Jess Hutton

1 week ago | backseatmafia.com | Jess Hutton

It simply felt like a dream. That’s the only real way to describe Ichiko Aoba’s performance at the Sydney Opera House for VIVID LIVE. In the middle of a festival that thrives on sensory overload, Aoba offered us something slower and beautifully detached from the teeming cityscape outside. The Japanese artist had transformed the theatre into a living still life: soft lamplight, scattered florals, and a quiet rug grounding the scene in a kind of surrealism.

1 week ago | backseatmafia.com | Jess Hutton

It simply felt like a dream. That’s the only real way to describe Ichiko Aoba’s performance at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE. In the middle of a festival that thrives on sensory overload, Aoba offered us something slower and beautifully detached from the teeming cityscape outside. The Japanese artist had transformed the theatre into a living still life: soft lamplight, scattered florals, and a quiet rug grounding the scene in a kind of surrealism.

1 week ago | backseatmafia.com | Jess Hutton

Masked and mysterious, Pale Jay stepped onto the stage of the Sydney Opera House for his first Eora/Sydney appearance and only his second show ever. As part of this year’s Vivid LIVE program, the rising soul artist delivered an excitingly curated set for a room full of undoubting fans. Known for the signature red balaclava and wide-brimmed white hat, Pale Jay joins the tradition of masked performers who let the music speak louder than identity.

2 weeks ago | backseatmafia.com | Jess Hutton

A year after ‘Frog in Boiling Water‘, DIIV return with their first new release – ‘Return of Youth‘, a quietly devastating single that trades widescreen collapse for something far more personal. Unsurprisingly, the track is a masterclass in shoegaze’s more delicate corners: layered, intimate, and full of restraint. It’s a noticeable shift from the chaos and corrosion that coloured FIBW. Where that record was concrete weight and cold surfaces, ‘Return of Youth’ opens a window.

3 weeks ago | backseatmafia.com | Jess Hutton

French metalcore outfit LANDMVRKS didn’t need to bother with dramatics when they hit the stage at the sold-out Metro Theatre over the weekend. As part of their Australian debut, they simply walked on and started swinging. No build-up, no bloated intro – just volume, sweat, and riffs thick enough to cave your chest in. The night opened with Naarm’s Fallweather, who delivered a tight, fast-paced set designed to impress a crowd already itching to move.