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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...Chris Martin and Callum Wylie

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ANTHONY ZIELKE FROM WHITE SUMMER songs. We like to just jam and see what happens, and usually in each jam we salvage a riff or two, and if we are lucky a song. In terms of what we look for in a fan, I would say as long as they like our music we are happy. Keeping Busy We have just finished recording 2. our latest EP, What I’ve Been Waiting For. It was a lot of work but great fun to do. We recorded it at Woodstock Studios and it was produced by Johnny Hooves, who was amazing from beginning to end. It was great to work with someone who can pretty much get us sounding any way we want. At the moment we are focusing on our east coast tour in January, and when we have time, writing some new material for the future.

What Do You Look For In A Band? The word ‘swagger’ has been thrown around a lot lately to describe our

sound. We like to make music that will instantly get your heart pumping and get people moving. We basically are a mix between blues and rock with a bit of a dance element in some

Best Gig Ever I think our last EP launch in 3. November has been the best gig to date. Jimmy just sang instead of drumming and singing and this lifted

our live show to a whole new level, and that combined with an amazing audience just made the whole night a lot of fun. The more the crowd gets into it the more we deliver. We were supported that night by The Ugly Kings and My Left Boot, who are two great acts. We have played plenty of shit gigs, don’t you worry about that, but it’s a learning curve and a lot of good things have come out of gigs where we’ve played to six or so people (half of which were family members). Current Playlist The new Arctic Monkeys album 4. AM is amazing, and same with Queens of the Stone Age’s new album. In terms of up-and-comers, I think Royal Blood are just plain sick; for a two-piece they really deliver. Recently we all went to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at The Palace and it’s no secret they are one of our influences. We all really enjoyed the gig, and those guys (and girl) can really put on a show, rock’n’roll style.

Super Massive

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we just get beers, which is better then nothing. If we could have anything we requested we would probably end up getting more drinks. A towel would be nice, as I am usually dripping with sweat by the end of a gig and spend the rest of the night wet. No-one as yet has requested anything to venues because we aren’t at that level yet! If we did, I have a feeling the venue manager would tell us to piss off and cancel the gig, but who knows what the future holds. What: What I’ve Been Waiting For out now through Khoy Music Where: Frankie’s Pizza / The Lansdowne When: Thursday January 23 / Friday January 24

Parties with guitars. Now those are the type of parties we like. And with The John Steel Singers and Jeremy Neale on board, the Boys Gone Wild tour is sure to be very guitar and very, very party. The super funky John Steel Singers and the super tall Neale are hooking up (not like that) for joint dates in February. Both have dropped impressive and all-too-fun releases this year – JSS’ Everything’s A Thread and Neale’s In Stranger Times – so the gigs are bound to go off. Boys Gone Wild? You betcha. Catch them at Goodgod Small Club on Saturday February 22 and The Lair, Metro Theatre (all ages) on Sunday February 23.

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry PHOTOGRAPHERS: Liam Cameron, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Kizzy O’Neal

AWESOME INTERNS: Mina Kitsos, Callum Wylie, Tahlia Pritchard, Xiaoran Shi, Julienne Gilet, Thea Carley

Your Ultimate Rider Well, we have never been asked 5. what we want in a rider. So usually

JOHN STEEL SINGERS & JEREMY NEALE

EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ARTS EDITOR: Lisa Omagari lisa@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 STAFF WRITERS: Alasdair Duncan, Jody Macgregor, Krissi Weiss NEWS: Chris Honnery, Chris Martin, Mina Kitsos, Callum Wylie

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Callum Wylie, Thea Carley, Julienne Gilet, Mina Kitsos gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag. com (dance, hip hop & parties)

Plus there was a lot of leather at the gig, which was nice to see.

The John Steel Singers

SUPER MASSIVE

Malina Hamilton-Smith and Glenn Abbott make an adventurous pair. As Super Massive, they play a style described as “electro-laced sci-fi funk pop rock”. A mouthful, right? And an earful as well, to be sure. Eager eyes will recognise Abbott from his days in Machine Gun Fellatio, while Hamilton-Smith is up front with dynamic vocals. It’s a powerful live show with something for everyone. See them at Brighton Up Bar on Friday January 3, with support from electro-pop duo Poly.

GORDIE MACKEEMAN

Hailing from Prince Edward Island, Canada, old-time roots collective Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys are touring Australia in support of 2013 release Pickin’ N Clickin’. ‘Crazy Legs’ MacKeeman – yep, that’s really what they call him – fronts an energetic outfit featuring guitarist Peter Cann and multiinstrumental masters Thomas Webb and Mark Geddes. They’ll play the Brass Monkey on Wednesday January 8, before heading to La Toosh in Parramatta on Thursday January 9 and The Star’s Sky Terrace on Friday January 10, both for Sydney Festival.

STIR IT UP WITH JULIAN MARLEY

Julian Marley, son of Bob, is set to headline the Stir It Up reggae and Polynesian culture event over the New Year’s break. Thursday January 2 will see the 38-year-old Marley (born and raised by his mother in the UK) head to the Merrylands RSL Club Rugby Park with co-headliners Spawnbreezie and Fiji. Also on the bill are NZ superstar Swiss, comedian Tofiga, Deach, Ashley Tonga, Brownhill, Joe Coffee, Sweet & Irie, V Tribe and many more. It’ll be a family-friendly celebration; fitting for Marley, who recorded his first demo at the family home in Kingston, Jamaica.

Birds Of Tokyo

SURF’S UP

The 2014 Hurley Australian Open of Surfing has finalised its music lineup, with Birds Of Tokyo and The Presets to headline free gigs at Manly Beach. It’s not just hanging ten and ripping up barrels, man (that’s how surfers speak, right? Oh, I don’t know...) – the best of Aussie music, art and skating will also be on show for the nine-day event. Joining the headliners will be Illy, The Delta Riggs and more. The Presets will appear on Friday February 14, while Birds of Tokyo will play on Saturday February 15 alongside Illy and The Delta Riggs. The Open runs from Saturday February 8 to Sunday February 16.

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rock music news

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin and Callum Wylie

he said she said WITH

Did you have a musical childhood? We had one very beat-up, cheap old record player at our house and my mother had a host of country and western albums – mostly Slim Dusty. The only records that I could relate to from her collection were ‘I Fall To Pieces’ by Patsy Cline and an LP by a Melbourne husbandand-wife duo, Anne and Johnny Hawker. By the time I was six I had managed to convince everyone that I was a ‘natural talent’, so my mother bought me an electronic organ. I had filled a book with my original pop compositions by age eight.

around the region where I would play weddings and funerals.

Who are your main inspirations? Always in the background of my early development was the music of girl singers like Lesley Gore (‘Judy’s Turn To Cry’, ‘It’s

My Party’), Teddy Bears (‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’) and The Angels (‘My Boyfriend’s Back’). I mean, I’m talking [about when] I was four years old or something. But this era of music had a huge impact on my sonic IQ and songwriting sensibility. I was always into the sad ballad. Then of course the coming of age was learning to read Bowie lyrics – which I became obsessed with at about ten after hearing my big brother’s Aladdin Sane record. I’m very visually orientated and the ‘arty’ and

‘camp’ always appealed to me. If any one singer influenced me it was Freddy Mercury. His voice was to die for. How did you get into performing? I had my first band at age 15. I played the keyboards and sang backup. I soon went solo though, as I started getting asked to sing at funerals. My sad little highpitched voice worked a treat on the hymns and things, so my mother and I would load my old Yamaha organ into the horse float and drive

What are you working on at the moment? I had a period in the ’90s when I was obsessed with the original music of legendary producer Daniel Lanois. I had heard his LP For The Beauty Of Wynona while on laughing gas at my dentist. It brought me to tears. So dark and so beautiful. Fate had it that I ran into his long-term recording assistant last year, Malcolm Burn, who won a Grammy for producing Emmylou Harris’ Red Dirt Girl, so we teamed up to produce my new CD which I will be releasing in 2014. My indie/self-produced EP The Gods Envy is a small part of the bigger concept, in that the message I am delivering is one to empower young women. Songs inspired by the tabloids; stories of adolescent girls. I am expressing the tensions between rebellion and criminality and the conflict between conformity and emotional authenticity.

Young Brisbane collective Major Leagues are headed into the big leagues for real, stepping out on a debut headline tour in February. Celebrating the release of their debut EP, Weird Season, the band has had a busy 2013, sharing stages with Beach Fossils, Wild Nothing, The Preatures, Violent Soho and more. Support on this tour will come from The Ocean Party. Catch them at Newcastle’s Small Ballroom on Friday February 7, and Brighton Up Bar on Saturday February 8.

Hitting the stage at The Standard on Saturday December 28 are Doc Holiday Takes The Shotgun. Rolling out their heavy brand of surf rock, they are sure to wreak havoc – you’ll stomp, shimmy and shake into oblivion. They’ll be supported by The Upskirts and more. Come Friday January 3, Sundial are heading up from Wollongong on the back of their most recent release, Bleed. Released through Lacklustre Records, the EP draws from influences such as The Smashing Pumpkins and Incubus, resulting in a hearty blend of grunge, punk and alternative rock. Support from The Cat Nappers, Absent Hours and Curb. On Friday January 4, it’s Taking Berlin – their sound is diverse to say the least, with elements of folk, surf, psych and funk all melding together for what they dub “psychaboogie”. The five-piece have been making themselves known on the Sydney scene over the last year and are not to be missed. Joining them are Liam Gale & The Ponytails, The Spoon Collectors and Katnip. Also coming up in the New Year are Half Moon Run, Parquet Courts, XXYYXX, Julia Holter, Austra, and of course many more.

WHITE SUMMER

Melbourne swamp/blues outfit White Summer may be just what we’ve been waiting for. They’ve announced their debut east coast tour on the back of releasing their EP, What I’ve Been Waiting For, and having rounded out their sound with a fourth member (Alex Zielke, drums). Catch the four-piece at Frankie’s Pizza on Thursday January 23 and The Lansdowne on Friday January 24.

Major Leagues

COOGEE BAY HOTEL

Coogee Bay Hotel is celebrating summer the only way they know how: with a lineup of live bands and parties leading up to Australia Day. Glass Towers will head to the reopened Selina’s on Thursday January 9, having released their debut album Halcyon Days earlier this year to general acclaim. Bodyjar, who’ll appear on Thursday January 16, have been around a little while longer; the punk rock heroes returning at last with Role Model, their first album since 2005. Friday January 24 features fellow Victorian trailblazers The Getaway Plan, while the Summer Series wraps up on Sunday January 26 with Whitley headlining a triple j Hottest 100 party. Selina’s will also host a series of Friday night parties through the holidays: a UV party, a ’90s party and a onesie party, no less.

MUSIC AT THE OPENAIR CINEMAS

Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas are returning to the Dolphin Lawn overlooking Bondi Beach this summer, and the full music lineup has been confirmed. Lime Cordiale will open proceedings on Friday January 24, playing alongside a screening of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Australia Day, Sunday January 26, could only really feature one film – Crocodile Dundee – preceded by Franky Walnut. Jinja Safari will headline the Sundae Sessions Charity Night on Sunday February 2, with Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues on the big screen, while Louis London, Jordan Millar, Little May, Melody Pool, Bec Sandridge and more are set to appear on various nights throughout the season. The Openair Cinemas run from Friday January 24 until Sunday March 2.

BOY & BEAR GO EVERYWHERE, MAN

Glass Towers

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Future Music Festival has established itself over the last few years as one of the must go-to events for festival lovers Australia-wide. Providing a consistently excellent lineup each year has been its triumph, with 2014 being no exception – and it doesn’t just stick to the dance genres, either. The vast array of acts on the bill worthy of performing in the headline slot is astonishing, with Canadian production mastermind Deadmau5, French indie superstars Phoenix, buzzing hip hop heroes Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and our own electro kings Cut Copy just a handful of all the impressive acts set to play the festival this year. With five dates happening across the country, the first release tickets for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have all sold out (Sydney’s first release going in just 35 minutes). With second release tickets now on sale, it would be fair to say that you should jump in and grab a ticket while you can. We have one double pass up for grabs to the Sydney leg, at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Saturday March 8. For your chance to win, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit and tell us who you would have headlining your ideal festival. Phoenix

Where: Lizotte’s Newcastle When: Saturday December 28 And: The Gods Envy out now through Bandcamp

THE STANDARD

MAJOR LEAGUES

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FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL

MAX SHARAM

Max Sharam, remembered for her 1994 hit single ‘Coma’, recently returned to Australia to tour nationally with Cyndi Lauper. We caught up with the New York-based singer ahead of a date at Lizotte’s Newcastle, where she’ll perform works from her forthcoming album.

free stuff

Still riding high on one of the better Aussie album releases of the year in Harlequin Dream, Boy & Bear have announced a 30-date regional tour of Australia. The Sydneysiders have never left their regional fans behind – some of their better shows over the years have been under big top tents at

Snakadaktal

SNAKADAKTAL ANNOUNCE NEW MUSIC, TOUR

Snakadaktal are following up their 2013 album release with a new EP and tour. The Sun II EP will be out on Friday January 3, arriving not long after the widely positive reception given to the group’s debut LP. This time, a series of guests are along for the ride, including Hayden James and Just Kiddin who remix a set of Sleep In The Water singles. Meanwhile, the launch shows will include support from Kilter and D.D Dumbo. Get down to Oxford Art Factory on Friday January 17. Tickets available now through Moshtix.

festivals and paddocks near and far – but this will be by far their most extensive rural tour yet. Dave Hosking and co. will find themselves a long way from Prague, where some of the album’s most powerful songs came together, as Hosking told us in an interview this year. Harlequin Dream, the band’s second full-length release, has been there or thereabouts on album of the year polls everywhere. Plus, the title track has a killer sax solo. The tour will include stops at Newcastle Panthers on Saturday May 17 and The Entrance Leagues Club on Sunday May 18.

JON CLEARY AND THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN

New Orleans funkmeisters Jon Cleary and The Absolute Monster Gentlemen are headed back to Australia after a six-year absence. Cleary is hailed amongst his peers as a professor of the piano, while his booming funk band brings the party. Cleary’s currently working on a new album in Louisiana, but in the meantime he’s added east coast dates to his Aussie visit for WOMAD. Catch Cleary and the gents on Friday March 14 and Saturday March 15 at The Basement, and Sunday March 16 at Lizotte’s Newcastle. thebrag.com

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* With debate raging as to why females are underrepresented in dance (or indeed, the music industry) comes a new initiative that adds nothing to it. Entrepreneur Paul Klerck has made a call-out for topless female DJs to play mining towns between Mount Isa and Moranbah. Apparently his research shows a â&#x20AC;&#x153;huge demandâ&#x20AC;? in these places, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re tried and true in Europe. * Noel Gallagher has turned down an offer of $4 million to reunite Oasis for a world tour. * Rihanna moved into

her US$39,000-a-month Manhattan duplex penthouse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and is turning three of its four bedrooms into walk-in closets because she has so many clothes. * While Vance Joy has been told to go off the road to rest his voice, Glass Towers had to blow out Festival of the Sun when singer Ben Hannam came down with acute laryngitis which totally robbed him of his voice. * Someone who should have stayed off the road was Nathan Hudson, formerly of Faker. He was driving a BMW across America on a spiritual adventure (we think) when the icy road in New Mexico

MINISTRY OF SOUND TEAMS WITH DEFECTED

Ministry of Sound Australia (MOSA) has struck a deal with international house music label Defected to handle its record releases and tours locally. The first release here is the UK number one from Storm Queen, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Look Right Throughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, through MOSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister imprint etcetc. On the tour front, MOSA is putting on the huge Defected in the House party with Pacha Sydney. The Defected series begins with a Pool Club day party at Ivy on Saturday February 15 featuring MK, with Kenny Dope (Masters at Work) also heading here for a Defected party in 2014. Tim McGee, CEO of Ministry of Sound Australia, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have always had a great relationship with Defected, and this is the natural culmination of all our work together at a time when house music is very much alive and kicking.â&#x20AC;? The Defected deal caps off a huge year for MOSA, which expanded in recordings, touring and events to include curating the weekly Pacha events at Ivy, a new management company,

went one way and Hudson went the other. Nothing was broken. * Two DJs in Dubai set the new Guinness World Record for the longest continuous music radio broadcast by a DJ team. Sindhu Biju and Mithun Ramesh of Malayalam music station Hit 96.7 FM lasted 84 hours and 15 mins. * 19-year-old Sydney singer Elen Levon plans to play in Italy next year after her single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wild Childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; went top five in the Dance Charts and made number 12 on iTunes. * Impatient with Island Records delaying her debut album Dirty Gold until March, rapper Angel Haze got her revenge by releasing it for free online.

Crown Rights, plus the continued growth of Soapbox Artists and Events and 120 Publishing.

FESTIVALS #1: LANEWAY SYDNEY SELLS OUT

Laneway Sydney has sold out, with Melbourne very close to doing so, organisers have announced. Their other good news is that Laneway Brisbane will run until midnight, which means 75 per cent of the lineup will play after 5pm.

FESTIVALS #2: BLUES & BBQ ARRIVES

Scott Mesiti and Simon Luke, the dudes behind Festival of the Sun, are launching another event in Port Macquarie. The Blues and BBQ Festival is a music and lifestyle tribute to the US south, and takes place on Friday March 28 and Saturday March 29 at the Town Green. It is not affiliated with the Blues and BBQ brand in America or the three other events in Australia using that name.

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NOW SFX BUYS INTO ROCK IN RIO

New York-based SFX Entertainment, which has been gobbling up all things EDM, including Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stereosonic, has now taken 50 per cent of the company which runs the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil and Portugal and, soon, in the US.

CMAA DISCUSSES AWARDS WITH COUNCIL

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been something of a baptism of fire for new Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) president Dobe Newton. He expected his first official duty to be receiving guests at the Golden Guitars country music awards at the end of January. Instead heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had to hose down comments made by former president John Williamson about the Americanisation of the awards. First, the CMAA held a crisis meeting. Then Newton had a pow-wow with Tamworth Mayor Col Murray and Council events and economic development director John Sommerlad. He explained that â&#x20AC;&#x153;letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keep it Strineâ&#x20AC;? was a debate that affected every art form in this country, including music awards. Council agreed it was a good time to rebrand Australian country music.

NSW ACTS IN Jâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;NEXT CROPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; LIST

Five acts from NSW were among the 20 in triple jâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Next Crop tips for 2014 list. They were â&#x20AC;&#x153;emotional-ass concept rockâ&#x20AC;? purveyors Gang Of Youths, Wollongong hard rock band Born Lion, brotherly electronic duo Cosmoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Midnight, New England singersongwriter Dustin Tebbutt and Sydney dance producer Wave Racer. They join six acts from Victoria (The Bennies, D.D Dumbo, Meg Mac, The Murlocs, Remi, Willow Beats), three each from Queensland (The Creases, Eves, The Kite String Tangle) and Western Australia (The Love Junkies, Mathas, Statues), two from South Australia (Bad//Dreems, MC Tkay Maidza) and one from the ACT (SAFIA).

The Coronas (IRL)

Fri 7 Feb

Sat 22 Feb

Earthless (USA) & The Shrine (USA)

Crystal Fighters (UK) Thu 9 Jan

Sat 4 Jan

The Rubensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; self-titled debut album, which hit the ARIA chart at number three last September, has been certified platinum. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re one of the few Aussie acts alongside Flume, Hilltop Hoods and The Temper Trap to gain that status. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been another triumph for their label Ivy League who celebrated their 16th year in 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lanie Laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debut record To The Horses went gold in March.

HARBOUR AGENCY ADDS BAD//DREEMS

Harbour Agency has added South Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bad//Dreems to its roster. Dan Sant (Lorde, Deep Sea Arcade, Papa vs Pretty) and Jordan Campbell (Bloods, Born Lion) will share booking duties. While their Badlands EP is getting spins on US college radio, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the studio with producer Mark Opitz. The Annandale in Sydney has closed at least until autumn for renovations. Its new owners, Oscars Hotels Group, have not confirmed if bands will return then. Three months ago, when they took over the premises, they announced they would initially trial the continuation of live music until the end of December.

DAN AND MAZ MOVE TO DRIVE

The Crimson ProjeKCt Fri 10 Jan

Wehrmacht (USA) Grave (SWE) Primate (USA) Sat 11 Jan

Supernova U18s Headhunterz

Toro Y Moi + Portugal The Man

Thu 23 Jan: U18s

Wed 29 Jan

Six60 (NZ)

Dark Tranquillity (SWE)

Fri 28 Feb

Rotting Christ (GRE)

Eyehategod

Fri 17 Jan

Sat 18 Jan

Sat 8 Feb: All Ages

Darkside Wed 02 Apr

Sat 8 Mar

TnT, Frequencerz, + More Sat 15 Feb: U18s

Kylesa (USA) Thu 3 Apr

Sat 29 Mar Robert Glasper Exp & Roy Ayers & Lonnie Liston Smith

Skid Row & Ugly Kid Joe Sun 27 Apr

Toxic Holocaust & Skeletonwitch

Children of Bodom

Sat 26 Apr

Fri 9 May

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

16 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

Dan Debuf and Maz Compton are the new drive team for the Today Network with anchor Michael Christian. Dan and Maz had hosted evenings. Christian, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll remember, was involved in the royal phone prank at the Hot30 Countdown.

