Funk Soul

This week’s PBS Feature Album is PLASMATA, the sophomore record from four-piece funk-punk ensemble Proto Moro.

PLASMATA draws inspiration from Greek mythology, the stories of Medusa and Hephaestus serving as a statement to the environmental atrocities being committed by mining companies and big corporations on Indigenous Country today. The anxiety that comes with the destruction that capitalism has created embodies itself within the instruments and voices of Proto Moro, giving the record its explosive sound.

Entries have opened for the annual UpStart Award, closing at midnight on August 31.

The UpStart Award is an annual grant for emerging Victorian singer-songwriters. Each year the winner of the award receives a grant of $10,000, with 2nd place receiving $3000 and 3rd place receiving $2000. The remaining 7 artists, who make up the top 10, will receive a grant of $1000. The award is funded by a music loving family in Melbourne and the winner will be decided by a panel of local artists and music experts.

Yarra City Council’s annual winter music festival Leaps and Bounds returns July 25 to Sunday July 28.

This week’s PBS Feature Album is NQR&B by the 'Ukulele Queen of the Bellarine', Sarah Carroll.

NQR&B is a collection which celebrates Sarah's great loves and her unique life, with a career spanning over 30 years as a performer. Her songs chime with sincerity and deal largely with her life as a teacher, mother, wife, political animal and touring musician.