PUSHMAG RECOMMENDS: Tracks of the Week
@pushmagsydney is a print magazine profiling young and emerging Sydney creatives. Musicians, artists, filmmakers, fashion designers, dancers, poets, tattoo artists, you name it... They’re also known to run events such as gigs, art shows, beach raves, a short film festival, and [shh don’t tell anyone yet] hopefully a fashion show, again, you name it.
Whilst they cover all kinds of creatives and run all sorts of events, music is really their bread and butter. Jess ( @jesslorddd ), a PUSHMAG founder grew up playing guitar is rumored to have played in a few bands. Having spent a couple years working in the music industry she launched an offshoot of PUSH called @dogsrunfreegigs which is specifically for throwing live music events.
With a plate that full were happy to say we had to opportunity to turn the tables, sit down Jess & PUSHMAG (quite odd interviewing interviewer’ers) and obtain her 10 tracks of the week...
Each track was handpicked by Jess, and the full playlist can be found at the end of this post, where it will live on eternally.
TRACK #1:
Josef - 2003
“Chill flow. Layered samples. Just bouncy enough to make you sway. My obsession is finding underrated Sydney artists and Josef has been top of my “underrated” list for about a year now. Also I feel like his style (music and fashion wise) is so Pretty Standard-coded so I hope you guys fall in love like I have. P.S. he’s going to be featured in the next PUSH mag, and performing at our launch party on April 4”
TRACK #2:
Elianie - enough for me
“I found this track randomly, fell in love, added it to my party playlist, and had a bunch of people asking me who the song was by. I realised I knew nothing about the artist and went searching. Turns out, she’s a bloody 16 year old from Perth!”
TRACK #3:
Bones & Jones - Only One I Want
“This is my Song of the Summer. I’ve played it a billion times and it makes any activity feel like a nostalgic memory even while you’re literally in the middle of doing it: driving in the car, going to the beach, chilling with friends, reading, playing Scrabble, making dinner, road tripping… give it a whirl. P.S. these guys are Aussie, from Melbourne.”
TRACK #4:
RNZÖ - RNZÖ SZN
““Babe it’s RNZŌ season.” Spotify has a playlist called “Fresh Finds AU & NZ” that’s updated weekly with new songs from emerging Aussie and Kiwi artists. To be honest, a lot of the artists are not my style, but I’ve also found a hell of a lot of great artists from this playlist. I found ‘RNZŌ SZN’ in Fresh Finds, tracked down RNZŌ’s manager, and started pestering him asking when RNZŌ was coming to Australia. Fast forward a few months, I’m organising a mini Aussie tour for him and his crew”
TRACK #5:
Danika - Coolshit Bullshit
“This list is by no means meant to be listened to in a cohesive order, because listening to Danika’s after RNZŌ is a major mood drop but in the best way. Calm, slow, sad, smooth. My top four most listened to songs last year were Danika’s and this song probably takes the cake for “Most Sung in the Shower”. She’s another Melbournite btw.”
TRACK #6:
Sophiya - GREEKo FREAKo
“Bilingual Greek/English rap track with high energy reggaeton vibes from local Sydney artist, Sophiya. I absolutely love when you can feel how much fun the artist is having through your headphones. It’s a track for going wild and giving your booty a shake. I’ve seen videos of her performances, which also seem like a pretty wild time [pole dancers are involved]. She’ll be performing at a queer event this Mardi Gras if you’re looking to party.”
TRACK #7:
Diarabi - Vieux Farké Toure & Khurangbin
“I have no music downloaded on my phone except the entire collaboration album between psychedelic Texan trio Khruangbin and Malian reggae guitarist Vieux Farké Toure, ‘Ali’. So when I’m on holiday in out-of-reception areas, I’ll just listen to this album on repeat. It’s a rare example of when I’d recommend the whole album rather than one track in particular, but for the purposes of Tools Down, I’ve chosen the track ‘Diarabi’ as a standout. It’s also a great album to have up your sleeve for soundtracking a civilised gathering.“
TRACK #8:
Paste - Glow
“Shoutout and 🎈happy birthday 🎈 to my housemate, Maia Toakley. She joined this band called Paste a little while ago but never really showed me their music so I assumed they must be pretty bad. I finally checked them out when I came across a video for this soft post-punk track, and have been rinsing it ever since.”
TRACK #9:
Jacob Turl - blooz3
“blooz3 is a five minute track of quirky, brooding, coolness that descends into madness. From Blue Mountains-turned-inner west artist [a classic tale], Jacob Turl’s debut EP, “reverse garbage”. I love every song on this EP.”
TRACK #10:
Trick Daddy - I’m a Thug
“I leave you with “I’m a Thug” from the album, “THUGS ARE US”. I don’t personally relate to the message but I get down to it anyway.”
…and to that pretty standard can be quoted saying “WOW, ABSOLUTELY CRACKING?” in regards to the above track ‘pickering’.
We did also get the chance to squeeze in a couple more questions! A wise man once said something and life & lemons and shit, so here goes:
Q) pretty standard // And finally Pushmag, anything to plug, any events we can go to?
A) PUSHMAG // If you’re interested to suss out PUSH or Dogs Run Free consider this your formal invitation to come to one of our events 💌 We’re doing a secret apartment show on March 7th, a magazine launch for our next PUSH issue on April 4th, we’re organising a little tour for New Zealand rap crew “ZIPs” with a Sydney show on April 12th (Melbourne show on April 11th), and on April 26th you can come drink beer on the golf course of Marrickville Golf Club while watching free live bands.
LINKS:
instagram // @pushmagsydney
EVENTS // @dogsrunfreegigs
And, as always the full playlist is available for your awaited approval, perusal and amusement. As for the opposite of those three complex words your permitted to do those two…
We wish you happy listening,
Till we meet again,
Couper Baskus // official ‘Ne'er-do-well’ and global head of ‘Such-and-such’ @ pretty standard