SURPRISE BEYONCE SELLS 617,000 IN THREE DAYS

Kerser

Sydney-based dance label Sweat It Out won the inaugural charity five-a-side football tournament for the music industry, Musica Copa, with $2,667.97 raised for charity. The event was held earlier this month at KIKOFF Fraser Park, Marrickville. The star-studded teams also came from Channel [V], Elefant Traks, FBi Radio, Future Classic, inthemix, Ministry of Sound, Modular, Motorik!, Mushroom Group, Pulse Radio and Stereosonic. Players including Krewella, Nick Thayer, Van She, Canyons, What So Not and Movement represented on the pitch, with Touch Sensitive, wordlife, Lancelot, Moonbase Commander, Slow Blow, Astral DJs, Frames and LUEN raving it up on the sound system.

FINAL ADDITIONS TO AMP LONGLIST

The final ten 9th Coopers AMP Longlisted releases are: You Go Your Way, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Go Mine by Ainslie Wills; Medicated Spirits by Dog Trumpet; Harvest Of Gold by Gossling; Open Season by High Highs; The Cloud Appreciation Society by Melanie Horsnell; The Loving Gaze by Montero; Lovegrass by Sara Storer; Malabar by Songs; Rookie by The Trouble With Templeton; and Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s End Press by Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s End Press.

GETTING THEIR â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;FIRST BREAKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Castlecomer took out First Break, the quest by the commercial radio industry to find new unsigned radio-friendly acts. The five-piece from Drummoyne will get national radio support for two singles over 12 months (estimated value $2 million), joint financing from the Mushroom Group and Commercial Radio Australia for video clips, social media activation and tour support, and the chance to play the 2014 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) in front of 1,200 radio and music industry figures. Due to the high quality of entries, judges introduced the First Break Development Award, given to brother/sister-fronted four-piece Nova and the Experience. They got $500 for equipment and creative services, and guidance from Mushroom over next year.

THE RUBENS GO PLATINUM

ANNANDALE WOES Groundation (USA)

SWEAT IT OUT WIN MUSICA COPA

BeyoncĂŠâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s release of her new album BeyoncĂŠ without any advance warning is being seen as a game-changer. It went to number one in 104 countries. Within three days, BeyoncĂŠ sold 617,000 copies in the US, becoming the 24th biggest-selling album of 2013 there (the top seller, Justin Timberlakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The 20/20 Experience, was the only album to sell over two million copies this year (with 2.4 million). BeyoncĂŠ also broke the US iTunes Store record (as well as her own) for the largest sales week for an album. Incidentally, while the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; video got publicity for being shot at a decrepit house in Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brunswick, her management has revealed five of the tracks were filmed in part around Sydney and Melbourne by her production crew â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rocketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Flawlessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ghostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Lifelines Engaged: Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son Jesse and radio host Fearne Cotton. Married: Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Real Housewives Of D.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Michaele Salahi. The ceremony was available to watch live via pay-per-view. Injured: Philip Pierre, the elderly caretaker of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bahamas home, was beaten severely by a gang of thieves who broke in and stole US$8,000 worth of goods. In Court: One Directionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Harry Styles won a court order to have a number of photographers banned from chasing him or hanging outside his pad. Jailed: Ian Watkins of Lostprophets for 35 years for 13 sexual offences including trying to rape a baby. UK cops are liaising with cops in the US and Germany to see if he committed crimes there. Two mothers of children he abused, who admitted child abuse charges, were jailed for 14 and 17 years. Died: Paul BaĂźmer, one half of Bingo Players (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rattleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cry [Just A Little]â&#x20AC;&#x2122;), from cancer. He was diagnosed in July. He continued to work on his music until the very end, Bingo Players partner Maarten Hoogstrate said. Died: R&B singer The Child Of Lov, 26, after complications from surgery. Born in Belgium as Martijn William Zimri Teerlinck, his debut album from June featured Blurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Damon Albarn and Doom. Died: influential US country singer and band leader Ray Price, 87, from cancer of the pancreas, liver, intestines and lungs. Of his 100 country hits and seven pop hits, the best known was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;For The Good Timesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in 1970.

thebrag.com

26/1/14

&1Z0 *HSS:K>EE: *>M:E?>LM >E>;K:M> HNK ,),+6 ,# 2+10 MABL 201/ )& ! 6 :M #K:GDB>ZL

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< PERFORMANCE

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

Nothing spells summer like Sydney Festival. Forget the fireworks, this is when the harbour city really struts its stuff: a helter-skelter, two-and-a-half week celebration of music, theatre, dance, opera, circus, cabaret and family events that stretches from Woolloomooloo to Parramatta. It can be tiring just thinking about it – and that’s before you jump on the life-sized inflatable model of Stonehenge in the Hyde Park Festival Village. The Festival runs from Thursday January 9 to Sunday January 26, and to help you navigate the streets and the sights, BRAG sat down with some of its stars and emerging lights. All that’s left is to get amongst it.

TYONDAI BRAXTON

< MUSIC

CHOOSING HIS BATTLES BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

“It was like one of those markers in your life – one of those milestones that you never truly think you’re going to achieve until it actually happens,” he says excitedly. “It was such an honour – I was honestly blown away by the whole thing. Besides Philip being someone whose music I have always admired, he was such a kind guy and he gave me so much insight into how he works. He was very warm and very inviting – it was surreal, actually.” Braxton has spent the better part of 2013 working on a brand new live work that is part installation, part performance art. Entitled HIVE, he’ll be performing all-new works and compositions alongside four other musicians in a thrilling audio-visual environment. It’s unlike anything that Braxton has ever done before – and he traces its origins back to a few key inspirations. “I began getting really obsessed with early 20th century modernist composers,” he explains. “Particularly Edgard Varèse and Iannis Xenakis from Greece. I was wondering what their work meant in relation to music today. I also wanted to take what I was doing and give it somewhat of a visual element – to make my performances less like a live show and more like an installation. I’ve just been trying to glue all of these ideas together into something tangible. If I’m being honest, part of me is still trying to figure out exactly what this is. It’s started to solidify over the first few performances, though – I can’t wait to see what it ends up like when it gets to you guys.” The new material that Braxton has been hard at work on – both for an upcoming album and for the HIVE project – was also greatly influenced by his newfound interest in a process known as modular synthesis, which uses wires and matrixes to create what is called a ‘patch’. It’s a laboured and technical process, but one that can deliver truly remarkable sounds when executed correctly. “It was a whole new language to learn,” Braxton says. “It’s one thing to get through all the manuals and have an understanding of what you’re supposed to do, but another thing entirely to actually be good at it. This new music has really been a combination of two things – as interested as I am in modular synthesis, I’m even more interested in fixed composition. The challenge, then, for me when I’ve been writing, has been trying to sculpt a lot of these ideas in a way that makes them appear to be fixed and a lot more obviously composed.”

“It wasn’t a split decision – it wasn’t one thing leading to another, and that was it,” he explains of his decision to leave Battles and focus on his solo work. “It was more this longstanding… divide, if you will. It was creative and personal differences – it’s kind of like the deterioration of a relationship. It was a 18 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

gradual thing; something that grew more apparent that it was the case. It was still no less surprising when we all came to that realisation that it just wasn’t going to work out. Still, when we were in Australia, none of us were harbouring any negative thoughts. Being hosted by Brian Eno [for Luminous Festival], playing at the Sydney Opera House… I mean, that was seminal for us.” Braxton, now 35, has been keeping extremely busy since releasing his solo album Central Market in 2009. A quick highlight reel includes performing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, having his works adapted for ballet, and collaborating with the legendary Philip Glass at I’ll Be Your Mirror, an offshoot of All Tomorrow’s Parties held over three days in Braxton’s native New York City. It sounds like Braxton is still buzzing from the experience of the latter.

“I ended up doing a lot of music and then scrapping it. I think I kept getting distracted by HIVE, and it meant that I wasn’t completely focused on creating new material. That’s the main reason that it has taken a lot longer than it should have. Rest assured, though, it is coming. When it’s finally done, I’ll be able to get back to touring and getting myself back in the saddle, so to speak.” What: HIVE + 100 Million Nights With: Canyons & Daniel Boyd Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Tuesday January 21 And: Tyondai Braxton will also perform at Paradiso Lates at Town Hall alongside Ben Vida, following Kurt Vile & The Violators on Wednesday January 22

ABOUT AN HOUR A FESTIVAL WITHIN A FESTIVAL BY KATE ROBERTSON

ydney Festival’s popular About An Hour series will overrun Carriageworks with a program of 38 performances spanning theatre, dance, opera, magic and acrobatics. BRAG caught up with programmer Adam McGowan to get the low-down on what to expect from the diverse lineup. Each show aims for the 60-minute mark and cost just $35 a head. With such a small investment of time and cash, McGowan urges people to “take a bit of a chance on the works”. This idea of chance courses through these performances, especially Cadavre Exquis (Exquisite Corpse). This theatrical experiment is inspired by the Surrealist game of the same name, where a poet writes a single line on a piece of paper before folding it over and passing it to the next person, composing an unpredictable collaboration. Cadavre Exquis was similarly devised by several theatre companies: Kassys (The Netherlands), Nature Theater of Oklahoma (US), Tim Crouch (UK) and Nicole Beutler (Germany/The Netherlands). McGowan reveals that each part is guided only by the last minute of the previous piece, which he describes as a “truly original and dynamic approach to theatre making”.

About An Hour’s programmer is equally excited about Forklift. KAGE combines choreography and aerial acrobatics with a functioning forklift. In Gudirr Gudirr, Dalisa Pigram explores the lives of Aboriginal people around Broome. She explains that her work takes its name from the bird that calls when the tide is turning, with the dance serving as a warning that “we need to look at new ways to take our cultural knowledge forward, keeping old ways strong in a new light”. In His Music Burns, the Sydney Chamber Opera and Sydney Theatre Company present two contemporary masterpieces: pas à pas – nulle part…, a musical meditation on the absurdist poems of Samuel Beckett, and Into The Little Hill, a retelling of the Pied Piper as a dark political tragedy. In response to the real potential to engage with a family audience, the program includes two rigorous and dynamic theatre works for children. In I, Malvolio, actor Tim Crouch cheekily gives this minor character from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night a voice in what McGowan refers to as “almost a stand-up piece”. Just don’t mistakenly take your kids to the deliciously vulgar latenight adults-only show. Serendipitously, theatre company My Darling Patricia will present another re-imagining of the story of the Pied Piper, who’s been re-cast as a dancing bear. The Piper offers the very special opportunity to purchase a ticket to participate onstage and play the collective roles of the children and the rats. Similarly, audience interaction is also central to Bullet Catch, which is part magic show and part storytelling. This famously fatal trick serves as the act’s finale, though the exhilarating twist is that an audience member is chosen to pull the trigger. McGowan suggests that though this climax is undoubtedly gripping, what’s especially interesting is its psychological depth, and the exploration of “the risks that people take in performance”. The invitation to become part of a performance is also vital to Richard DeDomenici’s ambitious The Redux Project. Essentially, he and a group of locals will re-shoot scenes from The Matrix, Muriel’s Wedding, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert, which will screen at the festival alongside the original films. McGowan agrees that there’s a “real sense of mischief” in this work, with DeDomenici’s choice of high-budget projects amplifying the humorously lo-fi aesthetic. This project highlights the community engagement that’s at the heart of About An Hour. What: About An Hour Where: Carriageworks When: sydneyfestival.org.au for individual dates and times thebrag.com

Forklift photo by Justin Bernhaut

hen Tyondai Braxton touches down in Australia in January, it will essentially be the start of a new chapter. His last venture here was in 2009, when he performed at the Sydney Opera House with his thenband Battles. In the years that followed, he departed from the group and ventured fulltime into making music under his own name; taking his love of the experimental to what The Simpsons’ Barney Gumble might describe “strange new levels”. Despite a very public split with his former band, Braxton bears no ill will these days – especially when discussing the band’s memories of Australia.

Along with touring HIVE internationally in 2014, Braxton also confirms that we’ll hear this new solo record next year – hopefully, within the first half. He says he has been “working on the new album quite a lot” of late, and that his perfectionist side had often got the best of him while in the creative process – hence what will be a five-year gap between albums.

Amy Macpherson in KAGE’s Forklift

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 19

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

< MUSIC

KURT VILE DAZED AND CONFUSED BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

hile many artists are currently focused on crafting finely trimmed singles in order to appeal to the flittering whims of broadband-era attention spans, a converse trend has also emerged. In recent years, a number of musicians have seemingly taken the depleting capital of the album as an impetus to comprehensively explore the expressive capacities of the longplaying format. Philadelphia’s heartland-rocking ramblin’ man Kurt Vile is certainly unfettered by commercial norms. This year’s Wakin On A Pretty Daze, Vile’s fifth record, comprises lengthy songs unpacking the possibilities of simple chord progressions, and is distinguished by Vile’s droll existential musings. Releasing an 11-track, 70-minute record in 2013 is a gutsy move, and Vile admits he encountered some doubts along the way.

artistic turn could be unsettling to some listeners.

“There’s always obstacles and different meltdowns of over-listening and trying to figure it out,” he says. “You definitely have meltdowns where you think the whole thing is not going to work out even though there’s potential. Ultimately I was going for something big and epic, shooting for something a little different – [trying] to grab ’em by the balls a little bit.”

“Even if somebody doesn’t get something you put out that’s a little rough and they give it a bad review – you can get upset at first, but it’s almost better because you’re like, ‘Well, you don’t get it but it doesn’t really matter.’ You don’t want somebody kissing your butt forever because there’s some bubblegum shit that’s really popular.”

After a string of lo-fi solo releases and a record as a member of The War On Drugs, 2011’s Smoke Ring For My Halo brought Vile to the attention of a broader chunk of the music listening populace. Despite Smoke Ring’s bold success, Vile wasn’t interested in rehashing the record’s concision. In contrast, Wakin On A Pretty Daze is a meticulously layered, effortlessly paced production and Vile understands this sort of

Tenaciously pursuing one’s artistic aims, particularly in the face of heightened external expectations, requires substantial self-confidence. Rather than adopting a modest attitude, Vile strives to harness the strengths of his idiosyncratic creative identity.

20 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

“Ideally I want people to freak out about it, but I know it’s a challenging thing. I’ve heard it enough; I’ve listened to it over and over so I know all the nooks and crannies. Other people hear it the first time and it’s usually different than my last one, which they might have liked, then at first they think they don’t like it but it’s really just because you’ve got to listen. It takes multiple listens to get it all.” However, those who pay ample attention to Vile’s records are generously rewarded. His reputation amongst critics has gone from strength to strength with each album release, which indeed would be a major confidence booster. Yet Vile dismisses any yearning for flattery.

“I want to destroy. I’m quietly competitive. I love so many artists but I definitely just try to push the

envelope. There’s this place in there that’s my own style that you can hope to do different than anybody else could do. “A great musician has their own thing. For instance, my friend Stella [Mozgawa, Warpaint] who played drums on the record, she just has her own thing; sort of the most musical drums I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying anybody’s the greatest – well, she is one of the greatest drummers I’ve ever seen, but that’s not what it’s about really. She has her own super unique personality. It’s almost a self-searching thing, more than conceiving, ‘This is the kind of sound I want to make.’ It comes out of you, as a person, and you just observe it as you go.” Still, every musician risks getting trapped in a routine, even if it’s the making of their own individuality. Vile’s response is to compulsively seek out new territory. “I get obsessed with new music all the time and it definitely, through

osmosis, comes in there, but it’s about channelling it through yourself. You’re always going to naturally go new directions unless you get disenchanted and become a parody of yourself or lose interest. I think [it’s about] just loving music and finding new influences and evolving the way you’re playing and the way you’re recording.” In that spirit, Wakin On A Pretty Daze features some of Vile’s most advanced work as a lyricist. With a mixture of everyday wisdom and comic irony, he illuminates themes such as the joy of existence, inescapable human fallibility and defiant self-confidence. Vile’s vocals are also more prominent in the mix than they have been in the past, though he says his lyrical abilities were never in question. “I was always confident in my lyrics. I like them from everything that I’ve put out. I think that in the earlier ones you can’t hear them as much, but that was [due to] lo-fi production values.”

Vile’s determined self-evolution is reflected in the timeless quality of his compositions, which continue to reveal themselves on repeated listens. However, looking ahead, he can’t completely discount any self-doubt. “I’m just pretty confident,” he says. “[But] that doesn’t mean I’m not going to freak out on the next record and get self-conscious or paranoid.” What: Wakin On A Pretty Daze out now through Matador/Remote Control Who: Kurt Vile & The Violators With: Shining Bird Where: Paradiso at Town Hall When: Wednesday January 22 More: Kurt Vile is also playing a solo show at the Circus Ronaldo Tent, Hyde Park on Thursday January 23, and appearing at Laneway Festival, Sydney College of the Arts on Sunday February 2

thebrag.com

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THE CREASES & THE GROWL (ACOUSTIC)

YOUTH LAGOON WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

SUNDAY 20 APRIL ENMORE THEATRE

THU 30 JAN. OXFORD ART FACTORY. SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU

SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU | JAKEBUGG.COM

SHANGRI LA OUT NOW

JAMES VINCENT McMORROW WITH SPECIAL GUEST GOSSLING

THU 9 JAN THE METRO

JAMES VINCENT McMORROW JAMES VINCENT McMORROW JAMES VINCENT McMORROW JAMESVMCMORROW.COM

MIKHAEL PASKALEV with special guests

WED 5 MAR / O.A.F. mikhaelpaskalev.com secret-sounds.com.au

I SPY EP OUT NOW

TICKETS ON SALE NOW BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 21

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

< MUSIC

LEE RANALDO RIDER ON THE STORM BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

“I

n the few hours right before the storm hit I was in my apartment and there was all this crazy sound going on outside,” says Lee Ranaldo. “As the winds got stronger, before the real height of the storm, I kept listening and it sounded like music outside. It sounded like all these weird strings or voices, just all these different tones going on outside the window. They were sometimes very dissonant and sometimes very melodic.” Such are the origins of Hurricane Transcriptions – the fascinating orchestral piece which former Sonic Youth guitarist Ranaldo will perform at Sydney Festival. Utilising the talents of Sydney’s 15-piece Ensemble Offspring, the show will re-enact the symphony perceived by Ranaldo when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in late 2012. It’s not exactly an abstract reimagining of these sounds, as Ranaldo explains: “I got all my rain gear on and went out with my handheld recorder. I was over by the western edge of Manhattan and the river was starting to spill onto the highway. It was just starting to get to the real serious point where flooding was going to start. I recorded a bunch of sound and came home and transcribed the notes onto a piano.” It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Sonic Youth’s innovative axeman is bringing an avant-garde orchestral piece to town. Dating right back to his 1987 solo debut From Here To Infi nity, Ranaldo’s extracurricular activities during Sonic Youth’s 30-year career were generally freeform instrumental experiments. He says Hurricane Transcriptions won’t be purely an imitation of nature. “As this piece developed I was also developing all these songs. I wanted to incorporate some of these songs and get the ensemble to try to deal with both sides of the coin, the kind of abstract music they’re more used to playing and then some songs as well.” Ranaldo certainly hasn’t faced any songwriting difficulties in recent years. In October he

dropped Last Night On Earth, his second solo LP since Sonic Youth’s abrupt split in 2011 (the first being last year’s Between The Times And The Tides). These two records differ from all of Ranaldo’s previous solo outings by employing conventional song structures and vocal melodies. Ranaldo explains how his solo renaissance developed. “There was a point there, before we got started on that [Between The Times] record, where Sonic Youth wasn’t working a lot. We were still very much a band at that point – before all the stuff between Thurston [Moore] and Kim [Gordon] even was revealed to Steve [Shelley] and I – we were just in a downtime period. “I started writing these songs and it just grew from one thing to the next. As it turned out, with what was going on with those guys, it was a great time for me to get a record done because it allowed me to have this project to plug right into when Sonic Youth shut down.” Last Night On Earth largely takes its cues from the sprawling guitar escapades of the Grateful Dead, while Between The Times And The Tides is the most intimate collection of songs Ranaldo has ever released. It’s not exactly an earnest confessional, but Ranaldo did leave out the clamour of electricity that dominated the majority of his previous output. “I wanted to make a very personal record in line with the kind of records that I hear from singer-songwriters that I like, whether it’s older ones like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen to more recent people like Cat Power, Bill Callahan or Will Oldham.” Ranaldo’s turn inward on that record reflected the lone manner of construction, which was a major shift from Sonic Youth’s collaborative method. “Sonic Youth was in many ways the most democratic of bands, in terms of everyone’s input being recognised and everyone contributing to the songwriting and the shape of the songs. [On] a solo record, I’m much more in the director’s seat with this stuff,

calling the shots or [saying] ‘I like this,’ or ‘I don’t like that.’” Ranaldo was the sole conductor of Between The Times, but his highly capable backing band The Dust joined him for Last Night On Earth. The Dust comprises Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley on drums, along with guitarist Alan Licht and bass player Tim Lüntzel, and Ranaldo acknowledges it as a unified band project. “When the time came to record [Last Night On Earth], I definitely felt like I was bringing the songs to a working band. We spent a lot of time arranging them for the band, just by playing them a lot in the studio. The first record I sketched out and I did the basic tracks and then brought all these different players in to play on top of it. This record we started from the ground up.”

own ever-evolving category. However, rather than feeling pressure to stamp into new territory, Ranaldo’s current solo work gathers inspiration from the past. Even Hurricane Transcriptions, his latest venture, has fairly humble origins – and Ranaldo admits he’s taking a Zen approach to songwriting these days. “I’ve been letting it flow wherever it wants to go and not worrying about what genre it is, or if it’s a slow song or a simple song or a really complicated song. I’ve been just letting them develop as they would.”

