Tennessee Diamond is the debut EP from Melbourne alt-country singer-songwriter Madeline Leman. The EP features some of Melbourne’s finest country/folk players including Ruth Hazleton on banjo (Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton duo), Pete Fidler on dobro (Bill Jackson and Little Rabbit), Alex Rogowski on drums, Luke Richardson on double bass (Raised by Eagles and The Stetson Family), singer songwriter Leah Senior on lead vocal harmony, Canadian singer songwriter Derek Harrison on lead guitar and mandolin and London based musician Sarah Crossan on fiddle.

In 2010/2011 after playing a few debut shows in Melbourne, Madeline moved to Montreal where she was inspired to write a new repertoire of alt country-folk tunes. Back in Melbourne Madeline has become an obsessed ‘passionate young songwriter’ inspired by Melbourne’s bourgeoning country music scene and romantic notions of America’s deep south.

‘Tennessee Diamond’ follows dark tales through light filled rooms to create an EP of great storytelling, humour and musical joy. In a review of the EP Americana Australia claims that Madeline Leman refuses to be placed in a box, merging elements of country, surf, jazz and pop- “This is fun music, and a good example of a songwriter that is brave enough to carve out her own niche.” The title track is a tongue in cheek feminist murder ballad set in America’s fictional South. The EP features mandolin, dobro and a soaring fiddle that, combined with Madeline’s smooth vocals and Leah Senior’s lush harmony, create a soundtrack to a cross country train ride you didn’t know you were aching to take. The catchy guitar riffs and memorable melodies are also integral to Tennessee Diamond’s innocence and charm.

‘Tennessee Diamond’ was recorded in 2014 at Captain B studios with Brooke Penrose from Melbourne band Saint Jude, and released in September 2015.

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‘Moments In Time’ is a relentlessly innovative and fascinating journey. It is the kind of album that keeps drawing the listener back. There are new insights with every visit, like a good friend that will be around for years.
Leon Gettler

Percussionist Alex Pertout and vocalist Nilusha Dassenaike are long time musical collaborators. They came in to The Music Show studios to play from their newly relaeased album Moments in Time. Alex Pertout, percussion, Nilusha Dassenaike, vocals, Joe Chindamo, piano

Liner Notes
Creative journeyman Alex Pertout has seen many worlds, all different. He has a distinctive style, he is a stickler for innovation and transformation. With his reputation and brand, he has never had difficulty attracting talent to work with him. Together with innovative artisan Nilusha Dassenaike they have actualised ‘Moments In Time’, an absorbing journey into Latin jazz, world music and originals which are flavoured by these influences.

The album is the avenue that unveils their Alex & Nilusha project. And it is very much jazz. As Dexter Gordon famously said, jazz is the great octopus, it will do anything and assimilate anything it can use. They understand this completely. Listen to this album, and you feel it is very much the motif.

Alex & Nilusha have drawn together a stellar cast of Australia’s most distinctive performers to participate in their vision. It includes pianists Joe Chindamo and Tony Gould, trumpeter Miroslav Bukovsky, drummer David Jones, guitarist Leonard Grigoryan, sarodist Saby Bhattacharya, bassist Craig Newman, as well as the legendary Latin jazz flautist Dave Valentin. The album also features Alex, the distinctive, creative percussionist and Nilusha, her voice gentle and beguiling. She has a knack for phrasing, stretching words out for meaning and creating a sensuous current while heightening the rhythm.

What we have here is a series of magic moments, some transformations and some very clear statements that take us to another place. The Jobim classic Waters of March is completely transformed, with Bhattacharya on the Indian classical stringed instrument, the sarod, and Alex on the ibo, kanjira, marimba, tubular bells, gongs, windchimes, frame drum, bombo and karimbas, turning what has always been driving and powerful piece into a hymn-like elegy, shaped by harmonies from Gould’s piano. Nilusha imparts a sensual airflow into the words that leaves the listener entranced, intensified by the backing vocals she also performs.

A similar transformation occurs with Mongo Santamaria’s Afro Blue, elevated by Bukovsky and Chindamo. Bukovsky’s solo against the driving beat of the drums, congas, cowbell and Chindamo’s piano, the multiple backing of Nilusha’s vocals creating a choir that plays along with the percussion and trumpet.

The originals here, like the title track and the Afro-Cuban inspired Baba Soroso, are standouts, the latter coming alive with Valentin’s flute and Grigoryan’s guitar. Between You and I is a rhythmic driving piece, with the sarod, Chindamo’s piano and accordion and the vocal backing parts by Nilusha, with its repeating lines building intensity. Walk With Me takes the album into an intimate corner, a plea for love, with the congas, woodblocks and bombo working in with the backing choir performance, against Nilusha’s lead voice.

