ISSUE NO. 621 JULY 15, 2015
FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com
MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE
INSIDE This Week
INCLUDING
DY L A N MOR A N
The Black Books star and stand-up king comes to Sydney.
• DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE • OH MERCY • • MARMOZETS • THE DISTRICTS • AND MORE •
SPECIAL
ON V IE W: L I V E P OR T R A I T S Visual art and performance collide in a Carriageworks collaboration.
KOOII
Headlining a new drug-free place to party.
G FEATURIN
B A RO
The young MC turning heads and earning fans.
Plus
TIM PLUS MAP & PL AYING
DE A R PL A S T IC DE S T RUC T I V E S T EP S T HE BOOK OF K E V IN
+1
K Ăƒ K
ES INSIDE
* Ăƒ -(+, !*+
+ ,-* 1 "-$1 ,
JOINED BY!
WITH SPECIAL G U E S T
JAMIE T QANTAS CREDIT UNION ARENA SAT JULY 2 5
TUESDAY 28 JULY HORDERN PAVILION
THE MAGIC WHIP - NEW ALBUM OUT NOW BLUR.CO.UK THE ALBUM UPTOWN SPECIAL INC. THE 6X PLATINUM, ARIA CHART TOPPER UPTOWN FUNK OUT NOW ON SONY MUSIC - markronson.co.uk
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rock music news
the BRAG presents
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Lauren Gill and Jade Smith MARMOZETS Newtown Social Club Thursday July 23
on the record WITH
ALEX WALL FROM BLEEDING KNEES CLUB
The First Thing I Recorded 3. The first time I ever recorded a song was actually in 2009 or 2010. Me and Jordan [Malane] recorded our first two singles for Bleeding Knees Club, ‘Have Fun’ and ‘Bad Guys’. It was in our friend’s studio behind a shoe store on the Gold Coast. We sent these songs to every human on the Planet Earth, hoping someone would like them. There’s something special in those first recordings I don’t think you could ever recapture. The First Record I Bought The Last Record I Bought The first CD I bought was The latest LP I got was 1. 2. The Last Thing I the Men In Black soundtrack. I by this band from LA called Recorded 4. saw the movie and thought Will Wand. Their new album Golem I just finished mixing and mastering Smith rapping was what I needed to listen to. The first vinyl LP I bought was Modern Lovers’ selftitled album. It’s still one of my favourite albums of all time.
is insanely good. It’s super heavy and psychedelic – the production is really crazy and awesome. It’s like Black Sabbath mixed with Tame
my new Wax Witches album. I recorded it in Brooklyn, New York in my friend’s home studio. It’s cool, it’s just a collection of all the songs I wrote over my two years living
AZEALIA BANKS
in New York. It’s totally different to anything I’ve released before. And a guy called Jim Kissling mastered it, who also worked on the latest King Tuff album.
Metro Theatre Friday July 24
WOLF ALICE
The Record That Changed My Life 5. I think The Velvet Underground’s
Oxford Art Factory Friday July 24
Velvet Underground & Nico album. I remember the first time I heard ‘Venus In Furs’, and I was instantly obsessed. VU were really important to me because they showed me that you don’t have to be technically great at your instrument to make good music. The songs are so simple, and rough, and they feel like they could fall apart at any time. But they are so beautiful and to me are the epitome of cool and the sound of New York.
YEARS & YEARS Oxford Art Factory Sunday July 26
ALITHIA The Factory Floor Friday August 28
What: The Filth Where: Beach Road Hotel When: Friday July 17
Years & Years photo by Mike Massaro / Wolf Alice photo by Jordan Hughes
Impala. They are insanely good live, too.
THE 1975 IN 2016
The 1975 have announced their return to Australian shores early next year. Though no-one in the band was actually alive in 1975, the UK pop-rockers have been active since they were teens, releasing their debut EP Faceless in 2012 and self-titled LP the following year. They’re currently working on the production of their second album, so fans can expect a healthy dose of both new and old material when they make their return sojourn Down Under. It all goes down on Tuesday January 19 at the Hordern Pavilion, with support from Circa Waves.
MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Lauren Gill, Elias Kwiet, Bridget Lutherborrow, Jade Smith
THEY JUST DONE KEEP GOING
ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Sarah Bryant, Elias Kwiet, Bridget Lutherborrow, Jade Smith - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Vanessa Papastavros, Elias Kwiet, Jade Smith, Bridget Lutherborrow REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Keiron Costello, Christie Eliezer, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, Daniel Prior, Kate Robertson, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young
The Church
IT’S A SMALL WORLD
The burgeoning Small World Festival is returning in 2015 with a lineup celebrating the best of the Inner West of Sydney and beyond. This year’s festival, taking place in the new location of Sydney Park in Alexandria – which boasts a natural amphitheatre, perfect for musical consumption – will be headlined by Inner West products and Australian songwriting legends The Church. They’ll be joined by the relentless DZ Deathrays, PVT and a bunch of other great acts, alongside beverages by Young Henrys and food from local restaurateurs. Check out the full lineup at thebrag.com. And then check it out in person at Sydney Park on Saturday September 19.
ALL HAIL HALESTORM
Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished Art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600 PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 follow us:
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Meg Mac
YOU’LL NEVER BE MEG MAC Fresh off a North American tour with D’Angelo and The Vanguard, Meg Mac has locked in a run of shows in support of her new single, ‘Never Be’. The 2014 triple j Unearthed Artist of the Year will play shows from Fremantle to Brisbane, treating fans to cuts from her self-titled debut EP like ‘Roll Up Your Sleeves’ and ‘Known Better’. The shows will also likely be the last chance for fans to see Mac before she heads back overseas. She’ll arrive at the Metro Theatre on Friday September 11.
Given the weather in Sydney over the weekend, you’ve probably heard enough about hail and storms. But listen up, because US hard rockers Halestorm have confirmed an Aussie tour for this December. Known for their habit of touring non-stop, this stint comes in celebration of their third and latest effort Into The Wild Life, which was released earlier this year. After the success of their 2012 The Strange Case Of…, and the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance with ‘Love Bites (So Do I), frontwoman Lzzy Hale has received even more praise for her live presence, which is defi nitely a sight to behold. You can do just that on Friday December 11 at Newcastle’s Cambridge Hotel and on Sunday December 13 at Manning Bar.
THE ORIGINAL SCIENTISTS
The original lineup of much-loved Perth rockers The Scientists have announced that they will reunite for a show at the Factory Theatre. Emerging from the ashes of The Victims in 1978, The Scientists went on to craft hard-edged rock songs with lighter pop elements. Despite coming out of the isolated Perth, their music would infl uence artists around the world, and they boast a fan base including the likes of Thurston Moore and Jon Spencer. They’ve had a few lineup reshuffles over the years, so the reunion of original members Kim Salmon, James Baker, Rod Radalj and Boris Sujdovic will be extra special. See them with some special guests at the Factory on Friday August 28.
Joshua Seymour
SEE MORE SEYMOUR
Singer-songwriter Joshua Seymour has revealed that he’ll hit the road this July and August for a run of shows in support of his debut album Rope Tied Hope. Having spent the last few years as co-songwriter of Melbourne alt-country outfit Cherrywood, Seymour is breaking out on his own, sharing his unique twist on Americana. He’ll premiere his new material live, including debut single ‘Two Or Few’, when he plays shows across regional and metro Australia this winter. Sydneysiders can catch him on Sunday August 2 at Shady Pines Saloon. xx
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Continuing on the road to recovery following the impact of the New South Wales storms earlier in the year, the Dungog Festival is set to return with a new expanded program. Running in late October, the second annual Dungog Festival will unite the community and get the town back on its feet and literally dancing in the street. On the bill for the festival will be an engaging film program, live music, cabaret, and the hugely popular Long Table Dinner, with tables reaching down the main street for a night of local food, wine, music and dance under the night sky to celebrate Dungog’s resilient community. It runs from Thursday October 22 to Sunday October 25.
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live & local
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Lauren Gill, Jade Smith and Bridget Lutherborrow
head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
speed date WITH
WAYNE CONNOLLY FROM KNIEVEL Inspirations The Music You Make So many great groups and artists We have probably been around too 2. 4. across the decades, from Joni and the Laurel long to have contemporaries! We cover a 3Ds Canyon set to The Jam, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Strokes – but ultimately Australian/New Zealand music stays with me the most. I would cite The Go-Betweens as my all-time fave inspiration. Send Me A Lullaby truly changed my world and every record they did subsequently was superb. It was a career highlight for me to work with Grant McLennan producing his solo album In Your Bright Ray (he says, sneaking in a humble brag). Your Band We started as a three-piece – Tracy Ellis, 3. Nick Kennedy and I – but when The Fauves
Growing Up I’m the youngest in a very big family, 1. most of whom were deeply into music (think The Osmonds without great teeth or Mormon persuasion), so there were a lot of classic records in our household – Beatles, Creedence, Stones, Faces, Bowie, Neil, Bob, et cetera.
Through The Rainbow Dark out in the States on New High Records – also home to Built To Spill guitarist Brett Netson – Knievel are still going strong. The album, released locally last year as Emerald City, is a prime example of tasteful indie rock. In celebration of the old-new record, Knievel will play host to a gala night with mates Sounds Like Sunset and The Holy Soul, showcasing the warm-hearted sense of melancholy that has endeared them to fans around the world. Knievel’s musical gala will take place at Hermann’s Bar this Saturday July 18.
5.
With: Sounds Like Sunset, The Holy Soul Where: Hermann’s Bar When: Saturday July 18
MS MR
To write their new album, How Does It Feel, Ms Mr returned to their old stomping ground in Bushwick, Brooklyn where their 2013 debut Secondhand Rapture was recorded. They spent the time hanging out in a rented room banging out new tunes with collaborators including Tove Lo and MNDR. The first single from the new record, ‘Painted’, has had a good spin on triple j in the past month and is paired with a music video directed by Tabitha Denholm, who has worked with the likes of Florence + The Machine, Haim and Jessie J. But enough of the preliminaries – How Does It Feel hits stores this Friday July 17. We’ve got ten copies of the album to give away to eager readers. To be in the draw, get over to thebrag.com/freeshit.
xxx
NOT QUITE EVIL
Celebrating the US launch of their album Through The Rainbow Dark, local favourites Knievel will be playing with fellow Sydneysiders for a night of indie rock this weekend. With
released their mocking single, ‘Everybody’s Getting A Three Piece Together’, we had to quickly add members. After a fairly large list of shifting members (including brief tenures by Matt from Decoder Ring, Sally Seltmann and Dave Orwell) we have had a stable lineup for over a decade with new boy Tim Kevin (La Huva, Hoolahan) and more recently Kristy Wilson (Morning Papers, World Champion). Generally we agree on a really wide sphere of musical influences but disagreement may arise on whether or not to add synths.
song and have released a cover of a Josef K song. We are playing with Sounds Like Sunset at Hermann’s this week and our friendship/gig history goes back to some time before the turn of the century. We have maximum respect for Cloud Control, Ocean Party, Dick Diver, Hockey Dad, Flowertruck and many others. Our style can be summed up as ‘reflective indie strum’. Music, Right Here, Right Now It’s still amazingly healthy in Australia (just working your way through Nick Allbrookrelated projects can be reaffirming), but I notice that in the last couple of years, many bands are kind of slowing down and taking a long time to make an album – just kind of recording a song or two every six months. That’s a natural product of bands taking more control themselves, but it seems like people lose momentum very easily and there’s always a host of others coming through with at least one great song.
Major Leagues
James Teague
BACK IN THE BIG LEAGUES
The Rechords
Brisbane garage pop band Major Leagues have released a new single, ‘Someone Sometime’, announcing they’ve signed to Popfrenzy Records. ‘Someone Sometime’ is lifted from the band’s upcoming second EP and is being celebrated with a short tour, heading to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne later this month. The track was recorded at Plutonium Studios in Brisbane by Miro Mackie and mixed in Brooklyn by Jacob Portrait (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Blouse). ‘Someone Sometime’ is Major Leagues’ first release since their debut Weird Season of 2013, which was heavily supported by radio stations including triple j, 2SER and FBi. The tour hits Sydney this Friday July 17 at Brighton Up Bar.
RECHORDS GO TO MARKET
The July edition of the Sydney Rock ’N’ Roll & Alternative Market will yet again feature a booming live music lineup to go alongside a litany of stalls, food and fashion. This time around it’s The Rechords headlining the day, launching their Live Rechording album chock-full of hillbilly, rockabilly, bluegrass and swing tunes. Joining the Melbourne trio are market favourites Spurs For Jesus, plus The Jordan C. Thomas Band, The Drey Rollan Band and DJs Rockin’ Marc Rondeau, Rod Almighty and The Crimplenes and Solid Gold Hell DJs. Swing down to Manning House at the University of Sydney on Sunday July 26 for all the retro action.
TEAGUE ON TOUR
Melbourne-based singer-songwriter James Teague has locked in a run of dates in support of his latest single, ’Heaven’. The acoustic track marks Teague’s first release since his 2012 debut, Lavender Prayers, from which he’ll play songs alongside some new cuts when he heads out on the eight-date tour, hitting stops in metro and regional Australia. He’ll be at Petersham Bowling Club on Friday August 28.
CALIFORNIA CALLING
California Honeydrops have announced that they’ll hit our shores for a run of capital city shows and festival appearances this summer. The tour will mark the party-funk outfi t’s first Australian headlining dates, but it certainly won’t mark their first time on the international stage. Along with nine European tours, they’ve also landed slots on festivals like Monterey Jazz and Outside Lands as well as gigs supporting the likes of B.B. King, Dr John and Buddy
FIRE IN THE HOLE
Grenadiers
After wrapping up a 20-date run with British India, Adelaide punk outfit Grenadiers will hit the road for their Grenabeers Tour this August and September. The trio are still riding the wave of success from their latest LP Summer, which received wide praise as well as radio airplay following its release in January. Since then, they’ve continued to capitalise on their newfound popularity, touring the country with the aforementioned British India and snagging a spot at on the Bigsound 2015 bill. They’ll play Newtown Social Club on Saturday August 29.
Guy. Catch them on Tuesday November 24 at Newtown Social Club.
A STICKY SITUATION
Long-standing Aussie pop band Icecream Hands are back on the scene. Charles Jenkins, Derek G. Smiley and Douglas Lee Robertson’s outfit came together in Melbourne in 1992, releasing six albums and garnering two ARIA Award nominations before going their separate ways in 2007. Jenkins has released another half-dozen records with The Zhivagos in the time since, but to celebrate some 16 years since Icecream Hands’ Sweeter Than The Radio, they’re reuniting with guest guitarist Davey Lane for a Sydney show, playing the album from start to finish. The Icecream Hands truck rolls into Newtown Social Club on Sunday August 16.
THAT’S GNARLY
Blues rockers Narla, who last year took out the prestigious Sydney Uni Band Competition, have announced their debut tour of the Australian east coast. If the blues are back, then these guys are at the vanguard, doing it with the classic three-piece lineup and an added injection of 21st century pizzazz. ‘Lie To You’ is the new single from their upcoming EP release, and it launches at Frankie’s Pizza this Wednesday July 15 and Newcastle’s Stag & Hunter Hotel on Saturday July 18. xxx
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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR * Which down-and-out muso, living in his car and picked up by the cops for looking dishevelled, told them “VW 1975” when asked for his address? * Which singer came offstage at a festival muttering, “What a tough crowd, someone threw a pie at me, hit me on the shoulder,” and discovered the ‘pie’ was faeces? * Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ has become the fastest video to reach one billion views on Vevo. Meanwhile, Swift donated over £30,000 to a “beautiful and
brave” 11-year-old fan battling leukaemia. * Ed Sheeran has made it into Guinness World Records, for “the longest climb to No. 1 on the UK singles chart”. It took ‘Thinking Out Loud’ 19 weeks to reach the summit, between July 5 and November 8 last year. The record was held by Celine Dion, whose ‘Think Twice’ took 13 long weeks to make it to the top. ‘Thinking Out Loud’ also made history by spending an entire year in the UK Top 40. * Facebook has denied reports it will launch a music streaming service. * Are vinyl music sales skewed towards older male artists?
SHOCK CO-FOUNDER LAUNCHES NEW COMPANY David Williams, founder of Shock Records and Entertainment, has launched his new group, David Roy Williams Music. Since leaving Shock at the end of 2011, Williams has focused on live music, bringing out Machine Head, Seether, Opeth and Shaggy. Now he’s put all his various companies under the one roof with a team including Kirstie Vallily and Isabel Bearlin. It consists of tour company Tombowler, record labels Capgun Kids (Kingswood, The Vanns), Public Opinion Music (The Crimson ProjeKCt) and Breakaway (They Might Be Giants), and also offers other services such as film music supervision, merch and music publishing. Williams said, “There’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of the music business, but the pessimists have got it wrong – anarchy is cool! … and right now is an incredibly exciting time to be in the music biz. There’s amazing new music, Australian artists are seeing unprecedented success and recognition internationally, and everything is changing – what a great time to get involved and be a part of those changes!”
SIX ARTIST MANAGERS MENTORED The Association of Artist Managers has picked six young artist managers to be mentored for 12 months. They are Craig Lock (Tkay Maidza, Jesse Davidson), Anthony Zaccaria (Fractures, Loon Lake, Marcelo), Jess Carroll (Rat & Co, Hoodlem, Second Hand Heart), Marty Brown (Flyying Colours, Clare Bowditch), Ashleigh Hills (Woodlock) and Nicola Pitt (Tjintu Desert Band, Jacinta Price, Karnage & Darknis). The mentors are John Watson, Gregg Donovan (Wonderlick), Claire Collins (Bossy Music), Andrew Stone (Chugg Music), Greg Carey (Umbrella Music) and Dan Medland (ie:music).
The UK’s list of best-selling vinyl albums and singles this year indicates just that. Of albums, number one was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Chasing Yesterday (Gallagher is due back in Australia next year on a world tour), Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti and The Stone Roses’ self-titled debut. * Rick Ross, facing legal issues stemming from a kidnapping charge, had his studio in Atlanta shot at. * Wollongong’s Main Street Studios hosted a discounted recording day for local bands over the weekend, with owner Adam Jordan passing the proceeds on to homeless people.
METAL FANS THE HAPPIEST FANS Are fans of heavy metal happier and more welladjusted than those of other genres? A report published in Self And Identity journal, titled The Life Experiences And Mid-Life Functioning Of 1980s Heavy Metal Groupies, Musicians And Fans makes this claim. It admits, “metal enthusiasts did often experience traumatic and risky ‘sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll’ lives”, but added: “the metalhead identity also served as a protective factor against negative outcomes. Social support is a crucial protective factor for troubled youth. Fans and musicians alike felt a kinship in the metal community, and a way to experience heightened emotions with like-minded people.” This study follows University of Queensland research that metal, punk, hardcore and extreme music can have a positive effect on a listener by diluting their anger. Meanwhile, a Discovery Channel film crew searching for a great white shark tagged in Western Australia and nicknamed ‘Joan of Shark’ used an underwater speaker blasting death metal to attract great whites. They not only hear the music, but mistake its lowfrequency vibrations for struggling fish. In 2011, a South Australian tour operator discovered that playing AC/DC music attracted sharks for the same reason.
NICHE ADDS B-WISE Booking agency and tour company Niche Productions has signed South Sydney Australian-African hip hop act B Wise AKA James Iheakanwa. His new single ‘Prince Akeem’ gets its name from Eddie Murphy’s character in Coming To America.