For the best part of three decades Sonic Youth defied genre labels and existed in their

What: Hurricane Transcriptions / Laborintus II With: Mike Patton Where: City Recital Hall Angel Place When: Thursday January 16 And: Last Night On Earth out now through Matador/Remote Control

SUMMER SERIES 24th December Bad Santa Christmas Party

31st December

No Nonsense NYE

9th January

16th January

GLASS TOWERS

BODYJAR

17th January

24th January

THE WOLFE TONES

THE GETAWAY PLAN

26th January WHITLEY Tickets available at Oztix or on the door 22 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 23

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

EDWYN COLLINS

MUSIC >

UNDERSTATED RECOVERY BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

< VISUAL ARTS

CHANCE THE LIFE CYCLE BY KATE ROBERTSON

“W

e are not replaceable, but we will be replaced,” said visual artist Christian Boltanski when discussing his work, Chance, in 2011. This remarkable installation will be presented at Carriageworks as part of next year’s Sydney Festival in what will be the French artist’s first major solo exhibition in Australia. BRAG spoke to Carriageworks Director Lisa Havilah about this exciting project by “one of the most significant artists practising in the world today”. “[Chance is] a very large-scale installation that has been designed specifi cally for Carriageworks’ main public spaces. It measures about 36 metres by eight metres by three metres, so it’ll take over and completely dominate Carriageworks,” says Havilah. The massive site-specifi c work is constructed of intricate scaffolding littered with images of newborn babies sourced from birth announcements made in Polish newspapers. Not only can visitors walk beneath the scaffolding, but they can also stop-start the installation’s progress. This

interactivity is echoed in another component of the work – a game, which recalls a poker machine. When the viewer presses the button, the display will randomly assemble three sections of different human faces – foreheads, eyes and mouths – into one distorted amalgamation. If these elements happen to align correctly, you will be rewarded with a prize. The exhibition also includes two “very large-scale digital counters that count the number of people that are born into the world and that die in the world everyday”. Chance first debuted at Venice Biennale 2011, but for its Sydney Festival iteration the work has been reconfi gured in response to the specifi c spatial properties of Carriageworks. “People seem to respond very strongly and people seem to be very hungry for those types of visual art experience,” says Havilah. “Because of the scale of it and the nature of what it is about and because of its immersive nature [Chance] will make you refl ect on your own morality and your own place in the world.”

Chance continues Boltanski’s creative trajectory by exploring the themes of memory, loss, commemoration, birth and death. The artist’s use of photographs depicting newborns dislocates barriers between public records and the private experiences of individuals. The work’s rapidly shifting counters also present said newborns as statistics unto themselves within the life cycle of births and deaths. In essence, Chance reflects Boltanski’s core philosophical belief that our existence and how we carry it out depends entirely on chance. According to Boltanski himself, “The basic idea is that we are linked to chance from the moment our parents made love. If they had made love a few seconds before or after we would be different. It is a mere technical and temporal matter: we are just the result of chance. There is nothing mystical about our existence.” What: Chance by Christian Boltanski Where: Carriageworks When: January 9 – March 23

t’s certainly been a long interval but Scottish postpunk troubadour Edwyn Collins will finally return to Australia this January. Collins’ only previous visit to our shores was way back in 1995, shortly after the release of his seminal record Gorgeous George. That album’s northern soul-invoking single ‘A Girl Like You’ widely permeated the pop music sphere and, speaking on the phone from London, Collins (recovering from serious illness) and his wife Grace Maxwell can recall Australian audiences being immediately attracted to the track.

“Sanity!” Collins exclaims. “Yeah – and satisfaction,” continues Maxwell. “And also a relationship with people who like his music. It’s not about what people normally expect you to be going after; hitting targets.”

“Australia was right at the beginning, I think it was a hit in Australia first. I remember being completely shocked,” says Maxwell. “I remember being quite amused at how many radio stations you have in Australia. I feel as though Edwyn visited about 25 radio stations in three days. It was crazy.”

Collins agrees that Walbourne and Ellis are an asset, but admits he’s still working to allay the impositions of his illness. “James and Carwyn are fantastic musicians. I’m relaxed about James and Carwyn, but I must practise. It’s called dysphasia – I can’t remember the songs. But I’m getting it for Australia, slowly.”

Collins first gained popular recognition fronting the Glasgow-based post-punk group Orange Juice, who are best remembered for their 1983 chart-tickling track ‘Rip It Up’. In the mid-’80s he embarked on a solo career, which reached its apex with 1994’s Gorgeous George. In the ensuing decade he released two more well-received albums, before things took a devastating turn in early 2005. In the midst of recording his sixth solo record, Home Again, Collins suffered two cerebral haemorrhages and was bedridden for the remainder of the year. The haemorrhages seriously threatened the subsistence of his music career, and Collins explains how harshly depleted his prospects became.

Understated is teeming with striking slices of heartfelt pop-rock, and thankfully for Australian audiences the album is fresh in Collins’ memory. A number of its songs will feature in the setlist. “I want to do five songs [from the album]. Of course the song ‘Understated’; ‘Dilemna’. I want to do ‘Too Bad, (That’s Sad)’ [and] ‘Forsooth’ – the Velvet Underground rip-off,” he laughs.

“Six months in hospital – I couldn’t say a word, [except] ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and ‘the possibilities are endless’, over and over again. Slowly I recovered my speech. No problems with my singing of course. My talking is still a bit dodgy, to say the least.” After an intensive rehabilitation program, Collins returned to the stage in 2007 and managed to complete and release Home Again that same year. Any lingering physical debilitation certainly hasn’t halted his creative drive, and he has issued two further records of new material – Losing Sleep in 2010 and this year’s Understated. The latest record is sure evidence of Collins’ regenerated lyrical abilities, something he is very pleased about. “I’m playing around with the words a bit. For example, ‘Understated’ the song – ‘The years go by and I’m feeling my age as the story unfolds / I’m a singer of sorts’.” Indeed, the album is characterised by an existential self-awareness. Lines such as “I’ve got music to see me through” from ‘Baby Jean’ or “I feel alive, I feel reborn” in ‘Forsooth’ are delivered as defiant realisations, completely free from contrivance. “Edwyn’s confidence as a lyricist is growing each time,” says Maxwell. “At this stage in his life, everything he does is not a question of searching for fame and glory. It’s a sort of personal quest for Edwyn now, for his own –”

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Collins’ three Sydney Festival performances will see him backed by regular onstage accomplices James Walbourne and Carwyn Ellis. Maxwell doesn’t hesitate to commend the strength of the trio. “This lineup has had a bit of practice. It’s quite well-oiled, so you’re in for a treat,” she says.

‘Forsooth’ is not the first time Collins has unashamedly displayed his affection for the music of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. Orange Juice were often noted for melding the Velvets’ sound with the likes of Chic, and Collins admits that Reed’s passing in October was deeply emotional. “On Twitter [I was] reminiscing on Lou Reed. [The record] is called Live ’69 – ‘Over You’. Amazing, to me anyway.” Collins is referring to a bootleg Velvet Underground recording, and he proceeds to sing the song’s opening line – “Here I go again…” – before adding, “It’s sad. Tragic, actually.” The lines from Reed’s ‘Wagon Wheel’ – “You’ve got to live your life as though you’re number one … Make a point of having some fun” – fittingly apply to Collins’ renewed life perspective, and much like Reed’s wife Laurie Anderson, Maxwell clearly provides Collins with solidarity and creative confidence. She will again make the trip out to Australia with him in the New Year, and she jokingly summarises their relationship. “Edwyn’s like Prince Charles and I’m like his valet.” “Yes, it’s true,” Collins confesses. What: Understated out now through AED/Universal Music Australia Where: The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park When: Sunday January 19 / Tuesday January 21 And: Edwyn Collins is also playing The Lennox, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta on Saturday January 18, and is a guest vocalist at Big Star’s Third, Enmore Theatre, Thursday January 23

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SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

LIMBO

Dido & Aeneas photo by Sebastian Bolesch

< CABARET

A STRANGE NEW WORLD BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN together from many different corners of the world and walks of life. The only thing they have in common is that they’ve found themselves in the place known as Limbo. “It’s the kind of place where you don’t know what’s going to happen next or how long you’re going to wait,” Maidment says. “The characters all have an unspecified back story as to why they’re there, but their costumes hint at where they might have come from and who they might have been in their lives, and then you’re able to fill in those blanks yourself and make up your own story as you watch the show.”

art cabaret and part circus, Scott Maidment’s rollicking Limbo has already taken London by storm. After 145 performances there, the show is currently shacked up in Edinburgh, before making its way to Australia in time for next year’s Sydney Festival. Limbo is the follow-up to Cantina, a sell-out success at this year’s Festival. This time around, however, the scope is even bigger. “I guess you could say the show is all about heaven and hell,” Maidment says, “and waiting between the two, in limbo. If you want to take the show literally, you can see a narrative about that, but also, you can watch it and have a really good time. Some people get a narrative out of it and come away saying that they’re thinking about the ideas of heaven and hell in a different way, and others come and just love the music and the acts, and we’re fi ne either way. It’s a bit of both worlds.”

One of the most exciting elements of Limbo, Maidment says, is the international cast. “It has people from New York, Montreal, Marseilles, as well as a couple of Sydneysiders,” he says. “The thing that connects them is that they are all standouts in their individual acts, but also, that they are multi-talented. Mikael is from Brussels, and he does Chinese pole,” Maidment says. “There are lots of Chinese pole artists in the world, but he also plays the guitar, sings and beatboxes. Eve from Montreal does aerial work in the show, but she also plays piano accordion and dances. When it came to the performers, I wanted people who weren’t just specialists in one skill, but who had a whole range. I spent most of my time in the planning process saying ‘what else do you do?’” In terms of the look and feel of the show, Maidment wanted to leave things pretty ambiguous, giving the sense that the characters have come

OCKHAM’S RAZOR

< DANCE/OPERA

DIDO & AENEAS

The show features original music by New York composer Sxip Shirey, and Maidment promises that it’s a truly unique score. “It’s really eccentric music,” he says. “You have everything from the sound of a marble dropping into a glass bowl to bullhorn harmonica and a sousaphone, there are crazy keyboards and there’s beatboxing. The cast play a huge range of instruments.” Shirey worked together on the score with Grant Arthur and Mick Stuart, a pair of local Sydney lads, and the collaboration went better than anyone could have predicted. “They gelled really fast,” Maidment says. “They met for the first time in January and made an hour and a half’s worth of music in the first three days straight after that. Once you hear some of the tunes, you’ll be blown away. People talk about it as a New Orleans marching band walking to a house party in Berlin and meeting the Beastie Boys. It’s really quirky music.”

WHERE WATER, DANCE AND MUSIC MEET BY STEPHANIE YIP

t’s not every day a choreographer is asked to “create an opera” and given full reign over what opera and how. But then, it’s not every day when the choreographer you’re asking is Berlin’s Sasha Waltz. The Queen of Contemporary Dance Theatre, as she is known within the modern dance spectrum, chose to stage Henry Purcell’s 17th century romantic-tragedy, Dido & Aeneas. Waltz’s production has been touring for over ten years now with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Academy for Ancient Music Berlin) and will take the Lyric Theatre stage at the forthcoming Sydney Festival. “I selected this work because, for me, it’s one of history’s major musical pieces and I’m drawn to Baroque music,” says Waltz. It’s a story built on “human themes that everyone can relate to. That is why I think the opera is alive today, even though it was written in another century,” she says. “It’s really a conflict between love and happiness, and your duty, responsibility and loyalty to society and to faith. I think every human being, whether on a big or small scale, undergoes a similar conflict or is chasing it to a certain degree in life.”

What: Limbo Where: The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park When: January 8-26

< ACROBATICS

roadly speaking, Ockham’s Razor is a principle that states the simplest answer is often the best. It’s not necessarily the right answer; just the least complicated. Given aerialists seem to have the least simple job in the world, we figured performer Charlotte Mooney could clue us in on who exactly this Ockham fellow is, and why she’s so keen on stealing the poor guy’s razor.

Looking at the images from UK troupe Ockham’s Razor’s aerial theatre show, you can almost imagine this isn’t a performance at all but a Hieronymus Bosch still life. Figures dangling from levitating platforms, trapped in giant wheels lit by freakish light. The striking imagery created by the troupe is so appealing to audiences the world over, that the production is still touring segments first devised more than five years ago.

It is this equipment – the giant wheel, the upended raft – that sit at the core of Ockham’s Razor. Movement, character and setting emerge from a physical design that takes months to 26 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

“The tank is very small actually,” Waltz says. The promotional image, which shows Dido and Aeneas swimming and dancing deep in water is not purely a visual marketing tool. It’s a literal depiction of the production. “It can barely cross two bodies,” admits Walt, “but it’s still heavy enough for a stage. While it was being built, we went to it with the dancers and costume department to see if the idea worked, if the material worked.” “[I wanted to] let the image of the Mediterranean Sea and the element of the water act as an opening into this world, into the myth, and into the ancient transforming … we went and tested it and once we had the tank, started to create it step-bystep. The dancers had to train their lungs. Being underwater so long, they had to try to find a way to catch air without destroying the physical lines.” What: Dido & Aeneas Where: Lyric Theatre When: January 9-27

LA VOIX HUMAINE develop and months more to craft into a distinct story. “We’ll have a theme that we’re interested in and very early on we’ll design a piece of equipment we think best reflects that. Then we’ll try all of the movement and choreography possible, trying to find out what the inherent story is to that particular piece of equipment.” It’s a wonderful notion, and one that Mooney engages in completely. She becomes most animated when explaining the process behind this development. “With the raft,” she says, “it’s about the relationship between three people, which is always an interesting dynamic. You can tease out the rivalries, the difficulties, jealousies and friendships … We found the best way to reflect that was on this raft that was kind of steadily destabilising. You can really only make it stable when you use your weight together. It’s quite a simple metaphor, but when we played around building this metaphorical raft, we found the theme was much broader. It could be on a raft, but it could just as

ALONE AND AFRAID ONSTAGE BY ADAM NORRIS

easily be in an office, a boardroom, anywhere.” Although there is no razor in the show (nor any Ockham, for that matter), the production is not without its share of danger. “We play with danger. It’s definitely in there,” says Mooney. “A lot of the stories come out of that – when you’re holding somebody’s hand as they’re leaning off a precipice. But our danger is always perceived, rather than actual. Our most dangerous moments come in rehearsal, when we’re trying something new. I think most audiences can tell the difference between real danger and perceived danger. Occasionally you’ll see acts that seem to push performers just beyond their limit, and it’s actually not that pleasant to watch. I think the audience picks up on that. Danger is only attractive when it’s very controlled. When it’s flirted with.” What: Ockham’s Razor Where: Seymour Centre When: January 21-26

M Ockham’s Razor photo by Nik Mackey

But Ockham’s Razor don’t just rehash old material. There’s always something new to be unearthed. “We still try to keep it fresh and play out new theatrical possibilities,” says Mooney. “We’ll start with finding what the striking images or movements are that a certain piece of equipment seems to promote. Very often when we start there will be two or three potential stories, but one will become clear and that will propel certain characters. The characters tend to be late in the day, because they’re serving the realities of what movements we have to do, but there’s always something new to find in them.”

Surprisingly, this was Waltz’s first choreographed venture with live music. In it, each dancer is accompanied with his or her own singer, making the troupe a 60-strong force. “It’s very thrilling to have a

What resulted was something extraordinary. “It’s not like your usual repertory production. It challenges the boundaries between the arts and brings them together in a story of not only drama, but lyricism, comedy, and playfulness,” says Waltz. Playfulness. Is that where the gigantic water tank comes in?

uch of Sydney Festival’s La Voix Humaine is based on the hilarity of translation and the enduring appeal of Jean Cocteau’s self-destructive script. Halina Reijn, who plays the production’s only character, is an insightful actress who’s as engaged in the relationships between audience and performer as she is between character and self. She speaks very openly of the strange loneliness that comes with touring a successful production, compounded by the fact she is entirely alone onstage in front of an audience that must read her dialogue subtitled.

Theatre is an exercise in voyeurism. I’ve never been one for productions that break the fourth wall with some tired, knowing wink to the artifice of it all. Instead, the most memorable are those that invite the audience to

intimacy without acknowledging their presence. Reijn strikes a precarious balance in this regard, presenting us with a lone woman behind a glass wall pleading with her unheard boyfriend down the telephone. We witness something private, yet there is a conspicuous divide between us. It is both fascinating and coolly observant. “It’s very lonely,” Reijn says, “and I’ve been doing it for so long. You get to see the world, but you’re very alone. To be onstage by yourself is a strange feeling. One part of me likes it because I’m totally in control and sometimes I find it hard to play in a team, you know? But then I also love playing off other actors. I love the chemistry, I love the energy and the danger of working with people onstage, [not knowing] how they’ll surprise me. It has two sides.”

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xxx Limbo photo by David Solm

So, how did Waltz re-imagine Purcell’s work? “I had the vision to bring together the body of the choir and the dancers to create one entity. I also envisioned that the whole storyline should get carried through a choreographic line almost in a parallel thread to the music – so the vibrato has an extra layer of musicality.”

FLIRTING WITH DANGER BY ADAM NORRIS

whole group of people singing and dancing at the same time,” she says. “The play is changed through that, and that’s very powerful. It was actually a very exciting process for the dancers to be rehearsing onstage with the singers. As a total, it was an uplifting experience. Challenging, but uplifting.”

BRAG SPECIAL

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014 < DANCE

AM I STARTING AFRESH BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN

haun Parker’s newest dance work, Am I, takes on the biggest idea of all – the origin of human culture. After five years of research and development, the piece will make its premiere at next year’s Sydney Festival, and it’s an ambitious work to say the least. “The original idea behind the work was that people have this darkness inside them,” he explains. “I wanted to do a piece exploring this instinct we have, deep down, to shun and to fight people who are different from ourselves. My initial focus was on racism in modern day Australia, but the more I read, the more I started to strip that away as I realised that no matter where you are in history, these deeper human instincts are present. I wanted to go deep, so I went from exploring Australia’s cultural identity to exploring genetic identity. I went back and back, before culture was created, because culture was created by man, not the other way around.” Parker’s work takes on the notion that culture was created by man and looks at the ways that cultures form. “We created culture through our different tribes,” he says. “Our spirituality, our need for music, our need for love, our need for deities and political systems – all these things shape our cultures, and I wanted to go back to the cradle of civilisation, where these things were formed. Am I is about a group of humans starting anew, with slates wiped completely clean. “The piece looks at the formation of societies and political structures, of war, of love,” Parker says. “Not only have humans evolved into complex political systems, there’s been a really strong evolution of emotions.” This evolution of emotions, Parker says, has been key to human survival, and it plays a big part in Am I. “Emotion is one of the keys to our survival,” he says. “The fact that that

a human mother and father look after their baby much longer than any other animal is very important. That evolution of love ensures that the parents will hopefully stay around and protect the child. The work addresses both those things – at the same time as the tribes are fighting with each other, they’re making love. The killing and the lovemaking are juxtaposed. It sounds really heavy, but it opens the work up as a voyeuristic look at how we are as humans.” The big question is how do you tackle such huge themes through the medium of dance? “The dancers I have are phenomenal,” Parker says, “and they can embody incredible conceptual ideas with ease. I have seven of the best in Australia. I can work with them on concepts, and they can get there through the body, they can extrapolate these ideas with their bodies more so than with words. Words are fi nite, they hang in the air and they mean something, but with the body, you can communicate things in a deeper way.” One of the performers in the piece, Julian Wong, auditioned as a cello and Chinese fl ute player, but when Parker found out he was also a martial artist, he became a key dancer in the work. “Julian trains every year with monks in China, and he’s created an intriguing piece for this work, a metal fan weapon. He’s trained for years with it, and it’s made of sharp metal and can cut you, but it’s also beautiful. I like the duality of something beautiful that speaks to our evolution as humans, that is simultaneously dangerous and violent.” What: Am I by Shaun Parker & Company Where: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House When: January 9-12

AUS U TR TRAL A IA AL AN EXXCL CLUS USIV IVEE

P U E N I L L L U F

D E C N U O N N A

GUEST VOCALS: CAT POWER EDWYN COLLINS KURT VILE TIM ROGERS (YOU AM I) KIM SALMON (THE SCIENTISTS) DAVE FAULKNER (HOODOO GURUS)

Am I photo by JMichele Aboud La Voix Humaine photo by Jan Versweyveld

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Dealing with the isolation and vulnerability of performing onstage alone is a difficult task at the best of times. Reijn’s role is made all the more demanding given that she needs to convince the audience of her sincerity and emotion while responding to a voice that only exists inside her head. “I think it proves why it’s such an established play,” she says. “You don’t know what the guy is saying, so the audience must use their imagination. It really fascinates me. For me it’s very important to channel real emotions that could be drawn from two or three guys, it depends where I am in my life. So I will have different guys in my head, maybe even in the course of one show.” She laughs, “It depends on how many men I hate at the moment.” Without having seen the play, I suggest that one of the reasons for the great success it has been enjoying is precisely that; by having one end of the conversation hidden, the audience is left to project themselves into the empty space and engage in the performance with their own voices, their own words. “It’s another strength of the play,” Reijn says referring to Cocteau’s script rather than her own performance in it. She does this often despite the almost universal praise she has been awarded for the role. Knowing she will be performing in Dutch before an English-speaking audience, I

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Halina Reijn in La

Voix Humaine

BIG STAR BAND: JODY STEPHENS (BIG STAR) MIKE MILLS (R.E.M.) KEN STRINGFELLOW (THE POSIES) CHRIS STAMEY (THE DB’S) MITCH EASTER (LET’S ACTIVE) SKYLAR GUDASZ BRETT HARRIS ALONGSIDE 12-PIECE ENSEMBLE OF STRINGS AND BRASS. < THEATRE

close by asking if she’s concerned that the presence of subtitles might prove a distraction for people. “You do feel it’s harder to grab the audience,” she says. “On the other hand, because they get to read the lines they get to really follow your performance. I’ve performed a lot of plays all over the world and sometimes I really hate subtitles. But here, it works. I’ve also had a whole audience of people wearing headphones while someone simultaneously translates the whole thing. That was a crazy experience.”

