BLAIRE 22 by Blaire Magazine

FEBRUARY 2014

EMILY EATON EDITOR SARAH LONG CREATIVE DIRECTOR MONICA JANKOWSKI MUSIC DIRECTOR EDITORIAL CONTRUBITIONS: NICHOLAS IVANOVIC LIFE DAVE LEE FILM MITCHELL PASCOE SPORT TORY PRICE FASHION TOM BENSLEY LIFE SPENCER HADLOW LIFE YEN LI WONG LIFE BRADLEY COWAN MUSIC ZOE BRADLEY MUSIC FEATURING: ODESZA, FLOWER DRUMS, PARTNERS IN CLIMB, KORO CLOTHING, MULGA, ONE NIGHT STAND FASHION SPONSORED BY OZ APPAREL ENQUIRIES / SUBMISSION / ADVERTISING: SARAH@BLAIREMAGAZINE.COM ABN: 62359130068 WWW.BLAIREMAGAZINE.COM

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CONTENTS

LEGALISE IT ALL

CHARITY / ONE NIGHT STAND

12. ODESZA 17.

MUSIC REVIEWS

18.

FLOWER DRUMS

22.

PHOTOGRAPHY / PARTNERS IN CLIMB

30. ANTI-CITIZEN? 32. BALI 34.

ART / MULGA

41.

FILM REVIEWS

42.

SILK ROAD

44.

FASHION / KÖRO CLOTHING CO

48.

TO ZOO, OR NOT TO ZOO?

50.

CHEEKY CHAPTERS / SEX WITH THE EX

LEGALISE IT ALL There have been words that our current government is planning on legalising ecstasy to kill the black market and to monitor the ingredients going into the pills.

The Australian government currently prohibits the possession, use, manufacture and distribution of illegal narcotics (under prohibition, performing any of the above acts is considered a criminal offence). Many Australians are suggesting the prohibition be lifted, or at least its severity reconsidered. In 2012 a group of experts in a think tank called Australia21 gathered together for a roundtable discussion of possible alternatives to prohibition. The group consists of researchers, educators, scientists, sociologists and educators who argued that that prohibition causes more harm than good. In the past year Australian police confiscated nearly $100 million in criminal assets, up $60 million from the year before that. Australia has one of the highest reports of cannabis and ecstasy usage and – despite increasing the number of sniffer dogs at music festivals or the lengthened jail sentences – we show no sign of slowing down. Overdoses at music festivals and large quantities of shoddily produced “ecstasy” and methamphetamines are poisoning and killing today’s youth. Prohibition is not working, and its continuing failures are costing Australians millions of dollars in taxes 6

as law enforcement increases and the jails fill up. The solution – put forward by Australia21 and spreading its way throughout the public via social media, word of mouth and general good sense – is a little more libertarian than outright prohibition. In fact, the government is in talks to legalise everything. Even on a global scale, prohibition has always been unpopular and faulty, but enforced under the assumption that there’s no better solution. In July of last year Anne-Marie Cockburn, a single mother from the UK, spoke out against prohibition after her 15 yearold daughter Martha suffered a fatal heart-attack. She’d taken half a gram of ecstasy she bought from a dealer and collapsed in Oxford Park an hour after ingesting. She was pronounced dead an hour later at the hospital. Despite the tragedy, Ms Cockburn does not support prohibition. She believes that if her daughter had been able to purchase ecstasy under the government’s regulation, this might not have happened. Colombia has a history wracked by a drug war spanning several decades. Untold amounts of bloodshed have drenched its cities for years due to the government’s efforts to curb the multi-billion dollar drug trade

and put the cartels behind bars. It’s only now that the Colombian government is trying to resolve the issue using a method more in line with decriminalisation. The prohibition of alcohol in 20th Century America only resulted in a huge increase in organised crime and barely put a stop to the alcohol flow. Gangland warfare spread throughout the cities and governors and politicians became corrupted. History seems to keep telling us that prohibition doesn’t work. Why don’t we want to listen? The reason is, sadly, due to a political popularity contest. For politicians, prohibition sounds good in a campaign speech (‘I will make it my mission to free our country from the illegal drug trade!’ etc.) because if it actually worked it would be perfect. It’s similar to teaching abstinence to high schoolers to stop the spread of diseases. It is, in theory, fool-proof (no sex = no sexually transmitted diseases) but in reality people want to fuck, and they also want to take drugs. The best plausible solution, hidden in plain sight, is to focus on harm reduction. Portugal was an inspiration for Australia21’s roundtable. In 2001, it became the country with the world’s

most liberal drug laws. All criminal penalties for possession have been abolished, jail time was replaced with therapy sessions intending to show concern for the drug-user’s health, rather than a punishment for their wrongdoings. As a result, illegal drug use in Portuguese teens has fallen by 4% and reported HIV infections dropped a massive 17% between 1999 and 2003. Portugal’s sensible move prompted the rest of the world into a better-late-thannever discussion, the echoes of which are just now making it to Australian shores. Here’s the situation in Australia regarding the adoption of harm minimisation as the mainstream drug policy: PM Tony Abbott admitted that the ‘war on drugs,’ was ‘not a war we will ever finally win’; former Labor Senator Bob Carr and former prosecutor of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery have both spoke out against prohibition and Cowdery cites Portugal’s decriminalisation as an example worth following; as of yet, Australia only has one medically-supervised injecting centre (in Sydney) and there are no concrete plans to build another one; the Victorian police chief has acknowledged that, despite the record number of drug arrests in 2013, illicit drugs are still readily available to young people. There’s a lot of “acknowledging” going on and everybody seems to be “in talks” about making changes, but any significant move towards regulation and harm minimisation is still a long way off. Perhaps we’ll have to wait for an Australian Prime Minister who follows through on what he/she promises and who can actually address the needs of Australia’s youth. It doesn’t look good, does it? Tom Bensley

CHARITY / SARAH LONG

One Night Stand Sleepwear was founded by Jamie Green, and the brand is making a difference as a social fashion label supporting young people sleeping rough. As well as being awarded scholarships with The School For Social Entrepreneurs and the Foundation for Young Australians, Jamie was selected as one of 18 most influential young change-makers in Australia, and was the centre of his own publicity stunt/brand launch that saw him stand in a box for 24-hours straight in an iconic Melbourne laneway. The Make A Stand campaign raised over $27,000 in sleepwear pre-sales for One Night’s Stand’s first full product range. WHERE ARE YOU IN THE WORLD OF JAMIE RIGHT NOW? No complaints at all, life is good! I’ve got lots of new adventures to look forward to this year – I count myself lucky a lot of the time. WHERE DID THE IDEA ONE NIGHT STAND STEM FROM? I ended up in a bit of a pickle with one of my business ventures a couple of years back now. After that, I realised how easy it can be to lose your way sometimes. When I was ready to start again, I picked up Richard Branson’s Screw Business As Usual, and everything kind of made sense. I wanted to give back to those who don’t have things as easy as we do, but I also wanted to do it in a way that incorporated my true passion: entrepreneurship. So, ONS kind of grew from there. YOU’RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OZHARVEST, CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE? ONS has actually recently partnered with OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue charity. They collect quality excess food from restaurants, cafes etc. around Australia and redistribute it to people in need. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO HELP THESE YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEED? Every purchase made with One Night Stand Sleepwear goes to supporting OzHarvest. This giving is a part of our constitution, so it’s as important as any other mandatory process of running our business. Our first round of giving with OzHarvest saw 2000 meals gifted – we’re so very proud of that! It’s a dream come true. HOW BAD IS THE CURRENT SITUATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITHOUT FOOD OR SHELTER AT THE MOMENT? It is estimated that over 100,000 Australians are sleeping rough. Of that unbearable number, 42 percent are said to be under 25 years-old. There are so many amazing services out there that are working tirelessly to make sure less and less young people go without, and we will always do our very best to be a part of the solution.

