Radio 16

GLASS ANIMALS TAKE OUT TOP SPOT IN TRIPLE J’S HOTTEST 100 WITH ‘HEAT WAVES’

UK psych-pop outfit Glass Animals have taken out top spot in Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown with their hit single ‘Heat Waves’. One of the band’s three entries in the countdown, including Tangerine (#18) and Your Love (#51), it also marks the first time the band has reached top 10 in the countdown.

More than 6 months after the tracks release, it continues to hit new peaks across all charts. ‘Heat Waves’ has become the groups highest charting ARIA single, growing to #11 last week, overtaking the bands 2014 hit ‘Gooey’. ‘Heat Waves’ has also hit new chart peaks on Spotify, climbing to #2, and Apple, hitting #1.

Bursting with all the wonderful tricks that we have come to expect from Glass Animals’ frontman and producer Dave Bayley, ‘Heat Waves’ is an introspective summer hit. A scorching, bass-heavy pop-trip, ‘Heat Waves’ is a distorted Glass Animals love song, exploring how relationships can blur your personality and change you in ways you don’t realise until you take a step back.

The track is taken from ‘Dreamland’, the band’s most successful album to-date which peaked at #6 on the ARIA Albums Charts. Fundamentally a nostalgic memoir of his life so far, ‘Dreamland’ finds Bayley covering expansive and difficult ground. As a result, the album is packed full of intensely sensitive and personal experiences, none more emotional than when the bands drummer Joe Seaward was involved in a bike accident in July 2018 which threatened his life, and that of Glass Animals altogether. Born at a time of immense confusion and uncertainty for the band, it’s an album that arrived at the perfect time in 2020

Fremantle four piece Spacey Jane have been gaining fans since they started, a mere four years ago, with every piece of music they have released. After a handful of EP’s it was their debut album ‘Sunlight’, released in June 2020 that showed how significant that following was. It debuted at #2 on the ARIA Album Chart.

The song that has captured the most attention is ‘Booster Seat’. Over the last six months the song continues to win over new fans and is now starting to climb the Spotify Australia Chart (#58 at writing) and looking like factoring in triple j’s annual Hottest 100 poll.

‘Booster Seat’ is a song about a complex but common issue of anxiety and depression taking control away from you and relying on others in the same way children trusted their parents to keep them safe. Spacey Jane make the subject lighter, breezy and the sound effortless and, as their album title suggests “sunny”.

‘Booster Seat’ is a special song and one that I’m sure will be entering many more peoples worlds as we drift into 2021.

Australian country music legend Troy Cassar-Daley announces his first studio album in five years, THE WORLD TODAY, is set for release March 19 via Sony Music Entertainment Australia. This will be the 11th studio album from the multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winner in just over 3 decades of making music. PRE-ORDER HERE

Alongside the announce, Troy has released the first single from the album, ‘Back On Country’. Speaking on the track Troy explains, “‘Back On Country’ is a term largely used by Indigenous Australians and it gives us the feeling of belonging. My dream is that everyone can feel connection and have the responsibility to look after Our land together as one people.” The driving, guitar laden track caries that message with Troy’s iconic vocals and powerful song writing: “No matter what your bloodlines / we belong to this land”. LISTEN HERE

The forthcoming album was sparked from a moment of deep reflection, as Troy explains, “THE WORLD TODAY songs started flowing not long after losing my Father. I looked at myself in the mirror one morning and asked myself “what do I have to say?” and “where do I go from here?” Then COVID hit and I was like a rudderless ship bouncing in a sea of nothingness. Instead of staying in the darkness that had surrounded me I found light in making music and telling stories, which was my saving grace as a kid and to this day as an adult. Suddenly I had 25 songs, a new deal with Sony Music Australia and some purpose to make new music once again.”

Pulling himself from that dark time, Troy found joy in writing with old friends and playing bass and drums on some of the rough demos in his home studio. Joined by friends and long-time collaborators – producer Matt Fell and engineer Ted Howard.

