Silverchair are teasing their fans with news that a new album is on the way … but not any time soon.

The Aussie three-piece recently spent three weeks in a remote New South Wales studio working on the follow-up to 2007’s monster record, Young Modern.

“They put down a bunch of ideas & Daniel has since gone away to write and develop the songs further,” reads a statement on the band’s website.

There are no release plans yet for the album, which is in the early stages of construction. The band know that’s a little disheartening for fans, so they’ve added a video to their website which offers some insight into their recent recording sessions.

Image source: Zuma Press

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Things look to be heating up between Silverchair’s Daniel Johns and his model girlfriend Louise Van Der Vorst. The sexy twosome has reportedly told friends they’re planning to New York by the end of the year.

As much as the Aussie music industry would hate to lose Daniel, I suppose it all makes sense. Silverchair are still huge in the States, and Louise is starting to build a name for herself on the international modeling scene.

The only question that remains is whether this hot new romance is moving a little too fast! After all, shifting overseas together is a massive deal! I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see on this one.

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Last night Daniel Johns became the first person in history to win three APRA Awards in one year.

The Silverchair frontman was named Songwriter of the Year for the number one hit “Straight Lines,” which also won Song of the Year and Most Played Australian Work gongs.

The other awards showed the diversity of Australia’s musical landscape. Melbourne’s Sally Seltmann won the Breakthrough Songwriter title for “1, 2, 3, 4,” the monster song made famous by Feist.

The Rogue Traders took home the Dance Work of the Year award for “In Love Again” while John Butler bagged the Blues and Roots gong for “Good Excuse.” Troy Casser-Daley’s song “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” proved to be somewhat prophetic, as it helped the singer bag the Country Work of the Year title. Jade McCrae proved she’s one of Australia’s brightest stars, taking home the Urban Work of the Year award for “In the Basement.”

Manager extraordinaire Roger Davies was awarded the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

The elite of the Australian music industry gathered in Sydney last night for the ARIA Number One Chart Awards. The ceremony recognised the achievements of Aussie chart toppers.

Twelve local artists were honoured for their number one albums and singles. Delta Goodrem was lauded as the first Aussie to earn 12 number ones when she claimed two gongs for the single “In This Life” and album Delta.

Delta told The Daily Telegraph that while she will spend a lot of time there this year, she won’t relocate to the United States.

“I intend to spend a lot of time there but Australia is still home,” she said.

Also earning dual awards on the night were Kylie Minogue (for “2 Hearts” and X), Damien Leith (The Winner’s Journey and Where We Land) and Silverchair (”Straight Lines” and Young Modern).

The Veronicas were also thrilled to achieve their first award for the massive dance single “Hook Me Up.”

“I think we’ve been number two and never quite got up to that number one spot. [We were like] whatever, our first album was in the top 10 for a year, that’s better than a lot of people. We don’t care about being number one,” the Brisbane twins said.

“And then when they called us and said we’d gone to number one we were like ‘Yeah!’ and we were really excited. We were like ‘Oh we do care about winning. We’re winners now.’”

The John Butler Trio, Powderfinger, and Evermore also took home awards on the night.

The ARIA Number One Chart Awards differ from the standard ARIA awards as winners are decided solely based on their retail sales.

Here’s some awesome news for Silverchair fans. The band are offering their dedicated followers autographed cells from the very cool “Reflections of a Sound” video.

Each cell comes framed, autographed by all three band members, hand numbered, and with a letter of authenticity so you know it’s legit.

As part of Silverchair’s progressive sale, you can buy one this week for just $110, a saving of $90 on the original price. But these cells were strictly limited to a run of 200, and there aren’t many left so you’ll have to be quick to score yours!

Image source: Chairpage store

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The ARIA judges love them, the record-buying public loves them, and now it’s official: the DJS of Australia also love Silverchair.

The Chair’s monster comeback single “Straight Lines” was the most played song on Aussie commercial radio last year. It beat out “How to Save a Life” by The Fray and Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” to claim the title.

