Chloe James and the Midnight Band are a Melbourne based indie pop band. Heavily inspired by various jazz, funk and alternative artists, the band have found their footing making catchy tunes.
The band will be performance an exciting combination of original repertoire alongside unique interpretations of music from a range of genres. The instrumentation of this group, with three wind instruments alongside bass and drums provides lots of room for exploring textures and grooves. Hope to see you there for the first performance of this exciting new band.
Melbourne based melody maker Tamara Kuldin is all about bringing back the sass and sophistication of that vintage era of music with her own modern, sultry yet playful twist.
Enamoured by the romance and sophistication of the golden era of song, acclaimed Australian vocalist Tamara Kuldin has been captivating audiences from Melbourne to Europe with her own playful, sultry and heartfelt interpretation of songs from The Great American Songbook, French chanson classics to lesser known vintage jazz & blues gems.
A lover of storytelling through song, Tamara’s unique and versatile vocal styling has been inspired by a diverse palette of female vocalists such as Doris Day, Cassandra Wilson, Sarah Vaughan and Joni Mitchell. Her vivacity, warmth and vocal prowess has endeared her to some of the finest Australian and international jazz musicians from Kate Ceberano, Joe Chindamo to Wycliffe Gordon.
Tamara knows how to make an audience feel like they’re part of something special, whether singing up a festive storm in a glorious Italian piazza, fronting a jazz orchestra at the Arts Centre or playing one of Australia's intimate jazz clubs. Her natural affinity with audience's large and small has led to invitations to perform at various festivals and venues across the globe from the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre, The Victorian Arts Centre, Stonnington Jazz Festival, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, The Famous Spiegeltent, Birds Basement, MONA (Tas), Morning Melodies at Hamer Hall to Bergamo Jazz (Italy), Paris to Provence Festival, Lovere Back to Jazz Festival (Italy) and more.
Tamara collaborates with musicians on a multitude of projects including 'Nostalgique' which features a multilingual repertoire of song from Edith Piaf's torch songs to Russian folk melodies. It's a music box of European song from bolero, swing, tango, waltz to bossa, 'singing in all shades of jazz, blues and multilingual affairs of song.'
Tamara released her debut jazz album ‘Secret Love’ in 2015, celebrating her favourite tunes- sentimental and sassy- in a gorgeous bouquet of song, featuring gypsy jazz violinist Gerard Vandenbroucque (France).
Her evocative 2017 recording 'LOVE, LONGING AND LULLABIES' garnered wide airplay across Australia, New Zealand and Japan securing her distribution in Asia (available on iTunes/Amazon & bandcamp).
Her new album 'This May Only Be A Dream' released March 2020 features exquisite ensemble of Australia's finest jazz musician (Julien Wilson, Jon Delaney, Tamara Murphy, Nathan Slater, Sam Keevers, Danny Fischer, Steve Grant). Tamara delights in traversing a range of musical genres, which has led to the recording of this stunning collection of songs. Blending gorgeous swampy vintage swing with echoes of the deep south, to Argentinian tango, Tamara also debuts her intimate and evocative original tunes.
Miss her… and you’re missing out.
Loz Irwin-Ray is a Melbourne-based musician who specialises in voice, double bass, electric bass and piano.
Loz combines a love for creative expression and connection. She constantly strives to learn, understand and create a wide-variety of music. She finds herself rising to new creative challenges every day. Performing as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist in a number of Melbourne bands, she enjoys effortlessly jumping from one style to the next. Be it straight ahead jazz, earthy folk or free electronic improvisation, Loz maintains an honest, considered and heartfelt approach to her music.
Loz covers plenty of ground in the Melbourne music scene, working as a vocalist, double bassist, electric bassist, pianist, choir director, performer, composer/song-writer, educator, arranger, session musician and curator. She typically plays and writes in genres including folk, jazz, improvisation, blues, pop, funk and neo-soul.
The Seven Ups are the soundtrack to the dancefloor at the end of the world.
Based in Melbourne, Australia and lead by guitarist Trent Sterling, The Seven Ups sound draws together a vast array of influences, taking hints from Funk, Spiritual Jazz, Afrobeat, Psychedelia and Krautrock
In 2023 the band released their fifth studio album, A Free Blowing Wind, via Northside Records. The new album is a deep dive in to the lesser-known-places of instrumental music, journeying from deep groove, to ambient and mellow Soul and onwards to long-playing psychedelic jams.
