THE AVALANCHES · JAMIE T · GROUPLOVE · MØ · RY X
CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN · MODERN BASEBALL
ALUNAGEORGE · LEMAITRE
With Lorne and Byron Bay Falls Festivals selling out in record time, and Marion Bay and Fremantle festivals not too far behind, Secret Sounds Touring are gifting us with a slew of Official Falls Festival headline sideshows for some of the festival’s biggest acts, including The Avalanches, Grouplove, Jamie T and AlunaGeorge.
THE AVALANCHES
Dates:
Tue 3 Jan – Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
Thu 5 Jan – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Sat 7 Jan – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Melbourne electro pioneers The Avalanches will be making their highly anticipated comeback this January, with headline shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide for the first time in over a decade! If their Splendour in the Grass 2016 and pre-party performances are anything to go by, with a live show that effortlessly combines both albums, guest musicians like Jonathon Donahue from Mercury Rev and Spank Rock, not to mention a few other surprises, these shows are the perfect way to start your 2017!
With sophomore album Wildflower already debuting at #1 on the ARIA charts, The Avalanches’ have well and truly come good on their promise of a worthy follow-up to their era-defining 2000 debut Since I Left You. Delivering yet “another mind-blowing musical trip” (Sydney Morning Herald) with ‘Frankie Sinatra’, ‘Subways’, ‘If I Were A Folkstar’ and many more, it’s like they never left.
When legends, meet legends! The one, the only, Grandmaster Flash will be on support duties for The Avalanches’ Sydney and Melbourne shows. The first hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be dropping tunes from a career littered with highlights. As an innovative DJ, he is unparalleled. As a hit maker, he is prolific, as a man, he is legend.
Joining The Avalanches in Adelaide for a hometown showdown will be one of the country’s most exciting guitar acts, Bad//Dreems. Having already supported punk-rock royalty in At The Drive-In and The Living End in 2016, as well as recently playing a massive set at the Maroochy Music and Visual Arts Festival, the rough and ready rockers are now hinting on social media that they’ve got new music on the horizon! In the meantime, they’ll be playing tracks off their 2015 critically-acclaimed debut record Dogs At Bay, including the anthems ‘Dumb Ideas’ and ‘Cuffed & Collared’.
ALUNAGEORGE
Dates:
Fri 6 Jan – The Corner, Melbourne
In the two years since pop alchemists AlunaGeorge – aka singer and lyricist Aluna Francis and producer George Reid – released their critically praised debut album, Body Music, they’ve barely stopped. From world tours to festivals, to Katy Perry support slots, collaborations (2015’s ‘To Ü’ with Skrillex & Diplo) and chart-slaying remixes (DJ Snake’s version of ‘You Know You Like It’- one of the most streamed songs of all time), their world has expanded immeasurably from the tiny London studio they started working in back in 2010.
Somehow, in amongst the madness, they’ve managed to find the time to write and record a follow-up album, I Remember, which is out on 16th September. The album confidently maintains their unique sonic palette – a soulful, pop-leaning take on down-tempo dance and experimental R&B – but also takes it forward into bolder territories. Lead by the dancehall-tinged, ludicrously catchy banger ‘I’m In Control’, featuring Jamaican rapper Popcaan, it’s an album that channels their experiences into a delicious mélange of pop styles.
CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN
Dates:
Tue 3 Jan – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Fri 6 Jan – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Heralded as the UK’s freshest and most compelling live acts, Catfish And The Bottlemen are back with the highly anticipated follow up to their debut album The Balcony. Featuring hit singles ‘Soundcheck’ and ‘7’, the critically acclaimed UK Number 1 album The Ride sold an incredible 40,000 copies in its first week alone. Australia’s fascination with the 2016 Breakthrough Brit Award winners is undeniable, arriving in a swarm of local press, The Ride debuted at #6 on the ARIA charts here in Australia as well as scoring triple j feature album, with the station describing the album to have “more finesse and skill than the debut […] each song is immediately relatable at the core.”
