Having been to many a festival in the past, but never a Homebake, I was excited about my first time experience, and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. What a fabulously different festival experience!

Such a wide variety of ages: from your classic old rockers (there to see Grinderman and Icehouse), to your hipsters (also there to see Grinderman and Icehouse, but with some Architecture and Helsinki and Pnau thrown in for good measure), to everyone in between. Personal favourites of the day were Illy (especially It Can Wait, featuring Owl Eyes), Drapht (particularly the collaboration with 360 and 1200 technics wowza!), Icehouse, and who doesn’t love a bit of Triple J artist of the year, Goyte, with some Kimbra. Homebake is exactly what it claims to be — a day dedicated to remarkable Australian and New Zealand music.

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We love the animated video for the new single from Belgium-born Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, Gotye. He releases Easy Way Out on November 28, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming album, Making Mirrors.

Emma Davis’s debut self-titled album has been on frequent rotation in the Lost At E Minor offices. Recorded out of Newtown, the album is full of delicious melodies which allow her voice to shine through. The killer track is Machines, which you can hear after the jump.

Following on from her brother’s solo album, Australian singer-songwriter Julia Stone has released her own debut album, The Memory Machine. The songs were all written in New York last year while she was in between Angus & Julia Stone tours. These songs could easily have appeared one of the duo’s album. However, having only Julia Stone’s voice inevitably leaves it sounding more pared back and, in keeping with the album cover art, it also has a darker sound than the brother-sister act does.

So I’ve had this idea for a reality TV show: ask a well known musician or producer to re-record a classic hit of the past. How would, for instance, My Sharona sound if recorded today using today’s production approaches and music styles? I reckoned it’d be an interesting show.

But then I got sent the recently released Uncovered 2, by Ministry of Sound. It’s a beautiful set of covers which features some absolutely stunning cover songs. Sarah Blasko’s cover  of Flame Trees (Cold Chisel) is perhaps one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.

And Lisa Mitchell’s version of Romeo And Juliet (Dire Straits) brought shivers down my spine. What a stunning love song; which she’s done full justice to.

Then there’s the awesome Angus & Julia Stone covering the classic Grease song, You’re The One That I Want. OK, there are some misses, but on the whole, this is an epic set of songs from some wonderful artists, most of whom are Australian.

Listening to the CD, I realised that my show wouldn’t fly. Music is so much about a musician’s unique approach to a song. How they arrive at their take on a song is a personal creative experience which wouldn’t render on the TV. No dramas though, I’m not really a TV guy anyway.

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The wonderful sound that comes from Australian duo Angus & Julia Stone just keeps getting better. Their latest album, Down The Way, due for release in March, is again full of stunningly beautiful melodies. The style continues from their previous album, A Book Like This, with the tracks swapping between Julia’s enchanting vocals and Angus’s rougher, more melancholic style. Listen to their first single from the album, And The Boys, below and tell me if this isn’t a band set for stardom?

This clever clip for Australian singer-songwriter Whitley’s single, Killer, was directed by Steve Baker and stars Whitley in a 2D murder mystery.

Drum roll please. Louder. LOUDER. Ok, that’ll do it. After several months of work, and numerous strong coffees, we’re pleased to unveil our latest website, The Colour, a reader submitted collection of beautiful Australian-related images. Yup, The Colour features the best in new art, photography, illustration, music, cool products and fashion, and it all comes with a distinctly Down Under flavour. Please check it out and let us know what you think. And be sure to use the site to give props to your favourite Aussie creative talent. Who said Crocodile Dundee was Australia’s greatest cultural export? [Visit The Colour now]

My wife often wonders why I rarely wear shorts, even in the stifling heat of a New York summer’s day. Well, as a musician for many years back in Australia, I learned the ‘no-short’ rule very quickly. That is, unless you’re a founding member of Silverchair, a guitar tech with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, or a part of the skater pop community, musicians should never, ever wear shorts. Much less Speedos. Much less red Speedos on a pasty white body. Given that this rather awesome song from Aussie group Eurogliders came out in 1985, guitarist Bernie Lynch has probably recovered from the experience of cavorting around a deserted island paradise looking like a bizarre Japanese lolly. But one wonders if he looks back on this film clip with a sense of awe, acute embarrassment, or both?

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Having called it a day back in 2001 and with no back catalogue available anymore, this fine underrated Aussie band is very quickly being forgotten about and it is high time something is done to fix that. How can we live in a world that can stock Peter Andre albums and nothing from Skunkhour?