It’s the morning of January 21st when I sit down to interview Claud. Just another day for us Australians. For the U.S.-based artist however, that means it’s still the afternoon of the 20th, Biden’s inauguration day. It’s a day heavy with significance, and an auspicious one to be interviewing the 21-year-old, an artist who seems tailor made for this new hopeful-present, a gently radical young voice who’s debut album Super Monster (out today on Saddest Factory Records) cuts across age and gender barriers to deliver ear-wormy bedroom-pop about love and coming-of-age with a distinctly 2021 approach.
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Valid Point talks online collabs and dual singles 'Bury Me' and 'Time Flies'
Posted on January 29 2021
Brothers Thad and Jonah McClelland are no strangers to innovation. In fact, they've built their whole career on it, experimenting and jamming together new genres and new methods of production with their band Valid Point, in the pursuit of making great music. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the band's new release, the dual singles 'Bury Me' and 'Time Flies', a pairing of differing yet complementary hip-hop tracks that perfectly summarise Valid Point's approach to making music.
What's in a name? Hey Danger talks origins, perfectionism, and new single 'Stop and Go'
Posted on January 23 2021
There are lots of methods for coming up with band names. You can use a self-deprecating quip (Led Zeppelin). Make fun of an old teacher (Lynyrd Skynyrd). Take inspiration from a Buddhist ideal (Nirvana). Or, like Jarvis Hill of Brisbane-based indie-rock outfit Hey Danger, you can let your subconscious do the work with the help of a little free association.
Brandon Alexander is already feeling nostalgic
Posted on January 22 2021
Nostalgia. We all know the feeling. That wistful yearning for times past, that kind of heart-sick pull that makes us feel happy and sad all at once, happy because it lives on in our memories, sad because the moment is lost forever, irrecoverable. It might sound painful, but that's exactly the kind of feeling Atlanta-based musician Brandon Alexander wants you to have, tapping into our collective reveverence for the past with his brand of ethereal, 80's inspired dream pop.
Wise Words from Claud, Cuff Your Jeans
Posted on January 13 2021
Claud is firmly on my list of ones to watch in 2021. I've been a big fan of since "Wish You Were Gay" (Which, by the way is up to almost 4.5 MILLION streams on Youtube, i just checked, watched the vid and now i'm sad... Anyway.) it's been pleasing to see a nice steady rise in popularity.
Alt-pop artist Lenny The Heart likes your girlfriend and he isn't afraid to say it
Posted on January 08 2021
Keys in the bowl folks: it's partner swapping time! It isn't often you get an artist brave enough to admit to their coveting of a friend's girlfriend, but that's exactly what Colorado-based artist Lenny The Heart has done with his latest offering, 'Ilygf' (I Like Your Girlfriend), a darkly infectious piece of confessional alt-pop that picks up where Ariana Grande's 'Break Up With Your Girlfriend' left off.
Folk-pop goddess Miss Elm shakes off 2020 with the 'Love Inside'
Posted on January 08 2021
Look, I can do a lot in 20 minutes. Fry an egg. Take a shower. Have a nap. What I can't do however, is write a song, especially one as catchy and genre-defying as 'Love Inside', the latest release from Brisbane-based folk-pop goddess Miss Elm, written via a burst of inspiration in the midst of last year’s impending apocalypse.
Poison Oak get impatient with latest single 'Waiting'
Posted on December 18 2020
It seems like we’ve been waiting a lot in 2020. Waiting for borders to reopen. Waiting for a vaccine. Waiting for it all to be over. With so much patience required of us this year, it only makes sense that some of us would want to take to the recording studio and sing about it, which is exactly what Townsville-based band Poison Oak have done with their latest single ‘Waiting’, a piece of thumping, punk-rock goodness, that’s perfect for blowing off a little late-2020 steam.
Despite a rocky 2020, The Marlon Hoffman Band keeps on keeping on.
Posted on December 17 2020
You’ve heard the saying ‘can’t keep a good man down’. Well now apply it to a band. The Marlon Hoffman Band in fact, a band who — despite the apocalyptic nightmare that was 2020 — have found a way to keep on keeping on with their brand of feel-good Americana, led by their fearless namesake Marlon Hoffman himself.