BESIDES BUYING YOUR RANGE, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP BETTER THE CURRENT ISSUE? Educate yourself. There are social businesses popping up every single day. Everywhere. Find them, and support them. I look forward to the day when all business gives back. IF YOU COULD SPEND THE NIGHT IN BED WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE? Thankfully, I spend every night in bed with her: my fiancé, Lisa! WHAT IS YOUR COMFORT ZONE? Being surrounded by my friends and family, adventuring and dreaming up new ways to make change. BREAKFAST IN BED? OR MAKE-OUT SESSION IN BED? Breakfast with Lisa then a cheeky make-out sesh! WHAT WAS THE LAST DREAM YOU HAD? Hmm… I met a Fijian king yesterday, but I was awake for that dream! Ha ANY LAST WORDS FOR US? Be kind to your mother. @Mr_jamiegreen 382 Little Collins ST, Melbourne VIC AUS 0479 008 707 jamie@onenightstandau.com @onenightstandsleepwear facebook.com/onenightstandsleepwear www.onenightstandsleepwear.com @ozharvest www.ozharvest.org

ODEZSA

‘THERE IS NOTH PLAYING YOUR MU PEOPLE RESPOND IN 12

HING BETTER THAN USIC AND HAVING N A REALLY GOOD WAY.’

In the short time that Odesza has been around, they have produced a massive number of really great tracks. Starting in 2012, the guys joined together after finishing university, and released their debut album Summer’s Gone in September 2012 before following that up with My Friends Never Die in 2013. Almost exactly two years later, they released the latest album In Return. Harrison and Clayton chat to us about their favourite things when it comes to music, who they would replace each other with and why pants (the underdog of the clothing world) are the most important thing. YOU’VE TOLD THE STORY OF HOW YOU CAME ABOUT THE NAME A MILLION AND ONE TIMES. MY QUESTION THOUGH, IS THIS: DID YOU DABBLE WITH ANY OTHER NAMES FOR THE DUO? DO YOU HAVE ANY STORIES OF SOME REALLY CRINGEY ONES? Harrison: Every other name we thought of was really stupid. We would look up exotic names and things like that because we wanted to kind of keep it mysterious. We would look up like, names of gems and old, illogical things. Kind of corny. THE NAME ODESSA IS ALSO A GREEK WORD FOR ‘LONG JOURNEY’. WHAT IS THE LONGEST JOURNEY, LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY, THAT YOU HAVE EVER BEEN ON? Clayton: I did not know that. Cool. That’s a good story for how we came up with the name right there. [laughs] The longest journey was probably… we just did a tour in Europe. It was pretty logistically hard and it was pretty tough on everyone. We had three or four bands, all doing a show a night and there was just a lot of acts. It would be long days of driving and then staying up and playing. So that was probably the longest and hardest journey that we’ve done, I think. WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE GIG/FESTIVAL/SHOW THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO DATE AND WHY? Harrison: I always think of one in particular where we were first starting out and at the first festival we ever played. It was a festival called Sasquatch Festival at a place called The Gorge which is a really beautiful place. You are by a river and you’re overlooking this cliff and it’s really an amazing view. That being our first festival that we got to play, made me fall in love with the idea that we could and did call this “work”. That is something I always think back on. I think about being able to do this for a living and cherish it. LIVE SHOWS OR RECORDING SESSIONS – WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE OUT OF THE TWO? Clayton: Live shows are definitely fun but I think we both really enjoy being in the studio writing. I think that it is our bread and butter and it’s where we thrive the most. It’s a tough decision between the two. There is nothing better than playing your music and having people respond in a really good way. I enjoy being in the studio writing and kind of being in that creative headspace the most. YOU’VE HAD MASSIVE SUCCESS WITH IN RETURN WHICH IS THE LATEST RELEASE. WHICH TRACK IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY? Harrison: Personally, my favourite, I think is Clay’s as well but maybe not. My favourite track on the album is ‘It’s Only’ Ft. Zyra. I think it encapsulates a lot of different pieces of sound that we enjoy and I feel like it’s a very mature progression from where we started. I really enjoy the song in general and it’s probably the one I’m most proud of. Clayton: Yeah I would have to agree with Harrison on that one. I think that the hook and the melody and everything just came together really, really nicely. But I also really like ‘Memories That You Call’ Ft. Monsoonsiren. I think it is definitely a neat track with an interesting structure. It kind of just is very weird 13

PANTS! THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO WALK AROUND WITH. WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT PANTS?

overall. THE PROCESS OF CREATING AN ALBUM IS OBVIOUSLY AN IMPORTANT ONE IN WHAT YOU DO. WHO GETS THE LAST WORD WHEN YOU CAN’T AGREE ON SOMETHING? Clayton: Usually its kind of whoever is more passionate about it at the time. Most of the time, one of us cares about it a little more or be a little more into it. But with us, mostly it doesn’t come to that. We’re on the same page most of the time. By the end, one of us has won the other person over so it usually ends well. YOU GUYS DO USE THE HELP OF OTHER ARTISTS FOR THE VOCALS FOR SOME OF YOUR SONGS. HOW DO YOU DECIDE IF A SONG NEEDS VOCALS OR NOT? Harrison: That usually depends on a couple of things. The first thing is whether the song feels like it has any kind of empty space in it. Will it thrive from that? Or does the song feel like it has an atmosphere that maybe would be negatively affected by lyrics? I think that lyrics can sometimes hide the intention of a song or the feeling no matter how it has been sung. Those are definitely the two major things we think about when we try to figure out if a song needs vocals or not. YOU’RE IN AUSTRALIA AT THE MOMENT AND YOU’RE PERFORMING AT THE SUGAR MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THAT? Both: VERY! Harrison: We’re really looking forward to it. Should be a good time. Last time we were here we did the Circo Festival in Perth and we just did the Sex on the Beach Festival, in Perth as well. So we’ve only done Perth but we’re excited to see what its like in a different location. WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING/SEEING WHILST ON YOUR TRIP? Clayton: We are going to be hanging out by the beach and writing music for a couple of days after the tour is done. So we will have three or four days to relax, chill out and work on some new music. YOU GUYS DO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SUMMER SOUND. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WAY TO SPEND A HOT SUMMER DAY? Harrison: Usually just hanging out by the water with a beer and just relaxing as much as possible. I do not like to do too much on a hot day. So I’ll sit back, maybe with like an acoustic guitar, play some music and just hang out. Clayton: Music. Harrison: Music. Both: Music [laughs]. IF YOU COULD REPLACE THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR DUO WITH ANY OTHER MUSICAL ACT OF ANY GENRE, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? Harrison: Hey! Isn’t that like a mean question to ask? [laughs] Clayton: If you could replace me, who would it be? Better be someone good. Harrison: Uhhhh, jeez… I’d go with Jonsi from Sigur Ros. Clayton: That’s a good one! I would say Michael Jackson. Both: [laugh]. Clayton: Bring him back just for the band. VERY COOL CHOICES THERE GUYS. THERE WOULD BE SOME INTERESTING ODESZA TRACKS HAPPENING WITH THOSE MIXES. NOW

