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Joan Armatrading Announces New Album out in November 2024 Drops Track – Backseat Mafia
Joan Armatrading, one of the UK’s most enduring and quietly revolutionary singer-songwriters, is back with a new album—’How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean’—dropping November 22nd via BMG. The record, like much of her recent work, is pure Armatrading: self-made, self-produced, self-engineered—every beat and note a testament to her refusal to conform, her steady hand still shaping the narrative of her music after all these years. Leading the way, with one of the album’s most ear-catching lyrics, is the single ‘I’m Not Moving,’ a set of words that Joan was immediately compelled to write after witnessing some alarmingly confrontational public behaviour. “He was like ‘I’m going to…
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Save the Date – Laneway Festival 2025 Reveals Tour Stops Across Australia and New Zealand – Backseat Mafia
Laneway Festival has been diligently preparing to present an exciting new lineup for 2025 and finally it is here! In February, this renowned Trans-Tasman touring festival will showcase an exceptional array of live music across Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. The festival will commence in Auckland on Thursday, 6 February 2025, at Western Springs. Brisbane follows on Saturday, 8 February, at its traditional location, the Brisbane Showgrounds. Sydney’s iteration of Laneway Festival will take place at the expansive, world-class Sydney Showground on Sunday, 9 February 2025. The following week, Laneway Festival continues in Melbourne at Flemington Park, offering stunning city skyline views on Friday, 14 February. Adelaide’s Bonython…
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Morgan Saint’s Latest Single Hits Deep with Raw Emotion – Backseat Mafia
Morgan Saint’s latest single, ‘Hope You Find What You’re Looking For,’ feels like an intimate confession, whispered between heartbeats. It’s the kind of song where the cracks in the vocals carry more weight than the polished production could ever manage. She’s crafting something that feels delicate but necessary, threading heartbreak, self-discovery, and hope into a tight tapestry that’s somehow both personal and universal. That’s the magic of Morgan Saint: she’s offering her story, but it feels like yours. “’Hope You Find What You’re Looking For’ is a very personal song to me. It’s about watching someone you love go down a dark path and not having the power to deter…
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Aszent – Black Dots – Backseat Mafia
The Breakdown 4.3 8.5 …Deep rhythmic Techno bliss… Get ready to vibe with Aszent, the techno duo known for their electrifying live performances and expert hardware wizardry. They’re back with their latest creation, “Black Dots EP,” set to release on September 20. Aszent excels at blending classic and contemporary techno sounds, crafting tracks that are pure ear candy. “Black Dots EP” promises to elevate this fusion, offering an immersive experience that will captivate both longtime fans and new listeners. Since their debut, Aszent has consistently broken the mold with high-energy beats and infectious grooves, earning praise from prominent figures in the techno world and cementing their status as one of…
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Portland’s STRFKR Announce Australian Debut Tour for February 2025 – Backseat Mafia
Portland’s STRFKR, a band that hides emotional weight behind glitzy synths and infectious pop hooks, is finally making their long-awaited debut on Australian soil, and it feels like it’s about damn time. They’ll be hitting the stage at some of the country’s most iconic venues in February 2025. The journey starts in the haze of Fremantle at Freo.Social on Tuesday, February 18, before heading east to Sydney’s Metro Theatre on Thursday, February 20. From there, they’ll shake up Melbourne’s Northcote Theatre on Saturday, February 22, and bring their kaleidoscopic sound to The Princess in Brisbane on Sunday, February 23, before closing the tour in the heart of Adelaide at Lion…
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Black Bordello Navigates The Metaphysical In Ethereal Alternative Rock Album ‘White Bardo’ – Backseat Mafia
Black Bordello’s sophomore album, ‘White Bardo’ invites listeners into existential exploration and sonic experimentation, led by the visionary founder and songwriter, Sienna Bordello. This collection of nine tracks serves as a surrender—a letting go of earthly ties in favour of a broader inquiry into love, mortality, and the cosmic mysteries that govern our existence. Sienna’s lyrical prowess, paired with the band’s evolved sound, creates an immersive experience that is as thought-provoking as it is captivating. From the outset, ‘White Bardo’ marks a departure from the band’s debut, embracing a crisp, primal aesthetic that sharpens Sienna’s vivid lyricism into piercing reflections. In her words, “I became fed up and bored by earthly politics and semantics,”…
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North Arm unveils the shimmering, reflective track ‘Everything You’ ahead of album ‘Stay Young’ – Backseat Mafia
We are honoured to bring you an early exclusive listen to the new single ‘Everything You’ from North Arm – essentially the work of Roderick Smith, the Newcastle-raised songwriter. It heralds a new album ‘Stay Young’ due out on 25 October 2025 through through Broken Stone Records/Remote Control Records. ‘Everything You’ floats like a cotton wool cloud in the blue sky – dreamy ethereal instrumentation that bears Smith’s velvet vocals along the slipstream, with faint etchings of mysterious sounds swirling in the ether – perhaps voices – in the distance. This creates a mesmerising melange – something yearning and reflective filled with emotion. It is like Sufjan Stevens and Simon and…
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California’s Matthew Nowhere unveils the brilliant sparkle and luscious beauty of track ‘Love is Only What We Are’. – Backseat Mafia
We are immeasurably honoured to premiere the new single ‘Love Is Only What We Are’ from multi-instrumentalist and producer Matthew Nowhere. Set afloat in a star filled expanse with crystalline guitars piercing the skies on a bed of bubbling aquatic synths, this is a glorious track: cinematic and threaded through with melancholia as any good pop song should be. If comparisons must be made, there is an undeniable genetic thread to bands like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and that rich thread of synth bands from the eighties: creating layered soundscapes in which you can lose yourself as if in a float tank. The lyrics evoke a certain sense of…
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Kele Okereke Announces New Solo Album ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’; Hear New Single ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’ – Backseat Mafia
Kele (Kele Okereke) has revealed the details of his new solo album ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’, due for release on 17th January 2025 via KOLA Records / !K7. Lead single ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’ is available to stream now. ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’ is the third in Kele’s series of solo albums ‘The Elements’, which originated during lockdown. Each of the records embodies a different texture and quality, embodying the sound of the flexibility he has required throughout two years of upheaval in his personal life. In his own words, “Old ways have come to an end, and new rhythms have had to start.” Joining the previously released ‘Hometown Edge’, which followed a debauched night…
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A Place to Bury Strangers @ Deaf Institute, Manchester 26.09.2024 – Backseat Mafia
A Place to Bury Strangers are infamous for the furosity of their live shows. To celebrate the forthcoming release of Synthesizer, the band are on back on the road. Formed in 2002, in New York City, they specialise in a wall of pulsating sound which uniquely blends noise rock, shoegaze and space rock, with just a hint of psychedelia every now and then. With a new lineup for this release, with Ackermann still at the helm. Tonight at Manchester’s Deaf Institute, they once again captivate and show exactly why they are top of their game. Opening with ‘You are the One’ from 2015’s Transfixition LP, they ease into their surroundings…
