Gaga Music: Latest News

Warm Your Soul With Our Winter Playlist

Pete — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Image: Flickr CC / CazzJj

Though notionally still Autumn, there have been enough snaking cold winds and sideways rain and gun-metal-grey skies for us to know, whatever the calendar says, that winter is upon is.

But it's not all doom and gloom: we have a heap of excellent new tracks from the Digi and Pub catalogues, which promise to warm your soul/heart/extremities as you hunker down for the next few months.

Our new Winter Playlist features new sounds from Digi artists Prudence Rees-Lee, Simone & Girlfunkle and Bonjah along with some recent classics and office favourites from Pub artists Divine Fits, Junip, Wintercoats, Big Scary and new signing Dent May.

Dumb Ways To Die Clip feat. Emily Lubitz Scores Big At Webbys

Pete — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Late last year, Tinpan Orange's Emily Lubitz lent her beautiful pipes to the hit viral campaign Dumb Ways to Die, which featured a whole bunch of adorable cartoon characters dying in unfortunate and unnecessary ways in the service of educating people how to be more responsible around trains.

The wildly successful spot was the work of Melbourne's Metro Trains and agency McCann, and has gone on to rack up an impressive 45 million views, exposing Lubitz's gorgeous voice to a whole new audience.

This week, it was announced that the clip has picked up seven Webby Awards, which are sometimes called the internet's equivalent of the Oscars. The clip took out the People's Voice awards in the Best Viral Online Film & Video category, the Webby and People's Voice awards for Best Animation Film & Video and Best Viral Marketing Interactive Advertising & Media.

They also scooped the Best Public Service & Activism (Social Content & Marketing) category, winning the People's Voice award.

Lubitz teamed up with Cat Empire's Ollie McGill under the moniker Tangerine Kitty to record the track. McGill wrote the music and lyrics for the song.

Lubitz says she doesn't entirely know why Dumb Ways to Die has resonated with people like it has.

'I don't know why it's gone viral,' she says. 'It's a really cute song and a cool cartoon and people love that kinda thing. But to tell you the truth, the human condition and the ways of the internet baffle me equally.'

Lubitz says she had no idea when she recorded the track what would happen. 'I had some bills to pay so when Ollie called and asked me to do a session for him I said "sure". When I heard the song I thought it was going to be a cool little campaign, but I never knew it would become the mountain it is now.'

The song, she said, 'took a couple of hours' to record, after which she 'kinda forgot about it.' She's happy, though, with how things have turned out. 'This internet explosion is great for everyone involved .. especially anyone who is in danger of doing something dumb around trains!'

Annemarie Duff Joins Gaga

Pete — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

We're very happy to announce that Melbourne-based, New Zealand-born songwriter and producer Annemarie Duff has joined Gaga Pub.

A versatile artist, Annemarie has composed music in a wide range of genres, and for a variety of mediums, from games and television to theatre and documentary.

Annemarie's stirring music is filled with beautiful sonic detail, and has an ethereal, cinematic quality, taking in, as Vanguard Magazine's Martyn Pepperell wrote, 'washy ambient shoegaze, contemporary trip-hop, glo-fi, h-pop and hauntology.'

She has worked on projects for clients including the BBC, Lionsgate, Cerebralfix games, Paua Productions and Shuriken Studios, and currently records under a variety of monikers, both collaborative and solo, including Mmdelai, Pinn'd and Miniatures, and under her own name.

Listen to Moon, recorded under the MMdelai moniker, below.

New Charlie Parr Documentary Needs Your Help

Pete — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

A couple of years ago, some French friends caught a Charlie Parr show in Sydney. As it so often does, Charlie's music stayed with them. The friends ended up meeting the revered guitarist and singer in Paris, where Charlie invited them to visit him at home in Duluth, Minnesota, to hang out for a while.

Visit the they did, taking a trip inspired by Charlie's music and getting intimate footage of Charlie, his music and the part of America he calls home. The resulting documentary, Meeting Charlie Parr, is a beautifully shot travel tale about finding and appreciating a singular character in American music.

Here's where you come in: a crowdfunded project, the documentary is currently 1500 Euros short of its funding goal. There are two weeks left to fund it, so head on over and help out. Check out the trailer for the doco below, and some beautiful shots from the documentary below that.

