Published inThe Shadow Knows·21 hours agoFour recommendations ahead of Bandcamp Friday!Friday, December 1st is Bandcamp Friday. That’s basically four days from now to find some new music! From jazz, punk, and rock, here’s four recent releases from Australia we’re listening to. Aura — Same Sky The follow up to their flawless self-titled debut, Aura are back with a second album of improvised jazz from…Music2 min readMusic2 min read
Published inThe Riff·Nov 18Member-onlyDaft Punk — ‘Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition)’ ReviewIn May 2013, Daft Punk released their final album, Random Access Memories. Featuring live instrumentation and collaborations with Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams on the electro-funk lead single ‘Get Lucky,’ this was an unexpected but successful evolution to the sound Daft Punk were known for so far. Now, Random Access…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
Published inThe Riff·Nov 12Member-onlyThe GRAMMY’s 2024 ‘Best Album Notes’ Nominations AnnouncedForget Best New Artist or Album of the Year; when the Grammys release their annual nominations, I look at the Best Album Notes. These are the albums that have come with the best-researched and best-written liner notes for the past year. It’s odd. Because we primarily stream music, album liner…Music4 min readMusic4 min read
Published inThe Shadow Knows·Nov 2Time Has Come Today: Lester Chambers on his time with The Chambers Brothers (Book Review)The Chambers Brothers were a soul group who had several songs in the US charts through the late 60s and early 70s including 1967’s The Time Has Come. Originally formed by a group of brothers from Mississippi, The Chambers Brothers took off after the family had relocated to Los Angeles…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
Published inMo’ Wax — Where Are They Now·Nov 1Examining the early roots of Nigo, A Bathing Ape, Last Orgy and beyondThis article was originally published by Japanoscope as ‘Behind Bape’ in 2020. I’m republishing it here to collect it alongside my other Mo’ Wax related writing. A Bathing Ape, or BAPE, is one of the world’s most popular brands, specializing in streetwear and lifestyle clothing. BAPE’s founder Nigo is almost…Music7 min readMusic7 min read
Published inMo’ Wax — Where Are They Now·Oct 30The latest releases from the Mo’ Wax family in 2023Bandcamp Friday is close by, as is the end of this year, so here’s a roundup of seven releases from 2023 by artists who once released music on Mo’ Wax Records. Palm Skin Productions — A Swarm In July After teasing the return of his Palm Skin Productions alias for some time, Simon Richmond returned with his…Music2 min readMusic2 min read
Published inThe Shadow Knows·Oct 7Unkle Live in NYCFor the first time in 13 years, UNKLE performed in NYC at The Knockdown Center on September 14, 2023. They performed a mix of clubby remixes and mashups covering every era since their 1998 debut album up to this year’s Rōnin II mixtape. UNKLE are basically James Lavelle and whoever…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
Published inThe Shadow Knows·Oct 2Fellaheen Records: An Interview with Steven “Stav” StavrakisFellaheen Records was an independent Australian label that unfortunately closed after only five years. They released the first music by locals Gerling and Ben Lee, as well as albums from international acts like Pavement and the Beastie Boys often with bonus tracks exclusive to Australia. In 1995 they released a…Music16 min readMusic16 min read
Published inThe Shadow Knows·Sep 10Beastie Boys Square: I Was There!Just before 2pm today in New York City, Beastie Boys Square was officially unveiled at the corner of Rivington and Ludlow, the streets that appeared on their second album 1989’s Paul’s Boutique. The streets were filled by hundreds of fans, all there to see Adrock and Mike D and celebrate…Beastie Boys5 min readBeastie Boys5 min read
Published inThe Shadow Knows·Jul 30The growing number of Australian vinyl pressing plantsThere’s currently three vinyl pressing plants in Australia. This wasn’t always the case, as during the 1990s when all of the major labels switched to CD there was only one. …Music4 min readMusic4 min read