‘Moments In Time’ is a relentlessly innovative and fascinating journey. It is the kind of album that keeps drawing the listener back. There are new insights with every visit, like a good friend that will be around for years.
— Leon Gettler November 2011
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MOMENTS IN TIME: Alex & Nilusha
Released March 2012

Alex Pertout: world percussion
Nilusha Dassenaike: vocals
Miroslav Bukovsky: trumpet, flugelhorn | Dave Valentin: flute
Joe Chindamo: piano, accordion | Leonard Grigoryan: guitar
Tony Gould: piano | Andrew Jones: piano | Craig Newman: bass
Saby Bhattachaya: sarod | David Jones: drums

Arrangements by Alex Pertout and Nilusha Dassenaike
Recorded and edited by Alex Pertout
Mixed by Doug Brady at Armstrong Studio 2, Melbourne
Mastered by Leon Zervos at Studios 301, Sydney

Produced by Alex Pertout

Artwork by Nilusha Dassenaike
Photography by Gabrielle Leonard
Liner notes by Leon Gettler
Design and typography by Luke Fraser

Alex Pertout plays Meinl percussion, Sabian cymbals and gongs with Vater sticks and mallets

© & ℗ 2012 Whispering Tree Music. All Rights Reserved.
WTM-001

Distributed by The Planet Company/MGM >MOMENTS IN TIME

Alex Pertout: world percussion
Nilusha Dassenaike: vocals
Miroslav Bukovsky: trumpet, flugelhorn | Dave Valentin: flute
Joe Chindamo: piano, accordion | Leonard Grigoryan: guitar
Tony Gould: piano | Andrew Jones: piano | Craig Newman: bass
Saby Bhattachaya: sarod | David Jones: drums

Arrangements by Alex Pertout and Nilusha Dassenaike
Recorded and edited by Alex Pertout
Mixed by Doug Brady at Armstrong Studio 2, Melbourne
Mastered by Leon Zervos at Studios 301, Sydney

Produced by Alex Pertout

Artwork by Nilusha Dassenaike
Photography by Gabrielle Leonard
Liner notes by Leon Gettler
Design and typography by Luke Fraser

Alex Pertout plays Meinl percussion, Sabian cymbals and gongs with Vater sticks and mallets

© & ℗ 2012 Whispering Tree Music. All Rights Reserved.
WTM-001

Distributed by The Planet Company/MGM

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Tales To Tell takes its listeners on an alluring journey of sounds gathered from around the globe and Alex & Nilusha’s home town, Melbourne.

Alex and Nilusha celebrate their new album Tales to Tell with a live set on The Music Show on Radio National. ‘Nothing to hide’ is composed by Alex Pertout and Nilusha Dassenaike and performed by Alex Pertout: cajon (box), berimbau, Ibo (pot), djembe, nyunga nyunga mbira; Nilusha Dassenaike: vocal; Adrian Sherriff: flute; Liam Butler-Webb: piano; Frank Di Sario: acoustic bass; Thomas Harrison: drums

ALEX PERTOUT
Chilean born Alex Pertout has for decades being recognised as one of Australia’s leading percussionists and with credits on hundreds of albums and soundtracks is undeniably one of Australia’s most recorded musicians. Alex has also attained credits with television orchestras, in countless live performances, in the theatre and as a respected educator.

As a founding member of the Australian Art Orchestra led by Paul Grabowsky he has toured Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, has performed as a soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, has recording, performance and television orchestra credits with an array of artists including Powderfinger, Badi Assad, Shane Howard, James Morrison, Paul Kelly, Casiopea, Jackson Browne, Little River Band w/John Farnham, Archie Roach, Hunters & Collectors, Daryl Braithwaite, Goanna, Tony Gould, Dave Valentin, Tina Arena, Kate Ceberano, Tom E Lewis and Brian Brown among many others and was a featured percussionist in The Lion King theatre production.

Alex has produced cds as a multi-instrumentalist/composer, has a book released worldwide by US publishers Mel Bay, is a regular contributor to Drumscene magazine and is endorsed internationally by Meinl percussion, Sabian cymbals and Vater sticks. Alex holds an MPhil in Music from the ANU and is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Contemporary Music Performance at the Faculty of VCA, University of Melbourne.

NILUSHA DASSENAIKE
Sri Lankan born Nilusha Dassenaike has a unique vocal style that incorporates a delicate balance between her eastern and western musical influences with silk like sounds with rhythmic improvisation. Nilusha has vast performance and studio recording experience including credits with Renee Geyer, Don Burrows, David Campbell, Dave Valentin, Kutcha Edwards, Bob Sedergreen, Tom E Lewis, Ross McLennan, Tony Gould, Stevie Wright, Ross Wilson, Shane Howard, Leonard Grigoryan and Monique DiMattina among others.

She has been the resident vocalist/arranger for the 7 and 9 Networks on various shows including Australia’s Got Talent, Singing Bee, Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, Carols by Candlelight, The Footy Show, X Factor and It Takes Two, has been invited to sing the national anthem at various international sporting telecasts including the prominent Boxing Day Test Match at the MCG, and featured on the theme song from the television drama series Canal Road.

