LOCALITY

[THE LATEST ON LOCAL MUSIC] WITH JANNAH FAHIZ. SEND GIGS AND INFO TO: [JANNAH.FAHIZ@GMAIL.COM]

Hello! Jannah here. I’m excited to be writing my first local column since Ruth O’Brien has decided to pursue other exciting things. Ruth has been telling us the ins and outs of what’s happening in Canberra for quite some time now, so I have big shoes to fill. No pressure!

I wish Ruth all the very best. And now, let me present to you some cool things coming up in this fine region of ours.

If you’re looking for a night full of top tier pop-punk music from Canberra and Sydney bands, then look no further. Burntout Bookings presents Bad Lunar, The Polymics, Parrots with Piercings, and 51st Avenue

Happening just over our border in Queanbeyan, multi-award winning musicians Luke O’Shea and Lyn Bowtell will be performing their country hits at the Royal Hotel Queanbeyan as part of their Love and Laughter tour. This was all supposed to happen in 2020, but we all know how things went down (thanks COVID!). So they’re very excited to be on the road again performing.

For those that aren’t sure what to expect, Luke describes himself as “somewhere between Midnight Oil & John Williamson”, while Lyn has “influences reaching from pure country to blues, jazz, and pop”.

Catch this dynamic duo on Thursday, 18 May from 7pm Tickets are $34.70 and are on sale at Oztix.

On Thursday, 25 May, AYA YVES will be doing a hometown show at UC Hub as part of her serotonin & forget me nots EP tour. The show kicks off at 7:30pm and the vibe is dark alt-pop mixed with indie electronica. This brand new EP is a very intimate piece of art diving into grief and other personal themes in AYA YVES’ life. See her perform these tracks live along with some amazing support acts TBA. Tickets are available on Moshtix for $28.38.

What’s the occasion? To play nothing but good tunes for you! These bands each put their own spin on the pop-punk genre and will blow you away. This gig is taking place on Friday, 12 May from 7pm at The Basement. Tickets are $20 and are available from Oztix.

Speaking of our beloved former columnist, Ruth O’Brien is releasing her highly anticipated second EP, Songs For Abby, and is hosting a launch at The Street Theatre. The songs are a comedic, lovefelt, and light-hearted dedication to her cats, Abby and Monti. So if you also have a cat in your family, you’ll love this show. Ruth’s second EP was funded by an artsACT Homefront Grant in 2020, which means that these four acoustic love songs were written and recorded here in Canberra. Opening the night will be another well-loved local talent, Xandrella (aka Ally Cowell). The show will take place on Saturday, 13 May from 7:30pm All ages tickets are $35 (concession/student prices options too) and are available on The Street Theatre’s website.

He will be stopping in Canberra on Friday, 16 June from 7pm at The Basement to perform his brand new songs for you. You can expect to hear that perfect blend of blues, folk, and country. What’s more, the support acts will be some of the finest locals on the scene; Hope Wilkins, The Burley Griffin and Toby Morwitch (smartcasual). Earlybird tickets are available now for $15 (otherwise $25) via the Oztix website.

And that’s that, everyone! It’s been my pleasure to tell you about the hottest gigs coming up around town. I hope you treat yourself to a show or two.

And don’t forget your jacket! Those nights are gettin’ chilly!

No need for the usual intro! The answers are too detailed and good...

Group members:

Resh (lead vocals and drums), Sofia (guitar and back-up vocals), Brian (bass), and Sylvia (keys).

Artist name and origins:

Resh: Originally, it was just Sof and I jamming - we used to play together in a band that stopped performing during COVID. Sofia was keen to get back into performing and I couldn’t stop writing new songs… but we needed a bass.

We tried to convince Brian to play bass with us, but he was too shy (so quintessentially bass, haha). One night, all three of us were out on the town and things got a little giddy. Sofia pleaded with Brian once again and drunk Brian (affectionately known as Ryan) said yes! He didn’t remember much the next day, but Sof wouldn’t let him forget his promise. Brian won’t admit it, but he had so much fun at that first jam.