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What: Jean Cocteau’s La Voix Humaine performed by Halina Reijn Where: Carriageworks When: January 9-13

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SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014

BRAG SPECIAL

< MUSIC

< FILM

VISITORS THE RUSH TO HAPPINESS BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN

BOMBINO O

“For musicians in Niger, really the only way to earn your living is to play at weddings, at baby naming ceremonies, Muslim holidays and other events like this,” he says of his day-to-day life there. “These are the only times that people will spend their

money on entertainment. Otherwise the population does not have the means to support artists. But there is this exception, mostly of marriages, where people will do everything they can to pay for musicians to come and perform.” Political turmoil forced Moctar to flee Niger again in 2007, but while he was living in exile in Burkina Faso, he was approached by filmmaker Ron Wyman, who had heard rough cassette recordings of Group Bombino playing at weddings. Wyman convinced Moctar that he should formally record his music, resulting in the wildly successful 2011 album Agadez.

talking about general ideas, lessons, stories. I am never talking about myself in my songs. Sometimes I will talk about my wife or my friends but never about myself, just the lessons I have learned in my life that I think are important to share with everyone.”

Moctar has now returned to Niger again, and he hopes this time he will be able to stay there for good. “Mostly things are calm and safe here,” he says. “Every now and then there is a problem with terrorists kidnapping someone or other bad things like that, but the population is now peaceful amongst each other and it is not a violent place. God willing, the peace will last for a long time.”

As for the future, he says he is working on new songs all the time, and plans to release another album next year. “I hope to record the album in Africa, more precisely in Burkina Faso where there is a big Tuareg community. For me, that would be the best place to record the next album.”

Niger’s political turmoil has made a deep impression on Moctar and his music, though he insists he never writes directly about his own experiences. “My lyrics are usually

Moctar will be bringing his live show to Sydney Festival, and for the uninitiated, I ask what exactly we can expect. “You can expect that you will have a lot of fun,” he says. “We play a desert rock’n’roll style that is probably unlike anything you have heard live in Australia before. So it will be something new but also familiar.”

Where: The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park When: Thursday January 9 / Friday January 10 And: Also playing The Lennox, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta on Saturday January 11

The pair’s working methods, Reggio tells me, are vastly different than those that might be typical of a film director and a composer. “I ask Philip not to write note one until he’s fully absorbed the composition of the film,” Reggio says. “He goes to the locations where we shoot, which is normally unheard of for a composer.” The two then get together and speak about the thematic content of the film, in both practical and poetic terms. “When he’s fi nished, I usually hear the music first on piano and give my comments, and it will start to develop,” Reggio continues. “We’ll go back and forth and keep doing the dance. It’s a reciprocal process. Most directors will give their soundtrack composers cues, anything from a few seconds to a minute or two. With my films, Philip is writing a full symphonic score, so it takes on a whole new dimension.”

OTHELLO: THE REMIX BROTHERS IN RHYME BY ADAM NORRIS

When the conference call was first put through, it seemed like one of the Q Brothers had been lost in the ether. Though he was eventually connected, I was a little disappointed. Surely this was a prime opportunity to sow dissent in the ranks and have one brother dish the dirt on the other, laying the groundwork for a spectacular onstage breakdown at the height of the Sydney Festival come January. It would have been fittingly Shakespearean, and perhaps 28 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

“By using Shakespeare, we’re probably bringing hip hop to people who don’t know hip hop at least as much, if not more, than we are bringing Shakespeare to people who don’t know Shakespeare,” one of the brothers tells me. Which brother exactly, is difficult to pinpoint. I’m going to go with JQ. “People can hate on hip hop and not know about it, not understand it, and we’re making them look at it in a new light, which I think is maybe more important. It wasn’t exactly our intention – the only idea we had was to tell a cool story and to tell it the way we knew how.” And what a story. Many will be familiar with the tragedy of Shakespeare’s Othello, but you can guarantee they’ve never seen it like this. A blend of rap, musical theatre and traditional text, the Q Brothers have delved deep into Shakespeare’s language to present something as

I put it to Reggio that his film has been called an ode to modern life. That being the case, I ask for his thoughts on the modern condition. Will future generations view our customs as odd, and indeed, will they see us as a selfish civilisation? In response, he paraphrases Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 16. “You will know them by their fruits,” he says. “I think that’s the simplest way to put it. We are leaving a bad taste on the planet in our pursuit of happiness. Generations from now, people will look back and say that we weren’t thinking of them, they’ll say that we disregarded the fact that the planet’s resources are finite. We’re creating problems that future generations will have to deal with because of our rush to happiness.” What: Visitors Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: January 23-24

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stirring as the original, but with a strong and contemporary voice. “The impetus was to do a piece of theatre that was built from hip hop and rap, this music that we’d grown up with and still both love,” GQ says. “Once we started messing with [the play], it made complete sense in terms of what Shakespeare was doing with language, with poetry, storytelling, with music. That’s really what we’re doing in hip hop. Language, poetry, storytelling and music. It became very apparent very quickly that these two forms not only lend themselves to each other but are essentially the same.” He makes a fine point, and you can imagine having old stories retold with fresh dialogue is just the kind of thing the Bard himself would approve of. “It’s kind of the evolution of what Shakespeare was doing,” GQ says. “The more we worked on it, the clearer that was. It’s easy to believe that today, Shakespeare would have been a rapper. We know there are lot of people who think that’s some obscene joke...” “Or that we’re just

saying it for shock value,” JQ adds. “When really, it’s completely accurate.” The Q Brothers’ dedication to their adaptations is testament to this belief. This is no idle gimmick, but hard and thoughtful work. “[Our scripts] come out over the course of 20 to 40 drafts over 12 to 18 months. Othello: The Remix took about six, eight months. We do a line for line translation of every single line in the play. It’s still everything that is said by every character, except it all happens to rhyme now. But that’s just the first

step. We’ll have the OED out, the internet running, we’ll have two different published versions of the play, and just go to town for two to three weeks of not much sleep to make that first draft happen.” I tell them this sounds exhausting beyond belief. GQ laughs. “We’re just trying to be entertaining, and to tell a good story in a new way. That’s all.” What: Othello: The Remix Where: Seymour Centre When: January 23-26 thebrag.com

Othello The Remix photo by Michael Brosilow

aving premiered their latest production Othello: The Remix at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, there can be little doubt that the Chicago-based hip hop masters the Q Brothers, have staked a solid claim on contemporary adaptations of the Bard’s work. JQ and GQ have travelled the world with their awardwinning ad-rap-tations, and were full of many more anecdotes than could possibly fit in this article. They are also pioneers of replacing the word ‘motherfucker’ with ‘sludsucker’.

something that hip hop naysayers may have found solace in. That’s the kind of cultural collision the Q Brothers are very aware of.

Reggio himself has long been fascinated with the idea of technology. The notion of a ‘technological universe’ is a theme that suffuses all his films, and is played out in fascinating ways in Visitors. A recurring image in the film is that of faces staring at screens. Some of the people involved are watching television, others playing video games, but to watch them is strange and fascinating. “I think we’re creatures of habit, and the things we do every day inform the content of our minds,” Reggio says. “Here we are, transfixed and addicted to our screens – we use those, and they deliver knowledge to us, but in a very disembodied way. They’re changing the way we think. All over the planet, right now, billions of hands are touching gizmos at this moment, and billions of eyes are looking at screens. Children are born into a world of screens now, and I can only imagine how that will shape their minds.”

Visitors photo by Cinedigm

mara Moctar has led an eventful life to say the least. The guitarist was born in Niger, but spent many years in exile from the wartorn country – his family fled in the early 1990s, fearing for their safety following the Tuareg rebellion. It was during this time, living in Algeria, that the teenage Moctar heard the music of Jimi Hendrix and Dire Straits for the first time. He says the sense of freedom he felt listening to their music was the key appeal. “Especially with Jimi,” he says. “His guitar seemed like an extension of his body to me and he was so free in his music. I was a poor refugee without anything, so this sense of freedom pulled me in.” Moctar had also studied traditional Tuareg guitar – a style he describes as the music of the desert, or the soundtrack of the Sahara – and the two influences combined. By the time he returned to Niger in 1997, the teenage Moctar was an accomplished musician, playing with his band Group Bombino.

DESERT BLUES BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN

irector Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass have a working relationship that is stronger than most. Glass has composed music for every one of Reggio’s films, including the legendary Qatsi trilogy, epic and beautiful meditations on a world in a state of flux. Their latest collaboration is Visitors, which will screen as part of next year’s Sydney Festival. The black and white film has been called a ‘time capsule for the 21st century’, and features a haunting score composed by Glass. “I feel that in terms of his work, he never repeats himself,” Reggio explains about the pair’s long-standing collaboration. “The more we work together, the more I get to know his language, and the more he understands mine. It’s like a dance, and with each film, we become more in step with each other. His music is extraordinarily cinematic – there is so much going on. I feel that working with him, there are almost unlimited opportunities to explore.”

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Grizzly Bear

The Art Of Letting Go By Natalie Amat

rizzly Bear’s sound has always been as much about the spaces between the elements of their songs as the notes themselves. Take ‘Alligator (Choir Version)’ from 2007’s Friend EP – it is a sweeping and expansive take on the 2004 original and one of singer/ guitarist Daniel Rossen’s favourite reworkings. “Once we became a four-piece we started playing things in a totally different way, kind of to make it work live, and it was interesting because we just sounded so different as a band to what that record sounded like – so that ‘Alligator’ version was an attempt to merge the original song with this strange, droney live incarnation [and] the new style of recording we had developed as a process.”

When it came time to make their most recent album, Shields, the distances between the notes and even between the band members gave the record a new level of maturity. “Sometimes the stories are too personal or we just like to leave it up to interpretation, but certainly negotiating a distance between us – literally, that process of making the record was kind of that, on a musical level … There was a lot of processing through – and growing into – being full adults, and figuring out what it meant to be a functioning musician and also being a functional adult at the same time.”

For Rossen, working in a maturing band has great benefits for the creative process, which by necessity is constantly shifting. “I think I’m very fortunate to work with three other guys that are extremely creative and have strong opinions and we challenge each other to try stuff outside of our comfort zone – I think over the years we’ve all loosened up a lot and definitely allowed for that. Writing songs when I was younger, I was really obsessed with detailing every arrangement and every harmony and every little bit and piece, and when we were recording [2006 LP] Yellow House, that was often a difficult part of the process because I couldn’t let go of how I initially wanted something to sound. But over the years it just got easier and easier to let go of that, because the more we tried to keep it fresh and be more collaborative, it ended up sounding better.” However, sometimes the spontaneity of creation can get stifled by the realities of touring. “The unfortunate thing is, as the productions get larger and the tours get more streamlined, we get into this situation where we’re playing the same set all the time and it kind of doesn’t change. But there’s always ways to remedy that. I’m actually gonna do some shows by myself in the [US] spring, try out any material I can – play things that are loose, play things that are not even totally finished, just to see what it feels like; just this kind of antidote to our usual style of very well-produced, structured sets.” Leaving their comfort zone is starting to become a habit for Grizzly Bear, after working with Australian director Kris Moyes on the visually arresting video for Shields single ‘Gun-Shy’. “It was interesting, Kris is definitely a

pretty wild mind,” says Rossen. “He had this whole concept about, ‘Could you physically show what it’s like to extract creative spirit out of a living person?’ We tried it to ‘Gun-Shy’ and it just worked perfectly. “I think it’s really visually stunning and kind of bizarre at times, and I don’t know if that idea exactly translates but it certainly makes for a really fascinating, wild video.” Grizzly Bear are headed to Australia for the Falls and Southbound festivals, with a one-off show at the Sydney Opera House to wrap things up. “I think we’re just gonna stretch out and really embrace the fact that we can play our more arranged, slower moving songs. We’re gonna do a lot of our usual set material as well, but I think playing a beautiful venue like that is obviously an honour and we just want to do a really good job and play the most complete set we can. Australia’s going to be the last shows for this album, so the Sydney Opera House will be a nice little grand tour – it’s gonna be great.” And what will Rossen get up to in the time between touring cycles? “I’ve been living in upstate New York for the last couple of years and I keep myself pretty busy, essentially learning about taking care of a piece of land and gardening. It’s been kind of an amazing process, ’cause I’ve never been able to do that in my life.” What: Shields out now through Warp/Inertia Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday January 5 And: Also appearing alongside Vampire Weekend, The Wombats, Neil Finn, MGMT, The Preatures, Flight Facilities and more at The Falls Music & Arts Festival, Byron Bay, Marion Bay and Lorne, Saturday December 28 – Friday January 3

Grizzly Bear photo by Tom Hines

In that way, the record became as much about personal development as musical. “I think we were honestly trying to figure that out all in our own way,” says Rossen. “It’s a strange thing to grow into your 30s as a person in a band, and a lot of Shields came out of that, because we had the experience of wanting to change and wanting to move on – but not really knowing how to keep the spirit alive and keep that same feeling of camaraderie and everything that you have when you’re so young, when

you’re in a band and it’s all so exciting and you don’t think about anything you’re doing. But the older you get the more you have to consider your movements.”

Blessthefall Body Slam By Krissi Weiss

here are two things you can depend on in metalcore – devoted and almost obsessively loyal fans, and an oversaturated scene. Perhaps there are three things, from the performance side at least – an eventual spot on the Warped Tour, which, if you’ve earned it, will secure you a career (for a while at least) as the hair bands come and go. Blessthefall photo by Douglas Sonders

Arizona natives Blessthefall have been paying their dues for ten years now. They’ve always had a solid base of support, but this year’s album Hollow Bodies struck a chord that looks set to reverberate for a while yet. Their fan base grew exponentially, they finally graduated to the main stage of Warped, and they’ll bring their epic live show to Australia in the New Year. Provided frontman Beau Bokan makes it out of the backwoods of Alabama alive, that is. “It seems [as] though that stereotype hits the nail right on the head with this place,” Bokan says, half joking and half anxious as he walks through a desolate neighborhood somewhere in the Cotton State. “We’re walking to a YMCA gym to go work out and we were just talking about how we feel like we’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse out here. It’s very strange.”

crowd doing what they’re doing,” he laughs. “They just hear these blood-curdling screams and these crazy guitar sounds; they don’t really know what’s going on. It comes with the territory. The thing is, you get to meet them later and they’re all like, ‘Man, I thought you guys were all like, devil worshippers,’ and we’re the opposite. It’s crazy.”

Religious zealots in those parts like to think of metalcore as the devil’s music, so I ask Bokan if he’s concerned about their gig later that evening. “Ha – we always get that, especially when a parent comes out to a show and they’re seeing the

Blessthefall really are the opposite – and as the singer in a Christian hardcore band, Bokan is a genuinely nice guy, well aware of his growing influence as their mouthpiece to legions of fans. “It took a little while to finally go, ‘OK, well I’m the singer,

32 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

I don’t know why they wanna talk to me but they do.’ I’ve finally embraced it, whether it be through social media or talking to fans – however, I’ve definitely taken a step back and am trying to look at the things I say. It’s not like I was ever running my mouth off out there but I’ve definitely started second-guessing myself. I guess I’m editing myself, in a way; I don’t want to say things that are too harsh. I’m representing the band when I speak. I think it was while I was reading letters from fans that I realised these kids depend on what we do and listen to what I say, which is crazy. It just happens organically though.”

Plenty of that organic growth came within the past few months, especially following the release of Hollow Bodies. It seemed that after ten years of hard work, the band became an overnight success. “Just over the summer, after stepping up to the main stage for the Warped Tour in the States, all of a sudden we’re in front of this even larger audience. Since the new record came out it’s been incredible to see ‘x’ amount of new fans out there. I dunno what it is about this new album but it’s really had an effect on people. It’s an anomaly, in a way – we’ve been around for so long and somehow

this record has just struck the right chord”. What: Boys Of Summer 2014 With: Like Moths To Flames, The Color Morale Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Saturday January 11 (with Sienna Skies) / Sunday January 12 (all ages, with Caulfield) And: Also appearing at Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle (all ages, with Rivalries) on Friday January 10 More: Hollow Bodies out now through Fearless/Shock thebrag.com

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arts frontline

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Mina Kitsos and Lily White

five minutes WITH

ROSS MOLLISON

Miss A in a Bubble

mpresario of Spiegelworld, Ross Mollison, is all about curating breathtaking performances to wow audiences the world over. Empire will be presented in Spiegelworld’s 700-seat antique spiegeltent at Moore Park in the new year and will smash the boundaries of circus, cabaret, vaudeville and burlesque. This, my friends, is a visual extravaganza bound to impress. We caught up with Mollison himself to get the low-down on what to expect. How was Empire conceived? In 2012 Spiegelworld was searching

for a new home for its annual spiegeltent summer season in New York when the city offered us a vacant building site right in the heart of Times Square. That inspired us to create a show that reflected the underbelly of Manhattan and the real-life eccentric characters you used to see on the nearby street corners like the graffiti artists and the man who sold automatic carrot peelers. How did you go about curating the production’s lineup of performers? In the years leading up to the creation of each new

PACT centre for emerging artists has a sterling February lineup sorted to kick off the new year. From February 12-15, A Boy & A Bean devised and performed by Nick Atkins, will confront audiences with the controversial history surrounding the Marriage Equality debate. Atkins follows the journey of Jack in search of the giants who have dominated the conversation and presents an open, off-beat and contemporary reframing of the issue. Alongside A Boy & Bean will be Unsex Me (February 19-22), the story of Mark Wilson who will play out her life onstage. Exploring issues of gender and its presentations, Wilson will take the stage in drag to perform part standup, part Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. Wilson is an International Fellow of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London and it shows. His wit, delivery and thought-provoking ideas have been recognised by many as some of the best dark comedy around the traps. Head to pact.net.au for tickets and further details.

definition of ‘circus’? Labels like circus, vaudeville, comedy and burlesque are not easy to apply to the shows that Spiegelworld creates, yet they are all those things. I have loved circuses since I was a kid, but we are building on those traditions to create an immersive and unforgettable night out for adults that doesn’t begin and end with the rise and fall of a curtain.

How has Empire been received differently in Australia to how it was in the US? Since its world premiere season in New York City in 2012, Empire has been travelling around Australia for the past 12 months and the response has been incredible. As this show was created in New York by a predominantly Australian creative team with a diverse international cast, I think it was always going to click with audiences here. Australians are more accustomed to seeing shows in a spiegeltent but we’re trying to push the boundaries of what can be done on a 9 foot-wide stage.

Where to next for Empire? After Sydney, Empire returns to Melbourne and then it’s on to seasons in Canada, South America and Japan. Meanwhile I’m working hard to get Spiegelworld’s second Las Vegas resident show ready for opening in a few weeks at the new Rose. Rabbit.Lie social club at The Cosmopolitan. Our other show, Absinthe, has been playing at Caesars Palace since 2011.

