COAST ROCKERS GALLERI RELEASE STUNNING NEW ALBUM EASY

Galleri formed as the creative outlet for a group of musical misfits from the Mid North Coast of NSW, creating raw, unbridled songwriting capturing the times we’re living in. Loud & quiet, light and dark and everything in between. Titled with tongue-in-cheek, their debut album Easy was written for the times we live in. The album draws from personal reflections to global questions and everything in between, with strands of indie rock, psyche, pop, folk and soul formulating the perfect sound. Easy hits the world on February 25!

Zach Miller from Target Hearts Studio travelled to the home studio in GreenPoint, NSW where he recorded the album with the crew. They took over an entire house for the recording period, where they were able to live track all seven songs. Miller produced, engineered and mixed the album, while Paul Blakey from 12th and Vine was on mastering. Guests artists on Easy included Grady Meadows, Frank LoCrasto (Cass McCombs, Fruit Bats, Parquet Courtd, Okervil River, Grateful Shred), Kat Bermingham, Zach Miller and Phil Walker. 

Frontman John Moore explained that with writing this album, there was a, “More honest and collaborative approach with all members involved. Initial song ideas and lyrics pitched to the band and then work shopped through to completion live tracked where possible, experimental use of instrumentation. Zach Miller as producer had big impact through ideas and suggestions for song approaches, recording techniques, and song structures. Essentially Zach acted as another member of the band through the process. We really wanted to the production to be rawer and true to the live sound without huge shiny production.”

Galleri were named such as they originally started out playing and rehearsing at an old art gallery at GreenPoint, eventually becoming the house band. Over the years the band has developed and fine tuned its original sound, and built an underground following that have hung on for the ride. Easy, the latest recording produced by close friend Zach Miller, has helped them define their sound. The band have had a live sound that has been elusive to capture on record. This offering sees the songs stand up with honest grit and rawness in tact. 

The mid-coasters’ talents have already graced the stage at major festivals like Groovin the Moo, Grow your Own, Nimbin Roots, Gumball Festival. They’ve embarked on East Coast tours and played Oxford Arts in Sydney among artists like Lime Cordialle, Dan Sultan, Ash Grunwald, Ngaiire, Toni Childs, among many others.

LEWIS MCKEE PROVIDES COUNTRY GROOVE WITH DEBUT SINGLE “INTO MY SOUL”

Lewis McKee is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and showman hailing from Central Queensland, Australia. Born in the Central Highlands and raised in the Beef Capital of Australia (Rockhampton), his style lends from a diverse background and broad range of musical influences across Rock n Roll, Blues, Country and Pop. After a decade of playing in pubs and clubs, Lewis McKee finally delivers his long awaited debut original with the release of “Into My Soul“.

“Into my soul” was recorded at Pacific International Music at Hervey Bay, Qld. Produced and Engineered by Robert Mackay, the track features guest musicians from both Australia and Nashville, USA including:

• Dave Francis : Acoustic Guitar
• Robert Mackay: Bass and electric guitars, Harmony vocals
• Tex Austin: Drums
• Sarah Koehler: Harmony Vocals
• Mixed & Mastered by Jason Millhouse at Recordworks Brisbane

Lewis details the inspiration behind the track as the result of a chance encounter: 

“I wrote this song after what started as a night out with mates in Brisbane. I met a lady that, honestly, if there was a Vegas style marriage celebrant around I reckon we probably would have ended up hitched that night.”

“I never saw her again, didn’t get a number and to this day (embarrassingly) I can’t remember her last name, so could never track her down. Anyway, I’m grateful for the fun-filled night and for the lyrics that emerged thereafter.”

Lewis’s original music resembles a blend of country rock, blues and acoustic pop, though audiences have been delighted on occasions for his ability to include a broad spectrum of genres in his performances, using a diverse skillset to deliver original songs considered left of field for a country musician. 

With the release of his debut single “Into My Soul” and a number of scheduled performances supporting internationally renowned artists, 2022 is set to be a year of hard work, dedication and success for this budding recording artist. 

