John Butler returns with his first album in three years, April Uprising, on April 5, 2010. The album finds the multi-platinum Australian artist with a new line up and a new label in the UK, Because Music (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Justice, Manu Chao). Recorded at The Compound, Butler’s self-built studio in the heart of his hometown of Fremantle, Western Australia, and mixed in Melbourne, Australia at Sing Sing Studios, April Uprising is the follow-up to 2007’s critically acclaimed and internationally successful release, Grand National. This album reached gold status in Europe and received rave reviews for its sophisticated mix of guitar stylings, hip hop beats and intelligent, socially conscious lyrics. The release also attracted a global audience and found the former busker appearing at music festivals worldwide performing as John Butler Trio.

April Uprising, Butler’s most focused, diverse and accessible album to date has already yielded a No.1 song on the Australian airplay charts with its first single ‘One Way Road’. This is one of the tracks directly inspired by revolution, it not only harnesses Butler’s experiences and opinions, it sets the tone for the whole album.

Butler comments on the new single: “One Way Road is the combination of pretty much most of my musical influences; dancehall, roots and rock. Somehow we found a way to bring all these ‘feels’ in a way that sounds natural and not too contrived or cerebral. I’m really happy with how we captured the vibe of this song”. The excellent and technically unusual video for ‘One Way Road’ can be viewed on the JBT website – www.johnbutlertrio.com

The album’s spirit of renewal and rebirth was the culmination of an especially momentous period in John’s life. It began with the seemingly innocuous act of cutting his hair and taking a few months off in late 2008. But it was his appearance on the TV series, Who Do You Think We Are, which takes well-known artists and traces their family trees, which turned out to be a life-changing experience, leading him on the personal and spiritual journey that inspired the revolutionary title of the album.

April Uprising consists of the experiences that ultimately inspired the album’s title. This came about through Butler’s incredible journey with the series’ documentary filmmakers. He started the voyage hoping to find poets, musicians, and revolutionaries in his past. He traced the Butler name through generations of hardship to a matriarch who sang for her survival and his Bulgarian ancestry to a forbearer caught up in a violent revolt. Getting to know his ancestors – trailblazers, idealists and bona fide revolutionaries – helped him to make profound sense of his passions as a writer and musician.

Butler unveiled his new bandmates in June 2009: Melbourne musician Nicky Bomba (drums and percussion) and Byron Luiters (bass) from Sydney outfit Ray Mann Three. The newly revitalized John Butler Trio recorded at The Compound with long-time engineer Robin Mai and found themselves with 22 songs – 15 of which made it on the album – and a whole new musical palette in the can: playful and explosive, rhythmically complex and melodically immediate, charged with new purpose but more committed than ever to the principles of classic song craft. The tracks also feature innovative sounds, from the trippy steel drum detail on ‘Take Me’ to the roaring anthemic chorus of ‘To Look Like You’ and the tender ache of ‘Steal It’ and ‘Fool For You’, to the rustic folk of ‘Ragged Mile’ and the hysterical rock attack of ‘C’mon Now’.

Between the epic opening track ‘Revolution’ and a whispered acoustic coda ‘A Star is Born’ dedicated to John’s son, April Uprising is an album that combines the personal, the political and the musically memorable with skill and passion.

Says Butler: “When we started mixing the question we were asking was, ‘Is this a great song?’ I don’t care how cool the rhythms are, how amazing it sounds. Even an instrumental has to have a voice that holds you and carries you through light and shade. If you have the voice then you have a song. And then you’re saying something.”

The boys have just finished recording their new single ‘No Manners’ which features South African artist Spoek Mathambo, the track is currently being remixed by Arveene & Misk and will be released in February on Marine Parade.

The Evils are also working on material with Leftfield hip hop star B Dolen from the ultra DOPE US label Strange Famous.

For more information please visit: www.myspace.com/evilnine

Just when it feels like there are no more avenues for an act of Infusion’s pedigree to go down, they’ve flipped and gone down one you never expected but always wanted them to take – the modern pop superhighway. All Night Sun Light (Omnis Recordings) achieves where so many other attempts at dance pop fails – authenticity. Infusion’s always dabbled in a unique blend of dance and pop but it’s fully realized over these 11 shimmering displays of machine pop created in the dark world of strobes and sweat.

“2 Player Game” opens the suite with a sinister synth-line before settling into the kind of groove Depeche Mode fans die for; “All That’s In Your Head” is the pulsing electropop heartbeat of a wasted romance; while “Falling Into Place” feels like the long, dark walk home from the night of your life. It’s got “movie scene transition” written all over it. “Gotta Leave Now” is an ecstatic triumph, possibly the most irrepressible future pop dart in this impressive records artillery, while “Head Over Heels” comes out of the blocks feeling like T-Rex. Second single “Dogtown” is down and dirty sex-e-lectro for those carnal times while third single “Try It On” is a sophisticated love song made for late night propositions.

