Musicadium Blog

How would you describe Sietta’s sound to someone that hasn’t listened to you yet?
James Rolling basslines, synths, banging beats and soulful harmonies…that kinda sums it up. 

Your music is a combination of blues, funk and electronica, what musicians have influenced your style the most?
Caiti.b We’re both big fans of blues greats such as Big Mama Thorton, Etta James, Little Walter and Jimi Hendrix.   We’re also both huge 90s kids so we love TLC, Aaliyah, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z, Method Man (actually anything wu-tang)… The Spice Girls and most pop one-hit-wonders.
James My favourite producer is RZA, not particularly for his beats but more for his philosophies.  Everyone in Hip Hop should read the Wu-Manual, it’s classic!  I’m also big into synths (obviously) and dig that UK sound a lot, lately I’ve been learning Sam Cooke tracks on this wurly I borrowed.
Caiti.b Both of us dig our hip hop, soul, grunge and pop.

You have been compared to the likes of Portishead and Groove Armada, how does that feel?
Caiti.b Pretty good! They’re such awesome bands to be compared to and we’re really flattered. Our first ever song written together was straight up dark trip hop. And our EP has that trip hop vibe, especially in Silence and Come Back.
James On our full length record, we’ll definitely take it to those realms. Although our love of bangin hip hop may dominate…

You recently performed ‘Number One’ with TZU at The Opening of the Adelaide Fringe Festival as well as at a number of their own shows around the country. How did that come about and what was that like?
Caiti.b James has being playing bass for TZU for the past year and used to show the boys our tunes. I’ve been a fan of the guys for quite some time and was stoked when we were able to record our debut EP with Count Bounce. It was around that time the boys wanted to remix their whole computer love record and number one was my favourite track. So we did the remix and then we performed it live with them… In Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. That Fringe Festival was crazy! I’ve never been on stage in front of so many people!
James I think we’ve had opportunities to play around just by getting out and doing it.  We got the Urthboy supports when we scored a gig in Sydney at a local night and we contacted Urthboy letting him know we were in town around the same time as his single launch and he gave us the Sydney and Melbourne supports.  I think the best way to travel with music around Australia is to find out who you like and respect in the industry and hit them up….they can only say Yes or No.

You are playing the Digital Love Musicdium Showcase on the 3rd of October at Barsomas in Brisbane, what can the audience expect from your live show?
James The audience can expect to see (and hear) quite a party set. Most of our night is up beat and pretty slamming with a few moments where we break it down. We both love that club element of music that gets a crowd rockin.

What can fans expect next from Sietta?
James We’ve just finished a remix for Urthboy. We hope it’ll be available soon, it’s of the track “spitshine” so keep an ear to the streets.
Caiti We also have a new project in the pipeline called F.T.F.T which stands for From The Fish Tank. Hopefully you’ll all know about that soon enough.
James We’re in the process of finishing our full length album which will be written between Melbourne, Darwin, Brisbane and even Alice Springs.  We hope to finish it by March next year.

Check out their amazing music on or befriend them on MySpace.

Brisbane pop-rock band and Musicadium Artists Finabah have won the Rock category of the 2009 New Artists to Radio initiative for their track “Everyone Jump (When They Tell You How High)”.

They will share in $150,000 worth of advertising on commercial radio.

The win kicked off an incredibly successful weekend for the band, who also played a set at Brisbane’s Sounds of Spring Festival as a result of winning a competition sponsored by local street press Time Off.

NA2R is run by Commercial Radio Australia, and has helped launch the careers of acts such as Faker and Sarah Blasko.

With their melodic bass and synth-tastic sound, Musicadium artists Polaroid Fame rocked out at Splendour this year and are coming to a stage near you on their tri-state tour in October and November. Musicadium intern Ashley Roulston caught up with the band so keen to share and get people involved in their music that, until November 8, they’re offering it for only a dollar – yes ONE dollar!

In July you took the stage at Splendour in The Grass - that must have been an amazing experience! Tell us a bit more about it.

It was truly amazing. I can still remember walking on stage & feeling that electricity running through my body when the crowd went nuts as we started. It was so awesome to play on a stage that big, considering all the hype & press leading up to the festival & the fact it was our biggest gig to date, we all rose to the occasion & had such a memorable gig. We also enjoyed being able to mingle with some of our favorite bands in the artist area. You see some crazy stuff going on back there. It definitely took all of us a few days to float back down to earth after Splendour.

This month will see the release of your debut album ‘We Live Your Life’, can you tell us about the writing process behind the album and what it was like working with ARIA nominated Anthony Lycenko?