Revisiting Mariah Carey's second holiday album, 'Merry Christmas II You'
Posted on December 07 2020
The festive season is finally upon us, and like some Lovecraftian monster, Mariah Carey —the official Queen of Christmas — has awoken from the depths of her slumber to reign supreme once again. She doesn’t want a lot for Christmas: only complete and utter world domination.
To celebrate Carey’s return to world dominance we’re taking a quick track-by-track look at her oft-neglected second Christmas album, 2010’s Merry Christmas II You, to see how it stands up against her (now iconic) first holiday release, Merry Christmas.
It's Official, I've Got a Soft Spot For Claud
Posted on December 05 2020
LA based artist Claud has made the announcement that their debut album Super Monster will be released on Friday 12 February.
This will be the very first album release on Phoebe Bridgers’ recently launched record label Saddest Oceans.
As a teaser we've been treated to new single ’Soft Spot’ - the follow up to ‘Gold’ which was gifted to us on 13 October.
Tulliah Is Just Our Type, A Little Bit Lonely, And That's Just Fine
Posted on December 04 2020
Introducing 19 year old singer and songwriter, Tulliah. Hailing from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Tulliah writes from a place of heartfelt experiences with melodies that seamlessly wash over you. Today, she has revealed her captivating new single ‘Just My Type (A Little Bit Lonely)’ - a deluge of earnest songwriting with a profound sound that catapults Tulliah well beyond her young years.
10 Things to do at Half Past Nine With Carla Wehbe
Posted on December 04 2020
The EP highlights Carla’s signature sound - a seamless merging of current pop melodies with an edgy 80’s nostalgia. So far this year we’ve been treated to ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and current single ‘Love Me For Me’ - the video for which was creatively directed by Carla. The inspiration for the video was born from Carla’s very own experiences and desire to shine a light on the complexity of the human condition.
PREMIERE: Mitchell Martin's live music video, 'Please Come Home'
Posted on December 03 2020
2020 has been tough y’all. Full of broken plans, questions about the future, and concern for our nearest and dearest, it has also been the year where (until recently) the idea of seeing interstate loved ones became a pipedream, a simple pleasure outlawed by health officials and border controls in order to curb the ongoing threat of COVID-19. And while the pandemic is not officially referenced in Perth singer-songwriter Mitchell Martin's single ‘Please Come Home’, you can’t help but feel the weight of it looming over his new video for the song, a simple yet deeply felt meditation on love and its accompanying anxieties.
Genre-defying artist Lee Kaynn spills the beans on latest release 'Groove'
Posted on November 27 2020
Genre. Who needs it? Certainly not Seoul-based musician/producer Lee Kaynn, who's style of disco-inspired hip-hop inflected electronica runs the gambit of musical styles to create a sound that is uniquely his own.
THE VIOLET WHISPERS lift the veil on latest track, 'FLOATING'
Posted on November 27 2020
'Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.' Well, not only can I not think of a more apt way to describe 2020, but the lyric also calls to mind a philosophy that artists of all disciplines must grapple with from time to time: that sometimes the best ideas come to you when you least expect them.
After all, that's exactly what happened when Sydney-based non-binary musician Nikhil Murthy (aka THE VIOLET WHISPERS) sat down to pen their latest release 'FLOATING', a catchy, guitar-driven piece of alt-pop that will have your dopamine receptors firing on all cylinders.
Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Lachlan Gilkes on why 2020 has been his most creative year yet
Posted on November 27 2020
Sydney-based Lachlan Gilkes (aka El Gilkso) might be new to the music scene, but that doesn't mean he's taking things slow. On the contrary, 2020 has seen a steady stream of releases from this up-and-coming young singer-songwriter, tracks that channel his past hurts and his current inspirations into some cruisey, blues-tinged alternative-rock that's perfect for the warmer months.
NEW MUSIC: Alt-pop artist RavxN drops new track & video, 'A Fragile Thing'
Posted on November 26 2020
Finding strength and resolve in the most unlikely of places, has been the driving force for many a queer artist since the beginning of time; a resolution born of necessity, and a tradition that has been continued and expanded upon in Sydney-based alt-pop troubadour Ravxn's latest single and video release, ‘A Fragile Thing’.
