I caught up with Elliot and Sam from much-hyped Sydney outfit The Rubens at Ivy League Records HQ for Music Feeds to chat about their self-titled debut album.

On a massive high off the back of a killer packed-out show at Splendour in the Grass 2012, The Rubens are keeping on the front foot, releasing the 2nd single off their forthcoming debut album My Gun on August 4. The Rubens explain the extraordinary journey that took them to New York to record their debut with super producer David Kahne (Paul Mcartney, The Strokes, Regina Spektor, Lana Del Ray).

On a dream run in a short career that has only spanned 18 months, The Rubens tell Music Feeds how they deal with the haters who are cynical that they have been living off the hype of Lay it Down. As Sam puts it “we are more than just Lay it Down“ - and as they put it they are genuinely stoked to be finding success and be consistently playing bigger shows. The album is dubbed a more thorough exploration of their sound, and delves into a range of different styles.

Their adventure for the album was huge, with their management throwing names around for potential collaborators like Lykke Li, Norah Jones right down to Azelia Banks. For those into the album, imagine the song Paddy featuring Azelia Banks vocals. 

The Rubens record is out via Ivy League Records. 

In between rehearsals MusicFeedsTV met with Sticky Fingers at the Annadale hotel. Their gig at the Annadale hotel this Friday 6th of July will show off a number of new compositions and is set to go off in the usual chaos that the band has becoming renowned for. The title single from their highly anticipated début album "Caress your soul" is due for release this Friday. With a smooth production treatment on the track the band is still work shopping the song for live performance. Despite being ranked number 8 on the Unearthed radio charts the band gives little credence to the song's position instead seeing the channel as a good platform for listeners to get a free download of their music. They would much prefer people enjoy their music live and get down and party.

Sometimes described in genre as Reggae surf music, the eclectic nationalities of the band include Kiwi, British, Maldy, Brazilian and first fleet, leading them to describe themselves quite harshly as mongrels. Struggling to find a platform for the music the band took matters into their own hands and during the Newtown festival setup their own music stage at a nearby house Guerrilla style to spark interest in nearby attendees. The stunt pulled dividends with Sticky Fingers being added to the bill the following year.

"Growing up and partying in Newtown we always wanted to play the festivals. We submitted an application for the first 2 years but got knocked back. Then on the 3rd year we decided that, well we have a mate Jacob who has a backyard which is virtually inside the festival. So we just got a bunch of milk crates and plywood and setup a stage in the backyard, hired out a sound system and unofficially headlined the festival from the back yard..... The following year they invited us back for a prime spot on the main stage"

http://youtu.be/WoLseHyIqJ8

Producer Dan Hulme happened to see the specticle and enjoying the band's raw energy offered to produce their new album. Asking for multiple parts for each instrument Sticky Fingers feel that Hulme has really put his stamp on the bands music although these ideas reflected what the band were going for as well.

Check out Sticky Finger's party this Friday at the Annandale Hotel with support slots from : The Medics, Underlights, Rapids and Beef Jerk.

Multi-award winning blues and roots musician Ash Grunwald is undoubtedly one of the most riveting and talented performers on the Australian musical landscape. Still riding the high of 2010’s award-winning album Hot Mama Vibes, sixth studio album Trouble’s Door symbolises a two-year period of change, and a new direction. Ash stated on his website that the album involved “some of my most personal songwriting”, laying the foundations for “his most internal album to date”.

Back in 2004, Ash Grunwald described his sound as “a cross between old delta blues, and hip-hop-ish modern roots”. Oh, how his sound has evolved since then. A slow transition from flying solo in the formative years to collaborating and working with dubstep producer and side project partner Fingers Malone on this record has allowed Ash to further encapsulate his driving dancefloor rhythms, and explore an eclectic range of sounds and influences that transcend typical genre-tagging.

First single off the album, Longtime, is a killer track, with a guitar hook so catchy and infectious, it’s impossible not to feel incredibly happy and upbeat stomping your foot and grooving out to it. Such a funky sound resonates through the song by incorporating many guitar loops, with varying effects and multiple percussive elements. The vocal distortion in the chorus between powerful lyric, “Thought I was high but I was barely alive”, makes it difficult to distinguish between Ash’s hummed voice and guitar, inadvertently creating an incredibly infectious hook (just try and remove it from your mind box). It’s one of many moments on Trouble’s Door that astounds you as to what incredible things Ash can do with his voice.

To further emphasise this, the way in which Ash unleashes his unbelievable range on tracks such as Ramblin’ Man is quite astounding, his vocals rolling from deep baritone to falsetto so effortlessly. He conveys such raw emotion through his rich and deep voice on tracks Demon In Me, his vibrato reverberating in your eardrums long after the song has finished.

Across the record, Ash complements his voice with expert guitar playing that delves in influences of blues and roots, country, and psychedelia. His use of different guitar effects are one of many elements that give each track their own signature feeling and sound, which is impressive considering he uses the same base instruments for each track.

Ash has this unique ability to capture the listener’s attention with his emotive voice or expert guitar finger work, and take them on a personal journey. The introspective journey Ash undergoes on the title track Trouble’s Door is emphasised by meandering verses that take the mind wandering with psychedelic guitar, an atmospheric backing and eerie echoed vocals, “I used to throw stones at trouble’s door, and once again I was cold and alone”. In trademark fashion, Ash snaps the mind back to reality in each chorus, lifting the tempo with hard-hitting, heavy reverb guitar that creates a real four-to-the-floor dance vibe.

Dubstep producer and side project partner Fingers Malone exerts a subtle dance influence on Trouble’s Door. There’s the dubstep tempo and synth backing of opening track The Demon In Me, quirky percussion rhythm of When You Need Em, and heavy synth and hip hop drum fills of Sail (a cover originally by Awolnation). The dance vibe has always been present in Ash’s music, but Fingers gives it that extra kick that will make it irresistible to dance to in a live setting.

Interestingly, the album’s release was funded by fans via Pledge Music. Symbolising a new way that artists fund projects, Pledge Music transformed the production process of Trouble’s Door into a transparent collaborative process between the fans and Ash. The success of this release paves the way for more artists to use Pledge Music as an exciting new way for artists to fund music, with fans involvement. Check it out here.

This album is an example of experimentation that has been pulled off with exceptional results. The album is an introspective work, exploring a range of personal topics through an eclectic range of well-executed musical elements. There is not a single dull moment on this record. As the mood shifts with each song, you are pulled into another experience, and there are many to be had. A refreshing listen from start to finish, each song will have you sitting on the edge of your seat in sheer wonderment as to what he will deliver next.

The full album is available to stream completely free here.

Written for Music Feeds