Dani Teveluwe - Lewis & Clarke - Slim Wrist - Joan & The Giants
Gold Coast (Yugambeh Country) based First Nations musician Dani Teveluwe (pronounced 'tee-va-loo') is set to captivate with her spirited and soulful take on acoustic-pop with her debut EP, ‘Into The Deep’, out yesterday.
Formerly a primary school teacher, the singer-songwriter broke down the walls of her comfort zone and took a courageous leap into music. It seemed impossible at first, but with inspiration from a David Bowie quote, she summoned the determination to make her dream a reality. Dani explains:
"This EP is a culmination of a lot of courage. Not so long ago I lived another life and I never would have believed this (releasing 'Into The Deep') would be possible. And it wouldn’t have been, without courage."
Recorded at Big Note Studios, produced by Tim Goodburn, and mastered by Paul Blakey, this body of work celebrates bravery, and is also an exploration of love in all its forms - romantic, compassionate, and love for the self. Dani's music weaves this common thread throughout, with each song showcasing a different story, and musical mood to suit. Fittingly, the EP artwork was painted by award-winning visual artists, Tamara Armstrong (known for her Women of Colour collection), inspired by the EP's theme and the words of David Bowie.
First, we’re taken on a gentle acoustic-led journey with the opening track, ‘Double Shot’. A tale of compassion for someone who can’t see that their behaviour is hurtful to those around them. Carefully sorrowful trumpet notes emphasise the delicate nature of this situation. Overall, it’s smooth and emotively delivered.
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Lewis & Clarke released his first art folk single “Aurora 15:34,” in eight years on August 30. This song is both a eulogy and a rallying cry against the systemic violence and racism that pervades our society. Tension and sparseness underlay the composition as the song climaxes in a flurry of woodwinds and strings mimicking that of social, spiritual, and civil unrest before subsiding into the steady heartbeat of an 808 kick drum.
Elijah McClain was a 23-year-old black American who died after a violent police encounter. He was a massage therapist who loved animals and often played violin for stray cats at Petco. Elijah was listening to music and dancing when he was detained on his way home from picking up an iced tea for his brother in Aurora, Colorado. Bodycam footage at the 15:34 mark reveals an officer saying, “Leave your camera there”.
The song is included on the upcoming Lewis & Clarke LP and contains orchestral elements of Lou Rogai’s recent Cathedral LP (2018). It is his first Lewis & Clarke release since 2014’s Triumvirate. In the interim, he has been producing, scoring, composing, and raising his family, including 17-year-old Julian Rogai, who performs double bass on this track.
Lou Rogai is a songwriter and composer. His voice and vision resonate throughout Lewis & Clarke’s signature sound of lush, long-form art-folk compositions. The moniker references the fellowship and correspondence between C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke. His work has been lauded by major music publications, indie radio, and broadcast programming including heavy rotation on NPR’s All Things Considered for over a decade. He has released albums on his own imprint in a fiercely independent manner and performed throughout North America and Europe. He has steadily and quietly established a body of work and garnered a following while exploring his musical path, connecting with the human condition through themes of birth, growth, aspiration, conflict, and mortality.
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Milk Teeth, the new single from Edinburgh duo Slim Wrist, is a slice of deliciously tantalising washed out synth pop. It has a darker feel to earlier releases, propelled by its pulsing bass and ominous groove, though it eventually succumbs to the duo’s more typical dreamy sound.
Milk Teeth is the third single and final taster ahead of upcoming debut album Closer For Comforting (due September 9) and follows on from the fragmented dreamy pop of first single and BBC Introducing Scotland Track of the Week The Soft and lush wave of blissed out noise pop Details.
Slim Wrist (FKA Super Inuit) are Fern Morris and Brian Pokora, their assertive beats and organic tones combine pop sensibilities with an understated poignancy. Their music has drawn comparisons to the likes of Cocteau Twins as well as Portishead, Broadcast and Sylvan Esso.
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Alt-pop indie darlings Joan & The Giants are back with a tune that will make you want to live your Tuesdays with as much enthusiasm as your Saturdays - get ready for 'The Weekend', out yesterday ahead of their debut EP 'Me & You' coming out on September 23 via Tomboi Records.
Joan & The Giants have been standing tall since forming in 2019. The talented Boorloo/Perth-based group centres around musical and romantic partners Grace Newton-Wordsworth and Aaron Birch, sharing their beautiful craft together with bandmembers Riley Sutton and Liam Olsen.
Garnering attention from tastemakers around the country, the band have released two singles so far this year, 'Slow Motion' and most recently 'Home Song'. Now, their new single 'The Weekend' is the third release from their highly anticipated debut EP 'Me & You' (out on September 23), and like its folk-informed alt-pop predecessors, it's one that's set to soar.
A rebellion against modern grind culture and the mentality of 'living for the weekend', this track reflects the band's changed philosophy to live every day with the same enthusiasm: live like you're 17, fall in love but never fall in line, and spend time with someone whenever it feels right - because why should we only reserve our joy for days that the capitalist calendar dictates? With a melody that seeps in and sticks, earnest drums and cherry-sweet vocals, this is a tune dripping in emotive lyricism and honeyed rhythms, guaranteed to charm ears and dazzle hearts everywhere it's heard.
During the pandemic's beginning, Gracie found a sense of freedom from routine and tapped into this liberating feeling for 'The Weekend'. She explains: "There was an excitement and a lack of responsibility that was so refreshing and turbulent. I think when we started getting back to reality and going to work and grinding to push a music career again, that pressure and ‘baggage’ came back onto my shoulders, and I really didn’t want to live purely for ‘the weekend’ or wait for a Friday night to feel some kind of relief."
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