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Performs a greatest hits set followed by The Blue Album from start to ďŹ nish
Saturday 19 January Sydney Entertainment Centre ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100
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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly and Andrew Yorke
he said she said WITH
BEN FROM TOURISM
I
was involved in music from a young age. I was playing guitar and singing country music early on, before seeing the error of my ways and moving to better music and better instruments (drums). My dad played drums in a surf rock band in the ‘50s and ‘60s, so I guess it was in my genes. My personal favourites are Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Silverchair. Adrian and I are fairly similar but the other boys (Joe and James) are right into their British stuff like The Libertines, Blur and The Stranglers. It challenges us to find new middle ground when we’re writing. The Brisbane music scene becomes very intertwined, and you tend to spend a lot of time with a lot of different bands. We’ve been producing our debut EP with Sean Cook from the band formerly existing as Yves Klein Blue. He’s been a great guy to work with and, while he’s very selective, he has very good taste in music. No matter who you talk to, there will always be differences in opinion. That’s what helps you grow. We think of ourselves as somewhat of an Australian Arctic Monkeys. We’ve got a lot of
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Darlinghurst locals worthy of the 2010 postcode will inform you that on any given day Tim Rogers can be sighted swaggering around the Darlinghurst Road/Victoria Street precinct looking like he just stepped off one of his many album covers, channelling the quintessential casual rockstar aesthetic in a flannie, tattered jeans, cowboy boots and shaggy hair. Particularly observant Darlo residents/stalkers who have noticed an extra spring in the You Am I frontman and solo artist’s step of late will be pleased to hear that: 1) Rogers has just been signed by FOUR I FOUR, a new label operating under ABC Music; 2) His new album, Rogers Sings Rogerstein (haha) is out August 24; and 3) Rogers is touring Australia on account of 2) from August through October. Supported by alt-country babe Catherine Britt, Rogers will play The Factory Theatre on Friday August 31.
SNOW PATROL
Remember how annoyed everyone was when Snow Patrol namedropped Sufjan Stevens in ‘Hands Open’, as if they breached some barrier guarded by fey indie kids who still totally believe Sufjan will get around to those other states? Snow Patrol also floated the theory that all the world’s issues can be suitably ignored by just lying there (‘Chasing Cars’), a practice we’ve been spruiking for years. They are playing an intimate acoustic show on October 1 at The State Theatre in support of their most recent record, Fallen Empires. Tickets on sale Thursday July 19, presale from noon on Monday July 16. Or you could just lay there...
What’s the statute of limitations? If The Postal Service haven’t done anything with that lovely, glitchy, hi-fi pop sound for close to ten years, then it is totally up for grabs – and we are more than happy to let Adam Young aka Owl City run with it for a bit. He does it well: he scored a #1 with ‘Fireflies’ (four million copies; did you do those numbers, Gibbard?), and is playing The Metro Theatre on November 20. Last time he was out he played the Roundhouse, and was lovable and foppish by all reports. Tickets are on sale now.
ANGUS STONE TOUR
There’s a whole portion of Angus Stone’s body that we are seeing for the first time since he embarked on promotion for his solo record
The Laurels
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EMMYLOU HARRIS
The last time the longstanding queen of country covers (sorry, ‘interpretations’) Emmylou Harris was on our shores was when she headlined the 2011 Sydney Festival. Standing on the stage of the State Theatre during her solo sideshow, the silver-haired chanteuse – and, let’s be frank, mega-GILF – gave every audience member a heavy dose of the warm fuzzies as she sung about heartache and told a super-cute story about popping around to next-doorneighbour Lucinda Williams’ place to borrow cooking implements. LOL, you grand country dames on your ranches with your everyday chummy domestic behaviour! Doubtless more warm fuzzies will be in store for audiences as Harris returns to Sydney with her Red Dirt Boys, playing The State Theatre again on Thursday November 15.
Broken Brights. No, Angus hasn’t gone all bare-torso for the shots; it’s just that his entire right hand side usually has a Julia draped all over it, and he seems all alone and confused, like when you try to work out what you usually do with your arms when you aren’t using them. Come help him feel less lonely at his November 1 show at Enmore Theatre (tickets on sale August 7). It’s a while off yet, but you can catch him at Splendour In The Grass too, held July 27-29 at Belongil Fields, Byron Bay.
