EMERGING Newcastle artist Djanaba is working on a larger collaboration with Pnau and Empire Of The Sun's Nick Littlemore following the success of the single Big Titties.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Back in February, the Paxton-raised Chloe Grant-King, aka Djanaba, entered her track Belly into triple j's Collab Comp, for an opportunity to record a song with Littlemore. The Walking On A Dream and Chameleon hit-maker loved the soulful electro ballad and selected Djanaba as one of the 10 finalists.
"Nick brought a track to the studio and we improvised," Grant-King said. "He literally left me alone for 20 minutes to get some water and he played the track on repeat and I sang that line 'big titties in the city' and I didn't like it at first. I was hesitant.
"And here we are, I love it it, it's great."
Big Titties debuted on triple j's Good Nights two weeks ago and has since become a favourite on the Unearthed charts with its undeniably cheeky hook.
It's also been released through Littlemore and Pnau bandmate Peter Mayes' label Lab78 and attracted 23,000 streams on Spotify.
The hypnotic electro-pop track is a departure from Djanaba's typical soulful and low-key brand of pop. However, the party banger carries an important message of body positivity and female empowerment.
"For me it was about the micro aggressions that a lot of women experience just being themselves," Grant-King said. "Even if you're just wearing a crop top, somehow it becomes a problem and people feel they have the right to voice how it makes them feel a certain way.
"Our bodies are just being themselves, they're not intentionally making people feel a certain way. It's an odd concept that something so natural could offend somebody."
Big Titties is only the beginning of Littlemore and Djanaba's collaboration. The pair are working on another six tracks.
"We'll definitely be making more songs and this is definitely the direction of the songs we'll be releasing," she said.
Grant-King is a proud Wiradjuri and Bundjalung woman and takes Djanaba, from the Dharug word meaning "laugh".
On Friday Grant-King turns 21 and she can't wait for nightclubs to reopen again to see Big Titties filling up dancefloors.
"I like the fact that not only is it fun, but it actually means something to me," she said. "It's easy to just listen to music, but it's cooler if it means something."
MUNROE IN DIFFERENT SEASONS
INDIE-folk duo Munroe have no idea when they'll be able to perform together again, but it hasn't prevented them from releasing their debut EP A Seasonal Warning on Tuesday.
Munroe features Newcastle's Jonty Carlin (bass, programmed drums, keys, piano, harmonica) and Lismore's Callum Riordan (vocals, guitars). The pair first became friends as housemates in Sydney and then moved to Melbourne early last year to pursue music together, only to find themselves locked down in their apartment due to the pandemic.
To pass the time they formed Munroe and began arranging and recording Riordan's songs.
"It made it interesting as it limited what we could do with the EP," Carlin said. "We couldn't get any other people or instruments that we didn't have, but it gave us plenty of time."
The result was A Seasonal Warning, which features a warm indie-folk sound reminiscent of Boy & Bear.
Triple j has already picked up the tracks Murray St and Let You Know and Munroe has also received support from Sydney's FBi and Melbourne community radio.
Riordan still lives in Melbourne, but Carlin returned home to Newcastle earlier this year where he continues to work in the music scene as a photographer.
CHEMICAL REACTION
LAKE Macquarie brothers Jordan, Soloman and Kalan Rodrigues have been busy experimenting in their musical laboratory and have mixed up Snowfish's third single Chemicals.
The track was produced by Jack Niagro at The Grove studios on the Central Coast and takes its influences from Muse and My Chemical Romance.
Snowfish's previous singles Ghost (18,600 streams) and Middle Name (9,600) have tapped into an online audience and they've expanded their reach with support slots for Last Dinosaurs and Slowly Slowly.
Chemicals cynically explores the notion of modern love and comes complete with Snowfish's first music video. Chemicals is released on August 6.
WHITLAMS WAIT
AMAZINGLY 18 months will have passed by the time The Whitlams eventually bring their Gaffage and Clink tour to Lizotte's from when the dates were originally scheduled.
Due to the Sydney Delta outbreak The Whitlams' seven shows scheduled from August 2 to 26 have been postponed a second time to dates between March 1 and 9, 2022. See Lizotte's website for ticket details.
Tim Freedman and co originally planned the tour for August 2020.