But it wasn’t all good news for Aussie artist. Thirsty Merc were the only other Aussies to crack the top 10. Their power ballad “20 Good Reasons” was at a respectable number four. But the next most popular song was Missy Higgins’ “Steer” sitting all the way down at number 21.

Only a quarter of the top 100 in 2007 were Aussies, compared to 34% in 2006. And four of those songs were actually released in 2006.

I’ve got to admit, these results really surprised me. Everyone said 2007 was a cracker year for Aussie artists, so why are we hearing less homegrown hits on radio? I only hope the local radio industry does more to support our artists in 2008.

Next year’s Big Day Out lineup was already bursting at the seams, but with the most recent announcement it’s bigger than ever.

Silverchair had a massive year in 2007, taking home five ARIAs and receiving worldwide acclaim for their fifth album Young Modern. They’re set to start 2008 with a bang appearing at Big Day Out gigs around Australia and New Zealand.

They’ll join other local sensations including Augie March, Regurgitator, Josh Pyke, Gyroscope, and Operator Please.

There’s also more international acts, with American rockers Spoon, DJ Carl Cox, Brit darling Kate Nash, and electronic outfit Unkle joining the bill.

They’ll play alongside Rage Against the Machine, Bjork, Hilltop Hoods, Billy Bragg, and more at these massive events.

The Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne shows have already sold out, and with these recent additions the Adelaide, Auckland, and Perth shows won’t be too far behind.

Image source: Schair_junkie @ Flickr 

If you missed Silverchair and Powderfinger’s massive Across the Great Divide Tour, or if you just want to relieve the magic all over again, then you’re in luck.

A special three-disc tour DVD is on sale soon. The first two discs will feature each band’s performances, and the third will include bonus interview footage and a 90-minute tour documentary.

The DVD was filed from the Melbourne shows on September 18 and 19, so if you were there make sure you look out for yourself in the crowd.

You can preorder the DVD now from the Across the Great Divide Shop ahead of its December 1 release.

Image source: Across the Great Divide shop

Silverchair are giving fans the chance to own their ARIA award-winning album Young Modern on vinyl. With only four hundred available, they’re a must for collectors.

As you can expect with such a small pressing, these will sell out. To get your hands on one, head to Silverchair’s online store.

They’ll cost $45 for Aussies and $50 for fans overseas, including all shipping and handling costs. What’s more, all orders go into the draw to win a signed copy. Now that would make it really special!

Image source: Silverchair website

Silverchair became the most celebrated artist in ARIA history last night taking home five trophies, including their first album of the year title for Young Modern.

The album was also named best rock album. The record’s first single, “Straight Lines” was awarded trophies for single of the year and highest-selling single of the year, while the lads from Newcastle were fittingly named best band. This takes their total ARIA haul to a whopping 19 gongs.

While Silverchair stole the show with their clean sweep, the rest of the awards were fairly evenly distributed. Missy Higgins was the obvious choice for best female artist, while Gotye upset more fancied competition to take home the best male artist award.

Sneaky Sound System were nominated for more awards than anyone else, but as it turned out they only left with two gongs. They were named best breakthrough artist, while their self-titled debut was named best dance album.

John Butler Trio’s fantastic Grand National was named best blues and roots album and best independent release. John took the opportunity to say how proud he is to be part of the socially and environmentally conscious Australian music community.

Operator Please are tipped to be the next big thing all over the world, so it was little surprise to see them take home the breakthrough single award for “A Song About Ping Pong.” They had just about everyone in the audience on their feet when they gave an energetic performance of the song later in the night.

Keith Urban took home the best country album for Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing, but he was almost upstaged by wife Nicole Kidman. While all eyes were on the Hollywood actress for much of the night, Keith took the spotlight with a killer duet with John Butler. The pair played a fantastic rendition of “Funky Tonight,” which I couldn’t resist including here in case you missed it!

Nick Cave may have been the only person formally inducted into the Hall of Fame last night, but he used his acceptance speech to unofficially induct his former Bad Seeds and Birthday Party bandmates. As his presentation was close to the end of the night, it’s unknown whether Nick managed to get that kebab after all.

Look under the cut for a complete list of winners.

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