KOKOKO! began in 2016 in Kinshasa. Electronic artist Débruit was in town working on a film soundtrack and began collaborating with Makara Bianko, a charismatic singer who performs with his dancers to electronic loops, and separately with a number of ingenious musical instrument creators and artists. They threw a spontaneous block party, and though many of them hadn’t known each other previously, the energy really clicked between Bianko, Débruit, Boms Bomolo, Dido Oweke, Love Lokombe and Bovic Mwepu (who has since passed away), and together they became the founding members of the group KOKOKO!, which is part of a wider collective of multidisciplinary artists.

Their distorted polyrhythms and spontaneous lo-fi sounds provide a chaotic soundtrack to their home country. KOKOKO! represent the antithesis of tradition, and their debut album Fongola - which translates to “the key” - is a torrid, anarchic, youthful journey smashing a new path through modern life in Africa’s third most populous city.

Life in Kinshasa is tough. Since its inception three years ago the band have lost their drummer to lung cancer, a dancer from their wider collective to electrocution, had homes destroyed by police, safety concerns at election time, visa struggles and a lucky incident with a crocodile. Their lyrics explore love, sorcery and magic, the need to take things slowly in life, greed and corruption and the importance of being heard and understood.

Without access to imported guitars and drum kits, Imitation wasn’t an option, which necessitated innovation. The resulting album is experimental electronic music, but it doesn’t fit neatly within any genre. Most of the sounds on this project can’t be replicated - sardine tins, water bottles and engine parts. What started as a financial challenge resulted in a creative advantage.

Release: Transgressive Records/Inertia, July 5th, 2019
Words: Transgressive

Bianca Blackhall was born on the tray of an unregistered ute just north of any rural post office in the country. As she lay - lungs kick-starting, body barely the size of a longneck - she already knew that there would never be anything new under the sun; it’s all been before. The cattle grazier's wallet, the old dirt and new deeds surrounding her were meaningless unless written about and sung. 
 
The songs on Bianca Blackhall’s debut EP have been nine years in the making. Embedded with the dirt and dust of the vast Australian landscape, this simmering release represents a peerless storyteller reeling triumphantly into our consciousness, heart full to bursting, gritty, determined and true.
 
biancablackhall.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Release: July 6th, 2019, Independent

Can’t Make You Love Me is a distinct and dynamic debut from a young artist with a clear vision. Produced by Tim Harvey (Teeth & Tongue, Lisa Mitchell), it also features notable performances from musician Jade Imagine on bass and guitar. The album’s creation and release has been three years in the making.

There is a vibrant youthfulness and deep maturity that underpins Bruce’s songwriting, which allows Can’t Make You Love Me to swing effortlessly between earnest introspection and cool detachment with utter sincerity. Likewise, intimate and ungraspable, Bruce’s vocals drive this album; a stirring force amidst the pulsing rhythms, echoes of Mazzy Star and Lynchian undertones. Add to this the masterful restraint in the arrangements and you have an album that is both instantly timeless and unmistakably contemporary.

Can’t Make You Love Me is an electrifying balance of tension and playfulness underpinned by a smouldering vocal performance that leaves audiences full of longing. Melbourne-based Gena Rose Bruce is one of the newest additions to the Dot Dash family and a truly exciting new voice in Australian indie music.

Release: Dot Dash/Remote Control, June 28th, 2019
Words: Dot Dash

During March 2019, confined to an old cabin perched on the side of a remote valley in country Victoria, Horace Bones wrote and recorded for nine days and nights. Under the benevolent eye of acclaimed producer and dear friend Dan Caz, as well as a local mob of kangaroos, Terra was devised and recorded live and straight to tape.
 
It is a merciless exploration of the shadows lingering in the deepest corners of the Australian psyche. An apocalyptic view of a society’s devastating attempt to forge identity while addressing/suppressing the ferocity of its present and past.
 
Encapsulated by the desperate cries of “Don’t come around here” and “I’m not from around here”, vocalist Oisin tells stories of “bigoted baby boomers expiring in pokie filled RSLs; bored youths desecrating churches; merciful murders in drought ridden farmhouses; an immigrant watching a country burn; a tortured conscience turning the knife on his butchering family and a storm-swept childhood memory of a caravan park tragedy.”
 
The music beats demonically across the land and sweeps wildly, tearing and pulsing like Cyclone Everyone, swirling with the debris of their influences – The Birthday Party, The Drones, Kev Carmody and Mod Con to name a few.

Release: Independent, May 31st, 2019

Revered for his piercing observational lyricism and thrilling live performances, Skyscraper Stan has once again capitalised on his chemistry with long time touring band the Commission Flats and engineer / producer Richard Stolz (Paul Kelly, HUSKY) to put together a crowd-funded, rollercoaster ride of a record at Woodstock Studios in Balaclava.

Golden Boy (released through Heart of the Rat Records) is tender, angry, introspective and political over the course of its 10 tracks. Split into two, 5 track volumes, Vol. I is aggressive and character driven - exploring stories from outside the songwriters own life. Vol. 2 is autobiographical - anger making way for more gentle introspection. Stan's first full length LP as a whole first tackles themes of privilege, masculinity, crime and ambition before moving into a more personal exploration of lessons learned (or not).

Driven by Stan’s intricate lyrics and underpinned by the dynamic Commission Flats, Golden Boy flies between such disparate influences as Stax era soul, Melbourne post-punk, Tin-pan Alley songwriters and rambling folk tales - a menagerie of mismatched musical muses coalescing into something unique, melodic and unexpected.

Release: June 14th, 2019, Heart Of The Rat Records
Words: Heart Of The Rat / Penney & Logan

Boston-based trio Palehound have released their acclaimed third album Black Friday on Remote Control Records.
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Receiving accolades spanning NPR, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, Jezebe, Paste Magazine, AV Club, FLOOD Magazine, prolific singer/songwriter Ellen Kempner’s third full-length is a finespun exploration of all the forms that love can take: love between friends, love for people no longer in your life, love in the face of self-hate, love that endures through major life changes or through many tiny catastrophes. Black Friday touches on gender, body empowerment & self acceptance, showcasing Kempner’s thoughtful narrative voice and lyrical finesse throughout.

Palehound examine the intricacies of friendship and partnership all throughout Black Friday, handling the subject with a level of attention rarely found in pop songs. Building off the emotional complexity of its predecessor, Palehound hope that the album might help others to work through their own troubles in life and love of all kinds. Co-produced by Kempner and Gabe Wax (Beirut, Soccer Mommy), she and her bandmates Jesse Weiss (drums) and Larz Brogan (bass) recorded at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, California, tracking most of the songs live and breathing a new vitality into Palehound’s legacy.

Release: June 7th, 2019, Remote Control Records
​Words: Remote Control