Infusion’s songwriting has always been a strong point for the band, but it really comes out on some of the albums downtempo tracks. Lead single “So Soon” (CD version offered free) is gorgeous psychedelic electronic pop on its own, but appropriated for the dancefloor courtesy of remixes from King Unique, Spooky and Infusion. “Justified” has a folky, Woodstock call-for-action vibe about it while “Horizon” is a ballad bringing forth shades of Dave Gahan.

Again written and produced by the band themselves in just about every studio, bedroom and shed that would take them between Melbourne, Sydney, Angelsea, The Mornington Peninsula, Brighton UK and Los Angeles, All Night Sun Light was then shipped to James Brown [no, not that one – co-producer to Alan Moulder, Trent Reznor etc] in New York, who mixed the record in Phillip Glass’ Looking Glass Studios.

“It’s been a very long and hard road in making this album ourselves but having complete control meant we achieved everything we wanted to with it. It was great working with the Victoria Philharmonic Orchestra, Kram – who did some drumming along with T-Rek, our guitarist friends and a big brash brassy band we used for “Memory Cheats.” We also were lucky to have the film scoring talents of Rajan Kamahl and Jono Fernandez to assist in the string arrangements in the more epic tracks such as “Falling Into Place” and Horizons,” singer Manny Sharrad says

After their last album, Six Feet Above Yesterday, Infusion spent the better part of three years taking that record to the people, touring extensively not only around Australia but also traipsing through Europe, North and South America, and Asia. They also lent their definitive touch to remixes of artists including The Cure. The resultant album that’s been presented is one that reeks of travel and experience, both geographical and psychological.

Bertie is making big waves in Australia already. Her debut album, 2004’s ‘Headway’ (featuring her breakthrough single ‘Favourite Jeans’), was a folk-inspired adventure, powered by Bertie’s acoustic guitar. ‘Favourite Jeans’ quickly became a radio favourite and an independent chart hit, placing in the Top 10 of the indie charts for 29 consecutive weeks and is still on rotation on Triple J (Australia’s national radio station). The follow-up, 2006’s ‘Black’, saw Bertie armed with an electric guitar and delivering some grittier sounds. Now in 2009, ‘Town Of Sorrow’ & ‘Sky Is Falling’ are two of the most moving new tracks from her forthcoming ‘Secrets And Lies’ album, and both have been tenderly remixed by the cream of Melbourne’s dance fraternity.

Mic Newman is a producer on the rise. At the tender age of 24 he has already remixed the likes of Booka Shade, Dirty South, Paul Harris, Richard Dinsdale, Se:Sa and Mason. Taggy (aka Lewie Day) has an intuitive ability to turn an original song into something fresh and ready for the dance floor. Not confined just to remixes, Lewie has also had his own tracks released on respected dance labels EQ-Grey and 8-Bit.

Bertie Blackman’s ‘Secrets And Lies’ LP will be released in early 2009 via Forum 5 (Australia), and ‘Town Of Sorrow’/’The Sky Is Falling’ (Remixes) is available now on respected Australian dance label EQ-Grey Recordings.

House Music expands on the early glimpses of brilliance his previous singles offered. The thirteen tracks here take us back to the classic Chicago Acid House sound of legends including Marshall Jefferson, Larry Heard, DJ Pierre, Lil Louis and Adonis. This is a journey filled with the finest elements of the classic Acid House sound – screaming acidic 303 basslines, sizzling hi-hats, minimalist vocals and wonderful melodies. Intentionally retro, Kikumoto Allstars’ music is informed by today’s dance with innovative arrangements and twisted, peaking crescendos. The Kikumoto Allstars remind us that acid house music is back and bigger than ever!

“Everybody” is a real throwback to the forefathers of the scene. The powerful electro bassline drives through the track with “the man” demanding that you “move your body / jack your body.” Who could resist? “I’ll Make You Jack” certainly needs no explanation. The tracks does just what the title says with a wobbly 303, crunching hi-hats and signature acid house vocals. “Can’t Stop The House” proves that gals can jack just as hard as the fellas. This one chugs along on a thick bassline and has some chick-infused vocals to boot. “Bending Time” goes off in a darker and stranger direction. This is some intergalactic acid house for the sci-fi jacker among us. “DCO” and “Last Train To Chi-Town” are all about melody. Glorious synths are prominent on both tracks and it provides for some seriously epic stuff. “Sagittarius” and “Just A Feelin” offer the more subdued side to acid house and work perfectly in a hazy afterhours club while the reflective “Warehouse Days” provides a first hand account of that the scene was like…back in the warehouse days. “Jack The House” ends the more chill portion of the disc and fires back with some wicked 303 bullets and synth-stab rockets. It’s a crazy track that more than lives up to its name. “Shed” is all about Bass Expansion! The bass here is swarming and huge – push the bass booster, stand in front of the speaker and feel the breeze! “House Music” is the title track of this LP and Kikumoto Allstars previous EP release. It sums up the entire project in name and sound. “Walk The Talk” marries Acid House with rave synths and it’s a real throwback. Those synths are addicting!