The Seven Ups music has been featured in Wax Poetics (USA), album of the week (thrice!) on PBS fm, Eastside fm and Beat magazine, top 10 on RRR, top 10 on KEXP (USA) and continues to receive airplay on BBC Radio, KEXP, Triple J, and community radio around the country.
The band has appeared at festivals including Meredith Music Festival (VIC), Womadelaide (SA), Blues on Broadbeach (QLD), Strawberry Fields (NSW), Luminate Festival (NZ) Rainbow Serpent (VIC), Falls Festival (VIC), Bleach Festival (QLD), Global Beats (WA), White Night (VIC), Moomba (VIC), Subsonic (NSW), Bello Winter Festival (NSW), St Kilda Festival (VIC) and more. Other career highlights for the band so far have included opening for Charles Bradley (USA), The Budos Band (USA), Remi (AUS), Babylon Circus (FRA) and The Bamboos (AUS), as well as a string of raucous residencies at Melbourne venues, frequent Australian east coast tours.
"I've been playing this little monster to death on my (BBC) 6 music show. It's raw, it's gritty, it's tough as nails." - Craig Charles, BBC Radio 2 & 6
“Makes us remember how much we can love instrumental music.” - Wax Poetics USA
"As tight as they need to be, and as loose as you want them to be." - DJ Miss Goldie, PBS fm
"Hugggeeee big band sound!!" - Rosie Beaton, Triple J
“The septet lay down super tight but silky instrumental funk that's rich in narrative and momentum.” - Juno Records, UK
“The Seven Ups are damn near one of the most mesmerising acts playing around Melbourne at the moment.” - Alex Callan Forte Magazine
“The diversity in their sound was downright impressive, moving from the horn driven funk of last year’s Drinking Water LP to the newer, overdriven psych rock guitar sounds. Though they set the stage up for the more famous psychedelic rock of Pond that followed, in my opinion The Seven Ups stole the show from the Perth four piece.” - Beat Magazine (on Meredith Music Festival 2018)
Australian singer, Julie O'Hara is a freelance performing and recording artist from Melbourne.
Julie O’Hara, is a veteran of the Melbourne music scene, performing since the late 80’s.
Julie began her professional jazz singing career as a teenager with residencies enabling her to work with some of the county’s finest jazz musicians. The desire to evolve musically to communicate with her peers began in those early years, inspired by the musicianship around her.
Now an established musician, songwriter and recording artist, Julie has regularly toured Europe, Asia and Australia, playing at jazz and music festivals or performing as a guest vocalist, (The Cat Empire, Hoodangers, The Pearly Shells, Mistaken Identity). Although Julie performs predominantly jazz music, she also writes for pop, bluegrass, hip hop, R&B, neo soul, country and EDM.
Julie writes songs across various genres, having freelanced in different musical scenes for almost thirty years. Julie features on over thirty recordings, including Aria award winning album, ‘Cities’ by The Cat Empire and ‘Midnight Sun’ with George Washingmachine (nominated for a Bell Award for best jazz vocal album). Julie has won numerous song writing awards for jazz, contemporary pop and EDM.
Julie works as a music educator, lecturing in jazz and contemporary voice and improvisation at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University and teaches song writing at Melbourne Graduate School and Monash University.
Julie has a background in Speech Pathology and voice science. Julie has taught singing, song writing and improvisation at NMIT, VCA, Melbourne Conservatoire, Melbourne Polytechnic, Victoria University and RMIT. Julie is currently studying Estill Voice Mechanics and music production.
PROJECTS FOR RELEASE 2022
OUT NOW! 'New Hat' by The Pearly Shells feat Julie O'Hara (purchase at discography/shop)
'Boogie Guarantee' and 'Train' written by Julie O'Hara available as single downloads.
‘Unobtainium’ (contemporary jazz)
'La Grande Soiree' (jazz manouche)
'Boogie Guarantee' Julie O'Hara & The Pearly Shells A collection of O'Hara originals written for the Pearly Shells (R&B swing),
‘Back to the start’ jazz/EDM/R&B/neosoul, programmed and produced by O’Hara including collaborative works with programmer/composers, Gary Deleo & Luke Josive.
