Raw Ink Magazine – December 2012 by Raw Ink Magazine

magazine

brisbane gold coast tweed coast Issue 16, December 2012 www.rawinkmagazine.com

In this Issue:

Ruth talks to the finalists of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Australian Stencil Art Prize. Liana covers the launch of Nico Underwearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new line. Ruth give us the loadown on the Sleeping Beauty ballet.

THE RAW INK TEAM

Roxy Coppen

Graphic designer and editor. roxy@rawinkmagazine.com www.roxycoppen.com

Ruth Dunn

Journalist. ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

Liana Turner

Journalist and photographer. liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com Cover photograph by

Ian Furber www.facebook.com/nicphotographics

nicphotographics.com.au www.flickr.com/photos/nicphotographics FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine TWITTER www.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine 2

Hello Readers, We’re very excited to have had so many applicants for our volenteer possition! We look forward to working with new people and expanding the Raw Ink base. If you know of any creative events happening in your local area, or would like to contribute to the magazine, feel free to send us an email to: roxy@rawinkmagazine.com Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter-tweets. We’ll see you next month. From,

The Raw Ink Team xx

contents Underwear ‘Bright’ Launch’ ‘Talk Single Launch Tour’ 4 ‘Nico 34 Liana Turner Liana Turner

Dreaming up a Masterpiece’ 10 ‘Ruth Dunn

Chat Corner with Stacey 14 ‘Chit Piggott’ Ruth Dunn Australian Stencil Art 18 ‘2012 Prize’ Ruth Dunn Theatre Festival’ 24 ‘Anywhere Liana Turner

7th Asia Pacific 26 ‘The Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7)’ Ruth Dunn

It can be a little tricky to find locally designed, locally made clothing of high quality – if you don’t know where to look. As it turns out, being an ethical consumer isn’t all about giant leaps of faith; once you know what’s on offer, it’s just a simple decision.

“BRIGHT” launch

LIANA TURNER 4

As far as your nether regions are concerned, you needn’t look much further than Brisbane-based label Nico Underwear. On Thursday 29th November, Nico Underwear celebrated the launch of their new collection – ‘Bright’. The launch, held in The Box gallery in Brisbane’s West End, brought together creative folk through fashion, sushi and wine to showcase an assortment of underwear and sleepwear with a nod to sunny, breezy sunny days. Nico Underwear recently became the first Australian Underwear brand to be given accreditation by Ethical Clothing Australia. In other words, every product you buy from them is made locally by Australian people under fair

work conditions. Knowing everything they produce is completely sweatshop free is just one of the many boxes this Brisbane gem has ticked. Designer Lis Harvey believes striving for a more sustainable fashion industry is something we simply must do, but you needn’t be told this; every purchase is placed in a gorgeous wash bag in an attempt to care for your product and reduce pointless plastic waste. Harvey was excited to showcase her second collection of designs for the first time. The gallery was a buzz of enthusiasm as the label’s successes were celebrated. Aside from being incredibly ethical and environmentally aware, Nico’s products are like a little fabric masterpiece. To the unacquainted, their 95% bamboo fabric is like skin-heaven. Yes, bamboo – that hard, fibrous stuff pandas are so fond of makes for a mighty fine pair of knickers. It’s a bit like wearing grandma’s hugs, minus the bony fingers. Nico Underwear aims to provide a product that’s sexy but comfortable, beautiful but also ethical. Each piece on display – suspended by sky-blue helium balloons – brought promises of Summer, holidays and joyous times. Popping pastels and simply beautiful design reigned over the evening. The products all held the signs of the passion and attention to detail which has evidently been poured into them. If you’re hoping to don some beautiful, cloudlike apparel this Summer, Nico Underwear would be a top-notch decision. To learn more about Nico Undewear and to view the ‘Bright’ collection, head to www.nicounderwear.com

Photograph by Christian Aas Queensland Balletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Sleeping Beauty Bluebird pas de deux Teri Crilly & Michael Braun 10

- up a Dreaming Masterpiece ruth dunn

The Sleeping Beauty is a classic story which has no doubt left many with fond memories of childhood story times and active imaginations. I arrived at Queensland Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty with these memories of story books and cartoons in mind, none of which measured up to the vibrancy, beauty and elegance of Francois Klaus’ meticulously choreographed ballet. In his last season as Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer with the Queensland Ballet, Francois is not going out without dazzling audiences with one last treat. For this particular production of The Sleeping Beauty he honours the style of Marius Petipa while bringing his own flair to the production to give it a more contemporary feel. ‘I’ve re-choreographed some of the dances but I did that very much using the traditional steps but making them a bit more complex and a bit more enjoyable for today’s taste’ Francois said. The elegant and at times fast and energetic choreography of the ballet was coupled with the amazing score produced by Tchaikovsky for Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra performed this score seamlessly and their presence added a powerful dimension to the ballet. After discussing the ballet with Francois earlier in the week it was obvious that when he said ‘every little detail counts’ he couldn’t be more correct. The choreography was so accurately timed that a flutter of steps or pirouette was perfectly timed with a descending flurry of notes from a flute, an abrupt pause or an accented note. Due to this accuracy, the slightest mistake in timing, which was a rare sight, was immediately obvious. ‘It’s enough for having one thing wrong to spoil everything else. A lot of things can spoil the final result, so what makes it good is a lot of different things…it’s not just one secret it’s a bunch of little secrets’ Francois said. 11

As well as the intricate detail of the choreography and music, the set design, costumes and lighting also played a large part in the power of the performance. These elements are combined effectively to portray each main character’s mood and nature. A great example of this is when the evil Carabosse enters the scenes doing her best to undermine the happiness of Sleeping Beauty’s family. Her presence is coupled with dimmed lighting and dark music with dramatic crescendos which create a sinister mood. A big secret at the heart of the success of character depiction within the story is Francois’ careful observation of the kinds of dancers the company has and how he can maximise their performance through their strengths. He says ‘It’s not just a question of technique; a lot of it is personality, stage presence, the art of actually expressing oneself through gesture. All of those things are just as important as technique for the overall result.’ Francois’ deep insights and commitment to his dancers has resulted in a series of successful and well received ballets throughout his time with the Queensland Ballet Company. The Sleeping Beauty is a lovely note for Francois to end his time with the company on and a treat for the audience. For more information or to purchase tickets for The Sleeping Beauty go to www.queenslandballet.com.au/attend/2012-season/the-sleeping-beauty

Photograph by Christian Aas Queensland Balletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Sleeping Beauty Principal Meng Ningning as Aurora

Chit Chat Corner with

STACEY PIGGOTT Ruth Dunn Stacey Piggott is a publicist with fourteen years of experience in the music industry and a passion for helping musicians find their way. She has helped build the careers of bands such as The Jezabels, The Drones, The Waifs, Ash Grunwald and Augie March. Stacey recently published Blow Your Own Trumpet – A Musician’s Guide to Publicity & Airplay, a book for self-managed artists, budding music managers and music industry students. I had a chat with Stacey about her book and the music industry. Blow Your Own Trumpet sounds like a pretty ambitious project, what made you take up the challenge of putting this book together? It wasn’t that hard to be honest because there wasn’t a whole lot of research that had to go in it. It was really just putting down my 14

own thoughts on paper and then chatting to a couple of artists to get their ideas and thoughts. I think it was more the fact that I was quite busy at work so I had to try to fit it in between my other responsibilities that made it a challenge. I did it because I’ve come into contact with so many grassroots artists who are wanting to release their first EP, and they just really don’t have any idea of what a publicist does or how to start approaching media. They feel that they can’t do it themselves and that they need to pay somebody exuberant amounts of money to get their music out there. When I was talking to these bands I just had a couple of the same story threads come through and I ended up starting a word document that I could just send through rather than typing up the same email all the time. Then that document got really big and I started talking to a couple of our clients who would tell me stories of what they did for themselves, how they started and how they wish they had of

known different things before they learnt the hard way. So I thought that if I interviewed them as well as a couple of other people I could illustrate the different pathways that artists have taken, and can take, to build a media presence without actually engaging a third party. It’s a great idea to help people understand that they can be independent and can get themselves established without having to pay a lot of money to a third party… Yeah, well I think for artists who are in that inner circle and are aware of the different organisations that they can go to for help it’s a little bit different. But there are a whole lot of artists who haven’t broken through that first layer just yet and they aren’t aware of the organisations that are there to help them so they go around in circles and end up wasting a lot of money before they come into contact with that knowledge base. So I just thought if there was some kind of document that was

there to help them go straight towards those places before they spent any money then it could help shortcut that learning experience for them and give them the knowledge to make better decisions. Do you think that this book is going to be helpful for many years to come or is the music industry continually changing the way you have to do things as an upcoming artist? I think life is evolving, every industry is continually evolving and there’s always going to be new ideas. The good thing about the music industry is that it is unregulated and that means that you can pretty much create something as you go along. So every band that comes along has the ability to create their own career without following the same pathway as anyone else. The bad thing about it is also that it is unregulated because then a lot of people can get ripped off and have to learn the hard way. I think a book like this that has a collection of ideas will hopefully help people to think outside the square and will open them up to possibilities that they thought were out of their reach. A lot of 16

artists don’t think that it’s okay to call people like you, or call a radio station or newspaper and pitch themselves, and it’s totally fine. A friend of theirs can call on their behalf, or they can call, it doesn’t have to be someone they are paying necessarily. Hopefully it will be something we can keep updating over the years to keep it relevant. It would have been very interesting hearing different experiences bands have had in this area… Yeah, they are all different. They’ve all had different experiences and they all have different opinions. The thing that they all have in common is that they all picked up the phone and started doing things for themselves without waiting for somebody else to be interested or without waiting to be able to afford someone else. I think that’s the key to get across, that whether it’s booking a show or booking a studio or doing your own publicity the point is to just pick up the phone and start calling people. All people can do is say no and then you are in the same position you were when you made the call, so you have nothing to lose.

Not taking it personally is pretty key when making calls I would imagine… Yeah, people tend to become really disheartened when someone says no. I also think that when they are sitting down to look at doing their own publicity the size of the media and number of platforms within the media becomes too overwhelming. What we encourage people to do is to think locally first, so start with your own town – that newspaper, that radio, that show, that record store – and then go into the regional areas that surround your towns, then into state areas, then to national. A lot of people tend to jump straight into international and then nothing happens for them because they haven’t built a story up and then when the international press, who are used to dealing with big time international and Australian acts, aren’t interested in them they become very disillusioned and give up. It’s important to build a layered career, not just go to the big thing straight away. For you, what was the most rewarding thing about successfully completing

The Jezabels - Chris Turner

this book? The reaction has been really good so far, a lot of people who have bought the book are emailing me saying thank you and that it was really helpful. That to me is the point because I find it really frustrating listening to people with disillusion in their voices, so if it can inspire even just one or two people to go out and do things for themselves without wasting money, then it was worthwhile doing. As well as that, self-publishing it was really a challenging learning experience for me, so to do something completely new that I’ve never done before on a personal level was really fun. Was there any particularly unique or interesting ways a band did their own publicity? There’s one kind of cute thing that Lucius from Cog used to do. The Cog boys used to print off flyers and go into newsagencies and just sneak them into surf magazines and Rolling Stone. So instead of paying for an ad they’d just sneakily slip their own flyers into the magazines that they wanted to target for

their audience whenever they were on the road. I thought that was pretty clever and pretty naughty. You touched on this earlier, but what’s some of the stand out advice and essentials that you would give to musicians starting out? The most important thing is to have good music and focus on your music, because if it’s not there it doesn’t matter what you do or who you employ it’s not going to last. Work on your music first and make sure that’s all ready to go, that you are happy with it and creatively you are feeling good about everything before you even worry about anything else. The other thing would be to research and ask a lot of questions before you work with any third parties. Know what you are paying for before you hand over any money. Want to purchase your own copy of Blow Your Own Trumpet? Go to www.twofishoutofwater.com

2012

AUSTRALIAN

STENCIL

ART

PRIZE RUTH DUNN 18

38 of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest stencil artists exhibited in the Australian Stencil Art Prize (ASAP) finalist exhibition in Sydney earlier this month. Among these finalists were five Brisbane artists making their mark on the ASAP. Recognised as a major national art prize, the ASAP provides a platform for stencil artists to showcase their art and gain national recognition. I had a chat to the Brisbane ASAP finalists about their entries, inspiration and art practice. To view all entrants and to find out more about the Australian Stencil Art Prize, head on over to www.australianstencilartprize.com

ADRIAN

SMITH What are some of the main themes you explore in your art practice? The themes I use in my artworks are based on stories and moments in history that have changed the world. Why did you choose the Dalai Lama as the subject matter for your Australian Stencil Art Prize entry? I like what the Dalai Lama stands for, and how he is so inspirational for millions of people. I quite like the quote you have used in ‘One Life’. Is this quote from the Dalai Lama a challenge you are setting for your audience? Yes it’s a challenge we all face. We should do what we love in life, take risks, don’t get stuck in a job you hate. Can you explain why the red ‘one’ is transformed into a pictorial quality? I believe it’s the main message in the quote, we ultimately live “one” life. What’s on the cards for the near future? Hopefully seeing the rest of the world and being inspired to create more artwork. 19

DRAHTFUNKART In your opinion, what is it that makes the ASAP so valuable? I think it gives a chance for all artists from both contemporary and street to be recognized under the same flag, and be exposed to the rest of the country. It gives a proper playing field in which all artists are together for the same reason and able to play on the same level. ‘Midnight Marauders #2’ explores the idea of identity through both medium and imagery. Can you explain this in more detail? I’ve noticed between the comparisons of gallery artists to street artists, identity is a key element. The public love to apply facial recognition to an artwork, especially within a contemporary world. The exact opposite is imposed within street art. Given its illegal background you cannot showcase yourself or attach your face to a particular style, as you can be prosecuted. So street artists don’t have that privilege. The anonymous visual, can almost make the viewer one of the masked bandits. It can be anyone. I remember you mentioning that your passion for art was, in a way, born out of skating. Can you talk a little about this in terms of ‘Midnight Marauders #2’? I’ve noticed that Graffiti held the same nature and mechanics to that of Skateboarding. The intensity, the liberation, therapeutic feel and satisfaction of graffiti was almost exactly the feeling I got with painting. So why not bring the 2 worlds together? This marriage in one visual element automatically connects with some folk. What was the process behind your artwork? The process was the same as always, to approach a skate deck and see what I can do with it. I came across a lot of reference photos to concealed protestors and uprisings in the middle east and Greece. Even as far back as the minor uprising in England some time back and noticed they all concealed their faces to escape conviction as much as possible. What’s on the cards in the near future? So much has happened in the last year, that it would be hard to predict. I know within 2 years I will have graduated from University but I can’t say what else may pop up or possibly attain within that interim. I’ve recently been invited to the International Stencil Art Prize down in Sydney around April/May, which I would have never predicted. On thing is for sure, is that I don’t like being within my comfort zone and to settle down in a place, either mentally or physically, for too long. I think alongside recognition and meeting other artists and producing work, is travel. Travel seems to be the next big calling card.

How did it feel to be the youngest finalist in the prize? In all honesty I had no idea that I classified as the youngest finalist! I guess I feel quite honoured to exhibit next to some of Australia’s most accomplished street artists so early in my career. It is a massive achievement and I can only hope that I continue to learn and build onwards from this experience. What motivates you as an artist? Quite a lot of my artwork is based on events that have taken place throughout my life and the emotions that coincide with them. It can be a little unnerving at times because you are showing off a part of yourself to the world that not many people know about, and you have absolutely no control over how they will react. Can you give our readers a little insight into ‘Adieu’? Haha, well Adieu is a tribute to the worst behaved dog in the world. At 9 years of age my little pal Jessie died in our arms after catching a toad in the backyard. As homage to the old girl and her cheeky personality I set about on creating my most detailed mulit-layer stencil to date. A great tribute to a dog who has now terrorised the local wildlife for the last time. Why did you choose this particular artwork for the Australian Art Prize? Well it was actually a last minute decision to create and enter Adieu. Originally I was designing a Portrait that incorporated both half tone and multi-layer techniques. Then after the toad incident, I kind of just felt compelled to create Adieu as a tribute to this little dog who I shared so many memories with. What’s on the cards for the near future? Recently I was presented with the opportunity to hold my first solo exhibition next year at a place called Forty Five 51 on the Sunshine Coast. This means that I am pretty much in lock down for the next month, churning out a dozen artworks for the show. Fingers crossed I’ll be finished by the opening night next month on the 2nd of January!

JAMIE

ROCHESTER

MR. LANKY Can you talk me through ‘Busy Akiba’ ? To answer your first question I probably should give you a bit of my back-ground. I spent the first 10 years or so of my life in Japan growing up in the country about 2 hours from Tokyo out in Chiba prefecture. So Japan is like a second home for me, I speak Japanese, and because of that I like to get over there as much as I can and may actually go and live and work there in the future. Anyway, I try and get a trip in to Japan fairly regularly and on one of those trips a couple of years ago I took a lot of photographs as reference visuals for future artworks and inspiration. I always find the centre of Tokyo interesting. It’s busy, it has energy, and visually it is unlike most places I know of. Akihabara is famous for being the Electric Town of Tokyo. There are electric appliance and parts shops everywhere, on main streets and down side-alleys. In going through my reference photos one in particular that I had taken in Akihabara stood out and it became the inspiration for the stencil I entered in this competition. I wanted to create something with powerful line work and to be able to use colour to get across some of the dynamic of Akihabara. The piece was cut over a period of a few days. The detail is something that takes time and this piece was no exception. The colours I used needed to convey some of the energy of Akihabara and to help create some depth and texture. My aim was to create a piece to show the busyness, the concrete jungleness, of Akihabara. Who/what inspires you as an artist? Well I come from a creative family. Both my parents are designer/ artists as are my siblings, and from what I’m told, and from what I remember I have been creative since I could hold a pencil. Art and creativity were my main interests at school... I think most of my exercise books at school were full of my doodles and sketches. Our house was always full of pictures, photographs and books on art, photography and design... so the family and the family environment have always been inspirational over the years. Currently I am inspired by a lot of the great street art that is being created all over the world and I get involved with it wherever and whenever I can. On my current trip to Japan I met up with some Canadian artists and worked on a collaborative piece together. Some artists that inspire me are Andy Warhol, Dolk and Ralf Kempken. But really I find inspiration in almost anything... the world around me, the work of other artists, it’s all important. 22

How has your art practice been refined over the years? I have probably been a stencil artist for 9 years or so. If you do anything for a number of years you are going to develop a style, focus on a technique, and get better at what you do. I think that is the case with me for sure. I can sit and cut stencils for hours and for me the time just flies by. So really I have refined my abilities by having done it for a long time. I have worked through a lot of issues like what does work and what doesn’t. What advice would you give to someone planning to enter the Australian Stencil Art Prize in the future? If someone is interested in entering any competition I would encourage them to go for it. My family was behind me all the way and even helped in selecting a few pieces they thought would be good to enter, that helped me get out of being so subjective about my own work. I was then able to decide which piece I was most happy with and wanted to enter. So if artists can get the support of those around them it helps a lot. For me it was not a matter of preparing a piece just for the competition but to have been creating pieces on an on-going basis. To create just for a competition I think would be a mistake. Your focus has to be on your work and being true to your own creative vision and then from the work you are producing something will emerge as being suitable to submit when the opportunity(ies) arise. What’s next on the agenda for you? I think after getting back from Japan I will be developing my brush work skills and creating and cutting a whole lot of new stencils from my tour in Japan this Spring (Australian Spring that is). I have done so much, seen so much and experienced so much in the 2 months I’ve been away that it is going to be enough inspiration to keep me going for months to come. Not only has it been great inspiration-wise, but I have such a large collection of photographic reference material that’s going to take me a bit of time to sort through and get organised for future reference.

How did you first become interested in art? I really enjoyed art class during high school. I think what I liked most about it was the freedom to create whatever I wanted, with essentially no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to go about it. When I finished high school I made the tough decision to go on and study science, but continued to pursue art as a hobby. Back then my artistic endeavours were limited to graphite pencil drawings, with my perfectionist nature and patience giving rise to almost photorealistic results. I was completely self-taught and would experiment to come up with my own techniques, spending hours on end sketching out the most minute details. I found it to be relaxing and therapeutic, and also really rewarding when I would see the picture slowly coming together. It didn’t matter how many drawings I did, I’d always be amazed at the end with what could be created from just a pencil and paper. How has this interest developed over time? A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to branch out into using paint because pencil was becoming restrictive and boring to me, but I didn’t know where or how to start, and a paint brush seemed completely foreign and daunting. Then I met a friend who is an amazing stencil artist, and knowing my patient and perfectionist nature (and my adoration of street art), she encouraged me to have a go at it myself. She showed me how to create multi-layer greyscale stencils in Photoshop, and gave me tips on cutting them out and spray painting them. I did a few greyscale stencils first, each one more detailed and complex than the previous, and then I eventually progressed on to doing colour stencils, which I am still learning and experimenting with now. I think what I loved most about stencilling was that the only limit to what I could create was my own imagination, patience and attention to detail. I also enjoyed seeing each picture come together, layer by layer, and it was an added bonus that I could create multiple copies of my artworks from the same stencils. Can you give our readers some insight into ‘Zebra’ and ‘Animalism’? I created ‘Zebra’ for a couple of reasons - firstly, I wanted to show that to create a somewhat life-like image of what is typically regarded to be a black and white animal, you still need shades of grey (4 to be exact), i.e. nothing in life is black and white. I chose that particular photo of a zebra because I thought it was slightly humorous, and just something different to the stock standard photos/paintings of zebras I’ve seen hanging on walls. ‘Animalism’ was created with the intention of visually and literally blurring the line between humans and animals, which in itself is a bit of an oxymoron because humans are of course a part of the animal kingdom. The title is derived from the name of a theory that personal identity is a biological property of all animals and not just specific to humans, which kind of fits with the image. The merging of a deer head with a human body to create a peculiar (yet still plausible) entity was inspired by an expression I’d heard before - ‘animals are people, too’ - and suggests in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner that animals could be more intelligent and sophisticated than we realise. But overall, as with most of my artwork, I really just aimed to create a slightly humorous piece that would still evoke some thoughts/emotions. Are the themes in ‘Zebra’ and ‘Animalism’ recurrent themes for you as an artist? I would say somewhat, yes. I have created other fun/humorous animal-based stencils before, but they don’t make up the majority of my portfolio. I’m a strong believer in art being fun and not taken too seriously, so I do aim to create things that I’d like to see hanging on my wall and hope that others like them too. I am an animal lover so I do enjoy portraying them in stencil form, and I like the challenges that come with creating a realistic look with regards to paint colour choices and detail, especially when it comes to fur.

What’s next on the agenda for you? It’s been a few months since I finished my last stencil so I’m really keen to get started on another - it’s almost an addiction! I’m currently looking for suitable source photos and will probably start my next stencil in the next few weeks, with the intention of entering it in next year’s Australian Stencil Art Prize.

REBECCA

McMASTER 23

anywherethe

Anywhere Theatre Festival Limited is once again bringing the beauty of theatre to the streets, backyards and random corners of Brisbane in 2013. They’re Brisbane-based and not for profit, meaning local performers and producers have the opportunity to showcase their talents in an environment that’s all about the passionate, engaging and exciting nature of theatre. Anywhere Theatre Festiva0 2013 is set to be as thrilling as ever, with over fifty productions showcased in 250 performances over ten days. “Story telling began as something we did around camp fires and over time it has been ghettoed inside traditional theatre venues and the structures that go with them,” says Anywhere Theatre Festival’s Paul Osuch. “Anywhere Theatre Festival Limited’s mission is to brazenly strip away the elitism of ‘going to the theatre’ to reconnect audiences and communities with theatre, with storytelling and with performance… anywhere.” To register as a performer or producer or to see how you can help out in any way, head to www.anywherefest.com 24

lianaturner

eatrefestival

The

7th Asia Pacific Triennialof Contemporary Art (APT7) 27

In case you haven’t heard, the APT is in town! This exhibition is a major contemporary art event proudly presented by the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. The APT is the only one of its kind to focus exclusively on art from Asia, the Pacific and Australia. The Raw Ink team took a day trip to the APT7 to give you a little taste of it in this months issue…and let’s be honest; we just wanted to check it out!

‘talk’ single

Before bunkering down to record the follow-up to their awardwinning debut album, I Know This Now, Perth’s Timothy Nelson And The Infidels hit the road for a national tour in December, eager to break in a new lineup, some new material, and a new single.

critical praise for their efforts. And while excitedly preparing to head back into the studio, Timothy Nelson And The Infidels are raring to road-test the depth of their new material on their first large-scale tour in the new lineup.

Simply titled ‘Talk’, the first single from his sophomore album finds Timothy Nelson in a delightfully strange new universe, with manic mood swings and tempo changes creating an almost Beatles-esque musical adventure, while the dexterous singer turns the altogether unlikely phrase ‘son of a bitch’ into an unforgettable hook.

‘Talk’, with its balance of playfulness and melancholy, is a romping way to kick things off and a perfect denouement to a year that commenced with a national tour in support of ‘I Know This Now’. As 2012 kicked off pre-production was already underway for Timothy’s upcoming sophomore album, which isn’t surprising given the prolific way the artist has worked since forming a band in 2007Right off the bat, Timothy picked up WAM’s Song Of The Year award for ‘Overcast Day’, repeating the success two short years later with 2009’s ‘Sleeping Alone’, and again in 2011 with ‘Speak The Truth In Love’.

Backed by the lush harmonies and crushingly tight musicianship of The Infidels, the multi-dimensional ‘Talk’ is an exciting glimpse of the album to come, and a new feather in the cap of a young songwriter who has won a staggering four WAM Song Of The Year awards since emerging in 2007. Recorded and mixed by up-and-coming producer Adam Round, ‘Talk’ captures the subtleties of Nelson’s inspired songwriting, without losing any of the live energy and character of the six-piece band behind him; consummate performers who receive considerable 34

Along the way Nelson and his band have supported artists such as Birds Of Tokyo, Hoodoo Gurus, Eskimo Joe, Katie Noonan, Lior, The Audreys, Clare Bowditch, Jeff Martin (The Tea Party) and Whitley, releasing their widely anticipated debut album I Know This Now in 2011. Its singles ‘Nothing’s In Tune’ and ‘You Don’t Know What You’re Waiting For’ received a significant national airplay, including

launch tour

Triple J, with media across the country singing the album’s praises before Nelson was honoured with an Outstanding Achievement In Songwriting Award in The Great American Song Contest - the only non-American winner in the category. It’s safe to say critics and pundits alike will be eagerly awaiting Timothy Nelson And The Infidels second LP: let ‘Talk’ be the teaser and confirmation for a shining 2013. Praise for I Know This Now “Timothy Nelson & The Infidels may just be one of Western Australia’s best kept secrets.” - soundsofoz.com “Strong song-writing is something that is well and truly pushing up daisies but it’s ‘hot meal on a cold day’efforts like this that fill me with a little hope. Expect more from this man.” - spaceshipnews.com

‘talk’ single launch tour THURSDAY 6 DECEMBER - REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART, TAS w/ New Saxons - Free Entry FRIDAY 7 DECEMBER - RED RATTLER, SYDNEY, NSW w/ The Faults, Frank Sultana & The Sinister Kids, We Are The Brave, Tired Lion (WA) - $10 Entry SUNDAY 9 DECEMBER - THE RETREAT, MELBOURNE, VIC w/ Tristen Bird & The High County Owls - Free Entry WEDNESDAY 12 DECEMBER - THE GRACE EMILY, ADELAIDE, SA w/ Dylan Badenoch - Free Entry SATURDAY 15 DECEMBER - AMPLIFIER BAR, PERTH, WA w/ Ruby Boots, Tired Lion and Bishi Bashi - $15 Entry FRIDAY 21 DECEMBER - SETTLERS TAVER, MARGARET RIVER, WA w/ Jacob Diamond - Free Entry 35

HIDE ‘N ‘SEEK PROJECT Hide ‘n’ Seek Project is a one year writing project that will include articles about Brisbane street and graffiti art, as well as interviews with some of Brisbane’s best street and graffiti artists. New material will be published each month exploring the Brisbane street scene and the artists that work within it. If you’ve spied some street/graffiti art in Brisbane and want to publish some photos or let me know where it’s at email me! ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

Hide’n’Seek will be returning

next year!