Pilerats

Andy Bull gets us up to speed halfway into his Sea Of Approval tour.. Currently touring his new album Sea Of Approval, Andy Bull has taken to little bit of downtime he had last week to give us a few things he's learnt over the past few shows. For the remaining tour dates, click HERE. 1. Steely Dan I never really understood the appeal of Steely Dan. I mean, I thought I got the basic gist but couldn’t imagine a setting wherein I would really get into it. But this is what i’ve learned: the perfect time to listen to Steely Dan’s Aja record and also Donald Fagen's solo album The Nightfly, is between the hours of 1am and 5am, driving from Canberra to Sydney. Why? Well, in the case on Nightfly, it's about a lonely, sort of passive aggressive dude named Lester who works the graveyard shift at W-JAZ (…"with jazz and conversation from the foot of Mount Belzoni”) and somehow you can relate to his plight. Further to this, at that late night time, it helps to have music that is easy to listen to, b

Some blissful dream-folk-shoegaze from Still Parade.. I always start these kinds of posts with something about how running a music blog means I get sent shit loads of music every day, but only some of it really grabs my attention. So now that I've started this post by pointing out that very thing, it also means that certain entry point for a blog post is now done and dusted. This is the last time. So I guess congratulations to Still Parade? Because Beach certainly made me stop and listen. It's kinda shoegazey, kinda folky, with a bit of dream-pop...and all beautiful (I also need to find a new word for beautiful). Now that I've made this blog post about a great new song from a band called Still Parade all about me, I'll shutup. You just press play, 'cause it's five minutes of blissful music that will help you forget what you just read, and have you as excited as I am to grab their EP, Fields, which you can do HERE. Follow Still Parade: FACEBOOK // SOUNDCLOUD

New event. Rock solid lineup.. Unified and The Hills Are Alive have launched a new event to give 2015 the kick up the arse it needs with UNIFY: A Heavy Music Gathering. The two-day camping and music gathering will take in the picturesque surrounds of South Gippsland, two hours out of Melbourne, at a site set across a secluded Recreation Reserve surrounded by greenery, only 10 minutes from the ocean. The concept is to create a community driven event of 3000 punters across the punk, hardcore and metal world, with an all Aussie lineup showcasing this country's top notch heavy music culture. The site will include a camping area, BYO and licensed areas, and a punter friendly atmosphere, with the organisers taking cues from the European festival culture. There's also mini golf, a sports field, street cart food, late night cinema and more. Which all sounds fine and dandy, but you gotta back it up with the bands, and UNIFY has a serious roster to sort you over the weekend of January 10-11. It

The UK house duo give us a few of their favourite things.. Deep house demons Dusky will be in the country this November for a heap of shows around the country to celebrate their latest EP, Love Taking Over. And not only that, they've promised four hour (that's right, four) sets on all the stops, giving them a chance to flex their house music muscles and road test a heap of new material from their new label, 17 steps. Rather than ask them a bunch of questions about stuff you probably already know, we just thought we'd see what a few of their favourite things were. These are their stories:

Skrillex and Diplo's little project officially takes flight.. After letting a live version of the tune float around for a few weeks, Skrillex and Diplo have officially dropped their first single as Jack Ü, Take Ü There. At the Mad Decent Block Party in Brooklyn early last month, Diplo invited vocalist Kiesza on stage to premiere the track, followed by Zane Lowe giving it a spin on his show and ahving a chat with the power couple about all things jackin'. You can listen to the Zane Lowe rip below (skip ahead to 2:00), or just buy the single on iTUNES. Follow Jack Ü: FACEBOOK // SOUNDCLOUD

17 years old and touring the world - not bad, not bad at all.. Just A Gent continues a pretty amazing 2014 with news of a new EP and a huge tour across Australia, New Zealand, North America and Indonesia over the next few months, with more to be announced soon. "The past six months has taken me on a journey like no other, I am one of the only kids under 18 to ever legally step into as many nightclubs as I have of late. I have played some extraordinary gigs, and met some extraordinary people, including many of you folks. I am super excited to embark on this tour and can't wait for you to share this story with me." The news follows the recent release of a new tune, Warlock Masquerade, on Hegemon (not on the upcoming EP). You can stream that below, check his epic lineup of tour dates after that, and report back soon for news on the new EP. Follow Just A Gent: FACEBOOK // SOUNDCLOUD

Introducing you to Jiro Bevis, definitely one of our favourite illustrators of recent times..

Luke Million, Benson, Capetown and Airwolf take Young Franco's latest for a spin.. It’s been a huge year for Brisbane gun Young Franco (while we could never get sick of posting about him - he's probably the most posted-about dude on our website. Following the release of his two-track EP Close 2 U ft. JOY (listen HERE), nationwide headline tour dates and generally setting clubs alight, he’s now back with a four-track remixp package for Close 2 U - featuring re-works from fellow dancefloor destroyers Luke Million, Benson, Airwolf and Capetown. Each brings their own distinct flavour the mix: Airwolf goes dark and deep; Benson wants to keep you on the d-floor late; Capetown brings some '90s house vibes; and Luke Million brings his patented brand of Swiss disco. The house music renaissance is well and truly here, and the Close 2 U remix pack is tesament to that: UPCOMING SHOWS: Sat 20 Sep // The Factory - SUNSHINE COAST Sun 21 Sep // Stranded - STRADBROKE ISLAND Thur 25 Sep // Baker St – G

Video interview with Perth beatsmith, Ta-Ku. Here is a little bit of insight to how he works and plays..

Another day, another great Kimbra remix.. Following the release of her killer new album, The Golden Echo, it would appear Aussie songstress Kimbra has turned her attention to picking great Australian producers to remix her tracks. Yesterday we posted the perfectly perfect Client Liaison re-work of '90s music (listen HERE), and today we get a remix from Aussie electro lords Bag Raiders. Keeping up appearances with some new singles, no doubt in the lead-up to a new album (it's been so long dudes - give us more new shit!), their Miracle re-do takes Kimbra out of the nu-soul jazz lounge and into the clurb. It's not too hard or too fast, it's just a groovy little number with a slapping kick-snare combo that makes feet tap and heads nod. Kimbra's playing some shows mid-November, head to her WEBSITE for all the deets. Follow Bag Raiders: FACEBOOK // SOUNDCLOUD

Spenda C gives us the keys to his DJ set essentials.. Steve Lind AKA Spenda C is no stranger to the Australian bass music scene, hailed by peers as being at the forefront of the local trap music scene. So who better to ask for from dancefloor detonators than this guy right? Celebrating a brand new single with a huge Australian tour, check five bass beasts from one of the best in the game right now: CARMADA - MAYBE This is "Australian Sound" done right! I love how the sweet vocal intro lulls you in and then BAM that BAM that drop with the gnarly, grindy synth smacking you upside the face and making you wanna start a mosh pit. HYDRAULIX & OSKI - LET'S PLAY This is an absolute MONSTER from homies Hydro & Oski. Every trap DJ and his dog has been dropping this one. Let's Play has loads of energy and it's weird as fuck but still works a treat on the dancefloor. I play this every set. BAAUER & BOYS NOIZE - FIRE LIKE THIS This collab has been getting a lot of hate on the interwebs but I rec