LEE MARTIN RELEASES HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SOPHOMORE ALBUM “GYPSY SOUL”

There are many ways to describe the ever talented South African born, New Zealand based singer-songwriter Lee Martin; captivating, though-provoking and versatile are just a few that immediately come to mind. On her second full length release, Lee captures all of this and even more with the release of “Gypsy Soul“. The Sophomore album from Lee Martin is an incredibly personal collection of work that is simply delicious.

The album was mostly recorded at Redroom Studios in Auckland, New Zealand with the help of recording engineer Brendan Zwaan and co-production credits from Chris Ward and TeMatera Smith. Mixing was also provided by Smith and mastering was provided by Chris Chetland at Kog Studio.

Additional Backing vocals recorded and arranged in South Africa, adding layers of stunning texture which grounds the album in Lee’s African heritage whilst still paying homage to Southern US Layered harmonies in a Soul and even gospel style. These vocals were recorded and produced by RJ Benjamin.

Describing what she would like for her audience to take from the album, Lee says “I write about real life events and feelings, the dream of course is for the listener to resonate with the stories and also appreciate the cultural fusion of sounds that we brought to the album going back to my African roots.”

Lee has a unique and versatile writing style which allows her to cross genres as she glides easily between Adult/Contemporary, Soul, Country, Folk, and blues all the while maintaining her unique sound. This is perfectly displayed within “Gypsy Soul” as it encapsulates what could very well be one of the best releases in 2022.

MEGAN ALBANY’S “SUGAR COMEDOWN” HAS US ON A HIGH WITH HER FIRST SINGLE FROM A VERY NOVEL SOUNDTRACK

Megan Albany is proud to be of Kalkadoon and European descent. As an artist she has always walked in two worlds, the world of fiction and the world of music, but this is the first time she has combined her artforms into one heartfelt project. Along with her husband, virtuoso guitarist Marc Mittag, Megan recently co-created a soundtrack of songs to accompany her debut novel, The Very Last List of Vivian Walker, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Banjo Prize and is part of a major two book publishing deals with global publishing house Hachette. The first single from the album, “Sugar Comedown,” is set to sweeten the world on February 11.

“Sugar Comedown” was recorded at the Kingdom of Kunghur Studios, Byron Hinterland, NSW and is part of a ten-track album recorded and produced by Marc Mittag, with mixing by Matt Fell Love Hz and mastering by Paul Stefanidis, Viking Lounge. Megan performed emotional, personality-filled lead vocals and backing vocals, while Marc contributed one-man-band-guitar, choir-rich backing vocals, and percussion – using everything from shakers to a household broom.

Their upcoming album, The Soundtrack – The Very Last List of Vivian Walker is due for release in May 2022 and was inspired by Megan’s time in palliative care helping look after her effervescent and wonderful friend, Rebecka Darling Darren (nee Delforce). It aims to explore the fusion of storytelling and music and contains beautiful, quirky, comedic, moving songs with singable melodies and memorable lyrics. Even for those who have not yet read or fallen in love with Megan’s dying yet hilarious main character Vivian, this album works as a standalone musical experience and moves from strong, catchy, soulful tunes to gentle, fragile, poetic insights that reflect the complexity of modern relationships.

Megan released two previous albums with Marc Mittag, as well as composing music for film and television. Their song “Finding Myself” reached number 26 in the Irish charts, with several other of their originals featuring on shows such as Rove Live, The Panel, Neighbours and the Sunrise Morning Show. 

Marc, a well-respected musician, arranger and composer in his own right, headlined the 2008 Australian tour of Marc Mittag and the Headhunters (featuring Herbie Hancock’s original band) and recorded his contemporary jazz album The Interview with Mike Clark (drummer for Herbie Hancock) and Charles Famborough (bass player for Miles Davis, Norah Jones). 

Whether song writing or writing fiction, Megan loves to bring humour and joy to the creative process and believes everyone has a story to tell. As a journalist, scriptwriter, songwriter and composer Megan has had the privilege of collaborating with some of the best in the business.

Megan has been a journalist with the Koori Mail, the Guardian Newspaper in the UK, the Metro Newspaper in Ireland. Megan was the researcher for the SBS Documentary into the Juvenile Justice System, Can It Hurt Less and was the scriptwriter for five years for the Deadlys, the National Indigenous Awards which screened on SBS TV. She was one of the founding writers for the Aboriginal NITV health show,Living Strong and was one of the concept developers for Move It Mob Style.