ARIA ANNOUNCE NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 ARIA AWARDS

Earlier this week the nominees were announced for the 2011 ARIA Awards, the the awards event celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year. Leading the nominees are Gotye, Boy & Bear and Drapht, all with seven nominations.

The awards will be held Sunday 27 November at the AllPhones Arena, Sydney. Stay tuned on who is scheduled to play at the big event.

I've listed the categories worth noting below, however you can check out a full list of the nominations via the official site.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Birds of Tokyo - Wild at Heart
Boy & Bear - Feeding Line
Drapht- Rapunzel
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
The Jezabels - Dark Storm
Guy Sebastian - Who's That Girl (feat. Eve)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Boy & Bear – Moonfire
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Eskimo Joe - Ghosts Of The Past
Grinderman – 2
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Rrakala

HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE
Birds of Tokyo – Plans
Havana Brown - We Run The Night
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
Jessica Mauboy - Saturday Night (feat. Ludacris)
Guy Sebastian - Who's That Girl (feat. Eve)

HIGHEST SELLING ALBUM
Altiyan Childs - Altiyan Childs
Birds Of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo
Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way
Keith Urban - Get Closer
Various - He Will Have His Way - The Songs Of Tim & Neil Finn

BEST FEMALE ARTIST
Adalita – Adalita
Clare Bowditch - Are You Ready Yet?
Kasey Chambers - Little Bird
Kimbra - Cameo Lover
Washington - Holy Moses

BEST MALE ARTIST
Drapht - The Life Of Riley
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist
Josh Pyke - No One Wants A Lover
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Rrakala

BEST GROUP
Birds of Tokyo - Wild At Heart
Boy & Bear – Moonfire
Eskimo Joe - Ghosts Of The Past
Grinderman – 2
The Living End - The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST : SINGLE
Zoe Badwi - Freefallin'
Boy & Bear - Feeding Line
Havana Brown - We Run The Night
Drapht – Rapunzel
The Jezabels - Dark Storm

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST : ALBUM
Boy & Bear – Moonfire
Drapht - The Life Of Riley
Gypsy & The Cat – Gilgamesh
The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy
Oh Mercy - Great Barrier Grief

BEST POP RELEASE
Architecture in Helsinki - Moment Bends
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
Gypsy & The Cat – Gilgamesh
Guy Sebastian - Who's That Girl (feat. Eve)
Washington - Holy Moses

BEST DANCE RELEASE
Bag Raiders - Bag Raiders
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Miami Horror – Illumination
Pnau - Soft Universe
The Potbelleez - From The Music

BEST URBAN ALBUM
Drapht - The Life Of Riley
Illy - The Chase
Koolism - The „Umu
Phrase – Babylon
Vents - Marked For Death

HAVE YOU DISCOVERED... GYPSY & THE CAT?

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the month of March. Apart from the obvious reasons like, ahem, it's someone pretty awesome's birthday (I'll give you a hint: ME, and it's today even!); March has produced some pretty amazing findings for my music collection.

I've discovered albums that are produced by brilliant singer/songwriters like Clare Maguire; been tainted by the beauty and talent of young Yasmin; and of course, finally got my hands on the outstanding follow up to a sensational debut album - Adele's 21.

So, let's talk about my next discovery. Welcome, Gypsy & the Cat.

Gypsy & the Cat are made up of two wonderful boys by the names of Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers, who both hail from Melbourne. Over the last twelve months they have had a pretty whirlwind period which includes the following achievements:

+ Relocating to London, the boys were signed with UK record label Young & Lost
+ Their debut album, Gilgamesh, was produced by David Fridmann (producer for MGMT, Flaming Lips) and Rich Costey (producer for Muse, Franz Ferdinand)
+ They earned a nomination for the Triple J Unearthed J Award in 2010, narrowly missing out to Boy & Bear
+ Their first demo, Jona Vark, was picked up by Triple J and landed in at #64 on the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2010
+ Gilgamesh debuted in the top twenty in the ARIA Albums Charts late last year

AND - did I mention that these boys are only 21 years old? Same age as me!*

* so maybe I'm just a little older... shut up.

The sound of Gypsy & the Cat is a little bit of Empire of the Sun, with added acoustic folk. It's a little dream-synth, with added electro funk. And if you ask me, it's certainly a great sound - let's just say it's very 2011. Talking of very 2011, the guys have just been announced as Kylie Mingoue's support act for her Aphrodite Les Folies Tour 2011 here in Australia!

Whilst I'm yet to listen to the album in full, after hearing Jona Vark, Time to Wander and The Piper's Song; I like. I've attached a soundcloud set below for you to preview some of the tracks from the album...

Gilgamesh clips by Gypsy & The Cat

I think we have a winner here people... WINNING!

A video for Jona Vark was recently shot and released online only in the last couple of weeks (below). Take a listen and tell me your thoughts - do you like?
Visit Gypsy & the Cat's digital profile to purchase Gilgamesh today [ITUNES]