Dance/Electronic | Musicosity

BIG WETT

BIG WETT isn't just another hot rising star for tastemakers to salivate over. The mysterious Melbourne electro-punk has generated heat with her humorously hedonistic songs about sex, money, drugs, partying and freaky escapades as well as high-energy shows, courting international media. Now BIG WETT is dropping a lascivious debut EP, PU$$Y. But don't expect autobiographical disclosures – BIG WETT doesn't do anything predictable. "The whole point of the project is to shock and offend but also intrigue people," she flexes.

Interviewing a pop prodigy can be like improvisational theatre, the journalist playing a game of cat and mouse. Yet BIG WETT has her own rules. After all, she masterminded those "erotic bangers" EAT MY ASS, NUMBER 1 PUSSY and BAGS (Bitches Ain't Got Shit).

Traditionally many electronic acts have cultivated mystique by concealing their identities and assuming personas, even circulating alternative narratives – the music the focus. But, potential marketing novelty aside, anonymity can be necessarily about avoiding exposure or maintaining boundaries. Indeed, as a female creative who extols sex positivity, her motto "I make songs for sluts," BIG WETT considers privacy paramount.

On Zoom, BIG WETT is playful but assured and direct, greeting with a booming "Hello!" and proclaiming the spring day in her hometown "fucking freezing." The usually secretive blonde, referring to herself as "Wetty", has dispensed with her signature shades and Barbie-pink costumes. "I was gonna wear sunglasses for this interview, but I thought, No, that's rude." Later, she reveals a tattoo of a Rottweiler paw-print.

BIG WETT has no etiological myth – her alter ego existing in the present as she embodies experience, expression and NSFW advisories. But the Millennial admits to having been an only child with a flair for performance. "I always wanted to be the centre of attention – and never had anyone to compete with," she laughs. "So that's how I ended up the way I am, I think." Probe whether BIG WETT has a musical background and she demurs. However, she openly identifies as a queer artist. "I'm pansexual – so, yeah, queer as they come."

BIG WETT as a project originated in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the bored Melburnian initially uploading demos on SoundCloud. "I got really drunk and wrote a bunch of really dumb songs in lockdown 'cause I had nothing else to do," she says. In fact, she was influenced by Kim Petras. "I just fucking love her – she's just so iconic… I've said a few times that my genre is 'slut pop', which actually she inspired by her song Slut Pop – which is one of the best songs of all time."

Ever the provocateur, BIG WETT decided to submit the raw af booty bass anthem EAT MY ASS to triple j Unearthed as it was her "most ridiculous" track. She anticipated that its explicit lyrics would be rejected, only to be surprised two weeks on. "I thought, If they don't get that, then they're just never gonna get it – and they got it! So there you go. Fucking oath!" When EAT MY ASS went "semi-viral," BIG WETT found it "hilarious," she continues. "It's all just been very unexpected – and I'm just having so much fun with it." Earlier this year, the entertainer signed to the UK-based Play It Again Sam.

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Desire Marea

Desire Marea is a South African multidisciplinary artist whose tense, challenging work draws from several post-industrial and club music styles, and addresses themes such as loneliness, trauma, and displacement. Also a member of performance art duo FAKA, Marea released their debut solo album, Desire, in 2020.

EgoliBorn Buyani Duma, Desire Marea majored in Performing Arts at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg, and also earned their bachelor's degree in Visual Communication at the Vega School. They pursued acting and worked at a top South African advertising agency. They formed the queer performance art duo FAKA with Thato Ramaisa (aka Fela Gucci) in 2015. Appearing on 2015's NON Worldwide Compilation, Vol. 1, the pair released the 2016 EP Bottoms Revenge on the label, and Marea was additionally featured on Angel-Ho's Emancipation EP. FAKA's second EP, 2017's Amaqhawe, was more club-ready than their debut, reflecting the influence of South Africa's gqom scene. The duo performed at numerous festivals, including MELT!, Roskilde, and Sonar, and were commissioned to write music for several high-profile fashion shows. They were also featured on Africa Express's 2019 album Egoli.