Nilusha recently completed an MPhil in Music at the ANU and has the unique distinction of graduating from both the School of Music and the School of Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne where she obtained a Bachelor Degree in Music with Distinction and a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking. Nilusha is also an experienced educator conducting regular classes at VCA and NMIT.

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TALES TO TELL: Alex & Nilusha
Released September 2014

Nilusha Dassenaike: lead, background vocals, handclaps
Alex Pertout: world percussion, konnakol, zampoñas
Mike Stern: lead, rhythm guitars
Paul Grabowsky: piano
Hossam Ramzy: Egyptian tabla, reque, jingles
Edsel Gomez: piano
Tom E Lewis: didgernidoos, vocals
Alan Plachta: lead, rhythm guitars
Miroslav Bukovsky: muted trumpet, flugelhorn
David Alfaro: piano
Andrea Keller: piano
William Roblejo: violin
Luke Howard: piano
Peter Petrucci: rhythm guitars
Adrian Sherriff: bansuri
Craig Newman: bass
John Norton: oud
Evripides Evripidou: bass rhythm guitars

Recorded and edited by Alex Pertout at Che-Chi Studio
Additional recordings by Alfonso Peña (Havana, Cuba), Alan Plachta (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Hossam Ramzy (Surrey, England), Chris Gilroy (New York, USA), Craig Newman, Evripides Evripidou and Lachlan Wooden
Mixed by Doug Brady at The Brady Music Studio
Mastered by Leon Zervos at Studios 301

Produced by Alex Pertout

Cover Art by Nilusha Dassenaike
Design by Luke Fraser

© & ℗ 2014 Whispering Tree Music. All Rights Reserved.
WTM-003

Distributed by The Planet Company/MGM

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Apodimi has proved to be the most durable and exciting in the Greek Diaspora. This release features the core members of the band, Hector Cosmas, siblings George and Manoli Galiatsos and new member Marios Papadeas. This line up presents contemporary settings of traditional songs and tunes from the Greek islands and the Asia Minor coast arranged for fiddle, oud, santouri plus the unusual addition of the four string banjo. This instrumentation emulates that which featured in many of the original recordings of this repertoire in the early years of the last century.

Apodimi Compania as always, combine top class musicianship with an obvious love and passion for their material, namely Rebetika and Greek Folk.

Love’s Follies has been out of print for quite some time now and this is a unique opportunity to purchase one of the band’s finest albums…so order you copy on Second Line Music Shop…now !!!

LOVE’S FOLLIES (2003)
TRACK 1: WHERE CAN I FIND A WOMAN LIKE YOU (Mazomenos: Kostas Anatolitis – Andonis Diamantidis)
A song in the Hasaposerviko rhythm (2/4) by the great singer Andonis Diamantis or Dalgas as he was better known. It was first recorded in 1939. It is followed by a traditional tune from Mytilene.

TRACK 2: THE DERVISH’S COMPLAINT (Stellakis Perpiniadis)
An anti-drug song in the Aptaliko Zeibekiko rhythm (9/8). It is rumoured that it has been written by the Smyrniot composer Vangelis Papazoglou.

TRACK 3: ARMENITSA (Kostas Karipis)
A slow Tsifteteli (4/4). One of the lesser known songs of the great singer and composer Kostas Karipis.

TRACK 4: TATAVLIANOS (traditional)
Traditional instrumental arranged by Apodimi Compania.

TRACK 5: THE BOUZOUKÁKI (Kostas Skarvelis)
A song from the prolific rebetika composer and guitarist Kostas Skarvelis who, though illiterate, is said to have sometimes stopped passers-by to jot down lyrics that came to him.

TRACK 6: SWEET EYES (Dimitris Baroussis)
A song by a lesser-known composer Dimitris Baroussis. He was a great fiddle and kanoon player who died during the German occupation.

TRACK  7: ON A MERCHANT SHIP (Dimitris Semsis)
A song of emigration written by the acknowledged master fiddler Dimitris Semsis, in the rhythm of Kalamatianos (7/8).

TRACK 8: AIDINIKOS (traditional)
An Aptaliko Zeibekiko (9/8) named after Aidini, a city in Asia Minor.

TRACK 9: GOING FOR THE WALLET (Emmanuel Chrisafakis)
A Camilieriko Zeibekiko (9/8) by the Smyrmiot composer and santouri player Manolis Chrisfakis

TRACK 10: KAROTSÉRIS (traditional)
Another traditional instrumental arranged by Apodimi Compania. This tune is learned from an early 20th century Amercian recording. It is a variation of the Karotseris song, which refers to cart drivers in Constantinople.

TRACK 11: THE TWO WIDOWS (Kostas Karipis)
A satirical song by Kostas Karipis, who also played guitar on hundreds of recordings.

TRACK 12: I’M CHARMED BY YOUR LOCKS (Emmanuel Chrisafakis)
A Hasaposerviko (2/4) which celebrates curly locks. A style very popular in the inter-war years.

TRACK 13: AZIZIÉS (traditional)
Another traditional instrumental arranged by Apodimi Compania. A Syrtos (4/4) widely known across the Aegean region.