How is the production redefining the traditional

What: Empire by Spiegelworld Where: Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park When: January 7 – February 16 Tickets: empireaustralia.com

Travelling North

TRAVELLING NORTH

All That Fall

Brian Brown’s set to take the Sydney Theatre Company stage in February to portray Frank, an Australian bugger who relocates from Melbourne to Queensland with new partner Frances. Soon, however, the couple’s dream faces new threat: signs of age betray themselves in Frank’s failing heart. Travelling North by David Williamson was first brought to life in 1979 at The Nimrod Theatre under the direction of John Bell. This time round, Andrew Upton directs Brown and Greta Scacchi in leading roles supported by a cast comprising Harriet Dyer, Russell Kiefel, Emily Russell, Andrew Tighe and Sara West. Head to sydneytheatre.com. au for tickets and further information.

YABUN FESTIVAL

Australia’s largest celebration of Indigenous culture, Yabun Festival, attracts crowds of 10,000-15,000 people annually, and in its 11th year is set to unleash the country’s chest of creative treasure once again. Vaunting some of the nation’s best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, Yabun 2014 will be hosted by charming burlesque performer Constantina Bush and acclaimed actor Alec Doomadgee. Red Ochre award-winner, performer Warren H Williams, and Pitjantjatjara singersongwriter, Frank Yamma, will headline the festival. The legendary Archie Roach, reggae bigwigs Dubmarine and triple j’s Thelma Plum will also take the stage. The Gadigal Art Embassy will also be featuring original works for the first time with workshops and stalls on offer to patrons. Pen Thursday January 26 in your diary, because that’s when it all goes down at Victoria Park.

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From January 2014, Brenda May Gallery will introduce Black Box Projects, a theatrette dedicated to showcasing video art and light works. To kick off Black Box Project’s inaugural season, the Sydney Underground Film Festival’s Film Cunst will offer an unashamed celebration of femininity in film art from January 29 – February 22. Next up will be dLUX MediaArts’ Scanlines Remix – a selection of Australian video art by contemporary, established and emerging artists – running from February 25 – May 10. Head On Photo Festival will also grace the Black Box Projects’ theatrette with the work of finalists in the festival’s fine art and documentary prize categories. Head to brendamaygallery.com.au for further details.

DAY FOR NIGHT

Performance Space, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2014 and Carriageworks are presenting Day For Night, a set of durational performance works from a range of queer artists from February 13-15. Artists will join forces with leading electronic musicians and key project collaborators Stereogamous (Paul Mac and Johnny Seymour) to bring the event to life. On Saturday February 15, the event will turn into a large-scale dance party where the audience will experience the same performances in a new context with Stereogamous at the helm. Head to carriageworks.com.au for more information.

Our favourite goggle-eyed super intelligent keyboard ninjas, The IT Crowd, are clicking the big finale button and sending a squillion excited-face emoticons your way. The Internet Is Coming sees Roy, Moss and Jen manning the basement at Reynholm Industries, dealing with girl problems (well, one girl) and new computers (OMG). There’s a disaster trifecta involving spilt coffee, a camera phone and damaged reputations, and a homeless person. And Reynholm head honcho, Douglas, will finally share his secret to confidence with Moss before heading off to star on Secret Millionaire, all the while Jen and Roy are struggling to recover their dignity. And Noel Fielding’s back as our trusted Richmond. Huzzah! We have five copies of this cult British comedy to give away. For your chance to win, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us your idea of a disaster trifecta in the office in 25 words or less.

ALL THAT FALL

Sydney Festival-goers will have the chance to listen to Samuel Beckett’s first radio play. Pan Pan Theatre is returning to our traps with a listening party designed to engage audiences in unusual communal storytelling. Sixty rocking chairs will be bathed in light and the attendees seated in said rocking chairs will be surrounded by the voices and the story of an aging Irishwoman and her townspeople. Pan Pan’s listening chamber presents a multilayered composition of voices fusing black comedy, a murder mystery, a cryptic literary riddle and a quasi-musical score. Head to sydneyfestival.org.au for tickets and more information.

CONNOISSEUR AND PHILANTHROPIST

From January 31 – April 27, the Art Gallery of NSW will display ceramics, stone and bronze sculptures, textiles and paintings from its collection. After falling in love with Chinese art in the ’50s, Goldie Sternberg started donating works to the gallery in the ’80s after which her husband Edward Sternberg established the Edward and Goldie Sternberg Chinese Art Purchase Fund. Connoisseur And Philanthropist showcases a range of artistic styles from the 1st century to modern times with the aim of enriching viewers’ understanding and appreciation of the diversity of Chinese civilisation. For further details visit artgallerynsw.gov.au.

BLACK BOX PROJECTS Yabun Festival

THE INTERNET IS COMING!

Merchants Store

MERCHANTS STORE

Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich is bringing his perspective-skewing interactive art installation, Merchants Store, to our neck of the woods for Sydney Festival 2014. The work, from afar, looks like an ordinary 19th century Sydney building, but upon closer inspection punters find people dangling from windows, climbing up walls and crawling over the roof. The trick? A precisely positioned mirror and a building façade that’s actually a floor. It’s all about creating the illusion of defying gravity, you see. Merchants Store presents at Darling Harbour from January 9-26. Head to sydneyfestival. org.au for further details.

ALASKA PROJECTS 2014 SEASON

Alaska Projects has a record of hosting cool projects and 2014 is set to be its best season yet with an extended list of exhibitions, performances and touring shows on the bill. The third solo exhibition of photographic works by Sydney artists will jumpstart the season in early January, followed by several group shows with Leo Coyte, Teo Treloar and Will French all representing alongside other local heavyweights. New Yorkbased artists Inner Course and Londoner Elizabeth Stanton will also drop in, and exhibition exchanges with Adelaide and New Zealand artist run initiatives Fontanelle and Dog Park will follow suit. Then there’s Alaska’s 2014 music program, Musical ALASKA comprising monthly performances, offsite events, an advanced fi lm and dance program curated by Dr Alex Munt, and a new performance program titled Restaging Restaging. Visit alaskaprojects.com for dates and more information. thebrag.com

Xxxx photo by Xxxx

FEBRUARY AT PACT

show, I spend a lot of time on planes visiting remote circuses, fringe clubs and festivals all around the world. For every Spiegelworld show, we look for artists who have an incredible or unusual skill and who bring something unique to their act. They may be incredibly sexy, funny or simply able to connect with the audience in the intimate setting we create. Empire has all of that in spades.

10 – 19 JANUARY BONDI PAVILION TOURING NATIONALLY JANUARY- MAY 2014

23rd INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

SPECTACULAR SHORT FILMS WITH SOUL Flickerfest is Australia’s only Academy® Accredited and BAFTA recognised short ﬁlm festival! The Festival Bar, over looking Bondi Beach is open everyday throughout the Festival so grab a drink and some yummy organic food before or after your session!

TICKETS AND PROGRAM INFO FLICKERFEST.COM.AU AND FACEBOOK.COM/FLICKERFEST TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM MOSHTIX.COM.AU

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 35

Bondi's favourite international short film festival, Flickerfest, returns next year for its 23rd instalment. A slew of local and international shorts will grace the silver screen from January 10-19 and we thought we'd take the drama out of navigating the mammoth program by presenting BRAG's top three highlights. INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Letters From Pyongyang Remembering The Forgotten War By Adam Norris

Letters From Pyongyang

Letters From Pyongyang is a short film about seperation, isolation and family. Canadian-Korean director Jason Lee charts his family’s attempts to contact long-lost relatives in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and their unexpected success in gaining access to one of the most secretive nations on the planet. The intrigue that surrounds life in North Korea – the day to day realities, the paranoia and state surveillance – is something that fascinates many people, yet, as Lee struggles to emphasise, such political commentary was far from his purpose. BRAG caught up with the documentary maker before the film screens at next year’s Flickerfest. Adam Norris: You make a clear point that this is not a film about North Korea per se, but is the very personal story of your own family. However, given the severe secrecy with which the country shrouds itself, isn’t any insight – especially that of a family – something an audience will inherently attempt to construe as representative? Jason Lee: Of course it’s an important part of the film that audiences are often most curious about and viewers will glean what they can from what I show. My intentions, however, were to make a film about Korea’s shared tragedy through the lens of my family’s story and my father’s journey, which isn’t just ‘about’ North Korea. The film looks back to a common history and my uncle’s story begins before notions of North and South Korea even existed. So to reduce it to a film about North Korea is, in my opinion, a distorted and facile way of understanding my intentions and what the film is actually about. AN: When attention is drawn to the political genesis of such a struggle, is

The Ringer (still)

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

The Ringer it not the documentarian’s intention to lay this knowledge as foundation for his filmic vision to build upon? JL: My family’s story is intrinsically intertwined with historic events of the past century that manifested in Korea. Many people just don’t know about what happened before and during the Korean War as it’s often labeled as the ‘Forgotten War’. It was important for me to outline the political genesis of Korea’s historic struggles in order to understand my uncle’s motivations and the reasons why he and thousands of Korean families have since been divided, which also provides insight into the present day disaccord. AN: To that end, what do you believe are the responsibilities of the documentary maker towards their subject, if any? Is there involvement with their content, or should they strive to maintain an objective eye? JL: There are two ways to go about filming in a restricted area. The quicker way might entail sneaking in cameras and filming in fear of being caught and the slower way would be getting proper authorisation, which may or may not

be granted at all. Both approaches would make two completely different films and also have two very different ethical implications. I approached the production of my film by employing the latter method. My goal was to tell my family’s story with the ideals of objectivity in mind, but it’s also a personal documentary, which is inevitably coloured by my own point of view. There are conscious decisions made during the editing process in terms of what to show and what not to show. Unfortunately, it’s still an awful and tragic situation for divided Korean families with too many of them simply dying of old age waiting for a chance to reunite with their lost family members. It was by no means an easy quest for my film, but I believe in the saying ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’.

What: Letters From Pyongyang dir. Jason Lee Where: Bondi Pavilion When: 4.30pm Tuesday January 14

ACADEMY ACCREDITED AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION

Tango Underpants Emma Booth in Tango Underpants

Exploring Emotions By Prue Clark Chris Shepherd describes himself as ‘your faithful filmmaker’. His kooky and unique films are about people’s lives, disappointments and glories with his latest short, The Ringer, set to debut at the 23rd instalment of Flickerfest in January. Exploring the gap between fantasy and reality, as well as the awkwardness and unfamiliarity of a relationship between a father and son who barely know each other, The Ringer takes the viewer on a gritty yet touching, journey into the lives of two protagonists played by John Henshaw and Kieran Lynn. Based on his own personal experience and drawing inspiration from a ’70s feature film by Jack Gold, The National Health, Shepherd says The Ringer was an attempt to explore the emotions he was feeling at the time. “I didn’t meet my father until I was 38, so, as you can imagine, it was a huge explosion on both my life and his. While the film doesn’t set out to be a statement of this fact, nor is it an exact portrayal of my father, it is an attempt to look at the emotions I was experiencing at the time,” he says. Although Shepherd’s films, such as the award winning Dad’s Dead and Bad Night For The Blues are wellknown for exploring dark and at times, confronting, themes through a combination of animation and true to life characters, there’s still an element of lightheartedness within the storylines. “I really like studying people and when you’re looking to find integrity in characters, they can end up being both funny and sad, like those in some of my favourite films, Steptoe And Son or One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. “One minute they’re funny and the next, tragic. That’s life. One minute you are on top of the world, the next you are in the gutter. Those are the kind of narratives I

Living Life By Kate Robertson Tango Underpants is a short film about Carolyn (Emma Booth), a young Australian backpacker who arrives in Buenos Aires following a bad breakup. Here, explains co-director Miranda Edmonds, “she discovers not only the wonders of Tango but also the vital importance of wearing the right underwear!” Ahead of Tango Underpants’ screening at Flickerfest, Edmonds spoke to BRAG about the film’s cast, crew, location shooting in Argentina and the importance of crowdfunding. Tango Underpants is based on Carolyn Swindell’s short story Brief Encounter, which the film’s writer, John Collee, read on the train from Paris to the Cannes Film Festival. 36 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

“He was recounting this great story and we agreed it would make a brilliant short film. Khrob [Edmonds] and I came on to direct, Tania Chambers and Stephen Van Mil to produce and three days later John had written the script. We sent it to Emma [Booth] and she was in within a few hours of reading it,” says Edmonds. Directing Tango Underpants alongside her brother Khrob was “pretty easy as we’ve been doing it all our lives – dating back to Christmas concerts in the backyard with the neighbours when we were kids”. Says Edmonds, “we know each other’s strengths” and “have a common film language which helps in aligning our vision in preproduction. [We] have two pairs of eyes, ears and hands.”

What was it like working with Booth? “It was a brilliant experience. She is so talented, hard-working, professional and just plain lovely. Even when it was -2 degrees Celsius and she was only in a tango dress,” says Edmonds. Fortuitously, Booth is a former ballroom dancer and so while tango lessons were organised for her “she got it in about five minutes”. The film’s crew did, however, have to ensure “she didn’t dance too well as her character is meant to be just learning the tango for the first time”. For Edmonds, shooting in Buenos Aires was an incredible experience. The director believes that filming on location was crucial to securing Tango Underpants’ authenticity. “Every shot is filled with the authenticity of the streets of Buenos

Aires and we feel this really brings the film to life,” she says. “There were definitely some challenges with the language barrier like trying to direct a tango scene via an interpreter.” Edmonds maintains, however, that “any difficulties were by far outweighed by the joy of shooting everything in the actual location”. Crowdfunding also played a large part in realising the film; ScreenWest’s 3 to 1 initiative, which offered $3 for every $1 pledged by the public, was utilised by the Tango Underpants crew to get the film off the ground. With more than $25,000 raised through a Pozible campaign, ScreenWest contributed $75,000 resulting in a budget of over $100,000. “[This scheme] really brings together market place demand and government funding in a whole new way,” says Edmonds. “Crowdfunding

really love. Sometimes I re-create moments of my past, other times I take on stories I’ve been told. At the end of the day, I love people and that’s what my films are about,” he says. Growing up in Liverpool, Shepherd was first inspired to start making films by a good friend, David Clapham. Realising he had found his passion, Shepherd then went on to study film, moved to London and gradually became a director. In 1995, he set up a production company called Polkadot and directed the multi-award winning film, The Broken Jaw, for Channel 4. Then, in 2000, he became the co-founder of production company, Slinky Pictures, with producer Maria Manton and has since been writing and directing a number of successful TV series and short films. As a man who is passionate about writing and translating his creative ideas into visual journeys, Shepherd admits he is always looking for new stories and themes to explore. “Playwright Alan Bennet once said, ‘when is a writer writing?’ Regardless of whether I am putting pen to paper or tapping on keys or doing mundane things, like going to the supermarket, I find that I’m writing all the time, even when I think I’m not,” he says. “I’m hope the Flickerfest audience enjoy The Ringer. Although I make films that attempt to be true to a particular story, at the end of the day, it’s up to the audience as to what they think,” says Shepherd. “For me, making films is like giving birt; once your children are out in the world, it’s hard to know what they actually become or where they will go.” What: The Ringer dir. Chris Shepherd Where: Bondi Pavilion When: 8.45pm Wednesday January 15

platforms not only change how films are made and financed, but they have created a whole shift in focus for us as filmmakers. Having an audience already committed to the project meant we really kept them at the forefront of our minds from day one.” “Tango Underpants is about being brave and getting out there and living life. We hope that watching the film inspires people to try something different, put themselves out of their comfort zone or at the very least re-think their undies!” concludes Edmonds. What: Tango Underpants dir. Miranda and Khrob Edmonds Where: Bondi Pavilion When: 8.45pm Thursday January 16

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Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen around town

■ Film

THE RAILWAY MAN

T N DO C I N PA

film is a credible retelling of Eric Lomax’s story that falls short of compelling viewing. One to pencil in for a slow weeknight or Sunday evening. Larry Lai ■ Theatre

CORANDERRK Until January 3 The Railyway Man In cinemas now Based on the memoirs of Eric Lomax’s traumatising experiences as a British POW during World War II, director Jonathan Teplitzky’s The Railway Man is a moving yet wooden war drama examining the haunting spectre of war and the power of forgiveness. With an all-star cast headed by Colin Firth, who plays Eric in typically dour reticent mode, and his caring wife, Patricia Wallace (Nicole Kidman), the film begins with the two falling in love after a chance encounter on a train. Their marriage, however, is seemingly doomed from the start with Eric’s troubled psyche and recurring nightmares featuring the haunting gaze of Nagase (Tanroh Ishida), a young Imperial Japanese Army translator who was complicit in his torture. Patricia’s attempts to understand the cause for Eric’s strange behavior – forgetting to pay bills and the final straw, stabbing a debt collector – leads her to confront Eric’s best friend, the cynical yet charismatic Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard) in an attempt to understand what her husband is unable to discuss. Deploying an extended flashback to when the protagonist served in the British Army stationed in Singapore during World War II, Teplitzky then graphically conveys the torture suffered by the youthful Eric (Jeremy Irvine) at the hands of the victorious Japanese forces. While the film’s impact is muted by the awkward jumps in time, the drama really gains momentum when Finlay learns that Nagase somehow escaped death as a war criminal and is now leading tours of the Kempeitai internment camp where the English soldiers were detained. It’s a terrible irony that angers Eric, who heads back to Thailand with vengeance on his mind. Their subsequent encounter sees Firth struggle to overcome the trauma of the past and his desire for revenge while witnessing Nagase’s sense of guilt and shame, with the raft of emotions guaranteeing memorable scenes. Despite the stilted scripting and Garry Phillips’ uninspired cinematography, the

Coranderrk tells the true story of an Aboriginal reserve established outside Melbourne in 1863. It became home to many of Victoria’s Aboriginal communities displaced as a result of white settlement. The station’s initial success was quickly foreshadowed by the settlers’ desire to reclaim this small but fertile area and led to the 1881 Victorian Parliamentary Enquiry around which Belvoir St Theatre’s current production centres. This is the second incarnation of this work in as many years; co-written by Andrea James and Giordano Nanni, and directed once again by Isaac Drandic. However this production sees the work undergo a few major changes. While the earlier performance was built solely on parliamentary transcripts, the current interpretation strips them down while also incorporating one of the leading Aboriginal activists of the reserve, William Barack (Jack Charles), as narrator. A further variance is the use of only five actors (all with Aboriginal backgrounds) to fill the numerous roles while the original work relied on both black and white actors playing individual parts. A basic knowledge of the events of Coranderrk is undoubtedly beneficial when viewing this piece as time spent piecing events together can detract from the overall message. With abundant ground to cover in a mere hour, the rapid-fire dialogue often feels rushed with the story consequently suffering. Similarly while there can be no doubting the power of hearing white settlers’ oppressive sentiments spilling from between Aboriginal lips, the ceaseless flitting between characters, genders and races proves excessive. Removing detail from the original transcripts leaves further gaps. Regardless of these shortfalls this remains a remarkable story. The final ten minutes sees the narrator guide the audience through the unique world of the Aboriginal people and this, combined with authentic photos of Coranderrk residents, evokes tears in many audience members. The shame is that these emotions are not summoned earlier or more consistently throughout.

THE WAIT IS OVER! ng! i m o C Is t e n r te The In

Lee Hutchison

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Festival Village, Hyde Park

Festival Village photo by Prudence Upton

Sydney Festival 2014 January 9-26 Hells yeah! It’s almost Sydney Festival time and we reckon you should be prepared to lap up day-tonight entertainment at the Festival Village at Hyde Park. And you best make it a priority, folks, because this time, the village promises some uber delightful treats. From live world music to circus acts, a to-scale replica of Stonehenge (in jumping castle form) to a library on the lawn, punters can expect the whole shebang. The village’s ticketed Spiegeltent highlights include sets from punk-cabaret maverick Amanda Palmer (January 9-19), bluesy dessert jams from Bombino (January 9-10), sultry cabaret from Lady Rizo (January 21-16) and the beatboxing magic from Tom Thum (January 21-26). And for those low on the cash monies, there’ll be oodles of free amusements throughout the duration of the Festival such as FBi DJs taking to the decks and said Stonehenge replica in jumping castle form. The all-important noms? Think Jafe Jaffles, Woofy’s Hot Dogs and Gelato Messina. Head to sydneyfestival.org.au for the full Festival Village program. thebrag.com

1S E I R E S

ILAB A V A O LS

OWN THEM NOW ON DVD & ON DIGITAL AVAILABLE AT

TURN ON AT gethookedtv.com.au

BRAG :: 544:: 23:12:13 :: 37

What we've been out to see...