IN AUSTRALIA WE HAVE THIS THING CALLED THE HOTTEST 100. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF IT? Both: Yeah we’ve heard of it. THE 2014 LIST HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED HERE WHICH IS SUPER EXCITING. IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONE SONG AS YOUR NUMBER ONE, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? Clayton: I would have to support our boy and say Hayden James, ‘Something About You’. Harrison: If I can’t choose Hayden, I would pick Glass Animals – ‘Hazey’. What do you never leave the house without and why? Harrison: I don’t know… That’s hard. Clayton: Pants Harrison: I leave my house without pants all the time so do not write that down. Uh, probably my phone. Just because I feel like we’re always in transit and always the go. So we need to check in people all the time. We need to know what’s going on with our schedule entails because it’s always changing. We need to know where we’re heading and what’s the next step. Clayton: Pants! They are essential to walk around with. Why would you leave the house without pants? Pants are like the underdog of clothing. Both: [laughs] Harrison: Can I change my answer? Can I change my answer to pants? YES YOU CAN. THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST LOGICAL ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION EVER! ALRIGHT, JUST A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS TO GO. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM ODESZA IN 2015? Harrison: We have a lot of new music we want to work on. We’re working on more remixes and we’re re-doing our live show. So lots of stuff is coming in 2015. THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE ODESZA? Clayton: Pants. Harrison: Wearing Pants. Both: [laughs] Clayton: That’s two words. Umm… Harrison: I don’t know. Experimental. Clayton: Yeah. Harrison: Melodic. Clayton: Nice! That’s two. Harrison: Experimental, Melodic and Diverse. Clayton: Yes! Monica Jankowski

MUSIC REVIEWS / SARAH LONG

RÖYKSOPP / THE INEVITABLE END Röyksopp – you cancelled your tour at the end of last year and then produced a new album that has tantalized our taste buds with wanting more. Stop being absolute teases in standing up our first date and get your arses over here. We want to see you play! We have heard theatrical fun things about your performance on stage, so we want to see a big bang. Anyhow, thank you for producing some harmonic electronic tunes in your latest The Inevitable End. We hear that it’s not only your fifth album produced, but also your last. The album name is a very descriptive way of explaining the sound that the duo has produced. Listening to the album, it glorifies the meaning of euphoric, however remains grounded with the housemusic sounds. There are a few remixes and a few old songs on this album! My favourite song would have to be ‘Skulls’.

MARK RONSON / UPTOWN SPECIAL It’s an uptown special alright! If you’re yet to get your little hands around this album, please do! But make sure that you do it with an open mind. Mark Ronson isn’t your average producer following the music trends. Whenever he produces something, it’s so different to anything that you’re currently listening to that you either need to embrace him, or just don’t bother following his musical talent at all! This album takes us back to the funky era that makes you want to squirm around in your car seat, or get up and dance around the room. This album was inspired by Mark’s childhood growing up in New York in the 90’s, surrounded by funk, soul and RnB. He’s thrown the likes of Bruno Mars (I know, what the fuck? But he sounds spot on.) to Miike Snow in amongst the vocals. My favourite – ‘Uptown Funk’ ft. Bruno Mars.

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD / I’M IN YOUR MIND FUZZ These guys are fun. They’re a seven-piece band straight out of Melbourne and have just produced their fifth album. They allowed seven months to produce this amazing product and spent most their time doing it from New York, all the way through to Melbourne. These guys don’t give up. Their most current, I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, has the most interesting psychedelic sounds that take you on a journey in a colourful combi van with rainbows and unicorns. The exciting part about their sound is that they don’t take it as far as some of Tame Impala’s stuff, which feels as if you’re on some huge acid trip, frolicking around with fairies and garden gnomes. They actually incorporate tropical, light, fun drum beats, flutes, harmonicas and other instrumental waves of what I would call a ‘fun cup’. My favourite song is ‘Hot Water’ it just makes you want to get up and kick holes into the ozone layer.

FLIGHT FACILITIES / DOWN TO EARTH There’s nothing downto-earth about this little number. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, in fact quite the opposite. It’s such a dreamy, lighthearted, dancey album that leaves you feeling so warm and fuzzy. When I first heard their single ‘Two Bodies’ playing on Triple J for the very first time, it took me to a harmonic and peaceful place. Not so safe while you’re driving. I really love their new album. They mentioned that Cut Copy and Mentronomy were a huge inspiration for their sound in this album, and you can hear their influence in many of the songs. They feature Emma Louise and Owl Eyes – whom were both featured in their record before that. Great work.

Introducing Flower Drums; the dreamy, electronic pop-band hailing from Perth. Triple J unearthed them last year and now it’s your turn. The best way to describe their music – it’s like when you’re at a party, filled with good food, good booze and great company and you take a moment, close your eyes and let all the sounds of the party envelope your senses. Sit back and prepare to be taken to off to dreamland and back with their new song ‘Don’t Wait’ featuring the gorgeous St. South. With a new EP coming out in March, I was very excited to catch up with Leigh to chat about their plans for the new EP. YOUR NEW SINGLE ‘DON’T WAIT’ IS COMING OUT SOON, WHICH YOU COLLABORATED ON WITH ST. SOUTH, HOW DID YOU GUYS DECIDE TO COLLABORATE? It was weird, we’d been working on the song for ages, and we thought that we finished it and we just left it for a while and neglected it for ages and decided that it wouldn’t go on our next release. And then we were listening to it one day and we’d been hearing some of St. South’s stuff and we decided to ask her to collaborate on it. And yeah she just did the vocals and sent it back and it just worked really quickly. It was cool. NICE ONE. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH? Maybe like Kanye or I really love Blood Orange. He’s really cool, that song he wrote for Solange is amazing. I don’t know it would probably change each week! YOUR SOUND HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A MIX OF ELECTRONIC AND DREAM-POP. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? Yeah I guess. I guess it’s just the nature of how we do things, things always end up sounding kind of dreamy, slightly down-tempo, so yeah that’s cool. HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH A SONG, DO YOU ALL GET TOGETHER AND JAM? We used to do that quite a bit, but recently we just do it in my bedroom, there’s a studio in there and it’s pretty big so we can fit lots of stuff in. Then we stay up really late and just spend hours and hours slowly putting the song together. If we’re feeling it we’ll keep going, and if not we’ll just take a break and come back the next day. It’s mainly Aden and I who do the big recording sessions all the time and then Rhian and Sam come in later and add opinion on the song. HOW LONG HAVE YOU ALL KNOWN EACH OTHER? I think it all varies. I’ve known Sam since I was really young, we went skateboarding and stuff together. Aden I met in Melbourne when I was living over there, and I sort of knew Rhian as she’s a presenter on RCR which is the radio station over here and I met her at shows and stuff, so yeah, varied times. IF YOU’RE MAKING A SONG, HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE YOU GUYS TO START AND FINISH IT? We did a song called ‘Swim Down’ which we released about a year ago, that took us a couple of days. And then we have songs like ‘Don’t Wait’, from when we first started it to when we released was probably like six months or something. So it totally changes. YOUR EP IS COMING OUT IN MARCH, DO YOU HAVE EVERYTHING READY FOR IT? Yeah there’s like seven tracks on it, we just keep adding them and then we feel bad for taking tracks off, so we just leave them. It’s a pretty long EP but everything is good, everything is finished. 18