TRACK 14: SOCIETY, YOU TRAITOR (Panagiotis Toundas)
A song by one of the greatest Greek composers and arrangers

TRACK 15: FLIRTATIOUS WIDOW (Panagiotis Toundas)
A Camilieriko Zeibekiko (9/8) first recorded in 1934. This song is a product of the huge problem caused when thousands of young wives were left widowed by the wars of the period.

TRACK 16: I’VE WITHERED, MY LITTLE ONE (Ioannis Bernidakis – Dimitris Semsis)
A rare collaboration between traditional Cretan and Rebetika composers. A Syrtos (4/4) co-written by Semsis and Cretan composer and lute player Ioannis Bernidakis.

TRACK 17: MURDERESS (Panagiotis Toundas)
A Slow (7/8) written by Toundas, who was also a fine mandolin player and director of Columbia Records in Greece.

APODIMI COMPANIA
George Galiatsos: Guitar, Lute and Vocals
Marios Papadeas: Santouri, Piano and Vocals
Manolis Galiatsos: Banjo, Saz, Lafta (Asia Minor Lute) and Tsimbus
Hector Cosmas: Violin and Baglamas
Guest Musician: Manousos Klapakis: Rek, Bedir, Finger-cymbals, Spoons and Shells

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Melisma is Apodimi Compania’s third recording on Brunswick Recordings and their first on CD. It contains seventy five minutes of beautifully arranged music using over a dozen folk instruments. As well as the Traditional pieces which originate from all over mainland Greece, the islands and a selection of Rebetika, the band have composed two of the tunes and include a set Old Brunswick Town especially written for them by Andy Irvine, virtuoso Irish singer, composer and bouzouki player.

George and Manolis Galiatsos, Hector Cosmas and Archie Argyropoulos, the line-up so famous for it’s Retreat Hotel gigs, have recorded a world class album that has since achieved iconic status.  The band is also joined by Michael Melambiotis, a fine singer and Cretan lyra player and the album was produced by the renowned musician Tony Hargreaves.

Melisma has been out of print for a long time and this is a unique opportunity to own a copy ….. only on Second Line Music … so order your copy now !!!

MELISMA (1992)

TRACK 1: I WALKED ABROAD (traditional)
A traditional song from the region of Thrace, in northern Greece. We learnt this song from the singing and playing of Panayiotis Barberiou and his group from Athens, Greece

TRACK 2: ANDY IRVINE’S/OLD BRUNSWICK TOWN (Andy Irvine)
Two new tunes written for us by our old friend Andy Irvine. We are very grateful to him and we hope that we do them justice.

TRACK 3: I’LL JUMP OFF THE BALCONY (traditional)
A traditional love song from the northern Greek region of Macedonia which we learnt from the unaccompanied singing of Domna Samiou, one of the finest interpreters of traditional Greek song.

TRACK 4: DELIANA TWILIGHT (George Galiatsos)
This tune is a slow syrtos, written by George, in the traditional style. It is dedicated to the loving memory of Stelios Bertsoulakis of Deliana-Kisamou in Hania, Crete, who died tragically a few years ago.

TRACK 5: NEW KASTELIANOS SYRTOS (Kostas Moundakis)
A song composed by Kostas Moundakis, perhaps the finest exponent of the Cretan lyra in the post-war era. He died in early 1991 and it is to his memory that we dedicate this song. Michael Melambiotis features with his fine singing and playing.

TRACK 6: MOUSTAMBEIKO (traditional)
A traditional tune from Naousa in the norhern Greek region of Macedonia, known to have been performed during the festive season of the local ‘carnival’ which dates back to the Byzantine era and which took place during the Christmas season. We first heard this tune from a recording of the Psathas brothers on zourna and daouli (Greek reed instrument and bass drum). We have arranged the tune to feature stringed instruments such as the bouzouki, the mandocello, the lute and the violin.

TRACK 7: DAYBREAK SYRTOS (Stratis Galathianakis)
A slow syrtos from the region of Hania, in western Crete, by Stratis Galathianakis, one of the greatest exponents of the Haniotiko style of fiddle playing.

TRACK 8: THRACIAN DANCE (traditional)
A traditional tune from Thrace, in northern Greece, for which we have no title. We believe it is a singathistos syrtos.

TRACK 9: ARIADNE’S DANCE (George and Manuel Galiatsos)
Written by George and Manuel, this tune draws from the tradition of Cretan music. Hector had a hand in it somewhere. It is a slow then fast syrtos, and is dedicated to a five month old baby. little Ariadne.

TRACK 10: UNDER THE TOMATO VINES (traditional)
A traditional rebetiko song, first recorded in the USA around 1930, which featured Manolis Karapiperis on vocals and bouzouki. It is an aptaliko zeimbekiko.

TRACK 11: THE HARE (traditional)
A traditional song first recorded in 1926 in the USA by Marika Papagika, one of the greatest female singers of all time. The melody of this song was widely used in Smyrna and other Greek-populated cities of Asia Minor. The great Smyrnaic composer Vangelis Papazoglou also used this melody in his song ‘Tsakpina Mavromata’, recorded in the early 1930’s. Our arrangement combines elements of both versions.