Marea digitally released their first solo album, Desire, on Izimakade Records in 2020. With nearly operatic vocals sung in English and Zulu, the record's tracks ranged from sophisticated art pop to noisy IDM. The album received word-of-mouth acclaim, and Mute picked it up for a physical release in 2021.

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Milo Eastwood

Starting as a teenager on community radio, Milo Eastwood has spent the 13+ years bringing music to the masses, and for the last 5 has spent every weekday waking Melbourne up on PBS fm’s The Breakfast Spread covering a wide range of musical territory.

Milo’s work on Friday mornings on PBS has in recent times amassed a cult following of sorts from Melburnians who want to get their weekend started with a hefty dose of slamming house, soaring disco, Latin rhythms and chilled-out electronica.

His efforts behind the decks have seen him throw down sets at Golden Plains, Loch Hart Music Festival, Daydreams, and countless headline shows as well as his own flagship party Love Sensation.

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Dance/Electronic

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Cool Out Sun

Melbourne band Cool Out Sun make Afro roots music, peppered with hip hop goodness and a sunny disposition. The supergroup is a cross-cultural enterprise that sees vocalist N’fa Jones (1200 Techniques), percussionist Nui Moon (Digital Afrika) and drummer/producer Sensible J (REMI, Sampa The Great) teaming up to create sultry beats and poetic commentary on a variety of social issues.

Jones is an established solo artist whose career dates back to the late-‘90s. Cool Out Sun is a refinement of his musical vision that invites contributions from various prominent musicians, such as vocalist/percussionist Lamine Sonko of the African Intelligence.

Late last year, Cool Out Sun recorded a special session which has only recently been broadcast on MUUZOstream(link is external), Channel 31’s live music program. For our next Studio 5 presentation, we offer you the chance to hear this fabulous set in its entirety on Boogie Beat Suite.

Tune in from 11am on July 12 while MzRizk brightens up your Tuesday morning with the ever cool and poignant music of Cool Out Sun.

Studio 5 Live is proudly brought to you by our mates at Mountain Goat(link is external).

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Ruth Rogers-Wright

Ruth Rogers-Wright is a singer/songwriter from Brixton, S. London U.K. She has lived in Melbourne Australia for 15 years with the exception of several extended holidays/tours back in her homeland.

She first came to prominence and artistic acclaim in the mid 80′s with the ‘ new British jazz’ movement as described by seminal London DJ Giles Peterson. Her band Moontwist featured Australian pianist Mark Fitzgibbon and his sister Nichaud Fitzgibbon on back up vocals.

In the 10 years she has lived in Australia she has performed her jazz originals at Bennett’s Lane, The Butterfly Club, Paris Cat Jazz Club, Dizzys, York Festival and numerous iconic Australian venues

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Dance/Electronic

soul jazz

Anamanaguchi

ANAMANAGUCHI IS PETER BERKMAN (DALLAS), ARY WARNAAR (NEW YORK CITY), LUKE SILAS (LOS ANGELES) AND JAMES DEVITO (PROVIDENCE), ORIGINALLY FORMED IN NEW YORK. THEY ARE A MULTI-FACETED GROUP OF RECORDING ARTISTS & CREATIVE DIRECTORS (I.E. A BAND).

THEY ARE LIVE PERFORMERS & MUSIC COMPOSERS-- IN 2023 SCORING THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NETFLIX SERIES 'SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF' WITH CO-COMPOSER JOE TRAPANESE (TRON: LEGACY, NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU), THE SOUNDTRACK BECAME AN AMAZON TOP SELLER. THEIR LATEST ALBUM [USA] WAS RELEASED ON THE DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN INDEPENDENT POLYVINYL RECORDS IMPRINT.

