Newly opened hotspot, The Alfred, home to iconic restaurants Fratelli Fresh and The Cut Steakhouse, will become the after dark venue of choice for Melbournians with top international DJs playing in a luxe, late-night environment into the early hours of the morning.
Bang & Olufsen, one of the leading luxury home entertainment brands recently opened their Australian flagship sensory store on Russell St, Melbourne. The store, which is a celebration of movement, signature acoustics and minimalist design, spans 381 square meters and is the fourth largest of its kind globally. The World Loves Melbourne was invited along to experience this groundbreaking entertainment centre. We were "wowed" by the set up here!
The World Loves Melbourne was invited to 5 Seconds of Summer performing an exclusive concert in the Nova Red Room at Trak Bar and Lounge on Toorak Road. Only a couple of hundred fans were invited to the concert after winning tickets. Some concertgoers waited 8 hours in line; with The World Loves Melbourne capturing the line down Toorak Road pre concert.
Melbourne Recital Centre was the place to be with The World Loves Melbourne part of a packed Salon for Moon Under Water featuring pianist/composers Andrew Hagger and Elodie Sablier. Their performance was part of Mood Indigo: Jazz at Melbourne Recital Centre.
Bennett's Lane Jazz Club was the iconic scene for the launch of the exciting new album Moon Under Water from Andrew Hagger and friends. After the success of the Hope album last year which topped the classical charts, there was much anticipation from the packed out event as several of the artists from Moon Under Water performed. This album features some of Australia's most accomplished musicians and is the perfect album to purchase for Christmas. Indeed as an instrumental album it's superb to play at a dinner party or occasion.
George Orwell's 1946 essay "Moon Under Water" imagined the perfect place to gather. A fictitious place. Too good to be true. With incredible atmosphere. Friends and families connecting. Flowing conversations. Great food and drinking. And even a surprise garden to welcome all. Sound enticing?
On a stage that has seen the likes of Prince, Justin Timberlake and Harry Connick Junior perform, we enjoyed stellar performances from Andrew Hagger (who kicked off solo on piano), Elodie Sablier the young glamorous French pianist from Provence, Andrew Naylor and family, Robyn Payne (one of the Australia's finest producers, as well as a fine musician in her own right), and Michael Tortino (fabulous double bass player, Melbourne Jazz Festival Director and owner of Bennett's Lane Jazz Club).
Other guests on Moon Under Water include Tommy Emmanuel (arguably the world's greatest guitarist), David Hirschfelder (writes scores for Hollywood movies such as Strictly Ballroom (1992), Shine (1996), Sliding Doors (1998), Elizabeth (1998), Hanging Up (2000), Australia (2008), and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010), ex Little River Band and John Farnham Band), and Chong Lim (Dancing with the Stars, producer for the 2000 Olympic Games as well as for many albums and projects, and has toured with many big name artists) and David Holmes.
Buy the album here at ABC Shop... Or you can see Moon Under Water for sale in JB HiFi.
Jakubi, one of the freshest bands to hit the Melbourne music scene, have well and truly been punching above their weight.
Last Friday night I entered a musical vortex of bass-groove-heaven. Location: Melbourne, The source: Stephen 'Thundercat' Bruner.
Playing at the highly esteemed and much loved 'Forum', world renowned bassist 'Thundercat' managed to Sell out, pack to the rafters, and then almost certainly 'musically depress' his doting Aussie crowd. Now I'm not talking about 'depress' because of a sad or underwhelming musical experience here, quite the opposite actually - it's coming to terms with the fact that his skills were SO impressive that in reflecting on that, you realise that your own skills don't even come close....(if you give it a few days, that feeling usually turns into inspiration and the world is all good again). As soon as Thundercat and his band appeared on stage, the crowd swamped the floor making it near impossible to move. I'm sure most people, like I, spent a lot of the night swaying back and forth between gaps of peoples heads, just trying to capture as much of him as possible.