We had so much fun making this record. Too much at times. The songs really compliment each other and it definitely has this overall theme. When I wrote these songs, I was listening to a lot of my mums old vinyl- eighties/pop kind of stuff with big reverbs & chorus on everything. So there was this heavy heart nostalgic feeling flowing, that definitely came through on the record. The real magic happens when we all get together & give the songs a second life. Mitch has a great knack of coming up with epic bass-lines & I still remember the first bend Damo played on We Live Your Life it was so cool & hasn’t changed. Zoe seems to put these huge beds of Synth around us all kind of coating us in sugar, and Guy played some huge drum fills and counter groove type stuff that sounds so good. Working with Anthony or “The Chief” as we call him is easy & fun. We’ve worked with him before on our EP Another Place To Live. Most of the time we are all thinking the same thing, so there’s lots of laughing and giving shit to each other. Anthony has such a good ear for things, it’s quiet amazing actually. Just when you think you’ve hit a wall he comes up with the coolest idea & we’re all like “Yeah! That’s it!” To be honest, I think he’s probably the most underrated producer/engineer around.

Last week you started shooting a new video for your 2nd single ‘Face Off’. When can we expect it and what is the concept behind the video?

“Face Off” is a bit of a favorite amongst the band. It’s got this really bangin groove that just makes you want to move. Its dark message is that argument you have between what your heart feels/wants & what your misleading mind is whispering to you. We had some students that are studying film at SAE in Byron Bay get in contact with us after they’d checked out our music on MySpace. We sent them the song & asked them to paint a picture of what they saw. What they come up with was spot on. It pictures us all shot in front of a green screen. One take we shoot us all dressed in white being “Good” then again in black “Evil” & they have this “Face Off” It’s like a bent take on Dueling Banjos? We should have it done in the next couple of months I’d say. We have also just shot the clip for the 1st single “We Live Your Life” so I guess that needs to drop first. We are good at doing things back to front.

You’re also touring the album nationally over the next two months, what can we expect from you live?

Yeah we have some kick ass shows lined up for this tour & we cant wait to hit the stage & get into peoples heads. I’d say you could expect a modern Australian pop rock, 80’s-esque synth with warm melodic vocals, catchy bass-lines & danceable grooves textured by spacious twin intergalactic guitar riffs.

Finally, what does the future hold for Polaroid Fame?

Who knows really? We hope the tour is a success. We’d like to keep this momentum rolling at a steady pace. In celebration, an interesting thing we are doing, is letting people for a limited time download our entire album for $1 from our website polaroidfame.com As great as this album is & its worth we didn’t want to be too precious with it & thought we’d much rather get it out there & have more people enjoying it. So it will be interesting to see how that does? Ultimately I think we would all love to leave our day jobs & spend more time touring & playing music.

Check out Polaroid Fame through their MySpace

on

and download their album We Live Your Life for only $1 through their website

This week’s hottest album cover is for The Dead Loss EP, Little Scout’s debut release. Their mothers love it, the radio loves it, and you should too. Check them out at Myspace, lest their legs fall off and they’re banished to a remote island.

Let us know what you think of it by leaving a comment! Check them out on iTunes here: 

Hello!

My name is James (or Jimbo which I’ve been nicknamed By Sarah and Tim) I am a 22 year old graduate located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. I have recently finished a three year BA Hons degree in Music Industries, obtaining a 2:2 classification and many beneficial skills throughout my time on the course. During the evenings I work as an assistant promoter for Plug After Hours Club, a live music venue situated in Digbeth, Birmingham. I deal with all the online promotion of the club and it’s upcoming events, including weekly bookings of deejays and artists from across the UK. I also DJ dubstep music under the name Arctic, having residencies in various night clubs across the city. I spend my days working in a garden centre (it pays the bills!) of which I’m currently saving my pay checks on a monthly basis, necessary in funding my move over to Australia next February 2010.

In my spare time I also co-run an independent record label, Andromeda Records, specialising in dubstep, minimal and underground electronic music. Other activities include participation with an online blog, Bassache, focusing on the discovery of new producers and deejays within the electronic field. I also run two club nights at the Plug venue, one focusing specifically on unsigned bands, entitled, Un-Plug Live. My other night, Bassfaced, is a club night I have ran previously, focusing on deejays and emcees surrounding bass music culture.

I’m extremely excited to be on board the Musicadium team, keen on bringing some of my own ideas to the table.

Nice one!

If you have never heard of South by Southwest - (WikiPedia)

SXSW is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 1,400 performers playing dozens of venues around Austin over four days, in March. Though it is an industry-based event, SXSW Music links locally with events such as the annual Austin Music Awards show. SXSW is the highest revenue-producing special event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of at least $110 million in 2008.

The music event has grown from 700 registrants in 1987 to nearly 12,000 registrants. SXSW Film and SXSW Interactive events attract approximately 11,000 registrants to Austin every March.