FLOWER

R DRUMS 19

AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR RELEASE? We usually have a big release party either at a venue or at my house. We tend to do house shows now because everyone gets into it a lot more and it’s super fun. And then we’ll just be touring, probably Melbourne, Sydney and possibly Brisbane. YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY DONE A TOUR IN AMERICA LAST YEAR, HOW WAS IT? It was amazing we love it so much. We really want to go back there. Basically it just came about because we put some songs online and we kept getting contacted by people in the states who were interested in us coming over and basically decided to go because they were helping us to book shows and that kind of thing, so it was good. HOW DID YOU FIND THE AMERICAN AUDIENCE COMPARED TO THE AUSTRALIAN AUDIENCE? I thought they would be different but they’re pretty much the same from our experience. We had a really positive thing going with all our audiences, they were really into it. It was great! I think the Australian thing helps. As soon as they find out you’re Australian they seem to be slightly more interested, and yeah it was good. WHERE WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN AMERICA WHEN YOU WERE TOURING? Probably LA. We had a really good show in LA in a really cool venue and we were playing with an Icelandic band who had moved over there. That was just really cool, we ate heaps of Korean food and it was just really good. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT TOURING? I think it’s was all of us hanging out. Aden and I don’t work doing full time jobs, we mainly just do music jobs, but the other two do, so just hanging out with them a bit more. We all get along so well so it’s just fun, it’s like going on holidays with your friends, that’s really cool. And it’s great meeting loads of different people too. DID YOU FIND OUT EACH OTHER’S BAD HABITS ON TOUR? [laughs] It’s kind of inevitable really. It’s weird actually, people do change at first, because it can be kind of stressful, but it’s fine. None of us wanted to kill each other by the end, we’re all pretty cool about that stuff. YOUR NEW SONG IS CALLED ‘DON’T WAIT’ IS THERE ANYTHING YOU GUYS HATE WAITING FOR? Waiting to put out songs actually. We’re doing all this stuff independently mainly because the people and labels we’ve talked to about putting it out, it’s always so regimented. They want to wait for the perfect time and we just really love putting out music as quick as possible. So putting something out then starting on our new stuff. So that’s one thing we don’t like waiting for – putting out songs. YOU GUYS GOT A NOMINATION FOR BEST POP ACT BY WAM, WAS THAT A SURPRISE WHEN THAT CAME THROUGH? Well yeah we were surprised. I mean you never really know who’s going to get nominated for those things, it’s so subjective. So it was really cool, it was good to know that we feel a part of the Perth music scene a bit more. WHAT IS THE PERTH MUSIC SCENE LIKE? Everyone pretty much asks that! I think it’s kind of mysterious I suppose because there’s quite a lot of bands that come from Perth but not many people get to go to Perth. But I mean it’s so healthy, there are so many bands here 20

and I guess because they’re so far away, they put a lot of time into their music and they’re super passionate. There’s not that many venues so you have to make your own venues, like house parties and pop-up venues, but the scene is amazing. YOU WERE UNEARTHED BY TRIPLE J LAST YEAR, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Yeah! Well, I don’t know that’s a weird one. I don’t really know what the term ‘unearthed’ really means. They’ve just been supporting us heaps in the last six months and they played our song a bunch of times and put us on artist spotlight. They’ve just been really nice and helping us with stuff. It’s a common misconception, because we won a spot in Laneway and some bands win a spot on Laneway through Triple J, but I don’t think it was through Triple J [for us] I think it was just through Laneway... but who knows. HOW DID YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WANTED A CAREER IN MUSIC? It’s funny, I just started doing it for fun playing in punk bands and stuff when I was younger, and it was just something to do. I grew up in the Hills, and you have to make up your own thing to entertain you. I didn’t take it too seriously and then I was in a band when I was younger and we toured a little bit and after that I just didn’t want to do it anymore. And then I moved to Melbourne to study design and sort of just started playing music again and got hooked, again. And now we do it every day now. IS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED? Um, I don’t know, I didn’t really expect anything. Maybe when I was younger. You know you spend so much time with the band and you have all that camaraderie you really want it to happen. But now I don’t expect anything really, we just work really hard to write the best songs we can, because we really love it, and then when something happens it’s just really good, it’s exciting. DO YOU HAVE A FAN CLUB IN PERTH OR AUSTRALIA? It’s weird, it’s pretty much internet based. It’s very spread out. I mean there are more people who come to our shows obviously in Perth but I mean everywhere we play there’s a few people who know us just from the internet and soundcloud and stuff like that. So I think it’s more like an internet presence than anything else. Which is cool I guess because you can tour a little bit more. WHAT’S THE BEST THINK YOU LIKE THE CROWD TO DO DURING YOUR GIGS? I think dancing; I mean there’s such a varied thing with our shows. There’s always a lot of people standing there looking a bit dazed, because a lot of music has a slow tempo and it’s a bit dreamy. And you’ll get a whole bunch of people at the front dancing. So I mean dancing is probably the best because it gives me a bit more energy and you connect with people a bit more when they’re putting out a lot of energy so that’s cool. WHAT’S THE ONE THING THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO OR ACHIEVE WITH YOUR MUSIC? Umm… I think we just want to just collaborate with as many people as possible and write really good pop songs. And meet as many people as possible. Zöe Bradley

PARTNERS IN CLIMB The mole-people dwelling under rocks that have yet to encounter Partners in Climb might question the legality and plausibility of what we do – that curiosity is in fact part of the reason we do what we do. Social constructs would lead us to believe that to be successful and happy, one has a narrow path to follow: do well on your SAT, go to a good college, invest in your career, find Mr. or Mrs. Perfect, have kids, settle down, and save up just enough cash to go to Cabo every winter. Follow these steps, then voila, you’re happy. The flaw in this script is that it assumes sameness where there is none. Detailing one route to happiness is like a doctor prescribing one medication for every disease. Why do we allow ourselves to impose such limitations on what our lives can be? It is at this point in the story that the daring knight, Partners in Climb, slays the dragon of conformity. Armed with cameras, costumes, an abundance of creativity, and inspired by legendary free-climbers such as Alex Honnold, Mustang Wanted, and James Kingston, a quirky amalgamation of twenty-something Seattleites have conquered almost all notable landmarks of the Seattle skyline. Here’s to thinking differently, here’s to saying no to ad campaigns designed to cultivate negative self-worth. If someone can have the time of his life dressed as a chicken on top of a high-rise, then why should you allow anyone to question what you’re doing? Embrace your quirks, be who you are, be fearless, be unapologetic, and never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough. Take a defiant mentality, throw in a love for art, couple that with a sense of adventure, add in a silly knack for the dramatic, and what results is Partners in Climb. Instagram: @partners.in.climb

ANTI-CITIZEN? MORE LIKE ANTI-DEMOCRACY! Generations before us spent years fighting to change the laws for their right to vote. So why have young Australian’s attitudes changed? Why don’t we care?