VIC PUSH FOR ‘LIVE MUSIC STATE’ NUMBER PLATES The Melbourne music industry has started a change.org campaign to raise 5,000 signatures to convince the Victorian State Government to drop its plans to have “The Educated State” on its vehicle number plates in favour of “The Live
* YouTube gaming star PewDiePie reportedly earned US$7 million in 2014. About 37 million people watch him play and review the latest games. * Currently on a US tour, Blacktown’s Thy Art Is Murder have entered the US charts with Holy War – reaching number three in Hard Music, number six in Independent and number 82 on the Top 100. * Melbourne’s Horns Of Leroy took to social media to reveal that Virgin has been less than helpful with their complaint that one of their instruments was badly damaged in a flight back from Tasmania, where they played Dark Mofo.
Music State”. It argues the state should use the fact that Melbourne is the only Australian city to have an official Music City status. It would also result in a greater amount of musical tourists and economic activity, according to co-organiser, venue booker and owner James Young. “Someone from California is more likely to say, ‘Hey, let’s go visit Melbourne to hear or make some great music,’ than, ‘Hey, let’s get some education when we’re holidaying in Melbourne next,’” he said.
SING IT ON, JOHN Channel [V] is premiering new US music reality series Sing It On on Thursday July 30. The Pitch Perfect-inspired show about a number of college a capella acts trying out for the grand final in between studies was produced by the Grammy-winning John Legend, whose own music career began in such a group at college.
INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES IN AUS AND NZ Global marketing and PR company International Solutions has launched in Australia and New Zealand. The firm has offices in Amsterdam, London and New York. The Australian office is in Melbourne, with Victoria Ciesiolka hired as territory manager. Ciesiolka will continue her PR, marketing and artist development company Alpha Entertainment with such clients as Live Nation, Beyond The Valley, The Stiffys, Ivan Ooze, Vaudeville Smash, Bec Laughton and Emmy Bryce. International Solutions founder and CIO Paolo d’Alessandro said, “The time is right to focus our attention on some of the absolutely incredible music coming from Australian and New Zealand artists and helping them establish a foothold … in the US and Europe.”
RDIO EXPANDS LABEL-CURATED STATIONS TO AUSTRALIA As the battle of curated playlists for streaming services heats up, Rdio has launched new customised stations programmed by some of the top record labels in the world – including
taught myself guitar, drums and finally bass. Inspirations Tough question… 2. obviously inspiration is ever-
Growing Up I grew up in a small(ish) 1. town in New Zealand with both parents (and extended family) playing various instruments. I started learning piano around three to four years old, started brass lessons with my grandpa a few years later and eventually
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changing but at the moment the people who inspire me the most are those who compose and/or perform at a consistently high level and continually refine their craft, regardless of genre: Maria Schneider, Louis Cole, Nate Wood, Kneebody, David Binney, Sufjan Stevens, Conor Oberst, Baths. I caught a couple of gigs at 505 recently with brilliant young Dutch guitarist/ composer Reinier Baas which were incredibly inspiring – that dude’s heavy. Your Band Wild South features 3. some of my favourite people and musicians anywhere: Peter Koopman (guitar), Steve Barry (keys), Dave Jackson (sax/ FX) and Tim Firth (drums).
BOTTING Pete, Steve and I are all Kiwis; Steve’s been in Sydney the longest and was one of the catalysts for Pete and I moving over three years ago. I met Dave and Tim after moving to Sydney and have been lucky enough to play and hang with them heaps. I chose these guys because I feel like we’re all rooted in the same tradition but always looking to the future. The Music You Make A good friend/hectic 4. drummer Paul Derricott describes my music as ‘Antipodean emo easy listening’, which is probably fairly accurate. I think of it as a distillation of everything I’ve ever listened to – kinda indie jazz, I guess. This project was born out of deepening homesickness, inspired by the places and people of NZ. It’s cold, warm, clear, stormy, snowy, rivery goodness!
Expecting: Michael Bublé and wife Luisana Lopilato, their second. Split: former Westlife singer Brian McFadden and wife, model and TV presenter Vogue Williams, after three years. Injured: The Grates guitarist John Patterson busted his wrist after his motorbike slid in bad weather conditions. Injured: Frenzal Rhomb drummer Gordy Forman broke his arm during a gig on the weekend at Perth’s Amplifier Bar. He was instructing the crowd on the art of stage diving when he took a nasty spill. Arrested: Journey drummer Deen Castronovo, arrested on charges of domestic violence and then rape, begged cops for help and threatened to take his life. Recovered: Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton is cancer-free after nine years. Ill: a member of Glasgow boy band Rewind collapsed from heat exhaustion on a flight – he was wearing 12 layers of clothing to avoid paying £45 in excess baggage. In Court: Iggy Azalea and ex Hefe Wine came to a confidential settlement after their legal dispute over sex tapes and music ownership. Sued: Snoop Dogg by members of the Indian Zoroastrian community after his new video depicts him smoking grass on a throne with their faravahar symbol behind it. Sued: 2 Chainz by a woman who was depicted in a backstage video and referred to as a ‘thot’ (‘that ho over there’), after which she lost her job. Jailed: aspiring Israeli singer Adi Lederman for 14 months for hacking into Madonna collaborators’ email accounts and selling her unreleased music. Died: electronic music pioneer Charanjit Singh, 74, who created the first-ever acid house record (the 1982 album, Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat). Died: US songwriter Roy C. Bennett, 97, who co-wrote with Sid Tepper hits for Elvis Presley (most of Blue Hawaii), Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, among others.
five things WITH TOM
Lifelines
Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. I’ve heard a lot of (usually older) people complain about the music scene in Sydney, but personally I think it’s pretty vibrant. I’ve always been impressed with the level of local talent and the uncompromisingly creative and unique music that’s made here. I love watching/playing music at 505, Colbourne Ave and Jazzgroove, among others, and I’m always up for a hang with The Swingin’ Blades on Sundays at the Marrickville Golf Club. Some sick gigs I’ve seen lately are Brian Campeau’s album release, The Morrisons and the mighty Baz! Who: Tom Botting’s Wild South Where: SIMA @ The Sound Lounge When: Friday July 17
nine from Australia. They are Dew Process, I Oh You, Mushroom, Liberation, UNFD, Create/ Control, Rice Is Nice and Universal Music Australia imprints Domino and Def Jam. Overseas labels include Blue Note, DFA, Astralwerks, Rhino, XL, Sub Pop, Ninja Tunes, Capitol, Warp, Dine Alone, Glassnote and Frenchkiss. The new offerings are available across all of Rdio’s tiers. Meanwhile, Rdio has announced Sydney EDM producer Golden Features as its July Artist To Watch, promoting his new EP XXIV and a playlist he curated.
STUDY: PUBS WITH MUSIC MAKE MORE MONEY A study by pub data specialists CGA found that pubs providing music make 44% more money than those that don’t, rising to 60% more on the weekend. One in four publicans reported takings were up 25 to 50% on nights when they have live music; seven out of ten said they were up between 10 and 25%.
MTV BRAND NEW COMP ARTISTS MTV Australia is bringing its Brand New competition to Australia, getting behind the winner to break them into the big time. The ten Aussie/Kiwi acts involved are Thomston, Tkay Maidza, Conrad Sewell, At Sunset, Carmada, Chris Watts, Cosmo’s Midnight, Winterbourne, Josef Salvat and Set Mo.
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Wolf Alice A Cool Kind Of Love // By Adam Norris
L
ike the wild beasts, she lives without a future. She inhabits only the present tense, a fugue of the continuous, a world of sensual immediacy as without hope as it is without despair. So wrote Angela Carter in the story that gave its name to Wolf Alice, the genuinely exciting quartet from London. Their songs are as arresting and evocative as Carter’s own prose, and while the extract above may seem to speak of nihilism, of music that flares briefly and then disappears, that is not at all the case. Wolf Alice are protean in a way, shifting across stories and sounds, impossible to pin down. Lead singer Ellie Rowsell explains that while having an album provides a longedfor sense of self, the key to their music is spontaneity. “I don’t ever look back and read anything I’ve said in the past,” Rowsell says, her voice at first tired and slightly distant. “But things have really changed now, and it would be interesting to see what we thought was going to happen. I’m sure in interviews we were saying we’d have an album out in the next six months, and now we’re a million years down the track. It’s a weird one to think about. Our first interview was something like four or five years ago now. Some days you’re up for chatting away, some days you have to kind of psych yourself up, be presentable. I hope that journalists
understand that and give people the benefit of the doubt and aren’t like, ‘Oh God, what’s wrong with this stupid girl?’” She laughs, and at the risk of overplaying the conversation, it sounds like colour has started to creep into her voice. It is early morning in London, yet Rowsell is already at the end of a trail of interviews. It’s a surprisingly rough gig, entertaining the press, especially when you’re a band generating the kind of buzz Wolf Alice have begun accumulating. “I don’t know. I don’t think of it too much. I’m flattered and excited by it, and if I ever start to feel anything else, I try not to let myself…” She pauses, looking for words. “People often ask if we’re feeling under pressure from the media, and it’s all still a new thing, really, and makes everything really exciting. You’re just grateful that people are interested and into what you’re doing. Part of you is thinking, ‘Well, we haven’t put an album out,’ and you don’t want people to make up their minds too much of what they think of you before it’s released. It’s the album that really cements you as a band. Without it, I feel like we were floating, and now this will really anchor us … people will have a better idea of what we’re about.” There’s rarely a dull moment on this debut album, My Love Is Cool,
and the distinctiveness of the music is quite striking. The inclination of many new acts appears to be a frantic distancing from the sounds that first enamoured them to their audience. Yet Wolf Alice’s style has been subtly shifting ever since the release of their first single, ‘Leaving You’. They don’t pinwheel blindly across genres, but seem relentless in exploring where each new song might lead. “Well, my writing’s always changing,” Rowsell considers. “In a way, I guess I’m more confident, because I always feel I’m doing something new. But…” She pauses once more, and when she speaks again it is like she has changed gears somehow. At first hesitant, she quickly gains pace until her words are flowing fast and her laughter comes easy. “…But I don’t really feel more confident. If anything, I feel less confident, because when I first started writing songs, it was new to me, and I just thought, ‘God, I’m really great,’ [laughs]. But now, I’ve listened to more music, I’ve got more experience, and I can look back now and see – ‘Whoooa, they really weren’t great at all.’ I can pick out all the holes. But I think now I have a kind of place, somewhere with a knowledge of songwriting. I don’t just write something now and think, ‘Yeah, that one’s done.’ Now I
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“It’s hard to know if we’ve come far because each song we put out is quite different. I think because we have a variation of moods and dynamics in our songs – at least from [2014 EP] Creature Songs on – you can’t quite see a very natural progression, because we jump from one thing to the other. I feel – and I’m speaking for myself, but I feel like I can also speak for the boys – we’ve come along a fair bit in our instruments, our technical skills. And that’s not a direct reflection of our writing songs, but I guess it helps. We’ve come along a bit.” Around a year ago, I made a discovery while reading Angela Carter. Crossing Sydney Harbour on a ferry, I realised this was absolutely how she was supposed to be read. The waves, the space, the sense of passage; for whatever reason, Carter is best enjoyed afloat. Were Rowsell able to orchestrate the ideal environment for first-time listeners of My Love Is Cool, she’d have some evocative ideas of her own. “You know, the first time I listened to the final mixes from first to last, I was on the London Underground. I don’t know if it was because the mixes were finally where we wanted them, or because I was making such a big journey, but I felt really emotional. I thought that was a really nice listening experience. I
don’t know. I like watching people,” she chuckles, “in a non-creepy way. There’s no better way to do that than sitting on the Tube. I think that would be a good place to first hear the album. People always ask if being in London affects the songwriting, and I really don’t know. If it does it’s subconscious, but I like to think it plays a big part in my life.” Before we unshackle Rowsell and release her back into the wild – back to stalking in that present tense – talk turns to covers. Wolf Alice have recorded a delicate (then soaring) version of Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’, and the potential for future covers is strong, if not without a clear caveat. “It’s something I’m really interested in, and something that I think is really hard,” Rowsell says. “It’s quite easy to do an OK cover, or cover a song which is already really good. But it’s hard to get that perfect, unique cover that’s going to stand the test of time. Like Nirvana’s ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’. The ones that really become that artist’s song. So I think you have to be sparing with your covers, and just wait for it to feel right.” What: My Love Is Cool out now through Dirty Hit/Sony Where: Amphitheatre When: Sunday 1:45pm Sideshow: Oxford Art Factory, Friday July 24
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Florence + The Machine Amphitheatre, Saturday 10:45pm Seeing Florence + The Machine at Splendour really is a no-brainer – catching the flame-haired frontwoman with full band in their natural habitat (that is, a massive stage surrounded by adoring fans) is basically compulsory. With three albums to pick from as well as a slew of international hits and TV appearances behind them, their Saturday headline slot is set to be a big one. Anthemic and permeating, Florence’s music is an onslaught of sound that will hit you in the guts in a really nice, gentle kind of way – entirely appropriate for the Amphitheatre stage.
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Xxxxxx
“The first time I listened to the final mixes from first to last, I was on the London Underground. I don’t know if it was because the mixes were finally where we wanted them, or because I was making such a big journey, but I felt really emotional.”
know it’s more like different pieces. ‘Oh, that part may be a chorus,’ you know?
The King Khan & BBQ Show
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Of Monsters And Men
Unidentified Flying Objects // By David James Young
Amphitheatre, Friday 9:15pm
W
hen a conference call is connected, normally the first thing one hears is the other end of the call confirming they are on the line with something like a ‘hi’ or a ‘hello’. When Arish Khan and Mark Sultan – AKA The King Khan & BBQ Show – are connected, it’s this: “OUT WHEEEERE THE RIVER BROOOKE”. The two have cottoned on to the fact they’re speaking with Australian phoners, so they’ve decided to go all out on a surprisingly accurate Peter Garrett impression. “The river is running wild here in Montreal!” says Khan. “It just came through and washed off all of my body hair!” All of it? “Yeah, dude! I’m already naked, so thankfully it didn’t tear through any clothing.”
Taking over the world back in 2011 with the hit single ‘Little Talks’ from their debut album My Head Is An Animal, this Icelandic fi vepiece have been a busy bunch. With new album Beneath The Skin under their belts, Of Monsters And Men are set to take their full, visceral yet overwhelmingly poppy sound to Splendour. Their last Australian tour in 2013 had everyone dancing to their heart’s content in stern, seated venues. Having charged through a crazed touring schedule of international headline gigs since then, their stint at Splendour is sure to be a treat.
There’s laughter from the other line. “Oh, man,” says Sultan. “I wish I was there to see that!” That’s more or less the benchmark The King Khan & BBQ Show set as far as their interviews are concerned. We don’t talk about their new album, Bad News Boys. We don’t talk a great deal about their upcoming visit as part of Splendour In The Grass. We don’t even get into their infamous falling out and eventual split when they toured here in 2010. Instead, there’s a myriad of bizarre tangents, funny voices and notably weird stories from all around the world. Most recently, the Canadians were playing the Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland, California, which was hosted by legendary weirdo filmmaker John Waters. Naturally, the two were incredibly excited to be sharing a bill with the notorious director – and, as it turned out, he them. “He was great!” says Khan excitedly. “He introduced all the bands, and he told us that he was interested in joining us for a teabag party. He described us as Bunker Hill and Liberace rolled into one. We started talking about doing a shit onstage, and he was totally into it.” It surely couldn’t get any crazier than that? Au contraire. “Right before we started,” adds Sultan, “someone threw a firecracker onto the stage and it landed inside the bass drum.” This, naturally, leads into a conversation about some of the weird shit The King Khan & BBQ Show have had thrown at them over the years. “Someone threw chicken wings once,” says Khan. “Raw chicken wings can be pretty dangerous. You can get salmonella from that.” “You have diarrhoea right now, don’t you?” asks Sultan.
Your Festival Essentials
“Yeah, I totally do,” replies Khan. “It’s part and parcel of getting salmonella every other show.” Sultan pipes in again to one-up his bandmate: “I had a cow tongue thrown at me onstage once. It was so wet and so heavy, I actually got busted open from it. This happened in Atlanta when we were playing a show with The Spooks – I got 33 stitches. 33 stitches from a cow tongue!” So when The King Khan & BBQ Show arrive in a matter of days, what would the pair like thrown at them? “I’d be very happy if everyone who came to our shows could throw some Hungry Jack’s at us,” suggests Sultan. Well, as luck would have it, there’s one across the road from Oxford Art Factory. “No kidding! That works out well.”
RYAN ADAMS TEN SONGS FROM LIVE AT CARNEGIE hall
MARK RONSON UPTOWN SPECIAL
WOLF ALICE MY LOVE IS COOL
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING GET TO HEAVEN
THE VACCINES ENGLISH GRAFFITI
MO NO MYTHOLOGIES TO FOLLOW
“None for me,” protests Khan. “That shit reeks! I had some while we were in Sydney the last time around. The moment it hit my mouth, I painted the wall with my shit and I passed out.” What: Bad News Boys out now through In The Red Where: GW McLennan Tent When: Saturday 5:30pm Sideshow: Oxford Art Factory, Wednesday July 22
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
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JULY 17
Earl Sweatshirt Mix Up Stage, Sunday 10:15pm If Earl Sweatshirt’s album title I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside doesn’t have you hooked from the start, then we don’t know what will. But maybe just go and see the frequent Tyler, The Creator collaborator anyway to get a feel for this fresh-faced wordsmith at work. With dense rhymes and accompaniments that are affecting and deep, the rapper’s spot at Splendour is sure to be a big one in the wake of a follow-up to his debut album Doris, which itself garnered a dedicated fan base from around the world. thebrag.com
EARL SWEATSHIRT I DON’T LIKE s**T, i don’t go outside
HOLY HOLY WHEN THE STORMS WOULD COME
MS MR HOW DOES IT FEEL STREAMING AT
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The Districts Somewhere Around Town // By Adam Norris
T
he Districts are going from strength to strength, but like in all good stories, the highs are offset by some significant lows. Having carved out a formidable name for themselves with early self-produced releases, the Pennsylvania rockers had signed with Fat Possum and were enjoying a tour stop in St. Louis when their van was stolen, along with cash and all their equipment. It was a devastating setback for the guys, and though it would not be long before their most successful release to date, A Flourish And A Spoil, would take them to even greater heights, their self-esteem inevitably suffered a significant hit. Bass player Connor Jacobus reflects on the band’s evolution from a Pennsylvanian high school to playing the international touring circuit.
“We definitely all had a strong connection to our gear. The bass I had stolen was actually my brother’s first bass, and he’d handed it down to me, so it definitely had sentimental value. We all had strong connections to those instruments and amps. But I guess what we really learned from it all,” Jacobus laughs sadly, “is to just be more careful about where you park in the city. We made sure we fit in good new locks and got one of those clubs to lock the steering wheel. It’s sad, but we learned you have to be more careful about how we handle these sort of things. “Plus, it really did a number on the finances. We were in the middle of touring, so the band we were touring with lent us their instruments, so we
had to make do with that. But it actually turned out to be a weirdly fun experience, in a way. Having to make do on our own, catching this
Death Cab For Cutie Make Do And Mend // By Natalie Rogers too. He has an incredible talent for wrapping all these different experiences up into the format of a song. Similar to what I was saying before – we’ve always tried to be transparent in our lives and about the fact that when we’re not holding our instruments, we’re just normal guys doing normal things and experiencing life’s highs and lows.” With that in mind, it’s easy to imagine the moment Harmer stumbled upon an art blog explaining the philosophy behind the Japanese art of kintsugi – repairing cracked ceramics with gold to highlight flaws instead of hiding them. He knew he’d found the perfect name for Death Cab’s very personal recordings.