SXSW has inspired similar festivals elsewhere, including North by Northeast (NXNE) in Toronto and West by Southwest (WXSW) in Tucson, AZ.

SXSW also offers a free musical samples of featured artists at each festival. The number of songs has grown from 775 MP3 tracks in 2005 to 1267 in 2009.

To get your submission in for consideration for a slot at South By SouthWest - go to the SxsW page at http://www.sxsw.com/music/shows/apply which explains the Sonicbids process.  Application fees are US$30 for early submissions, rising to US$40 September 26.

Riding the latest wave of electronic music popularity, Musicadium artists THE CITYSCAPE RIOT create a sound that has been described as “like being inside a computer game where you’re dressed in a fluoro suit, driving a fast car and fighting for your life”. Being based simultaneously in Brisbane and Hobart, Joesph and Jay caught up with Musicadium intern “Foxy” Roxy Burt (also known as DJ Jane Doe) to chat about the recent happenings of the pair closing the gap across the Bass Strait.

Congratulations on scoring the support slot for Grafton Primary! Electronica is becoming rather popular now. What do you think of the state of the dance/electronica scene in Australia? 

Yeah supporting Grafton was a blast. The sound we got was huge. It’s always great playing through a big rig and to a large crowd in the mood to party. Popularity in anything on the other hand always makes me cringe though and makes me want to do the opposite and I guess that’s one of the reasons why we started playing electronic music in the first place. We grew up listening to Nirvana and playing in indie/rock bands so we still kind of look at the state of music through those eyes. Although our eyes have been opened far wider since those days we still have strong punk rock ideals. I think the best thing about electronic music being popular at the moment is it gives people an opening and departure point to further investigate the genre.

I can hear influences of Daft Punk and Joy Division which is an amazing mix, will you write similar music when recording in the future?

It’s a fine line at the moment…how indie to go? How dark to go? Whilst still pumping out the dance beats and good times. I think our live show has a good balance but our recordings are still a work in progress. We definitely are huge fans of Joy Division and French house so hearing those influences makes sense. When we started this project it was far more Joy Division/New Order driven and way more indie orientated but as our equipment and set-up has changed it’s become a bigger more danceable sound. I don’t think we want to lose all our rawness or darkness though as I think that differentiates us from a lot of other electronic artists.

Because you have quite a full sound and there are only 2 members of the band, how do you play live?

It’s true; we only have two arms and two legs each too so machines are involved. We’ve used nothing in the past, we’ve used drum machines, we used Ipods, moogs, and now we’re moving to computers. It’s something I felt really uneasy about when we first started-the whole backing tracks thing that is-but there is no other way for us to play with such a full sound live. Jay plays drums live and I play keys, percussion and sing so our energy on stage is definitely something we emphasise. We are not programmed robots-we control the machines, they don’t control us.

You’ve recorded an EP, when can we expect the album?

At this stage you can’t, you can expect another E.P probably around the start of next year though. I’m a strong believer in E.P’s for less established bands. I don’t want to listen to crud from established groups let alone anyone else. The album will be themed again and revolved around a few key subject matters and sounds. At this stage the big difference will be the increased quality of production. We’re really focusing on keeping things simple and sharp.

Do you remix many other bands music?

Yeah we’ve done a few in the past and have a few coming up in the future. I like remixing all kinds of music but I really enjoy remixing indie/rock music and totally warping the bones of the song into a different environment. I think the next one we have planned to remix is a song by Red Rival which will be off their debut album when they release it. We really enjoy remixing songs so if anyone is keen just drop us a line. The main thing we look for is strong hooky vocals and some distinctive sounds we can sample.

Apart from supporting Grafton Primary, what other shows have you got coming up?

Well we are supporting Miami Horror and Philadelphia Grand Jury interstate during October which will no doubt be great shows and our first X and Y show in the Valley around mid October as well. So I guess keep your eyes pricked and your ears peeled over the coming months as we’ve got a few shows in the pipe line.

Check out The Cityscape Riot on MySpace and you can buy their EP “Technodome Lights” on

Musicadium’s WITH DIGITAL LOVE (not to be confused with Yves Klein Blue’s new single) showcases at BarSoma have scored their first prime-time, Saturday night blowout.  Digital Music Aggregators Musicadium are curating the entertainment for the evening, from go to whoa, so wear some comfortable dancing shoes, it’s going to be a long one.

3 bands, including Melbourne’s trip-hop duo Sietta, Brisbane’s wonderfully theatrical Felinedown and hometown rapper Castel will begin the evening before 3 DJs close out the evening - keeping it in the Digital Distributor family, Musicadium intern DJ Jane Doe and Musicadium friends Will Timmins and DuaneMC will see the party out until the early hours of the morning - closing time, to be exact.