The Vaudeville Smash Join Gaga

Pete — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

We're very happy to welcome Melbourne pop quintet Vaudeville Smash to the Gaga fold.

Vaudeville Smash have just returned from a whirlwind North American tour, garnering much attention for shows at SXSW, LA, New York and Toronto, the whole jaunt described by the lads as 'an incredible, gig laden, alcohol swilling, cross country, big city, burger eating, sleep deprived adventure.'

This month, Vaudeville Smash will release their much awaited debut album, and will follow up with a national tour and a trip to Japan.

Vaudeville Smash started out a few years ago with three brothers, an intense love of good music and a desire to the give the kids something they'd never seen or heard before.

From there, with the addition of two more members, the enigmatic, energetic and all-embracing outfit set about building their reputation via wild live shows and an unbridled sense of fun, communicated in everything they do.

In 2011 and 2012, Vaudeville Smash played the St Kilda Festival main stage and the Australian Open, as well as selling out the Corner Hotel and heading to the US for their first SXSW, where they were named one of the buzz bands of the conference by the Huffington Post.

The band's debut album was recorded with acclaimed producer John Castle (Megan Washington, Bamboos). Check out the clip for second single 'Look at Me' below, and listen to first single Best Night here.

Carpark Records & Dent May Join Gaga

Pete — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

We're very happy to announce that we've joined forces with Carpark Publishing, the new publishing arm of esteemed US indie Carpark Records, beginning with the works of balladeer extraordinaire Dent May.

Dent May rolled onto the scene in 2009, with his utterly charming debut record The Good Feeling Music Of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, which came out on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks imprint. Dent croons heartfelt and disarming songs of love and romance and (mostly) good times; he also sells his own lip balm. Last year, Dent released his second album, the sunny and wonderful Do Things.

Needless to say we're very happy to be working with him and the fine folk at Carpark Publishing.

Sun City Join Gaga

Pete — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

We're very happy to welcome Perth electro-pop duo Sun City to the Gaga Pub fold.

Sun City started out in 2011, when Daniel Mackey and Tobias John first started making music together. The aptly named duo's euphoric tunes blend addictive synth hooks with outsized basslines and spirited vocals, and have gained the band a growing following at home and abroad –– a few months ago, Sun City made their African debut with a couple of shows in Zimbabwe.

After releasing their self-titled ep in late 2011, the duo landed slots at some of the nation's biggest festivals, including Parklife and Stereosonic. Their second ep, Set Alight, followed in August 2012, and received heavy airplay on Triple J and blog attention, with the band's big, sunny sound being likened to M83, Passion Pit and The Naked and Famous.

Sun City recently completed their first national tour. The lead single from Set Alight, 'High', reached number three on the hypem popular charts; the clip, which you can watch below, was featured on M.T.V. in the U.S. and Rage in Australia. We're very happy to have them on board.

Drink the Drunk Mums at Cherry Residency

Pete — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Rabble rousers par excellence Drunk Mums are currently in the midst of a Wednesday night residency at Melbourne's Cherry Bar this month.

In honour of the occasion(s), the lads have had some very limited edition lager brewed, which Cherry will selling at this week's final residency. Behold the brew below.

If that's not enough to get you down to AC/DC Lane, Drunk Mums will be playing three new songs from their upcoming album, the follow up to their self-titled barn burner from last year, which is out now on Gaga Digi.

Sync: Volvo TVC feat. The Black Keys

Pete — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Fresh from cleaning up at the Grammy Awards, the mighty Black Keys have just had 'I Got Mine', from their 2008 Attack and Release lp, featured in a new Volvo TVC.

The spot is for the new Volvo V40, which features, among many other things, some next level Swedish technology in the form of a pedestrian airbag. Check the spot out below:

In other Keys' news, the duo will release a seven inch on April 20, aka Record Store Day, as part of the day's Side by Side vinyl series. The seven inch features The Stooges legendary '69 track Fun House; the flip side features The Keys' updated 2002 version of the song. It's going to be pretty and limited edition and you'll have to get in quick.

For more Record Store Day treats, head over to the official site.