REVIEW: W7lf's debut album 'Along Came a W_lf'
Posted on November 24 2020
Wolves have always occupied a unique place in our culture. Fascinating and fierce, primal and symbolic, the image of wolf has come to represent so many things to us, most of them to do with the forbidden side of ourselves, the part we might be too afraid (or too inhibited) to bring into the light. This sense of duality, this reckoning with the shadow self, is the thread that binds Perth-based rapper W7lf’s debut album together, a darkly atmospheric, yet tongue-in-cheek examination of identity, philosophy, and ambition that isn’t afraid to wear its literary references on its sleeve.
Forget COVID. Caesar's new single will have you 'CATCHING FEELS' instead.
Posted on November 22 2020
Queensland-based musician Caesar might be miles away from any hotspots at the moment, but that doesn't mean he's entirely safe. From 'CATCHING FEELS' that is, a pandemic that's been running the human race ragged since the beginning of time, as well as being the name of his sexy new single, a salsa-inspired hip-hop jam that's perfect for your summer playlist.
Joshua Hennessy talks 2020 and his debut EP 'Plans'
Posted on November 20 2020
For Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Joshua Hennessy, 2020 hasn't gone exactly to plan. I mean, really, who's year has. But that doesn't mean he's let it go to waste. On the contrary, after years of writing for bands and other people's voices, 2020 marks the release of his first solo EP 'Plans', a multi-genre exploration of love, hope, and perspective at a time when the world probably needs it most.
REVIEW: Edith Lane's debut album 'Eden on the Park'
Posted on November 20 2020
For Melbourne alt-rockers Edith Lane, their debut album ‘Eden on the Park’ has been a long time coming. A real long time. Originally intended for three separate albums, the songs on ‘Eden on the Park’ have spent a whopping eight years in development, and while the resulting album is a smorgasbord of different genres – part alt-rock, part singer-songwriter, part shoegaze – there is no mistaking that this is a band in complete control of their own sound.
Saint Barae talks living his truth with latest single 'Hollow'
Posted on November 20 2020
For Gold Coast-based musician Saint Barae, music isn't just something you dance around to in your room at night. It can also be used as tool for bringing people together, a cathartic way of connecting people from different walks of life with different life experiences over topics they might find too difficult to address. Albeit with some very catchy synthpop!
POLISH CLUB'S NEW VIDEO IS ANNOYING AS HELL
Posted on November 13 2020
With its simple concept, the new video from Sydney two-piece Polish Club is frantic. The video for Just Talking draws inspiration from a 90’s music video with its quick cuts and popping primary colours. Directed by Tim Nathan, the visual buffet serves up a Novak and John-Henry performance intercut with various visceral vignettes of unfortunate events.
LIME CORDIALE UNVEILS OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR REALITY CHECK PLEASE
Posted on November 13 2020
To mark the release of a regression we can all get behind, Lime Cordiale unveils the official video for Reality Check Please. The sumptuous and breezy new single from Australia’s most prolific duo appears alongside five brand new tracks on 14 Steps To A Better You (Relapse) - a deluxe edition of their ARIA #1 album available today via Chugg Music.
Billie Eilish Drops New Track & Video, Therefore I Am.
Posted on November 13 2020
All hail Billie! Billie Eilish has just dropped her new single titled ‘Therefore I Am’ and an official music video directed by the 18-year-old, that was shot in a deserted Glendale Galleria shopping mall, a familiar stomping-ground for Billie during her early teen years.
Getting down and dirty with Hitch's new single 'How You Like It'
Posted on November 13 2020
It might be Friday the 13th, but that doesn't mean your luck's run out. In fact, with Melbourne-based artist Hitch's new single 'How You Like It' hitting streaming platforms across the country today, you could say it was your lucky day. Or at least the day you get lucky, thanks to this darkly atmospheric, seductive house bop.
EXCLUSIVE: The final instalment in Charlie Wilde's three-part video series 'Antithesis'
Posted on November 06 2020
Folks, the day has come. We’ve arrived. After three weeks of delving into the swoony, poetry-driven world of Charlie Wilde, today marks the final release from his captivating new video series ‘Antithesis’ and thus marks the end of our time with this promising young singer-songwriter.