Formed in 2007, Sietta is a two piece consisting of the electronic production of James Mangohig (Yamez) and the singing of caiti.b.  The name ‘Sietta’ is derived from 7 in Spanish and Etta James.  Hailing from as far afield as Darwin and Brisbane but now settled in Melbourne, these two friends share a rich musical connection anchored in the belief that music should be powerful.  Their delightful trip-hop can be found at http://www.myspace.com/siettamusic.

Felinedown seem to be the Brisbane music reviewer’s delight to write about, with reviews such as this from 4ZzZ “On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say this show was somewhere between ‘OMG!’ and ‘F**k Yeah!’ with a dash of ‘keep your eye on this band’ thrown in for good measure.” Lead singer Brodie gets some love from Rave Magazine as well - “Sex-on-legs singer Brodie Wright draws everyone’s attention with her seductive presence and strong vocals, most prominently on the deliciously sleazy grind of Magazine Dream.” Their Garbage/Goldfrapp-inspired sound can be found at http://www.myspace.com/felinedown.

Part producer, part inventor, Castel is the antidote to hip-hop mediocrity.  In 2007, Castel’s unique blend of electronic sounds and hip-hop styles caught the attention of music industry experts, including Amber Zada (Manager of Sneaky Sound System), Scott Stewart (MCM Entertainment), Susanna Santos (Roadshow Music) and Mike Campbell (Universal Music) who selected him as the winner of the Coca-Cola Live ‘N Local Unsigned Queensland competition.   He can be found at http://www.myspace.com/castelonline.

Jane Doe is no newcomer to the Brisbane indie-electro scene.  She has spent the past few months injecting the Brisbane night life with her distinctive blend of indie remixes, electro trash, mash ups and crazy hip hop beats.  She is giving away her latest demo at http://www.myspace.com/janedoedj.   Will Timmins spins breaks and house tunes while DuaneMC will finish the night out.

The Showcase is $10 entry as it is every Saturday at BarSoma and starts at 9pm.  Doors close at 4am.  It is an 18+ event.  Tickets are available only at the door.  For more information, see the event invite at http://www.facebook.com/musicadium.

Musicadium has always been a leader in the Australian market for digital distribution of independent music to the world’s leading digital outlets, but from this week, Musicadium is raising the stakes and providing a range of new services, with more to come in the following months.

As early as tomorrow and throughout the coming week, Musicadium will release updates to the current website and to the album-adding process.

This very exciting development has been the product of a number of months’ work for the Musicadium team - the announcement of which has us all celebrating!

The purpose of this is:

1) To streamline the process to get music to us and straight through to the online outlets by adding an upload step in the album process (files are to be submitted in WAV files - stereo, 16bit, 44.1khZ).  This feature will be made available from Friday 26th September, 9AM EST.  This will aid the album adding process for overseas artists and reduce the postage costs for Australian artists to distribute their music digitally!

2) To add an extra outlet - Nokia Music (which also gets your music into the Nokia Comes with Music subscription service for mobiles).  This feature will be made available from Thursday 17th September, 9AM EST.

3) To add the ability to distribute video to iTunes (this feature will be available from Monday 21 September, 9AM EST and details on the requirements for distribution will be made available then).  Musicadium will be the only Australian-based aggregator to be supplying music video content to iTunes, to distribute globally!

These features will be available and accessible from the members area on the Musicadium website.

If you have any questions regarding these developments, please e-mail info@musicadium.com or call (07) 3252 9962.

This week we are having a look at Rokeby Venus’ film clip to their “Party Song”, which can be found on their Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/therokebyvenus.

From their MySpace:

With his heart on his sleeve and his guitar on his back, two years ago Rokeby Venus front man Michael Danby traded his surfboard for a plane ticket. Having travelled to Europe to grow both as a musician and a worldly human being, he returns with some of the most infectious material heard throughout Australia’scoastal record circuit.

The other 2/3’s of the Brisbane trio Rokeby Venus include Matt Barnes (drums/backing vocals) and David Balfe (bass). Together, the band has invested a monster behind the scenes effort since Danby’s return and are proud to present their debut self-titled EP.

The EP at first listen is undeniably catchy, positive and listenable. Danby’s style of writing is very literal and that speaks volumes about the accessibility of their music. The sonic texture for an acoustic based group is thick without overzealous production. All tracks, produced, engineered and mixed by Aria award nominee Anthony Lycenko maintain the clarity and subtleties often looked over in the process of keeping up with today’s competitive pop/rock dynamics. This, giving a listener something extra to sink their teeth into.

The Rokeby Venus’ music will be available on iTunes very soon!  Leave a comment here on what you think!