No strangers to the UK touring circuit, Catfish and the Bottlemen capped off the whirlwind success of their breakthrough debut The Balcony with an extensive UK tour in November which sold out, over 40,000 tickets in under 10 minutes and have since featured prominently on many festival billings over the 12 months including BBC’s Big Weekend, T in The Park, Glastonbury, Reading and many more! Crossing over to the Atlantic, they toured consistently, appeared on various late night shows and were named as Billboard Magazine’s #1 new artist.
Now, Catfish and The Bottlemen announce their highly anticipated return to Australian shores this December/January. The confirmation of their return came 12 months after the British rockers regretfully pulled out of the 2015 Splendour In The Grass line up due to illness. Since then there has been much speculation between fans and media alike on the bands touring plans down under. It can now be revealed that, eager fans will have the chance to catch Catfish and the Bottlemen live at Southbound and Falls Festival as well as their own side shows on Tuesday 3rd Jan at 170 Russell in Melbourne and Friday 6th Jan at Metro Theatre, Sydney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es_GFcHd65s
GROUPLOVE
Dates:
Tue 3 Jan – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Fri 6 Jan – Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
Grouplove are one of Australia’s favourite indie-pop outfits. Fact. After selling out all three headline shows and consistently delivering an infectiously energetic live show in Sydney and Melbourne earlier this year, the band’s name couldn’t be more fitting.
First formed in 2009, Grouplove made waves with single ‘Tongue Tied’, ‘Colours’ and ‘Itchin’ On A Photograph’ from their debut album Never Trust A Happy Song. The quintet’s second full length album – 2013’s Spreading Rumours – was met with a raft of acclaim and now the band is back doing what they do best – creating pop anthem sing-alongs in their brand new album Big Mess, including the hit ‘Welcome To Your Life’.
Supporting Grouplove in Sydney is Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, who make up New York electronic rock duo Phantogram. Coming together in 2007, Phantogram’s music incorporates psychedelic pop vocals, J Dilla-style hip-hop beats, and shoegazing sensibility. The duo have two full length albums under their belt and recently paired up with Big Boi from Outkast, to form super group Big Grams, which produced ‘Fell In The Sun’, one of 2015’s stand out tracks. Phantogram are back this year with their brand new album Three ready to drop in October, in a recent interview with Pitchfork, Barthel described the album as ‘a lot more fucking bombastic and heavy’. The band’s latest anthem ‘You Don’t Get Me High Anymore’ is currently on high rotation on triple j and getting us set for summer!
JAMIE T
Dates:
Wed 4 Jan – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Thu 5 Jan – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne
Jamie T, a five-time NME award winner, has established himself as one of the UK’s most unique songwriters, merging his punk, folk, ska and reggae influences. He has released four critically acclaimed albums to date which have all charted top 5 in the UK. His 2007 debut Panic Prevention earned him a Mercury Music Prize nomination, and his follow up 2009’s Kings & Queens shot to No 2 in the UK chart. After a five-year hiatus, Jamie returned in 2014 with Carry On The Grudge, which was hailed by Sunday Times Culture as “a third album of such unanswerable brilliance“.
Following on from a stellar set at Splendour in the Grass in 2015 and massive stadium shows with BLUR, Jamie T will return to Australia in 2017 to play headline shows alongside his Falls Festival appearance. The shows will support his recently released fourth album Trick.
LEMAITRE
Wed 4 Jan – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Fri 6 Jan – Howler, Melbourne
Formed in the summer of 2010, Lemaitre is a Norwegian indie-electronic duo consisting of members Ketil Jansen and Ulrik Denizou Lund, who create raging disco beats, mixed with soft synthphrases and gripping melodies. When playing live they combine live instruments, not so live instruments and good old live vocals.
Both Jansen and Lund love hip-hop and rock, but the core of their fandom was cool electronic music, like Chemical Brothers and Basment Jaxx. Lund says they were both huge Daft Punk fans when they connected.
Lemaitre have made an impact on the contemporary electronic music scene, dazzling listeners with disco-infused electro and indie dance with triple j favourites ‘Stepping Stone Ft Mark Jones’, ‘We Got U Ft The Knocks’, which is also on FIFA 17 and recent single ‘Closer Ft Jennie A’ hitting over 20 million on spotify. The duo released their latest EP, 1749, on January 29, 2016. Inspiration for the name “1749” came from the home Lemaitre has been living in during their time in Los Angeles.The home was previously owned by famed American rapper and producer Dr Dre during the 1990s.