ANAMANAGUCHI BEGAN SCORING IN 2010 WITH UBISOFT'S SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: THE GAME, RESULTING IN A BILLBOARD-CHARTING SOUNDTRACK RELEASED BY ABKCO RECORDS. THEIR ORIGINAL COMPOSITION WORK HAS BEEN FEATURED IN TV (CBS SATURDAY MORNING), FILM (21 JUMP STREET), VIDEO GAMES (ROCKET LEAGUE, LITTLE BIG PLANET), AND VARIOUS BRANDS (DISCORD, TELFAR, TACO BELL, TARGET).

THE BAND HAS TOURED ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE AND ASIA, INCLUDING FESTIVALS LOLLAPALOOZA (CHICAGO), ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL (SEOUL & MIAMI), OSHEAGA (MONTRÉAL). THEIR LIVE SHOWS INCLUDE VISUAL SET PRODUCTION FROM BAND MEMBER DEVITO (FOUNDER OF SMOOTH TECHNOLOGY, KNOWN FOR THEIR WORK WITH TAYLOR SWIFT, LADY GAGA).

ANAMANAGUCHI IS AN INTERNET BAND. WHILE THE FOUR MEMBERS PRESENT AS A TRADITIONAL ROCK BAND ON STAGE (GUITAR, BASS AND DRUMS), THEY ARE MULTI-INSTRUMENTALISTS CLASSICALLY TRAINED IN MUSIC COMPOSITION, HOLD DEGREES IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION, AND HAVE A LESS-INSTITUTIONALLY-RECOGNIZED SPECIALTY IN EARLY VIDEO GAME CONSOLE MUSIC PRODUCTION (SUCH AS NES, SNES, AND GAME BOY).

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Underground Lovers

Underground Lovers (sometimes stylised as undergroundLOVERS) are an Australian pop-rock band whose sound encompasses elements of indie rock, electronic music, and shoegaze. Founding members Glenn Bennie (guitar, vocals) and Vincent Giarrusso (vocals, guitar, keyboards) formed the group GBVG in 1988, and by May 1990, they had changed the name of the group to Underground Lovers and were joined by Richard Andrew (drums), Maurice Argiro (bass guitar), and Philippa Nihill (vocals, guitar and keyboard).

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Claymore

William Hutton (lead vocals, guitar & Bodhran, Manager) – born in Scotland, William is the founding member of Claymore. He’s performed extensively throughout Australia and overseas and is recognised as one of the finest singers of traditional songs. This, coupled with a strong knowledge of the history of Celtic music puts him at the forefront of his field. He is also a laugh a minute – it would be hard to pick a more entertaining and enigmatic front man.

Michael Doyle (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, Bodhran & vocals) – born in Melbourne, Michael is one of the most acclaimed lead guitarists in the music world. His accomplishments include a long playing career with Colleen Hewitt and a hit single ‘Winner’ with the 1980s rock group Atlantis. He is equally at home on the mandolin and is also an impressive vocalist.

Grant Scroggie (highland bagpipes, guitar, tin whistle, vocals & Bodhran) – born in Melbourne, Grant is easily one of the most recognised and impressive pipers in the world today. He evolved from the Australian Pipe Band scene to join the Celtic circuit and used his invaluable training to bring spark and expertise to Claymore. He is a multi-instrumentalist who masters everything he tries his hand at with consummate skill.

Craig Scroggie (drums, percussion & vocals) – born in Melbourne, Craig has been playing percussion since he was eight, including drum kit, congas, bongos, timbales, timpani, pipe band and military snare. He was ranked as one of the top drummers in the world at the 1994 World Drumming Championships in Glasgow and has been teaching percussion for over 15 years. He has also won numerous drumming awards in Australia and New Zealand.

Dash McIvor (bass guitar, Didge & vocals) – As well as being an award winning Producer/Engineer & qualified Music Teacher, Dash is also a competent Multi-Instrumentalist, Before joining Claymore, Dash had a long history of being proficient in a myriad of styles with an eclectic range of artists such as Thelma Houston, Peter Sarstedt, Kamahl, Jon Pertwee, Tony Bennet, Phil Manning, Angry Anderson, Max Bygraves, Normie Rowe, Col Elliott, Jean Stafford, Ronnie Burns, Johnny Chester, & Peggy Seeger to name but a few. He’s now the driving Celtic heart of Claymore.

