FEATURES

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Well Vaughan

[Published in Rhythms Magazine, Mar/Apr 2020) After more than half a century playing the blues, Jimmie Vaughan is an icon – and he doesn’t just play the blues, writes Samuel J. Fell Jimmie Vaughan’s dogs are barking. You can hear them, faint, in the background, running riot on his ranch, a little ways outside of …

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Cedric Burnside – The Legacy

[Published in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of Rhythms magazine] BURNSIDE AS BURNSIDE Cedric Burnside comes from storied roots, and while he’s his own musician, he’s keeping true to the soul of the music that defines him, writes Samuel J. Fell Cedric Burnside answers the phone, says he’s expecting my call. I tell him I’ve been looking forward …

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CW Stoneking – A Man In Shadow

[Published in the January / February issue of Rhythms magazine, 2020] IN THE SHADOWS As CW Stoneking contemplates his next album, it’s in the solo guise – just him and his shadow – where you’ll see him next. By Samuel J. Fell Christopher William Stoneking is reclining on the bed of a non-descript hotel room. The …

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Joshua Hedley, Solitary Man

[Published in the Shortlist section of The Sydney Morning Herald / The Age, July 13] CLASSIC COUNTRY For JOSHUA HEDLEY, country music is about honesty, sincerity, and dealing with emotion, no matter how hard that is, writes SAMUEL J. FELL For Joshua Hedley, country music is like a second skin. The 33-year-old, these days based …

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Gurrumul – The Beat Goes On

[Published in Good Weekend magazine, April 14 2018]     In July last year, filmmaker Paul Williams, sound engineer Pip Atherstone-Reid and Skinnyfish Music’s creative director Michael Hohnen were ensconced in an editing room at Windmill Studios in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. On multiple screens in front of them were the edits of Williams’s documentary, Gurrumul. Five years in …

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Canned Heat

Published in the March / April issue of Rhythms magazine (Cover Feature – EXCERPT) Fifty-three years ago, three blues nuts formed a band. Today, Canned Heat are still at it, still pushing the blues, writes Samuel J. Fell I’m standing on a hay-bale or something, maybe a milk crate, I don’t really know, it’s too …

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Invisible Threads

[Published in the Summer issue of Peppermint Magazine. EXCERPT] Microfibres are emerging as one of the biggest environmental problems of our time, and they originate from the shirt off your back, writes Samuel J. Fell It’s the biggest environmental problem you’ve never heard of, and it stems from the most basic of sources – the …

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Feature – Bigsound Turns Up The Volume On Gender In The Music Industry

[Published in The Guardian (Australia), September 10 2017] ‘We’re over it’: Bigsound turns up the volume on gender gap in music industry Gender inequity in Australian music is as old as the industry itself – but this year’s Bigsound conference was focused on solutions. By SAMUEL J. FELL Brisbane’s grimy entertainment district, Fortitude Valley, is home …

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Gurrumul – Australia’s Most Important Voice

[Published in Rolling Stone, April 2011, COVER FEATURE] The Deep Part Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu might be one of Australia’s most enigmatic figures, but his second album, Rrakala, is all about showing the rest of the world how he lives. By Samuel J. Fell   Silence. Complete and utter silence. Not for long, maybe only ten …

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Lloyd Spiegel

[Published in the Jul/Aug 2017 issue of Rhythms magazine] TOMORROW ALWAYS COMES With the release of his ninth album, LLOYD SPIEGEL opens a new chapter, with help from an old, writes SAMUEL J. FELL A little over two years ago, Lloyd Spiegel closed a chapter in the already long and detailed book that is his musical …

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Sunrise To Sunset – Yirrmal Leads A New Generation Of Indigenous Music

[Published in the summer issue of No Depression (US) – EXCERPT] His voice is pure. High and strong, it thrums like taut wire, resonating with a power that belies his young age. At 22, Yirrmal Marika shows signs of a talent set to bloom — a talent that could one day see him placed alongside …

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Eric Gales

[Published in issue #533 of The Big Issue] THE NEW BLUES ERIC GALES is a bluesman for the current generation, fusing myriad styles to create something new, as he tells SAMUEL J. FELL Eric Gales grew up in a household where roots music was king, these old musical forms providing a sonic backdrop from which he’s …

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The Waifs

[Published in the March / April issue of Rhythms magazine] IRONCLAD The Waifs celebrate twenty-five years with eighth record Ironbark, which is dedicated to their many fans, and sees them return to their informal roots, writes Samuel J. Fell  Think back twenty-five years. Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? There …

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James Cotton

James Henry Cotton died on Thursday March 16, in Austin, Texas. He was 81, and while perhaps unknown to people not familiar with the blues, the man was a behemoth – a working musician by the time he was nine, he cut his teeth under Sonny Boy Williamson II, before branching out and recording with …

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Hat Fitz & Cara

[Published in the January/February issue of Rhythms magazine] LET IT RAIN With their fourth album together, HAT FITZ & CARA have produced their best work yet, a near perfect melding of gospel, soul and blues, writes SAMUEL J. FELL Sunday morning at Mullum Fest. It’s been a stellar couple of days so far, music abounding, …

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Shooting Stars

[Published in The Saturday Paper, November 19/2016] Amateur astrophotographers are more than just hobbyists, writes Samuel J. Fell. Their backyard observations and images are welcomed by the likes of NASA as important contributions to astronomy.   It’s a balmy, late spring Saturday evening in Byron Bay. Dusk is steadily descending and across the way, in town proper, people are …

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Game Of Drones

[Published in The Saturday Paper, July 30/2016] The fledgling sport of drone racing has pilots viewing the course through cameras mounted on their stripped-down, supercharged craft. Samuel J. Fell meets the US champion, in his hometown of Brisbane.   Like a bat out of hell, the little X-shaped machine, small propellers mounted at the end of each …

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Bernard Fanning

[Published in the July/August issue of Rhythms magazine, Cover Feature, July/August 2016]  While BERNARD FANNING’s new album stems from a feeling of unease, it blooms as one of the songwriter’s strongest releases. He talks to Samuel J. Fell.   It’s a Monday afternoon. Late autumn and sunny. It’s crystal clear and the air is sharp, cool in the …

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Fat Possum Records

[Published in the July/August issue of Rhythms magazine, July/August 2016] Founded in 1991, FAT POSSUM RECORDS this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. For a quarter century though, it’s been anything but normal, writes Samuel J. Fell.   I don’t know when I first heard T-Model Ford. I remember how it made me feel though. Like I wanted …

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Gillian Welch

[Published in The Big Issue, issue #503] In 2004, Gillian Welch conquered Australia; now she’s back with musical partner Dave Rawlings for not one, but two tours, writes Samuel J. Fell.   “I’m in Nashville where it’s a beautiful late fall, early winter’s day,” says Gillian Welch, the scratchy phone line doing little to dull a voice which has been …

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