Troy’s songs have been the soundtrack to the everyday triumphs, struggles and good times for Australians from our small towns to the big cities and this record is no different. It’s testament to the longstanding career of the 50th inductee into the prestigious Australasian Roll Of Renown, who has also been awarded numerous accolades including 37 Golden Guitars, 4 ARIAs, 3 APRA Song of the Year awards, 9 Deadlys (Australian Indigenous Artist Awards), 4 CMAA Entertainer of the Year awards plus 2 NIMAs (National Indigenous Music Awards).

After spending the majority of 2020 writing and recoding at home, Troy will once again hit the road in 2021 with a run of dates, including Bluesfest Byron Bay, Gympie Music Muster, Deni Ute Muster and Savannah in the Round. For more information and tickets visit https://troycassardaley.com.au/touring/ . up to become the largest solo tour he has ever undertaken. Adam will perform over 40 shows across NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD and SA from February to September 2021.

Off Bloom is releasing their next single Boys Don’t Make Me Cry, leading into their debut album In Bloom released on March 5th

Following on from their latest releases, ‘Polaroid Pictures’ and ‘What We Do’, the latter being co-produced by Max Martin, Off Bloom will be releasing their follow-up single, ”Boys Don’t Make Me Cry’ January 29th.

The single is being released through Universal Music Denmark and the last step before the Danish duo will be releasing their debut album, ‘In Bloom’, on March 5th

“We’ve spent most of 2020 in the studio finishing and finetuning our debut album. Writing, producing and mixing almost everything ourselves.” The 30-year-old producer and songwriter, Mads explains.

There is no doubt, that the young producer and songwriting duo have been busy the last couple of years spending hours after hours in the studio in Denmark, but also travelling to LA, which ensured the meeting with CJ Baran along the way. An encounter which later should turn out to be the result of an amazing track and help from Max Martin himself on the single ‘What We Do’.

The Danish group Off Bloom has been praised by media including NME, The Fader, DIY, Dummy, CLASH, The Independent, DORK, The 405, The Line Of Best Fit, i-D and more.

They started of their career back in 2016 releasing their first EP, Love To Hate It, which secured them a direct invite performing on the Danish P3 Gold only one week post release.

The band has won the European Boarder Breaker award, they’ve been touring with Dua Lipaand ALMA and latest they were invited to LA to work with Max Martin and more.

Following her release of Sunshine early in 2020 (#12 on the Australian Christian Music Chart), Every Need (#9) and her beautiful Christmas release Wake the Earth, Anna releases WALKIN’ ON THE WATER a song that speaks to the confidence and joy we can experience when we boldly ‘step out of the boat’ in faith.

This is a fun, upbeat song with a retro-pop vibe. Sure to lift the spirits and have you humming the melody, long after the song has stopped.

“Sometimes I get stopped in my tracks and I become aware once more of how good life really is when I trust in God. Walkin’ On The Water is a celebration of God’s love and what freedom we can walk in when we trust God enough to take a step out of the boat, taking our eyes off the busyness around us and placing our focus on Him.
God doesn’t promise us an easy life, the storms will still come, but He will always be there with us in the middle of it, to lead us through, and that’s worth celebrating!” Anna Waters

‘Waiting On A War’ is the third track, released today, taken from Foo Fighters forthcoming 10th studio album, ‘Medicine at Midnight’, to be released in February 5th, 2021
‘Waiting on A War’ follows the band’s first single ‘Shame Shame’ which was released on November 11, 2020, and most recently, ‘No Son Of Mine’, released on New Years day.
‘Waiting On A War’ will be performed live on Jimmy Kimmel (TODAY), alongside a performance also of ‘No Son Of Mine’. The official video for ‘Waiting On A War’ will be released January 18th.
Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, engineered by Darrell Thorp and mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent, ‘Medicine at Midnight’ packs nine songs into a tight 37 minutes.
Foo Fighters are Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Not long ago Portia was homeless yet her fighting spirit which she inherited from her father who died in conflict as a Freedom Fighter in South Africa where he was fighting apartheid is what kept her going and by chance back

stage at a performance in Minneapolis, Portia crossed paths with country music legend and Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer, Darius Rucker.

Portia was invited by Darius back to his green room with his band where they had a Corona and Portia wasn’t shy to ask Darius for a song in the future together, Darius responded with no hesitations “for sure”.