For many people around the world, turning 18 is a big deal. It is a transition from teenager to adulthood. Whereas 17 year-olds are still treated with a significant amount of leeway, those 18 and older are considered graduates of the university of life. In Australia, 18 yearolds can legally purchase alcohol, attend 18+ music festivals and enter casinos. There are definitely many advantages of being an 18 year-old in this country and 18 is a number that many aspire to (especially if you are a 17 year-old just a few months shy of that significant birthday). However, most youths would be hard pressed to think about the responsibilities that come with attaining adulthood. On the flip side, an 18 year-old can also legally be charged by law because he or she is now considered an adult. There is also an added responsibility to turning 18 years of age that many Australians would hardly think about – voting eligibility. It is a known fact that young voters represent approximately 30% of the overall electorate. It is also unfortunately woeful that many young voters do not bother with this responsibility. A 2010 poll conducted by the Australian Election Study found that only 78% of young people (those aged between 18 to 29) would 30

have bothered voting in the elections if voting were not compulsory. This is in contrast with 88% of those above the age of 60 years who said they would have voted regardless of whether it was a legal requirement. While it would be unfair to make sweeping generalisations on an entire age group based on this sample of voters, it wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the older generation do tend to view voting as a privilege, whereas youth voters mostly do it because it is something they have to do rather than for something they believe in. Even as voting is a legal responsibility for adults in Australia, the Electoral Commission reported at least 1.5 million missing voters in mid-2012, with the significant majority from that number coming from the 18 to 24 age-bracket. While not surprising, it is still highly disheartening that many young Australians do not see the importance of casting their vote come election time. Many youth cite lack of interest in politics as the main reason behind their decision not to vote. Still others feel that their one vote would not matter whereas some are simply fed up with the incessant bickering among the political parties. Then there is the matter of those who actually turn up to vote but purposely

hand in a spoilt vote as a sign of protest. Many people have viewed this as apathetic behaviour and young voters have actually been accused as being anti-citizens. The older generation are unable to process the fact that the youth of today do not treasure what history has shown us to be a hard fought battle – that is, the right to vote. Generation Y are constantly labelled as a self-entitled and self-indulgent group of narcissists who are only interested in their own enjoyment and merry making. However, it is not right to say that youth in Australia do not care about the future of the country. Instead, Generation Y are known to focus more on issues and values rather than on policies amidst the political line. There is no right or wrong here – men in the olden days supported political groups because they represented something close to their heart. You could say that back then, democracy was hard won because each and every political group were fighting for the rights of their own members. Nowadays, though, the lines in politics are extremely blurred that there is hardly any differentiation to the manifestos of each party. A Lowy Institute study conducted on 18 to 29 year-olds last year had some

eye opening results. When asked whether democracy in politics was still necessary, 40% of respondents replied that ‘democracy only serves the interests of a few and not the majority’ whereas 32% said ‘democracy is not working because there is no real difference between the policies of the major parties’.

of the law, of course). We live in a world where most of us are privileged to be able to choose the best way we can live our life. However, today’s young are also faced with rising unemployment, spiralling inflation rates and sky-rocketing property prices. Perhaps this is the price of freedom and democracy.

Perhaps therein lies the real reason behind poor youth voting turnout. The results are indeed very telling on the general viewpoint of a growing number of youth. While democracy used to be equated with a sense of freedom to choose, the same word seems to generate a false sense of hope among the young. It is a common perception that we are only as democratic as our political leaders want us to be. Yes, we have more freedom to do whatever we want to (within reason and within the confines

Yen Li Wong

BALI Bali is one of the number one destinations for Australian tourists, but our tourist dollar has caused a massive divide between rich and poor.

The majority of Bali is getting the rough end of the stick from their very own government. The rich are getting richer, whilst the overwhelming number of poor are struggling through poverty. Tourism is by far the country’s greatest draw-card, and a lot of attention is spent ensuring that the demands of these cashedup travelers are met. Yet the dollars spent in and around these popular tourist spots are not making their way out of the cash registers they are dropped into. If any country was as dependent as Bali is on this money, and the same thing was happening, there would be uproar. Imagine if Australia used your taxpayer money to entice people to come over and spend their hard earned in our country. Then when the profits were taken, they weren’t evenly distributed, like the debt was at the beginning. People can’t pick and choose which part of the financial process they are most going to be a part of. Just because the east of Bali is not immediately involved in the generating of income, does not make them any less deserving of the riches being spent not a few hours drive away. Some towns in Bali have been declared the most poverty stricken in the world. You didn’t receive a brochure to drive through this part 32

because there is nothing of note to observe. Unless your cab driver is from there, he may not even be sure where some of these places are on his island home. These places don’t have running water, they don’t have sealed roads, and they are certainly struggling for nourishment and education. In Australia we demand things like this. We see them as our basic human rights to demand such things. Half of our population might not know where to begin without them. But our governments made them a priority, and we are a wealthier race for their foresight. In the coming years it is estimated that the richest 1% of Bali will have more money than the other 99% combined. This sort of class division is not fair and certainly not sustainable. Revolutions have started over less, and whilst they are a relaxed and laidback people, it will only take so many people in their ears before the right questions start being asked. ‘Why are they entitled to more than me?’ ‘Where is my share of this income?’ ‘Why have I been forgotten?’ Whilst the comparison was made between Australia and Bali earlier, it was a stretch and the differences far

outweigh the similarities. As humans of the 21st Century, it is not outside the realms of imagination that everyone should be entitled to a very similar quality of life. The day-to-day grind needs to be lessened on some, with medicine and clean water as very clear priorities. Once the basic health needs are met, these people need education and the ability to flourish. The postcode that you are born in should not dictate which one you are buried in. Everyone has the right to aim as high as they want in this lifetime, and those that are good enough should be able to make it. Too many people are being forced to become climatised to poverty, with no pathway out. The government are saying and promising the right things, but so do a lot of people in the world. The time to rejoice will come when these people can turn on a tap to drink from, to step over a gutter to enter their houses, and not lying in bed worrying about where or when their next meal is coming from. Whilst the world isn’t making a great noise about the issues Bali is facing, it is good that there is finally some global recognition, like the nod of the head. Bali should be a country many Australians hold very dear, with their proximity and the frequency of

our holidays there. Yet poverty and hunger is still associated with images of people struggling in the African wilderness. Our preconceived notions of poverty and certain places, are in desperate need of an overhaul. Many of us can acknowledge the smile of a stall owner, as he attempts to make us pay far too much for our next Bintang singlet. But behind this faĂ§ade that is put in front of us, is a country that is genuinely struggling to progress, let alone achieving equality and basic human rights. The dollars that we pump into their economy must start traveling further than the shopkeeperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front pocket. Mitchell Pascoe

MULGA

Hello, my name is Mulga, actually it’s officially Joel Moore but when I draw pictures I say Mulga did them, I’m pretty sneaky like that. There is this actor in Hollywood with the same name as me, even the middle name, Joel David Moore, you may have seen him in Avatar and Dodgeball. He is my double but we don’t look the same we only share the same name, it’s like that Jake Gyllenhal movie called Enemy but not really the same. That movie got really weird. I paint pictures where tropical bearded men run rampant, lions smoke tobacco pipes, tigers wear diamond sunglasses and gorillas rule the world like some kind of funky Planet of the Apes. If someone was to describe my art they might say it pulsates with an untrammelled use of colour and is made up of textured shapes and intricate line work that transcendently floats with emotion. Someone really described it like that, no joke! Sounds pretty good to me. The truth is I just want to paint rad pictures that I love and that other people love and that make people smile like a crocodile. I hand-draw my art using Posca paint markers and recently have been loving painting with flouro paint. I enjoy writing a weird poem for every one of my creations because who doesn’t like a weird poem plus it’s a neato way to make people smile. I currently have a pop up shop in Westfield Miranda selling goodies with my art on them. In the near future I have my sights set on writing a kids book and drawing for a TV show. I will also be busy painting murals on building and in buildings, running workshops, painting live at events and collaborating with awesome people and organisations. The End. http://mulgatheartist.com.au/ http://instagram.com/mulgatheartist https://www.facebook.com/Mulgatheartist

FILM REVIEWS / DAVE LEE

BOYHOOD 4/5 Filmed over twelve years with a minimal script which was made up as they went along and with the same cast of actors who they hoped wouldn’t die midproduction, writer / director Richard Linklater has put together one of the most ambitious films of all time. Not a great deal happens in this movie over its 165-minute duration, storywise (the film loses a point because its lack thereof of real plot), but the film is engaging and gripping the whole way through. We watch the main character, Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) grow from boy to man in front of our eyes – literally. And that’s the main idea of the story – an experiment of chronicling the teenage life of not only a character, but his actor. With 116 awards under its belt already (including the Best Film: Drama Golden Globe and the AFI Movie of the Year) this film is sure Oscar bait at the upcoming Academy Awards with six nominations including Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director. This is one serious contender for the top prizes.

