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Writer's pictureAmy Hathaway

Sail Away - Hot Potato Band


Exams are over & I'm now officially on uni holidays for the next three weeks! Feeling pretty positive & I guess all I can do now is wait for my results to come through. In the meantime my focus can entirely shift onto holidays as in just about two weeks I'll be on my way & on a wee trip to Japan! I cannot contain my excitement enough on the journey I have ahead. But it's easier said than done as don't even get me started on the food, experiences oh & the sights - it's going to be amazing!

Well now that I'm officially on uni holidays, as a treat yo self tradition I've got a couple of CDs in mind that I am going to buy myself this week & they are:

The Ocean Party's "Restless" - This album is actually their 6th but will be a first listen for me. Released in September, I've really been enjoying their tracks "Split" & "Guesswork" so I look forward to hearing what their other tracks are like.

Remi's "Divas & Demons" - Hearing Remi from his first single "Sangria" in 2014 & then his recent collab with Sampa the Great track "For Good" earlier this year has lately got me really digging Remi's vibe. His style kind of reminds me of UK duo "The Rizzle Kicks" & I've noticed he's a huge fan of the word "rowdy" so I'm keen to give his second album a listen & I might need to be on the look out for is first!

Northeast Party House "Dare" - After hearing their track "For You" I've been intrigued to hear more of what they have to offer. As a big fan of dance & a big fan of rock they're quite an intriguing mix of both.

Pez's "Don't Look Down" - Pez has made a comeback after his album release "A Mind of my Own" in 2008. "Don't Look Down" is being released on the 4th November so I will most likely purchase this when I come back from Japan. I'm definitely excited to hear new tracks & even a new direction from Pez. Long overdue.

D.D Dumbo's "Utopia Defeated" - The album was released 7th October & after being a fan of his track "Satan" & "Walrus" I find his style of music to be quite calming. Intrigued to hear what the rest of his tracks sound. Was quite lucky but earlier this year he was a support act to Laura Marling at the Enmore Theatre.

Tkay Maidza's "TKAY" - Just a teensy bit excited, but this album would be my current & ultimate favourite pocket rockets first debut album self titled "TKAY". After her first track "Brontosaurus" in 2013, Tkay has been featured on Play it Forward >> before & boasts a number of great releases since.

Illy's "Two Degrees" - I've been a fan of Illy for quite a while now & he's been a featured artist on "Play it Forward >>" I've been really digging his song "Papercuts" with Vera Blue so I'm definately interested to hear the direction he's going in. This album won't be released till early November so I will most likely purchase this when I come back from Japan.

Katy Steele's "Human" - Katy Steele has also made a return to the music scene & after hearing & featuring "Where's The Laughter" a few posts before I'm definitely keen to hear what the Little Birdy front woman has got in store with her latest album "Human". The album is being released later this week, so I'll probably end up buying it next week.

Ahh you gotta love new music! & since I've been busy with work & uni, I've done my best to avoid going shopping so I'll definately have a lot to listen to!

Getting into the holiday mood this week's track is a super groovy little number & the music video literally only dropped last week! Grab your shades & sun tan lotion you can boogie to it here:

Hot Potato Band are an 11 piece fresh sounds brass band from Sydney, consisting of members: Simon Ghali, Marc Malliate & James Swanson (Drums) Dane Laboyrie & Nicholas Calligeros (Trumpet) Max Mallen-Cooper (Trombone) Daniel Moore (Sousaphone) James Mackay, Bernard Lagana, Edward Tan & Peter Orenstein (Saxophones) with additional cracking vocals & harmony from Dylan Wright.

"Sail Away" was officially released on the 30th September & is Hot Potato's latest single. Their music video literally released early last week; directed by Peter John (Epik Films) & it's the kind of track that transports you to a place like no other. Imagine sitting by the beach, soaking up the sun with a couple of good friends this quick tempo & upbeat track will have you grooving into the summer months ahead & if you love that Hot Potato Band's earlier tracks such as "This is How it Should Be", "Why'd You Have to Go" & "Let it Go" can be found on their debut self titled CD.

The Hot Potato Band found their roots & musical inspiration in Sydney's southern suburbs as street performers running over 120 shows a year all around Australia. The first time I saw Hot Potato Band was at The Spot Festival in Randwick last year & I found their on/off stage presence to be contagious, making it such a fun & vibrant atmosphere. With a strong mix of originals & covers they are very interactive with the audience, literally jumping on/off the stage & making the audience feel right at home.

One of my favourite covers from Hot Potato Band is their cover of "Talk is Cheap" by Chet Faker (Nick Murphy) which you can listen to —> here. It's racking currently over 34 000 views & I could even say I prefer this version better!

The bands unique sound comes from the absence of a single drum kit, bass guitar & electrified instruments. Recently they have played at quite a number of music festivals such as; Caloundra Music Festival, Bellingen Turtle Festival, Wollombi Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Redcliffe Festival & Psyfari. Even collaborating with Kim Churchill at Splendour in the Grass & Woodford Folk Festival. They recently did a show at Newtown Social Club in September, so if you are keen to see them they have just introduced another string of gigs!

28th October - Granite Town Moruya 4th November - Transit Bar (ACT) 5th November - Hotel Gearin (NSW) 13th November - Newtown Festival

Keen to check out more from Hot Potato Band or to even purchase "Sail Away" you can so below:

Hope you all enjoyed the track & have a really groovy week!

Cheers Amy

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