FRIENDLY FIRES’ WALK THROUGH THE WILDERNESS WRITTEN BY DARBY-PERRIN LARNER It’s early in the morning in England when Jack Savidge calls. He wants to open the door to the garden while we talk. Here in Melbourne it’s pitch black and freezing. After this, Savidge and the rest of Friendly Fires are heading to the studio to work on some final arrangements and mixes of their long awaited next album. They’re at the, “very, very, very”, end of the process. Until now the band have been laying low. Asides from a few singles, Friendly Fires haven’t put out a record since 2012. So, what have they been doing? “I guess the answer is kind of bits and bobs. It’s been kind of interesting in that way. The band is a quite a big structure and it’s interesting to see what life is like outside of that, outside of that framework,” says Savidge, who has been busy himself DJing, drumming, and running a club night in London – which is returning for summer. Before Friendly Fires took a break, the band had
been in a sort-of bubble. “I guess where we were in our 20’s, having done quite a lot of touring for that amount of time, I think it doesn’t lead to three wellrounded individuals,” he chuckles. Their bright pop and Tropicana infusion made them headliners, and saw them included in videogame soundtracks, TV ads and shows. Such was the ubiquity of Friendly Fires at their peak that it was strange not to hear from them. Since going quiet, they’ve experienced life outside of the structure of a band. “What we’ve done, it’s like doing a PHD or something like that. Bit of a walk through the wildness, and come out of it with something worthwhile.” It’s a nice metaphor. After keeping pace for so many years, Savidge thinks the creativity never stopped but the work was unrelenting. “…You’re kind of on the treadmill a bit. And then after a while you feel sort of, you’re falling behind. It’s easier if you have a pause than it is to try keep up with it.” When pressed about the new album, Savidge couldn’t reveal anything. What he could say was that there are a few collaborations in the vain of their work with Disclosure. He also said the band had been working some of the songs from the upcoming record into their live sets. “It’s kind of like road testing them and tidying them up.” He’s adamant there were no jitters getting back into record mode, but says there’s a, “heartin-mouth feeling when you’re about to present something to the public. Ultimately, that’s an exciting thing”. CATCH FRIENDLY FIRES AT SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS OR IN MELBOURNE FOR A SIDE SHOW AT 170 RUSSELL ON SUNDAY JULY 21.
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN MUSIC AWARDS 2019 WRITTEN BY TAMMY WALTERS
Do you know a female that deserves recognition for their contribution to the music industry, or is that person you? Listen up! The Australian Women In Music Awards (AWMA) is back for 2019 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, with a huge two day series of forums, keynote speaker presentations, entertainment and recognition of women in the industry. Following a massively successful inaugural year that saw Amy Shark, Jen Cloher and NGAIIRE all take home awards and star-studded entertainment provided by Australian legends Kate Ceberano, Emily Wurramara, Katie Noonan, and Adalita, 2019 is set for an even bigger year. “It’s not really about topping it actually,” says Founder and Executive Director, Vicki Gordon. “An inaugural year is a challenging year because you just don’t know how things are going to go and when you’re building something from the ground, you never really know the level of support you are going to get. In the end, all we can do is provide a platform to
Jones are also slated to make an appearance. Event organisers have said this is just one part of the full lineup, with extra acts to be announced soon. “I’m so stoked to be a part of the Melbourne Guitar Show this year!” enthuses Ash Grunwald. “I’m incredibly excited to be unveiling something I’ve been collaborating on which has been a lifelong dream of mine.”
MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW RETURNS WITH MASSIVE 2019 PROGRAM Get ready to shred fellow guitarists and music lovers. The annual Melbourne Guitar Show is returning to Caulfield Racecourse this August, and this year’s show is set to be colossal featuring a huge lineup of local and international acts. Heading to this year’s show are homegrown Aussie icons Ash Grunwald, Sarah McLeod, Dave Leslie, Lloyd Spiegel, Phil Manning, Anna Scionti, Chris Finnen, James Norbert Ivanyi, Cartridge Family feat Sarah Carroll and Suzanna Espie, Jeremy Barnes, Simon Hosford’s Fair Warning (who will be playing the entire Van Halen debut album), Michael Dolce, James Ryan, Charlie Bedford, Shannon Bourne and heaps more. US guitarists Keith Merrow and Dennis
acknowledge the great contributions of women and a platform for a greater conversation between men and women in the industry and wait for the community to respond, and they most definitely are.” Nominations opened on Tuesday 11 June and within two days already saw 150 entries across the a whopping fifteen categories across a wide range of areas including awards for Lifetime Achievement, Diversity in Music, Live Production, Emerging Artist, Music Photographer Award, the newly introduced Excellence in Classical Music Award, Music Journalist Award and Excellence in Image Making Awards, and many more. The award’s purpose is to not only acknowledge those making positive contributions to the industry but to identify those actually working in the industry and to spark conversations around the state of the music industry and the lack of representation. In particular, this years’ inclusion of the Excellence in Classical Music Award shines a light on the serious misrepresentation of female conductors and composers. In a Women In Music research report as published by The Guardian under the title, ‘Female composers largely ignored by concert line-ups’, the report found that in 1,445 classical concerts across globe only 76 include a work by a woman, meaning that an astounding 95% of compositions were produced by men, a statistic Gordon hopes to change through the awards recognition. “By actually creating a platform through an awards ceremony you actually create a far greater opportunity for further conversation within
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At last year’s show, punters not only enjoyed scheduled performances and demos from the awesome artists on the lineup, but also witnessed surprise on-stand appearances from some of Australia’s finest artists, including Harts, Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Bec Sandridge, Dan Sultan and many more. Both the organisers and the exhibitors are constantly wrangling acts right up until the very last minute – and who will be joining the all-star jam this year? Come on down and find out! In addition to the world-class performances from the artists on the massive lineup, #MGS2019 will also hold a huge gear expo that will feature a gigantic variety of electric and acoustic guitars, effects pedals, amps and more state-of-the-art guitar technology, both home-grown and from around the world. See, try and buy! It will continue to be Australia’s biggest guitar pop-up shop, as well as hosting information seminars, demonstrations, and live performances from Australia’s most talented guitarists. The show is organised by the Australian Music Association, who will use proceeds from the event to provide services to the Aussie music products industry. THE MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW IS COMING TO CAULFIELD RACECOURSE ON SATURDAY AUGUST 3 AND SUNDAY AUGUST 4. TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM FRIDAY JUNE 7 VIA TRYBOOKING.
that space and that’s what is really, really needed,” she says. Along with the awards ceremony on Wednesday 9 October, the second day will continue with that conversation around industry change through the trio of forums. ‘Visibility in Hip Hop – Women on the Front Line’ will explore why the male-dominated world of hip hop “hasn’t traditionally empowered women’s stories or voices, and why is it so difficult for women to lead and find their rightful place in that scene”. ‘The Art of Rebellion – The Intersection of Music and Politics’ delves into “the power of creativity in relation to the arts and whose voices are being heard and whose voices are being fundamentally silenced” and finally, ‘Image Making – The Changing Face of Music’ looks at “the negative effects of the media and the double standards that exist within the industry in relations to gender, sex, race, sexuality and social/cultural backgrounds”. All facilitators, speakers and entertainment are yet to be announced [watch this space], but they are not to be missed. “What I try to do with the forums is to not so much focus on what’s happening in the music industry but to talk about the many issues which I think are impacting on women across the broader community,” says Gordon. “We need to be positive when we try to create change but it has been a difficult place for women and it has been difficult for women to have a voice around all of these things and if you can do through the AWMAs and the community wants us to do this and supports us to do that, well we’re just going to become stronger and stronger I think. The power of music to bring people together should never be underestimated and the power of music to heal people and actually make the world better should never be underestimated either.” Just like Vicki Gordon and the AWMAs, there are plenty of women positively impacting our music community, and in-turn the wider community, and paving the way for change through their work. Now is their chance to not only be recognised for their contribution but to also become part of that continued conversation. You can self-nominate or if you know someone who is deserving, Gordon encourages you to stick their name in the nominations pool. “No matter who you are, no matter where you are, if you are a woman working in any area as outlined in our award categories in the music industry we want to know about you. We want to know about what you are doing and we want to empower you to continue to do it and we want to support you to do it! There is no shame in being acknowledged for the work you do and that is one of the things we want to turn around.” All eligibility details and judging criteria are available on the AWMAs website. NOMINATE TODAY AT HTTPS://WOMENINMUSICAWARDS. COM.AU/NOMINATIONS/
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