Kikumoto Allstars AKA Cam Farrar was first drawn to electronic music when he saw Devo on Australian television in the early 1980’s. As a teenager, inspired by punk and new wave, Farrar began his career in bands, hitting the skins and song writing. With the 90’s dance music revolution underway Farrar was swept up. Australia was now experiencing it’s own halcyon days with warehouse and bush parties beating through the musical landscape. The DIY ethos of dance appealed and Farrar quickly picked up the skills.

Kikumoto Allstars music is produced with all analogue synthesizers and drum machines including the famous Roland range (TR-909, TR-808, TR-707, SH-101, Juno range, Jx-8p and of course the TB-303 which started the acid house revolution), paying homage to Tadao Kikumoto, the brains behind these now legendary machines.

YOU STILL CAN’T STOP THE HOUSE!

We’re joining the party with the label’s 3rd release, by Luke himself, who lays down a superb tech-edged percussion heavy groove monster that should really tickle the taste buds of any discerning DJ who wants to inject some serious funked-up energy into their set. The track builds up towards a gorgeous simple, under-stated, anthemic synth lead line that makes Robusto highly distinctive and memorable.

If you want to see the future, keep your eyes, and ears, on New Zealand’s Tim Richards who takes on the remix duties here, and injects his distinctive electro-tinged, powerful, deeply delicious, hypnotic progressive vibes.

Voted “Best Producer” at the 2007 Auckland Nitelife Awards, Tim Richards draws big crowds. Then there’s his radio show, ‘Signature Sounds’ on the nationwide George FM station. He’s had releases on international labels including Galvanic, Blockhead, Curfew, Grooved, Queep, Black Vinyl and more. Remixes on Kinky Vinyl, Gung Ho!, Om, Queep and Defected and more. In 2009 we’ll see the launch of Tim’s record label, ‘Signature Sounds Recordings’, along with more releases, remixes, more shows internationally.

http://www.myspace.com/drumriderecordings

If you haven’t heard him already, you’re in for a real treat. If you have, we know you’re gonna dig this! ELECTRIC_04 is a perfect snapshot of his skills, melding genres seamlessly while bringing beats to the boil. If you’re going to have a party to remember, then you need DJ Agent 86 on the decks.

There are very few DJs that can hold a candle to Agent 86. Fact. Sure. DMC champs may have the technical edge, but then how many incessant tweak scratch medleys can a crowd take before losing interest? Put simply, 86 knows how to fill the dancefloor. Yet he’ll do it in such an obtuse way, you won’t notice any obvious anthems. An underground cut here, a lost classic there, and before you know it, the floor is jam-packed. And he’s not even breaking a sweat, yet.

In true block-party style, Agent 86 plays Hip-Hop, House, Techno, Rock, Electro, Pop, Breaks, Disco, New Wave, Funk, R&B, and just about anything and everything in-between and outside of the box. His extensive musical palette has led him to share the stage with the likes of James Brown, DJ Shadow, Moloko, Bookashade, Jeff Mills, Gangstarr, Soul II Soul, Peaches, and countless others.

A fixture on the Adelaide scene for several years, playing a mixture of tech and old school electro, 86 honed his deck skills and placed several times in the DMC and ITF mix competitions. After a move to Melbourne, he started turning heads on the urban scene, throwing down hip-hop and R&B with all the trimmings. But it wasn’t long before he again demonstrated his versatility, starting long running electro-clash party Roxy, for several years. His DJ sets have been described as “the stuff of legend”, and at this moment in time he’s busy playing no less than 5 nights per week, and squeezing some time in the studio to work on some upcoming releases.

Versatile, humble, a skilled technician and (more importantly) a true lover of music, Agent 86 deserves all the plaudits thrown his way. He makes the difficult seem easy, and does it with a joie de vivre not often seen in an industry veteran. ELECTRIC_04 is a perfect snapshot of his skills, and it’s most definitely party time!

The tour kicks off at Aberdeen’s SNAFU tomorrow night, before taking in Ireland’s Electric Picnic Festival, Cream-Ibiza, Trinity Rooms and Tripod in Dublin, Derry’s Red Rooms, Wax:On in Newcastle, Leeds, and Brighton’s Digital, Chibuku Shake Shake in Liverpool, Stealth in Nottingham, Blowpop in Bristol, and the Stereosonic festival tour across Australia.

