New Signings & Team-Ups: July 13

COOKING VINYL AUSTRALIA DESERVES IVAN OOZE

Cooking Vinyl Australia added Melbourne hip hop act Ivan Ooze to its roster.

New track Deserve, a collaboration with producer Plutonic Lab and Kingswood’s guitarist Alex Laska is the first cab off the rank from an EP out later this year.

He follows it up with a regional tour in August.

With one million streams to his name and a collaboration track Bills with Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah, Ooze started out doing hardcore rap nights as a school kid at places like the Laundry Bar.

 FLEET FOXES HELP RAISE $230K FOR AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE

A campaign soundtracked by the Fleet Foxes song Your Protector has successfully raised $229,042 for the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW).

FNPW set out to purchase 229 hectares of available land for $1k per hectare, to be added to Woomargama National Park on the border of NSW and Victoria.

It is home to some 25 endangered animal species, which will now be protected.

Fleet Foxes songwriter Robin Pecknold, the band and the publishing company Kobalt Music donated the song’s use.

They also gave permission for Sydney indie-folk trio Lines of Flight to re-record the song as part of a video to display the park’s stunning beauty. It reached 35,000 views.

DITTO DISTRIBUTING OETHA

Ditto is distributing the debut single Sista Girl by new Australian indigenous rap group Oetha.

Pronounced O-E-tha (Our Earth The Heart Acknowledges), it is made up of Ceduna, South Australia-hailed Melbourne-based Kokatha woman Lady Lash, Kunai & Gunditjmara woman from the eastern and western districts of Victoria. Miss Hood and Townsville-hailed Dizzy Doolan.

Sista Girl reflects this year’s NAIDOC theme #becauseofherwecan.

It pays homage to females from boardrooms to working in the grassroots and to the brave activists.

The band say, “They fought for our rights but they also fought for keeping our cultural connection and spiritual side alive.

“Because of them our community values and morals have kept us connected and grounded.”

CROOKED THIEVES AT THE COLLECTIVE

New Melbourne alt/hard rock duo Crooked Thieves are inked with The Collective label, which releases their debut single Dancing In The Crowd on July 26.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Shane and bassist Emma met at a Violent Soho gig in 2011 in their home state of Queensland.

They joined the band Dameenam they formed The Onetimes in early 2017.

The single is launched at Penny Black on August 17.

STORMZY WRITES A BOOK

UK grime star Stormzy has a book publishing deal with Penguin Random House.

His autobiography will be the first to be released through the publisher’s new imprint for new writing talent, #Merky Books, which will issue up to three books a year and plans to reveal new “voices of this generation”.

LATE NIGHT TV SHOW FOR COURTNEY ACT

Australian entertainer, pop singer and drag queen superstar Courtney Act has landed a late night TV on the UK’s Channel 4.

The hour-long The Courtney Act Show is dubbed the world’s first Dragazine show, and will include celeb guests, studio items and musical numbers.

In a release, Courtney Act said, “This is my show and I say come on in, all you heroic misfits, those of you who are a bit chipped around the edges…

“I want to welcome you all. You bring the open minds and I’ll bring the open bar and we’ll meet in the middle for a gay old time!”

PANDORA USERS CAN SHARE MUSIC ON SNAPCHAT

Pandora users can now share music on Snapchat, but only on iOS (with Android “expected in the coming weeks”), and only in the US so far.

The new feature is available on both ad-supported and Plus listeners, with a Sharer button added for users.

DOES YOUR WINE COME WITH MUSIC?

Wine sippers in Sydney and Melbourne can now consume their beverage with just the right music to enhance the experience.

Jimmy Brings is a company which delivers wine, beer and spirits to homes and offices in 30 minutes in both cities.

It has teamed with Spotify to release the limited edition three-pack Songmelier Edition wines which is delivered with a Spotify playlist, accessed by a code on the front of each wine bottle.

The pack comes with an Australian Sparkling, Sauvignon Blanc and Reserve Shiraz.

The Sparkling is paired with hip hop, bubblegum trap and west coast notes of hustle and grind.

The Sauvignon Blanc is invigoratingly matched with indie, tropical house and aussietronica – with a hint of chillwave and an flectrofox finish.

The Reserve Shiraz is handcrafted with smooth jazz, raw rock ’n’ roll, soft freak folk and a deep house finish.

Jimmy Brings co-founder Nathan Besser said, “No dinner party is complete without wine and music, so we decided to help relieve the stress of hosting friends..”

Sydneysiders and Melburnians can now order the three-pack Songmelier Edition wines, via the free to download app, online at jimmybrings.com.au, or by phone on 1800 JIMMYS

HIPGNOSIS FLOATS, BUYS DREAM CATALOGUE

Music copyrights investment company Hipgnosis Songs listed on the London Stock Exchange and raised £200 million (A$357 million) for its IPO.

It’s already acquired its first catalogue, from The Dream, whose 302 songs include those performed by Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Rihanna and JAY-Z.

Hipgnosis paid US$23.7 million to acquire 75% of the catalogue.

Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers who is on Hipgnosis’ advisory board performed at the London stock exchange to mark the floatation.

NEP ACQUIRES AUSTRALIA’S BIG PICTURE

The global NEP Group, which supports content producers of live sports and entertainment, acquired Big Picture in Australia and New Zealand.

Based in Sydney with an additional office in Auckland, Big Picture is a leading supplier of video production and equipment for concert tours, music festivals, broadcast, corporate and special events.

Big Picture will continue to operate under the name, with managing director Joe Bonanno staying on to run its day-to-day business.

CALIGULA’S HORSE ISSUE VINYL VIA INSIDEOUT

Australian prog-rock band Caligula’s Horse are issuing their first two albums on vinyl for the first time in September through InsideOutMusic.

The records in question are Moments from Ephemeral City and The Tide, The Thief & River’s End.

In the northern autumn, the Horse join with fellow Aussies Circles for a 27-date European run through October and November.

The dates include four festivals: Euroblast, ProgPower, Very Prog Festival, Damnation Festival and AMFest.

PHARRELL WILLIAMS TEAMS WITH SPOTIFY FOR BLACK HISTORY CAMPAIGN

Pharrell Williams and Spotify are teaming for a “Black History Is Happening Now” campaign.

It will “celebrate and amplify the voices of black artists, creators and organisations year round,” and shed light on black experiences in America.

Williams will produce playlists and original videos for the month-long campaign, that features him discussing his views on culture and society.

Williams says, “the one thing that you cannot deny is that this country was built by the hands of many different cultures, but mainly the African-Americans.

“Because they were the ones that were put to task to go out and actually do the work.”

Seemingly it’s a response to Kanye West’s idiotic statements recently that “slavery was a choice”.

NOVA GOES FOR LIVE EXPERIENCE

Broadcaster NOVA Entertainment teamed with Sydney-based experiential agency Habitat Media to create exp.

It’s a live experience business to work with brands on creating live events, and offering its clients more options.

BOOKER T GOES DOWNTOWN

Downtown Music Publishing acquired multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and arranger Booker T Jones’ prolific catalogue, and also has rights to his future works.

At 17, Jones wrote the iconic instrumental Green Onions, one of the coolest tracks to emerge in the 1960s and released as Booker T. & The MGs.

Despite rumours, the song is not about marijuana but after a friend’s cat who walk inspired the rhythm of the track.