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Emmylou Harris
KING CANNONS
You know how in movies, record label execs are cigar-toting, speed-dialing, sweaty manchildren always searching for the new hit sound for the kids? Well, King Cannons have found it, and it involved harnessing the energy of six straight Living End shows (possibly while playing each of their albums? Bonus plug!) and then making all the choruses sound like ‘Ruby Soho’ by Rancid. It works brilliantly on record, but even better live. So buy their record The Broken Light, and then catch them on September 7 at The Annandale, with All The Young (UK), The Hello Morning (VIC), The Transistors (NZ) and The Strums warming up the stage beforehand (blankets and heaters, I imagine).
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What: ‘City Never Sleeps’ is out now through Major Label Where: Mum @ The World Bar When: Friday August 3
OWL CITY IN OUR CITY
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The music scene at the moment is confused. There’s a lot of not-so-good stuff making it out there for the wrong reasons, while a lot of talented bands gets missed. In Australia, touring is a big killer for young bands. It’s tough to build your fanbase nationally without spending a fortune in travel – but the plus side is the bonds that you form with interstate bands. That’s the best thing about the scene at the moment: a lot of really nice people in great bands.
Xxxx
TIM ROGERS
British influence through Joe and James, but it’s all packaged in an Australian style. We’ve had our music compared to Kooks, Klaxons, Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and more – we’ll take them all, but we do like to think we’re doing our own thing. Live, we put a lot of energy into our shows. We want to leave people wondering, ‘What the hell just happened?’, in a good way of course. There’s a lot of grooving and dancing and fun – it’s just a good party!
THE LAURELS TOUR
The Laurels are a Sydney institution, with hundreds of whoozy, shoegazey gigs under their collective belt, and thousands of industrial deafness civil suits in their collective futurebriefcase. Which makes it odd that they are only just getting around to releasing their debut album – but then again, what’s the hurry? While their EP and 7-inch were drenched in their signature feedback/glide-guitar sound, the album Plains sees them strip back the white noise to let the songs themselves shine through. Don’t expect this sonic shift to translate live though; it’s still as visceral an experience as ever, which you’ll find out at their album launch on September 1 at The Annandale Hotel (supported by Witch Hats and East River). Before then, you can catch them at 2ser’s Live At The Loft on Thursday July 19 (email liveattheloft@2ser.com to try and get on the guestlist, or tune in from 5pm), and supporting Band Of Skulls on Friday July 27 at The Factory Theatre – oh, and you can read our interview with the best-looking band in Sydney on page 14, too.
BFL FTW
Benjamin Francis Leftwich. If you just yelled “Who was the 9th President of USA?”, firstly I’m not sure how you got the idea that you were on the Jeopardy set, and secondly, it’s actually the name of a talented British singer-songwriter who recently toured with our Jezabels in the USA, and hit the cool one million mark on YouTube for his song ‘Pictures’ – which really should have soundtracked one of Marissa Cooper’s lapses into alcoholism. You can catch him at The Vanguard this Wednesday July 18. Hurry now, it’s almost sold out, and you will wish you went.
MON 1 OCT STATE THEATRE
ON SALE THIS THURSDAY NEW ALBUM FALLEN EMPIRES OUT NOW! BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 7
rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly and Andrew Yorke
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THE RUBENS
five things WITH
SIMON FROM APPLESPIEL album covers everything from ballsto-the-wall rock to soft-as-a-baby’sarse ballads. We self-produced the album and really wanted to capture the fact that we’re eight individuals as well as a tight family. We try to make music that has passionate sex with you, cuddles you in the morning, and then takes you rock climbing. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. We’re pretty famous so we’re
Growing Up When I was five I was in a 1. program where they’d play us
Inspirations Troy (our sometimes bass 2. player) is always talking about
music and we would create little Zen gardens out of leaves and straws. Now I just want to make music so that other people can make their own Zen gardens. But the main thing I got from my childhood musically was that a house without a piano is an empty house.