“W
e’re just a bunch of average Joes,” says Death Cab For Cutie bassist Nick Harmer, trying his best to sound convincing. “We like running, going to the movies, we like talking about books and music, you know? That’s about it,” he laughs. “Until we put our instruments on – than all bets are off!”
player Chris Walla, who was also the band’s solitary producer up until the recording of Kintsugi. “One thing we’re trying to be clear about is that Chris was definitely with us during the entire recording process,” says Harmer. “He announced to us in the middle of making the album that this was going to be his last and that he was going to concentrate on other things in his life.”
You’d wager it takes more than a handful of mediocre Joe Blows to sell out venues around the world and amass a following of more than 2.5 million people on social media, all the while maintaining their reputation as one of the most influential and respected indie bands of the last 25 years. “Unless I’m standing onstage, I’m fairly anonymous in my life,” counters Harmer. “In fact, I’m very rarely recognised in any other context than a Death Cab show.”
Harmer admits that Walla’s decision came as a shock to all concerned, but adds that they made a point of carrying on as though it was business as usual. The cavalry arrived in the form of LA producer Rich Costey (Sigur Rós, Muse, Foster The People), and under his watchful eye Death Cab set about making their most important album since 2005’s Plans.
Harmer claims to have flown under the radar many times in Australia – it’s one of the reasons he can’t wait to come back this month, as Death Cab For Cutie begin the Australian leg of their world tour on the back of their eighth studio album, Kintsugi. “I’ve taken a couple of vacations in Australia, independent of touring, and I try to visit as much as possible. It’s one of those countries that every time I leave, I’m a little sad that I can’t stay longer.” The Washington State natives last toured here in 2012, and since that time have undergone some massive changes – the most significant being the departure of founding guitarist and keyboard
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Another significant event that inevitably left its imprint on the album was the demise of frontman Ben Gibbard’s marriage to actor Zooey Deschanel and his subsequent return home to Seattle from Los Angeles. Gibbard’s signature songwriting style has always dealt with loss, love and heartbreak, and these themes take precedence in tracks like ‘Little Wanderer’, ‘The Ghosts Of Beverly Drive’ and ‘No Room In Frame’. “A lot of the songs on this album really came out of a few years of demoing from Ben,” says Harmer. “He was looking back at a lot of things in his life that he’d been going through personally and reflecting on them. He’d also been listening to a few of our friends that had been going through some painful situations in their lives,
“This band is our life’s work – we’re not going to slow down,” he says. “I’m very encouraged and excited about what lies ahead of us. I’m very proud of everything we’ve accomplished and I really love making music with Ben and Jason [McGerr, drums]. “It’s a gift that after 17 years of playing in this band I can stand onstage and it feels very fresh and new to me. It’s so inspiring – the atmosphere is electric, and I think Jason, Ben and I are reenergised spirits.” Harmer is quick to give some of the credit for the band’s reawakening to their newly appointed touring members Dave Depper and Zac Rae, who’ve taken on the guitar and keyboard duties since Walla’s departure. “So far, we have [had] a really amazing time playing with Zac and Dave,” he says. “We’ve kind of built a brotherhood with them – we’ve known them for years, so they’re not just total strangers plucked out of nowhere. “It’s also incredibly fun because we’ve never had five players up onstage with us before. Not only has it allowed us to do a great job of recreating all of the stuff that we wanted to on Kintsugi, but it’s also allowed us to go back to our old catalogue and rethink some of the material we’ve been playing live. With five people, we didn’t have to cut out little textures or countermelodies. It’s just added a whole new depth and dynamic to the live show, and every night it really blows me away.” What: Kintsugi out now through Warner Where: Amphitheatre When: Friday 7:45pm Sideshows: Sydney Opera House, Saturday August 1 / Enmore Theatre, Sunday August 2
Greyhound bus from Ohio to Pittsburgh, which is a terrible drive but was still an interesting time. You think of it as a learning experience, I guess. But it is a bit of a blow to your self-esteem. It makes you think about your safety in the city, things like that.” Stealing can indeed be a crippling act of scumbaggery, and is sadly a legitimate concern for touring musicians; Australian acts King Of The North and Maia Jelavic have also suffered van thefts, and the financial blow notwithstanding, it makes the anonymity of cities that much less appealing than the open country between gigs. The Districts now reside in Philadelphia, but growing up in Lititz – a small town in Lancaster County – ensured a sense of suburban appreciation and a fondness for open air that translates into their music. “Growing up there definitely affected our sound,” says Jacobus. “Not many bands are from the Lancaster area, but just growing up in that environment definitely influenced a lot of the music that we play. Being close to Philly, a lot of bands that we respect came from there, so that’s part of the reason why we wanted to move there. Kurt Vile, stuff like that. Even I guess subconsciously it affects you, you don’t even really realise it. It just happens because you can’t really help it – all these experiences get into your music somehow without even noticing it sometimes. It definitely influences our sound.” A further advantage to this is the sense of history the band members share. With the exception of Pat Cassidy, guitarist since founding member Mark Larson left in 2014, they’ve all been friends since their school days. After the release of two EPs – Kitchen Sounds and While You Were In Honesdale – was followed in quick succession by their debut album, Telephone, The Districts found the learning experience of joining a label a refreshing surprise.
“In the beginning, we were just recording with friends in Lancaster, putting whatever songs we had at the time down and then releasing on the internet. And once you get signed, there are a lot more checks and balances you need to go through. We recorded most of the songs for A Flourish And A Spoil in Philadelphia first, and sent them through to the label. But they wanted to see if there would be any difference if we put them through a producer, so we got John Congleton and recorded the same songs all over again. He was able to look at them more objectively and take out some of the unnecessary stuff. We learnt a lot from him. Plus, it’s nice to have a label that’s supportive of what you do, and see what you’re trying to go for as a band.” On the heels of some rave live reviews from festivals like Governors Ball and Glastonbury, The Districts are flying in for Splendour to demonstrate just what all the fuss has been about. Jacobus is sure that local audiences will be blown away. “I haven’t really checked anyone on the lineup yet. I’ve been wanting to see Viet Cong for a while, so I’d really like to catch them [Ed. – they aren’t actually playing Splendour]. We usually just check out who’s playing once we get there. But festival sets are usually shorter, so we try to play maybe more upbeat songs. If we play during the day it might be a less intimate setting, so we try to keep upbeat songs to try and catch people’s attention more. But otherwise, it’s pretty much the same. You’ll definitely be seeing exactly who we are.” What: A Flourish And A Spoil out now through Pod/Inertia Where: GW McLennan Tent When: Sunday 3pm Sideshow: Newtown Social Club, Tuesday July 28
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Blur Amphitheatre, Sunday 10:30pm Well, we couldn’t leave out the Sunday headliners, could we? Yet if anyone’s a sure bet for a transcendent festival experience, it’s these British indie heroes – they’ll get the Amphitheatre moving with their upbeat hits, before kicking off a sing-along like you’ve never heard. This is Blur’s first visit to Australia in some 18 years, and we couldn’t come up with a better festival headliner if we tried. All the people, so many people, they’ll all go hand in hand through their crowning set. BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
UV Boi Tiny Dancer Stage, Sunday 6pm Hold the phone – we think we’re in ‘Luv’. At least that’s the natural conclusion to make from UV Boi’s new single of the same name, a collaboration with Brisbane’s Fionn Richards and Brooklyn duo Brasstracks. The song has given a real sheen to this budding producer’s career, and is but the first taste of his upcoming debut EP. Not even an EP, and yet an evening slot at Splendour? That’s what the seal of approval from Nina Las Vegas and Ryan Hemsworth will do for you. thebrag.com
Art Of Sleeping Shiver And Shake // By Adam Norris
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Spiritualized GW McLennan Tent, Friday 8:30pm Last time these guys were in Sydney, they played the Opera House. Now, swinging by the country once more after a few years, their spot at Splendour will be their only Australian show on the tour, and probably for another few years, so make sure you get down to see it. Angry, taunting rock that is in itself incredibly vulnerable and introspective, their live show will be an experience of life lived in frontman Jason Pierce’s shoes: a world of frequent hospital visits and drug abuse, interpreted through an altogether beautiful pop lens. Not to mention their latest album, 2012’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light, was absolutely killer, so there’s that too.
on the record, as exemplified in tracks like the lovelorn ‘I Could Make You Happy’ and the spectacular ‘Jefferson’, whose lyrics lament, “I fall apart / I come undone / I know I’m not the only one / But lately I’ve been feeling like I’m always on the road.”
S
tumbling upon gems in the world of music is not entirely surprising, but you can set your watch and warrant on Art Of Sleeping’s debut, Shake Shiver, being one of the year’s best albums.
Added to that are Caleb Hodges’ open lyrics; the singer-songwriter isn’t one to shy from wearing his heart on an album sleeve. Better still, we’re about to see a whole lot more of the Brisbane indie rockers.
BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis GW McLennan Tent, Sunday 5:45pm With four albums of pure rock’n’roll and a live show that can have an entire audience slow-dancing together, these siblings know what they’re doing. Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Durham – along with their parents, who add guitar and double bass to their already layered sound – are excellent performers. If you love a good live show – and we mean a real show – then you’ll love these multi-instrumentalists, as they swap around their instruments and look incredibly dapper while doing it. As for the music, they’re stellar in that department too, and are sure to have the Byron crowds rocking out to their sweet, bluesy tunes.
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“It really feels like everything is just winding up now,” Hodges says. “We’ve just announced a support tour with Jungle Giants, and then we’ll have the album tour following that, which will be huge. We’ve been sitting on this record for over six months, burning holes in our pockets. It’s great, because by then people will have heard the record and – ha – might actually know most of the songs in our set. It’s been a lot of hard work and fingernail-biting, but man, this is such an exciting time.” The anticipation for the album is deserved. Due out this Friday, it rarely puts a foot wrong, and should raise Art Of Sleeping to a well-earned new level. Part of this is the quality of the production, the instrumentation and Hodges’ voice, but what keeps you engaged is the strength of each song’s lyrics. There is a good deal of darkness
“A lot of people would see me as a happy-go-lucky, extroverted person, but it’s quite the opposite on the inside,” Hodges says. “You learn to just bottle it all up and keep it there and never really let it out. But songwriting is my chance to say these things without being weird or awkward. That’s what [‘Jefferson’] is really about – that constant unhappiness, where you’re always being told that you want something else and you’re not where you want to be. Success, recognition, money, whatever. One of my favourite songs of all time is ‘Simple Man’ by Graham Nash. It’s such a concise song that has this vulnerability, you feel like he could just fall apart while singing it. He just nails it, and I’ve always wanted to achieve something like that in the kind of lyricism I work on. That’s my hope. Something that is vulnerable and real, not
some made-up story with a drum beat and guitar solo.” That vulnerability is certainly present on Shake Shiver, but make no mistake; this is about as far from a brooding, self-conscious album as you can get. The tunes are catchy as hell, and if it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am – this is a seriously good record, made all the more affecting for Hodges’ raw and earnest songwriting. “In all honesty, I can’t do the whole imaginary life writing thing. You hear a lot of people finding a character and writing something entirely fictional, and one day it would be nice to do that. But at the moment, the writing I’m trying to do is translating something that’s real, to say something true that might mean something important to other people. That’s how I do it at the moment, but that’s not really a conscious effort. It’s just how they all come out.” What: Shake Shiver out Friday July 17 through Dew Process/Universal Where: GW McLennan Tent When: Saturday 1:45pm
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BEST OF THE FEST… Our top picks for Splendour 2015
Pond Amphitheatre, Saturday 6:15pm You’re probably pretty sick of hearing about Pond. They’re absolutely everywhere – on the radio, on the internet, in magazines, and probably playing alongside your favourite band, just like they’ll be doing at Splendour. These Perth mates will have you hooked with their psychedelic rock, and their live show is made for the massive festival stage. If you want a taste of their live experience ahead of their set at Splendour, look no further than the Ben Montero artwork on the cover of their new album Man It Feels Like Space Again – then you’ll know exactly what you’re in for.
Marmozets
Oh Mercy
The Weird And Wonderful // By Adam Norris
D
espite the fact it’s some ungodly hour in Europe and the night is bitterly cold, Sam Macintyre of Marmozets sounds wide awake and raring to roll. On a tour bus to somewhere in the south of Germany, at an uncertain point between midnight and dawn, his description of the band’s momentum seems damned appropriate; keep excited and keep moving. This philosophy has served Marmozets well so far, with a slew of sold-out gigs, festivals and awards trailing in their wake. On the eve of their Splendour appearance, Macintyre talks about the realities of how this young act continues to burn bright.
“We’re working on our second album right now, so we’re always looking ahead, really,” he says in a rolling Yorkshire brogue; it somehow makes Macintyre sound much older than his 20-something years. “You try not to look back. Clichéd as it sounds, we don’t have any regrets. When the album was finished we instantly started writing more, and looking back, I don’t think there’s anything there that we would change. I wouldn’t, at least. “I think the album has given us a good first step. Thinking of the band now compared to when we released the album, I mean, we were very, very small. We couldn’t even pull a hundred people anywhere. Then after the album, that all changed. Just last week we won Best Album at the Kerrang! Awards, which is kind of cool. But you don’t want anything to happen too fast, either. We’re enjoying it here – it’s a journey. If everything happened really quickly, you’d be missing out on all of that cool stuff in the middle.” It has been quite a whirlwind for the alt-rock quintet, arcing across from Europe to the United States for increasingly larger performances. Of curious note is the fact they’re also a family band; Sam’s sister Becca is the band’s frontwoman and brother Josh is on drums, while another pair of siblings, Will and Jack Bottomley – bass and guitar respectively – round out the group. Though nobody knows how to piss you off better than a brother or sister, it also ensures that any time the fame game gets too reckless, someone is there to pull them back from the edge. “We used to absolutely rage with the whole partying aspect of music, but we’ve all really calmed down now,” Sam says. “We still love to have fun, but at the end of the day what’s most important is making sure this band has a career. Everyone’s very focused; no-one is all that reckless. We’re not stupid. Everyone helps each other out, and everyone knows when one of us is starting to step on that line, you know? Of course we’ve done some pretty funny and wild stuff. But it’s a no-brainer. I think in terms of people going off the rails, things like the ‘27 Club’, they
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obviously have a hard past and have been introduced to these substances that make the pain go away. But we don’t need to rely on things like that to make us feel better. “I mean, I’m not saying we’re perfect, that’s a bold statement,” he laughs. “But when it comes to making music and doing it right, it’s something that takes all your focus. As a band, we’ve always had that in us; we’re all really hard workers. I think that’s something you can see with us onstage as well. You hear plenty of bands say, ‘You have to give 100 per cent every single time for each performance,’ and I guess that’s true, but it’s also really hard. But you know, people who say they bring 100 per cent to every gig, I reckon that’s a load of bollocks. 100 per cent? Ha. Yeah, yeah, of course you do. You’re saying you’ve never been onstage and thought, ‘Fuck, I just cannot be bothered?’” The group’s work ethic is no hyperbole, either; from the moment their debut, The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets, was released last year, they were straight back into writing, and they have already begun demoing tracks for their follow-up. When it comes to how their sound is described, however – and even a brief glimpse online reveals a plethora of genres attached to them – Macintyre is happy to let the songs speak for themselves. “I think nowadays, because there’s so much music and genres out there – and I generally think having genres is pretty stupid, it seems like there’s a new fucking genre every day – it’s hard just to listen to one certain thing. Ask anyone, ‘What do you listen to?’ and everyone has a wide range now. Back in the day, people dressed up like punks, you’d look at them and know, ‘Well, they like punk music.’ But personalities are so varied now and a lot of that’s because everywhere you go there’s different music. Someone might look completely normal, and you talk to them and they’re really into hard metal and Bon Iver and Slipknot and Ben Harper. “I’m not into metal music at all, not in the slightest, but I can still appreciate quite a bit of it, and there are certain metal bands that I think are absolutely wicked. But then I’ll also sit down and listen to, like, three albums of some Sigur Rós back to back and then some of The Dead Weather. Everyone is spread out, and everyone’s tastes are blurred. It’s great.” What: The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets out now through Roadrunner/Warner Where: Amphitheatre When: Friday 2pm Sideshow: Newtown Social Club, Thursday July 23
Sense And Sensitivity // By Lachlan Kanoniuk
A
lex Gow is perched next to a fireplace at The Gasometer Hotel in Collingwood, armed with a pint, breathing an air of relaxation. After our chat, he’s heading to a small bar to watch footy with mates. It’s all very Melbourne; a town Alex had to reacquaint himself with after a lengthy sojourn Stateside. It was a period of time fraught with trials for the singer-songwriter, which, thankfully, were parlayed into the makings of When We Talk About Love, Oh Mercy’s fourth full-length LP.