TRACK 12: FALSE WORLD (Markos  Vamvakaris)
A song by Markos  Vamvakaris, considered to be one of the most prolific songwriters and performers of Rebetika. The song is from his post-war period of songwriting and reflects his feelings of the time, portraying a futile and vain world. We dedicate this song to the memory of Thimios Stathoulououlos.

TRACK 13: WHEN I GO INTO THE HASH-DEN (Anestis Delias)
A song by Anestis Delias, or Artemis, as he was nicknamed by George Batis. It refers to the lighter side of smoking and drinking. Although not so apparant in this tune, Delias’ reference to hashish smoking was often a negative one,revealing the tragic nature of this practice.

TRACK 14: THE DOCTOR (traditional)
A traditional song recorded widely in the USA during the first decades of this century by such performers as Marika Papagika, George Katsaros, Mrs Koula and others. It is a song that was widely sung in the neighbourhoods of Smyrna, Asia Minor.

TRACK 15: IT’S YOUR FAULT (Stellakis Perpiniadis and Kostas Kanoulas)
A song with lyrics by Kostas Kanoulas, a fine santouri player, and music by Stellakis Perpiniadis, the most versatile of all Greek singers, who also composed many songs. It is an aptaliko zeimbekiko.

TRACK 16: I DON’T LOVE YOU (Kostas Karipis)
A song by Kostas Karipis, originally from Smyrna, Asia Minor. A wonderful singer and guitarist, Karipis composed songs in both the Smyrnaic and Piraeus style of Rebetika. This is a slow hasaposerviko.

TRACK 17: THE LASS FROM TZITZIFEIS (anonymous)
A song learnt from a 1935 recording by Anestis Delias and Stratos Payioumitzis. There is speculation about the origin of this song. It is believed that the melody is traditional and perhaps the lyrics belong to Anestis Delias. Tzitzifeis is a suburb of Athens.

TRACK 18: IN MARIGO’S HASH-DEN (Spiros Peristeris)
A song by the multi-instrumentalist and composer, Spiros Peristeris. There are a few versions of this song recorded in the early 1930’s. One is from Greece, by the singer Yiorgos Papasideris, another by Peristeris himself in the USA in the mid 1930s and there is also an instrumental version of the song played on bouzouki by the renowned bouzouki player in the USA, Ioannis Halikias (Jack Gregory) with Sophocles Mikelides on guitar. Our arrangement combines elements of all three recordings.

APODIMI COMPANIA
Manuel Galiatsos: Ud, Saz, Bouzouki, Mando-Cello, Whistle, Banjo, Mandolin, Tzoura and Tzoura-Saz
Hector Cosmas: Violin, Baglama, Bowed Tambour and Mandolin (track 16)
George Galiatsos: Guitar (6 and 12 string), Laouto (Cretan lute) and Vocals
Archie Argyropoulos: Toubeleki, Bedir, Baglama, Cymbals and Vocals
Special Guests:
Michael Melambiotis: Cretan Lyra and Vocals (track 5)
Tony Hargreaves: Accordion and Keyboards (track 2)

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JERILDERIE: BILL JACKSON
Jerilderie was recorded live in early 2011 at Silvertone Recording Service in Nashville, TN with award winning instrumentalist Pete Fidler, Sergio Webb, Daniel Seymour and Justin Amaral

Bill Jackson performs ‘Eggs over Easy” at the launch of his new album ‘Jerilderie.’ The song was written in Austin Texas during their gruelling tour of the west, as hurricane “Ike” approaches. Edited by Chris Sutcliffe

Jerilderie – Unpaved Magazine
No figure from Australia’s past looms in the popular imagination like Ned Kelly. For or against, everyone has an opinion on him. The gentle and meandering title track of Bill Jackson’s new album doesn’t seek to make a case either way, but it’s a testament to how much the Kelly story is absorbed into the atmosphere in this part of the world – and the yearnings of Kelly and his comrades in arms still resonate for many. The outlaw’s story is revisited later in the album with the song Joe Byrne about the gang’s most literate and poetic members. A great choice of subject given that Joe himself wrote bush ballads while the gang were on the run, after all, and he’s widely assumed to have penned the Jerilderie letter.

You don’t have to be a Kelly fanatic to enjoy this album, though. The feeling that pervades is one of loving dedication to songcraft, especially in the Texas tradition, where story rather than vocal perfection is primary. Think Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle, then add to that pristine production, with most of the recording being done in Nashville.

Time spent on the trail of his State-side musical heroes in places like Austin is well documented in Eggs Over Easy which describes an immersion in a wonderfully experience, but also an inescapbale longing for home.

Big Rivers is a standout, with a chorus singing up the magnificence of rivers from the Thompson, the Kimberely to the Mississippi. The addition of Pete Fidler’s dobro playing adds delicious musicality. Some critics may complain of Jackson’s adoption of a vernacular American accent on words like “po-leece”, but there’s a higher authenticity and honesty here that can only enrich Australian country-folk music.

