New Signings & Team-Ups: May 10

Image:Matt Corby lends song to ChildFund

Mike Solo takes over Closure In Moscow management

Mike Solo of Sydney-based The Bird’s Robe Collective has taken over the management of prog-rockers Closure In Moscow. The band recently parted amicably with Pete Williamson of Sabretusk who cited family commitments.

Solo said, “Closure in Moscow are one of my all-time favourite bands.” The band on their own part said that aside from Solo’s musical passion and business acumen, “The real clincher when it came to working with him however, is that he can recite every Wimbledon Men’s Singles winner from 1950 to today. Challenge him on it, throw a year at him, that’s trivia knowledge you can take to the bank.”

UK-based 13 Artists adds Gold Class to roster

Brighton, UK-based booking agency 13 Artists has signed Melbourne’s Gold Class, which has played America and Europe this year. The agency has a host of Australian acts already on board – Tame Impala, The Jezabels, Marlon Williams, Pond, Big Scary – along with names as Radiohead, Royal Blood, Paolo Nutini, Alabama Shakes, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys and George Ezra.

Matt Corby lends song to ChildFund

Australian singer songwriter Matt Corby(pictured) lent his song Big Eyes to international children’s charity ChildFund as it relaunches in the Australian market. The Through Their Eyes campaign, created by MercerBell and started last week, filmed children in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea telling their stories – including a 13 year old who had to drop out of school to help her siblings by collecting and selling cow dung. The charity hopes to raise $400,000 in donations.

SA associations coordinate Edinburgh charge

More than 20 South Australian acts will appear at the Edinburgh Fringe under the banner Made In Adelaide under the auspices of the SA Government. Arts SA gave nine artists a total of $55,000 worth of grants to cover their costs, and five will perform. Three music acts Tkay Maidza, Electric Fields and Adam Page were chosen by the Music Development Office (MDO) to play the Made In Adelaide shows, and will also promote Adelaide as a UNESCO City of Music.

The visit is aimed at developing cultural and market connections between two globally recognised festival cities (Edinburgh hosts 12 festivals a year), and grow access to the Edinburgh marketplace for local artists and companies. There will be a home-base space at the Fringe for Adelaide acts as well as for a broader South Australian delegation that will showcase SA food, beverage and other premium products.

Smooch tries new magic

Melbourne based Smooch Records signed Young Magic, releasing their third album Still Life this week. The act is made up of Indonesian-America vocalist Melati Malay and Sydney-born songwriter producer Isaac Emmanuel. They met in New York in 2010 and began collaborating. Still Life began with Malay returning to Java to reconnect with her family after the death of her father. She explains, “My father had been somewhat of a mystery to me. How did a boy from the (US) Midwest end up in the jungles of Borneo during the 60s, trading his watch and a carton of cigarettes for the gravestones of the indigenous headhunters?”

She rented a shack by the water to write songs, uncovering superstition, black magic, and ties to the Javanese royal family. The album was cut in New York. The Default Memory video features photos she took in Morocco, Mexico, France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Singapore, Florida, California, New York, and Texas.

Homeground brings indigenous issues to Opera House

On Friday May 27, the Sydney Opera House is hosting Homeground Talks, a night of culture, talks and art surrounding pertinent First Nations issues including economic opportunity and sovereignty, Speakers include academics, artists and leaders as Marcia Langton AM, David Bridie, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM and Maori activist Tame Iti.

In partnership, an art project called Songlines by six Aboriginal artists will be held. The Opera House’s famous sails will be animated as part of Vivid LIVE and Vivid Sydney. The Opera House is on on Bennelong Point, previously known as Tubowgule and a meeting place for the local Gadigal people for thousands of years.

Caroline Australia shine big moon

Caroline Australia will locally release new London buzz band The Big Moon’s new single Cupid, through a licensing deal with Fiction Records which just scooped up the act.

MDS find UK home

When Melbourne punk-pop duo Mannequin Death Squad head off to Europe and the UK to spend most of this year in, they have an ally. The UK’s Integrity Records, which signed them up last month, has been previewing its new single Sick online and gleefully describes them as “the bastard offspring of The Melvins & Taylor Swift.”

Express of Interest open for Melbourne Music Week

The City of Melbourne is calling for Expressions of Interest from promoters, venues, record labels and individuals to become involved in Melbourne Music Week (MMW). It is held for the seventh time between November 11 to 19 and works on a co-production model. The music industry is being tapped for for The Hub, Live Music Safari, Self- Made and Satellite programming, with a call for contributions to MMW’s Industry program, (co-presented with Face The Music).

Chair of the Marketing Portfolio Councillor Beverley Pinder-Mortimer said, “Melbourne Music Week supports and showcases the local music sector and we continue to work in partnership with the industry to create a strong program that connects audiences with Melbourne’s lively music scene.

“Melbourne Music Week highlights how the ongoing collaboration and partnerships between council and the music sector make for a lively, creative city.” EOIs are open until Friday June 10. Full details at melbourne.vic.gov.au/mmw.

Bravo arriving in New Zealand

NBC Universal’s US pay-TV and satellite Bravo network is set to arrive in New Zealand in July as a free-to-air channel. It is a joint venture between MediaWorks and NBCUniversal International Networks (whose Australian and New Zealand operations are headed by MD Chris Taylor). The two companies have long worked together on TV and theatrical product.

MediaWorks has dropped Channel 4 as a result, moving away from youth audiences which have been declining on TV in NZ. Its format is glam, design, food and pop culture. First order of business: commissioning Matchbox Pictures for the inaugural series of Real Housewives of Auckland to hit the screens in August.

Australian Screen Guide to spotlight local content

Screen Australia has launched its new website, redesigned for greater promotion of the Australian film and TV industry. It includes a platform called The Screen Guide where fans can learn about, and access, all content (not just those funded by Screen Australia), starting with15,185 titles going back to 1970. Through a partnership with Australian app Gyde, it also indicates where to find these on streaming platforms.

Eventbrite teams with Teespring

A deal struck by self-service ticketing platform Eventbrite with social commerce firm Teespring now enables event organisers to create and sell custom merchandise to concert-goers from an online page. Under the deal, Teespring will print, package and deliver all orders to buyers all over the world.