After touring the 2012 album Deep Heat extensively across Australia, Gow returned to Portland, Oregon (where much of Deep Heat was gestated) with little in the way of concrete plans for Oh Mercy – now effectively a solo vehicle for Gow featuring a rotating lineup. “The whole experience was different,” he says of his second overseas stint. “I was a couple of years older than the last time I was in America. I had some monumental roadblocks – personal, creative, emotional and professional – thrown at me this time. That was something to navigate, and it took me to places I didn’t want to be. Then again, you could also argue it was just another 12 months of my life. Nothing’s going to be easybreezy for anyone at any point in their lives. The other argument is that it was difficult, but it was just elsewhere. I can’t really figure it out. There were some unique things that could have only happened to me in that spot, those defining moments. It was just a year of figuring out what I liked about myself and what I didn’t, how I wanted to write and how I didn’t want to write.” There’s a romantic element to Gow’s American journey, like something from a bygone era, especially in the literate recount on his website earlier this year that doubled as an album announcement. He remains grateful for the introspection that transpired from the vast landscape of ups and downs. “I surprised myself realising how much of my life I took for granted, these wonderful people in my
“I made the best of some confusing situations … People who are interested are going to be critical of what I write, if they’re listening.”
life,” he says. “I had no idea how wonderful I had it. I was surprised with how much I could loathe myself. I got to a point where it was a matter of self-respect to write about that – my emotional and personal development – out of respect to myself. If I didn’t, I would be ignoring the fact I’m an adult and a human being. I owed it to myself and the subject of those songs to write about that. “I was surprised how resilient I was for a sensitive city boy, and a mumma’s boy. I made the best of some confusing situations. I’m surprised I’ve managed to write about it in a succinct way, but I didn’t really feel like I had an option. People who are interested are going to be critical of what I write, if they’re listening.” When We Talk About Love is an album resplendent in tone, reaching melodramatic, ‘Georgia On My Mind’ style heights with occasional orchestration. It’s a vastly different tone than that exhibited on Deep Heat, which often delved into a romp bordering on delightful self-parody. “I don’t think this album is a truer representation of myself – I was 24 when I wrote Deep Heat, I was 26 when I wrote this. They’re just different times in my life and I tried my best to represent how I was operating emotionally at any
point. I don’t think one point is necessarily truer than any other. Maybe at one point the wind will change and I’ll plateau as one kind of person, or maybe the next record will be different again. What I can say is that it’s a good representation of where I’m at now and where I was when writing it.” And what is it that keeps Gow on the creative path? “When I listen to music that I love, it encourages an emotional and physical response I don’t get from anything else,” he says. “It’s a euphoric feeling – the music of Dionne Warwick singing the Bacharach back catalogue will get me there, or Rufus Wainwright, or John Cale. It’s just a state of pure joy I don’t get from anything else. I noticed that from an early age, and I thought if I could tap into that, and be responsible for it, then it’s a worthy pursuit. “I still get that feeling all the time from music that I love. When it stops making me feel that way, then I’ll probably stop. It’s a special thing, therefore a worthy pursuit.” What: When We Talk About Love out now through EMI/Universal Where: GW McLennan Tent When: Sunday 1:45pm And: Also appearing at Oxford Art Factory on Friday August 28 and the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Saturday August 29 thebrag.com
SATURDAY 25 JULY 2015 11:00
AMPHITHEATRE
12:00
1:00
2:00
3:00
SKEGSS
CIRCA WAVES
DUNE RATS
THE SMITH STREET BAND
THE GRATES
12.00-12.30
12.50-1.30
2.00-2.45
3.15-4.15
4.45-5.45
THE BABE RAINBOW
ART OF SLEEPING
PALMA VIOLETS
12.30 -1.15
1.45-2.30
3.00-3.45
TINY DANCER STAGE
8.00-9.00
MISS FRIBY’S CABARET 9.15-9.45
11.00-12.00
DJ COMP WINNER
AKIMBO BRISBANE
SPLENDOUR ALL STARS JAM BAND GYPSY COLLECTIVE 10.30-12.00
10.00 -10.15
FLEX COP
SILVERSIX
SET MO
TORREN FOOT
KATO
ELSEWHERE DJs
6.00-7.00
7.00-8.00
8.00-9.00
9.00-10.00
10.00-11.00
11.00-12.00
FORUM/COMEDY Presented by the Guardian
COMEDY
FORUM/COMEDY Presented by the Guardian
KLP
SWICK & JUST A GENT LEWIS CANCUT
SLUMBERJACK
(DJ SET)
6.00-6.45 6.45-7.30 7.30-8.15 8.15-9.00
SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT
LDRU
YAHTZEL
10.00-11.00
11.00-12.00
4.00-5.30 4.30-5.30
5.30-7.30
ACRO YOGA WORKSHOP WITH ZOE BRAITHWAITE
2.45-3.45
BUSKER STAGE
DRUMMING CIRCLE WITH RENDRA & THE RHYTHM HUT
FIREMANE
4.30-5.45
6.00-7.00
3.30-4.30
2.30-3.30
5.30-6.30
4.30-5.30
Q&A WITH TONY JONES
6.30-7.30
8.30-9.30
9.30-11.00
DR FIL
7.35-9.30
9.30-11.00
7.45-8.15
7.15 -7.30
NANCY WHANG
SLINKY MISS FRIBY’S CABARET
CHEATED THE PREATURES DJ GREASER DJs REVELRY ENT SLYMEWAVE HEARTS DJs DJs
10.00-11.00
HAYDEN JAMES
MISS FRIBY’S CABARET
MAE WILDE PRESENTS: DR SKETCHY'S ANTI-ART CLASS
11:00
1:00
TIRED LION
ECCA VANDAL
2:00
2.00-2.45
MIKE
4:00
MIKE GEORGE
URBAN
MANSIONAIR WHO CONE WHO MAPLE CC:DISCO 12.15 -1.00 1.00-1.30 1.30-2.15 2.15-2.45 2.45-3.30 3.30-4.00
GW McLENNAN TENT
HARTS
GENGAHR
12.30 -1.15
1.45-2.30
5:00
CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN 3.15-4.15
MARMOZETS
12.50-1.30
12.00-12.30
MIX UP STAGE
3:00
WELCOME TO COUNTRY
12:00
JENNY LEWIS
CC:DISCO
4.00-5.00
5.00-5.30
4.15-5.00
OH HELLO
TEEN GIRLS
AKIMBO DJs
SOSUEME DJs
7.30-8.30
8.30-9.30
9.30-10.30
10.30-11.30
11.30-12.30
12.30-2.00
COMEDY
2.30-4.00
5.00-7.30
OKENYO
M5K
LUCIAN BLOMKAMP
HAU
BARO
KIRKIS
TUKA
SAMPOLOGY
KNXWLEDGE
FRANK BOOKER
12.00-3.00
3.00-3.55
4.00-4.55
5.00-5.55
6.00-6.55
7.00-7.45
8.00-8.55
9.00-10.00
10.00-11.15
11.30-12.30
12.35-2.00
CHARMS FOR THE CHARMING CHARM BRACELET MAKING
GOD’S EYE WITH BECI ORPIN
NO LIGHTS NO LYCRA
1.30-3.00
4.00-5.30
6.00-6.30
ALI THE BOMB
VINYL TAP
LADYBOY MC
PONY YOAKAM
IVAN THE LIAR
FRANKIE LEMON
12.00-2.00
2.00-4.00
4.00-6.00
6.00-8.00
8.00-10.00
10.00-12.00
12.00-2.00
FLAMINGO JONES
VANDERAA
SIMON DOE
NICOLE BROPHY
12.00-12.45
1.00-1.45
2.00-2.45
3.00-3.45
3.00-3.45
TIPI FOREST
1.00-2.00
5.00-7.30
6.45-7.45
7.45-8.30
COSMO’S MIDNIGHT
4.00-4.45
5.00-5.45
6.00-6.45
7.00-7.45
8.00-8.45
9.00-9.45
GET DOWN 5.00-6.30
6.35-8.00
ZIGGY ALBERTS
FIREMANE
12.30-1.15
1.30-2.30
2.45-3.45
4.00-4.45
4.45-5.45
6.00-7.00
12.30-2.00
2.00-3.00 PANEL ENERGY: WHO OWNS OUR FUTURE?
10.00-11.30
12.00-1.30
1.30-3.00
MISS FRIBY’S CABARET 7.45-8.15
7.15 -7.30
1:00
10.15-11.15 XAVIER RUDD &
10.15-11.15
CARMADA 10.00-11.00
LYDIA
PURPLE HAYES
LUBDUB
8.00-9.30
9.30-11.00
11.00-12.30
12.30-2.00
MAE WILDE PRESENTS: DR SKETCHY'S ANTI-ART CLASS
8.15 -8.30
8.30-10.00
MISS FRIBY’S CABARET
SPLENDOUR ALL STARS
10.00-10.30 10.30
11.30-12.00
ZORBA GYPSY PARTY WITH SHAKSHUKA
12.00-2.00
12.00-12.30
-10.45 10.45-11.15
NACHO POP
CAPTAIN FRANCO
RAPH LAUREN
SHANTAN WANTAN ICHIBAN
MIKE WHO
FINEHOUSE
ONE DAY DJs
JOYRIDE
3.00-4.00
4.00-5.30
5.30-7.00
7.00-8.30
8.30-10.00
10.00-11.00
11.00-12.00
12.00-2.00
APRA SONGWRITERS SPEAK
COMEDY
3.00-4.00
5.00-7.30
ASTRAL PEOPLE DJs
MARK MAXWELL
QUEEN MAGIC
SILENTJAY & JACE XL
WILLOW BEATS
DEUTSCH DUKE
KLO
CATLIPS
CHARLES MURDOCH
NOSAJ THING
MOTEZ
WILDLIFE RECORDINGS
ELEVENTEEN ESTON
SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS
JAMIE BENNETT
TOTAL GIOVANNI (LIVE)
THANDI PHOENIX
SABLE
HWLS
JMSN
SHLOHMO
12.00-3.00
3.00-4.15
4.15-5.00
5.05-6.00
6.05-7.00
7.00-7.55
8.00-8.45
9.00-9.55
10.00-11.00
11.15-12.15
12.20-2.00
12.00-3.00
3.05-4.00
4.15-5.15
5.20-6.20
6.25-7.25
7.30-8.25
8.30-10.00
10.05-11.00
11.15-12.15
12.20-2.00
PENNANT AND FLAG MAKING
NO LIGHTS NO LYCRA
11.00-12.30
1.30-3.00
4.00-5.30
6.00-6.30
PUPPY LOVE 12.00-2.00
ADAM HARPAZ
JOSH LEE HAMILTON
12.00-12.45
1.00-1.45
SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT
ALI THE BOMB
FRANKIE LEMON
LADYBOY MC
PONY YOAKAM
IVAN THE LIAR
THE VINYL WHISPERER
2.00-4.00
4.00-6.00
6.00-8.00
8.00-10.00
10.00-12.00
12.00-2.00
NICK CUNNINGHAM 2.00-2.45
YOU C*NT STOP THE MUSIC
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: PIÑATA MAKING
COOL AS F*CK BROOCHES
AND PIMP YOUR GUMBOOTS
NO LIGHTS NO LYCRA
11.00-12.30
1.30-3.00
4.00-5.30
6.00-6.30
PYJAMA MAN
BOBBY DARLING
10.00-12.00
BUSKER STAGE
3.00-3.45
SWAMP YOUR SUNNIES
ALI THE BOMB
FRANKIE LEMON
LADYBOY MC
2.00-4.00
4.00-6.00
6.00-8.00
12.00-2.00
LUCY LOWE
MARK RIDOUT
KYLE LIONHART
HUNTER AND SMOKE
12.00-12.45
1.00-1.45
2.00-2.45
3.00-3.45
NICOLE BROPHY
2:00
THE UNITED NATIONS
DMA
ZIV
DRUMMING CIRCLE WITH RENDRA & THE RHYTHM HUT
FILM: FRACKMAN
8.45-9.45 SLUMBERJACK
GYUTO MONKS SAND MANDALA DISSOLUTION
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE SECULAR SERMON: FAIRNESS- JULIAN BURNSIDE QC & #1 DADS
7.15-8.15
ELIZABETH ROSE
3.30-5.00
FRANCO OCEAN
9.30-10.15
THUNDAMENTALS
UV boi
1.30-3.30
HEAPS GAY DJs
8.30-9.30
MEGAN WASHINGTON
5.45-6.45
HATHA GROOVE YOGA WORKSHOP WITH MICKEY SPACE
11.00-12.30
SYDNEY
6.15-6.45
HOOP & FIRE SHOW SISTARS OF THE INFINITE CIRCLE
12.00-1.00
5.15-6.15
CIRCUS ARTS
11.00-12.00
4.45-5.15
BURLESQUE DANCE WORKSHOP WITH MISS FRIBY
CHIN MUSIC ONE DAY SUNDAYS
ALISON EARL JOYRIDE WONDERLAND JOYRIDE SWEATSHIRT
THE PROFANE IS SACRED PERFORMANCE
ZEN THAI FLOW YOGA WITH GLOBAL VILLAGE GREEN GWYN WILLIAMS CIRCUS PLAY SPACE 10AM-2PM W’ 9.30-10.30 BRUISE BROTHERS SLACKLINE HOOPS W’ CIRCLE OF SISTARS DIDGE MEDITATION JOURNEY SAFETY FIRST CIRCUS SKILLS WITH JARMBI & ESHUA DEADLY DANCERS 10.30-11.00 TOMMY FRANKLIN DANCE WORKSHOP
10.30-12.00
MS MR
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
GLOBAL VILLAGE
12.00-2.00
12.00-12.30
9.00-10.00
SET MO
GL
SAMMY K
1.00-1.30 SALSA DANCE WORKSHOP WITH DANI FROM SASSY SALSA 11.15-12.15
GYUTO MONKS CHANTING 9.00-9.30
7.30-8.30
6.00-7.00
KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS
12:00
BLUR
DUGONG JR
28 ENGINE SOUND
11:00
ALPINE
4.15-5.15
3.00-4.00
10:00
TAME IMPALA
MADHU HENRY
10.00-11.00
1.45-2.30
9:00
SET MO
C.W. STONEKING
AKOUO
ART VS DOM DOLLA GOLD FIELDS SWEETLAND WATER FACE & HEY SAM SCIENCE DJs DJs 9.00-10.00
12.30 -1.15
4.00-4.45
8:00
ROYAL BLOOD
DANCE PERFORMANCE
11.30-12.00
-10.45 10.45-11.15
3.30-4.00
THE DISTRICTS
7:00
JAMIE T
CIRCUS ARTS
SPLENDOUR ALL STARS
10.00-10.30 10.30
4.30-5.30
EDD FISHER ALLDAY
OH MERCY
12.30-2.00 PETER HUNT & THE KALEIDOSCOPES AFRO-JAZZ WORLD BEATS JAM
6:00
3.00-4.00
MØ
HOLY HOLY
SPAGHETTI CIRCUS
5:00
THE VACCINES
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
8.00-9.00
1.45-2.30
4:00
LAST DINOSAURS
12.15 -1.00 1.00-1.30 1.30-2.15 2.15-2.45 2.45-3.30
Presented by the Guardian
SMASH THOSE BAD DREAMS: MAKE DREAM CATCHERS
10.00-12.00
7.00-8.00
12.45-1.30
EDD VALLIS EDD ALPS FISHER SHLOHMO FISHER
FORUM/COMEDY
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: COMMUNITY QUILT WORKSHOP
PYJAMA MAN
BENSON
TRANTER
11.00-12.30
COMEDY
2.30-4.00
2.00-2.30
6.00-7.00
8.30-10.00
8.15 -8.30
12.00-12.30
3:00
UNDERWORLD 6.30-6.35
5.00-6.00
7.45-8.15
DOUBLE VISION HOOP & FIRE SHOW SISTARS OF THE INFINITE CIRCLE
4.00-5.00
PANEL COPYRIGHT: ARTIST’S FRIEND OR FOE?
BUTCHER
7.15 -7.30
9.35-11.00 MISS FRIBY’S CABARET
WOLF ALICE
TINY DANCER STAGE TAYA
CIRCUS ARTS
12.00-1.30
6.00-7.00
MAE WILDE PRESENTS: DR SKETCHY’S ANTI-ART CLASS
2:00
THE DELTA RIGGS
GW McLENNAN TENT
THE PROFANE IS SACRED PERFORMANCE
10.00-11.30
3.00-4.00
FIREMANE
8.00-9.30 MISS FRIBY’S CABARET
1:00
BAD// DREEMS
MIX UP STAGE
SI CLONE
12.00-2.00
12.00-12.30
THOMAS PRIME
A LOVE SUPREME DJs
12:00
AMPHITHEATRE
10.00-11.00
8.00-10.00
FERNANDA
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
2.00-3.00
GENERIK
MADHU HENRY
(DJ SET)
TO CAMPGROUNDS
AMPHITHEATRE BAR 1
GW M LENNAN TENT
MISS SAIGON BAR
PAD
Tipi Forest
TO CAMPGROUNDS TO CAMPGROUNDS
LAST FRONTIER BAR
Golden View Bar TELSTRA SELFIE
captain morgan pirate ship bar
TINY DANCER
TENT OF MIRACLES
SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT
AIM PHOTO BOOTH
SUPERFOOD HALL 2
THE HEALING ELEMENT
BUSKERS STAGE CIDER BAR
Red Bull Music Academy
SILENT DISCO
SUPERFOOD HALL 1
AMPHITHEATRE
GENERAL STORE GE
NE
MOËT CHAMPAGNE BAR
D GOLD BAR
L ST
r
LOTUS PALACE
PROGRAM 1
MIX UP STAGE
E
LITTLE SPLENDOUR
COCKTAIL BAR
SPLE
AMPHITHEATRE BAR 2
GLOBAL VILLAGE
RA
OR
NDI
BUSKER STAGE
1.00-2.00
10.00-11.00
6.05-8.00
4.30-5.45
CANT SAY THE DJs MEETING TREE
8.30-9.30
KIM VS BENI
7.00-8.00
11:00
2:00
10.15-11.15
7.00-8.00
GRIMEZ
DRUMMING CIRCLE WITH RENDRA & THE RHYTHM HUT
9.45-10.15
PAUL MAC
DANCE PERFORMANCE
YOU C*NT STOP THE MUSIC
12.00-1.00
KEYNOTE INTERVIEW: JOHN KIRIAKOU
I OH YOU DJs
10.45-12.00
1:00
11.30-12.00
-10.45 10.45-11.15
12.45-2.00
SALSA RAGGETON DANCE OFF WITH CHUKALE
SUNDAY 26 JULY 2015
POST PERCY PEKING DUK
RYAN ADAMS
CIRCUS ARTS
SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT
11.00-12.00 SCIENCE: FUTURE CRUNCH
SMOKING TODDLERS FILM: BETTER TAKE COVER
Presented by the Guardian
2.45-3.45
6.00-6.50
12:00
9.15-10.15
PORTER
SPIRITUALIZED
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
MELBOURNE
FORUM/COMEDY
ACRO YOGA WORKSHOP WITH ZOE BRAITHWAITE
1.30-2.30
MUTUAL BRIGHTSIDE FRIENDS DJs DJs
CATS DJs CAN’T SAY
ZIGGY ALBERTS 12.30-1.15
4.30-6.00 4.00-4.30
ZEN THAI FLOW YOGA WITH GLOBAL VILLAGE GREEN GWYN WILLIAMS CIRCUS PLAY SPACE 10AM-2PM 9.30-10.30 W’ BRUISE BROTHERS SLACKLINE HOOPS W’ CIRCLE OF SISTARS DIDGE MEDITATION JOURNEY SAFETY FIRST CIRCUS SKILLS WITH JARMBI & ESHUA DEADLY DANCERS 10.30-11.00 TOMMY FRANKLIN DANCE WORKSHOP
BURLESQUE DANCE WORKSHOP WITH MISS FRIBY
GYUTO MONKS CHANTING & MEDITATION
GLOBAL VILLAGE
SALSA DANCE WORKSHOP WITH DANI FROM SASSY SALSA 11.15-12.15
SEEKAE
11:00
MARK RONSON
SUN GODDESS 9.30-9.35
3.00-4.30 GYUTO MONKS CHANTING 9.00-9.30
JOHNNY MARR
UNDERWORLD 6.00-6.05
TIPI FOREST
10:00
OF MONSTERS AND MEN
7.45-8.45
EVERYTHING POST
5.30-6.30
KODIAK KID
9:00
L.K. MCKAY EVERYTHING PERCY ROBINSON 6.30-7.15 7.15-8.15 8.15-8.45 8.45-9.45
5.30-6.30
HARVEY SUTHERLAND 5.00-5.45
3.45-4.45
8:00
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
6.15-7.15
TKAY MAIDZA
#1 DADS
NOISE IN MY HEAD
RUDEKAT
7:00
THE RUBENS
4.45-5.45
CLIENT LIAISON DUSTIN TEBBUTT
3.00-3.45 JAPANESE WALLPAPER 3.00-3.45
TINY DANCER STAGE
6:00
SAN CISCO
4.30 -4.45
SPLENDOUR ALL STARS
CAPTAIN KAINE
TBC DJs
FRIDAY 24 JULY 2015 AMPHITHEATRE
11.05-12.30
10.00-10.30 10.30
8.30-10.00
8.15 -8.30
GOOSEBUMPZ
THE POSTMAN
10.00-12.00
PIMP YOUR FESTIVAL GET UP 6.00-8.00
2.30-4.00
1.30-2.30
11.00-12.30
PYJAMA MAN
7.15-8.30
2.00-2.30
12.30-2.00
12.00-12.30
6.00-7.15
BIRRANG MIIL
NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE DJ SET
12.30-1.30
5.00-6.00
ELEMENTALS ELEMENTALS
FIRST DOG THE GUARDIAN PANEL: ON TRUTH, LIES & THE MOON HALF TRUTHS IN MEDIA
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: PIÑATA MAKING
YOU C*NT STOP THE MUSIC
(DJ SET)
9.00-10.00
11.30-12.30
10.00-11.30
SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT
6.00-9.00
ELK ROAD
11.00 -11.30 WOMEN OF LETTERS
4.00-5.00
MIDIUM
1.30-2.30
12.30-1.15
DZ DEATHRAYS ELEPHANT DJs DJs
3.00-3.50
BENSON
HOOP & FIRE SHOW SISTARS OF THE INFINITE CIRCLE
FIREMANE
7.45 -8.00
KODIAK KID
8.30-9.30
YOUNG FRANCO
SPAGHETTI CIRCUS
BURLESQUE DANCE WORKSHOP WITH MISS FRIBY
ZIGGY ALBERTS
ZEN THAI FLOW YOGA WITH GLOBAL VILLAGE GREEN GWYN WILLIAMS CIRCUS PLAY SPACE 10AM-2PM W’ 9.30-10.30 BRUISE BROTHERS SLACKLINE HOOPS W’ CIRCLE OF SISTARS DIDGE MEDITATION JOURNEY SAFETY FIRST CIRCUS SKILLS WITH JARMBI & ESHUA DEADLY DANCERS 10.30-11.00 TOMMY FRANKLIN DANCE WORKSHOP
7.00-8.00
MICKEY KOJAK
2:00
BOY AND BEAR
12.30-12.45
7.15-7.45
ZIV 10.00-11.00 CIRCUS ARTS
GOLDCOAST
MAE WILDE
9.00-10.00 AERIAL PERFORMANCE
ELSEWHERE
WELCOME TO BURLESQUE
8.00-9.00 AERIAL PERFORMANCE
DRUMMING CIRCLE YOGA DANCE WITH RENDRA & WORKSHOP THE RHYTHM HUT ZOE BRAITHWAITE 5.00-6.00 6.00-7.00
GYUTO MONKS CHANTING
4.00-4.30 4.30-5.00
FERNANDA BIRRANG MIIL
GLOBAL VILLAGE
2:00
10.15-11.15
5.30-6.30
4.15-5.00
1:00
CINDERS ASHES
7.00-8.00
1:00
9.30-10.15
CIRCUS ARTS
GET DOWN
6.00-7.00
12:00
8.30-9.30
BEST COAST
THE PROFANE IS SACRED PERFORMANCE
SLINKY
5.00-6.00
11:00
FLIGHT FACILITIES
THE CHURCH
12:00
10.45-12.00
ARA KOUFAX
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
GOOSEBUMPZ
10:00
CIRCUS ARTS
TAYA
9:00
9.15-10.15
AZEALIA BANKS
THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW
TOTAL GIOVANNI DJs
11:00
FLORENCE & THE MACHINE
SUN GODDESS 11.00-11.05
8:00
7.45-8.45
10:00
THE WOMBATS
MADHU HENRY
7:00
4.00-5.00 WELCOME TO COUNTRY UNCLE MAGPIE
GLOBAL VILLAGE
6:00
6.15-7.15
DANCE PERFORMANCE
TIPI FOREST
5:00
THE DANDY WARHOLS
CIRCUS ARTS
4:00
9:00
POND
AERIAL PERFORMANCE
3:00
8:00
VICTORIAN 7.30-7.35
2:00
SALSA DANCE WORKSHOP WITH DANI FROM SASSY SALSA 11.15-12.15
GYUTO MONKS CHANTING 9.00-9.30
5.15-6.15
I’LLS
4.00-4.30
1:00
TIPI FOREST
7:00
ARA ADI TOOHEY PURITY RING KOUFAX 6.15-6.45 6.45-7.45 7.45-8.30
JARRYD JAMES
MEG MAC
GYUTO MONKS CHANTING & MEDITATION
12:00
6:00
SHANTAN SHANTAN YEARS ADI ADI WANTAN ELLIPHANT WANTAN SAFIA TOOHEY AND YEARS TOOHEY ICHIBAN ICHIBAN 12.15 -1.00 1.00-1.30 1.30-2.15 2.15-2.45 2.45-3.30 3.30-4.00 4.00-4.45 4.45-5.15
GW McLENNAN TENT
11:00
5:00
EVES THE BEHAVIOR
MIX UP STAGE
THURSDAY 23 JULY 2015
4:00
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
BIORÉ® CHARCOAL SPA AND
ROGUE BEAUTY HAIR PARLOUR
NICHOLAS CAGE IN A CAGE
TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Forum & Guardian lounge WAX BUILD UP
BAR
Craft Beer Bar
MO’ROCKIN WINE BAR ANABAPTISER
SUPERFOOD HALL 3
Beer Garden
CURVE LURVE
red frogs
Cloak Room
MAIN ENTRY
disabled patron camping
TO CAMPGROUNDS
guest services car park
MAP KEY
TELSTRA FREE WIFI HOTSPOT
FOOD
MARKETS
FOOD VANS
CAMP GROUNDS
FIRST AID
WATER
TOILETS
MERCHANDISE
TAXI RANK
CAMP GROUND ENTRANCE
BONFIRE DISABLED PATRON TOILETS
EFTPOS & DRINK TICKETS
INFO
BREATHALYSER
r
BUS STOP
BT
EMERGENCY EXIT
BUS TICKET SALES
VEHICLE PASS REDEMPTION PHONE RECHARGE
Disabled Patron Parking
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Dear Plastic Seasonal Flow By Augustus Welby
D
