Tag: bad apples music

Australian Hip-hop pioneer, comedy writer, actor, best-selling children’s book author, and Yorta-Yorta man Briggs is finally releasing his long awaited new 6 track EP ‘Always Was’, now available on all digital platforms through Island Records.

‘Always Was’ is Briggs’s first solo body of work to be released since 2014’s ‘Sheplife’ and the acclaimed 2016 A.B. Original ‘Reclaim Australia’ album. It was written in writing rooms between Los Angeles, Sydney and Adelaide featuring tracks produced by Trials and Jayteehazard.

The artwork features a series of geometric patterns designed by interdisciplinary artist Reko Rennie, and a photograph of Briggs’s own tattooed hand proclaiming ‘Always Was’.

The most recent single ‘Go To War’ features guest vocalist Thelma Plum and is a song that is fundamentally about fearlessness when you get pushed too far and you’re backed into a corner and there’s very little recourse. ‘After every avenue is exhausted and every word has been said, every bridge has been crossed or burnt, ‘Go To War’ is about ‘having it up to here’ and asking yourself, ‘is this where you want to be?’.

The video clip touches on the challenge of living in-between traditional and colonial worlds with a cast including the Muggera Dancers, Thelma Plum, Barkaa, Nooky, Kobie Dee, and Scottie Marsh. Watch ‘Go To War’ Here

The first single ‘Extra Extra’, was produced by friend and collaborator Trials, and says enough about the work ethic of the quadruple-threat from Shepparton. ‘Extra, Extra is how I live. No days off. Everything I do is Extra – you can check my resume for that. A lot of people know me for a lot of different things – but this is back to the fundamentals of who I am as Briggs.’

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Source: BadApplesMusic.com

Rising hip-hop artist Birdz returns today with his new single, “Bagi-la-m Bargan feat. Fred Leone” out via Bad Apples Music.

Written and recorded for National Indigenous Television (NITV)’s new documentary Looky, Looky Here Comes Cooky (premiering tonight at 8:30pm on the channel), Birdz co-wrote the song with Trials and Fred Leone. Director Steven McGregor captured snippets of the recording of Bagi-la-m Bargan at Audrey Studios (Melbourne), as part of the film.

Premiering on triple j Good Nights, Bagi-la-m Bargan was inspired by the story of the Butchulla people seeing James Cook sail past Kgari (aka Fraser Island). Birdz was approached by Steven to write a song from a young warrior’s perspective defending his country. When presented with this concept, he immediately thought of his cousin Fred and the idea it needed to be a family collaboration.

Birdz says, “While the song itself is character driven, it’s also a family affair and that’s what makes it extra special. As well as being cousins, Fred’s like my big brother and mentor, and Trials is like my brother too, so the whole process of writing the song was mad organic and one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had in my career so far.”

Fred Leone is one of the Butchulla Song-men and his part of Bagi-la-m Bargan which is sung in language, is originally a Butchulla yawar wirray (Song and dance) dreamt by Fred several years earlier and only sung and danced in public on 5 occasions.

Birdz explains further, “I told Fred about this project and he showed me the Butchulla song. This is how the creative process of “Bagi-la-m Bargan” started. My verses are written from a character perspective of a young Butchulla warrior whose home, people, and overall existence is under threat. Tapping into the mindset of someone preparing for war.”

 “The dominant narrative of Australian history neglects the fact that there was active Aboriginal resistance against European invasion. The song is inspired by this resistance.”

As a proud Butchulla man raised in Katherine N.T., Birdz is renowned for his unique brand of hard-hitting hip-hop embodying strong messages of hope and self-determination. The unapologetic rapper’s debut album ‘Train Of Thought (2017) was received with critical acclaim and deservedly won the Australian Independent Record Label Associations – Best Independent Hip Hop Album, was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize, nominated for Music Victoria’s Best Hip Hop Album and was loved by community and national radio, and digital service providers nationally.

In May 2019, Birdz released his most impactful project to date in the Place of Dreams Ep, featuring world class collaborations with the likes of Mo’ju, Ecca Vandal, Serina Pech and A.B. Original’s Trials on production. The project has since ticked over 900,000 streams on Spotify alone, received high rotation on triple j and community radio nationally and is continuing to grow throughout the country.

Birdz is currently in the studio working on his second full-length album and is scheduled for release in the final quarter of 2020.

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Source: BadApplesMusic.com

The forthcoming EP ‘Always Was’ is Briggs’s first solo body of work to be released since 2014’s ‘Sheplife’ and the acclaimed 2016 A.B. Original ‘Reclaim Australia’ album. This comes after an already massive year for Briggs, the newly published author topped the Best Seller’s list last month with children’s book ‘Our Home, Our Heartbeat’.