Korn and Slipknot, but I think my biggest inspiration is Coldplay. Mainly the first four bars of ‘Yellow’. Not that we sound anything like Coldplay – we don’t even have that much piano. Band We’re an eight-piece, so it’s 3.Your
a pretty varied bunch. We’re a bit like the Wu-Tang Clan in that not everyone plays in every song, but we’re all part of the community. We all met at university and started hanging out organically so there’s a lot of shared history. The Music You Make We’ve all been in a variety of 4. bands from punk to folk, so there’s a lot of different styles in there. The
happy about that. I guess it’s tough for other bands who aren’t as famous. But maybe they should just get famous. I’ve been going nuts lately for this small-time producer Gizzard Fist though. He’s kind of like Girl Talk, except if Girl Talk was John Lennon. I think the main thing is that people should all go to more gigs. If everyone who wore a band T-shirt went to one gig a week, there wouldn’t be problems for anyone. What: Applespiel Make A Band And Take On The Recording Industry When: July 25-28 at 8pm, with a 2pm matinee on July 28 Where: Performance Space – Bay 19, Carriageworks More: For the full program, visit performancespace.com.au
OBITS AND BOBS
When I think of Obits I think of old ladies reading the obituaries section, which makes me think about aging and death, which makes me think of the episode of Mr. Bean when he was caught on the stairs between two old, slow ladies – and everything is back to good. Obits, the Brooklyn band fronted by Rick Froberg from Hot Snakes and signed to Sub Pop, are heading to Sydney for the first time, and they’ve picked August 23 at The Annandale to play their first ever Sydney show. They are Replacements-sloppy, but sound a bit like Devo, too. Get your ticket now.
Weezer
When it comes to bands that comprise a trio of easy-on-the-eye brothers, Sydney boys The Rubens sure do beat the pants off The Bee Gees. Originally hailing from rural Menangle, the three brothers Margin – Sam, Elliott and Zaac – are joined by good friend Scott Baldwin to produce music more saturated in blues than a Yves Klein exhibition. The four-piece are playing two shows at Oxford Art Factory – Wednesday July 18 and Thursday July 19 – to celebrate the release of new single ‘Don’t Ever Want To Be Found’ and its corresponding Super 8 video. The shows are pretty much sold out, but we’ve got a double pass to Thursday’s gig. Just send us the names of two other bands with three brothers in them...
BLACK CHERRY
The punk, rock, rockabilly and retro feastfor-the-senses that is Black Cherry is happening again at The Factory Theatre on Saturday July 21. Featuring bands including Melbourne belle Abbie Cardwell And Her Leading Men, edgy rockers The Art, Celtic punkers The Ramshackle Army, a Twist And Shout ‘60s Dance Party hosted on a huge wooden dancefloor with DJs Jane Gazzo, Jack Shit and Sinead Ni Mhorda, there will also be burlesque acts aplenty, absinth cocktails, live rock’n’roll karaoke and bucketloads of prizes. In short? Don’t miss this party. To win one of two double passes, simply name three iconic rockabilly bands… The Art
Australian tour bus like rail-car riders, swinging into The Hi-Fi on Friday August 17. Get tickets now!
THE (OTHER) XX
Xiu Xiu, that Brooklyn avant-garde punkpop-everything act whose name we refuse to attempt to pronounce, are returning to the country this October to blast your brain with confusion and melody. It happens on October 17 at GoodGod Small Club, and tickets are on sale now. Supports will be announced soon.
RAPIDS
When Belles Will Ring’s Liam Judson’s name is attached to the production credits of a release, you can pretty much take it as a seal of quality. Moreso when he converts a house/barn/stable/igloo into a studio and “bunkers down”, an action that can only take place in a homemade studio. This is how the Verlaine-esque Rapids recorded their debut EP Holland Air, which they will launch on Thursday August 2 at GoodGod Small Club, with support supplied by the good people of The Mountains and Phebe Starr (who is great!).
