It’s about that time of the year in the Southern Hemisphere when the thought of going out on Friday in sideways rain doesn’t seem all that appealing, no matter whose DJ set you’re seeing. Lazy picnics accompanied by an imitation iPod dock seem like a long time ago when you’re clutching a coffee on an cold morning. But music, no matter the time of year, is always there to slide into like a warm bath. With the collection of local producers below, there’s always a hint of the Australian summer in their sounds. Like the smell of a beach towel, there’s still sunlight clinging to it somewhere. Rainbow Chan’s music is a one-way ticket with a complimentary upgrade; you can heard the sounds of a love parade calling you in Kyson’s Berlin-based sounds; Oscar Key Sung is a perfect accompaniment to a mulled wine; friendships remind you that no matter the shit weather, you’re not suffering alone.
With a coy side glance and a vintage postcard feel, the Long Vacation EP from Sydney artist Rainbow Chan promises to be exactly what you need. Her soft voice drips over delicate percussion and textured melodies on lead single Skinny Dipping. The track invokes nostalgia for the summer jaunt to the South of France in the 1950s that you never had. Its slightly psychedelic edge and mix of lo-fi and acoustic softness is refreshing in the electronic scene. She says her music is inspired by the mixtapes her grandma sent to her from Hong Kong, family sing-a-long car trips and being classically trained in piano, saxophone and choral music. From covering The Cardigans’ Lovefool to field recordings, Rainbow Chan collects sounds with all the passion and dedication of a rare coin collector and this EP is shaping up to be her finest assortment.
Kyson
While Australia creeps all-too-soon into winter, Berlin is slinking into summer and the sounds of Adelaide-born artist Kyson are getting warmer. His soft rework of Bon Iver’s Holocene garnered international attention and it’s hard to convey how much the word ‘lovely’ applies to the whispering lyrics and textured melodies that have turned everything from Sweden’s Little Dragon to Australia’s Geordie Little into soundscapes that are like a vivid daydream. The singer/producer studied music in Sydney and then took off around the world to discover new sounds, ending up in the creative mecca of Berlin to combine these sounds with the imagination of a gifted musician. We’re not even mad he left Aus.
Oscar Key Sung
I first heard about Oscar a few years ago when a friend, in a rather blushing-eyelash-fluttering way, was telling me about seeing OSCAR + MARTIN. The band was notorious around Melbourne for their indie-electronica sound, and I think the word ‘dreamy’ was mentioned quite often. The Oscar half of the duo, Melbourne producer Oscar ‘Key Sung’ has the husky vocals reminiscent of The Weeknd, smooth lyrics along the lines of ‘I want you from your head to your toes ‘ (from his latest track It’s Coming) and the type of lush beats that make you want to mutter things like ‘honey’ ‘melting’ and ‘sliding down a rainbow’. The progress of his production career since the popular duo and his other collaboration, the lo-fi homemade hip-hop of Brothers Hand Mirror (with HTML Flowers), is apparent on his latest split release It’s Coming/Sure Thing. The production is crisp sounding without being overly plastic, delicately arranged and perfectly suited to his vocals. He even covers Miguel’s Sure Thing with a Key Sung twist.
friendships
If you can’t afford to escape on a Long Vacation or to a love parade in Berlin, chances are your friends are broke too. One of the best parts of winter is huddling in a bar with your mates and shedding layers of jumpers on the dance floor. And on both of these counts, Melbourne-based friendships have got you covered. Behind the audiovisual duo are ‘ships’, also know as Nicholas Brown, on the production and Mischa Grace on projections. As for releases, they have a split EP with fellow Melburnians Audego and the debut EP, the brightly titled I’m an impressionist, you’re dumb: a compilation of bass tracks, which they say is a light-hearted reflection on internet culture and sounds like a combination of UK bass and a Brunswick house party. In 1am you’re transported to a shady, sweaty warehouse party. Meanwhile, in the impossibly chopped Kelis cover, you’re spiking your own warm milkshake.
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