Les Thomas
Unpaved Magazine
http://unpaved.com.au/

Albury-born and Gippsland-reared, Bill Jackson is not your typical Aussie folkie.  He is one of Australia’s finest songwriters within the country folk genre. Think Dylan, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt all wrapped up in his most recent release – the critically acclaimed Jerilderie. His previous full-length release ‘Steel & Bone’ was awarded Folk Alliance Australia ‘Radio Presenters Album of the Year’ in 2008 and he was invited to tour the US alternative country hotspots later that same year with Peter Fidler & Ruth Hazleton.

Most of his songs are co-written with his brother Ross and have been described as engaging, plainspoken and articulate – songs about Hank, Morphine, High Country Lovers and our shared common experiences. His music hints at country folk fringe roots with sparse arrangements, darkly-drawn images and lyrics that cast deep impressions.

“You could be sitting in your Camry, stuck on the Western Ring Road, but pop Bill Jackson’s latest into the CD player and you could be cruising the open road with nothing but time and nowhere particular to be.” – Jeff Glorfel, Melbourne Age

“Bill Jackson is not your typical Aussie folkie. He could be from Austin or Charlottesville or Nashville. He writes songs which transcend place and time and while folk in basis, step beyond.” – Frank Gutch Jnr

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“From the get go, Diana May Clark & The Sunny Set’s music makes you wanna undulate. Not nod your head, not tap your toes nor click your fingers – you wanna move your hips… Later, you can lie on your back staring at the sky and let the sublime blend of voice and music take you slipping through time like sunshine through tree tops.  You’ll be needing a rest after all that dance floor action.”  Pat Monaghan (Basement Disks)

Refreshingly genuine, brimming with cool guitar riffs, film-noir ripe vocals and kicking grooves;
Diana May Clark and the Sunny  Set are:
Diana May Clark – voice & keys
Doug de Vries – electric & acoustic guitars
Al Kerr – Drums, percussion & backing vocals
Maddie Weybury – Bass & backing vocals

“An amazing sounding record, where each and every song is an event! Musically, lyrically and rhythmically brilliant and topped off with a voice of sheer delight to the ear.” Charles Jenkins

DIANA MAY CLARK
The Other Side of the Girl is Diana May Clark’s first full length original album, released in November 2014. Produced through a 60s Pure Pop filter by Greg Arnold (Things of Stone and Wood), this is an album of summer anthems. Diana’s songs speak of the wheel of life, travel, unity and having an escape plan.

With an established background as a Brazilian song interpreter (her main collaborator is husband/guitarist Doug de Vries), Diana made a successful genre jump in 2013 when her first single release, Sunny Daze, a hooky 60’s pure pop extravaganza, was shortlisted for National & International songwriting awards. The Sunny Daze clip was featured on Rage and Clark has subsequently released a string of singles and clips (Blueprint, Tango Noir, In Love with Love, Batucada Bonde tramsong).

“Driving this new band (The Sunny Set) is a revelation!” She says. “After the bliss of singing Portuguese for many years I began to crave the connection of performing in my mother tongue, and found some great song writing mentors in Oz folk/rock artists Charles Jenkins (The Zhivagos) and Greg Arnold. I then discovered the insightful teachings of Berklee lyrics professor Pat Pattison.

So with the encouragement of Arnold who went on to Produce the Album, I’m singing all originals, while playing with a kick ass rhythm section including ‘Doc’ de Vries as I’ve re-named him, on electric guitar and Maddie Weybury (WhooHoo Revue) on bass. We’ve carved a fun sound and really wanna share it.”

De Vries and Clark have established a loyal fan base in Australia and travel to Brazil regularly for collaboration and inspiration for their compositions. The duo’s recordings A Knot in the Wood and Three Shadows of Blue winning Arts Critics favour in the USA for their fine interpretations of Bossa and Brazilian Popular Music. Together they have been intoxicating audiences throughout Oz, the Pacific, Brazil and beyond.

In 15 years Clark has released 5 CDs, 1 EP, and 2 singles; been a finalist in national and international Jazz singing comps, won best song/album in the contemp a capella recording association awards (USA) within vocal group Akasa, directed the 400 voice Melbourne Millennium Chorus in concerts for Refugees, East Timor and Reconciliation, published the Borboleta Brazilian Songbook and along with de Vries established Brazilian music studies at NMIT Bachelor of Music in Fairfield, Melbourne; where she also enjoys teaching singer/songwriters.

Clark’s 2007 original EP release Breathe into Time picked up 2 songwriting awards for the title track and is published in the Australian Jazz Real Book. Her single Sunny Daze took 6th place in the Australian Songwriters Assoc. competition indie pop/rock category 2012; and made top 5 in the 2013 Independent Music Awards (Adult Contemporary song category).