The duet stayed in touch and when Darius came down under for an Aussie tour he reached out to Portia for a catch up at his Sydney show where the opportunity for the duet was advanced and Portia was introduced by Darius to his keys player Lee Turner, an aspiring and talented Nashville producer and song writer.

Portia later joined Darius in Nashville and they hit the studio where Portia was mesmerised every time Darius hit his famous note from Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Let her Cry” hit.

When Darius was recently asked about the ensuing release, he shared:

“Portia has an incredible voice and a powerful story. I was honoured to join her for such a beautiful song.”

On to this year and Portia is currently shooting the music video in Western Australia with Darius will be filming his part in Nashville.

Portia is currently working on a new project for live shows where she will salute women of music and perform their hits.

ABOUT

“When I first heard Portia Clark’s I was not only moved by her voice but also her incredible story of survival. This is an artist that deserves to be heard”. Russell – Kaos

Australia’s Portia Clark has known and endured abandonment, abuse, homelessness, hunger, heartbreak, tragedy and the true meaning of sacrifice. With the power of God’s love and her love for music she has overcome these circumstances and is honored to be living in Australia.

In Portia’s short career, she has shared the same stage with music royalty such as Katy Perry, Gene Simmons, John Fogarty and many more and has performed for two former US Presidents, George Bush & Bill Clinton.

“Sword From The Stone should woo those waiting for the next Let Her Go’ – Herald Sun 3.5/4

” Songs For The Drunk and Brokenhearted is proof of how far Passenger has come since hitting the low that inspired it” – Australian Guitar Magazine

Following the release of his acclaimed new album Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted, Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) now shares ‘Sword from the Stone (Gingerbread Mix),’ a special single version of the album’s opening track produced by Ed Sheeran and Joe Rubel and mixed by Spike Stent.
Written during lockdown, ‘Sword from the Stone’ is instantly relatable as Rosenberg struggles with feelings of loneliness during these isolating times and reflects on a past love. The song juxtaposes simple conversation in the verses with an outpour of raw emotion in the chorus.
Passenger’s new album is populated by drunk and broken-hearted characters and is comprised of tracks mostly written when Rosenberg was newly single. The album was originally slated for a May 2020 release, but when the global pandemic turned the world upside-down, Rosenberg decided that it wasn’t quite done after all. A few songs no longer seemed to fit and came off. More importantly, three new songs were added, including album opener ‘Sword from the Stone.’
“I’m so excited about this one,” says Rosenberg. “It’s that cliché that you make your most poignant work when you’re having a bit of a hard time. I have played it to friends and family, to people in the industry, to other musicians, and it seems to resonate across the board. I genuinely think it’s had the best reaction of any song I’ve ever written.”
One of the friends/musicians he shared the track with was his good mate Ed Sheeran. The pair had long discussed collaborating in some way, and ‘Sword from the Stone’ offered the perfect opportunity. “Ed was really excited about the song when I played it to him and suggested that he produce a version that could potentially work as a radio single. It’s not every day you have that kind of offer from a pop genius, and I’m so delighted with what he and Joe have come up with. It’s been such a fun one to work on.”
Hailing from Brighton, England, Passenger is a multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter. Although still known for his busking, he long ago made the journey from street corners to stadiums, thanks in part to supporting his good mate Ed Sheeran, and most notably with ‘Let Her Go,’ which reached number 1 in 19 countries, is approaching three billion plays on YouTube and is the #3 most Shazamed song of all time. Yet ‘Let Her Go’ is just one song from a remarkable and prolific back catalogue, including 2016’s Young as the Morning, Old as the Sea, which topped the charts in Australia and beyond. Rosenberg has over 2 billion combined streams on Spotify alone.
With an authentic and engaging live show that has won over scores of fans and critics around the globe and allowed him to headline some of the world’s most famous stages, Passenger looks forward to returning to the road as soon as it’s safe for everyone.

“Led by the powerful vocals of Hannah Joy, the trio deal in infectious indie pop-rock.”