espite our blessed climate, us Aussies sure love to bitch about the weather. Be it an overcast day in August or a scorcher in January, we’ll find something to lambaste. On the one hand, these complaints could be seen as mere trifles, uttered to fill the dead air in conversation, but there’s no denying the weather affects our moods and behaviour. This Thursday, on a winter’s night, Melbourne five-piece Dear Plastic launch their new single ‘Overwinter’ at Goodgod Small Club. Vocalist Scarlette Baccini admits the weather also influences her creative mind. “Your physiology changes with the seasons, and it’s impossible for your brain to ignore it,” she says. “The weather can have a big impact on the mood of the music you want to write. On the other hand, there are certain themes I’m always drawn to, no matter what’s happening around me. So some things never change. You could put me on Mars, and I would still want to write a song about how sea creatures evolved spiny parts, or about murders.” ‘Overwinter’ doesn’t deal with murder, but it’s a fairly bleak look at the issue of locating meaning in a world that’s fundamentally apathetic. The song is rooted in a simmering, fuzzy bass groove, over which Baccini’s gentle vocal melancholia forms an engaging contrast. Throughout, the song seems on the verge of eruption, but the outburst never fully transpires, which compounds the overall tension.
The climatic equivalent would be a day cloaked in heavy thunderclouds with the occasional glimmer of sunshine poking through. It keeps you on edge, at all times anticipating the storm’s arrival. “We like making people feel uncomfortable for prolonged periods,” Baccini says. “Withholding the eruption leaves you with this great itchy feeling. I think that kind of tension was especially right for that song, because it’s all about dissatisfaction and searching for answers while life just creeps on around you without a care. The creeping is an essential element.” ‘Overwinter’ is the fourth single taken from Dear Plastic’s The Thieves Are Babes LP. The record landed last October, and they’ve just re-released it on red double vinyl. Nine months on from the album’s release, Baccini’s perspective has significantly altered. “The love-hate I have felt for that album is so strange and intense,” she says. “It’s a lot easier to feel at peace with it now than it was when it first came out. In the final throes of its creation, I was furious with it, and embarrassed. I wanted to change everything. When it’s only been finished for a few hours, or a few days, it seems close enough to touch. I wanted to keep prodding. But that’s how you ruin the magic, and I’m glad we let go when we did. I’m just sorry that my poor band pals had to suffer through my rage at the time.
“It’s been long enough that I’ve grown to love it more than anything else I’ve ever helped to make. It’s a true marker for that period in our development, and I am proud of that. I love that I can hear my voice a little younger, and our confl icting
tastes. You can hear us playing. I’m so glad we left in plenty of juicy, raw stuff, and I fi nally realise that no-one else will ever hear it the same way I do anyway. A bit of nostalgia helps soothe the regretrage, too.”
What: The Thieves Are Babes out now through Waterfront With: Aviva, Colour Cage Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Thursday July 16
Kooii All For One, One For All By Adam Norris reckon there’s a responsibility to enjoy what we’re doing, to love what we’re bringing. More than ever, I think. I say that because of the state of the world, and the great need to hear our connection with the world more so than any other time in history. Unless we’ve been cycling through all this before. I think music, from way back, we use as a way of weaving everyone together.” To that end, developing a synthesis between artist and listener is at the core of Kooii’s expression. As One Vibration itself seeks to ease the barriers between musician and audience by eliminating negative infl uences, so too Kooii strive to fi nd individual resonance in each person who gets up to dance. “It’s a very big part of the message,” says Hunt. “The way that it affects people to move, there’s something that is beyond the words, something that expands on what you can bring from the meaning of the words. In our music, the feel or the groove has always been one of the most important things – how we’re locking in together, how one player’s part sits in with another player. There’s a whole degree of push and pull in the defi nitions of the band, therefore affecting how people move to it.
K
ooii have happened upon a fi tting time to join forces with the good folk over at Onespace. The community hub is establishing a series of performances that celebrate music and dance, but without the presence of the debilitating drugs and negative energy that seem synonymous with so many music events today. One need look no further than recent events in Sydney to see the appeal of an event like One Vibration, taking
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place at the Paddington Chapel at the start of August. Roots band Kooii seem an auspicious addition, given their ethos of movement and connectivity, and frontman Peter Hunt is inclined to agree. “I haven’t really been tuning in to what’s been going on in Sydney, but I guess creative people are often drawn to taking drugs, drinking,” he says. “Being creative spirits, sometimes it’s something you’re attracted to, though that’s
not just the artist, but also the listeners. But I think in this day and age, the artist who wants to get their music out there, they need to be on top of their shit. You have to take care of yourself and each other.” Taking care of each other sits at the core of both Onespace and Kooii’s own musical intentions. Building a shared space to connect and enjoy music without prejudice or aggression is a fi ne
aspiration, and is something Hunt – a member of Xavier Rudd’s United Nations band – views as vital. “Maybe some people are more suited to drinking heaps and taking drugs while they’re touring, but I don’t reckon there would really be that many artists out there actually doing that,” he says. “I think it’s a bit of a myth. The reality is taking care of yourself, getting enough sleep, eating well. I
“For me, a beautiful song, a wellcrafted song, it expresses feelings or a message in a unique, creative way. A lot of [our] songs can just start with a bassline. That will be the groove, and the anchor point. From that the melody line and vocal line can stem. That starts to shape how people are going to move, and for me, that’s inspiring.” What: One Vibration With: Bobby Alu, Soul Drummer, DJ Marc Kundalini, Dwayne Martens Where: Paddington Chapel When: Saturday August 1
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You’re not a true Bowie fan if you haven’t read this... ENCHANTING DAVID BOWIE SPACE | TIME | BODY | MEMORY Toija Cinque, Christopher Moore & Sean Redmond ‘Enchanting David Bowie – itself a standout work – not only illuminates but also construes “Bowie” or versions of Bowie that are at once compelling and fascinating.’— Constantine Verevis, Associate Professor of Film & Screen Studies, Monash University, Australia
Also available The official companion to the V&A’s exhibition David Bowie IS currently showing at the Australian Centre of Moving Image (ACMI) from July 16 to November 1
Order your copy of Enchanting David Bowie at www.bloomsbury.com
BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15 :: 17
arts in focus
arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Chris Martin, Bridget Lutherborrow and Jade Smith
free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
ANT-MAN Ant-Man
five minutes WITH
JAMES O’CONNELL FROM DETROIT
Detroit
quickly turns into something more dangerous – and filled with potential. The story of suburban families struggling to get by is becoming more and more universal by the day. How important is art in imitating life? I think it’s really important. Art is more than entertainment – it’s an opportunity to hold a mirror up to us all and start conversations about big issues. That’s why I’m an actor – I’m always trying to learn more about other people, myself and the world in which we live.
hat’s the premise behind Detroit? In a first-ring suburb, Ben and Mary see sudden signs of life at the deserted house next door and invite their new neighbours Sharon and Kenny over for a barbecue. As the action unfolds we learn that Sharon and Kenny have a wild past, are fresh out of rehab, and don’t own a stick of furniture. The quintessential American backyard party
W
What can you tell us about the character you play? Are there any particular demands you’ve found in this role? Kenny is a really elusive character and so it has been a real struggle to try and pin him down and work him out. But how do you work out a guy who is in the process of working himself out through the play? So, you know, I’m enjoying sitting in the unknown sometimes. Both Kenny and Sharon live their lives in the moment, which gives them a great spark but
also often brings them undone. A character that shifts and turns so quickly is a treat as an actor but also a challenge – keeping up with them mentally takes a lot of specificity. Ross McGregor is a decorated stage and screen director. How have you found the experience of working with him? I’ve had a great time working with Ross and all the team. I only moved to Sydney last year and to have the opportunity to work with such a great bunch of creatives in the incredible Eternity Playhouse is a real treat. I can’t wait to get it on! What’s next on the agenda for your career? I’m heading to Europe after Detroit with my partner Nillis, who is Finnish. We met when shooting The Secret River last year and this will be my first time in Finland! What: Detroit Where: Eternity Playhouse When: Friday July 17 – Sunday August 16
An all-star cast will take the Sydney Theatre Company stage for Andrew Upton’s The Present, opening next month. Written after Chekhov’s Platonov – his very first play, left undiscovered until 15 years after his death – The Present sees a group of friends gathered at an old country holiday house to celebrate the 40th birthday of the widowed Anna. Gradually, a web of complex relationships and unresolved issues come to the fore. Cate Blanchett will play Anna across from Richard Roxburgh’s Platonov, while Anna Bamford, Eamon Farren, Jacqueline McKenzie, Marshall Napier, Susan Prior, Chris Ryan and Toby Schmitz round out the main cast. The Present will play at Roslyn Packer Theatre from Tuesday August 4 – Saturday September 19.
The Fifties Fair at Rose Seidler House is returning for another rockin’ year on Sunday August 23 to celebrate all things 1950s through fashion, live music, dancing and more. Fresh from a US tour, Noosa four-piece The Hi-Boys will headline the musical lineup for the day on their Fifties Fair debut, along with DJs Limpin’ Jimmy and Swingin’ Kitten and Swing Time Australia, who will ensure dancing throughout the afternoon with their high-energy rock’n’roll. There will be plenty of vintage wares on sale throughout the day, as well as delicious food and a 1950s vintage car display. Many of the car aficionados who have contributed to the fair over the last 20 years will be present, as well as first-timers the Jaguar Drivers Club of Australia, who will be exhibiting a selection of elegant ’50s Jags. Vroom vroom.
SYDNEY FRINGE PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The Sydney Fringe Festival is back and taking over the city from Kings Cross
to Leichhardt throughout September, and now some new must-see events have been added to the schedule. With a new festival village in Erskineville and 50 venues across town, this year’s Sydney Fringe promises to
Applespiel
TELETHON FOR EXCELLENCE
The arts sector needs our support. Hey, a little more support from the Federal Government couldn’t hurt either, given the value of creative contributions to the health of our nation… but little steps first, right? PACT and performance collective Applespiel are joining forces to encourage Australians to take notice of small-to-medium artistic endeavour through a 24-hour telethon – but instead of raising money, it’s a telethon to raise excellence. Live readings, music, performances, panels and interviews will all be part of the schedule at PACT in Erskineville from 6pm on Friday July 17 to Saturday July 18, and the event will be streamed online at inpursuitofexcellence.net.
Celebrated wildlife photographer Steve Winter will be sharing the stories behind some of his most iconic images at the Sydney Opera House with My Nine Lives. The show is an opportunity to join Winter as he takes audiences trekking through some of the world’s most remote locations to track down big cats. His images of such rare and elusive endangered species often require working under difficult conditions, and these experiences have culminated in his stunning book, Tigers Forever. Hear the gripping stories behind Winter’s beautiful images up close as he shares his passion for big cats and recounts being charged by rhinos and coming face to face with tigers. My Nine Lives will take place at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Sunday August 16. thebrag.com
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infi ltrate all the nooks and crannies of the city. Things officially kick off on Saturday September 5 with an Erskineville launch party. The festival’s highlights program includes a silent, technology-free dinner party; a community concert complete with food trucks, market stalls and indigenous art-making; and a mini-festival of comedy and burlesque at Giant Dwarf. The full program will be announced in August. Check out sydneyfringe.com for up-to-date program details. This year’s festival runs from Tuesday September 1 – Wednesday September 30.
STEVE WINTER IS COMING
A WORLD WITHOUT HUMANS
Film, stage and television actor Claudia Karvan will this September launch The Immortals, a multidisciplinary art installation by artist, musician and fi lmmaker Jenny Pollak. Combining elements of sculpture, spoken word and projected video, The Immortals is a multimedia installation that takes the viewer “into a kind of underwater archaeological dig”, according to Pollak. The new work is a highlight of the 2015 Manly Arts Festival. Alongside the exhibition, Pollak will be discussing the work at an artist talk in October. The Immortals is showing at Manly Art Gallery and Museum from Friday September 4 – Sunday October 25.
The Present photo by Steven Chee
PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR
FIFTIES FAIR
The national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander playwriting festival, Yallamundie, is returning to Sydney. ‘Yellamundie’ is the word for ‘storyteller’ in the Darug language, and there’ll be plenty of storytelling going on over two weeks at Carriageworks. The event attracts indigenous playwrights, actors, directors and dramaturges from across the land for a fortnight culminating in a series of public readings from Thursday August 6 – Saturday August 8. Before that, six playwrights will workshop their writings with a company of collaborators. For information on the public program, visit carriageworks.com. au.
To celebrate the arrival of Marvel’s smallest superhero, we’ve got ten in-season double passes for Ant-Man to give away. To be in the draw, visit thebrag.com/freeshit.
The Present
Fifties Fair
A TALE TO TELL
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get a little bigger – but only a little. Ant-Man is finally making it to screens on Thursday July 16, played by an actor best known for comedy, Paul Rudd. AntMan is the story of Scott Lang, a master thief who is enlisted by former mentor Dr. Hank Pym to protect his Ant-Man suit from those who wish to corrupt it. In doing so, Dr. Pym, as played by Michael Douglas, gives Scott the chance to become something more than a career criminal… maybe even a little bit of a hero.
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On View: Live Portraits [DANCE/VISUAL ART] Across The Border By Annie Murney
C
horeographer Sue Healey has been working across the platforms of dance, film and portraiture for some time now. On View: Live Portraits is her newest project, created in collaboration with photographer Judd Overton. Presented by Performance Space, it will feature five dance artists, performing on film and live at Carriageworks. “Because I work in a series format, I’ve been developing the project in smaller chunks,” says Healey. “The work has had several smaller outings in various galleries and theatres. One version went to Dance Massive in Melbourne. This version in Sydney is the large-scale culmination. There are two separate works – a day installation and a night performance. The show is actually quite intimate, even though I’m using a massive space.” The first part of the exhibition will see performances from Martin del Amo, Shona Erskine, Benjamin Hancock,
Raghav Handa and Nalina Wait, while the second part will feature video portraits of Australian dance icons Dame Lucette Aldous and Professor Shirley McKechnie. Inspired by the masters of European oil painting, Healey has worked with Overton to create dynamic visual patterns, often using a single light source to illuminate her subjects. “Over the five years I’ve known Judd, I’ve managed to push the boundaries of what I can do through his incredible eye,” she says. “We did a few smaller projects together and then I launched into my first featurelength movie and we toured the world together, filming different dancers. It was that experience which cemented our friendship – we knew we were on the same page.” When it comes to the combination of dance and portraiture, Healey is interested in amplifying the specific creative language of each artist as well as bringing out more personal traits. “They are a very eclectic group
of dancers,” she says. “They are all people I am inspired by and they each have a particular viewpoint on why they are artists. Making portraits is such an essential human activity. What I’m trying to do is unravel how they see the world and make a statement about that.” According to Healey, one of the most challenging aspects of the project was coordinating movement across the different media, often simultaneously. “When I bring the performers into the projected environment, it’s a whole different level,” she says. “Setting up the dynamic between the live and the virtual is something that fascinates me. You don’t get a lot of time to play with that relationship. It’s tricky, but I love that precarious thing about performance; that precarious reality you have to grab onto and hope it speaks clearly to the audience.” By bridging the disciplines, Healey discovered striking similarities between the role of a filmmaker and a choreographer. “It’s the ability of the
camera to shift its vantage points,” she says. “And as a choreographer, that’s what I do. You shift your perspective on a subject, and a camera is an incredible device which allows me to do that. The edit is precisely the choreographic part of it. I’m deciding which images go next to each other and the rhythm between images.” In weaving together diverse ways of thinking about the body, On View: Live Portraits is an ambitious project.