DIANA MAY CLARK: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GIRL
released 15 November 2014

All songs written by Diana May Clark except Vanilla vs Barcelona, Amandinha & Hang On – Clark/de Vries & Mama Africa – Chico Cesar with English lyric by Clark

Diana May Clark – vocals, piano, keys, percussion
Doug de Vries – electric, acoustic & baritone guitars, banjo
Greg Arnold – hammond, guitar, piano, bass, tambourine / b.v.’s
Al Kerr – Drums, percussion, b.v.s
Franki DiSario – bass
Monique Zucco – backing vocals & percussion
Asha Henfry – flutes
Leo Intilangelo – bandoneon

Music Produced by Greg Arnold and Engineered by Dave McCluney – Atlantis Sound, Melbourne Australia. Mixed by Brad Jones, MindSpring & Alex the Great, Nashville, Mastered by Jim DeMain, Yes Master Studios Nashville, Tennessee

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With a Heart and a Hand
“This CD is dedicated to my father, Louis McManus Snr, my Grandfather Owen McManus, and Martin Byrnes, who have each had a deep and lasting influence on me, and my music, and the way I play it.”
Louis McManus

Louis McManus died on 12 December 2004, aged 48, but had been unable to work as a professional musician since 1997 when he was hit with the first of four debilitating strokes

With a Heart and a Hand is a compilation of performances by Louis spanning almost 25 years. It was produced by his wife Max, aided by friends and colleagues, following his second stroke in 1998, which forced him to abandon plans for a solo CD. There are appearances at clubs and festivals and odd tracks recorded in studios, some at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Although the disc is really a scrapbook, Louis’ technical brilliance and sense of musical fun shine through very strongly.

“Louis McManus is, in my view, one of the great musicians alive today, and there are several good reasons for thinking so. A blotting paper memory, a great sense of humour (musical and otherwise) and, much more unusually, a fabulous intuition fed by his firm roots in the Irish fiddle music taught initially to him by his father, but which he allows to take him anywhere he musically fancies. One by-product is the galvanising effect which he has on those musicians who are lucky enough to play with him. It’s not always an easy ride, because hallmarks of his playing are risk and daring, but the end result can be electrifying. He’s an inspiring bloke to be around, as I discovered personally in Australia in 1989 when the Perth Festival arranged a shotgun wedding for the two of us for two gigs. The result lives in my memory”
Martin Carthy

Paddy Fahey’s/The Man of the House: Steve Cooney (guitar), Mairead Nesbitt (fiddle), Louis Mc Manus (mandolin), Simon Melia (box). Simon Melia passed away on 17th Nov 1994 and Louis McManus on 12th Dec 2004. Rare video shot at Brunswick Mechanics Institute in early 1994.

They say LOUIS MCMANUS jnr. was born with a mandolin in his hands. Certainly by the time he was six, he was picking Irish dance tunes, and by the time he was eight his father Louis Snr, (who played fiddle), swears he could teach him no more. After the family moved to Melbourne in 1962 they became one of the mainstays of the Melbourne Irish trad and dance music community. Through his teenage years he developed into a brilliant multi instrumentalist, equally stunning on fiddle, guitar (electric & acoustic), bouzouki, tenor banjo and his favourite instrument the mandolin. On a trip to Ireland in his early teenage years, he amazed many prominent and respected Irish trad musicians with his maturity and sheer brilliance and after being badgered into entering with a borrowed instrument he won an all Ireland banjo comp.

His life was destined to be music and at that time he played with the first truly professional Irish Australian trad band The Ramblers who successfully toured Ireland in 1975. Louis could adopt his skills to many styles and in his time played with many great line ups of the Bushwackers, No Fixed Address, Matchbox, Mick Thomas, Shane Howard, Broderick Smith and many many more. He also did countless recording sessions for album, radio, TV and live theatre.

Louis never got round to making an album under his own name, he played on plenty, but while much discussed and planned, he fell victim to stroke before he could actually record it.

All who heard Louis play will never forget his complete mastery of his instruments and the genius of his music, some of which can be heard on the independent compilation CD With a Heart and a Hand complete with wonderful cover art work supplied by his long time friend Reg Mombassa.

“Louis McManus was a one-off. Intelligence and wit informed everything he did from telling a joke to playing a reel. There was no funnier or more acerbic observer of the human condition. People loved to hear Louis play because he expressed his life in every note. It all came together in his idiosyncratic mandolin solos with their classical structure, clarity of expression and crazy energy. He used to say “Maaaaate, every tune is a (*&%#@#) story ” – and nobody could tell a story like Louis.”
Dan Bourke