BIRDMAN (OR, THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) 5/5 Holy shit, Batman… I mean, Birdman. This film is good. And I mean, this film is REALLY good. 1989’s Batman himself, Michael Keaton plays a washed-up actor who once upon a time played the world’s most iconic superhero, Birdman, in a series of Blockbuster films (you got the obvious Batman reference there, right?) struggling to keep his life together as he struggles with his past and his ego during a life-crisis. This film is filled with a slew of incredible performances from it’s ensemble cast. Keaton, has for the first time in his career been nominated of the Best Actor Academy Award and, in another first, won a Golden Globe for his incredible performance and both Edward Norton and Emma Stone have found themselves both earn Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for their roles. This is yet another ground-breaking film which has been style as if the entire film was shot in one long take (each scene was filmed in gruelling, long 5-10 minute takes with a single camera).

WHIPLASH 4/5 Okay, so you’ve noticed, incredibly high film scores for every film in this issue that’s because it’s Awards Season and all the best films of the year open for general release at this time. Whiplash is another spectacular film that has found itself a release and found itself some spectacular Oscar-Buzz. Miles Teller plays Andrew, a young drummer who enrols in a cut-throat music school where he is taught by the totally-fuckinginsane Fletcher (played with an incredible force by J.K. Simmons) who will stop at nothing – including verbal and physical abuse – to help him realise his full potential. J.K. has been acting for years and years and years, most remembered for his portrayal of JJ Jameson on Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy - and I’ve never known he had these kinds of acting chops. With five Oscar nominations, this is another contender for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and a nomination for J.K who, also, picked himself up a Golden Globe earlier in the year.

AMERICAN SNIPER 4/5 Honestly don’t think I’ve ever handed out so many stellar reviews at once before, but one can’t look past Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, American Sniper, based on the story of Chris Kyle, ‘The Most Lethal Sniper In U.S History’. Somewhat glorifying Kyle’s four tours of duty and chronicling his post-war troubles, American Sniper has come under scrutiny, accused of being a ‘propaganda film’ with a pro-war message, akin to the fake movie at the end of Quentin Tarrantino’s Inglorious Bastards. Sure, Clint has a long history of being an outspoken liberal and there’s nothing the Americans love more than lapping up in their own patriotism, but that’s not to say that American Sniper is one incredible story and piece of entertainment. Clint brings his usual gritty style to the film as director and Bradley Cooper delivers just about his career best performance – one for which he my finally win his long-coveted Academy Award after losing out on his noms over the last two years.

THE SILK ROAD: ONLINE DRUG SUPER HIGHWAY Online black marketplace, the Silk Road, has made it easier for you to get drugs and harder for authorities to do anything about it.

The Silk Road used to be the most famous trade route of the ancient world. Beginning around 206 BC, Ancient China used the route to trade their best-kept secret – silk fabric – with the rest of the world in exchange for valuable goods and resources. Lasting hundreds of years, this route established a hot network of trade between civilisations around the world in India, Persia, Europe and Arabia. These nations eventually moved on from trading for silk and started exchanging religions, philosophies, and technologies (including China’s other best kept secret: gunpowder). In effect, the Silk Road was the world’s first ‘global marketplace’. In the twenty-first century however, the Silk Road is something very different. It is now your one-stop shop for illicit drugs, hacking tools, counterfeit money, fake clothing and more guns and explosives than Dan Bilzerian could poke his dick at. First launched in 2011, The Silk Road was an online market place that allowed users to anonymously search all forms of nasty goods and purchase them with an untraceable digital currency known as ‘Bitcoin’. Two years later, the FBI shut down the service only for 42

another version – Silk Road 2.0 – to be launched in November that year. This too, was eventually shut down in November 2014. The Silk Road: Reloaded launched in January this year and it’s really putting a thorn in the sides of the FBI who seem to be fighting a losing battle. New marketplaces keep emerging stronger than before as older ones get shut down. They all exist on the ‘black internet’, which comprises 5% of everything on the web. You can’t access them by normal means and are required to bypass a loophole or a ‘gatekeeper’. Furthermore, users cover their arse by using a program called ‘TOR’ to conceal their identity and location. Now before you start celebrating the idea of getting drugs risk-free, let us speculate why this is a problem. As I said earlier, these marketplaces deal exclusively with ‘cryptocurrency’ such as ‘bitcoin’, which cannot be controlled by banks, cannot be affected by the stock market and cannot be traced back to you in any way. The latest incantation of the Silk Road is an I2P website and requires that you use special software to access it, providing a greater level of secrecy and increased security for its users and those of Silk Road: Reloaded. It’s a major problem because with this increased freedom

and anonymity, what is stopping certain individuals or groups using these kinds of websites to aid their evil purposes or terrorist activity? In these uncharted waters, there is no sort of policing to stop this kind of activity from happening. Worse still, we could see an increased trend in credit card and identity theft as these avenues provide a safe-haven for people to be invisible from government eyes as these marketplaces continue to be on the rise. And they are on the rise as they’re relatively simple to set up (despite being an enormous risk) and can be highly-profitable enterprises. You really don’t need an IT degree. We’re a pretty tech-savvy generation; if we don’t know something, chances are we can learn from the countless sources on the net or have someone in our social circle that knows how to access these kinds of websites or create them. Even the generation ahead of us, Generation-Z, are said to be ‘super computer-literate’. What does that mean? Little Tommy could be buying drugs and guns from Mummy’s laptop and have them arrive before he grows hair on his balls. Hey, it’s not so crazy! So how do we stop this? The major problem is that law enforcers are targeting website operators and neglect to take any action against the

other players, namely the buyers or sellers. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only a temporary problem to the solution, as they move on to one of the many copycat websites that were created after the fall of the first Silk Road. The war on drugs has never really ended, and now it seems it will enter a new age. Realistically, if law enforcement agencies want the upper hand, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to take these websites down within minutes instead of years and months. Silk Road: Reloaded shows that drug markets are far from dead; they are becoming more plentiful, and more diverse by the minute. Nicholas Ivanovoc

