New Signings & Team-Ups: August 3

BMG RELEASING FIRST NEW CULTURE CLUB MUSIC IN 20 YEARS

BMG has the rights to Boy George and Culture Club’s LIFE album, due out on October 26.

Meantime, the single Let Somebody Love You is out, the British band’s first new material in 20 years.

Produced by Future Cut, it was written by Boy George, Roy Hay, Michael “Mikey” Craig, Jon Moss and Ritchie Stevens.

Since their inception in 1981 Culture Club have sold more than 150 million records worldwide, with classic hits including Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Karma Chameleon, Church Of The Poison Mind and The War Song.

YOUNG HENRY’S BRINGS DELTA RIGGS TO MAX WATTS

Sydney brewery Young Henry’s continues its support of Australian live music, this time involving The Delta Riggs and  Max Watt’s House Of Music.

It will present the band at the venue’s Melbourne (September 7) and Sydney (September 8) clubs.

“Our close mates The Delta Riggs have new music on the way – and we wanted to showcase it,” said Dave Fesdekjian at Young Henrys.

“What better way is there to kick off our live music series than hosting these legends?”

Joining The Delta Riggs will be The Moving Stills from the NSW central coast, Melbourne’s Batz and The Buoys in Sydney.

Said Lachlan Russell at Max Watt’s “Max Watt’s is excited to be teaming up with Young Henrys new live music series.  

“There is amazing home-grown talent in Melbourne and Sydney, and this is a great way to showcase it.”

VANCE JOY BRINGS ‘UKULELES FOR KIDS’

On his US tour, Vance Joy takes ‘Ukuleles for Kids’ to children’s hospitals for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

He’s teamed up with ukuleles company Kala and the Children’s Cancer Association’s flagship program yMusicRx to give plastic versions of the instrument to the children and teaches them how to play.

The Australian singer-songwriter said, “I remember hearing a beautiful story about George Harrison driving around in his car, handing out instruments to people.

“I’ve always wanted to emulate that idea and what better way than giving the gift of instruments and music lessons to young children who are fighting terminal diseases.

“My heart goes out to these kids and their families.”

Joy will film video lessons on MyMusicRx, teaching the notes to songs including his own.

SPOTIFY OPENS UP THE ARCHIES

Archie Comics will create a six-episode video series about the cartoon characters from Riverdale that will be streamed on Spotify.

After clamping down on a number of original productions, Spotify seems to have re-ignited its interest,

“Archie has always been about trying to find new ways to get comics to fans and readers,” Archie Comics publisher/CEO Jon Goldwater said,

“When the opportunity to work with Spotify arose, it was a perfect match.

“Being able to reposition these modern classics for new readers in this unique, motion comic format makes perfect sense and we can’t wait for fans to experience these beloved Archie stories in a new way.”

BMG PRODUCTION MUSIC BUYS TWO

BMG Production Music has acquired independent UK production music company Deep East Music as well as historic French production music label Tele Music.

Deep East which has its own studio becomes part of the  BMG structure but will run autonomously in the UK.

AUSTRALIAN DJ TYDI SKATES WITH DISNEY ON ICE

One of Australian DJ/producer TyDi’s projects is a collaboration with Disney On Ice.

“The ‘Disney on Ice’ thing is super fun, “ he told EDM.com.

“I was introduced to the team over there because they were looking to have some songs ‘re-imagined’ for the show.

“It’s an ongoing thing right now, I get to work directly with the choreographer which has been incredibly satisfying, to see the skaters on the ice and plan the orchestral movement to match it!

“What’s even cooler is that I’m getting to inject these classic Disney songs with dance music as well!

“So when you see the show, get ready to stand up and dance in moments.

“I can’t say which songs I’m doing/have done but I can tell you that you’ll for SURE notice them when you see the show on ice.”

TyDi said that in the wake of his combining EDM and orchestral music on his Collide album, he’s been also commissioned to work on two film soundtracks.

PERTH’S ORIGIN NYE CHANGES NAME, LOCATION

Perth’s Origin NYE will have a lot of changes when it stages again on December 30 – 31.

Founder Saran Bajaj is bringing it back to its original site of Langley Reserve, changing its name to Origin Fields Festival, extending it to a two-day format and hiring a new music curator.

NILE RODGERS MAKES CROSSING TO ABBEY ROAD

The legendary Abbey Road studios in London has struck a partnership with Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers.

He will be its global ambassador, consult on the studio’s pioneering experiments in audio technology, and will use it as his base when he’s working in the UK.

Rodgers helmed the sessions for the upcoming Chic album at Abbey Road, and produced tracks for the likes of Disclosure, Anderson Paak and Jorja Smith there.

MIDSUMMA FUTURES MENTORING

Applications are open for Midsumma Futures 2018 – 2019, a nine-month development and mentoring program for early-career artists and culture-makers, commencing in October 2018 and running until May 2019.

Now in its second year, Midsumma Futures provides the gain exposure and lead the future of queer culture.

It is a  program about developing talents, and a specific project is not expected.

Artists from across disciplines as well as producers, socially engaged practitioners, community leaders, thinkers and culture-makers of any kind are encouraged to apply.

The Midsumma Futures program consists of three components: four workshops, a mentorship with an established practitioner and a VIP pass to Midsumma Festival 2019.

Deadline for applications is Monday August 27, go to the festival website.

The program is for people who identify as queer or LGBTQIA+ in some way. Midsumma strongly encourages applications from artists who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, living with disability or come from a culturally or linguistically diverse background.

LAURYN HILL TURNS FASHION DESIGNER

Lauryn Hill teamed with Pennsylvania-based clothing brand Woolrich, designing its November-due American Soul Since 1830″ collection.

She worked with Rihanna stylist Mel Ottenberg and shot a trailer video for the collection.

REGIONAL ARTS FINDS NEW HOME

Regional Arts Funds has found new regional program administrators in Queensland and NT.

In Queensland it will be Flying Arts Alliance, set up 45 years ago, and worked effectively in inspiring creatives and communities, as well as helping to overcome the impacts of regional isolation and remote living.

Flying Arts Alliance will be taking over the running of the RAF from Arts Queensland, which temporarily managed the RAF after Artslink Queensland ceased operations in 2016.

In the NT, the administrator is Darwin Community Arts, a non-profit, incorporated association that focuses on community-based arts and cultural development.

The RAF has to date been delivered by the Northern Territory government.

The RAF explained, “However, to bring the NT in line with the rest of the country and have the fund managed independently from the state government, the appointment of a Regional Program Administrator became paramount.

“Darwin Community Arts (DCA) will operate the RAF under the name Northern Territory Regional Arts Fund (NT RAF).”