• THE SUNDAY TIMES

“Arena sized rock, masquerading as warm, thoughtful, 1980’s styled indie-rock”

• NEW YORK TIMES

“Radiant, anthemic indie rock, balancing doubt ridden lyrics with clear eyed execution”

• PITCHFORK

“How does a band get this good, this quickly?”

• BILLBOARD

Middle Kids today reveal their boldly titled second album Today We’re The Greatest , their most personal and courageous effort to date, will be released on 19 March. In celebration of the album news, Middle Kids have released a new single and video ‘Questions’ alongside the announcement of an east coast Australian tour throughout May. In Australia, the band will perform unforgettable nights at three of the country’s most stunning seated concert spaces: Brisbane’s QPAC, Melbourne Recital Centre and Sydney’s City Recital Hall.

Today We’re The Greatest is the Sydney-based rock trio’s follow up to their 2018 triple j J Award-winning, debut album Lost Friends, a record which earned support slots with the likes of Bloc Party, War on Drugs and Cold War Kids as well as performances on several US late night shows including Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Late, Late Show with James Corden.

The band (comprised of lead singer and songwriter Hannah Joy, multi-instrumentalist Tim Fitz and drummer Harry Day) recorded the album in Los Angeles with producer Lars Stalfors (St.Vincent, Soccer Mommy, Purity Ring). Moving away from lyrics of a more conceptual nature, Today We’re The Greatest is the open, uninhibited product of fearless collaboration.

Showing a real vulnerability, Joy pulls directly from her own experiences, all the while breaking down barriers she had previously set for herself. About the new record, she says , “I want to make music that loves its listener. Music that makes people feel seen, seen in the tiny little places that hide away in their hearts. I want people to hear our music, and feel a sense of love. And when I say love, it can be challenging, intense and tough. But it’s in the guts.”

To commemorate the album announcement, Middle Kids today share their monumental new single ‘Questions’. Following on from last year’s ‘R U 4 Me?’, ‘Questions’ is a charged three minute odyssey which sees Joy struggle poetically with concepts of honesty and intimacy over an explosive rhythm section and a stunningly orchestrated brass-filled climax.

As Joy explains, ‘Questions’ is about the fallacies of intimate relationships. “I used to drink a lot and most of my previous relationships revolved around this. I don’t think I ever really knew them or they me as a result. ‘Questions’ is about people being around each other but not being close. People who are in intimate relationships can stop asking questions of each other because they are uncomfortable and confusing.”

‘Questions’ is accompanied by a magical and chaotic one-shot video directed by the band’s cinematic collaborator W.A.M Bleakley. Watch HERE.

Also announced today is Middle Kids first headline Australian Tour in almost two years. The Today We’re The Greatest Tour will take in Australia’s east coast beginning at Brisbane’s QPAC Theatre on Friday 13 May, Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday 21 and finishing with a hometown show at City Recital Hall in Sydney on Friday 28 May. Pre-sale begins Tuesday 19 January at 10am local time.

On january 15th you get the chance to meet Denmark’s new boyband Kids In Fashion. The trio consists of lead singer Alex and producers Valentin and Arto (also knonw by the name Yo Johnny). The three members all have different musical backgrounds. Lead singer Alex comes from singer-songwriting and Indie Pop. Arto loves Jazz and Techno, and Valentin is making Pop and Dance music. Due to their mixed musical skills and backgrounds they listen to all kinds of music.

The debut single is called ‘F*** Love’ and is described by the boys as a “bittersweet, modern synth pop universe”. The song is about that special feeling you get when you see your ex after a breakup. You don’t know what to do with yourself, and you try to find that inner peace within yourself trusting that the breakup was the best thing.

“It feels like a roller-coaster. All these different feelings inside you, when you see your ex. I don’t care about you, but I don’t seem to forget you. Who is that guy standing next to you? No, I’m doing fine. He seems nice, your new guy. I need a drink” says Kids In Fashion and adds: “we hope that the song will make people feel invincible on the dance floor, even if they’re sad about their ex.”

Kids In Fashion combines strong pop melodies with productions with an electronic edge, which may remind the listeners of artists like Years & Years or an up-beat Troye Sivan.

‘F*** Love’ will be out January 15th and also comes in a ven explicit version