‘Regaining consciousness’ with BREV.'s brand of dopamine-inducing pop
Posted on November 05 2020
Election anxiety getting you down? 2020 not evening out the way you thought it might? Never fear, South Carolina-born Melbourne-based artist BREV. is here, delivering his unique brand of 'millennial, mellow-pop' to ease your Armageddon blues.
Getting existential with John Lawrie & The Welcome Strangers
Posted on November 05 2020
It doesn't take much for genre-bending band John Lawrie & The Welcome Strangers to feel inspired. In fact, when filtered through their unique blend of shoegaze, blues, indie rock and bristling 80's synth, even the most unlikely of subjects can become the building blocks for for a beloved song.
EXCLUSIVE: Part 2 of Charlie Wilde's hauntingly beautiful video series, 'Antithesis'
Posted on October 30 2020
Happy Friday Hiplanders! As promised, today we’re premiering the second video in Charlie Wilde’s stark and affecting video series, ‘Antithesis’. And it's been worth the wait.
Win a year's supply of ‘Chicken Tikka Marsala’ thanks to Joe Publick and Deliveroo!
Posted on October 30 2020
You know the drill guys. It’s Friday night, you’ve just finished a long week of work, you’re feeling burnt out, drained…all you want is a few beers, a good feed, and a good time. Well friends, Joe Publick has got you sorted! To celebrate the release of his TGIF-banger ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’, Joe Publick is giving curry-loving Aussies the chance to win a years' worth of this beloved dish, all thanks to online delivery company Deliveroo.
Petit Biscuit spills the beans on new album, 'Parachute'
Posted on October 30 2020
French producer, composer, songwriter and all round wunderkind Petit Biscuit is back with a new album! Hot off the heels of his latest single ‘Drivin Thru The Night’, Petit Biscuit has just dropped his highly anticipated second LP Parachute, a multi-instrumental tour-de-force that explores such topics as love, war, and death with all the shimmering production and exquisite detail that we’ve come to expect from this fascinating artist.
'Runaway' with up-and-coming producer Korsorga
Posted on October 25 2020
Sydney-based Argentine DJ-and-producer Korsorga (real name Joshua Delgado) isn’t one to let a pandemic slow him down. In fact, while most of us were whiling away our various lockdowns binge-drinking cleanskins and watching reruns of The Great British Bakeoff, Korsorga was busy creating and releasing a steady stream of club-worthy dance tracks, including his latest electro-bop ‘Runaway’.
EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Wilde premieres video series ‘Antithesis’
Posted on October 23 2020
Last week we had the pleasure of sitting down with the incredible Charlie Wilde to talk all things music, inspiration and what being a modern-day Romantic poet means to him. Wilde also teased the release of his brand-spanking new three-part video series, and I am pleased to can tell you that it’s finally here! Premiering today exclusively on Hipland we have the first video from the series, the title track from his recent EP, ‘Antithesis’.
Neon Puppet's new music video is pure beach-y goodness
Posted on October 22 2020
Bargo-based musician Matthew Neal, aka Neon Puppet, might be living on a farm at the moment (thanks COVID), but make no mistake, the music video for his latest single ‘Do You Feel the Same’ is pure beach-y goodness.
Aut Ratchaphom doesn't want to be your online boyfriend
Posted on October 16 2020
Look. Yes, we know. The world is looking mighty grim at the moment. But all the more reason to chuck on some 80’s inspired pop and dance around your room right? Well that’s exactly what Perth-based artist Aut Ratchaphom is driving us to do with his infectious new single ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Your Online Boyfriend.’
YNG ONE drops new single 'Hold It'
Posted on October 16 2020
We’re calling it. YNG ONE is one of our favourite discoveries of recent months. With only two prior releases to his name you could be forgiven for not stumbling across this Canberra-based hip-hop artist sooner sooner. But take our word for it. One listen to the impeccable production and song-craft on his singles ‘Casket Dreaming’ and ‘White Lighter’ and you’ll be convinced this Canberra-based musician has what it takes to go all the way.
