Tag: Australia

Song of the Day: Hush – BLXSS

Perth-based artist BLXSS originally from New Zealand draws heavily from his Zimbabwean heritage. Starting his musical journey from an early age BLXSS grew up around a musically inclined family and began uploading tracks on SoundCloud at the age of 15 while developing his unique style of music. BLXSS fuses different forms of Afrobeat and traditional hip-hop by combining the rhythm and heart-tugging nature of Afro music with the technical rhyme schemes and wordplay found in hip-hop and R&B; formulating a style that encourages you to feel the music rather than just listen to it.

His single ‘Hush’ follows on from his previous releases ‘Jiggy’ and ‘Can’t Deny’ and continues exploring the unique style that BLXSS has grown into over the past few years. This single will be the first collaboration between the Perth rapper and new independent Sydney label samesame records – a brand new imprint on the ADA/Warner roster – where he will join stablemates DoloRRes and Muka Vhatti.

‘Hush’ delivers a tongue-in-cheek commentary of the ‘playboy lifestyle’ so beloved of the hip-hop community, espousing the benefits of casual relationships and his own code-of-conduct. “When I kiss, I don’t tell”. “I wrote this song to highlight my very private lifestyle,” explains BLXSS “whether it’s my business or my relationships, I like to keep my circle small and loyal. So if I do decide to venture out of my circle for any reason, I prefer to have that business kept between us. This song perfectly represents how I prefer to “Keep it on the Hush Hush”.

BLXSS has teamed up with local Perth videographer Brendan Cecich to bring the music video for ‘Hush’ to life. Check it out below…

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88YAMI Drops Track ‘My City’ Featuring YourBoyMars

After the highly anticipated ‘My City’ record was teased at various live performances by 88YAMI and Yourboymars, the track is finally out for your inspection! ‘My City’ is a homage to the 6K, also known as Perth, where both artists come from and credit as the city where they started their music career.

88YAMI has been a widely known name in Perth’s hip-hop & rap music scene with previous releases ‘The Plan’, ‘Mrs Sippy Queen’, and ‘Movement’ crossing over 250k streams collectively while being featured on prominent Spotify editorial playlists.

‘My City’ is a perfect showcase of 88YAMI’s catchy melodic rap sound, where he shows off his smooth delivery over a blend of soft guitar string melodies and an aggressive 808 kick, produced by Roki Beats.

For a track titled ‘My City’, fellow Perth artist Yourboymars was the perfect heavy hitter to come in on the second verse. The artist has created a huge buzz for his small but highly valuable discography that has been featured on multiple influential blogs, and prominent music streaming placements.

Check out the video for ‘My City’, directed by Seto Kiswoyo and Reid Garnaut.

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Caitlin Min Fa Shares Single, ‘I Need You’

On the back of her pop ballad ‘Work In Progress’, CAITLIN MIN FA circles back with a brand new single ‘I Need U’, where she reflects gratitude upon the relationships and people she has in her life, over a smooth power anthem infused with a slightly darker side of pop.

“I’m so grateful for the people around me. That we get to celebrate the wins together and catch each other when we fall. I’m grateful that life is better with them in it,” Caitlin explains. “Though we often forget to thank them for being there and to say how much we appreciate them; equally not saying ‘I love you’ enough to the ones who mean most”.

Caitlin’s glistening vocals soar over the track’s bouncing melody, with the moody undertone injecting a new bold energy into her unique brand of pop music. ‘I Need U’ encourages all of us to celebrate, dance, sing along and feel joy. It’s just an honest conversation to say thank you in a fun and groovy way, produced with local Melbourne talent Rob Amoruso.

Check it out below…

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Song Of the Day: When Will I Learn – Tora

Australian band TORA‘s single ‘When Will I Learn’ – the second cut from their upcoming album, ‘A Force Majeure’ – is laced with melancholic but calm dynamics with dark harmonic undertones, which lyrically examines human self-reflection and self-care amidst trying times.

Speaking on the new release, the band said: “’When Will I Learn’ is about the harsh realities that we all have to face at times in our lives, it’s about going inwards and engaging in self reflection, which becomes the catalyst for rapid growth and expansion, and how sometimes you just need to face problems head on to solve them.”

In early 2020, Byron Bay’s Tora relocated to Amsterdam, set to make the city their base; an anchor around which a full year of European and American touring was to revolve. Soon after their arrival however, the threat of COVID-19 became a very real presence, forcing Tora to cancel their entire tour schedule, but also retreat into a strict new locked-down lifestyle.

Though the opportunity to perform was taken away, the band’s love for creating music remained and so, across the next eight months, Tora’s focus became set on A Force Majeure. The 11-track project follows their richly-textured 2019 album ‘Can’t Buy The Mood’ and their 2017 debut full length ‘Take A Rest’. Over the course of the two albums the band have received support from respected members of the international music community including both Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1) and Sir Elton John (Beats 1), press from The Guardian to Pigeons & Planes, with their catalogue now boasting upward of 150 million streams.

‘When Will I Learn’ is taken from album, ‘A Force Majeure’ slated for release 3rd September. Check out the official video for the single below…

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Album Review: Breaking All Th Rules – ThBenj

THBENJ‘s latest project, ‘Breaking All Th Rules’, which follows up from his 2019 debut album ‘T.H.B – the blog’s number one album of 2019 – and takes on a more sinister and darker route than its predecessor.

A downtempo bass runs along the airy (almost electronic backdrop), often accompanied by chant-like overtones are the main ingredients in the first half of the 19-track set, which somewhat has an air of melancholy. Further along the line, the downtempo grit is incorporated with smooth guitar plucks (in tracks ‘Y’ and ‘Thank You All’) which gives a fresher feel to the combo. The rich soulful undertones in ‘Just A Little More’ gives the album’s sparse theme a full dimensional urban feel, before leading out on a high with a tingling sensation from a melodic outro (Fkn Chill).

I’ve listened to tracks, ‘Y’, ‘Reasons’ and ‘Champagne’ prior to the release of this album, and nothing prepared me for what was coming. If you couldn’t tell from this review, I’m really digging this album and my hat comes off (once again) for this credible artist on-a-serious-rise. Check him out below

Must Listens: Different Sounds, Thank You All, Y Th F Do You Care, Flip IT, Nobody’s Gonna Give It, Rest Of My Life

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