Industrial Strength: Inside Track – Oct 10, 2013

Video accompanying Sally Seltmann teaser is ‘psychodelcious’ 

Singer songwriter Sally Seltmann’s official new single through Caroline Label Services is not due out until next month. But in the meantime she’s released a taster called Needle In The Hay from her upcoming still-untitled album. “I wanted you to hear this song first because it marks the beginning of a new journey,” she revealed. “It’s about losing yourself, following your heart, and above all – LOVE!” The song, produced with husband Darren Seltmann, features Bree van Reyk (Paul Kelly, Synergy Percussion, Holly Throsby) on drums & percussion and Michel Rose on pedal steel.

A new clip called The Sugar Fountain accompanies the song. Created by artist Isobel Knowles, The Sugar Fountain is an animation which evolved from a project created for Melbourne’s Schoolhouse Studios in 2012. “It was a series of edible art desserts; collaborations between artists and chefs,” explains Knowles. “I worked with Ashley Mariani, who specialises in biscuits and cakes. We decked the room out like a lo-fi Wonka Land where the audience was invited to roam about the sugar paths picking as many cupcake flowers and biscuit apples as they liked. Needle In The Hay has so many cascading, euphoric passages that lend themselves to this fantasy fountain,” Isobel continues. “I like to describe it as ‘psychodelicious’!”

Tame Impala and Flaming Lips to put out joint EP 

Tame Impala and Flaming Lips are set to record an EP together as they look set to tour the United States together. They’ll cover each others’ tracks for a 4-track vinyl EP to be sold at the shows. The Lips are doing Impala’s Runway, Houses, City, Clouds while the WA act looks like covering Are You A Hypnotist? and Silver Trembling Hands,which they already have done live.

BBC Worldwide gains film rights for Robbie Williams show 

BBC Worldwide has gained the global film rights to Robbie Williams’ November show at the London Palladium. The show sees him launch his new album of swing songs, Swings Both Ways. The Palladium is where the Rat Pack stars as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. played. The album is due out in the UK on November 18. Williams will be joined by “special friends”. Those on the album include Lily Allen, Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson, Olly Murs and Rufus Wainwright. The result will be a DVD Robbie Williams: One Night at the Palladium set for UK release on December 9. The Palladium date is yet to be announced.

Kate Miller-Heidke, Pseudo Echo, eclipse PledgeMusic targets

PledgeMusic’s reputation as an effective crowd-sourcing platform had a boost when two of its campaigns announced they had eclipsed their targets within days. Kate Miller-Heidke, who’s raising money for O Vertigo, her first album since her parting of ways with Sony, hit 134% of the target within days. As revealed last week, Miller-Heidke’s rewards include playing at your wedding for a $10,000 donation, an acoustic gig at home for $5,000 and phoning you to sing happy birthday for $100. Melbourne band Pseudo Echo, best known for Funky Town and Listening, also hit 104% within a week. Their rewards range from flying anywhere in the world to play two shows for you ($12,000), having them play at your house ($5,000), remix your song ($1200) and a signed guitar ($1,000). Figures released this week by PledgeMusic Australia found that Australians tend to be more supportive of crowd-sourcing campaigns. The average pledge in Australia is $75, while it is US$55 (A$58.40) in the US and £35 (A$60) in the UK. The success rate for PledgeMusic’s local campaigns is 93%.

Blurred Lines overtakes Get Lucky as UK’s biggest single of year 

Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines has replaced Daft Punk’s Get Lucky as the biggest selling single of 2013 in the UK, according to the Official Charts Company. Interestingly, both tracks feature Pharrell Williams.Blurred Lines sold more than 1.36 million since its release in May and was at #1 for five weeks. This was despite being banned by Leeds University and the University of Edinburgh for its lyrical content, which insinuated date-rape. Get Lucky shifted 1.24 million copies since its release in April.