commemorate the first anniversary of McLennan’s death and since, the band has seen a great resurgence, as tributes flowed in.

The Go-Betweens have been covered by innumerable bands, from Nada Surf to Belle and Sebastian, and their legacy will continue to live on. Most importantly, they were one of the first Brisbane bands to change the perception most of Australia holds of Brisbane – y’know, cultural wasteland and all that – and for that, if nothing else, I thank them.

The Go-Betweens have no official website, but a small collection of their songs can be found on Last.fm for those interested in discovering more about the band.

Words by Cheryl Billman

As HOT CHOCOLATE said in 1978, “everyone’s a winner baby, that’s the truth”, but life begs to differ. There are in fact, many people who fail – so don’t let yourself be one of them, be a winner instead!

Now is your chance to become the ultimate winner-of-cool-stuff, because here at Purple Sneakers we’ve decided offer you peeps a double pass giveaway to see SWITCH at Never Land Bar on June 8^th

Don’t say we aren’t lovely to you all. SWITCH has just recently split from MAJOR LAZER and is now flying solo, so there’s no better time to go and see what party creations he’s got up his sleeve. Never Land Bar has a long history with the Purple Sneakers crew, hosting our very own PURPLE SNEAKERS DJ’s monthly parties for last year, and is now the home for the INDIAN SUMMER monthlies in 2012, so you know it’s a top place.

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WIN WIN WIN

In honour of our man SWITCH, to go in the running to win a double pass to SWITCH at Never Land Bar, all you have to do is tell us in 25 words or less which celebrity you would switch bodies with for 24 hours and why – for example, I choose Johnny Depp, so I could stare into a mirror and repeatedly whisper “I am beautiful.”

Get creative and don’t hold back, we like weird shit.

Words by Adriana Barro

Babes, bikes and a whole lot of badass can’t even contain the experimental fluency that is DAPPLED CITIES. Their recent release of the feature ‘Run With The Wind’ from their forthcoming album, Lake Air, has been highly anticipated by fans alike for some time now. Their energy can be well extracted from the track, just by listening to each feature. The flute-like sounds, extremely difficult ranges being hit by the lead vocalist, Dave Rennick and the eccentric guitar riffs completely wrap the track in gold.

The accompanying video is a real gem, loaded with high-octane, tire-treading motorbike races and a flair for detail. Of what seems to be a great search for a full blown adrenaline rush, the featured beauty will go to any extent to find a way onto the tarmac, and even ends up in fisticuffs just to get her hands on a VIP pass. Stepping out onto the long dark strip, she puts herself in a potentially fatal situation and leaves you guessing for quite a few slow-mo moments. DAPPLED CITIES have really lifted their own bar, and have released possibly their best track to date.

Words by Caitlin Medcalf.

WATCH MORE NEW MUSIC VIDEOS HERE