However, Healey’s vision has been cultivated over many years and she has faith in her dancers. “They are all incredible improvisers,” she says. “They solve the tasks I give them and we shape it together. Collaboration is so important to me and both dance and film are inherently collaborative.” What: On View: Live Portraits Where: Carriageworks When: Friday July 17 – Saturday July 25
The Book Of Kevin [COMEDY] The Hand Of Power By Annie Murney years now, including the last two years since Labor’s defeat under Rudd’s leadership at the 2013 federal election. “As you’d expect, there has been dwindling interest in Kevin over the past few years,” says Lentern, “so I became conscious of not wanting to flog a product no-one wants. The idea was that The Book Of Kevin would be a big show highlighting all the different versions of Kevin and then we would retire him on this one. It’s kind of a farewell.”
T
he acclaimed recent ABC series The Killing Season has projected former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd back into the spotlight. Its forensic investigation into Labor’s series of leadership challenges seems to have dredged up a different Rudd; one less of daggy charm and more cold resentment. As it happens, Nathan Lentern is likewise reviving Rudd in The Book Of Kevin. Written around the fictional book launch of Rudd’s autobiography, the show was developed by Lentern and long-time
“The Killing Season has caused a few rewrites,” says Lentern. “It has been an immediate refresher in regard to the toxicity and duplicity between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, but it also highlighted their mutual dependency throughout the early years.”
The show takes a reflective tone, starting out with Rudd’s audacious forgiving of the Labor Party for having wronged him. “He gives a solemn press conference, a rousing speech and then we show him in interview format, which is my favourite version of him,” says Lentern. “He tries to gear his interviewers toward asking the questions he wants asked and all the while he has this magnanimous smile. It’s very crafty. I love playing the interview more than anything else.”
Lentern has been impersonating the enigmatic former PM for four
Over the years, Lentern has worked to capture Rudd’s particular
collaborator Timothy Hugh Govers. It also features Jonas Holt, who has gained YouTube popularity for his Tony Abbott impersonations.
mannerisms, from hand gestures through to fair dinkum quips like “fair shake of the sauce bottle” or “water off a duck’s back”. In pinpointing a personal favourite, he says, “It’s always fun to do the asking-yourselfa-question thing.” He slips into Rudd’s passive-aggressive tone and mimics: “Was there a need for serious intervention? Well yes, yes there was.” Lentern continues, “Another thing he does is what I call the double ambiguous statement – he answers a question with an ambiguous statement and then when the interviewer seeks to clarify he repeats the statement. The way he set speculation rife by simply repeating things was really masterful.” The current political landscape is full of colourful characters, offering up plenty of material for satirists to work with. “For me, it’s about celebrating the quirks and eccentricities attached to these larger-than-life people,” says Lentern. “Luckily, I have the Rudd voice so I can do him. But I also love doing Clive
Palmer, Christopher Pyne and Craig Emerson – they’re such ridiculous people who manage to land themselves in enormously influential positions. We love that they’re so absurd and we affectionately play around with that.” As Lentern prepares to put Rudd away for good, he has been working on a new politician to send up. “I’ve been working on the Christopher Pyne voice for the last six months,” he reveals. “We’re hoping to do two shows this year – the second one being the political year in review, which we’ve done for the past two years. So I’m hoping to have Christopher nailed by about November.” What: The Book Of Kevin Where: The Rocks Pop-Up, Merchants House When: Wednesday July 22 – Friday July 24 And: Also playing at Bondi Pavilion on Wednesday July 15 as part of Bondi Feast, and at Gleebooks on Thursday July 16
Dylan Moran [COMEDY] Hook, Line And Sinker By Tyson Wray
U
nder the leadership of the Abbott government, our once great nation has seemingly backflipped on the majority of our social, political and environmental advancements in the name of the almighty dollar. Considering the general public elected the Coalition with a landslide victory in 2013, it’s gotten to the point where aligning yourself as Australian has reached cartoonish levels of embarrassment – which is the first thing Dylan Moran wishes to discuss when I reach him at his Edinburgh home. “I’ve got to ask you, how much domestic support does he actually have?” laughs Moran. “The international reputation that Tony Abbott has is that he’s not a terribly imaginative right-winger who blames climate change on the lesbian Illuminati. He’s regarded as having his head in the sand.
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“For 20 years Australia had such massive growth,” he says. “The whole world looks to Australia – especially Europe and America, as we’re all allies. Everyone looks to you as a bellwether and an indicator of what the hell is going on, especially when it comes to climate change. To hear now that big business is coming first is pretty ridiculous.” While Moran is best known for his work as the drunken and cynical Bernard Black in the television show Black Books, he says his approach to stand-up comedy is far less pessimistic. “I don’t think it’s very useful to iterate an endless tablet of humanity’s ills, woes and faults. I’m not saying that everyone has to be an Easter bunny hopping around all time with a lust for optimism, but if you don’t have any hope at all there’s no point in crawling any inch further. You have to have some hope that we’ll find answers to the problems in front of us, or why bother?” Returning to Australian shores with his latest show Off The Hook, Moran will once again treat audiences to a
sardonic and insightful look into his world. “It’s about family, it’s about getting older and it’s about looking at your kids growing up,” he says. “I’m like anybody else who has children. They become the centre of your life. When I look at my kids and their generation, I wonder about what sort of world they’re going to grow up into. I don’t think it’s easy for anyone to find their way through the world when they’re 18, 19 or 20. It’s pretty scary stuff. You’re being spat out of an education system and your home and into the world and you’re told you’ve got to figure it out. In retrospect, I don’t really know how I got it together. “I’m still messing around with the show every night. I’m playing it upside down, inside out, throwing out this bit, trying to write new bits. I play with my shows until the very last minute until I have to put it down. I don’t really want to know how it’s going to be 100 per cent, from A to Z; I never really have with anything I’ve ever done. That’s how it’s been ever since I started. I’m always refining things until it comes
to the point where I just have to kick it away.” As we conclude our conversation, I quiz Moran on what is left for him to accomplish in his career, and the legacy he wants to leave. “I’m not interested in making a mark on the world,” he says. “I’ve never been interested in making a mark on the world. I just want to make things that are good. I know that may sound childlike, but I want to be able to make things that people engage with and laugh with. Things that make people forget their worries, even if it’s just for ten minutes, half an hour or an hour. I don’t care if it’s comedy, if it’s books or if it’s television programs. That’s all I’m interested in doing.” What: Off The Hook When: Saturday July 18 – Tuesday July 21 and Sunday August 23 – Sunday August 24 Where: State Theatre And: Also appearing at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle on Friday July 17
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Film Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen around town
Far From Men
■ Film
FAR FROM MEN In cinemas Thursday July 30 Based on a short story by Albert Camus, Far From Men (Loin Des Hommes) sits comfortably alongside many of its peers in the realm of films about tiny men amidst epic landscapes. While this is reflective of its origins (and not inherently critical), it’s fair to say that this occasionally touching, well-performed piece offers little to truly distinguish it from its contemporaries.
IAN MOSS – 9pm Thursday 23 July – The legendary former Cold Chisel guitarist and singer, Ian Moss delivers an unforgettable sound. Don’t miss this intimate acoustic performance. Support act: Jamie Lindsay Duo
No Cover LEVEL 1, 80 PYRMONT STREET, PYRMONT STAR.COM.AU/ROCKLILY
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F O U N D R Y616 – S Y D N E Y ’ S F I N E S T J A Z Z C L U B
WINTER’S BEST FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC 24
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Having said that, there are beautifully absurdist moments – like the men racing through a storm to find shelter in an abandoned house, only to find it roofless – that elevate the experience. A minimal but tantalising score is provided by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who now share formidable credits as film composers. It may not aspire to greatness, but Far From Men carries Camus’ ideology of the struggle against a meaningless existence ever on into the desert, and for that alone is worthy of praise. David Molloy
Mr. Holmes
www.foundry616.com.au
■ Film
MR. HOLMES In cinemas Thursday July 23 Working with archetypal characters, and particularly those with extensive back catalogues, certainly has its pitfalls. Living up to the legacy of such immortal characters can be a great burden, and it is one that Mr. Holmes, as both a film and a man, struggles to carry. Decades after retiring to the countryside, celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) decides to set the record straight. Ditching Dr. Watson’s affectations and embellishments, he begins to write the story of his last case and, in doing so, develops a relationship with his carer’s son, Roger (Milo Parker), an enthusiast of Holmes’ mysteries. However, Holmes’ ailing health and hostile demeanour are beginning to wear on his carer, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney). In our introduction to the English countryside, the central relationships are quickly and clearly established, as is the overwhelming Britishness of the whole affair. Everything is clipped and trimmed and perfect, despite Holmes’ grumpy old man act doing its best to disrupt the calm. The world we are shown has little dispute to speak of, except that of age.
As expected, McKellen gives an exemplary performance as the greatest mind of its generation battling against its own dissolution. His aged self is of great contrast to the fresh, savvy detective we see in flashbacks, and it is no surprise to see that the great Holmes is merely a man, as prone to fits of pique as any other. Linney’s role as carer has much less to work with, but manages to be relatable – a scene where Roger puts her under Sherlock’s scrutiny, however, is discomfortingly voyeuristic. The issues lie in the generally unremarkable feeling with which one leaves the film. Satisfactory conclusions are reached, there are some beautiful moments set in post-war Japan, and the relationship between McKellen and young Parker is enjoyable, but there is nothing quite as special as the soft-focused, polished trailers would have you believe. Yes, there is purpose to the mundanity of the setting, but it makes for uninteresting viewing. Mr. Holmes is by no means a bad film, but despite its convincing performances, there are without doubt greater mysteries to be sought. David Molloy
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Mr. Holmes photo of by Giles Keyte
• DALE BARLOW BAND FRIDAY 17 • • ANNA SALLEH ‘GORGEOUS SONGS FROM BRAZIL & BEYOND’ SATURDAY 18 • • THE CONSOULS MONDAY 20 • • JAZZGROOVE PRESENTS TUESDAY 21 • • PHIL SCORGIE’S FUSION FIRE WEDNESDAY 22 • • RAINEE + APOHLO THURSDAY 23 • • MOVEMENT 9 WITH ELLY POLETTI: WE MAY NEVER MEET AGAIN: THE MUSIC OF AMY WINEHOUSE – EP LAUNCH SATURDAY 25 • 20 :: BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15
Though it’s shot with enough lens flare to make J.J. Abrams squint, the Algerian desert is a sparse and beautiful backdrop. As with all films of this kind, the landscape is a character all of its own, complementing the two male leads in their often terse silence. Mortensen, easily the more animated of the pair, is impressive in his capabilities with both French and Arabic dialects, while Kateb is agreeable as a young man trapped by cultural obligation.
Director David Oelhoffen focuses primarily on building the core relationship, but is perhaps over-reliant on expository dialogue to communicate the philosophical concepts underneath. Daru is a man whose moral core is rarely shaken – if anything, he’s a little too stable to allow for true drama to unfold.
616 HARRIS ST ULTIMO
LANA RITA & THE SOUL BEATS
Check website for full program.
Algeria, 1954. French-Algerian Daru (Viggo Mortensen) is living a simple, comfortable life teaching desert children to read when he is tasked by a neighbour with transporting Mohamed (Reda Kateb), a villager accused of murder, to a nearby city for trial. The two men form a bond as they journey on foot through a country immersed in civil war.
The film does an admirable job of preserving the spirit of Camus’ work, embodied in the struggle of two simple men against senseless violence. And this is emphatically a story about men, with women only popping up briefly as desert prostitutes or long-lost wives. Just who, or what, is ‘far from men’ is a question left to the viewer.
out & about
Arts Exposed
Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson
What's in our diary...
W
e’re told often and from a young age that stereotypes are bad, that we shouldn’t assume something about someone just because prior knowledge has taught us to think that all men with beards and flannel shirts ride fixies. Not all lesbians adore Tegan and Sara, not all librarians wear horn-rimmed glasses, #notallmen, et cetera, et cetera. Sometimes, though, stereotypes can helpfully act as cultural signifiers. As a queer woman, my outfits are often deliberately chosen, both because I like to wear plaid and double denim, but also as a way to tell others, “Read me as queer, please.” Fashion is a helpful signifier to communicate amongst minority groupings. It becomes harmful when those who are not part of that minority try to impose (or co-opt) that same stereotype. It’s like a (not so) secret code. When I walk down King Street, I’m already in queer utopia, so I read most people as queer anyway. But when I see a woman with short hair, facial piercings and a flannel shirt, it becomes immediately obvious, because she’s adopted the lesbian uniform. If you’re talking to a woman in a bar and she’s difficult to read because she hasn’t signified with clothing or hairstyles, you might just say, “Oh boy, have you seen season three of Orange Is The New Black yet?” and gauge her response. Of course, there are people who don’t fit within these one-size-fits-all lesbian cultural signifiers. But these stereotypes are perpetuated with a degree of ease that is disproportionate to, say, the number of fans Tegan and Sara actually deserve. I adore Tegan and Sara, but mostly because every time I listen to them I am reminded of my angsty coming out, of my lesbian mama who helped dragged me out of the closet, of being at concerts surrounded by other women all feeling as angsty as me… it’s not that I particularly like their music, but more that being a fan of T&S carries more weight than just enjoying a particular tune.
Alice Fraser: Savage The Comedy Store, Friday July 24 Alice Fraser
People adopt these stereotypes as markers of their identity, and they become popular as a result. Why else would someone wear a snapback at nighttime? It serves no functional purpose once the sun has gone down. It’s not particularly nice, or helpful, to put someone in a box. But when you’re already in that box, sometimes it can be an easy way to gauge who else is in there with you. Before I came out, I was hesitant to cut my hair short, lest someone mistakenly label me as a lesbian. Now, my hair, coupled with my regular attire, means I read so queer I don’t even need to use the two girls holding hands emoji on my Tinder profile. My bowl cut speaks for itself. Being read as visibly queer means I often don’t need to worry about coming out over and over again, I rarely get hit on by straight men in bars, and I feel more comfortable in my own skin. Of course, the downside is being more vulnerable to homophobes – when I venture out of my Inner West bubble, I get stared at, a lot. The real people who stereotypes harm are those who are in the box, but can’t be signified in a particular way. Friends who don’t read as visibly queer often face an uphill battle (unnecessarily) proving their identity to both queer and straight worlds. I applaud these friends for their ability to resist the cultural pull of plaid or the fivepanel cap after dark, because really, we all look kinda silly conforming to these stereotypes. But they’ve made my life ever so slightly easier. And one last thing: if you have short hair and wear a Gorman raincoat, you’re in my favourite and newest corner of our little queer stereotype box. It’s warm and dry over here.
Following a sold-out season at the Sydney Comedy Festival, SBS comedy writer Alice Fraser is doing a one-off performance of her show Savage at The Comedy Store this month. It’s easy to see why this extra show was required, with a string of gushing reviews praising Fraser for her silliness and sincerity in equal measure. Savage is a deeply personal show, among other things influenced by an encounter with a true believer and the death of Fraser’s mother. These experiences are sandwiched between anecdotes about crushes and a song about banjos, making for what is likely to be a solid hour of contemplation and chuckles. For more information and tickets, head to comedystore.com.au.
this week… This Wednesday July 15 sees lesbian face Snapback hosting a silent disco in the beer garden (sorry, Cider Yard) of the Newtown Hotel, featuring regulars Astrix Little and Fingertips as well as newbies Tiny and The Gatling Gun. Leading up to the very sad, very world-changing closure of the Exchange Hotel in August, this Friday July 17, Phoenix Bar is celebrating two generations of late-night jams, with DJ staples Matt Vaughan and Stephen Allkins reminding you of all your favourite nights in that dingy, loveable basement. On Saturday July 18, one of my favourite parties returns to the Oxford Hotel. Back for another month, Heaps Gay is playing host to all its favourites – Laprats, Le Fruit, Luen and a bunch of others. Fingertips
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BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15 :: 21
Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK TAME IMPALA
change, but that’s bullshit,” Parker sings defiantly on ‘Yes I’m Changing’, as guitars make way for more electronic (read: dance and pop) elements than on any Tame Impala release thus far, with notable exceptions ‘Eventually’ and the goofy disco-funk of ‘The Less I Know the Better’.
xxx
Currents Universal
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who survive, but the ones most responsive to change.” It’s a misquote often attributed to Charles Darwin, and it’s an idea to which vocalist and songwriter Kevin Parker seems acutely attuned on Tame Impala’s third LP and contender for album of the year. Pop sensibilities come to the fore on another mind-bending Kevin Parker release.
Psych rock has been the name of the game up to now, but would you expect such an accomplished band as Tame Impala to trundle out the same smack as before? “They say people never
GHOSTFACE KILLAH & ADRIAN YOUNGE
ROB SNARSKI
A young Lester Kane returns home to find his family slaughtered by the DeLuca clan. In brutal retaliation, he storms a DeLuca social club to discover 12 vinyl records which, when played, bring him face to face with the spirit of the deceased Ghostface Killah. Thus begins the saga of Twelve Reasons To Die II, the latest in Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge’s mafia concept albums.
2014 was a pretty big year for former Blackeyed Susans frontman Rob Snarski, who crowdfunded his debut solo album Wounded Bird. Among the experiences available to pledgers were Snarski walking dogs, cooking vegetarian frittatas and recording cover songs on his iPhone by request, with the latter resulting in his new release. Low Fidelity (Songs By Request Volume 1) is all in the title: a compilation of these stripped-back covers performed in true solo mode – just Snarski, an acoustic guitar and the occasional instrumental layer provided by Shane O’Mara.
