Bobi Andonov has floored me with his latest single “Between the Lines.” It’s bold and sexy, with some of the best falsetto you’re likely to hear from a modern artist. I can definitely hear a Prince influence shining through those passionate vocals and funky guitar licks, but as a major fan of the Purple One I appreciate the nod to his genius.
“This was one of the initial compositions within the project, marking the inception of the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ trilogy. While numerous songs delve into two-person relationships, be they love affairs or tumultuous scandals, we aimed to craft a narrative portraying an intensely complex relationship with oneself. Such internal dynamics can prove to be the most disastrous, co-dependent and damaging relationship that any individual must navigate,” Bobi explained. “Drawing inspiration from artists like Jai Paul, Dijon, Blood Orange, as well as the funk sounds of David Bowie and Prince, this groundbreaking experiment laid the groundwork for some of the core elements of the entire project.”
Ready to hear the rest of the project? You don’t have too long to wait. Bobi will release his EP, SAINT, on May 9.
Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia
A grand finalist in last year’s Toyota Star Maker competition, Robbie Mortimer is making good on his promise. His latest single “Blow the Speakers” is a high-energy country anthem that sounds like Robbie has been doing this for years. Robbie had nothing for praise for his partner in crime Jared Adlam, who co-wrote the song and produced it at his Machine Lab studios.
“Jared truly brought the best out of me as an artist and songwriter,” Robbie enthused. “Nothing was too hard. There were no silly ideas, just opportunities to make a high-energy country anthem and we did just that. I’m proud of what we created together.”
Robbie has a stack of gigs coming up as a feature artist for the Professional Bull Rider’s Association Monster Energy Tour. He’ll also play a few cool country festivals in the coming months. Here are all the places you can see him play.
Eora/Sydney singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa has got no time for musical trends. His latest single “Is There Anybody There?” feels like a total throwback to the late 70s, but that music’s classic for a reason. This song, which features guest vocals from Melita, doesn’t try to be anything that it’s not. If you’re still sneaking vinyl from your father’s or grandfather’s record collection, I know you’ll love this one.
Bryan hasn’t released music since “Back to the Middle” in 2021, noting that “The well kinda went dry after that. I’d normally be a little worried but I threw myself into learning a tonne of new concepts on guitar and got obsessed over my instrument like I did in my teens. I kinda forgot about my songwriting for a while. But ‘Is There Anybody There?’ came out of nowhere during that period and it formed pretty quickly. One of those truly inspired moments that as a songwriter that you dare not question.”
“It’s a song about loneliness and how we as individuals are just a miniscule number in the sea of humanity,” Bryan explained. “In those moments of realisation, we might wonder if anyone is there or listening to us.”
If you’re in Eora/Sydney, you can catch Bryan supporting Ashley Naylor Spaceship at MoshPit Bar tonight! Limited tickets are still available through trybooking.
Image used with permission from Chris Familton Publicity
Jordy Burns proves that her strong debut single “Walls” was no fluke with the release of the follow-up “Second Chances.” This an upbeat pop number sounds so different from her more sombre debut, but its lyrics are every bit as powerful as its predecessor.
“‘Second Chances’ fell out of my brain on a pretty poignant day in a toxic relationship when I finally realised that this person wasn’t going to change,” Jordy admitted. “After a really heated discussion, as many pained artists do, I found creativity in some intense journaling and suddenly I was staring at the lyrics of my next song.”
“Second Chances” is the second single lifted from Jordy’s debut EP Games, which drops on April 18. She’s got a couple of local shows coming up this month, so get onto it Eora/Sydney!
6 April 2024 – Tokio Hotel, Eora/Sydney (FREE) 27 April 2024 – Bucketty’s Brewing Co, Eora/Sydney
After releasing seven albums and bagging a stack of awards in his native Canada, indie-folk artist Donovan Woods is finally making his way to Australia. He’ll play seven shows in intimate venues around the country in the middle of the year.
The tour announcement encouraged me to take a deep dive into Donovan’s music. I’ve had “Truck Full of Money” on my Spotify list of favourites for some time, but for some reason I hadn’t really explored his music before now. On one hand, I am so glad that I did. It’s incredible. And it just keeps getting better; his new track “Rosemary” is exquisite. On the other, now I’m sweating on my husband finding a new job before tickets sell out!
Donovan has partnered with Support Act and pledges to donate a dollar from every ticket sold to supporting music industry professionals in this country with crisis relief, mental health, and wellbeing assistance. He’s also got another album on the way in July, so expect to hear new tracks and plenty of your old favourites at these long-awaited shows:
Eora/Sydney-based R&B-pop act Christian Adjeisa has just released a brand new earworm, “RUNNING.” This song is such a bop. While it’ll get you up and dancing, its lyrics also pack a powerful emotional punch.