The band’s second single, ‘Rise Of Ulysses’, is released on Gung-Ho on 22 September.

29 Aug 2008 Snafu (LIVE) SCOTLAND

31 Aug 2008 Electric Picnic Festival (DJ) IRELAND

11 Sep 2008 Cream Ibiza (LIVE) IBIZA

20 Sep 2008 Trinity Rooms (DJ) IRELAND

26 Sep 2008 515 @ Tripod (DJ) DUBLIN

27 Sep 2008 Red Rooms (DJ) DERRY

3 Oct 2008 Wax:On (LIVE) NEWCASTLE

4 Oct 2008 Chibuku Shake Shake (LIVE) LIVERPOOL

11 Oct 2008 Savoy CORK

17 Oct 2008 Gan Ban Night @ Black Chamber (LIVE) JAPAN

18 Oct 2008 Gan Ban Night @ Makuhari Messe (LIVE) JAPAN

25 Oct 2008 Wax:On (LIVE) LEEDS

31 Oct 2008 Stealth (LIVE) NOTTINGHAM

1 Nov 2008 Club Soda (DJ) IRELAND

8 Nov 2008 Wax:On (LIVE) BRIGHTON

15 Nov 2008 Blowpop (LIVE) BRISTOL

22 Nov 2008 Stereosonic Festival Brisbane (LIVE) AUSTRALIA

23 Nov 2008 Stereosonic Festival Sydney (LIVE) AUSTRALIA

29 Nov 2008 Stereosonic Festival Adelaide (LIVE) AUSTRALIA

29 Nov 2008 Stereosonic Festival Melbourne (LIVE) AUSTRALIA

30 Nov 2008 Stereosonic Festival Perth (LIVE) AUSTRALIA

Hiddenform are proud to bring you a young up and coming artist with a lot of promise. Already a stalwart DJ with gigs all over the Europe, Germany’s Daniel Taylor serves up two mouth-watering tracks in the form of 5 Ur Ears and Soul Food.

5 Ur Ears is a sure fire winner to set alight any dance floor that it turns its funky dirty beats on. Think broken beats, dirty lead stabs, shuffled rhythms and low slung funky bass, and you have the recipe for something very, very special indeed. This is tech house bliss at its very best! The flow is kept throughout as moody pads and synthetic organs are introduced to bring in that extra touch of funk that really is at the heart of this track…it just oozes soul and we know you won’t get enough of this one.

Track two of this release is definitely no side dish. To ignore Soul Food would be criminal, as it redefines the elements of breaks and tech house, blending and fusing samples together like a true master-chef. The groove is evident as soon as the bass kicks in and the attention to the finer details is quite incredible. Jazzy vocal snippets with house stabs and classic horns simply make this track stand out on its own.

Daniel Taylor has raised the bar once more with this funky as fuck double-header, and there’s even more superb music to come from Hiddenform this year as they unleash even more great music. Game on!

Electric 03 is an entirely middle-of-the-road musical mixture. It neither plunges into hypnotic waters nor skirts waves of frenzied enthusiasm. I have found the most enjoyment from Korbel’s mix whilst driving on country roads in the evening, or working late at my desk. The modesty of the album might just be a reflection of the man behind the decks. Says Korbel, ‘The record company said I could choose all the music… I nominated 60 tracks, they got 59 cleared for use so I put together the mix 100 per cent. They even went so far as to emphasize they didn’t want me to appease them in any way.’ Thus, Electric 03 is an accurate reflection of the balance brought to the dancefloor by an already balanced DJ talent with a decade of longevity under his belt. It is a rare window into the mind of the musician, and one that dance fans world-wide certainly should be aware of.

The first eight tracks remind me of an exceptionally good opening set for DJ’s such as Nic Fanciulli or Ricardo Villalobos – And, despite losing my attention between ‘Want 2 Shake With U’ and ‘ASB (Mirko Remix)’ – Electric 03 gains body and momentum at Der Dritte Raum’s ‘Luna Llena,’ after which it maintains a Danny Howells-esque flavor that lasts until its closing moments – in good company, it may be worth mentioning, with the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Horror Inc., Matt O’Brien and an LFO/Fuse collaboration.

Ben Korbel embarks upon his maiden voyage as a compilation DJ with one admirable purpose in mind: To create a mix compilation of his own conception that reflects his skill and taste as a DJ. To wit, he does just that. Neither flashy nor cerebral, Electric 03 has sex appeal, electronic taste and the unique watermark of its creator behind each and every smoothly-crafted curve. For fans of deep tech-house, contemporary electronica and the Balance moniker itself, this one is in every way worth a listen.

~ James Woodruff