Achoo! Bless You Join Gaga

Pete — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

We're very happy to welcome aboard Sydney folk-pop duo Achoo! Bless You to the Digi and Pub folds.

Achoo! Bless You started out in 2010, in a small bedroom in Sydney's inner-west, when Ross James Tipper and Ashleigh Steel first began writing songs together, drawing on Ross's penchant for writing immediately hummable pop songs and Ashleigh's extensive back-catalogue of failed romantic experiences.

Together the duo make sweetly melodic, infectious pop, informed by a strong DIY ethos. After their self-recorded, self-released debut lp, The Necessary Space: A Collection of Homemade Recordings, Achoo! returned in 2012 with the No Island ep, which was recorded at a remote beach house a couple hours north of Sydney.

Doing things themselves is a key part of what Ross and Ash do: It's about capturing the music, but it's also about letting in a little (or sometimes a lot) of the people making the music and everything around them.

No Island, featuring the infectious single Before We Say Goodbye, is out now on Gaga Digi, along with their 2011 single Coming Home (To You This Christmas).

We're very happy to have them on board.

All the Colours Join Gaga

Peter — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

We're very happy to welcome Melbourne-based vintage-pop band All the Colours to the fold.

All the Colours came together with 'the ambition of making great music and making girls dance.' Drawing on influences ranging from The Doors to Ennio Morricone to the timeless hits of Tarantino soundtracks, All the Colours make classic-sounding music that is nonetheless very much their own, with a sincerity that sets it apart.

The lads have been a part of many bands over the years –– Moriarty currently fronts Miami Horror, and Bramley did time in Betchadupa. The band have just finished their self-titled debut album. It's excellent, and will be out very soon.

In the meantime, check out the video for first single 'Second to None' above, and listen to another album highlight, Fly Little Bird, below.

The foursome, though generally law abiding citizens, recently played a very well received house party in Richmond –– well received, that was, by everyone except the cops, who appeared in the late evening and tried to shut it all down. A decision not particularly appreciated by the band, and in particular bass player Joe Bramley:

If you're in Melbourne, or nearby, you can catch the lads tomorrow night, Feb 16, at The Toff in Town.

The Black Keys Clean Up at the Grammys

Pete — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

After an enormous 2012, The Black Keys cleaned up at the 2013 Grammy Awards this week. The Akron, Ohio duo, whose last lp, El Camino, has sold over 1.1 million copies (and counting) picked up three needs for Best Rock Performance (Lonely Boy), Best Rock Song (Lonely Boy) and Best Rock Album.

In their acceptance speech, Auerbach and Carney thanked producer Danger Mouse, who worked with them again on El Camino, along with their crew 'everybody in Akron, Ohio and everybody in Nashville,' the city they now call home.

In what was a huge night for the band, Auerbach also took out the Producer of the Year award, which brought his tally to four.

Big Scary Return With New Album Not Art

Pete — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Image: Andrzej Liguz/moreimages.net

Acclaimed Melbourne pop duo Big Scary have finished work on their second album, the follow up to much lauded 2011 debut Vacation.

Entitled Not Art, the new record will be released later this year, and follows a busy eighteen months for the band, in which they've toured extensively, both at home and in the US.

Not Art was recorded and produced by one half of the duo, Tom Iansek, and was mixed by Grammy Award winning Tom Elmhirst (The Black Keys, Adele, Amy Winehouse) at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

We can't wait to hear it.

Check out the teaser below:

Sync: Coke Zero TVC feat. Diplo's Set It Off

Pete — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Man of many talents, producer, rapper, DJ and songwriter extraordinaire Diplo, has had his track Set It Off, from his Express Yourself ep, featured in a new series of Coke Zero web and TV spots, via Songs Publishing.

Check out one of the spots below:

Sync: Dragon Baby Clip feat. Drunk Mums Tops 25 Million Views

Pete — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Melbourne-based rabble rousers Drunk Mums, as we wrote yesterday, have just had their music included in a new clip for DC Shoes' extravagantly fearless motorcross team.

Before that, though, their track Chitty Chitty, from their blistering self-titled debut lp, was featured in a short viral video by noted Canadian director Patrick Boivin.

