Nike TNs were a mark of swag exclusive to the disadvantaged Greater West communities of Sydney and at best a source of suspicion for the white middle-class Eastern and Northern suburbanite.

These works prompt a deeper question of whether our artistic fascination with violence is a glamorisation, a critique, or a coping mechanism in an ultraviolent world.

“August 29, 2003. Since 1995, fbi (Free Broadcast Inc) Radio 94.5FM has been broadcast on special occasions, in unlikely places. From an empty shop next to the Clock Hotel in Surry Hills, on milk crates in a caravan in Bondi Beach, or above a suckling pig restaurant on George Street.”

“When I listen to Faye yearn for her past/present lover, I can’t help but romanticise the early stages of any relationship; nothing mattered other than surrendering to the feeling.”

At the bottom line, salute rejected the pretension that seems to dominate much commercial dance music (read: the uninspired spoken word poetry of Fred Again). Eschewing these pseudo-philosophies of house heavy hitters, at the heart of TRUE MAGIC is a magical world of nostalgia, joy, and most of all, good old fun. Not only a testament to the varied influences upon salute’s signature sound, but the many influences that shape our first encounters with dance music.

Laneway 2025 was a refreshing return to normality for Australian music festivals. It featured a balanced and loveable lineup of fan favourites and internet sensations but was let down by its administration and infrastructure. Its artists provided fantastic and memorable performances that resonated but its vibes were either hamstrung by technical difficulties or over-police and surveillance

She is a breeze of fresh air in industry, but her eclectic and abnormal production continues to divide her from mainstream structured pop music. 

Improvisation is the act of conjuring for the instant, an adventure in entropy.

Today, winged eyeliner and black double grommet belts seem enough to constitute belonging, with “goth” and “punk” being thrown around in place of “emo”.

In conversation with Kim Jimin of Meaningful Stone — on 90’s rock bands, surfing and the spiritual power of the universal subconscious.

Music has always found mysterious ways of permeating borders, from sea-faring music boxes containing fragments of exotic sounds to Soundcloud links proliferated online. 

Why my favourite Elton John songs are filled with queer sex and prostitutes.

“Every time I listen to music, I always get a vision of what the music video will look like, you know? [When] I make my own music, I always have ideas of how the atmosphere or vibes of the song could be extended by the visuals itself.”

‘The Spare Keys’ in Make Love, Not Instruments take you by the hand on a vocal journey, sonically stunning with a rich setlist of showtunes, mid-century love songs and modern belters.

I walked slowly into the crowd, a sea of five hundred poised to learn something about music, life, religion thought impossible.

Nothing is ever truly final, and much like music, is forever-changing again and again

Like a fingerprint, no cheer soundtrack is like any other.

You don’t have to dive very far into a contemporary indie playlist to be bombarded by ambiguous, often poor quality album covers, drawn from artists’ own family archives.

In times of hopelessness and despair, the glittering beats of disco never seem too far behind.

With their shaggy hair and electric sound, the quartet seemed like a relic from the 1970s rock scene blended with 21st century anxieties.

Though it’s gone through periods of both mainstream success as well as being on the fringes, mashups have exploded in online popularity in recent years.

Themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and loss are commonplace, but for some reason they felt more sorrowful and melancholic than their English-language counterparts.

The Dunedin Sound represented the undervalued cultural vibrancy of a remote yet sublime city.

From the virtual shores of TikTok to the underground spaces of Sydney, riot grrrl has evolved into something new.

“These bands kind of operate in these houses. They play live shows in basements, they don’t play at bars.”

A queer and Black history of white background music videos.

Dark Mofo felt tired, pretentiously pretentious, and oppressively Melbournian.