Sofia: For a while, it was just the three of us bringing in three different sounds and perspectives - flavours, if you will. The name was sort of a no-brainer: we thought about what we love that comes in packs of threes and Aussie classic Peters Neapolitan Ice Cream came to mind.

Resh slipped up and called it Napoleon Ice Cream. After five minutes of paying her out, riding imaginary horses while licking an ice cream, we conceded; that was the band name. We wanted to create even bigger sounds and soon found Sylvia. Like a cool breeze on a hot day, she came to bless one of our jam sessions. We’ve never looked back.

Describe your sound:

Resh: Post-pop with a bit of indie rock. Creating songs that are meaningful and catchy is what’s important to us. We listen to each other and have similar tastes, so we know a banger when we hear it.

Sylvia: I love discovering and creating words and sounds that can more truthfully communicate my thoughts and feelings than a speech or a conversation. It’s so great being able to use music to connect with others, no matter what language they speak.

Sof: Being described as post-pop gives us leeway to do whatever we want, as long as it’s catchy and enjoyable. And I don’t mind putting a sick guitar solo in here and there, hehe.

Who/What are your influences, musical or otherwise?

Sof: Resh writes most of our songs but insists that it’s only because her band-members do such a good job of reading her mind!

Sometimes I wonder if we would be such close friends without music.

I feel like we communicate through music more than through words. Especially Brian, he’s capped at about 10 words per year so he needs music otherwise we’d never hear from him.

In this sense, we influence each other. Most of us (except Sylvia) aren’t formally trained, so we’re constantly learning from each other.

Personally, I listen to everything, but have preference towards funk and blues. Particularly: Funkadelic, Brothers Johnson, Plantlife, The Meters, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and all the legends.

Resh: I find influence and inspo everywhere. A rustle in a tree can inspire the verse of a song we’re working on. So I’ll find a dark corner and, as inconspicuously as possible, record ideas into my phone before emerging like gollum-like into civilian life.

I love artists that are willing to take risks and reinvent: FKA Twigs, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, David Bowie, Sigur Rós, Björk.

Sylvia: I’m inspired most by my personal relationships. My mum introduced her love of music to me and my siblings, and I grew up playing music as a family. As a classically-trained pianist, you may catch some more traditional musical influences in my playing.

Brian: Before picking up bass (previously only played guitar) I was heavily influenced by alt rock, prog rock, pop-rock, J-rock. Any type of rock! After picking up bass for this band it has definitely widened my view on music with catchy and groovy bass lines.

What key track/s of yours should people check out?

We are about to launch our first single Unexpectedly - so definitely check it out! Perfect Happy is also a crowd favourite. We occasionally play some covers, but with a bit of a twist - be sure to check out our cover of Feel Good Inc. by the Gorillaz!

What are some memorable experiences you’ve had?

Resh: Recording our first single was monumental. It solidified our conviction that we have something special here. Our band was on the same page throughout the entire recording process, even when obstacles were thrown our way. So grateful that we found each other.

Sylvia: As the newest member, my memorable experiences are of our rehearsals rather than our gigs! Like what the others have said, recording Unexpectedly was a really great experience to share together - but I really just enjoy and cherish our rehearsal sessions.

Resh, Sofia, Brian, and their family and friends were all so warm and welcoming, and made me feel like a part of the gang from day one. That’s what I will remember most as time goes on.

What is it that you love about your genre’s scene?

We love how supportive Canberra venues and musicians are. If you want to play, people want you to play. If you want to learn, people are more than willing to teach you. If you want to collab, there are always people who can’t wait to get together and jam.

We like leaning into post-pop because it’s about reinvention and the freedom it can bring. Perhaps we’re drawn to it because of what we experienced growing up as first-gen and second-gen immigrants. We saw our parents struggle with the confines of situations in their birth countries, only to have to start again by bringing us to Australia. But they did it to give us the freedom and opportunities they never had.

