Battle Royal – Ecca Vandal
There’s nothing straightforward about Ecca Vandal. South African born, with Sri Lankan heritage, the Melbourne-based artist has drawn comparisons to No Doubt and Prodigy for her high energy, brattish ska-punk, but says her influences include Bjork, Miles Davis and Fugazi. Battle Royal is three minutes of guitar-driven heart attack punk rock, the kind of fast and loud sound that makes for a glorious antidote to the current musical era of crooning R&B-infused, electro-pop. The video has fun borrowing from anarchist culture – although Vandal is hardly the first to do so. Having played live just a handful of times, she has taken a Tuesday residency for the month of March at Gasometer, in her hometown of Melbourne.
Freedom Ride – Troy Cassar-Daley
In 1965, 29 University of Sydney students, led by the uni’s first Aboriginal student Charles Perkins set off in a rattling bus destined for rural New South Wales. Over the course of two weeks and many thousands of miles, they exposed and protested the racial segregation and appalling living conditions of the Indigenous citizens in towns like Moree, Walgett and Bowraville. As part of a 50 year anniversary celebration of that historic bus trip, later dubbed the Freedom Ride, Australian country music singer Troy Cassar-Daley has written a song – and named an entire album – that honours Perkins and his fellow riders. Catch Cassar-Daley in a special anniversary concert at the University of Sydney on 20 March, where he will be joined by Paul Kelly, family members of Perkins and some of the original riders on stage.
Give Me a Reason – Saskwatch
Nine-piece soul revivalists Saskwatch began their career on the streets of Melbourne – quite literally, busking outside of Flinders Street Station. If playing to busy commuters is the ultimate band boot camp, Saskwatch have passed with flying colours. Give Me a Reason, taken off their second album Nose Dive, is a brass-filled up-tempo little number, anchored by the hefty vocal power of lead singer Nkechi Anele. The band will be playing this year’s Groovin the Moo festival (25 April – 10 May) alongside a host of other fine musical acts like A$AP Ferg, Charli XCX, Meg Mac, One Day, The Preatures and San Cisco.
Gimme That – Ry
Melbourne rapper Ry takes a page from late-90s US east coast hip-hop with his breezy track Gimme That. There’s nothing destined to challenge your brain in its hands-up-in-the-air party lyrics (“get your ass on that floor / let me see you lose control”), but treat it as the perfect Friday night pick-me up track and you’ll get along fine. The video features a few cameos from Australia’s pool of television talent, namely Alan Fletcher, aka Dr Karl from Neighbours, and Georgia Chara (Wentworth) – while the hip-hop heads should be able to spot rising star producer M-Phaze. Stay tuned for Ry’s upcoming six track EP in April, Ivory Coast.
Confide In Me (Kylie Minogue cover) – Jep and Dep
The latest track from Australian folk noir duo Jep and Dep Tears in the Rain has more than a whiff of that other Australian folk noir duet, Where The Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue. So it’s fitting, perhaps, to revisit the band’s wonderful cover of Minogue’s 90s track Confide In Me. With their debut album Word Got Out released late last year, a long-play of dark ditties riven with ghostly reverb, the duo are about to head off on a two-month European tour. But before they leave our shores, catch the band appearing in Sydney at the Newtown Social Club on 28 March.