O’Hara’s original songs and voice feature on various recordings, her own and of others but this year will debut her first all originals contemporary jazz album, ‘Unobtainium’. The original songs feature bebop, vocalese, Afro Cuban and Latin jazz and neo-soul. Vocal improvisation is an essential element to O’Hara’s writing, exploring ways to feature the voice within the arrangements. Julie is known for her scatting fluency and strong rhythmic sensibilities. Her trio features old friends and colleagues, pianist, Stephen Sedergreen, drummer, Edward York and bassist, Mark Elton. Guest musicians will also feature on ‘Unobtainium’
Anita O’Day Tribute Concert – O’Hara has at times been likened to Anita O’Day, with a similar tonality and rhythmic sensibilities while scat singing. Anita is one of O’Hara’s greatest influences and the tribute features Anita’s career highlights and her incredible life story.
There are many words that could be used to describe Melbourne band The Hornstars. Funky. Danceable. Loud. Quirky (have you seen that video?). But above all else, the Hornstars are all about fun, and their primary mission is to show their audience a funky good time.
The Hornstars sound is big, brassy and hard to pigeonhole. The lineup featuring Clancy Cullen (vocals), Daniel Bardan (trumpet), Bruce Cousins (trombone), Russell B Myers (tenor sax), Joey Mount (drums), Mike Holloway (bass), Peter Bonett (keys), Gareth Durant (guitar) and Eric Morand (alto sax and percussion) bring a wide range of influences to the mix. Jazz, soul reggae - it may not all be funk as we know it, but it is definitely funky.
The Hornstars formed in 2016, legend has it, after founding members were kicked out of their ska band for allegedly being “too funky”. What came next was inevitable. The band quickly recruited their 9-piece lineup and confected a set of catchy and danceable songs, which they took to the pubs and bars of Melbourne and beyond, and eventually released as their debut album in March 2020.
During the COVID-enforced hiatus, band members continued to write, getting together when restrictions allowed. The band’s song writing continued to evolve, sometimes reflecting what was going on in the world outside (witness the hard funk grooves of "No Gigs" and "Half Way There"), and at others expressing aspirations for brighter post-pandemic future ("Touch", "Say Goodbye"). Occasionally emerging between lockdowns in 2021, the Hornstars were greeted with an enthusiastic reception and sold out shows.
With their second album Half Way There released in August this year, the Hornstars are looking forward to playing more live shows in 2022 and beyond. And while we are still living in uncertain times, here is one thing to be sure of - The Hornstars are still having fun in 2022, and so should you.
They're funny, they're talented, they are The Audrey Twins!!
You may have already noticed but for those who haven't... YES they are identical! *eye roll* For those who are wondering, yes, they get asked this sometimes... *mind blown*
These sassy little ladies are Melbourne's biggest cabaret act and if you don't know who they are.. well you should!
Not only have they got powerhouse voices x2 they are hilarious! Show after show they have their audience laughing, crying, dancing and singing!
Specializing in cabaret style shows featuring the greatest music from the 50's to the 80's.
Emily Lubitz is the six-foot flame haired front woman for Melbourne folk/pop outfit and festival darlings Tinpan Orange. Her sweet, vivid voice a distinctive feature to accompany the virtuoso instrumental performances and pulsating rhythms, which come to form the wholly unique sound that Tinpan Orange are regarded for. They have toured throughout Canada, Europe and UK with The Cat Empire, and have been known to pack out venues at major Australian Folk Festivals.
We are an original funk-rock band from the live music capital of Australia. Soulful vocals, original funky grooves, and dirty horns combine in our own entertaining world of sound – you can hear anything you want right here. We are at home making noise in a crowded pub band room or rattling the glassware in a prestigious blues or jazz venue. We make no distinction, so feel free to dance or just move to the groove.
Influences range from New Orleans funksters Galactic through Trombone Shorty to Aussie legends Hunters and Collectors. We have filled the Worker’s Club to capacity and sold out the Paris Cat. We get community radio airplay, including Sydney’s Radio Eastside 87.9
Our song ‘Straight Ahead’ won AMEX funding to record at Melbourne’s iconic Sing Sing Studios with legendary producer Adam Rhodes (Cat Empire, Angus & Julia Stone). The song went on to win the Voyager International Songwriting Competition, Soul and RnB category.