Playing/ singing songs from both his albums 'Golden Age of Apocalypse' and most recently 'Apocalypse', he showed Melbourne fans why he is at the top of his game. On stage with keys player Dennis Hamm and well respected drummer Thomas Pridgen, Thundercat drove their musical van into crazy town, with hectic solos that had you crossed eyed and mind blown. The speed and precision of his bass playing had my face scrunched up and in awe for 90% of the show.. I even walked away with a sore neck from too much grooving.
Draped in an oversized-oversized red scarf and melodically defying everything you know – Thundercat brought exactly what we expected out of him and then some! If someone can pull off a killer song that is written entirely about their cat (seriously), then you have my respect. It's obvious his quirks and personality shine through in his playing.
Not shying away from the sensitive stuff either, Thunderat mentioned a bit of his late friend Austin Peralta - the reason and inspiration of his latest record. I think most would agree that Thundercat is giving new light and revolution to bass playing and bass players. Along with proving that jazz is super cool. A great night of musical madness and 'wooowwww' moments. Bass-ically, everything you read about Thundercat is true...he is a musical freak show.
@jwilsify
Jakubi, one of the freshest bands to hit the Melbourne music scene, have well and truly been punching above their weight. This 5 piece draws their inspiration from genre’s as diverse as hip-hop, funk, pop and grunge rock. Intrigued?! So were we. Amazingly, not only did we discover that the guys do indeed merge the sub cultures but that they merge them well!!
Mark de Clive Lowe, half Japanese half New Zealander based out of Las Angeles, California has been instrumental (no pun intended) in driving the New Jazz movement forward over the last decade. His ability to fuse Jazz with a funky urban flavor has seen him work with artists as respected as Lauryn Hill and Sammy Figueroa.
Last night I had the priviledge of seeing one of the most revolutionary 'musical masterminds'....the brilliant Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. If you don't know much about Miguel and his music, all you have to do is type his name into google or youtube to see the long list of people he has worked with. It will probably make you cry. Partnering with the guys from Hiatus Kaiyote (and friends), they jammed out to a very keen crowd at the Hifi bar – just seconds into Miguel walking onto stage the crowd was singing his praises and the place was well and truly alive. Good start.
Now look, I'll be the first to admit that ordinarily I don't gravitate towards string intruments. It's not that I don't like them, I just think that over time I've pigeon-holed 'strings' with strictly classical sounding music. HOWEVER, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson flips all of that upside down and back around again. Taking on songs from Coltrane, the Beatles and of course original compositions of his own, he led the band into what was a spectacular night of musical arrangements! Guest vocalists Nai-Palm and Elana Stone also joined in the fun creating some spine tingling moments of the night. The sound was a kaleidoscope of jazz, groove, beats, experimentalism, edge and intensity all spun into one. I was completely engaged with his undeniable presence on the stage.
For me, I really love watching musicians who physically throw themselves into their art. I guess as an audience member you want to visually enjoy something just as much as you do sonically. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson holds his own on stage. He leads with his body language and really gels the people together who are on stage with him. I found myself in moments completely zoned in on him, watching and listening intently to his playing – even in the times where he stood away from the spotlight. He is a true musician, director and leader in his field and it was obvious that the band really trusted him, as did he with them. Being the first time he has ventured out to Australia, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson told the crowd how much he loves being here, saying: “Next time I come back, I want to take at least a month” - I'm sure any of his fans would happily have him stay here anytime!
The night also included music from the support act 'Myele Manzanza Trio'. These guys brought some real groove! Myele Manzanza (drummer) teamed up with Scott Maynard on double bass and Dj/ producer/ keyboardist Mark de Clive-Lowe. Doing tracks from both Myele's and Mark's' work was the sounding combinations of hiphop beats, smooth jazzy rhodes and latin flavours thrown in there too. Pretty much my favourite musical cocktail. I've been listening to Mark de Clive-Lowe's music for quite a while now and after watching him absolutely belt the life out of the keys last night...I love him even more. The trio brought life, vibe and energy to the room and kicked off our night at the Hifi with a solid..BANG!
@jwilsify