FASHION / TORY PRICE

WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH YOURSELF BEFORE KÖRO WAS BORN IN 2014? Matt Harrington: Before Köro I was living in a small country town in NSW called Wagga Wagga. I was working two different jobs; one as a pool lifeguard and the other was delivering pizza. There wasn’t really a lot to do in Wagga, so a lot of the time it was just hanging with your mates and making your own fun. HOW DID YOU TRANSITION INTO DESIGNER/LABEL OWNER? Honestly I think I am still transitioning into that role. I don’t have any degrees or previous knowledge behind me, I’ve had to learn everything for myself and I’m constantly learning new things as I go. But I think the biggest “move” or transition was moving from my hometown to Melbourne, that was when things started getting serious. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT CREATING YOUR OWN LABEL? The fact that I love doing it is a big thing for me… but my favourite thing would easily have to be the feedback and support I get from people, it’s crazy. I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT A DOUBLE DOT ABOVE A LETTER MEANS, FILL US IN PLEASE! Well I’m not 100% sure about other letters, but the ö in Köro translates to ‘ay’ (like ‘day’) in the German language. So technically when pronouncing our label name it should be like ‘Kay-ro’ which not too many people know about! ‘RUN WILD, LIVE FREE, BE SIMPLY UNIQUE’ IS YOUR LABEL’S TAG LINE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? The tag line was one of the very first things I came up with. It simply means live the life you want, do the things you love and want to do and most of all have fun with it. Every single person is unique in their own way, so if they are living their life how they want to, then they are simply being unique. FASHION CAN OFTEN BE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF UNIQUE OR FREE BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT WEARING THE RIGHT THING, HOW DO YOU CREATE SOMETHING THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO BE INDIVIDUAL AND ALSO HAVE THE “COOL” LOOK? With our designs we try to bring a clean, lux feel to street wear with our own edge brought through big branding, monochrome palettes and abnormal cuts and fits. So basically we are worrying more about the garment then the colour/ patterns etc, trying to create our own fits and styles. We are trying to create something that is simple, yet unique to our brand; garments that you can easily wear with any style or outfit and create your own unique look with. IT’S BORING TO BE ALL BUSINESS, HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS INTERESTING? Well I love music so daytime partying (pools, festivals etc), travelling, and I’ve been getting into a bit of DJ’ing lately as well. 44

EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS UNIQUE IN THEIR OWN WAY, SO IF THEY ARE LIVING THEIR LIFE HOW THEY WANT TO, THEN THEY ARE SIMPLY BEING UNIQUE. 45

I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE A VERY KEEN TRAVELLER, WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU GO IF I GAVE YOU A TICKET TO ANYWHERE TOMORROW? Normally I would say America as I have always dreamt of travelling there, but since you said tomorrow legally I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy a good beer there! Haha. So I’m going to say Europe on this one, there is always time for America later on! WOULD YOU RATHER NEVER TRAVEL AGAIN OR ONLY BE ABLE TO WEAR A HESSIAN SACK EVERYWHERE YOU GO (INCLUDING FUNERALS)? If I can get the hessian sack in black or white ill wear it. HOW DOES TRAVEL INFLUENCE WHAT YOU DO AND WHO YOU WORK WITH AT KÖRO? It influences it a lot, I’m always trying to source new inspiration from new places I go and bring them back to Köro and to my designs. As for influencing who we work with I think the initial move from Wagga to Melbourne itself immediately opened up possibilities for us to work with people and I think it was a major factor in helping Köro get to where it is now. THE KÖRO KREW IS THE WHO’S WHO OF MELBOURNE MUSIC. HOW DO YOU PARTNER UP WITH SUCH TALENT? I tried to get in contact with a fair few people after the release of our first range, at the time I was pretty confident in the designs I had and I honestly just thought that these people would be interested in them and in what we were doing. One of the people I contacted was Zac Waters who got back to me quite quickly and actually offered to work with me and work out some sort of deal. From then on he has been a huge help with Köro, he got Who Killed Mickey on board almost straight away and they both have played a huge part in getting the name out there. YOUR DESIGNS HAVE A SUPER CLEAN AESTHETIC AND USE MAINLY BLACK, WHITE AND GREY, ARE YOU AFRAID OF COLOUR? Haha, no I’m not afraid of colour. Black, white and grey just work better for what we want to do. SO I’M READING ABOUT YOU GUYS THROWING RAD PARTIES. 1. CAN I GET AN INVITE? AND 2. WILL YOU DO THE WORM? Of course you can, anytime! I couldn’t do the worm to save my life though.

SPONSORED BY OZ APPAREL OZAPPAREL.COM.AU

WWW.KOROCLOTHINGCO.COM.AU/ 46

TO ZOO, OR NOT TO ZOO? We constantly feed zoos with our money and support to lock up animals in habitats unnatural to their own. Is it wrong?

Zoo: such a little world with such huge meaning. Some people seem to clap their hands together like a happy seal at the mention of the word, whilst others scowl their eyes and shake their fists in disapproval. So what is it about the man-made animal world that has people heavily divided? According to the Australian government, human fascination is what sparked some smart (stupid?) person to establish Australia’s first zoo in 1862, now known as Melbourne Zoo. Yes, the humans just couldn’t help but sticking their noses into another’s business. Naturally, it was the humans who decided erecting several enclosures vaguely resembling the wild and sticking several animals inside them was a brilliant idea. Originally this project was for the study of animal behaviour, but as usual, humans just had to take the idea one step further and started charging admission for the public to come and ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at the bored and probably frightened animals. These days, zoos are still the go to place for standing, poking, gushing and gasping at a large array of local and international animals. Except there have been a few slight changes... some good, and some 48

definitely very, very bad. Here are the facts: * Australian modern zoos provide environmental education and conservation of endangered species. Biology graduate, Alex Edwards, 22, an avid zoo lover is definitely in favour for the public allowed to see, learn and engage with animals of all species. In defense of the negative stigma concerning captivity and animal abuse surrounding zoos, Alex says, ‘People these days are so removed from nature, so visiting a zoo is a great way to educate people and provide them with a greater appreciation and respect towards animals; plus zoos put a lot of money into conservation and research.’ * The old saying, ‘knowledge is power’, definitely relates to zoos and their purpose. Education is a crucial tool, and in this specific situation, educating humans about animals and the ways in which we can all do our piece to ensure they are always cared for and treated with respect is a majorly important aspect and pro of zoos these days. Yvonne Doeven, 24, certainly thinks there are both pros and cons when it comes to the philosophy of a zoo. In terms of education, Yvonne believes, ‘Zoos are a wonderful tool for educating

people; both visitors and scientists. Education encourages appreciation and hopefully conservation.’ * However, it is not always sunny in Zoo-land. More often than not, countless animals are in zoos because it is a huge moneymaking scheme where people will pay to see animals in their “natural” and “wild” habitat. It is no secret that one of the main purposes of the existence of a zoo is that it serves as a form of entertainment to humans. Jared Papworth, 30, sums it up nicely when he states that, ‘All the animals I have seen (in zoos) would not have been there by choice, and in fact, should not be there if humans had not have had anything to do with it.’ Interesting isn’t it, when you ponder about the almost taboo subject of why endangered species are endangered in the first place and need “protecting”. Melisa Aziret, Animal and Veterinary Bioscience student, 22, is strongly against zoos and the ethics behind them. As part of studying animal behaviour Melisa and her class visited the Melbourne Zoo to observe the animals in a situation and classify the behaviours displayed. Melisa revealed, ‘If not all, then most of the animals exhibited stress signs; the tigers paced in their

enclosure and the elephants leaned on the fences and faced away.’ On a philosophy excursion, I witnessed first-hand the depressed and practically broken spirits of the animals locked away in their so-called “natural” man-made homes. I have seen elephants freely walk the earth in Africa’s vast and wild Masaai Mara, and I have reluctantly watched grown elephants cry and bash their heads helplessly at grey walls and metal doors in the confinement of a zoo. For all the conservation, protection, education and joy that zoos offer and provide, it just does not seem fair. As always, I am on the side of those who cannot speak for themselves. I am one for the animal’s rights, and taking them away from their natural home will never sit right with me. I am not alone in this faith. Stef M, 22, a Sea Shepherd activist, believes zoos are also wrong, especially when animals from non-native countries are stuck inside them… polar bears in Queensland anyone? Leigh Radnay,