“‘RUNNING’ is my journey of grappling with heartbreak and search for truth, trying to outrun the haunting memories and painful truths of a failed relationship,” Christian said.
I also love the film clip, directed by Frederick McHenry, which sees Christian working up a sweat in the outback of New South Wales alongside Indigenous locals in Ngemba Country/Brewarrina. The rugged setting is a powerful representation of the emotional barrenness and isolation felt after a break-up. It’s all great stuff which makes me pretty excited to hear more.
Summer might be behind us, but you can certainly imagine the season’s still here listening to the tunes from Eora/Sydney four-piece Jet City Sports Club. On Thursday they’ll drop their sophomore EP Every Single Dream, featuring the current single “Sunny Morning.” Ahead of the EP release, Jet City Sports Club shared their perfect summer playlist with us here at Sounds of Oz. How many of these songs do you have on repeat?
“Skin” – Spacey Jane
This is a song we listened to heaps during the 21/22 summer when we were a bit earlier on in the band’s career. It feels really free and reflects the fun vibes of summer, paired with some really hitting lyrics – it’s the perfect blend.
“I’m Not Sure” – The Grogans
A band we’ve been lucky to play a handful of shows with across NSW, some of the nicest people you’ll meet. This one’s mad for summer as it’s two minutes of in your face rock, which is always welcome on a summer road trip, Grogs just do that sound so well.
“Midnight Sun” – RVG
Can’t overstate how much we love this album as a whole, and this song is just so powerful. We are lucky enough to be playing the Gum Ball festival in April, which RVG are on too. Come on down everyone!
“Kiss Me Aphrodite” – Oscar the Wild
This song makes you nostalgic for a summer romance you may never have even had. A beautifully heartfelt track with some great tempo and rhythm changes throughout that keeps you constantly engaged and wanting more.
“Dose” – STUMPS
While lyrically one of the sadder songs on this list, it just has this bright upbeat feeling with some beautiful instrumentation that makes you want to dance and sing along when that chorus hits.
“Your Side, Forever” – Middle Kids
This song is so perfect for driving in the summertime. The anthemic bridge is transporting. Taking you away from everything stressful.
“Foam” – Royel Otis
Royel Otis’ entire new album is perfect for getting lost in during the warmer months and Foam is the earworm that’ll get you right into it.
“Cassandra” – Cool Sounds
Get yourself a picnic blanket, and listen to this absolute summery loveliness while cloud watching. Nostalgic guitars and washed out dreamy vocals, make for a perfect, summery dream that we return to frequently.
Jet City Sports Club will bring back all the summer vibes when they release their Every Single Dream EP on March 28. Make sure you take a listen and check them out at one of their upcoming shows:
Shotgun Mistress may well be the last of a dying breed, a bunch of (mostly) long-haired rockers with big chords, big sing-along choruses, and big attitude. Their latest single “Shot Down” is a total throwback, but I for one thing this kind of music needs resurrecting.
Shotgun Mistress are red hot right now. They just played Glam Fest alongside absolute rock legends like Slaughter and Vixen frontwoman Janet Gardner and even appeared on The Project. Up next they’ll support Dirty Honey, Audio Reign, and The Poor, headline Wrestlerock, and release their album Kings of the Revolution on June 2. They’ll also head to Japan for a 10-date tour. Don’t worry local fans, they’ll be back before you know it to headline gigs all around the country. Until then, here are all the shows they’ve got locked in:
Born from a one-minute voice note, ioakim’s latest single “alltimefan” is a total bop. I love its upbeat poppy feel and relatable lyrics about infatuation and that natural human tendency to project onto people that turn our heads.
“‘alltimefan’ was the first song I made in LA with Jackson Phillips (Day Wave) in 2022. It is about drawing up a preconceived idea of someone before you have met them,” ioakim explained. “There’s a lot you can know about someone before you meet them in real life so you have a pretty good idea if you’re going to get along. This song ended becoming reality a month or so later. Life is weird”.
When it results in music this good, I’m all for the weird! Something tells me we’ll be hearing a lot more from ioakim in the future.
I’ve held off for as long as I could. As a Eurovision tragic, I always try to wait for the competition to hear the songs. I want them all to be fresh for me. But I caved. I couldn’t help but listen to “One Milkali (One Blood)”, our entry this year from the one and only Electric Fields. I am properly on board. It’s a disco dance banger, but it’s also got a powerful message about connection with the world around us. And how exciting to hear a didge and some native language in our entry! Talk about representation.
“We are buzzed with euphoria at our chance to share this music with the world,” the duo said. “Our music comes from the deepest place in both of us and Eurovision is the most exciting opportunity to bring together our cultures and share the joy of our global connection.”
Make sure you don’t miss Electric Fields doing our country proud when SBS airs the Eurovision Song Contest from May 8 to 12.
