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BitterSweet Harmony

Bittersweet won two prizes from the Harmony Day Song Competition held in Goulburn NSW in 2013.  The songs "Refugee Song" and "My Story" will be played on local radio stations 9Community, 2GN and Eagle on Harmony Day which will be on March 21st.  According to the competition organiser, the judges loved the songs and the Bittersweet girls will also receive free recording time at the Goulburn Regional Conservatorium as part of the prize package.  The win is another boon for Bittersweet who have just signed with Australian/US independent label/publisher Blue Pie.

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Fast Girls by Headshifters featuring James Scanlon & The Poor -

Available now on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fast-girls-single/id572935892?uo=4

THANK YOU to all the beautiful girls and talented individuals who helped me make this song and music video. (see previous blog for more info)

More music from Headshifters available from soundcloud.com/headshifters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqKh4qdlISE

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I asked if the talented David Christopher could feature on this beautiful track together with Bittersweet.  I was still going through my "duet" stage and I think it worked out great.  This was probably the beginning of long distance collaborations for me.

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You could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard that Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) and a panel of judges from the Maritime Union Australia selected our song as a finalist in their open competition.  It proved to me that as a songwriter I was capable of writing to a brief, and that it is very difficult to write an anthem without being corny, but I guess we managed it!  The Union advised that they would be playing the anthem at their annual conference of 400+ delegates, and also be putting it on to a CD. 

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This song is a bit dark, but it was imagined 2 years before I was technically proficient enough to play it.  The title comes from a friend who told me a joke once..... A buddhist monk walks into a pizza shop and was asked "what would you like?", to which he replied "Make me one with everything".  Sorry but I just thought that was hilarious and decided to use it for the song title.

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J-LYRIC WORKSHOP

Beside the podcasting, digital storytelling and basic audio editing workshops that I do, I am now also doing Japanese Lyric writing workshops.  During August 2012 the inaugural J-LYRIC Workshop was held for language teachers at the Australian Independent Schools headquarters in Brisbane.  In only one day, the participants learned about the basics of pop song lyric writing, collaborated with me on one song and wrote and recorded at least one of their own songs.  I provided three original licensed soundtracks and received some very positive feedback about this very unique experience.

 "Thank you very much for this workshop. Marina taught us a lot about lyric writing. Great fun!"

 "I would never have thought of writing songs in Japanese before, now I don’t feel that it is beyond me"

"Thank you so much for such an inspiring workshop. I learnt so much and have been reminded of just how good it is to incoorporate music into the teaching of Japanese (and I think of other subjects- a huge largely untapped area).Thanks too for your relaxed approachable manner that put people at ease. It was a great day."

Thanks everyone for the great testimonials!

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FAST GIRLS by headshifters feat James Scanlon & The Poor.

I am so lucky to have come across the opportunity to make a song like this. In the tradition (i'm sure) of Vanda & Young this song has glam, it has sass, it has double entendre and the best bloody riff to come out of Australia in a long time courtesy of The Poor rock band (www.thepoor.com.au). James brings an irresistible Prince meets Placebo quality to the vocal (www.jamesscanlonmusic.com). OMG this rocks!

Still working on the video and CAN'T WAIT to get it on Youtube.

Subscribe - Now - And - Stay - Tuned - Music - Lovers!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/popupsprinklers?feature=watch

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Rip Curl Surf Brand Loves Guitar Music

Luckily, I had plenty of guitar music to give to them for their surf dvds, podcasts, online promotional clips etc.  This is a very exciting opportunity and one that has inspired me to push on with even more projects than before.  In the pipeline at the moment is a song called "Pebble in My Shoe" by David Cole who is our musical equivalent to no less than Neil Finn.  Next is a toe tappin good time ZZTop flavoured ditty going by the name of "New Trip City" powered by my insanely creative good buddy Mr Shane Thoroughgood.  Last but not least Ozzie powerhouse singer Anthony Skene from The Poor is slated to come over this arvo and put the finishing touches on a challenging competition entry for one of Australia's most powerful and politically active organisations. Bring - it - ON !!

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                      BitterSweet                                            Skenie from The Poor

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"Wretch (Gimme the Gun)"is a rocking duet sung by Oz rocker Skenie from The Poor (www.thepoor.com.au) and his Canadian vocalist wife.  The song starts out with a kind of parental observation about children in a gun society.  Skenie then continues with a self examination of how it feels standing behind or in front of a gun.  This song is for the wretches who take guns to school with the intent of blowing away innocent bystanders.  Shane’s riff is both menacing and insistent – brain worm material. I think I got the bass and drums right in this one. Love the jug jug guitar too. 

Song Title:  Wretch (Gimme the Gun) Album Version

Artist: headshifters feat. A & J Skene

Songwriters: Shane Thoroughgood/Marina Mattson

Vocals:  A & J Skene

Guitar, Back Up Vocals:  Shane Thoroughgood (http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/amphibius)

Drums, Bass, Guitar, Back Up Vocals: Marina Mattson

Producer: Marina Mattson

Genre:  Alt Rock

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'Winter' single by BitterSweet

Earlier this year I co-wrote, produced and released a single on itunes which has been downloaded in the U.S., Japan and Australia.  The song ‘Winter’ under the artist name ‘BitterSweet’ has been played on local Community Radio 94.1kHz.  Also, it was selected for a sampler CD (Track 13 http://songsaliveaustralia.org.au/cd-samplers/) by the Songsalive! organization based in Sydney & Los Angeles. The CD will be distributed to local and overseas music industry professionals and also to national community radio stations courtesy of Songsalive! They chose the single ‘Winter’ from entries from all over the world including the USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

‘Thanks for sending in such a great song.” Dave Harvey, Director, Songsalive! Los Angeles.

“Your song adds value to the CD.” Roxanne Kiely, Director, Songsalive! Sydney. 

Listen to 'Winter'  http://www.myspace.com/bittersweetgirls

Buy 'Winter'  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/winter-single/id427674270 

Song Title:  Winter

Artist: BitterSweet

Songwriters: David Cole/Marina Mattson

Vocals, Guitar:  Ella Cole

Midi Drums, Bass, Cello, Back Up Vocals: Marina Mattson

Producer: Marina Mattson

Genre:  Folk

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Ramblings of a musicknut

 Hi I'm Marina.

A bit about me…

 I am an Australian songwriter/musician/producer educated in the punk tradition and get high on D.I.Y. 

ANYTHING GOES but I work with both unsigned and signed artists who are very talented in their respective areas, regardless of genre. Collaborating artists include Amphibius Drift (electronic/moviescore), BitterSweet (folk), James Scanlon (pop,electronic), David Cole (folk), David Christopher (folk), Skenie from The Poor (rock) and headshifters (alt rock/power pop).

I’m also into photography and video.  My live music videos have been featured in NME Online Magazine (http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/2TpDYVEjOU4), artist websites and compilations (http://www.musiciscrap.com/davemccormack/dvd/dmcdvd.html).  My youtube channel has over 27,000 hits. (http://www.youtube.com/user/popupsprinklers)

While I build up my catalogue of recordings, I'm keeping these goals in mind...

GOAL#1:  Meet and work with other songwriters and/or producers. 

GOAL #2:  Write a #1 song (at least one!)

GOAL #3:  Find avenues or outlets for my music and the artists I work with.

If you would like to know more or are interested in working with me, please drop me a line at bittersweetgirls@hotmail.com.

Basically this blog is going to be a record of what I am up to ...... highlights, lowlifes and everything in between.   WELCOME.