Sunburnt Country Music Sophie Hamley

Mak & Shar are brothers from Mudgee in New South Wales who released their debut single together in 2022 - but this was far from their first release as they were members of the band Brothers3 and as such played 12 Tamworth Country Music Festivals and appeared on X Factor in 2016. They released the single ‘Leap of Faith’ earlier this year and now have a new single, ‘Best Thing’ (watch the music video here).
During our recent interview the brothers talked about their writing and recording process - in which Mak takes the production lead and Shar the writing - and their easy collaborative dynamic was clear. They have been passionate about music since childhood and have not only maintained it but found new ways to create music together through this duo.
For more on Mak & Shar: https://www.makandshar.com/
Listen to 'Best Thing' on Apple Music
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released a self-titled EP in 2020 and her debut album, Sticks, Stones and Stories, in 2022. Late last year she released the single ‘Too Far Down’ and her latest single is ‘Can’t Fake That’. 
‘Can’t Fake That’ is Brooke’s tribute to women of the land, with a lighthearted feeling that was achieved by Brooke and her producer, Rusty Crook, by deciding to re-record the song after realising their first version wasn’t quite right. 
Brooke lives on the land and draws inspiration from it; she also makes it clear in our chat that connection with other people is her primary driver in creating music, and this is something she pursues with passion.
We also have a little bit to say about Mercury Retrograde … for those who believe, or not!
For more about Katie Brooke: https://www.katiebrookemusic.com/
Listen to 'Can't Fake That' on Apple Music
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Jayne Denham was nominated for a Golden Guitar in 2022 for her last album, Wanted, and she returns now with Moonshine, which is an irrepressible force of an album that features Jayne’s amazing vocal power.
Whereas Wanted had a spaghetti western theme, Denham chose the Prohibition era as the creative inspiration for Moonshine. Working with her Nashville-based producer Brian White, she carefully selected songs that would not only work individually but contribute to the whole vision of the album. These included a cover of George Strait's 'Poison', as Denham explained when we spoke recently. 
The latest single is the emotional 'Lovin' a Wild Thing', which was originally written for a male vocalist. Vocal collaborators on the album include Colt Ford on the title track and Hurricane Fall on 'Are You Ready for This'. 
The track 'Risk it All' reflects Denham's decision to launch an Australian tour, which she is currently on (tour dates below) - and having seen her live I can see it is a low-risk decision to attend as she is an incredible live performer. We discussed the decisions she makes that feed into the powerful live experience, as well as the making of Moonshine. 
See Jayne Denham live
Jun. 7, 2024 - Freemasons Hotel Molong
Jun. 15, 2024 - Barra & Boots Music Festival Lake Proserpine in the Whitsundays
Jun. 21, 2024 - Moonshiners Tamworth
Jul 5, 2024 - Astor Hotel Goulburn
Jul. 6, 2024 - Oaks Hotel Albion Park Rail
Aug. 23, 2024 - Camden Hotel
Sept. 27, 2024 - Texas QLD Country Music Festival 2024
Oct. 26, 2024 - Mandurah Country Music Festival
For more about Jayne Denham: https://www.jaynedenham.com/
Listen to Moonshine on Apple Music
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Melbourne singer and songwriter Jay Santilli has been immersed in music since childhood, listening to classic country artists on the radio growing up, begging her parents for a keyboard at age 10 and learning saxophone then guitar. She formed a band with friends and would go on to take part in such competitions as the (now-defunct) Telstra Road to Tamworth contest. This year she was a Grand Finalist in the Toyota Star Maker competition.
The path to being a musician has not, however, been straightforward – nor has been the pursuit of her other dream, motherhood.
 
Santilli’s new single ‘Long Way Home’ tells of pursuing dreams even when they seem impossible. It is emotional and inspiring, and Santilli has a lot more on the way this year, with plans to release one single a month. When we spoke recently Santilli’s love for her artform and her generous spirit and open heart were evident, making the chat just as inspiring as the song.
 
For more about Jay Santilli: https://jaysantilli.com/
Listen to 'Long Way Home' on Apple Music
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When reviewing Troy Cassar-Daley’s last album, The World Today (2021), I compared him to Orpheus, going to the Underworld in search of his wife, Eurydice, who had been taken there by Hades. But after going into the darkness to find what he was looking for then turning back at the point of rescue only to see Eurydice disappear – as the myth has it – Cassar-Daley as Orpheus turned his face forwards and stepped into the light, as complicated as the path ahead was.
‘Troy Cassar-Daley has long been a beacon in our culture,’ I wrote then, ‘for his songs and the way he delivers them. With this album he takes on not mythic status, because he’s still with us, but he becomes, perhaps, a warrior for the people. Out of his darkness we can find light, and the only thing left to say to him is “thank you”.’
That album remains as one of its creator’s very best, and a classic by many measures. It seemed unlikely that he could better it, for how would he find a deeper well to draw on, how much further could he go into the darkness and, to balance, how much light would he discover on his return? The answer has arrived in the form of his new album, Between the Fires, which is an epic work of love, loss, water, fire and smoke, of country and connection, written almost entirely by Cassar-Daley alone in the wake of the death of his mother, then recorded in her home. 
The depth of Cassar-Daley’s sorrow is soaked into this album, as is his resolution to find light once again. He growls, he rails, he ponders the past and looks to construct a future that may not have included his wife, Laurel, as they went through a separation around the same time, which is also part of the fabric of this album. Most of all, though, he pays tribute to his mother, and we are shown – more than we are told – how much of a man she helped to make him. For the work done there is his too, and the unforgettable resolution of the album, ‘Moving On’, is his alone. 
There is a verse in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, a revealed text of Kashmir Shaivism, that goes: 
Live continuously for a few days in the meditation,
‘I am immersed in the flame, 
The flame of life, the flame of love, the flame of time.
The universal fire flows through me.’
Step into that fire fully, wholeheartedly, 
Starting with the toe of the left foot – 
And then surrendering everywhere.
Only the not-self, which doesn’t exist anyway,
Is burned.
(Verse 29, translation by Lorin Roche)
Between the Fires documents Troy Cassar-Daley’s burning of the not-self and consequent revelation of the self. Through the fire of grief and change we are able to see the man as he is now and was always meant to be. There is so much bravery required to step into this flame and to go on afterwards, let alone present what remains to the world.
For more about Troy Cassar-Daley: https://troycassardaley.com.au/
Listen to Between the Fires on Apple Music
Listen to Between the Fires on Spotify

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Hana & Jessie-Lee’s Bad Habits are a Melbourne duo who released their debut album, Southlands, in 2017 and have just released their latest album, the gloriously entertaining and thought-provoking Say What You Mean. 
 
The longtime friends and collaborators started their performing life in punk bands over a decade ago in their hometown of Adelaide before forming Hana & Jessie-Lee’s Bad Habits, with Hana on vocals and Jessie-Lee on guitar, in 2014. The catalyst was a batch of country-tinged songs written by Hana. Jessie-Lee helped flesh out arrangements, and they then played a month-long residency at Adelaide's Crown & Anchor Hotel to cement the new formation.
 
Over the next few years, Hana and Jessie-Lee continued evolving their sound while playing live extensively. It was the isolation of pandemic lockdowns that inspired Hana to write a new collection of songs which have now become Say What You Mean.
 
In this interview we talked about their creative collaboration, their musical influences and songwriting process – and what bad habits might have prompted the band name.
 
For more about Hana & Jessie-Lee's Bad Habits: https://hanaandjessielee.com/
Listen to Say What You Mean on Apple Music
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