Mick Mills (drums & percussion) – born in Canberra, Mick has been playing music since he was 14 and, in that time, has mastered the likes of the guitar, drums, percussion and the piano to name a few. He has toured Australia and the US in concert bands and spent literally hundreds of hours as a session/recording artist. He has also performed in original bands such as Paris Calling, Undermind and DDM.

David Carr (Lead Guitar, Vocals) – David is an incredible musician and a master of many instruments

The lead guitar being the shining jewel in his arsenal. He is a very accomplished recording engineer with his own very successful recording studio located in the rolling hills behind Melbourne, “Rangemaster”.

Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, audio engineer, producer, mixdown engineer, broadcaster

Jack of all trades – Master of All.

Robert Iurato (sound engineer) – no band is complete without a fantastic sound engineer and Robert is undisputedly one of the best. He’s been in the audio industry for over 20 years, serving his training in the 1980s with an audio production company from where he progressed to work overseas in New York for a number of years in some of the top recording studios in the world. He is responsible for overseeing Claymore’s concert productions and front of house sound engineering.

The Glenbrae Dancers - The Glenbrae Celtic Dancers aim to maintain the traditions of Scottish dancing and to make it appealing to the participants by introducing both traditional and modern choreography. Ages range from 4 years upwards.

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Grievous Bodily Calm

Grievous Bodily Calm are a five-piece instrumental band from Perth, Western Australia.

Their genre-blending signature instrumental sound and high energy live show infuses IDM, beat music and jazz improvisation with modern electronic production and has seen them support artists such as Tame Impala, Black Midi, The Avalanches, Hiatus Kaiyote, Beach House and Pond as well as numerous festival appearances and sold out headline shows off the back of two acclaimed independently released EP’s.

Their previous EP 'Arc' received acclaim from outlets such as Clash Magazine, COLORS, NME, Earmilk, Worldwide FM, The Lot Radio, Triple J, Triple J Unearthed Feature Artist & more. 'Spirals' is the first taste of their highly anticipated follow up EP due for release in 2023.

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Dance/Electronic

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Bootleg Rascal

Sydney genre-benders Bootleg Rascal have announced their third studio album, ‘Sloppy Seconds’, set for release on October 29 via the band’s own Bootleg Records.

The record will feature both of the duo’s 2021 singles, ‘All About You’ (featuring Saint Lane) and ‘Therapy’ (featuring Citizen Kay and MAXINE), alongside reimagined tracks from 2016’s ‘Asleep In The Machine’ and 2018’s ‘Anómino’, plus EPs ‘Psychotica’ and ‘Collaborations Of Very Isolated Delinquents “19’.

Speaking to The Music, guitarist Jimmy Young said the album’s unique concept was one he’d wanted to explore for some time. “When the world stopped, I started to really think about projects I’ve always wanted to do but never had enough time for,” he mused.

“One thing on the bucket list was to have made a record which embraced the whole ‘something old, new, borrowed’ concept.”

Young cited Sublime as a key inspiration for ‘Sloppy Seconds’, saying the Californian ska band were “a big part of why [he] first started playing music in the first place”. He noted that the posthumous 1997 album, ‘Second-Hand Smoke’, is one Young was particularly enamoured by.

“The record was released not long after frontman Bradley Nowell’s death,” Young explained, “and follows a similar concept where it shines a light on remixed and recycled tracks. It really gives another perspective and take on some of their classics, and as a fan that’s something I really enjoy. Here’s hoping our fans feel the same.”

Tomorrow (August 27), Bootleg Rascal are set to release the third single from ‘Sloppy Seconds’, a Spanish remix of their track ‘Sharks’. The song was first released seven years ago on the ‘Psychotica’ EP.

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