The Hi-Fi Sunday December 15

Helmet’s original run stretched from 1989-1998 and their cache of drop-D chug-alongs paired with melodic vocals inspired a stack of bands through the ’90s. However, whether the influence was actually for greater good remains debatable (‘Godfathers of nu-metal’ isn’t the prettiest accolade). Anyhow, main guy Page Hamilton and an otherwise entirely new lineup reignited Helmet in 2004 and have released three records of new material since. This meant that the band’s original drummer John Stanier (who now assembles his sky-scraping cymbal stands for Battles and Tomahawk) was not available to be gawked at this evening. Hamilton and his three metalhead sidekicks ran through a lot of those purported classics, as well as a handful of tunes from the recent records, but it largely failed to excite. One of the band’s distinguishing features is their emphasis on melody, but Hamilton’s not exactly channelling Harry Nilsson. The endless riffing was tightly executed but after a while it devolved into muddy repetition. It also didn’t help that Hamilton seemed rather jaded, snarling at the audience for being too young to know who Bob Mould is. Hey, what we do know is that it’s pronounced Hoo-sker Du not Huss-ker Du. Anyway, phonetics aside, dropping the names of good songwriters won’t make your music sound cooler, I’m afraid.

Melvins, on the other hand, have no need to rehash a time-tired setlist. Regular visitors to our shores, the perpetually prolific Washington natives always have something slightly different to offer. Tonight the band’s most consistent lineup over the last decade (leader Buzz Osborne, drummer Dale Crover, along with drummer number two Coady Willis and towering bass player Jared Warren) were hard at it through a particularly thrashy set. Opening with the elongated sludge of ‘Hag Me’ – replete with synchronised drum fills and Osborne’s barrel-sized vocal delivery – things only intensified from there on. Drawing widely from their brimful back catalogue, the set unfurled as a semi-psychedelic sequence, leaving barely any between-song breathing space. There was hardly any time allocated for banter, but the band’s appreciation was proven when Warren proceeded to give out generous hugs to individual crowd members at the set’s conclusion. If you don’t dig the sounds Melvins made back in the mid-’80s then anything released since probably hasn’t recruited you. Otherwise, they’re an incredibly rewarding interest, making consistent permutations within their own weird universe. Tonight, songs from throughout their career were all played with amazing rhythmic precision and undeniable enthusiasm.

up all night out all week . . .

jack johnson

11:12:13 :: The Opera House :: Sydney Harbour

Augustus Welby

the ancients

PICS :: KC

MELVINS, HELMET

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PICS :: KO

live reviews

13:12:13 :: Brighton Up Bar :: 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9361 3379

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

The Hi-Fi Tuesday December 10

Following a set of nerdy and unfulfilling R&Bloat from locals Collarbones, as soon as the curtain drew open and the familiar processed beat of ‘Earthquake’ slunked out it was clear Deerhunter would wipe the remnants of any other music from memory. Frontman Bradford Cox appeared in an Andy Warhol-blonde wig, asserting himself as a glamorous six-foot-infinty junkie with the voice of a lascivious outsider. The slowburning ‘Earthquake’ set an eerie precedent for the earth-crumbling sound preparing to grip The Hi-Fi. Quickly changing gear, the band stepped into a string of melodically penetrating tracks from 2010’s Halcyon Digest and candidate for 2013 album of the year, Monomania. All six Deerhunter LPs were represented but the emphasis was on the more concise material from these most recent records. Cox – the evening’s undisputed focal point – is a man apart from his four comrades, who by contrast stood fairly stationary in non-descript attire. However, the five sources of input are essential to distinguishing the band’s showering sonic display. The jaunty discord of ‘Neon Junkyard’ and the three-guitar doo-wop of ‘Don’t Cry’ were early demonstrations of the five-piece’s taskforce unity.

Guitarist Lockett Pundt took the mic for ‘Desire Lines’, which evolved from unassuming jangly indie-pop into a barrage of guitar interplay, backed by Josh McKay’s compass-wielding bass playing. Elsewhere, the band voyaged from the dreamy pop of ‘Revival’ to the noisy excess of ‘Nothing Ever Happened’ (which transformed into a cover of Patti Smith’s ‘Land’) and the shrieking soul-punk of ‘Monomania’. None of their records’ tender cuts were included and as the show went on the wattage gradually tipped from a simmer to a boil. The encore suite of ‘Cryptograms’ and ‘Operation’ was seriously ear-grazing. With each successive number Cox seemed to exist as the song, rather than being a vessel for its airing. His few bantering departures revealed further eccentricity – at one point requesting a ‘gunner’ from the bar (listing the ingredients of ginger ale, orange bitters and burned orange skin) before stepping right back into the immersive realm of the next song. I don’t think anyone could actually hear each other when they walked out, such was the decibel harassment. But this was no worry as plenty of sound persisted to whirl around on everyone’s internal turntable. Augustus Welby

muse

PICS :: AM

DEERHUNTER, COLLARBONES

13:12:13 :: Allphones Arena :: Sydney Olympic Park 8765 4321

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BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 39

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passenger

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

bon jovi

PICS :: LC

11:12:13 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666

models

PICS :: KC

15:12:13 :: The Captain Cook Hotel :: 162 Flinders St Paddington

13:12:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9660 7953

40 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

PICS :: AM

dave eastgate

15:12:13 :: Frankie's Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

tin sparrow

PICS :: KC

my sydney riot xmas party

PICS :: AM

14:12:13 :: ANZ Stadium :: Sydney Olympic Park 8765 2000

14:12:13 :: Brighton Up Bar :: 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9361 3379 S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

Y O'NEAL :: CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: KIZZ

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live reviews MAC DEMARCO, TWERPS

Mac DeMarco is an unpredictable character and tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show was a sometimes grotesque exercise in carefree hilarity. Most importantly, DeMarco is a very talented songwriter The Standard quickly filled with people identity Wwhose hat w e ' v easpirations b e e n oseem u t trooted o s e e . . .and, despite the fact he and his three band members appear to be a pack of in the form of slacking that tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two spirited goofballs, they very capably headliners assume with uncontrived reproduced the glimmering languor of allure. Given that this subcultural wave his two records. The glam-faced â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rock encourages janitor dress and unkempt And Roll Night Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Freaking Out faces, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most fitting that a night of The Neighbourhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drew people into uninhibited fun ensued. Macâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s radiating universe early on. Even interludes into Claptonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tears In Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Melbourne four-piece Twerps took the and vulgar banter about who in the stage first, offering a most un-rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll band had fornicated with whose family introduction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sheepishly questioning if members couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hamper the overriding the bass level was OK before breaking strength of DeMarcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tunes. into the hazy â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dreaminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It has been a while since the release of Twerpsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; However, when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Really All I Needâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; debut record but tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s setlist largely detoured into a medley of covers youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d showcased new material, a lot of which likely get booed out of an RSL for turned the vocal focus towards guitarist playing, this meandering tact did tire Jules McFarlane. Marty Frawley threw in somewhat. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Taking Care Of Businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a few new numbers too and throughout â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Stairway To Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Limp Bizkitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s looked genuinely agog to be onstage. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Break Stuffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and both â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Back In Blackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lazy tendency to label Twerps and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thunderstruckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; were amusingly (and many of their trend-transcending thrown around, but it extended a little associates such as ECSR and Dick Diver) too long, leaving time for just one more as having an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Australian soundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. But dang DeMarco original. The medley didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something unnameable about seem to bother the majority of the this lovely jangly stuff that shimmers an audience though, certainly not as three impression of Australian living and thus band members separately took a turn at inspires instant nostalgia. The crafty crowd-surfing. Show closer â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Still Togetherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beats from new drummer Alex Macfarlane indicated DeMarco can pull off heartfelt and Rick Milovanovicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s melodic bass sentiment just as well as uncouth party work added distinction to the sometimes play and revealed the resilience of his unassuming arrangements. Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beer-swigging pipes. pro-activating single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Work It Outâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and the angular B-side â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s In Stockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; were sure Augustus Welby highlights. The Standard Thursday December 12

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up all night out all week . . .

5th Juke Baritone

12th Graveyard Rockstars Archaic Revival & Bones Atlas

19th GROOVERFEST Very special super unnannounced secret guest & Jugular Cuts, The Owls

The Wameki

26th VULGAR DISPLAY OF PIZZA Australia Day Mozzarella Metal Fest DA HC 5A !F589 GCIB8 @=;<HG B J=69

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metric

PICS :: AM

J9FM -IB85M

12:12:13 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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Y O'NEAL :: CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: KIZZ

:F5B?=9GD=NN56MH<9G@=79 7CA :CF GH5;9 H=A9G

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 41

SUMMER HOLIDAY GIG GUIDE send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

MONDAY DECEMBER 23

TUESDAY DECEMBER 24

THURSDAY DECEMBER 26

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Funk Engine Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. free. Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. free. Sammy Baker Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. free. Songs On Stage - feat: Stuart Jammin + String Fiction + Luke Roberts + Damien Chan + Chris Brookes + Massimo Presti + Rick Taylor Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7pm. free. Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. free.

Stormcellar Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point. 8pm. free. Bounce Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free. Chris Paton Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free. David Agius Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 7:30pm. free. Gary Johns Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. free. Greg Agar Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 9pm. free. Jo Elms Trio Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge. 5pm. free. Leon Fallon Greystanes Inn, Greystanes. 7pm. free. Nicky Kurta Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 5:30pm. free. Rob Henry Greystanes Inn, Greystanes. 5pm. free. Surecuts Kids & Stickybuds Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 5pm. $34.70.

Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Dave White + Wild Catz Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. free. Glen Esmond Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 3pm. free. The Bucket Lounge - feat: Declan Kelly + Jasper Gubbay + Kimberly Robison & Greg Johnson 34 Degrees South, Bondi Beach. 8:30pm. free. Viceroy Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cole Soul And Emotion feat: Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 27 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Tina Harrod Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $27.50.

42 :: BRAG :: 544 : 23:12:13

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bandsonstage - feat: Confession & Denial + Boris Driver + Insanity Proof + Peach Montgomery Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 8pm. free. BNO Rockshow Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free. Don’t Hit Ron + Russian Caravan + Baldwins The Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $15. Furnace And The Fundamentals Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. Hue Williams The Imperial Hotel, Newtown. 7:30pm. free. Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free. Two Minds Duo The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. free.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 28 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Paul Hayward And Friends Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 4pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Beaten Bodies Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 7pm. $10. Yuki Kumagai & John Mackie Well Co. Cafe And Wine Bar, Leichhardt. 11am. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Anthems Of Oz South Hurstville RSL Club, South Hurstville. 9pm. free. Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun + The Upskirts And More TBA The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10. Electric Anthems Trio Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free. Leisure Bandits + Kidd Sham Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. Renae Stone Cock N’ Bull, Bondi Junction. 7pm. free.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 29 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Renae Stone Charlie Bar, Manly. 2pm. free. The Butterfly Effect - feat: The Nerve Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 8pm. $35.20.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Peter Head Band Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm. free. Yuki Kumagai & John Mackie + Paul Furniss Illawarra Master Builders Club, Wollongong. 2:30pm. free.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. free. Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free. Sunday Blues And Roots The White Horse, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

MONDAY DECEMBER 30 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. free.

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

NEW YEAR’S EVE The Butterfly Effect

TUESDAY DECEMBER 31 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

NYE 2013 Upperdeck - feat:

The Anthill Mob Cruise Bar, Sydney. 7pm. $299. Ray Beadle The Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. free. The Butterfly Effect + Special Guests The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West. 8:30pm. $44.90.

The Starliners Hornsby RSL, Hornsby. 9pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Caribbean Soul Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $60.

NEW YEAR’S DAY WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1

The Camelot Lounge

The Brass Monkey

19 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville 8pm start, $25 entry

115A Cronulla St, Cronulla 8pm start, $20 entry

The Basement T 7M Macquarie Pl, Sydney Doors 7.30pm, show 9pm. D o Tickets $25 / $50 dinner & show

www.hatfitzcara.nett w

Bob Log III

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS The Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Rumblin’ Roadstop Revue - feat: You Am I (With Guests) + The Snowdroppers + The Love Junkies + The Mountains Vic On The Park, Marrickville. 12pm. free. New Year’s Day - feat: Bob Log III + Donny Benet + Shag Newtown Hotel, Newtown. 3pm. free.

MON 23RD DEC

SAMMY BAKER 9.00PM  12.00AM

TUE 24TH DEC

GARY JOHNS TRIO 7.30PM  11.00PM

MON 6TH JAN

WED 1ST JAN 2014

TUE 7TH JAN

DAVE WHITE 4.30PM  7.30PM WILD CATZ TRIO 9.35PM  1.30AM

BLARNEY BOYS 4.30PM  7.30PM MARK TRAVERS 9.30PM  1.00AM

FRI 27TH DEC

KYE BROWN 4.30PM  7.30PM RECKLESS 9.30PM  1.30AM

S AT 2 8 T H D E C

JIMMY BEAR 4.30PM  7.30PM PARTY CENTRAL 9.30PM  12.30AM

SUN 29TH DEC

LONESOME TRAIN 4.30PM  7.30PM WHITE BROS 8.30PM  12.00AM

thebrag.com

TUE 31ST NYE

DJ’S 6.00PM  2.00AM

THU 26TH DEC

You Am I

JACK THOMPSON TWINS 4.00PM  7.00PM FLYTE 8.30PM  12.00AM

CLOSED

WED 25TH DEC

The Snowdroppers

MON 30TH DEC

THU 2ND JAN

WILD CATZ 9.35PM  1.30AM

FRI 3RD JAN

JAMES PARRINO 4.30PM  7.30PM RECKLESS 9.30PM1.30AM

S AT 4 T H J A N

MATT SCHLAM 4.30PM  7.30PM PARTY CENTRAL 9.30PM  12.30AM

SUN 5TH JAN

LONESOME TRAIN 4.30PM  7.30PM ED & ASTRO TRIO 8.30PM  12.00AM

ADAM GORECKI 9.00PM  12.00AM CO – PILOT 9.30PM  12.30AM

WED 8TH JAN

CHOSEN FEW DUO 9.30PM 12.30AM

THU 9TH JAN

JOE ECHO DUO 9.35PM  1.30AM

FRI 10TH JAN

JONATHON JONES 4.30PM  7.30PM RECKLESS 9.30PM1.30AM

S AT 1 1 T H J A N

DAVE MASON COX 4.30PM  7.30PM WILD CATZ 9.30PM  12.30AM

SUN 12TH JAN

MOJO 4.30PM  7.30PM GARY JOHNS TRIO 8.30PM  12.00AM

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

THURSDAY JANUARY 2

Future Of The Lett

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Hanni El Khatib + White Denim The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $37.75. Johnny Marr Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $70.50.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Cole Soul And Emotion feat: Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Stir It Up Festival feat: Julian Marley + Spawnbreezie + Fiji + Tofiga + Swiss + Deach + Ashley Tonga + Brownhill + Joe Coffee + Sweet & Irie + V Tribe + E’Vana + The Strides + Hulanesian + Tonga Element + Duavata + DJ Peter Gunz + DJ Esi + DJ Noiz + DJ Rockwidit + The Mix King Merrylands RSL Club Rugby Park, 10am. $33.80.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Beatles Back2back - feat: Doug Parkinson + Russell Morris + Jack Jones + Jon Toogood + Tim Morrison Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $89. Jebediah Small Ballroom, Newcastle. 8pm. $35.20. Tom Odell + Melody Pool + Hayden Calnin Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $49.

FRIDAY JANUARY 3 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Matt McHugh Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $35.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Beatles Back2back - feat: Doug Parkinson + Russell Morris + Jack Jones + Jon Toogood + Tim Morrison

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8 Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $89. Born Ruffians Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $42.40. Future Of The Left + Special Guests The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $46. Kingswood + Calling All Cars Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm. $23.50. Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free. Sundial + The Cat Nappers + Absent Hours + Curb The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10. Super Massive + Triforce + Poly Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8:30pm. $10. The Ivory Drips Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 7pm. free.

SATURDAY JANUARY 4 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Live Music Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Mat McHugh Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $35.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Beatles Back2back - feat:

Doug Parkinson + Russell Morris + Jack Jones + Jon Toogood + Tim Morrison Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $89. Earthless & The Shrine + Eternal Elysium + Dead China Doll The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $40.50. Electric Anthems Trio Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free. Taking Berlin + Liam Gale & The Ponytails + The Spoon Collectors And Katnip The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10.

SUNDAY JANUARY 5 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. free. Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free. Sunday Blues And Roots The White Horse, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Grizzly Bear Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $49. Kingswood + Calling All Cars The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West. 8pm. $23.50.

MONDAY JANUARY 6 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Grizzly Bear

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TUESDAY JANUARY 7

Bonobo + Special Guests Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $49. Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. free. The War On Drugs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $43.90.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. free. OzCan Showcase - feat: Buffalo Tales + Gordie MacKeeman + Kenney +Kim Wempe Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $15. Pulp Kitchen And Folk Club - feat: Live Rotating Folk Bands Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Sydney Festival: Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park. 5:15pm. $38.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

FBi Lunchbreak - feat: Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro FBi Social, Kings Cross. 1pm. free. Vampire Weekend + Gang Of Youths Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 8pm. free.

THURSDAY JANUARY 9 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Musos Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. free. Sydney Festival: Eclipse Sydney Town Hall, 8:30pm. $72.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Crystal Fighters + Club Feet The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $55. Deafheaven + Adrift For Days + Germ Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $43. Glass Towers

Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 7pm. free. James Vincent McMorrow + Gossling Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $49.50. Nova Heart + Marlon Zando Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $18. Sydney Festival: Amanda Palmer The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park, 7:30pm. $55.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cole Soul And Emotion feat: Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free.

FRIDAY JANUARY 10 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Sydney Festival: Eclipse Sydney Town Hall, 8:30pm. $72.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Diesel Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $48. Gang Of Youths + Jenny Broke The Window + Jordan Léser Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $10. Gordi + The Vanns + Amy Rose The Loft (UTS Loft), Ultimo. 8pm. free. Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free. Nova Heart Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8pm. free. Plastic Nightclub - feat: Blind Valley + Buzz Kull + Black Zeros + Bored Brats + The Upskirts Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.20. The Crimson ProjeKCt The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $85.40.

SATURDAY JANUARY 11 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Sydney Festival: Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet City Recital Hall, Sydney. 7:30pm. $35.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Live Music Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 4pm. free.

Sydney Festival: Eclipse Sydney Town Hall, 8:30pm. $72.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Chris Masuak + The Dunhill Blues Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $10. Diesel + Kim Wempe Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $48. Electric Anthems Trio Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free. Half Moon Run The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $25.60. Paramore + You Me At Six Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7pm. $88.70. Sydney Festival: Chaka Khan The Domain, Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, 8pm. free. Wehrmacht + Grave + Primate + Metreya + Disintergrator The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $58.50.

SUNDAY JANUARY 12 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Sydney Festival: Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park, 5:30pm. $48.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Finn + PJ O’Brien + Keith Hall And Pat Dow Band Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 5pm. $20. Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. free. Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free. Sunday Blues And Roots The White Horse, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

MONDAY JANUARY 13 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Glass Towers

TUESDAY JANUARY 14 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Sarah Blasko + Appleonia St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Sydney. 6:30pm. $62.50.

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FRI 28 DEC FRI 3 JAN

SUNDIAL THE CAT NAPPERS ABSENT HOURS CURB

SAT 4 JAN THU 9 JAN

NICOLE MILLAR SWEETLAND JAYSWAYS

LIAM GALE & THE PONYTAILS THE SPOON COLLECTORS AND KATNIP

FRI 10 JAN

THE RUMOURS TEQUILA TWINS EDDIE BOYD & THE PHATAPILLARS Coming Up 17th 23rd 25th

SELLING FAST! IN JAN / FEB

BABYLON CIRCUS JOEL RAFIDI THE ART

GALLERY BURLESQUE / XXYYXX BABYLON CIRCUS / AUSTRA JULIA HOLTER

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BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

inside

brag beats

wilkinson wilk inson

london lights

art vs. science

Art Vs. Science photo by Cybelle Malinowski

dj yoda also: r summe holiday e id club gu p + sna

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BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 47

brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief...with Chris Honnery

five things WITH

JAMES RIAL FROM AUDIOJACK of this going on and touring at weekends we haven’t had time to work a day job for eight years now and long may it continue! The Music You Make First and foremost it must 4. work on the dancefloor. We try to avoid current trends and make every piece of music sounds fresh and different. At the moment we’re playing some house, some techno, some old-school electronic stuff but everything is focused on making people actually dance. So please people put your phones away and enjoy the fucking moment! Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. The music scene is in a very

Growing Up My dad is a pianist and has 1. always played in bands from his teen years to now in his 60s. I used to go along to whichever gigs would allow kids, and the music they played was a large influence to me early on. They played stuff like Hall & Oates, Ace, Doobie Brothers, Thin Lizzie, et cetera, and I still like all of that music today. There was always music equipment in the house and I started from a very young age playing around with synthesisers and making my own music, so without this early

exposure I doubt writing music as Audiojack would have come so naturally. Inspirations I have been through a 2. plethora of different styles of music through my life and many at the same time. All of these will have had some influence on our music but with many the link isn’t obvious. I think a more clear and quantifiable effect has come from listening to people like Pink Floyd, New Order, Joy Division and Depeche Mode in my teen years. Those sounds have a more

direct connection to more current electronic music. I think different cultures and environments can also inspire you and touring can bring rich immersion into this.