24, stated a sad, yet true, fact when she said, ‘I don’t agree with the new trend of having live music in zoos. I just think it is unnecessary. We have all left a show with our ears ringing from the loudness of the music. I’m sure it’s no different for animals, especially since a lot of them have more highly developed senses than us.’ I wonder where the rest of the Nation resides on this issue. Choosing a side and standing up for your beliefs on the matter of zoos sure does seem difficult as there are too many arrows pointing to too many pros and cons. I guess it comes down to whether or not you have the ability to see the situation from the eyes of the animals… it definitely puts things into perspective for you. Mia Beverley Francisco

CHEEKY CHAPTERS / SARAH LONG

SEX WITH THE EX Delicious cake? Or natural brewing disaster?

Situations like this are generally a natural disaster brewing and bubbling; ready to explode at any given time. As a code of conduct, it’s generally forbidden – like that delicious cake (when you’re trying to lose weight), glaring at you in the face just waiting for you indulge in it. We know we want to, but once we swallow that initial mouthful, we’re begging for more.

doubt in my mind that I was going to go home with him that night. But I was wrong. The whole, ‘I can’t see him sober’ probably didn’t help. And the part that he was looking better than he ever did in the relationship, also kicked me in the face. But mainly it was his cool, calm and relaxed attitude towards life and everything else that had me thinking he had grown up.

Just one slice, we say, while downing another slither. Before we know it, we finish the entire cake, including the crumbs. Then look back and think, ‘fuck! I have a chocolate baby.’ It tasted good, but that motherfucker is in my belly and now circulating trying to find new spots to create those lovely dimples that we all spend months removing. I guess the ‘removing of dimples’ is a great metaphor for ‘mending a broken heart’ after a break-up, so it really fucking sucks when you eat that whole cake!

All the things that were frustrating me once upon a time had floated away and it was just raw and real. We caught up the weekend of my sister’s engagement party. It had been at least six months going strong of not wanting any sort of affiliation with him. Not because I hated him, but because I was genuinely over the dirty rubbish and bad smells that follow a break up. I was sick of having to justify my actions (even though I was single), and over the angry texts. It was done and I finally felt good about myself again.

I ate the cake. The whole bloody thing – in fact, those crumbs are still in my mouth, crumbing around. I don’t know how it happened (well I do, I had sex), but before it did happen, the truth is – I never thought I would have ever folded. I honestly thought that I was over it and had the strength to see him without a

He and I had been texting leading up to the event, as I knew he had been invited (being a huge part of my sister and her fiancés life). I wanted to clear the air and remove any break-up skeletons that could still be haunting us. But there wasn’t – he offered to not attend the engagement as he didn’t want to make anything

awkward and he genuinely sounded as though life had moved on. So I kicked our past in the butt and decided to take the mature approach in catching up with him before the engagement, to assess the situation before giving the a-okay of him attending. I rocked up to the bar to meet with him and his friends. It was a sociable and easy situation, except for the fact that I had a family dinner prior – which meant tasty beverages flowing. I was feeling confident and pretty bloody good about myself. We didn’t say much to each other, as I spent time updating life in Byron Bay to his mates, but we did leave together – him offering to take me home (in the morning). I left him with firm words that we were not to sleep with each other and he respected it, well at the time he did. We got into bed fully clothed (not sure if that’s even a thing with an ex) and we passed out. I woke a few hours later naked. He had his warm, bare chest up against my back, while he spooned me. As he thrust up against me, his boner slid right between my butt cheeks. His arm came around to my front and he massaged my boob, while kissing down my neck. My nipples hardened. I tried to push him away telling him

that it wasn’t a good idea – but I knew exactly where this was heading. While I was pushing him away from my body, he pinned both my shoulders back onto the bed. ‘Shh, just relax,’ he said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and he slowly began kissing down my stomach. Goosebumps ran up the arch of my back as I ran my hands through his hair. He placed his hands on the inside of my thighs. I could feel the warmth of his breath slowly make it closer to my moist clitoris. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. He entered his fingers into my vagina and before I could take much more, I pulled him up – so he could enter me. He gently slid it inside, and began grinding up into me. Our hot, sweaty bodies pounded against other. He whispered into my ear, ‘I’ve missed this,’ as we came together… If I could say one thing – we always got the sex part right. The connection and chemistry in the bedroom was unreal. I have never felt so fucking awesome after sex. I woke up the next morning knowing that it was just sex. I had my piece of delicious chocolate cake, that’s all I needed. No more cake. No more amazingly sexy penis and body in the bedroom. Win-win for the both of us… I continued eating the cake, which of course kept getting tastier. The sex led to hanging out, hanging out led to holding hands and the holding

hands part led to calling each other ‘babes’ again. The icing on the cake was when we got super high on special treats together and admitted our love for each other. I mean fuck – you love your worst enemy in that state. But there, we said it. It was raw and real, just like us. Everything was incredible. Could we have done the relationship again? Then one day, one very comfortable day that he was back in with the clan and we were finally pretty damn solid I thought everything was going accordingly and then these little fangs re-surfaced. It was like a volcanic eruption of lava dribbling out of his mouth. He had read a few cheeky chapters ago about my night with a famous person (I was single, for goodness sake). It didn’t stop. In fact, it escalated. Fortunately, I was the sober one, so I could control the lava overload. It wasn’t good however. I totally get that it would have sucked reading that shit, but like, fuck – don’t get involved with me again if you want to stab holes in my eyeballs. Fuck. The volcano is still active. It only boils when it’s fuelled by alcohol. So alcohol, fun times, and he and I have been eliminated from our current situation. And if you can’t have that when you’re not in a committed relationship, then stripping it down right to the very hard core, all you’ve got is the sex, right? And maybe a sober friendship, which is driven by bitterness beneath the surface of him

thinking I’m some raging groupie and me, knowing that he isn’t Mr. Angel Dick himself, asking the country town slut for ‘nude pics’. Little does he know that small towns talk the talk – and apples don’t fall far from the tree! It’s all about picking your battles. If you want a shit time – then bring up the past! So, reverting back to, ‘all you’ve got is the sex, right?’ Well, word to my fellow mates who are banging their ex’s: KEEP IT THAT WAY. What is the point in fucking your ex and trying to salvage a sort of respectful friendship, that could almost be a relationship, but isn’t? There is no point. If you both cannot get along in an orderly manner, while satisfying your private parts, then abort. Those private parts will be okay! It will be you that won’t be fine, having to glue together broken love hearts that had already been thrown away in the trash. If you think you’re going to get back together and that’s why you’re still fucking – then talk to each other about it! But for the life of cupid, don’t go bringing up skeletons from the past (especially during that time you were both single), ‘cause no one wants to invite them to the party! Be honest with each other. Tell each other what you want out of this whole ‘sex with the ex’ escapade. And if you’re not on the same wavelength of good times and great hits – then don’t bang that shit. PS. Happy Valentine’s Day.

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