The Scoop |
June 2008by Danny Canak THE ANDRÉ RIEU PHENOMENONFollowing his recent promotional tour of Australia, André Rieu just continues to break records. His latest album ‘Waltzing Matilda’ has topped the Motorola ARIA Album Chart while his recently-released 6CD set ‘The 100 Most Beautiful Melodies’ made history as the first-ever six-CD set to rise to #2 and is still sitting in the Top 20. His absolute domination of the DVD charts also looks set to continue with 9 of the top 11 titles belonging to Rieu and his entire DVD catalogue sitting inside the Top 40! During his visit, Rieu was presented with awards for an unprecedented 54 platinum accreditations achieved in the space of just 18 months - a record unequalled by any artist in Australia. Sales of Rieu’s recordings are now well in excess of 1.2 million units in Australia alone. Andre says, “The biggest award of them all is to see all the happy faces and hear all the joyful stories from my fans. My love for your country and its people is absolute and I look forward to sharing my music with you when we return to Australia for performances in November and December.” Sell-out success for concerts in Sydney and Melbourne has led to the announcement of third shows in Melbourne (November 13) at Telstra Dome and in Sydney (November 27) at ANZ Stadium. Tickets are on sale now. RECENT CHART ACTIVITYRieu’s #1 has managed to keep 2006 Australian Idol winner Damien Leith from the top spot with his ‘Catch The Wind: Songs Of A Generation’ coming in at #2 while 2007 Australian Idol contender Carl Riseley’s ‘The Rise’ managed an impressive #5 debut and is also the #1 Jazz album. Carl says, “Wow… I just can’t believe it. I’m so happy and grateful. It’s been a crazy time but one I’ve loved.” Hip hop trailblazers Bliss N Eso were also ecstatic with the news that their third album ‘Flying Colours’ hit the #10 spot. Before Rieu’s success, Madonna scored a double last month when her 11th studio album ‘Hard Candy’ and her single ‘4 Minutes’ took out the #1 spot on the album and singles charts respectively. The album was at #1 in 12 countries on debut. CILMI’S UK SUCCESSGabriella Cilmi is another artist climbing the charts with her debut album, ‘Lessons To Be Learned’, cracking the Top 10 in the UK album charts. In doing so, the 16 year old joins a select group of Australian artists who have achieved this level of chart success in the UK including Kylie Minogue, INXS, Natalie Imbruglia and Crowded House. Locally, the now London based Cilmi scored a #1 with her debut single ‘Sweet About Me’ while the album sits in the Motorola ARIA Top 5. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE’S #1The critically acclaimed new album from Death Cab For Cutie, ‘Narrow Stairs’, has rocketed to the #1 spot on the US Billboard 200 - the band’s first-ever #1 record. With sales of 143,586, this marks the highest sales week in their 10-year history. The album is shaping up as Death Cab’s most-praised work to date with four-star reviews appearing in recent issues of both Rolling Stone and Blender. International fans can catch the band touring North America mid year while they will also appear at a variety of festivals throughout the year. TRIAL KENNEDY’S AUSSIE FIRSTIn an Australian first, Trial Kennedy’s debut album ‘New Manic Art’ will come with a special Podmix for those that purchase the album through iTunes. The Podmix is a remix of the album for your iPod that creates a different spatial experience for earbud headphones and the mix involves unusual left/right panning, where high frequencies are also emphasised. It’s a whole new wall of sound. The album, including the Podmix, is now available for a special price of $14.99. AUGIE MARCH ENTER STUDIOAugie March have just stepped into the studio to start work on the follow up to their highly successful ‘Moo, You Bloody Choir’ album. The band are currently spending time at Neil Finn’s Auckland studio Roundhead for what should be their finest album yet. Production duties will be handled by Joe Chiccarelli (Zappa, U2, Beck, The Shins, White Stripes). NEW N*E*R*D*Pharrell Williams and his N*E*R*D* crew are about to unleash their third album – ‘Seeing Sounds’. The album is a blistering mash-up of booming hip-hop beats and rollercoaster rock