VERY GOOD, CHARLOTTE
Good Charlotte, the Maryland five-piece synonymous with skateboarding, pairing oversized basketball singlets with bandanas, Ladyhawke
! WEEZER !
Weezer are coming to Australia! For the first time in sixteen years (i.e. way before most of us got into them or came of legal age) they are visiting our country! There is even a website called ‘Weezer Hates Australia’ – that’s how much we’ve noticed them not being here. They are performing a career-spanning greatest hits set, plus their debut album (that blue one) in full. It’s pretty much the best non-Hanson-related tour news that we’ve had all year. They play The Entertainment Centre on January 19, with tickets on sale Thursday July 26. Oh January, why are you so far away from me?
LADYHAWKE THIS WEDNESDAY
Ladyhawke (Pip, her mum calls her) should have known that by naming her second album Anxiety she was opening the floodgates for journalists to ask her questions about her mental state as if that’s a perfectly okay thing to cram between, ‘How was the recording process’ and, ‘Gee, it’s been a long time.’ Ladyhawke doesn’t care though, because art is art, and we will be treated to the first peep from her in quite a while when she launches her guitar-driven (yup!) second record this Wednesday July 18 at The Metro Theatre. There are a few tickets still available, so go snap them up!
throwing hands up in the air, catchy groupchant choruses and pop-punk, have just announced that they’ll be bringing their tattooed, mohawked, eye-lined presence to Australia in September. Formed 16 years ago (believe it or not) by Madden brothers Benji and Joel and their assorted friends, 2002’s The Young And The Hopeless launched the band to fame and infamy with memorable songs like ‘The Anthem’, ‘Girls & Boys’ and ‘Hold On’. You can re-live these hits and newer ones – ‘Last Night’, ‘Sex On The Radio’, ‘Like It’s Her Birthday’ et al – when the boys play The Big Top, Luna Park on Friday September 21.
ASTRAL WAVES
Astral People are only doing good things at the moment (unlike Eddie Vedder’s current
policy). For instance: they’re putting on a party for the release of Rainbow Chan and Outerwaves’ split 7-inch (out now through Silo Arts) at FBi Social next Thursday July 19. Albatross and Astral DJs will be supporting on the night, and so will BRAG. Not in a ‘performance’ way, more just by being there and clapping and – oh ok, we’ll do ‘SemiCharmed Life’ if you really want…
THE FALLS
Whenever a band contains members that were lovers and then split up, all the while penning songs during the ups and down, it results in a beautifully angry, fractured, honest record. ‘The Rumours Effect’, I believe scientists refer to it as. This is the tale of The Falls’ debut EP Home, which you can hear live when they hop onto the back of UK troubadour Passenger’s
rad dudes
CALL THE COPS
All the best duos are two-pieces. Stands to reason, really. Bleeding Knees Club and DZ Deathrays are two such duos: scrappy, punkish, hooky, dripping with ‘tude, and playing together as part of the Call The Cops tour in Sydney this Friday July 20 at The Factory Theatre, alongside Yacht Club DJs. They’re bringing along the awesome Fabergettes in support, and tickets are on sale now.
“Finish them off one by one, for all, for all to see” - CAMERAS 8 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
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The Music Network
themusicnetwork.com
Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR * The next Empire Of The Sun record is being recorded in America, where members live in different cities. * Muse won’t be back in Australia until 2014, they told triple j magazine. Meantime, Canada’s Japandroids told triple j they’re “working very hard” to get here in early 2013. * Speaking of triple j, ABC-TV’s Media Watch gave the station a rap on the knuckles. MW played a clip of j’s Zan Rowe, Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson hyping up Kimbra, Foster The People and A-Trak’s collaboration on a track as part of a campaign by Converse Shoes. The broadcasters didn’t mention Converse by name but yapped about “a love for shoes”, and announced a link to the Converse site where listeners could see the product-laden video and buy the footwear. Triple j management has since taken the link down. “Totes amazeballs!” MW snorted. * At the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy in Paris, Bruce Springsteen did his routine of pulling a girl out of the crowd during ‘Dancing In The Dark’. This time, it was his 20-year-old daughter Jessica. The song’s video made a star out of Courtney Cox, but Jessica has no showbiz ambitions. She studies at Duke University and is an accomplished equestrian, who is on reserve to compete with the USA equestrian team at the Olympics.