Subsequently, we’ve had to negotiate conflicting mantras: “Don’t waste those opportunities”, but also, “Honour your parents and your heritage”. I think that sense of discovering our identity and yearning for freedom comes through in our music. It’s so great that we get to be all of these things in the Canberra music scene. Tell us about one of your proudest moments?

Resh: When a person, often female, comes up to me and says something to the effect of, “Wow. You drum and sing! I’ve always wanted to do that but never thought I could.”

I don’t think of myself as breaking barriers. I just do what feels right. But I get so excited when someone else sees the possibilities. We could have more female-singing drummers out there, and maybe one day that could be the norm.

Sofia: When I don’t stuff up my guitar solo, haha Sylvia: I love lifting my band members up by giving them my two-cents: that they are amazing! Resh was reworking the lyrics to Unexpectedly, and asked for my opinion on the edits. The first thing I noticed was that my favourite line was missing! Apparently some listener said they didn’t get it; I thought it was brilliant.

Resh is such a talented and dedicated musician and songwriter that it hurt my heart seeing that doubt creeping in. I’m grateful that I have been able to encourage my band members to own their space, words, tunes and ideas - because it always turns to gold.

(P.S. My favourite line made it back in! So definitely check it out)

Brian: Resh and Sof letting me join the band, even though I hadn’t touched a bass until my first jam. Safe to say I was not good.

But seriously, my proudest moment was my very first gig at Smith’s Alternative! Playing to a crowd is a wild experience. From setting up, sound check, playing through the mistakes, and just having fun.

What are your plans for the future?

We’re going to record more. Sofia, Sylvia, and Brian all have songs they’re writing in the pipeline, and we can’t wait to share them. We have no shortage of new stuff coming out at least for the foreseeable future. We also have a couple of gigs coming up at Smith’s Alternative (24 June & 4 August). Mark your diaries!

And Melbourne and Sydney, we’re coming for you! Stay tuned. What makes you laugh?

Sofia’s grumpy face arriving at rehearsal when we have an 11am “early” start. Brian trying to explain his work schedule when figuring out a time to rehearse. He does night shifts in IT but you need a degree in quantum physics to understand his schedule.

When Resh asks whether her drums are tuned correctly. To me (Sofia) it sounds exactly the freaking same every. single. time.

The fact that Sylvia must be a secret spy special ops agent because she has a million different jobs! She works with churches, parliaments, the defence community, and more. She is a trained lawyer and martial artist - and also figure skates! Who in the world needs that specific combination of skills!?

Practice breaks with everyone switching roles, Brian drums/guitar, Resh guitar/keys, Sof bass/drums, Syl guitar/drums/sing/keys/ bass/keys (you can remove this if you want lol) [No! - Bossman Sko]

What pisses you off?

Honestly, people who see a bunch of Asian nerds and assume we don’t know how to rock! People that look like us aren’t really that visible in the Aussie rock or pop scene, so we do come across a bit of unconscious bias now and then. But as soon as we get up and stage we play our hearts out and just forget about it.

Anything else you’d like to add?

We’ve got a couple of gigs lined up, so please join us for some sweet tunes and chill vibes: Saturday, 24 June and Friday, 4 August, both at Smith’s Alternative.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more updates ;) instagram.com/napoleonicecreamband facebook.com/napoleonicecreamband

So says Holy Holy co-founder Timothy Carroll about new single, Messed Up, featuring Aussie rap sensation, Kwame. Indeed, it is unlike what has gone before. An arpeggiated synth floats under Kwame’s confessional lyrics before launching the track into a kind of drum ‘n’ bass beat; post drum ‘n’ bass, if you will.

This surprise is unsurprising for those who have followed Timothy Carroll and musical cohort Oscar Dawson’s six-plus year journey. They like to keep their audience, as well as themselves, entertained with the unknown.

What is for certain, though, is the sheer pumping, ebullient energy of their live show, which us lucky punters can witness when the chaps hit the road for the Messed Up tour. And further to Carroll’s comment on its wipe-the-board sonic nature, it further serves as a salient single choice due to the story behind it.