1.The Swedish Jig (2.55)
Louis McManus (mandolin) & Martin Carthy (guitar)
2. Farewell To Ireland (4.02)
Louis McManus (fiddle)
3. The Gold Ring / The Hag at the Churn (3.46)
Louis McManus (mandolin); Stephen Cooney (guitar); Mairead Nesbit (fiddle); Simon Melia (accordion)
4. Paddy Fahey’s Jig (4.10)
Louis McManus (mandolin); Stephen Cooney (guitar); Mairead Nesbit (fiddle); Simon Melia (accordion)
5. Ragtime Annie /Drowsy Maggie (2.36)
Louis McManus (guitar), Peter Howell (double bass); Geoff Hollings (guitar)
6. Cracked Pitcher (2.40)
Louis McManus (guitar/vocals); Antony McManus (vocals); Tony Hargreaves (backing vocal); Boris Conley (keyboards, programming)
7. Rakish Paddy / The Scholar / Jenny’s Chickens (4.31)
Louis McManus (fiddle); Boris Conley (piano)
8. Roisin Dubh / Rhil Na Max (4.58)
Louis McManus (mandolin, guitar, bass and bodhran)
9. O’Carolan’s Concerto (2.58)
Louis McManus (mandolin)
10. The Blackbird (3.55)
Louis McManus (mandolin); Martin Carthy (guitar)
11. $50.00 Blues (3.29)
Louis McManus (guitar, tenor banjo), Peter Howell (electric bass), Boris Conley (programming)
12. Tarbolton / Rhil Bheara (2.33)
Louis McManus (guitar); John Fitzgerald (fiddle)
13. Belfast Hornpipe (2.18)
Louis McManus (guitar and mandolin)
14. Pinch of Snuff (3.46)
Louis McManus (fiddle)
15. Toss the Feathers (2.52)
Louis McManus (banjo)
16. Hunter’s Purse / Mountain Road (2.17)
Louis McManus (fiddle)
17. Feathers (2.14)
Louis McManus (tenor banjo, guitar, bass)

Released in 1999

Executive Producer: Peter Howell
Compilation and Pre-Production: Peter Howell and Max McManus
Studio production: Hugh McDonald with assistance from Peter Howell and Louis McManus
Studio Editing and Mastering: Hugh McDonald
Cover Art: Reg Mombassa
Cover Photo: Liz Reed
Cover Concept: Max and Louis McManus
Design and Layout: Jamie Johnston

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NILUSHA DASSENAIKE presents her new CD Lotus Verses, consisting of original compositions that embrace the unique fusion between Sinhala folk music and contemporary jazz.

Primed with a pure velvet voice that crosses two languages and composing and arranging skills that weave together a rare synthesis of contemporary jazz and Sri Lankan folk music, Nilusha Dassenaike has crafted a debut album that takes an entirely fresh approach to contemporary vocal improvisation by integrating elements of soul and pop with the rich traditions of jazz, world music and so much more.

“For the lovers, the explorers, the storytellers, the admirers, the teachers, the worshippers, the listeners, the dreamers, the workers, the musicians, the fighters, the courageous, and the believers. The Lotus Verses is for you.

Through these new compositions and old Sinhala melodies arranged in new ways, I have tried to bring together your world and mine.

This dialogue between contemporary Australian composition, Sri Lankan folk music and improvisation, is new but somehow I have a feeling there will be many more conversations to follow.”
Nilusha Dassenaike

Contemporary Singer, Nilusha Dassenaike (BFA Visual Art, Bachelor of Music Performance (Improv) 2004), talks about the Contemporary Music program at the Victorian College of the Arts and the cultural influences that have shaped her music career.

NILUSHA DASSENAIKE
Sri Lankan born Nilusha Dassenaike has a unique vocal style that incorporates a delicate balance between her eastern and western musical influences with silk like sounds with rhythmic improvisation. Nilusha has vast performance and studio recording experience including credits with Renee Geyer, Don Burrows, David Campbell, Dave Valentin, Kutcha Edwards, Bob Sedergreen, Tom E Lewis, Ross McLennan, Tony Gould, Stevie Wright, Ross Wilson, Shane Howard, Leonard Grigoryan and Monique DiMattina among others.

She has been the resident vocalist/arranger for the 7 and 9 Networks on various shows including Australia’s Got Talent, Singing Bee, Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, Carols by Candlelight, The Footy Show, X Factor and It Takes Two, has been invited to sing the national anthem at various international sporting telecasts including the prominent Boxing Day Test Match at the MCG, and featured on the theme song from the television drama series Canal Road.

Nilusha recently completed an MPhil in Music at the ANU and has the unique distinction of graduating from both the School of Music and the School of Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne where she obtained a Bachelor Degree in Music with Distinction and a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking. Nilusha is also an experienced educator conducting regular classes at VCA and NMIT.

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Music Evermore is the third CD from Saoirse, one of Australia’s premier Celtic/folk bands. Saoirse delight their audiences with their beautiful renditions of traditional Irish ballads and original works.

Bernadette O’Neill: vocals/bodhran/feet | Sile Coleman: vocals/guitar/mandolin | Kerry McManus: vocals/accordion/whistle/feet | Anthony O’Neill: vocals/guitar/fiddle

Saoirse’s lovely version of Siuil A Run from their 3rd album; “Music Evermore”. This album has received two awards in 2013; The Australian Celtic Album of the year and Australian Celtic Song of the year (Music Evermore). Enjoy!!!

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