Twelve Reasons To Die II Sony
Younge’s brooding guitars and snares are the backdrop to an anxiety-ridden narrative, in which Ghostface’s fictional doppelgänger watches over the struggles of the up-and-coming Kane. Filled with psychedelia-infused soul, Younge takes the tropes of schlocky gangster movies and makes those instrumentals just as interesting as the story. Meanwhile, Ghostface’s taste is impeccable, and it’s never clearer as in ‘Death’s Invitation’. Joining the rapid-fire raps of underground champions like Lyrics Born, Scarub and Chino XL, the track epitomises Ghostface’s ability to riff off other verbal styles. Acutely aware of his status as an ageing gangsta rapper, Twelve Reason To Die II is the perfect vehicle for Ghostface to assert his primacy. He does so with expertise and enough humility for it to work. The Ghostface Killah has undoubtedly risen again. James Ross
Low Fidelity (Songs By Request Volume 1) Rocket
Snarski’s fans are clearly wellrounded folk, with the requested covers ranging from Elton John to Spiritualized and Pulp, and all songs are inexplicably made his own. Snarski’s vocals shine through the album, incredibly powerful and affecting even in these bare-boned covers. However, the sparseness created by the nature of the project, the mode of recording, and the slow tempo maintained throughout the whole album make the overall listening experience of these 18 songs a little difficult. As a serving suggestion, listening to the record in instalments would be the best way to savour these beautiful songs. Low Fidelity is a rich collection of covers – just better listened to in increments. Jade Smith
Parker’s love of ’90s Michael Jackson shows in ‘Love/Paranoia’, while ‘Gossip’ recalls 1998-era Air and ‘Past Life’ gets deep into dream-pop territory. There’s no big rock number in the vein of ‘Desire Be Desire Go’ or ‘Elephant’, but the addition of one doesn’t feel like it would be a good idea. In fact, this is the most coherent Tame Impala release yet. These are the times, people: some of the best Australian music is being made right here, right
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME Coma Ecliptic Metal Blade
Coma Ecliptic, complete with its nominative inversion, is mindboggingly unfathomable; it’s like watching a cartoon drawn live right in front of your ears. Tumbling over in its complexities like a Christopher Nolan film, the greatest part of this record is its brilliant ambition. As with all other progressivesomething albums, time signature, key and genre changes abound. Running for over an hour in total, most tracks last between six and eight minutes, except for the almost ten-minute-long ‘Memory Palace’, an Augustus-like ‘first amongst equals’ standout if there ever was one. In fact, that’s probably this album’s one major drawback. There are no eminently memorable songs or catchy segments on the record. The fact the concept for the album fails to pique interest doesn’t help either. However, unlike previous efforts from this band, there are no big, obvious set pieces it’s building towards; those that incline the listener to fast-forward to hear immediately. The real accomplishment here is that Between The Buried And Me have sewn it all into a seamlessly cohesive and impressively grandiose progressive rock opera experience. Nicholas Hartman
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK While Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has always been renowned for his fragile and soaring vocals, and song styles of an infinitely delicate embrace, his third studio release The Gospel Album sees the artist move beyond the beautiful and into the spiritual.
GURRUMUL
The Gospel Album Skinnyfish/MGM
22 :: BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15
On previous albums, he sings to you a story; you can hear the pain and hardships overcome in his voice, even if you may not understand his native Yolngu language. And while his music has always been immensely personal, The Gospel Album takes things to an entirely different level. Listening to it feels as though you’re overhearing a private prayer to all things great and bad in the world. Album opener ‘Jesu’ sees Gurrumul’s already high tenor
voice gifted with an almost sermonlike quality thanks to his choir, and tracks ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Walu (Time)’ connect through deeply moving vocals and guitar chords. There are some who will not want to engage with what is clearly an album with strong spiritual roots, however, the album transcends any more serious aspects of faith in the same way any great piece of religious art does, by its heartbreaking tenderness and simple beauty. Music has the power to transcend all physical, emotional and spiritual boundaries, and The Gospel Album preaches this on every song.
now. Well, in Fremantle, to be precise. Currents is the sound of Parker dropping his guard and embracing everything he loves about great pop music. Paul McBride
RYAN ADAMS
BEN MASON
Ten Songs Live At Carnegie Hall finds Ryan Adams at a calm crossroads in his career. Arguably, his hit-chasing days are over, and if the relaxed performance documented in this live album is anything to go by, perhaps the pressures that came with them are gone too.
Ben Mason recently paid tribute to The Zombies with a purist reinterpretation of their 1968 album Odessey And Oracle. The attention to detail that draws together separate songs to make a multilayered entity is a big part of that album’s enduring appeal, and this quality has left its imprint on Mason’s new LP.
Ten Songs Live At Carnegie Hall Sony
It’s refreshing to hear Adams in a self-aware and comedic state of mind. The US songwriter is infamous for creating music to drown your sorrows in, and this live album shows he is not oblivious to that. He punctuates the morbid ‘Sylvia Plath’ lyrics with an audible, cartoonish wink. Later in the show, he sums up his songwriting style by strumming a minor chord and singing, “You’re fucked”. The hearty laughs from the audience indicate they’re all in on the joke too. Ten Songs Live At Carnegie Hall encapsulates the point after heartbreak, when the sadness has faded and you can finally laugh about how messed up it was. Adams is living proof that after pathos, there is laughter.
She’d Need A Heart BMR
The trilling strings of cinematic opener ‘Birds On The Wire’ conjure an image of animated bluebirds, while horns and woodpecker-like percussion introduce the pastoral folk-pop song ‘Help The Best Things Grow’. The tongue-in-cheek Americana stylings of ‘Suburban Cowboy’ lead into the ‘scarecrow trilogy’ (‘She’d Need A Heart’, ‘I’d Bring You Sunshine’, ‘Esmerelda’), where a suburban garden scarecrow comes to life – it’s not as creepy as it sounds; more of an offbeat love story that’s actually rather sweet. For the first time in his solo career, it’s hard to imagine any of these songs on an album by The Smallgoods, Mason’s former band.
It has long been said that Adams would make his best work locked in a room with nothing but a four-track recorder and a guitar. This album lets you hear what his career might’ve sounded like if he did.
Harmonies have always been a big part of his sound, but the vocals are stripped back almost completely here, revealing a singer-songwriter who has found his voice and made the most of the album format to showcase it.
James Di Fabrizio
Chris Girdler
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... TOTAL CONTROL - Typical System NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS - Murder Ballads TALKING HEADS - 77
ERYKAH BADU - Baduizm PIXIES - Bossanova
Daniel Prior thebrag.com
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twenty one pilots
PICS :: AM
up all night out all week . . .
07:07:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666
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(9:30PM - 1:30AM)
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PICS :: KC
up all night out all week . . .
09:07:15 :: UNSW Roundhouse :: Anzac Parade Kensington 9385 7630 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER
24 :: BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15
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12:07:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney
11:07:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 thebrag.com
g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Xxx
pick of the week
Royal Headache
Johnny Marr
MONDAY JULY 20
+ Lifes Ill + Hallows Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.60. Leadfinger + The Protools + The Delta Lions Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Palms Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 8:30pm. Free. Sydney Reclink Community Cup Fundraising Gig - feat: Sleepy + Matt Banham + Romi Vic On The Park, Marrickville. 7pm. Free. The Manfreds Penrith Panthers, Penrith. 7:30pm. $60. The Organics + Balko + Thunder Fox + Crooked Frames Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Watsup Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.
Enmore Theatre
Johnny Marr + Flyying Colours 8pm. $80.13. WEDNESDAY JULY 15 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Global Sounds - feat: Chris Gudu & Afro Pamoja + Trio Mokili The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $14.90. Ten Guitar Project Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $15. Trish Delaney-Brown Quintet Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Gadjo Guitars Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. The Flenegenrgy + Driftwood + Vacant Shade + Flaccid Mohawk Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
#1 Dads + Slum Sociable Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Adz & Cookie Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.
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Cath & Him St George Leagues Club, Kogarah. 7pm. Free. Ed Kuepper Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $25. Narla + Colour Cage Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free. The Manfreds Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. Free.
THURSDAY JULY 16 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Sarah Hyland Quartet The Golden Sheaf, Double Bay. 9pm. Free. Subterraneans - feat: The Unearthed Horns Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $15. Sweet Honey In The Rock + Nitanju Bolade Casel + Aisha Kahlil + Carol Maillard + Louise Robinson + Shirley Childress City Recital Hall, Sydney. 8pm. $40. Thursdays In Jam - feat: El Moro + DJ Av El Cubano Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. Free.
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Big Blind Ray Duo Black Penny, 8pm. Free.
Emad Younan Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 8:30pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free. Not Good With Horses + Support The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
#1 Dads + Slum Sociable Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Art Of Music Live - feat: Jimmy Barnes + Billy Mccarthy + Diesel & Lily Lizotte + Loose Ends + James Reyne + Minnie Cooper + Jonathan Zwartz Ensemble + Ngaiire + Steve Balbi + Thief Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6:30pm. $199. Dead Letter Circus Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $39.80. Dear Plastic + Aviva + Colour Cage Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $8. Fish Sauce + Toydeath Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10. Grooveworks + John Vickers + Lisa Crouch + Terry Kaff Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 12pm. Free. Lanks Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. Last Ever Hot Damn! - feat: Final Frontier + Positive Era
FRIDAY JULY 17 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Finn Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 8:30pm. Free. The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9pm. Free. Women Sing The Blues - feat: Bonnie Kay & The Bonafides + Christina Crofts + Milena Barratt The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $22.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Afrobeat Wonderland feat. Lamine Sonko And The African Intelligence + Lamine Sonko + The African Intelligence Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $25. Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.
Free. GTS Horsley Park Tavern, Horsley Park. 7pm. Free. Hits & Pieces Wyong Leagues Club, Kanwal. 9pm. Free. Jack Horner The Crest Hotel Sylvania, Sylvania. 7pm. Free. Jed Zarb The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm. Free. Jimmy Barnes State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $101. Jimmy Bear Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 5pm. Free. Magic, Pixels, Bubbles feat: Meri Amber + Victory Road + Liam Power + Behind The Panels The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. 6pm. $15. Major Leagues + Special Guests Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.30. Matt Lyon Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 8pm. Free. Melody Rhymes Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm. Free. No Breaks Penrith RSL, Penrith. 8pm. Free. Oliver Goss Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free. Rebecca Johnson Band Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 8:30pm. Free. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free. Royal Headache + Low Life + Gloss + Horse Macgyver Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $16. Russell Nelson Vikings Sports Club, Dundas Valley. 9:30pm. Free. Ryan Enright Pagewood Hotel, Maroubra. 9pm. Free. Sealed Our Fate + Sparrows + A Gentleman’s Agreement + Pasha Bulka + Billabong
Of Blood + Caulfield Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10. Skyzthelimit Penrith Gaels, Kingswood. 8pm. Free. Terrorential + Atomesquad + Amora + Enfield Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. The Filth - feat: Bleeding Knees Club Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. The Motor City Syndicate Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. Tigers Jaw Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $31.
SATURDAY JULY 18 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Lazybones’ 2nd B’Day feat: Erome Fandor & The Inner Visions + Gervais Koffi & His African Diaspora + The Subterraneans + Chick Yates Trio Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15. Mafikizolo + Mike Champion + Neo Pitso + Lisa Viola Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point. 8:30pm. $96. Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free. Vince Jones The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $44.60. ‘Billie And Me’: Wendy Matthews Sings Billie Holiday Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $45.
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Big Blind Ray And The
Jimmy Barnes
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
#1 Dads + Slum Sociable Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. AM 2 PM Ingleburn RSL, Ingleburn. 9pm. Free. Ange Club Liverpool, Liverpool. 5:30pm. Free. Balloons Kill Babies Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $12. Banquet - feat: Lanks + Blood Brothers + Avivaa + Peruw + J.Rojas + Future Sound DJ The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. Free. Endless Summer Beach Party Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly. 10pm.
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g g guide gig g
g g picks gig p
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Good Time Rhythm N Blues Band Spring Street Social, Bondi. 10:30pm. Free. Chich And The Soul Messengers The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. Free. Finn George IV Inn, Picton. 8:30pm. Free. Mojo House Band - feat: Jesse & James Mojo Record Bar, Sydney. 7pm. Free. Stormcellar Shady Pines, Darlinghurst. 6pm. Free. Wendy Matthews Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $45.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
#1 Dads + Slum Sociable Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Alex Hotel Mosman, Mosman. 9:30pm. Free. Ali Barter + Gordi + White Gums Hibernian House, Surry Hills. 7:30pm. $13.30. Armchair Travellers Duo Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free. Bury The Veil Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $10. Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers Show Pioneer Tavern, Penrith. 8pm. Free. Cath & Him Stacks Taverna, Sydney. 6pm. Free. Cavan Te & The Fuss Penrith RSL, Penrith. 9pm. Free. DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. Free. Double Jeopardy Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. Free. Eleanor Dunlop Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. Elevate Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free. Evie Dean Novotel, Rooty Hill. 6:30pm. Free. High Tension + With Mere Women + Narrow Lands & MSV BCP Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Hits & Pieces Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. Free. Hooray For Everything Penrith Gaels, Kingswood. 7pm. Free. Intense Hammer Rage + Morbid Anal + Infested Entrails + Manslaughter Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. JJ Duo Picton Bowling Club, Picton. 8:30pm. Free. Katcha Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9:30pm. Free. Knievel + The Holy Soul + Sounds Like Sunset Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 8pm. $10. Laurie Bennett Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free. Little Coyote + Baskiat Garry Owen Hotel, Rozelle. 7pm. Free. Macson Ingleburn RSL, Ingleburn. 9pm. Free. Mark Crotti PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 2pm. Free. Mark Shelley Plough & Harrow, Camden. 8pm. Free. Marty Stewart Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.
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Marty Stewart Waverley Bowling Club, Waverley. 2pm. Free. Melody Rhymes Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 10pm. Free. Morning Harvey Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. One Hit Wonders Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 8:45pm. Free. Paper Hearts Band Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. Peace Train Penrith Panthers, Penrith. 7:30pm. $53.60. Poison Us Moorebank Sports Club, Hammondville. 9:30pm. Free. Rock 4 Louisa - feat: Bort + Nunchukka Superfly + Squawk! + Godfrey Turner Overdrive Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15. Russ & Ben Duo Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 10pm. Free. Ryan Thomas Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. Free. Sam Marks Hunters Hill Hotel, Hunters Hill. 3:30pm. Free. Soundproofed Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8:30pm. Free. The On And Ons + Joeys Coop + Wayne Tritton Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $14. The Tribe The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free. Theo Lakemba Club, Lakemba. 8pm. Free. Tigers Jaw Small Ballroom, Newcastle. 8pm. $32.15. Toe To Toe + The Blurters + Disintegrator + Stanley Knife + Hostile Objects + The Fuck Outs + Inebrious Bastard + Straight To A Tomb + Obat Batuk + Playground Of Hate + Culture Of Ignorance + Two Faced + The Scabz + Grim + Feskit Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 2pm. $20.
SUNDAY JULY 19 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Out Of Nowhere Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4pm. Free. The Mighty Surftones Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. Free.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Spyglass Gypsies Glebe Town Hall, Glebe. 2:30pm. $16.90. Thirty-Eight Special Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm. $25.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Cath & Him Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 5pm. Free. Felicity Robinson Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 4:30pm. Free. Midnight Drifters Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free. Mr Falcon’s Favourites - feat: Sam Newton + Ricardo Steyer + Nat James
up all night out all week... Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 6:45pm. Free. Open Mic Night Nag’s Head Hotel, 5:30pm. Free. Sarah Paton Plough & Harrow, Camden. 3pm. Free. Sidebar Sundays - feat: Dave White Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Silent Partners The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $10. Steve Tonge + DJ Graham M + Brenny B Side Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 3pm. Free. Tex Perkins And The Dark Horses Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $34. Tigers Jaw Red Rattler, Marrickville. 2pm. $31.65. Toe To Toe + Hostile Objects + The Fuck Outs + Frank Rizzo + Deadly Visions Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 8pm. Free. U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free. White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.
MONDAY JULY 20 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Johnny Marr + Flyying Colours Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $80.13. Matt Cornell Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Swerve Society - feat: Lovely Head + Teenage Mustache + Point Being Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. Free.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Freedman Jazz - feat: Tal Cohen + Peter Farrar + Mike Rivett + Gian Slater Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. $43. Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.
TUESDAY JULY 21
Dead Letter Circus
WEDNESDAY JULY 15 #1 Dads + Slum Sociable Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Ed Kuepper Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $25.
Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $12. Jimmy Barnes State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $101. Royal Headache + Low Life + Gloss + Horse Macgyver Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $16.
Narla + Colour Cage Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.
The Filth - Feat: Bleeding Knees Club Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.
THURSDAY JULY 16
Tigers Jaw Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $31.
Art Of Music Live - Feat: Jimmy Barnes + Billy Mccarthy + Diesel & Lily Lizotte + Loose Ends + James Reyne + Minnie Cooper + Jonathan Zwartz Ensemble + Ngaiire + Steve Balbi + Thief Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6:30pm. $199.
Women Sing The Blues - Feat: Bonnie Kay & The Bonafi des + Christina Crofts + Milena Barratt The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $22.
Dead Letter Circus Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $39.80. Dear Plastic + Aviva + Colour Cage Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $8. Last Ever Hot Damn! Feat: Final Frontier + Positive Era + Lifes Ill + Hallows Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.60.
SATURDAY JULY 18
Spyglass Gypsies Glebe Town Hall, Glebe. 2:30pm. $16.90. Tex Perkins And The Dark Horses Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $34. Toe To Toe + Hostile Objects + The Fuck Outs + Frank Rizzo + Deadly Visions Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 8pm. Free.
MONDAY JULY 20 Swerve Society - Feat: Lovely Head + Teenage Mustache + Point Being Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. Free.
Bury The Veil Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $10.
TUESDAY JULY 21
High Tension + With Mere Women + Narrow Lands & MSV Bcp Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.
Ryan Adams Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8:30pm. $79. Ryan Adams
Knievel + The Holy Soul + Sounds Like Sunset Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 8pm. $10.
Leadfinger + The Protools + The Delta Lions Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.
Morning Harvey Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60.
Steve Hunter Band Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.
FRIDAY JULY 17
SUNDAY JULY 19
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Balloons Kill Babies
Mr Falcon’s Favourites
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
- Feat: Sam Newton + Ricardo Steyer + Nat James Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 6:45pm. Free.
Live & Originals @ Mr Falcons - feat: Monique Angele + Julianne Jessop + Bella Fiorentino + Nick Murray Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7:30pm. Free. Ryan Adams Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8:30pm. $79.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Matt Cornell Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Open Mike With Elmo The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. Free.
Tex Perkins And The Dark Horses
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brag beats
BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin and Tyson Wray
five things WITH
Soul Clap
STEPHEN ALLKINS because the crowd and vibe is so oldschool and warm. It’s very late ’70s, early ’80s in its feel and that is right where I’m at these days. The Music You Make And Play 4. The top five tracks for my set will be ‘Shake Your Booty’ by Bunny Sigler, ‘You + Me = Love’ by Undisputed Truth, ‘Burn Rubber On Me’ by The Gap Band, ‘So You Wanna Be A Star’ by Mtume and ‘What Is My Woman For?’ by Curtis Mayfield. Music, Right Here, 5. Right Now
Growing Up My first real 1. music memory is hearing Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’ on the radio when I was about five years old, and it just went right through my whole body like a thunderbolt because I’d never heard anything like it, but I knew that was what I wanted to hear from then on – black music. Inspirations I love black 2. music. Soul, funk, disco, African, house, jazz. I also love all the classic vocalists from
Aretha and Chaka to Ella and Billie. I also love Talking Heads and anything that grooves you. I’m lucky that music has always been at the forefront of my life. From soul and The Beatles in the ’60s to glam rock to AC/DC to disco and punk in the ’70s to so many different styles and flavours after that. Your Crew I’ve DJed for 35 3. years so I’ve slowed down and only play at gigs I’m going to enjoy and that I’m suited to. Soul Of Sydney is one of my favourite gigs
I live in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales and there’s a thriving scene up here – lots of great live bands and musicians that get lots of local support. Gigs I’ve been particularly impressed by go from Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings to James Blake to Janelle Monáe to Mary J. Blige. What: Soul Of Sydney Larry Levan Birthday Tribute With: Danny De Sousa, Phil Toke, Alex Dimitriades Where: Secret Location When: Sunday July 19
WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME
The boutique weekend festival of beats Return To Rio has locked in the lineup for its 2015 return. The glam festival, for which entry is only available via an elusive ‘golden ticket’ – you’ll find them somewhere on the musical grapevine – promises “drinks you actually like, no bar queues, clean toilets, water skiing” and more, plus a range of accommodation options from air-conditioned cabins to houseboats and drive-up camping spots. Oh, and that’s not to gloss over the lineup, which this summer will be led by Boston boys Soul Clap and the resident DJ at Berlin’s Watergate, Matthias Meyer. Also appearing will be Davi, Phat Phil Cooper, Mr. C, Atish, Nicky Night Time, Hoj and a bunch more locals to be announced. Return To Rio 2015 will take over Del Rio Riverside Resort at Wisemans Ferry from Friday November 13 – Sunday November 15.
BEYOND THE VALLEY RETURNS
Beyond The Valley will return bigger and better for its sophomore event this New Year’s. Following a highly successful debut last year, with a large contingent of punters making the trip from Sydney, the festival’s 2015 incarnation will take place 90 minutes from Melbourne in the Gippsland Parklands. It will now also roll out over three days and two stages. “We are stoked to bring Beyond The Valley back in 2015 and to have found a new, permanent home for our festival – the Gippsland Parklands is the perfect backdrop to bring in the New Year!” said the festival’s Nicholas Greco. “We have worked tirelessly since our inaugural event last year to improve on every area of the event and to ensure that we are able to deliver the absolute best experience to our festival goers. We received such an amazing response from last year and we can’t wait to do it all again with an even Hermitude
Nervo
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Australian DJing sisters Miriam and Olivia Nervo, collectively Nervo, are set to capitalise on their growing profile with a debut album release next month. Their first forays into production, the singles ‘Rise Early Morning’, ‘It Feels’, ‘Haute Mess’ and ‘Hey Ricky’, all feature on Collateral, due out Friday August 7 on Sony. Inspired by Nervo’s time on the DJ circuit and rise to international notoriety, Collateral features contributions from dance legend Nile Rodgers and Australia’s favourite pop star, Kylie Minogue. You better believe it.
bigger lineup.” The 2015 event will take place from Tuesday December 29 – Thursday December 31.
Nervo photo by Chloe Paul
HAPPY FOR LARRY
The grassroots purveyors of funk and soul behind Soul Of Sydney are throwing a birthday party for legendary American DJ, the late Larry Levan. The afternoon jam will feature Sydney disco godfather Stephen Allkins performing at a secret location five minutes from the Sydney CBD. Joining Allkins will be Phil Toke, Boogie Monster (Alex Dimitriades), Danny De Sousa and Jim Poe, among others. The party goes down on Sunday July 20 at a location that will be released to ticketholders via email. Visit soulofsydney.org.
HERMITUDE GO LARGE
The local lads are hitting the big stage. Hermitude, who blew Australia’s collective mind with their HyperParadise record back in 2012, returned in May with its follow-up, Dark Night Sweet Light. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA charts, marking Sydney label Elefant Traks’ very first record to reach the summit. With so much momentum behind them, it’s no surprise that Hermitude have now locked in their biggest shows yet. They’ll bring their expansive hip hop, dance and soul sound to the Hordern Pavilion on Friday November 27. Tickets go on sale 10am Friday July 17.
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HOT DUB TIME MACHINE FREE SHOW DJ Tom Loud’s Hot Dub Time Machine is kicking into gear once more. The party that transcends musical generations is returning to Sydney for a free party at the Beach Road Hotel’s Sosueme event this
week. The announcement follows Hot Dub Time Machine’s only Australian tour earlier this year, which included a sold-out date at the Metro Theatre, and Loud’s slots on the Groovin The Moo circuit in May. The Hot Dub experience is a time-travelling extravaganza, year by year, through the broad history of popular music over the last 60 years. If you haven’t rocked your way through the ’60s and ’70s, thrown shapes through the ’80s, turned alternative in the ’90s and relived the musical reinvention of the 21st century, you don’t know what you’re missing. Find out at the Beach Road Hotel this Wednesday July 15.
DOWN AND DIRTY
Chinese Laundry is hosting a Dirtybird showcase this weekend, with Germany’s Kill Frenzy and the UK’s Will Clarke taking command of the decks for a mighty fine night out. Also on the bill are Pantheon, Friendless, Nes, Elijah Scadden, Oh?, Sarkozy, DJ Just 1, King Lee and Jade Le Flay. It goes down Saturday July 18. Bring a change of clothes. BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15 :: 27
Baro Barely Legal By Tamara Vogl
A
t just 18 years of age, Baro has been tipped as a future great of Australian hip hop. Born to Ethiopian parents, the Melbourne MC was compelled towards music as means to counter an inimical high school situation. Faced with racism at an assortment of schools, he responded with violence, which led to suspension and harsh discipline. However, after picking up a Guitar Hero microphone at age 12, Baro’s gone on to tour Australia with fellow Melburnian rapper Allday, make the finals of triple j Unearthed High 2014, and he’s now gearing up to perform at Splendour In The Grass. To boot, his debut EP 17/18 has just hit stores.
Tuka photo by Cole Bennetts
Things are looking up for Baro, but he doesn’t forget the hardships of his youth. “Kids would say shit to me and I didn’t want to dob, so I’d try to deal with it then and there,” he says. Along with his erratic behaviour, by the time he hit high school, Baro was already obsessed with music, which teachers felt was to the detriment of his studies. “They didn’t like my character,” he says. “I didn’t like taking shit, so if someone said something to me and I didn’t like it, I’d get into a fight. The school encouraged me to leave. Then I went to St. Francis. That school was sick, but I kind of fucked up a little. So I got kicked out of there too.” When he was much younger, Baro watched Channel Ten’s Video Hits religiously at a time when Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ clip was played incessantly. This sparked some rap aspirations, but he hadn’t yet dabbled with the craft. Things changed at 12, when his mediocre Guitar Hero abilities encouraged him to grab the mic, plug it into his computer and begin rapping over Drake beats. Two years later, he forked out $100 to upgrade his mic. He kept writing rhymes until, at 16, Allday’s manager contacted
him on Facebook and proceeded to negotiate a deal with the fledgling rapper. He subsequently joined Allday on a sold-out Australian tour in late 2014. “That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Baro says. While Baro had already done plenty of shows around Melbourne, this tour was the first time he ventured interstate. “It was dope,” he laughs. “I had so much fun. Some of my friends came. It was definitely really fucking cool. I was 17 at the time, touring. And my DJ is my best friend.”
The first leg of the Allday tour was particularly liberating, given the majority of punters didn’t yet know who he was. “I figured for the first couple of shows I didn’t really need to be anything onstage,” he explains. “You got to be whoever you are.” Baro also entered the studio with Allday, which was the first time he’d been involved in a proper recording session. “It was one of the only times I’ve been to a studio,” he says. Baro doesn’t have a go-to songwriting method, but he prefers
to rap about topics he sees every day. “It’s whatever springs to my mind. If I hear a beat, I’ll get a vibe off it. I don’t really have set topics, just loose concepts. I care about vocabulary though. I hate using the same words over and over.” Looking forward, Baro plans to begin a DIY artists’ collective in Australia. He sees no point in keeping his ambitions modest. “We are already delving into fashion and videos,” he says. “We’re not just rappers. I feel like a lot of people aren’t really who they can be, and can be much more. I watched an interview the other
week and someone said everybody has the capacity to be a genius in something.” What: 17/18 out now independently With: Gill Bates, Marcus Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Thursday July 30 And: Also appearing alongside Peking Duk, Flight Facilities, Earl Sweatshirt and many more at Splendour In The Grass 2015, North Byron Parklands, Friday July 24 – Sunday July 26
Destructive Steps Pop It Like It’s Hot By Adam Norris socioeconomical area and time in the late ’70s in New York City in the Bronx, to what we’re seeing today, the change has been huge. But not only has the industry’s face changed, but the people involved come from so many different walks of life. I know a lot of really good dancers who are tradesmen during the day. They’re electricians, labourers; I know one who is studying animation, one is going into design photography. You have people who grew up struggling, people who grew up middle-class, everyone. But even though we all struggle through similar things in life – some people may be well off, some may not be – the story, the narratives are always the same. I think that’s a universal constant that connects us all together. “I’ve met people from all around the world now, from all walks of life with different stories, but you find a common ground in this culture. You connect, and then you learn about other people, you learn how things are around the world. It’s this huge arc, but then it’s also small in a sense as well, because you see just how connected everybody really is.”
F
or Jo Hyeon Yoon, Destructive Steps is about more than just the dance. Don’t get him wrong, though; showcasing the most talented and charismatic breakers and poppers is fundamental to this competition now in its seventh year. But underneath the music
28 :: BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15
and the moves is a community that stretches across the world, uniting people from a multitude of beliefs and backgrounds with a common passion. In close collaboration with the UTS Hip Hop Society, artistic director Yoon chats to us about Australia’s breaking reputation
abroad, and how the event is so much more than a simple showcase of technical talent. “I think the [dance] culture has evolved tremendously,” Yoon says. “From kids that had nothing, who were living in a difficult
Though Yoon finds his time divided between work on Destructive Steps and his day job as a research scientist, when he speaks of the competition – the world finals of which are being held this week – an undeniable excitement creeps into his voice. The potential for engaging people in broader social and cultural issues seems paramount to his passion, although as he readily
acknowledges, Australia still has some way to go before it’s ready to truly compete at an international level. “We’re very far away,” he chuckles. “I think the problem with Australia is because the communities are so much smaller in comparison, we currently don’t have anyone who can punch above the world level, to really get us in the spotlight. Particularly places like France, Korea, the USA. Professional breakers and poppers there take it to such a level that it’s really hard to see how much fun they’re actually having with it, and how much has just become work. I think it’s going to happen sooner or later; someone will step up. Maybe it’ll be this year, maybe next year, who knows? Someone will step up to put Australia even more on the map than it is now. “But it’s also inherent to Australian culture. We’re a bit more laidback, and take things as they are. That works with us, and against us. It allows us to enjoy the culture at a fun level, but it hampers us because a lot of other countries will practise three times harder than us. They’ll put more time, effort and resources into it, the physical aspects are grander. And so they might get a bit more shine that what we would. But you know, I think we might enjoy it more.” What: Destructive Steps VII When: Saturday July 18 / Sunday July 19 And: See destructivesteps.com for full venue details
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club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week Spencer Parker
SUNDAY JULY 19 Home Nightclub
Xxx
S.A.S.H Sundays Spencer Parker 3pm. $10. WEDNESDAY JULY 15 CLUB NIGHTS
Beyonce Dance Class 7/11 - feat: Amrita Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 6pm. $17. Feel Good Fridays - feat: DJs Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. Free. Klo + Buoy + Tennis Boys DJ Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $18. Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + Special Guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free. Side Bar Wednesdays feat: Bangers & Mash Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Sosume - feat: Hot Dub Time Machine + Morning Harvey + Luen Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.
THURSDAY JULY 16 HIP HOP & R&B
Home Bass - feat: Mantra + Resident DJ 26th Letter + P Smurf + Rappaport Newtown Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.
CLUB NIGHTS
Five Dollar Thursdays feat: DJs Steve Zappa + thebrag.com
Skinny Scubar, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. Kicks The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free. The Midnight Swim Sessions - feat: Thomas Studdy Goros, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.
FRIDAY JULY 17 HIP HOP & R&B
Yum Yum + Sampa The Great + DJ Adverse + Makoto + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.
CLUB NIGHTS
Bassic - feat: Mayhem + Antiserum + Phaseone + Oski + Autoclaws + Chenzo + Lennon + Kemikoll + Stalker Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Blvd Fridays - feat: G-Wizard Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.40. Champain Lyf (Maybe It’s Maybelline, Maybe It’s UK Garage) - feat: Adrian E + Jon Watts + T-Syd + Danny Banger + Rad Fairytale Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. $10. Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free.
Friday Lite - feat: Aspartme + Rap Simons + Jale + Coris + Cache One Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. Free. Fridays Frothers - feat: Babysham + Jesse Sewell Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Golden Features + The M Machine Metro Theatre, Sydney. 9pm. $49.85. Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm. Free. Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. SFX (Saints And Sinners Fancy Dress Party) - feat: DJs Absynth + Mi77enz Miind Nightclub, Darlinghurst. 8:30pm. Free.
SATURDAY JULY 18 CLUB NIGHTS
Club MTV - feat: Joel Fletcher + DJ Kronic + Alex Preston + AJC + Luen + Eko + Jace Disgrace + Jack Bailey + DJ Just 1 + Nanna Does Sushi + Troy T + Kristiano + Heke + A-Game Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Destructive Steps VII After Party - feat: DJ Chicano + Makoto + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free. Frat Saturdays - feat:
Jonksi + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free. G-Wizard + Cop That VS Zilr VS Mitwi + Stalker + Harper + Heirs To The Throne + Sherlock Bones + Ryan Knight VS Harry Shepherd + Get Slinky + Sneaky + Tyson Turner Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. Free. Golden Features + The M Machine Metro Theatre, Sydney. 9pm. $49.85. Homemade - feat: Benibee + Royaal + Venuto + Rees Hellmers + I.K.O + Seiz + J-Reyes Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. Free. Koan Sound + Culprate + Prowler Dub Sound System + Boot + Sook + Mark Bionic + Ncrypt Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $44.90. Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. Lndry - feat: Kill Frenzy + Will Clarke + Natnoiz + Friendless + Pantheon + Nes + Sarkozy + Elijah Scadden + DJ Just 1 + Jade Le Flay + King Lee + Oh? Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Ltr On - feat: Yahtzel Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 11:30pm. $10. My Place Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. New_id Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.80. Picnic One Night Stand feat: Dreems The Spice Cellar, Erskineville. 10pm. $22. Resident DJ The Kent Bar & Grill, Hamilton. 9:30pm. Free. Scubar Saturdays - feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. UV Boi + Zuri Akoko + Kailo Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $13.90.
SUNDAY JULY 19 CLUB NIGHTS
S.A.S.H Sundays - feat: Spencer Parker + YokoO + Gemma Van D + Gabby + Jake Hough + Kerry Wallace + Trinity + Magda Bytnerowicz + Kate Doherty Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 3pm. $10. Soul Of Sydney Larry Levan Birthday Special - feat: Stephen Allkins + Soul Of Sydney DJs + Phil Toke + Boogie Monster + Danny De Sousa + Jim Poe Secret Location, Sydney. 2pm. $10.
up all night out all week...
Klo
WEDNESDAY SATURDAY JULY 15 JULY 18 Klo + Buoy + Tennis Boys DJ Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $18. Sosume - Feat: Hot Dub Time Machine + Morning Harvey + Luen Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.
FRIDAY JULY 17 Bassic - Feat: Mayhem + Antiserum + Phaseone + Oski + Autoclaws + Chenzo + Lennon + Kemikoll + Stalker Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Blvd Fridays - Feat: G-Wizard Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.40. Champain Lyf (Maybe It’s Maybelline, Maybe It’s UK Garage) Feat: Adrian E + Jon Watts + T-Syd + Danny Banger + Rad Fairytale Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. $10. Golden Features + The M Machine Metro Theatre, Sydney. 9pm. $49.85. Yum Yum + Sampa The Great + DJ Adverse + Makoto + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.
Club MTV - Feat: Joel Fletcher + DJ Kronic + Alex Preston + AJC + Luen + Eko + Jace Disgrace + Jack Bailey + DJ Just 1 + Nanna Does Sushi + Troy T + Kristiano + Heke + A-Game Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Destructive Steps VII After Party - Feat: DJ Chicano + Makoto + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Lndry - Feat: Kill Frenzy + Will Clarke + Natnoiz + Friendless + Pantheon + Nes + Sarkozy + Elijah Scadden + DJ Just 1 + Jade Le Flay + King Lee + Oh? Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Ltr On - Feat: Yahtzel Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 11:30pm. $10. Picnic One Night Stand Feat: Dreems The Spice Cellar, Erskineville. 10pm. $22. UV Boi + Zuri Akoko + Kailo Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $13.90.
SUNDAY JULY 19 Soul Of Sydney Larry Levan Birthday Special - Feat: Stephen Allkins + Soul Of Sydney DJs + Phil Toke + Boogie Monster + Danny De Sousa + Jim Poe Secret Location, Sydney. 2pm. $10. Yum Yum
MONDAY JULY 20 CLUB NIGHTS
Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + Otg + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free.
TUESDAY JULY 21 CLUB NIGHTS
Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15 :: 29
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Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray
ekids kingpin Spencer Parker will touch down in Sydney this weekend. A highly versatile DJ, the Berlin resident is a regular at Berghain, where he plays marathon sets of techno downstairs or house and disco upstairs in the Panorama Bar, while his productions and remixes are supported by the likes of Ryan Elliot, Mike Huckaby, Radio Slave, DVS1, Gerd Janson and Zip. Y’all can catch him this Sunday July 19 for S.A.S.H at Home Nightclub.
R
They’ll hit Sydney on Saturday September 12, venue TBA.
Another last-minute announcement – Antal will hit Sydney this weekend. A co-founder of the seminal Rush Hour label, since 1997 Antal Heitlager has been running one of the most influential imprints in the world, and naturally has become one of the most sought-after selectors on the planet. This will be the first time he’s visited Australian shores since 2007, when he played at a ten-year anniversary party for Rush Hour. Support on the night will come from T Mingus, Karim, Ben Fester and Daniel Lupica. It goes down this Friday July 17 at the Imperial Hotel.
Some killer mixes for your ears this week: a recording of The Black Madonna’s performance at Output during Wrecked’s Gay Pride party last month has surfaced at thebunkerny.com and it is damn phenomenal (remember that’s she also touring next month). A recording of a recent set from Michael Serafini at a Studio 89 party in London has gone up on soundcloud.com/studio-89-music, and don’t miss out on Kenneth Scott’s Another Planet Mix over at soundcloud.com/vakant.
s.a.s.h sundays
PICS :: KC
Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix AKA Pan-Pot will return to Australia this September. Regulars at some of the biggest festivals on the planet, including Awakenings, Timewarp and Creamfields, the duo have been regarded in the upper echelons of pulsing 4x4 techno since the release of their 2007 debut album PanO-Rama. They’ve released on the ilk of Einmaleins Musik, Mobilee, Mo’s Ferry Prod, Paso Music and Soma Records, and they also run their own imprint, Second State. Expect a healthy dose of new material, with their forthcoming album The Other set to drop two weeks after they visit.
Sad news: the Pacha music director and New York nightlife veteran Rob Fernandez died last week while jogging, from heartrelated causes. His family provided this statement to The New York Post: “We know he has touched countless lives and will be greatly missed. We would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers.” RIP.
Tour rumours: Hot Creations regular Miguel Campbell is set to return to Australia next month, same goes for Bromance label mates Maëlstrom and Louisahhh. Oh, and expect tours from international heavyweights Dense & Pika and Frank & Tony mighty soon. Best releases this week: good Lord, you do not want to sleep on Hunee’s Hunch Music (on Rush Hour), Album of the Year material. Other highlights include PLO Man’s Stations Of The Elevated (Acting Press), Aleks’ Low Definitions (Natural Sciences), Leonardo Martelli’s Menti Singole (Antinote) and Kerridge’s Sonic Instruments Of War (Contort).
Pan-Pot
12:07:15 :: Home Nightclub :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER
S :: JAMES AMBROSE :: KATRINA
CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR
RECOMMENDED Marrickville Bowling Club
Steven Tang
SATURDAY AUGUST 22 Borrowed Identity Bridge Hotel
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 Pan-Pot TBA
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 Lapalux Chinese Laundry
FRIDAY JULY 17 SATURDAY Antal JULY 25 Imperial Hotel SATURDAY JULY 18 Steven Tang Burdekin Hotel
Dreems The Spice Cellar
Tiefschwarz The Spice Cellar Answer Code Request Burdekin Hotel
SATURDAY AUGUST 8 The Black Madonna
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 Subsonic Music Festival – feat: KiNK, dOP, Rick Wade, Roman Flügel and more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort
Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon. 30 :: BRAG :: 621 :: 15:07:15
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KLP (DJ SET) | INDIAN SUMMER ODD MOB | GRMM | HATCH | TEAR COUNCIL | OWEN RABBIT HOUSING CORP | SOOREYAH | DJ ARTHUR
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