Briggs will also be making his live stream performance debut since the COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday August 20 as part of Inside Sets. Appearing with his band, see them deliver their powerful and commanding live show for the screen. Tickets are available at tiered pricing to stream the show and buy a position in the virtual audience.

Source: BadApplesMusic.com

Kobie Dee is back with the hard-hitting new single “Same Old Sh!t”.

True to form, Kobie elevates his latest track with the unflinching vision, effortless flow and signature narrative style we’ve come to expect from this exciting young artist.

Originally written over another beat, “Same Old Sh!t” is now backed by a hefty beat from Canberra production duo The Husssh, who have also written tracks for Aussie Hip Hop heavyweights B Wise and Turquoise Prince.

The autobiographical track details Kobie’s own struggles with addiction and mental health challenges as well as broader issues commonly experienced by his community.

Kobie says of the track: “At the time I wrote this track I was dealing with a lot of things, from addiction to my mental health. The only way I knew how to express what I was going through was through my music. Today, I’m able to look back and see the growth from then until now. So much has changed, from becoming a father to getting myself sober and working on my mental health.”

‘Same Old Sh!t” is the latest single in a growing catalogue of powerful tracks that have garnered over 7 million streams to date and firmly cemented Kobie as one of the most important voices in the Australian Hip Hop scene.

The video was shot around Kobie’s local area of Matraville by Maxed Out Films.

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Source: BadApplesMusic.com

Naarm-based Wergaia / Wemba Wemba woman, Alice Skye, today unveils her first single for 2020, “Grand Ideas”, out via Bad Apples Music. Produced by Jen Cloher, the release arrives with artwork by Prime Minister of the National Indigenous Youth Parliament, Aretha Brown, and will be launched live on Saturday, June 6 as part of online music event Delivered Live, hosted by Henry Wagons and Myf Warhurst.

“Grand Ideas” finds a backbone firm in the indie rock realm, with layers of warm rhythms, smiling keys and big drum beats crafting a body-moving soundscape for Alice’s introspective lyricism. Bursting from within as she confronts the burdening helplessness that emanates from the mind’s messes, Alice’s silky vocals project a boldness in dreaming of the great escape from oneself and the “grand ideas” we build to break from the thoughts within.

The single follows last year’s evocative track “I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good”, praised for further shedding light on Alice’s ability to capture everyday, tumultuous internal battles through raw musicality and awe-inspiring transparency. Since the release of 2015’s debut single “You Are the Mountains” and subsequently becoming a finalist in the triple j Unearthed NIMA competition, Alice Skye has assumed form as one of Australia’s brightest voices and most honest lyricists. In 2018, Alice was awarded the inaugural First Peoples Emerging Artist Award before releasing her debut album Friends With Feelings, catching the immediate attention of Double J, garnering the titles of FBi Radio’s Independent Artist of the Week and triple j Unearthed’s Feature Artist, reaching #10 in the iTunes charts, and has since accumulated one million Spotify streams. In 2019, Alice returned to appear on ABC’s Deadly Hearts compilation album with single “Speak Your Language”, before taking home the Emerging Artist Award at the 2019 Australian Women in Music Awards. On stage, she has supported the likes of Paul Kelly, Benny Walker, Archie Roach, Colin Hay, Thelma Plum, Stella Donnelly and more as well as toured her debut album with childhood friends and close bandmates, Sam and Kane King. She’s charmed crowds at Falls Festival, the 2018 NIMA Awards as triple j Unearthed competition winner, and more.

In the past 12 months Alice has performed at Lost Lands Festival, the Sounds Australia stage at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans, and supported Paul Kelly for Twilight at Taronga. Most recently, following the effects of COVID-19, Alice’s SXSW campaign and upcoming August tour to Canada have been hindered. Performances have meanwhile instead been showcased across Instagram Live festival Isol-Aid, and Ticketmaster’s Facebook Live Together Fest.

“Grand Ideas” marks Alice Skye’s second single with prolific Indigenous label Bad Apples Music since signing early last year. Founded by Briggs, the label aims to use music as a platform for social change and fostering the talent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

Today, Alice Skye further shapes a reputation for bringing forth unparalleled emotional exposure and introspective story-telling to her work, who’s universality in substance continues to engage with far-reaching audiences. Keep an eye out for more to come from this extraordinary voice in 2020, kick-started with the freshly minted “Grand Ideas”.

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Source: BadApplesMusic.com