Your Crew Me and Rich [Burkinshaw], then we have some regular collaborators such as Kevin Knapp who we’ve worked with on recent Audiojack releases and Ria Moran who has done lots of work for other artists on the label. Alongside running and releasing on our own label, Gruuv, we also release on 2020Vision. With all

Andrew Weatherall

ONE NIGHT STAND FT ANDREW WEATHERALL

London auteur Andrew Weatherall will play an all-night show for Picnic on Saturday February 1 at Oxford Art Factory in addition to his previously announced Sydney Festival performance. One of the key players behind the seminal Boy’s Own record label, Weatherall is known for his original work as Sabres of Paradise and Two Lone Swordsman, and has also produced some of the more revered acts of the past 20 years across disparate genres of music, including My Bloody Valentine and Primal Scream. Weatherall’s Rotters Golf Club imprint has continued to shape club culture over the past decade, while his latest project with Tim Fairplay under the title The Asphodells was one of the more interesting releases of 2013. This event will sprawl across the entire Oxford Art Factory venue, with the side room being soundtracked by Marcus King, Angelo Cruzman, Steele Bonus and Tyson Koh. Presale $25 tickets are available online.

48 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

strong period currently, lots of crossover stuff bringing in lots of people that wouldn’t normally listen to underground dance music. One of the biggest obstacles we have to overcome is remaining interesting to people while avoiding the musical trends that engulf the music scene. We’ve just moved to Ibiza so our local is now the world’s dance music mecca, certainly in the summer anyway, so it will be interesting to see how it affects our music. What: Spice Afloat New Year Sunrise Cruise 2014 With: Audiojack, Lovebirds, Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe, Softwar, Morgan, Mantra Collective DJs Where: The Bella Vista, boarding Pyrmont Casino Wharf When: Wednesday January 1

PARADISO FT JACQUES RENAULT AND MEDLAR

Devin The Dude

DEVIN THE DUDE

Houston rapper Devin Copeland, best known as Devin The Dude, will headline The Standard on Saturday February 15 as part of his first tour Down Under. Devin started out as a member of the Odd Squad (later known as the Coughee Brothaz), a rap collective signed to Rap-A-Lot Records, which was also the home of hip hop artists such as Geto Boys, Scarface and Too Much Trouble. Devin later moved on to become part of Scarface’s Facemob before going solo in 1998 and subsequently releasing seven albums. He’s also collaborated with heavyweights like Dr. Dre, De La Soul and Slim Thug, though his best know collaboration is perhaps ‘What A Job’ with Snoop Dogg and Andre 3000. Film buffs will also note that Devin starred in the stoner flick Highway 420, which spawned a soundtrack laden with contributions from renowned rappers.

Future Classic will again host Paradiso At Town Hall as part of the Sydney Festival music program. NYC’s Jacques Renault will headline the bash, crowning a lineup that also features UK house producer Medlar and local acts Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer and the Future Classic DJs themselves. Renault rose to prominence through his output on the Wurst Edits and RVNG of the Nerd imprints, before the release of the anthemic ‘Brooklyn Club Jam’, which he made with Marcos Cabral under the moniker of Runaway, propelled him to that elusive ‘next level’. He has since remixed the likes of Moby, LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!, The Revenge, Azari & III and Sydney’s own Lost Valentinos, while releasing on vaunted labels such as Permanent Vacation, Italians Do It Better and Cosmo Vitelli’s I’m A Cliché imprint. Meanwhile Medlar announced himself in June 2011 with the track ‘Terrell’, before releasing his vinyl-only debut LP Sleep earlier this year, which lead to him remixing the likes of Tensnake and Disclosure. Paradiso At Town Hall runs from January 6-25.

Soul of Sydney will host their third New Year’s Day Block Party at a “secret open-air oasis” close to the Sydney CBD that is a “kid friendly licensed location”. The event will feature performances across soul, funk, disco and hip hop sounds, while also offering live soul train and breakdance showcases along with live street art. The lineup comprises 2ser’s Frenzie, DJ Naiki, Phil Toke, Cman, Phil Hudson, Johnny Bones, Seb One, Michael Zac and Eadie Ramia, with the revelry commencing at 2pm.

SCNDL

DRUMCELL

Following the release of their popular single ‘Gypsy’, Melbourne duo SCNDL, made up of Tom Grant and Adam Amuso, have announced a new DJ residency at Ivy’s Pacha. The pair recently topped the iTunes Albums Chart for their Ministry Of Sound Sessions compilation, capping a successful year that has also seen them remix Tonite Only, Tigerlily, GT and the US’ MAKJ as well as release the single ‘Bleed’ that featured national treasure Timmy Trumpet. SCNDL will spin at the Dirty Funken Beats Boxing Day boat party, before commencing their Pacha residency at Ivy on Saturday January 4.

SOUL OF SYDNEY

Trench will play host to Droid Recordings founder Drumcell at a BYO warehouse party on Saturday January 4. One of Southern California’s foremost techno proponents, Drumcell has been plying his trade since the ’90s, with his technical proficiency earning him the title of product specialist for Native Instruments. Renowned for blurring the lines between live performance and traditional DJing, Drumcell’s forceful techno sound led him to remix Chris Liebing on Leibing’s own CLR label. Drumcell will be flanked by local DJs Sebastian Bayne, Trinity and Scott Kilpatrick, with $30 tickets available online. thebrag.com

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief...with Chris Honnery

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

on the record WITH

Norman Jay

RITUAL

year are under both my Ritual (DnB) and Tape2Tape (bass music) monikers for Inna Riddim. The Ritual release ‘Send For The New Gun / Dub Skies’ shows a more rugged step for me than usual, with ‘Send’ being a bass pounding call to arms, while ‘Dub Skies’ switches for a more atmospheric journey. The Tape2Tape release starts off with ‘Hit ’Em’ which is pure 808 vibes and ‘Ya Know’ which takes UK funky on a techno route. I’m supremely happy these are on Inna Riddim also. A really excellent label.

The First Record I Bought The first records I got were probably 1. the first three Police albums and [Michael Jackson’s] Off The Wall when I was about four. All of these records were life-changing. I was a massive fan of The Police (family influences) and with their jazz and reggae stylings they really laid the foundations for the music styles I love. As for Off The Wall, I mean, I listen to ‘Rock With You’ most days of the week and Quincy Jones set a new blueprint for arrangement.

PARADISE NYE

Boy, have we got a New Year’s Eve giveaway for you. The party to end all parties – or at least, for 2013 – Paradise NYE on the Harbour features the likes of legendary DJ Norman Jay MBE, Italian-Belgian producer Aeroplane, Russ Dewbury, Kid Mac and Mo’Funk. All those tunes, and you won’t miss the fireworks either – revellers will be able to step out onto the upper car park and balcony area at the Overseas Passenger Terminal to soak in the view. We’ve got a VIP double pass up for grabs, including exclusive VIP balcony access, waiter service, canapés and a beverage package. Aw yeah. For your chance to win, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us what you think they’ll unveil on the side of the Harbour Bridge this year.

The Last Record I Bought The Record That Changed My Life The last records I bought were Kowton’s Jimi Hendrix – Band Of Gypsys. 2. 5. ‘H-Street’, The Special Request, Om Unit and This probably seems like an odd fit given Machinedrum LPs. Working at The Record Store means I get piles of new records every week but these are all amazing in their bass and beat explorations – which are pretty much my main fascinations when it comes to DJing – all the while being what I like to call ‘past referencing future music’. And yes, they are all on vinyl.

everything above but the first time I heard it, it was simply the sound of a man’s soul coming out via his instrument – with a drummer and bass player so aligned with it that it was as if they were all as one. The fact that this is live and so unbelievably perfect inspires me to this day. Ultimately I want to apply my soul to every facet of my music, from DJing to making music and even to appreciating it. This record takes that application to another level. It opened the door to what’s possible.

The First Thing I Recorded My first release was for a Canadian label 3. called JungleX; a riddim called ‘Conscious

HOLD TIGHT FT. KODE 9

The Hold Tight! series is returning to Oxford Art Factory in the New Year, with a triple bill featuring Hyperdub label owner Kode 9, Tokimonsta and Mark Pritchard. The South London-based Kode 9 is quickly casting himself a veteran on the scene, both as an artist and label man, while LA native Tokimonsta and Sydney’s Pritchard round out a cutting edge lineup of electronica goodness. We’ve got three double passes to the show on Saturday January 4 – to be in the running, visit thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us your favourite electronic release of 2013.

What: DnB Double Header: Calyx & Teebee, LTJ Bukem With: Ritual, Axe, ForeignDub, Rollers Music, Semper Fi, Sam the Chemist Where: Chinese Laundry When: Friday January 3

Rebel Music’ – named so as the beginning of a journey for a label of the same name. I’m still very proud of it – in all its amen-fuelled, horn-led glory. Last Thing I Recorded The most recent releases I’ve had this 4. The

WITNESS Disclosure

Astral People will curate Witness, a tri-annual showcase of upcoming and established Australian talent bolstered by a slew of international up-and-comers. The inaugural Witness will take place on Sunday January 12, spreading across two stages of The Factory Theatre. Headlining is Swamp 81’s Paleman, a London producer who has been endorsed by heavyweights like Skream, Loefah and Boddika. Also throwing down will be Oscar Key Sung, Black Vanilla, Andras Fox, Retiree, Roland Tings, Simon Caldwell, Untzz Twelve Inch, Preacha, Ben Fester, Jimmy Sing, Noise In My Head and Andy Webb. The beats commence at 2pm, with $32 presale tickets available online.

Disclosure photo by Edwige Hamben

KOLOMBO

Belgian producer Olivier Grégoire, known for his house and disco output as Kolombo, will play a day show at Ivy on Sunday January 19. With close Australian ties stemming from his affiliation with the Future Classic record label, Kolombo also

DANTON EEPROM

Eclectic French electronic producer Danton Eeprom (AKA Julien Brambilla) will release his second album If Looks Could Kill in February on InFiné Music. Eeprom began as a rock musician and has since produced twisted techno cuts such as ‘Face Control’ and ‘Confessions Of An English Opium Eater’, building his dancefloor credentials via his collaborations with tastemaker Ivan Smagghe as La Horse and by remixing Simian Mobile Disco and Röyksopp. If Looks Could Kill is a hybrid album, fusing pop songs with dance floor values.

DISCLOSURE REMIX ALBUM

Ubiquitous chart-topping duo Disclosure have released a remixed version of their Mercury Prize nominated album Settle just in time for Christmas. A formidable assortment of remixers feature on the album, including Resident Advsior’s Top DJ of 2013, Dixon, Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, Sydney’s own Flume, Hudson Mohawke, Wookie and Paul Woolford. Chicago deep house pioneer Larry Heard, AKA Mr Fingers, has delivered a chillout mix of the single ‘Help Me Lose My Mind’, which featured Hannah Reid of London Grammar fame.

HIVE + 100 MILLION NIGHTS

Tyondai Braxton photo by Grace Villamil

oversees his own label LouLou Records together with his partner Jérôme, with whom he produces and DJs worldwide under the mantle of LouLou Players. Kolombo has also remixed club heavyweights such as Pan-Pot & Dirty Doering, Tycho and most recently The Climbers for Tiga’s Turbo Recordings imprint, adding to his hefty discography that encompasses releases on Kompakt Records and Ghostly International.

Tyondai Braxton and Canyons will each perform as part of a doubleheader at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday January 21 in an event that will combine sight and sound works. HIVE is the new project by former Battles frontman Braxton, who will be performing new compositions together with his band of four atop architecturally designed and custom built illuminated platforms. Using modular synthesisers, sound design and percussion, Braxton and his bandmates will perform a multimedia show that is part installation and part band. Not to be outdone in the visual spectacular stakes, Western Australian duo Canyons will present 100 Million Nights as a fourpiece, performing their original score that is a response to the work of visual artist Daniel Boyd, who will reinterpret Aboriginal and Australian-European history through a three-panel video installation. Head to sydneyfestival.org. au for further information and tickets.

thebrag.com

Fat Freddy’s Drop

Tyondai Braxton

FAT FREDDY’S DROP

New Zealand stalwarts Fat Freddy’s Drop will return to our shores to take the Twilight at Taronga Zoo stage on Thursday March 6. Having played to packed-out venues on their recent tour of Australia, which followed the release of their latest album Blackbird, Fat Freddy’s Drop have caved to demand and will once again give fans the opportunity to see them showcase material from their latest LP, which traversed jazz, Detroit techno, blues and soul infl uences. For fans of their classic material, fear not – the troupe are sure to also throw in some favourites from their back catalogue.

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 49

DJ Yoda

Using The Force By Joshua Hayes

ondon turntablist Duncan Beiny, AKA DJ Yoda, is bringing his trademark audiovisual set to the Metro to close 2013. Beiny, who will be enjoying his first New Year’s Eve off in over ten years with friends in Sydney, is about to begin an extended stay Down Under to work on his third

solo album, following 2006’s The Amazing Adventures Of DJ Yoda and 2012’s Chop Suey. “Part of my plan for Australia, actually, is to use the downtime in my tour to try and get together this new album that I have a concept for. It’s a good time for me to work

when I’m in Australia, because during the days I don’t get disturbed by phone calls and emails from the UK,” Beiny says, noting that he recorded his latest mixtape, How To Cut & Paste (The Asian Edition), in between dates on his last Australian tour.

Beiny is coy about how he is approaching the album, although he does note that “the concept for this new album is something a bit different from just working with a different established artist on every track” – as he did for much of his first two LPs, collaborating with legendary rappers like Biz Markie and Greg Nice as well as contemporary acts like Action Bronson and Roots Manuva. “I’m really lucky because when I put together both of my artist albums, I sat down and made a list of people I would ideally like to work with, and in both instances I managed to tick off virtually everyone on that list.”

just want every year to be different for me – I don’t ever want to tread water and do the same thing, just so that I keep things moving and try new things and try different things. I’m totally into this idea of taking DJing and turntablism outside of the typical scenario that you might normally expect it to be in.”

In 2002, long before he began dabbling in AV sets, Beiny had already been named one of the ‘50 Bands You Must See Before You Die’ by Q Magazine, for his ability to deliver sets that combined turntable wizardry, crowd-pleasing tunes and a good dose of humour. Since then, he has continued to push himself in new creative directions. In between a busy schedule touring his AV show, Beiny has explored a range of musical genres with his How To Cut & Paste series (The Asian Edition was preceded by Country & Western and The Thirties editions), collaborated with a classical composer on a Concerto For Turntables, and shared the stage with magicians, a capella groups and a 14-piece brass band.

He has since become one of the world’s most prominent AVDJs for the same reasons he was honoured by Q over a decade ago – skill, humour and a constant creative drive. “I try and make an effort to make sure that the show changes week in, week out,” he says. “So anyone that has seen an AV show by me before, by the time I come back, the whole thing should be completely different to what you saw last time.”

“The whole idea is, with all these different projects I work on, is that I

Indeed, Beiny was an early adopter of audio-visual DJ technology, which enables him to scratch and blend videos as a DJ does songs. “It’s a real mix of bits from YouTube and movies and TV shows, anything that I think is cool, as well as music videos.”

What: De La Soul supported by DJ Yoda and Mike Who Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday December 28 And: How To Cut & Paste (The Asian Edition) out now through Mixcloud

Art Vs. Science Return To Form By Alasdair Duncan

he lads from Art vs. Science have just completed work on their second album, tentatively titled Create Control – and no pressure or anything, but the party boys promise that it’s going to be the greatest record ever made. “About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to make the best album that has ever been, ever, in all of pop history,” says singer Dan Mac, tongue only slightly in cheek. “I wanted to make an album that would be number one in the US, in the UK, in Australia. I wrote all that down on a piece of paper, and it influenced a lot of decisions about the album, whether musical or lyrical. If we were trying to decide how long to make a bridge, we’d say, ‘OK, eight bars is more fun, but four is more classic.’” Mac and the lads got to thinking about the greats – The Beatles, The Beach Boys, ELO; the makers of cool, timeless albums. One influence, however, stood out more than the others. “This will be a very funny quote for the interview and I’m not sure I should say it,” Mac begins, “but going into this I said, ‘Let’s make the album Daft Punk should have made.’”

“When I sing, I don’t want to close my eyes. I want to be staring at the people in the front row and making weird faces.” 50 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

Following on from the success of their 2011 debut album, The Experiment, the three members of Art vs. Science went their separate ways for a while – some travelling, others tinkering away on solo albums. This time spent apart brought a new vitality to the songwriting when they reunited. “For The Experiment, we only used songs we wrote together at the same time,” says Mac. “When we started this album, I’d been away overseas for months, Jim had been recovering from an illness and working on an album for his side project, Vydamo, and Dan W. had been doing his thing too. We all had a lot of demos we’d written individually, so we brought them all to rehearsals and decided which ones we liked and would play, which we’d never done before.” Jim Finn’s album as Vydamo had a far softer electropop sound than your typical rousing Art vs. Science track, and Mac says some of that softness has transferred to the new recordings. “Jim’s songs are a little softer, while mine are a bit more disco and very heavily influenced by Daft Punk, but maybe a bit more synth-heavy than Random Access Memories. They had a lot of guitars and electric bass on their

album, whereas we had keyboards and synth bass. There are a few bangers on there, but they aren’t the sort of tracks that will tear your head off, like the ones that were popular when we released our first album. We have three or four of those…” he pauses – “I don’t want to say ‘bangers’, because that’s a terrible word, but it’s that kind of thing. There are builds and crescendos, but we didn’t want to make ‘loud’ music. We want people to turn the songs up, rather than just flooding the whole spectrum with noise from the outset.” Art vs. Science have been getting themselves back into the shape to play live, with a variety of lowkey gigs around the country. Their

New Year’s Eve show in Sydney, however, will mark their official return to the city. I ask Mac if there are any new songs that he’s particularly excited to play. “Oh yeah, we’ve got a song called ‘In This Together’, which is based around the theme that basically, the earth is like a giant spaceship, very well appointed, and that we’re all hurtling around the sun together. With that in mind, we probably shouldn’t be fighting each other so much. It’s not a political song, it’s just fun. I’ve got this gnarly sound on my Yamaha DX21 keyboard and this great hi-hat pattern, and the drop is really simple, just bass and kick and some vocals. It’s really groovy, and I think it’s going to go

well live. “The new songs are all just fun,” he continues. “When I sing, I don’t want to close my eyes. I want to be staring at people in the front row and making weird faces. We’re going to be playing the best of our new ones and some fun old ones, so it’s going to be a really good time.” What: NYE On The Harbour With: Van She, Alison Wonderland, Bag Raiders, Gold Fields, Fishing, I Oh You DJs, Stoney Roads DJs, Elaine Benes, Bambii, Falcona DJs Where: Cargo Bar When: Tuesday December 31

thebrag.com

Art vs. Science photo by Cybelle Malinowski

Realising what he’s just said, and not wanting to insult the French robots, Mac goes into a bit of damage control. “Don’t get me wrong,” he laughs, “I absolutely love Daft Punk, and their album is absolute genius. That song ‘Giorgio’ is my favourite.” There is, he says, a touch of Random Access

Memories robot disco on the new Art vs. Science tracks. “There’s one track we made that’s sort of like Pink Floyd’s The Wall mixed with disco. That sound comes into play a lot on the album, actually. There are plenty of end-of-song jam-outs where we got to the end of the song and kept playing for a few minutes rather than doing a brutal ’70s fade, and we’d end up doing something really cool, so we might end up leaving some of those big long tails on the album. Our main thing is that we wanted to write songs people could dance to. It’s always about dancing; we’re trying to maximise the amount you want to dance, with the minimum amount of loudness, if that makes sense.”

Wilkinson Boutique Beats By Mina Kitsos

ark Wilkinson has come a long way from mixing tracks between college classes in his makeshift bedroom studio. The past three years have seen the London-reared DJ propel himself to the top of international dance charts with his game-changing brand of DnB, rallying up bigwig fans from Skream to MistaJam and Chase & Status, securing three tracks on Andy C’s Nightlife 5 compilation, and winning the Best Breakthrough Producer crown at the UK’s National DnB Awards in 2012. His debut LP, Lazers Not Included (“If you’re gonna go listen to the album, there’s the club where there’s lasers, but you don’t have lasers in your room at home,” he rationalises), has been smashed on decks across the globe, fastening his place as a spearhead of the dance circuit.

Wilkinson’s crazy schedule leaves no time for resting on laurels, with the beatmaster already penning his second album for release next year. “Knowing that ‘Afterglow’ sold about 160,000 copies over here, that people are actually accepting that tempo and getting used to it now, is really cool. I’m going to try to write more of a record – a piece of music from start to fi nish that fi ts together – rather than a compilation of tunes. I really just want to be working with vocalists on my own album, but also writing music for other people as well as a producer-songwriter, because I just really enjoy being in the studio. That’s where I want to be – in the studio and DJing on the weekend.”

Wilkinson has been enjoying the album’s success. “It’s been mad. I’ve had a few singles released off it. It was really good to finally get it out in October. ‘Afterglow’, that tune has almost taken over the album because it’s done so well in the UK. It’s on the radio all the time, it’s on TV all the time. A lot of people have discovered my album through that song.”