SONY, WONDERLICK, ANNOUNCE LABEL DEAL Sony Music Entertainment Australia and Gregg Donovan and Stu MacQueen of Sydney-based management company Wonderlick (Grinspoon, Josh Pyke, Airbourne etc) have entered a joint venture record label deal. They’ll work together to sign new acts, with Donovan saying, “We intend to be a progressive and artist-friendly label.” The first two signings are troubadour Jackson McLaren and pop duo Max & Bianca, who Wonderlick manage. Denis Handlin AM, Chairman and CEO of Sony Australia and NZ said, “Gregg and Stu are among the most successful managers in the market today and we look forward to working with them to bring exciting new acts to the Australian market and beyond to continue to build Australia’s music heritage.” MacQueen added, “Gregg and I have been working towards creating the business model that we feel is right for the challenges of today’s music industry. We already have the management and publishing arms (Wonderlick last month went into a publishing joint venture with EMI), and this exciting new label venture with Sony completes the picture for us.”
MEG WILLIAMS AT AAM Meg Williams is new executive director of the Association of Artist Managers (AAM), after Nicole Brant-Zawadzki resigned. AAM provides support, workshops, networking opportunities and exclusive events for artist managers, and is about to introduce an online mentoring program. Williams, a manager herself (Melodie Nelson, megastick fanfare, Shady Lane), worked at MusicNSW as Indent project manager and Sound Summit coordinator. She is contactable at meg@aam.org.au
BLINK-182 FOR FEBRUARY Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has leaked that they’re here in February – all but confirming they’ll be playing Soundwave. He was tweeting a fan to explain he might not be touring Australia, as he is scared to fly after the 2008 plane crash in South Carolina that killed two friends, and left him with burns all over his body.
PARKWAY DVD GOES GOLD Parkway Drive’s new DVD Home Is For The Heartless went Gold after it moved
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* Kylie Minogue sports fake tattoos in her next movie, a lesbian werewolf flick Jack And Diane, in which she plays a tattoo parlour owner. * During its annual conference over the weekend, the Labour Party of NSW was scheduled to discuss how to revive Sydney’s live music scene. * Nine Network’s attempt to continue its The Voice success by screening the American version has been a disaster — the first night drew a miserable 669,000, which dropped to 635,000 the second night. * Nicky Minaj got booed after every song at a Scottish music festival: she was 50 minutes late, and then reportedly mimed. Earlier she’d whinged that the grass outside her dressing trailer was too long, and for someone to get it cut pronto. * Tim Nelson, from new Brisbane band Cub Scouts, deferred from dental school to go on tour. * Japan is the second country, after New Zealand, to approve Universal’s buy-out of EMI. Unlike in the US and Europe, where the issue is being hotly debated, the two labels are not as powerful as Sony in Japan, and the indies are strong. * Katy Perry has been banned from wearing her spinning bra onstage by her UK tour insurers. * Spike Lee is making a documentary on Michael Jackson as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Bad album.
7500 copies on first day of sale. Their first DVD, Parkway Drive (2009), went Platinum and won the Rolling Stone Award for Best Music DVD. Their 75-minute Home Is For The Heartless is as much about the power of music to break language and cultural barriers as it is about their 42-country world tour. The success of the DVD is also good exposure for Brisbane’s Arrows, who’re signed to Hobbledehoy Records; two minutes of ‘Whores Will Have Their Trinkets’ from their 2008 Modern Art & Politics features in the opening sequence.
US PRODUCER NICK DIDIA MOVING TO AUSTRALIA Nick DiDia, who’s helmed CDs by Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine and Stone Temple Pilots, is moving to Australia. He’ll work at Studio 301 in Sydney and Byron Bay. DiDia has produced many Australian acts, including Powderfinger, The Living End, Trial Kennedy and Katie Noonan.