“We started writing the song around the time of the bushfires, actually,” Carroll reveals. “When I was living down in Tassie, the smoke from Victoria was coming across the street and blacking out the sky. It was all feeling a bit apocalyptic.

“I remember sitting up on the deck one night with my wife, conversing about, ‘Oh, my god, like, how bad is this going to get? What would we do?’ Gaming out a bit of an apocalyptic scenario. So that’s where the song came from. Then there was the pandemic, which was a whole ‘nother kind of messed up.”

The writing process also came with its challenges.

“As we were coming down the straight from the last record, something about that song didn’t quite feel right,” Carroll says. “We had a different chorus…. I wasn’t really feeling it. So we let it be.

“When we started making this new record, both Oscar and I independently went back to that song. There was something there; the melodies and lyrics had value. One day, we were collaborating with Tasman (Keith, renowned musician). As they were leaving, we texted him a link to the Dropbox with all the demos of the songs. And Kwame found an instrumental version of the song, which would have been called messed-up.wav, or something.

“He didn’t say, ‘Hey, I want to do a bit on this,’ or anything. He recorded his first verse, wrote the chorus hook, and sent it back to us. We realised we could pair his work with one of the verses from my original. After writing another little bridge part, the song came together beautifully.”

What follows now, of course, is the fun part; playing it live.

“We’ve been playing it on the road, which has been great,” Carroll enthuses. “Kwame is such a charismatic performer. These guest collaborators bring so much to the stage; I feel like I’ve got to lift my game to keep up. He’s a great performer; guiding the crowd through the song.”

And let us not forget their established bandmates.

“The band is a pretty powerful machine,” Carroll states. “Our drummer, Ryan Strathie, is an absolute savant; our bass player, Graham Ritchie, I’ve worked with for a decade… The musicianship on stage is really good. And we’ve got a great team doing the front of house too.

“When you combine that with the songs, and the heart and passion behind the project… And then the audience, many of whom have been listening for years. It can be a pretty magical kind of synthesis.”

In this lengthy chat, many topics are covered. On his progression with singing, Carroll states: “As I went on during my career, I’ve been writing in a higher register with more complicated melodies. I have to actually train my voice now.”

On the striking Messed Up artwork, which also features in the music video, and its potential meaning, Carroll says: “We wanted something austere and minimalist.

“We’ve actually worked it into the live show as well. We’ve got a big, physical circle that sits above us at the shows. Our lighting designer turns it into the moon, and the sun, and pulses differently to the beat.”

And on the aforementioned Messed Up music video, where Carroll shows off a future Tiktok dance craze with a move I’ve dubbed The Carroll Crab Crawl: “Look, it’s a bit embarrassing, especially studio session with Oscar and be certain that we’ll have written six good songs. I don’t need to be anxious about that happening any more.”

As this insightful chat draws to a close, I venture for details on the upcoming album. Carroll is refreshingly forthright.

“Yeah, I’ve been experimenting lately; I used to always be quite tight-lipped with the press,” Carroll says. “But I’m experimenting with being loose-lipped and dropping all kinds of bits and pieces.

“So yeah, the record’s in good shape. We’ve got a solid 11 songs, ten of which are pretty much done and just require a bit of nuancing; a bit of spit and polish.

“There’s one that’s currently just a weird jam. But I think it’s cool. I kind of want it on the record. I think we’ll just let it be and not try to turn it into anything else.”

And finally, what we’ve on been waiting on… The Canberra show.

“We’re playing a brand new, unreleased song on the tour,” Carroll beams.

“The next single is called Pretend To Be It’s been submitted to the Spotify gods, awaiting its release. I’m excited that the audience, rather than getting a digital premiere or some email where they click on a link, will hear the song for the first time in the room with us, performing live. That’s been a fun moment in the show.

“And we’re also performing St Petersburg off the last record, which is the first time that song’s ever been performed as well. So there’s quite a few bits in there.

Holy Holy’s Messed Up tour hits Kambri on Friday, 26 May with special guests Kwame and Medhanit. Tix are $65.25 via Moshtix.