What: Bass Boutique With: Plump DJs, Dom & Roland, Featurecast, A-Tonez, Royalston and more Where: Ivy When: Saturday December 28 And: Lazers Not Included out now through Ram/EMI

With the video nearing 5.3 million views on YouTube, ‘Afterglow’ has proven an ace in the deck. The clip features a familiarly affectionate couple, and quantifies their shared experiences with a stunning directorial simplicity that has sent the internet mad. “I was on tour and I had a really nice beach house in New Zealand, in Wellington – I was sitting outside looking at the sea and working on [the song]. We had about 12 different treatments for the video and [the director] just came up with something completely different. It made me smile, reading [the comments]. It gives me great confidence to see how everyone connects to it, everyone who’s been in a relationship and done those things. It’s quite a speechless thought.”

“I wrote ‘Half Light’ less than a week before I had to hand it in. That was the most stressful tune I’ve ever written. We had to put it as the last tune because the artwork had already been done!” For Lazers Not Included, Wilkinson lined up a stellar list of vocalists, from P Money to Iman and Arlissa. While the results have shot up the charts, he concedes the process was hit-andmiss. “You meet a vocalist and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. They come to my studio and you sit there and it’s quite a strange thing when you’ve never met someone before and you’ve gotta try and create some music. It’s also about how you, together, come up with an idea that you’re both comfortable with, and that’s really how most of my songs have come about – the ones that I’ve kept.” Transcending the typical DnB soundscapes, Wilkinson’s latest cuts flirt with a myriad of genres, from heart-racing pop to grungey garage and downtempo hip hop. “There’s so many genres within drum and bass, and that’s why I continue making it after ten years and not get bored – [but] I never really set out to do a 100 per cent drum and bass album. I want my sound to not necessarily be genre-specific.” Turns out it wasn’t easy, though. “I wrote ‘Half Light’ less than a week before I had to hand it in. That was the most stressful tune I’ve ever written. We had to put it as the last tune because the artwork had already been done!” So how is Wilkinson gearing up for his shows Down Under? “The advantage of being in Australia [is that] your daytime is my nighttime, so when I’m going out to DJ at two in the morning, it’s basically 1pm English time, so that helps,” he chuckles. “It is really tiring, but as soon as I’m in a club and there’s music there … even if I’m really tired and have woken up 15 minutes before my set, I’ll wake up as soon as I hear that.” Even as an emerging star on the DJ scene, though, Wilkinson doesn’t see himself as the typical new-age EDM megastar. “When I release music that I’ve made, I commit to it,” he says. “If someone’s got a problem with it, then they’ve got a problem with me. I met this kid who was about 12 years old and his dad was buying him some stuff for Christmas because he wanted to make music like mine. That was probably one of the most touching things that has ever happened to me. DJs are seen as the new rock stars, but it depends if you live that life. I quite like my bubble over here in London.” thebrag.com

TRIPLE J, MAX, BRAG & JARRAH RECORDS PRESENT

JOHN BUTLER TRIO WITH SPECIAL GUEST EMMA LOUISE WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL CIVIC THEATRE NEWCASTLE Licenced / All Ages. Tickets available from Ticketek | www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849

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SATURDAY 12 APRIL ROYAL THEATRE CANBERRA Licenced / All Ages. Tickets available from Ticketek | www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW www.johnbutlertrio.com FLESH & BLOOD ALBUM OUT 7 FEB 2014 BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 51

SUMMER HOLIDAY CLUB GUIDE send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

MONDAY DECEMBER 23 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Mattia Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 24 CLUB NIGHTS

Bad Santa Xmas Eve Party - feat: House Party DJs Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 8pm. $10. DJ Robin Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free. El’Circo Christmas Eve Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $129.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25 HIP HOP & R&B

The Wall - feat: Resident DJs World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5.

CLUB NIGHTS

Goldfish Presents 12.01 Christmas Night - feat: Ben Ashton + Garry Todd + Rickstar + Ben Nott Goldfish, Kings Cross. 12:01am (Thursday). $10. The Supper Club - feat: Resident DJs Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Whip It Wednesdays - feat: DJs Camo + Snillum + Jaimie Lyn Whaat Club, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 26 CLUB NIGHTS

Boxing Day At Candy’s - feat: Sherlock Bones + Harper + Nextinline Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20. Boxing Day At Ivy - feat: Mightyfools + Peking Duk + Yahtzel + Miami Horror DJs + Riton + More Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $63.50. Housexy - feat: Jack The Roots

52 :: BRAG :: 544 : 23:12:13

Mccord Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. $15. Loopy - feat: Drty Csh + Daschwood + Generous Greed + Guest DJs The Backroom, Sydney. 9pm. $10.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 27 HIP HOP & R&B

One Mic - feat: Smacktown + Sedge Wabler Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $30. Questlove Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 9pm. $15. The Roots + Urthboy Hordern Pavilion, Sydney. 7pm. $89.80. Vent@Valve - feat: DJ Maniak + Jay Druitt + Juxta + King Shifty + Bc + Wizdm + More Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free. El’Circo - feat: Resident Circus Act Performers Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $109. Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Something Wicked - feat: Harper + Dosage + Oh Dear Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 28 HIP HOP & R&B

Jono Fernandez And Aloe Blacc Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 10pm. $25. De La Soul + DJ Yoda + Mike Who Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $64.90. Tropics - feat: Jasper + Sebastian Joy + Beat Select + Lu-Cue + Everto + High Summer Congress + Jackson Hunter + Enos + Tadzilla Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.20.

CLUB NIGHTS

Bass Boutique - feat: Plump DJs + Wilkinson

+ featurecast + Dom & Roland + A-Tonez + Royalston + Kyro & Bomber + Hydraulix + Blackmale + Cheap Lettus + Ocean + Capture + Open-Eye + Turnt Up Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 12pm. $55. FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross. 11:30pm. free. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. free. Pacha Sydney - feat: Deorro + Zoolanda + Danny T + Baby Gee + Matt Nugent + Trent Rackus + Jace Disgrace + Fingers + Devola + Samrai + Dylan Sanders + Nad + Heke Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $37.90. Ritual + Fresh To Death + Dosage + Aaron & Sang Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20. Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Stonebridge - feat: Levi 5star + Matt Cahill + Emme + Neil Smith Goldfish, Sydney. 9pm. $15.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 29 CLUB NIGHTS

Braille 002 - feat: Thoreau + Brendan Pinilla & Daniel Kouzan + Kevin Alves + Daniel & Thomas Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10. Martini Club And Friends feat: Ocky + Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. S.A.S.H Xmas Party - feat: Gabby + Jake Hough + Kerry Wallace + Rennie & Shamus + Dcw & La Faber + Rickstar The Abercrombie, Broadway. 2pm. $10.

MONDAY DECEMBER 30 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Mattia Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

NEW YEAR’S EVE TUESDAY DECEMBER 31

Norman Jay

CLUB NIGHTS

Bar100 NYE 13-14 - feat: Mr Wilson + 6 Fingers & Tass + I Am Sam + Mr Bongolicious + Rollback City + More Bar 100, The Rocks. 6pm. $150. Ben Morris - feat: La Fiesta Sound System + Chris Luder And Vincent Sebastian + Levi 5star + Phil Hudson Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. free. Cakes Presents (NYE House Party) - feat: Go Freek + Platform 19 + The Awkward Boys + Diego Slim + D*Funk + Tacos + Mike Hyper World Bar, Kings Cross. 6pm. free. El’Circo New Year’s Eve! feat: Maxi Shield Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $139. Goodgod NYE Prom - feat: Levins + Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Joyride + Mike Who + Ariane Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $20. Harbour Party - feat: Havana Brown + Ian Carey + Timmy Trumpet + Grant Smillie + Samantha Jade + Chardy + Ember + Dr Don Don + Purple Sneakers DJs + Ben Morris And Losty Slicker Cities (DJ) + Tass + Brother G Big Top Sydney - Luna Park, Milsons Point. 6:30pm. $99. Hot Kandi Mansion... Slumber Party NYE 2013 Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $75. Lost & Found NYE - feat: Danny Tenaglia + Bicep + Cyril Hahn + Will Saul Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $99.95. Mad Racket NYE - feat: Big Strick + Claire Morgan Marrickville Bowls Club, Marrickville. 8pm. $44. Mobilee Rooftop Session NYE 2013 - feat: Ray Okpara + Miss Jools Museum Of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay 6pm. $299. New Year’s Eve At Marquee - feat: Ray J + Morgan Page + Stafford Brothers Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 9pm. $99. New Year’s Eve At Candy’s Apartment - feat: Harper + Dosage + Nextinline Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20. New Year’s Eve At The Belvedere The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. free. New Year’s Eve At The Orient - feat: DJs Over Three Levels The Orient, The Rocks. 6pm. free. New Year’s Eve Toga Party - feat: Mojo Juju + Jeremy Davidson (The Snowdroppers) + Luke + Dean And Lachlan (Gay Paris) + Kira Puru + Frank Saltana The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $63.80. No Nonsense NYE - feat: House Party DJs Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 9pm. free.

NYE 2013 Destination - feat: La Fiesta Sound System + DJ Cadell + DJ Matt Roberts + Deejay Sista P Cruise Bar, Sydney. 6pm. $129. NYE At Newport Arms Newport Arms Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. free. NYE At Poolclub - feat: Baby Gee + Natnoiz + Matt Nugent + Brenden Fing + Micky D + Pro-Gram Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 7:30pm. $73.70. NYE At The Argyle - feat: Will Reckless + Phil Hudson + Elly K + The Owl + Ladance DJs + Dollar Bear + Pistolshrimp The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. $50. NYE Festival At Wet’n’Wild - feat: Will Sparks + Gtronic + Yolanda Be Cool + Uberjak’d + Haezer + Faydee + SCNDL + F.O.O.L + Tom Deluxx + Black Astroid + Motorik Vibe Council + Nadisko + Tigerlily + Redial + Natnoiz + Smacktown + The Bratpack + More Wet’n’Wild, Prospect. 4pm. $110. NYE House Party! - feat: Front To Back + Keyes + Choosi + Parental Guidance + Barfly Soho Bar & Lounge, Potts Point. 8pm. $20. NYE On The Harbour 2013

- feat: Art Vs. Science + Van She + Gold Fields + Bag Raiders + Alison Wonderland + Fishing + Devola Cargo Bar, Sydney. 7pm. $89. NYE Party At The House - feat: Sneaky Sound System + The Faders + DJ Robkay Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7pm. $555. Opera Bar World Famous Beach Party - feat: Touch Sensitive + Furnace + The Fundamentals + DJ Reelax + Pocketful Of Soul Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $375. Paradise NYE - feat: Norman Jay MBE + Aeroplane + Russ Dewbury + Kid Mac + Mo’Funk Overseas Passenger Terminal. 7pm. $145. Shore Thing - feat: Skrillex + Jack Beats + What So Not + Alvin Risk Bondi Beach, Bondi. 8pm. $118. Strange Fruit Presents NYE At The Abercrombie feat: James Holden + Phil Smart + Trinity Live + Dave Stuart + U-Khan + Ben Ashton The Abercrombie, Broadway. 9pm. $30. The Workers NYE Party! The Workers, Balmain. 5pm. free. James Holden

thebrag.com

A$AP Rocky photo by Phil Knott

NEW YEAR’S DAY WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1

A$AP Rocky

HIP HOP & R&B

The Wall - feat: Resident DJs World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5.

CLUB NIGHTS

Ministry Of Sound Classics NYD - feat: Bass Kleph Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 2pm. $60. DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free. Field Day - feat: Wiz Khalifa + A$AP Rocky + Flume + Solange + The Wombats + London Grammar + Ta-Ku + Hermitude + Chet Faker + Flight Facilities (Decade DJ Set) + Flux Pavilion + What So Not + Julio Bashmore + Crystal Fighters + Kill The Noise + More The Domain, Sydney. 12pm. $145. Irish New Year - feat: Blackwater + DJ Ant Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10am. free. Lost Disco NYD At Ivy Pool Club - feat: Soul Clap + Wolf & Lamb + DJ Koze + Brohn + Gabby + Mia Lucci + Mergio + Aaron Robins + Alan Thomas + Sam Arellano + Cassette

+ Co-Op + Parkside DJs + Morgan + Sam Roberts + Start:Cue + T-Boy Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. Yousef

12pm. $137.50. New Years Day - feat: Sherlock Bones + Harper + 2busy2kiss Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. free. Official Space Ibiza After Party - feat: Special Guests Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. $25. Space Ibiza On Tour NYD14 - feat: Yousef + Crazy P + Audiojack + Jonathan Ulysses + S.P.Y + MC Lowqui + Mr Doris + Mo Funk + More The Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 12pm. $89. Spice Afloat New Year Sunrise Cruise - feat: Audiojack + Lovebirds + Murat Kilic + Robbie Lowe The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 4am. $95. Summersets New Years Day With Norman Jay + Bernie Dingo From Sosueme + Mando + Bondi House DJs + Saville + Bang Gang Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 3pm. $45. The Supper Club - feat: Resident DJs Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Whip It Wednesdays - feat: DJs Camo + Snillum + Jaimie Lyn Whaat Club, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

THE FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 9 YEARS

Bass Kleph

Includes the singles

Straight Through The Sun Audiojack

and

It’s Beautiful

OUT NOW! spiderbait.com.au •facebook.com/spiderbait • #newspiderbait

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 53

club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

CLUB NIGHTS

Goldfish And Friends - feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

COMEDY

FRIDAY JANUARY 3 HIP HOP & R&B

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $70. Wiz Khalifa After Party Hosted By Wiz Khalifa Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 10pm. $15.

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free. DnB Double Header - feat: Calyx & Teebee + LTJ Bukem + Ritual + Axe + Foreigndub + Rollers Music + Semper Fi + Sam The Chemist Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 10pm. $25. Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

SATURDAY JANUARY 4 HIP HOP & R&B

Talib Kweli + Dead Prez + L-Fresh The Lion + Mike Who Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $50.

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

CLUB NIGHTS

FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross. 11:30pm. free. Hold Tight! - feat: Kode9 + Tokimonsta + Mark Pritchard + Oscar Key Sung Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.70. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. free. Picnic & Multi Culti Present: Tom Of England + Cos/Mes + Chida The Abercrombie, Broadway. 2pm. $25. Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Stanton Warriors Pool Party - feat: Spenda C + Zaetonez + Fingers + Klaus Heavyweight Hill + Bakehaus DJs + Islnd + Taylor Ferney + Fearghal Delicious Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 12pm. $47. We R SCNDL Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $43.

SUNDAY JANUARY 5 CLUB NIGHTS

Martini Club And Friends feat: Ocky + Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

I M A G I N E B E I N G M A D E TO

MONDAY JANUARY 6 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Mattia Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

TUESDAY JANUARY 7

FEEL LIKE CRAP J UST FOR

CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Robin Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8 HIP HOP & R&B

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

Solange Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $49. The Wall - feat: Resident DJs World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5.

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

Okay, that’s hard to imagine? But being gay, lesbian, bi, trans or intersex is no different to being born left handed, it’s just who you are. So stop and think because the things we say are likely to cause depression and anxiety. And that really is pretty crap. GO TO LEFTHAND.ORG.AU TO WATCH THE VIDEO

54 :: BRAG :: 544 : 23:12:13

Xxx

THURSDAY JANUARY 2

Loopy - feat: Drty Csh + Daschwood + Generous Greed + Guest DJs The Backroom, Sydney. 9pm. $10.

CLUB NIGHTS STOP t THINK t RESPECT

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free. The Supper Club - feat: Resident DJs

Talib Kweli Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Whip It Wednesdays - feat: DJs Camo + Snillum + Jaimie Lyn Whaat Club, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

THURSDAY JANUARY 9 HIP HOP & R&B

Sydney Festival: Lee Fields And The Expressions The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park, 11:30pm. $30.

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

CLUB NIGHTS

Daedelus + Dizz1 + Bad Jackson + Astral Huggz Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. free. Goldfish And Friends - feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Loopy - feat: Drty Csh + Daschwood + Generous Greed + Guest DJs The Backroom, Sydney. 9pm. $10. Swindle - feat: Juzlo + Schmee-J Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 11:30pm. $23.60.

FRIDAY JANUARY 10 COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

HIP HOP & R&B

Fingertips - feat: We Do This + Digital Order Fbi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5.

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free. Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

SATURDAY JANUARY 11 COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

CLUB NIGHTS

FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross. 11:30pm. free. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. free. Pacha Sydney Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $43. Shogun Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 10pm. $25. Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

SUNDAY JANUARY 12 CLUB NIGHTS

Martini Club And Friends feat: Ocky + Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

COMEDY

Game Of ... Spiky Metal Chair Burlesque The Vanguard, Newtown. 8pm. $43.80.

MONDAY JANUARY 13 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Mattia Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

TUESDAY JANUARY 14 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Robin Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

thebrag.com

live review What we've been out to see...

LOOPTROOP ROCKERS, SAGE FRANCIS, TENFOLD, OZI BATLA The Hi-Fi Friday December 13

It’s an unwritten rule of live performance that there should always be more people in the crowd than there are onstage. The balance seemed in serious jeopardy at the beginning of the evening – even though there was literally only one person under the spotlight. With the barrier gone and the curtains covering the entire mezzanine, The Hi-Fi has probably never felt more desolate. A sombre Ozi Batla attempted to raise the mood for the dozen or so early arrivals, but not even a quick run-through of The Herd’s classic ‘77%’ could shake off the demons. Frankston’s Tenfold fared even worse; their cheap-sounding beats and lazy flows motivating little more from those watching than a face buried in their phones. Only one man could save the day, and Sage Francis wasted precious little time kicking the night into action. That’s not just an expression, either – he set up a laptop, yelled “check” into his microphone, dropped trou and began rapping. Don’t worry – he had a costume on underneath his pants; a preacher man outfit that was all too fitting for the Friday the 13th festivities.

As Francis launched headfirst into ‘Escape Artist’, the buzz in the room made it feel full. Francis captivated every last attendee with a perfect balance of goofing off (running around the stage to ‘America [Fuck Yeah]’ from Team America) and solemn, hearton-sleeve poetry (the brilliant finale in ‘The Best Of Times’). The crowd knew every word to every song, and could go home safe in the knowledge that Sage had made their trek out to the Entertainment Quarter worth it. Trying to follow Francis’ set was akin to shooting oneself in the foot and then attempting to race. Not that you could have told Sweden’s Looptroop Rockers that, though – their high spirits and boundless energy threw a smile instantly onto the dial of everyone that had decided to stick around. The affable Swedes delivered impressive verse after impressive verse, taking bits and pieces from across their discography and even throwing in a couple of songs from Promoe’s severely underrated 2004 solo effort, The Long Distance Runner. Did it match up to Sage? Not quite. But let’s face it – not much could have. Looptroop kept up spirits and refused to let the size of the crowd get them down, and for that alone they deserve the utmost credit. David James Young

Looptroop Rockers

NICHE & LIVE NATION PRESENT

GUEST WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

HIATUS KAIYOTE APRIL 17 THE STAR

SYDNEY

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SHE COMES ACROSS AS A SAVVY, SAVV MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST WHO’S WHO DETERMINED TO ENTERTAIN BUT NOT TO COMPROMISE. IT’S IT PERFORMANCE. A HELL OF A PERFORMANC AUSTRALIAN — THE AUSTRALIA

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8 0 P Y R M O N T S T R E E T, SY D N E Y S TA R .C O M . A U thebrag.com

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 55

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soft & slow

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

PICS :: KC

fat rabbit

todd terry

PICS :: AM

13:12:13 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585

14:12:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999

12:12:13 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 CLARKE :: ASHLEY S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

56 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

MAR ::

the plot

PICS :: LC

joey bada$$

PICS :: TL

14:12:13 :: Upstairs Beresford :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585

14:12:13 :: The Big Top Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Dr Milsons Point 9033 7600 thebrag.com

BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13 :: 57

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13:12:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999

jon hopkins

PICS :: KC

bass mafia

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

14:12:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

party profile

soul of sydney secret nyd block party

15:12:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9280 2178

58 :: BRAG :: 544 :: 23:12:13

It’s called: Soul of Sydney Secret NYD Block Party It sounds like: Feel-good old-school party jams – soul, funk, disco, hip hop and beyond. Acts: Soul of Sydney DJs and friends, Frenz ie (Groove Therapy – 2SER), Naiki (World Famous Chiefrockers), Phil Toke (Soul of Sydney), Cman (Feel-Good Funk Collective), Edseven (Lioness), Phil Hudson, Johnny Bones, Seb One, MC Poppa Sam (NYC). Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Jame s Brown – ‘Sex Machine’; Aretha Franklin – ‘Respect’; Grandmaster Flash – ‘The Message’. And one you definitely won’t: Anything by Bon Jovi. Sell it to us: Afternoon soul, funk and hip hop vibes in a secret open-air oasis, soul train dance-off and live street art. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Soul train, smiles and sunshine. Crowd specs: Limited capacity intimate jam. Wallet damage: $8-15 (kids are free) – soulo fsydney.org/blockparty Where: Secret open-air oasis, five minutes from the CBD (released to ticket holders). When: New Year’s Day – Wednesday Janua ry 1, 2pm.

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

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