New Signings & Team-Ups: Flightless / Remote Control signs Leah Senior; Armani uses Gaslight Radio song; Apple Music linking with Sonos

Flightless / Remote Control grounds in Leah Senior

Flightless Records and Remote Control Records signed Melbourne singer-songwriter Leah Senior. In the wake of the arrival of her debut single The City Is A Stream last week, they will drop her debut album Summer's On The Ground later in the year. The album was recorded in an old Melbourne hall with Nick Huggins and Mark Lang.

Senior grew up in the country listening to her mother singing arias whilst blasting rock and roll from her bedroom. In March, she featured on Fraser A. Gorman's cover of Blues Run The Game which got UK radio airplay on BBC6.

Four from Australasia chosen for Red Bull Music Academy

Four names from Australia and New Zealand are heading to Paris October 25 to 27 for the Red Bull Music Academy. From Australia are Perth-based producer and singer KUČKA (Laura Jane Lowther) and Melbourne writer, producer and instrumentalist DXHeaven (Nicholas Lam). New Zealand’s winners are Race Banyon/Lontalious (Eddie Johnston) and k2k (Katherine Anderson) – both from Wellington.

The four join 59 others from 36 countries (from a total 4,509 applications) at the Academy quarters at La Gaîté lyrique to take part in workshops, lectures and studio sessions with mentors, and perform around the French capital’s venues.

Caroline Australia issues Rytmeklubben

Caroline Australia has ANZ rights for Norwegian electronic super-group Rytmeklubben. Hailed as “doing something no one else in the game is”, the act released its first official single in this market, Girlfriend, and is dropping an EP on July 27. Rytmeklubben is made up of solo acts Henrik The Artist, Hi Tom, Torjus and DJ Karaoke, who have their own club nights in Trondheim and Oslo.

Armani uses Gaslight Radio song

Melbourne / Gold Coast mid-90s band Gaslight Radio, who toured the UK and Europe, get a boost to their global profile, with Emporio Armani using their song Change The Ending for its European fall and winter campaign. The track was on the 2006 album Good Heavens Mean Time. Armani discovered it on YouTube. The band was formed in 1998 by brothers Martin and Rory Cooke and went on a hiatus some time back.

Google launches free radio service

Google is adding a free radio service to its Google Play Music app in the US powered by the tech behind playlist curating site Songza which Google bought last July. The service offers music/mood themed stations as Drop-a-Beat Workout, Poolside Chic, and Songs To Raise Your Kids To.

Universal Music Group in bed with Marriott International

In a bid to “engage a new generation of experience-seekers, travellers and music fans” a partnership with Universal Music Group and Marriott International will see some of its acts perform at Marriott hotels and other branded events. Music downloads, concert tickets, a branded video series and other incentives will also be offered to Marriott customers.

ORiGiN Theatrical to rep Tams-Witmark Music Library

Sydney-based ORiGiN Theatrical will represent the Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc. catalogue of musicals in Australia and New Zealand from July 1. The classic and contemporary Broadway musicals include Cabaret, A Chorus Line, Hair, Mame, Titanic, The Wizard Of Oz and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. Tams-Witmark President Sargent L. Aborn said, “ORiGiN’s presence in the Australian market is customer-service driven, innovative and forward thinking and we appreciate that our catalogue will be represented with such care.”

Apple Music linking with Sonos systems

Apple Music is working with Sonos systems to make its wi-fi speakers compatible to stream through by the end of the year. In the meantime, Apple Music comes to iPhones, iPads and Macs today (June 30) and on Android app in a few months. Sonos already works with all the major music services like Pandora, Spotify and SoundCloud, and was working with Beats Music before it was sold to Apple.

More partners for Wheatbelt Touring Circuit

WA’s Wheatbelt Touring Circuit is extending its 2015 run to November after what Perth-based music association WAM called “record-breaking audience numbers were achieved across a range of venues in the first half of 2015.” The Circuit sees WA metro and local acts combining for free entry monthly tours through the region’s towns. (For full details, see WAM’s website).

The Circuit is already supported by RAC (using the initiative to emphasise high road fatality rates in the Wheatbelt; 11 times Perth metro, six times the state) and Hertz. New partners announced yesterday are the Wheatbelt Development Commission (WDC) and Country Arts WA. WDC is already involved in the Sounds Of The Wheatbelt recording project to highlight the region’s original music. Country Arts WA is supporting WAM through the Louder project, its CEO Jessica Machin said, adding, “Music is an important vehicle for bringing people together and creating a vibrant community.”

DJ comp Your Shot has Alcatel onetouch as presenting partner

Smartphone technology company Alcatel OneTouch becomes the 2015 presenting partner for One Shot, the first time the DJ competition has had one. Alcatel onetouch was involved in the state interviews of DJs at which the Top 80 contestants were selected to receive 6 weeks of DJ training. More info: theacademyaus.com.au.

Emerging UK acts get funding initiative

PledgeMusic and Help Musicians UK are jointly helping ten emerging UK acts. Those who hit their target on PledgeMusic will receive matching funds from Help Musicians UK. The scheme has £50,000 available for acts which don’t have the financial backing of a record label or publisher but have a media and live buzz

SBS program comes alive at Darwin Festival

A feature of the Darwin Festival (August 6 to 23) is a live adaption of the successful SBS show Prison Songs. It portrayed Berrimah Prison inmates expressing the highs and lows of their lives through mediums including music. The Darwin show has material by Darwin’s Shellie Morris and Melbourne songwriter and playwright Casey Bennetto. It features Indigenous performers, as Morris, Ernie Dingo, Jada Alberts, Kamahi Djordon King and Bronwyn Turei. The Festival’s other offerings cover folk, blues, indie, jazz and soul as well as theatre, cabaret, art, conversation, dance, comedy and family entertainment.

Perth street paper rivals team up

One-time Perth street paper rivals X-Press Magazine and The Music have got into bed. From this week, X-Press will be the sole print title for the two companies, while The Music will absorb X-Press’ digital activities into its own site. The Music Perth Editor Dan Cribb remains as a full-time digital editor for theMusic.com.au.

Nile Rodgers, Keith Urban, team up for “EDM-country”

A fan of Keith Urban’s guitar and banjo-playing, Chic’s Nile Rodgers is working with him on tracks described as “EDM-country”. Rodgers said that after seeing Urban at the Grammys in February, he promised to teach himself the banjo.