The clip, which you can enjoy below, features a toddler having an epic battle with a plush toy in a backyard, showcasing moves that Chuck Norris, even in his heyday, would be proud of. Said video has proved extremely popular, topping a massive 25 million views this week, in the process bringing Drunk Mums' raucous excellence into homes all over the world. Which, I think you'll agree, is where it should be.

Sync: DC Moto Video feat. Drunk Mums

Pete — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Melbourne-by-way-of-Cairns hellraisers Drunk Mums, fresh from wowing Sydney with their magnificently unhinged blues-rock squawk, have just had one of their tracks featured in a DC Shoes motorcross video.

The video features the frankly unbelieable antics of DC Shoes' team of fearless lunatics, including one Travis Pastrana, a peerless deardevil/crazy person whose feats include leaping out of a plane without a parachute and jumping 270 odd feet in a rally car.

Drunk Mums' appropriately titled 'Heavy Penalties', from their super Eventual Ghost ep, is a perfect fit for the airborne madness. Check it out below:

Sync: Berlei Sports TVC feat. Tobio

Pete — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Rising Sydney producer Toby Burville, who produced the Sierra Sisters' infectious 'Shake It', used in a series of recent Schweppes' spots, has just penned a track for a new Berlei Sports TV and online spot.

Check out the Berlei spot below:

Toby releases music under the aliases Tobio and O Squid. As Tobio, his beats flit happily between 90s nostalgia and the current future beat sound pallette; under the O Squid moniker, Toby makes tracks more squarely aimed at the dancefloor.

A firm believer in knowledge sharing, Toby started out with the oneofour collective, playing parties, talking production and laying down tracks for their monthly mixtapes. Around the same time he began teaching at Lion Mountain Studio, a project set up to help people from African communities gain access and training in music making and recording. Toby worked with Sierra Sisters in his role at Lion Mountain.

You can hear Toby on Sydney's FBi radio, where he co-hosts the weekly Future Face radio show with Monk Fly.

Sync: Tallink TVC feat. Holly Throsby

Pete — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

A couple of years back, Sydney-based indie folk singer songwriter Holly Throsby wrote an album of kids' songs.

Entitled See!, the album, Throsby said, was 'an alternative to traditional children's music... a little black sheep for for kids and parents.'

Working with producer Tony Dupé and a cast of guest including J Walker and Darren Hanlon, Throsby had a blast making the record. 'It was so fun and so freeing in terms of the sounds and the intention of it,' she told us at the time. 'We just wanted it to be really happy and ridiculous.'

Last month, one of the album's many highlights, Can I Do That Too, featured in Swedish ad for European ferry company Tallink. Check out the spot below:

Watch: Andrew Bird 'Hands of Glory' Mini-Doco

Pete — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Earlier this year, after the release of his acclaimed tenth album Break It Yourself, singer-songwriter extraordinaire Andrew Bird retreated to his barn with his band to record a simpler, more stripped back album.

For the sessions, Bird and his band used only one mic, a decision he says changed the dynamic and forced them to play better. The resulting album, Hands of Glory, deftly captures the rustic charm of Bird's more old-timey songs, and is imbued with an effortless intimacy and gregariousness. It's the sound of a bunch of talented fellows who really like playing with one another, and whose musical understanding of each other, after years on the road, is really something.

Pitchfork caught up with Bird and band at his idyllic barn during the recording of the album, capturing the moment in which the album was made in a great mini-documentary. Check it out below:

Hands of Glory is out now. Have a listen to a couple of highlights from the album in the player below.

On the Roof: Ainslie Wills

Pete — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Melbourne singer-songwriter Ainslie Wills has been hard at work this year, readying her much awaited debut album with collaborator Lawrence Folvig. The new album, You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine, is lush and organic sounding, and 'more textural and cinematic in its overall sound', Wills says, than her first two eps.

The first taste of the new album came in the form of driving first single Fighting Kind, released earlier this year. Ainslie and Lawrence recently stopped by our rooftop to perform another song from the album, the gorgeous Early Morning Light. It's a pretty incredible performance: Ainslie's effortless, strong voice and evocative, unconventional songwriting are real marvels, destined to find a much wider audience with the release of You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine, which is out early next year.

Enjoy: