Pilerats, Journalist

We talk the future of dance in Australia, whose killing it elsewhere, and just good club music.. As people's obssession with the Australian dance music scene grows and grows with peoples' eyes and ears on us more firmly then ever, it's become essential that we have someone not only championing what we do here, but introducing us to sounds from around the globe to keep us on our toes. It's a tiny bubble down here, and while the Internet has seen to the ease of music discovery/sharing, it can get easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Enter Nina Las Vegas, the former House Party hostess who after a well-deserved few months "off" (see: exploring music all over the world), she's back with a new tool for exposing the world to our scene and vice versa. Taking full control of Triple J's Mix Up Exclusives, hosting DJs and producers from here and abroad, it's the perfect platform for discovering new music, find out who's killing it here, and listen to something you perhaps never thought you

The newest members of the Pilerats Records fam have some new music and tour to boot.. Save for some rare appearances at Hong Kong's Clockenflap Festival, Australia's mighty Falls Fest (and of course their sell out solo tour!) Willow Beats have spent most of the last 12 months locked in the studio. We're stoked to tell you, IT'S BEEN WORTH THE WAIT, and today we welcome Willow Beats to the Pilerats Records family :))) Straight from their forthcoming sophomore EP check out the swampy twilight tones of brand new single Merewif. Stooped in fantasy, mystery, and the stories of Hare Krishna folklore, soul, love, and light burst through Merewif. Narayana’s tribal electronica, full of shadows and dust, with twisting starlight synths and heart-beat baselines, all wrapped up in the caramel vocal chords of the beautiful, and commanding, Kalyani Mumtaz.

A few questions with the currently-killing-it German duo.. There's a very good chance you've heard Germany-based two-piece Milky Chance's single Stolen Dance - the clip (down the bottom) has clocked up a tidy 41million views on YouTube and rising, over a year later. Last week saw the Australian release of their debut album, Sadnecessary (get it via iTunes HERE), and Gab Strum sent a few questions off to lead singer Clemens Rehbein. How did you guys meet? Have you played in other bands together before Milky Chance?   We met during college in Kassel and visited both the same music course. We quickly recognised we got along great and started playing in a band together together with other friends. After school some of them left our hometown and moved to other cities but I kept on writing songs. So one day Philipp and I decided to record those songs, that’s when Milky Chance started. The combination of different sounds and styles is something that really sets you apart from other bands. Ho

CIRCO hype machine Golden Features drops a rad clip for his single.. If you asked me to pitch you an idea for a video accompaniment to Golden Features dark and dirty banger Tell Me feat. Nicole Millar, I honestly would have struggled (but then it's not my job, soooo). But whoever pitched the idea you see below has absolutely hit the nail on its proverbial head. All moody and black and white and dark, I haven't seen a video clip this perfectly suited to the music in a long time. It looks like some kinda dystopian sci-fi epic in the Mad Max/Book Of Eli mould - basically it feels like a movie, one that I would be really happy to watch. In fact I was, completely hooked for three-and-a-half minutes, and that never happens. So enough of my rambling, enjoy it below, and Perthians can see him this Saturday at CIRCO Festival - click HERE for tickets, and click HERE for the time we asked him to take photos of his five goldenest treasures.

Meet new Adelaide management collective, Young Muscle.. Young Muscle is the combined efforts of three mates outta Adelaide, born from a love of good music, good parties, and good local sounds - most often seen at the club night they started out together, Cats. Spending the past couple of years bringing over acts such as Flume, Chet Faker, Tokimonsta, Classix, Wave Racer and many more has given them the motivation to start working with local acts to get them the recognition they deserve. Part management roster and part collective, with a mandate to throw some damn fine parties, the Young Muscle roster features: FLAMINGO ARCHERS HOLY MODELS SKIES FERRIS MULAR   You can find Young Muscle on FACEBOOK, where you can get their free SAMPLER PACK.

Wonky gutter house duo Go Freek are taking their new EP on a massive tour.. A couple of weeks back we got our teeth stuck into the Australian house scene (read the two parter HERE and HERE) and one of the acts we featured with much love was Sydney duo Go Freek. Part of the Sweat It Out roster, they're having a killer year at the moment with some chart-killing originals and super fun REMIXES, and they've just announced a pretty big Australian tour to spruik their latest EP, Way You Dance. Take a listen to the teaser below (we already have a sneaky advance copy and both tracks are super dope), and mark one or more of the dates in your diary.

A killer debut from 19-year-old Mickey Kojak.. If it seems like we talk about Sweat It Out artists and releases a lot on this blog, there's a pretty simple explanation for it - everything they release is absolute gold. No one's pushing sweaty club sounds like these dudes and they're on another winner with 19-years-young Mickey Kojak outta Sydney. Feel My Pain featuring his so-far-undiscovered friend Tazzy on vocal duties, is a track that feels fresh from start to finish, especially the half-way point change-up that I did not see coming, but was extremely happy with once it arrived. Take a listen below, it's out June 20 via Sweat It Out, and sling him a like on FACEBOOK while you're at it.

CIRCO Festival Perf stage killer Tina Says has a rad new mix for the weekend.. Hard to believe that CIRCO Festival is only a week away (tickets HERE) and the office is well into festival organisation stress level mode engaged, but this new mix from one of our Perf Stage artists has definitely eased the tension. Tina Says is a local DJ/producer who's been carving a strong name for herself with some killer sets supporting some big name artists 'round these parts. This year she's started moving into the production world, and her recent dabblings in the house world have resulted in this new mix, featuring the likes of Zhu, Julio Bashmore, Golden Features and more. It's pretty bassy, and pretty bangin', and all gold. Follow Tina Says on SOUNDCLOUD // FACEBOOK

Ta-ku's new audio/visual project is off to a great start.. Perth beat king Ta-ku has kicked off his new Create & Explore series with this beautiful new video featuring beats by Esta, and photography from Australian snapper Michael Salisbury. Create & Explore is described as thus: "A conversation between mediums. From visual to auditory, beat makers are paired with photographers to create and explore the power of creative collaboration", and if this first piece is anything to go by, we've got a lot to look forwrad to. Head to the Create & Explore WEBSITE for more info.

Melbourne bros Deer and Tomderson are headed to the wild west.. Melbourne-based comrades DEER and Tomderson are heading west. The pair will embark on a multi-stop journey to the Australian west coast, making an appearance at some of Perth’s most hyped clubs thanks to #Burnersquad. Heading west is inevitable for DEER, who is part our Pilerats Records roster. He has played alongside international names like Ryan Hemsworth, Djemba Djemba, Paul Devro, Trippy Turtle, DJ Sliink and will soon to be adding Sweater Beats of HW&W to the list as he supports him at Get Weird. Tomderson is a Melbourne favourite, with an ongoing residency at club night Can’t Say, multiple releases on Vicious Bitch and supporting the likes of Flosstradamus, Star Slinger and Australian heavyweights Flume, Wave Racer and Miami Horror. He just released a remix of Diamond Lights that is gonna burn up any and every d-floor it touches. Like Deer on FACEBOOK, like Tomderson on FACEBOOK, and catch 'em at the following date

Ta-ku and Kaytranada apply their unique set of skills to Chet Faker's huge single.. Last night we saw Chet Faker do his live thang at the Astor Theatre, and while the hangover is still too strong to encapsulate all of our thoughts regarding said show right now, there's definitely head space to share a couple of dope remixes laid out for the bearded one. KAYTRANADA FLIP First up Kaytranada gives it the old Kaytranada flip, applying his signature sounds on a housier tip. All of Kaytranada's drums sound so live, which I love. Once it gets going though it's all club groove and eery synths. The sax from the original gets left out, and I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but it's a choice that doesn't detract from the tune in anyway. TA-KU REMIX Ta-ku goes the darker route, but still packing plenty of those feels he's pretty come to have complete ownership of. It makes for a seriously well rounded little selection of music. The original, Ta-ku's take and Kaytranada's flip sound so di

One of the many rad artists playing this year's Hidden Treasures in Fremantle.. Presented by the City of Fremantle, Hidden Treasures is now in its fourth year of creating unique collaborations and dialogues between musicians and music lovers, softening the barriers between performers and audiences in some of Fremantle's coolest spaces. This year sees four venues in Fremantle’s West End playing host to Hidden Treasures every Thursday in July, including Fremantle Workers Club, The Navy Club, The Buffalo Club and new addition - the PS Art Space. One $10 ticket will grant a night’s membership to all four venues, which will host staggered performances so that music lovers can wander from one music hot spot to the next. You can read up more on what nights are on offer by heading to the Hidden Treasures FACEBOOK, but before you do, get to know one of the acts playing who also happen to have the most amazing band name ever - Aborted Tortoise.