riffs, rumbling crunk rhythms and scintillating soul music. It is also an album that amplifies the style and attitudes that have made Pharrell, Chad and Shae transcendent cultural icons. Of the album’s diversity, Williams says, “We don’t care about genres. Why would we? For us, it was just about being what we are. We aren’t limited by anything other than our imaginations and what we feel, so why would we make music packaged into a little box?” The album hits the stores on June 14th. NEW SIGNINGSHeavy metal masters Lamb Of God have just signed a deal with Roadrunner Records (ex-US/Canada). Renowned for their world class metal, the band have accumulated global sales of around three million units and were honoured with a Grammy nomination in 2007. The first Lamb Of God release on Roadrunner will be the ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ 2-DVD set which will feature around five hours of incredible, all-access footage. The set will be released on June 30th. Meanwhile, Universal Music have signed Melbourne duo Dash & Will to their Australian roster. The 18-year-old singer/songwriters created a stir amongst major record labels on the strength of their demos and have just completed their debut album, ‘Up In Something’, which is set for release in September. The euphoric first single, ‘Pick You Up’, is out on July 5th. 2008 ARIA HALL OF FAMEThe Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has announced that Dragon and Russell Morris will be the first two artists inducted into the prestigious ARIA Hall Of Fame event at Melbourne’s Town Hall on Tuesday July 1st. Dragon dominated the Australian charts with a parade of hits between 1976-78 and collected a stack of Gold and Platinum records along the way. But the Dragon ‘sound’ reached its peak with 1983’s #2 hit ‘Rain’ (from the album ‘Body & The Beat’) which introduced their music to a new radio generation. Founding member Todd Hunter says, “It is an honour to be included in the Hall Of Fame and it has always been a privilege to be part of the Australian music industry even though we may have felt like outsiders for much of the time. It is great to be included with bands and musicians whose work we admire.” Russell Morris, on the other hand, was a major pop star in the 60s & 70s who is most renowned for his classic hit, ‘The Real Thing’. Morris says, “When I first began the music path on which I eventually embarked - and walked the full distance – I thought it would be all over at the age of twenty five, and by thirty I would be back doing accounting! So to be here right now and receiving this wonderful award is not only amazing but a beautiful surprise”. Dragon, Russell Morris and three yet to be named legendary artists will be inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame event which will be hosted by Julia Zemiro. Tickets for the event are on sale now from Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au or Phone 132 489). Vh1 will also be televising the show on July 5th (9pm) and 6th (5pm). 2008 APRA AWARD NOMINEESThe Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) has announced the nominees for the 2008 APRA Music Awards - the annual celebration of Australian songwriters. Nominees for the prestigious peer-voted APRA Song Of The Year award include Silverchair (‘Straight Lines’), Powderfinger (‘Lost & Running’), The John Butler Trio (‘Better Than’), Thirsty Merc (’20 Good Reasons’) and Feist’s ‘1,2,3,4’ which was co-written by Australian songwriter Sally Seltmann of New Buffalo. The full list of nominees are: Most Played Australian Work Dance Work of the Year Urban Work of the Year Country Work of the Year Blues and Roots Work of the Year Jazz Work of the Year Song of The Year The awards will be hosted by funnyman Jonathan Biggins and will feature live performances and special guest presenters. Cable TV channel MAX will capture the essence of the evening in a one-hour TV special, ‘They Write The Songs’, which will be broadcast at 8:30pm on Monday June 30th. The 2008 APRA Music Awards will be held at the Sydney Hilton on Monday June 16th. NEW RELEASES:DAMIEN LEITH - Catch The Wind: Songs Of A Generation PETE MURRAY - Summer At Eureka VA - Q-Dance Australia 2008 VA – Raw Vol 2: Mixed by Chris Fraser VA – Ultimate NRG 3 « May 2008 |