MØ
Tue 3 Jan – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW (AA)
Thu 5 Jan – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
Scandinavia’s finest electro-pop badass MØ is heading back to Australian shores this summer! With dates already locked in at all Falls Festivals and Field Day, she’ll be jumping onstage in Sydney (all ages) and Melbourne for two intimate headline shows in January.
The queen of mashing bedroom beats, R&B and electro-pop, MØ’s unique genre-bending sound has shot her from gangster to pop star and everywhere in between.
The Danish singer-songwriter crash landed into the scene in 2013, and has gained herself an enviable following since the release of acclaimed debut album No Mythologies To Follow.
She hung out at the top of the charts with music legends Major Lazer and DJ Snake, and their record breaking anthem ‘Lean On’, her lead vocals driving the track to the most streamed song OF ALL TIME on Spotify.
With a string of other collaborations that put most to shame, she followed up with Diplo on ‘Kamikaze’, crowned by Annie Mac as “the hottest record of the year” in 2015. She backed up this high in June with the release of ‘Final Song’, reaching platinum status in Australia and giving fans another heart-pumping taste of her hotly anticipated sophomore album.
All tickets for her last Australian tour, supported by Elliphant, sold out super fast! Fresh from the likes of Coachella and Glastonbury and armed with a new collab, ‘Cold Water’ with Justin Bieber and Major Lazer, don’t miss MØ when she hits the road in January.
MODERN BASEBALL
Wed 4 Jan – Metro Theatre, Sydney (Lic A/A)
Fri 6 Jan – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Modern Baseball were in the country earlier this year on their first ever Australian tour selling out all shows. Having recently being announced on Falls Festival the band are excited to announce Falls side-shows with special guests Camp Cope.
In just a few short years, Modern Baseball have gone from college freshman self-recording their first record to a worldwide phenomenon. Somehow, it feels like just the beginning.
Modern Baseball released their stunning new album Holy Ghost in May. Holy Ghost is the third album by the Philadelphia indie punk quartet shows off the band’s sonic growth, adding in new influences ranging from The Killers to Pedro The Lion.
RY X
Fri 6 Jan – Newtown Social Club, Sydney
Sat 7 Jan – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Australia’s very own RY X is thrilled to announce he’ll be returning to home soil in January 2017, lighting up stages in both Sydney and Melbourne off the back of his performances at all Falls Festivals over the New Year.
Ry Cuming was born in the wild. He called the tiny coastal hideaway of Angrouie on the NSW North Coast home, spending the best of his youth running around naked, swimming and surfing, often going days without seeing a car. It’s this spirit of unassuming purity that engulfs RY-X, his trademark.
But as LA called his name, we came to know Ry through a bunch of acclaimed projects, The Acid and Howling, captivating in their own right. But when Ry wasn’t sweating into the earlier hours in thumping LA warehouses, RY X was born.
In contrast to his surrounds, he wrote fragile songs built on acoustic guitar and piano, often recording to tape and enjoying the lo-fi feel. From this, EP Berlin was born and title track became a regular on countless “Chill Sundays” or “Acoustic Afternoon” Spotify playlists.
But 2016 was set to be Ry’s year, and saw him debut his eagerly anticipated album Dawn. Recorded live with only Ry and his guitar, every song on Dawn has a threadbare power, filled with stripped back arrangements and mysterious sentiment. There’s nothing separating the listener from the albums’ significance. “These are live takes, sitting there like Neil Young or Nick Drake used to”, Ry says. “It’s about holding tension – any fuck ups got left on so if I’m mumbling that’s how I delivered the vocal in an honest way.”
With Dawn reaching #5 on the iTunes alternative chart and scoring remix’s for singles by the likes of Fort Romeau and Kaskade, RY X’s infectious sound continues to build. Catch him in January and bear witness to the moving relationship between Ry, his art and the world around him.