INTERVIEW: BLEND 70'S GROVE WITH NEO-PSYCH, YOU GET GREATEST HITS
Posted on October 15 2020
Blending 70's groove, sunshine pop, and neo-psych, with lyrical sarcasm, Australian/English band Greatest Hits is the project of artist, Ryan Cooper, and a collective of friends from around the globe
Review: 'Human Hunting Hat' by Blake Caragh
Posted on October 15 2020
Dust off your flannel y’all, grunge is making a comeback. A genre that was once thought to have died out in the 90’s is having a resurgence with indie bands and singer/songwriters across the country. It makes sense in a way. People are mad, and rightly so. The planet’s getting warmer, we’re in the midst of a pandemic, we’ve lost faith in our political leaders, and to top it off we keep having all these goddamn emotions about it! It makes sense then that our musicians would want to shake off the bubble-gum optimism of the 2010’s in favour of something more…well…angry.
Charlie Wilde teases video for 'Antithesis'
Posted on October 15 2020
Perth-based singer-songerwriter Charlie Wilde feels like a romantic. Sorry that’s Romantic, with a capital R. Equal parts Keats, Shelley and Justin Vernon, Wilde’s unique brand of reverb-tinged indie-folk feels like a throwback to simpler, broodier times when words were everything and emotion reigned supreme.
Ritt Momney is blowing up Tik Tok, Spotify, and our hearts with insane cover of Put Your Records On
Posted on October 14 2020
Introducing the 21 year old wonder kid, Ritt Momney. Hailing from Salt Lake City, Jack Rutter AKA Ritt Momney is taking off after dropping Corinne Bailey Rae’s 2006 hit ‘Put Your Records On’.
Whethan shares his epic inspo playlist for upcoming release Fantasy
Posted on October 13 2020
Whethan thinks a playlist should be a full experience and at 82 songs and roughly 5 hours it certainly is. This is the playlist which he created and then drew inspiration for his upcoming release, which i have heard but can't say a thing about. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for a very big drop very soon!
Elle Músa's new single has us seeing double
Posted on October 10 2020
Sunshine Coast indie artist Elle Músa recently released a new, blissful single titled ‘Geminis’ along with its accompanying music video. ‘Geminis’ is a song inspired by her close friends and family and the zodiac sign they have in common.
Editors Playlist: Hipland Sounds October 2020
Posted on October 09 2020
Baker Boy, Dallas Woods, Wafia, Joji. Honestly, the quality of music getting released right now is next level and i can barely keep up. Amazing breakout tracks, dream collaborations and solid springtime bangers. Check out my pick of the best tunes from September/October so far and be sure to subscribe as this list will keep growing throughout the month.
BENEE drops video for Snail & launches new label.
Posted on October 09 2020
NZ superstar BENEE just dropped the vid for her current single ‘Snail’. Reflective of her personality, it pops off as her biggest and boldest video to date.
LennoxLTK is loud and rowdy but has an important message to spread.
Posted on October 09 2020
LennoxLTK the hip hop legend from Queanbeyan, NSW, is ‘Blazed and Strange kicking it through your sound waves.’ We recently got to catch up with him and find out about his new single coming soon ‘Me and My Big Mouth’ as well as getting to check out the music video behind his most popular track ‘Yeh Yup.’
ODESITY brings all the feels with latest single ‘Loveless’
Posted on October 09 2020
North Queensland-based producer ODESITY (real name Hayden Clelland) has one mission only: to make his listeners feel. Having made a name for himself in the local scene by playing Groovin The Moo and receiving airplay on triple j unearthed, ODESITY is launching into the back half of 2020 in style, with his latest electro-bop ‘Loveless’.
Hope To Peace wears his heart on his sleeve with 'Love Myself'
Posted on October 09 2020
Hope To Peace isn’t your typical rapper. Eschewing typical tropes in favour of exploring issues like love, betrayal and self acceptance, Hope To Peace is part of a new wave of up-and-coming rappers who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Watch out for T$oko, release of his lost tracks.
Posted on October 09 2020
Words by Nathan Jones Zimbabwe-born, Western Australian-based hip-hop artist T$oko preludes to an upcoming work with a collection of lost files titled ‘OverKill’. T$oko explains 'OverKiLL’ is a mini compilation/collection of material he recorded which didn't make his upcoming project. “Over the years I have been recording tons and tons of music as well...