GENERAL PANTS CO.’S MAJOR LABEL SIGN TOURISM General Pants Co.’s singles-only Major Label has signed Brisbane jangly indie-pop band Tourism, to release new single ‘City Never Sleeps’. Go togeneralpants.com.au/ The-Bubble.html and click on the Major Label tab to stream ‘City Never Sleeps’ for free – and also to submit your track for consideration for Major Label’s September signing.
TIM ROGERS SIGNS TO FOUR | FOUR New ABC Music imprint FOUR | FOUR, set up this year as a home for left-of-centre acts, signed You Am I's Tim Rogers. His solo record Rogers Sings Rogerstein is out on August 24, to be followed by a national tour with Catherine Britt, whose fifth studio album Always Never Enough is out on August 10 through ABC.
PANAMA AT FUTURE CLASSIC Future Classic has signed Sydney band Panama. The act is lead by Jarrah McCleary who grew up in the Northern Territory, started learning classical piano at six, and was previously playing with The Dirty Secrets. Panama’s debut single ‘Magic’ was produced by Eric Broucek of
DFA fame (who has worked with !!! and Holy Ghost!), with vinyl-released remixes by Permanent Vacation regulars Midnight Magic and DFA’s Gavin Russom.
US LABEL, MANAGER FOR THE ART Sydney glammers The Art landed an overseas record deal with Rocket Science/ Sony, who will release their Here Comes The War album in the US and Europe next month. New single ‘Dirty Girl’ is getting play across the US, Canada and Japan, and they’ve also picked up a new US manager, Vicky Hamilton, who was behind the early success of Guns N’Roses, Poison and Faster Pussycat.
‘LIVE SOLUTION’ INITIATIVE HITS SYDNEY VENUES A national initiative called ‘Live Solution’ is making its way through Sydney venues. A government-funded concept developed by Mushroom Marketing, it tackles the culture of binge drinking among people aged 16-24, with input from musicians. “It’s not about preaching,” says Carl Gardiner, GM of Mushroom Marketing. “It just reminds us that going out to see live acts and having a drink with your mates is a memorable experience. But you don’t enjoy it if you get trashed – and neither will the people around you.” Head to facebook.com/livesolution to see what Pez, Bliss N Eso, Stonefield, Mantra, Illy and others think about ‘Live Solution’, and to find out how to stage a live music event, with free advice from music biz experts. You could win a gig in your hood, too!
STATE GOVERNMENT NIXES BYRON PLANS The Byron Shire Council’s proposal to restrict the number of music and cultural events has been rejected by the NSW Government’s Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Its Director General Sam Haddad told the Council not to proceed: “I have formed the opinion that the proposal is not in the public interest,” he wrote. “I believe matters of concern to the Council can adequately be assessed through the normal development application process.” A gleeful Peter Noble, who runs Bluesfest and was the major opponent to the proposal, says that the Byron policy was first initiated ten years ago to stop illegal raves on beaches and forests. These no longer happen, but some councilors used it to restrict events with over 5,000 people to two a year. “This was always illegal,” Noble said. Noble is now demanding that Council reveal how much all of this has cost ratepayers – and suggested that in future Council consult with the large local arts community when issues affect them.
MUSIC CONTINUES AT THE SANDRINGHAM… FOR NOW The Sandringham’s receivers Ferrier Hodgson say live music will continue while they suss out the venue’s finances. In a letter to creditors, it asked whoever got an order before July 9 or supplied stock which is subject to a registered PMSI claim to contact Emily Meller at emily.meller@ fh.com.au. Owner Tony Townsend took over the hotel seven years ago, turfed out half the pokies and became a major supporter of live music, staging gigs upstairs and downstairs. But crowds were small, his $48,000-a-month repayments to the bank got harder to service, and the debt rose to $3.6 million. He tried to sell it for $3.35 million. Presumably the local music community will rally around the pub, as it did with Melbourne’s The Tote and Adelaide’s Jade Monkey – but local musician/triple j presenter Brendan Maclean has spoken out against the venue in a piece called ‘Why I Won’t Miss The Sando’, published on Faster Louder, in which he argues that despite the great legacy of supporting music that will be left by the Sandringham, the venue was never a welcoming place for up-and-coming musicians to play.
Lifelines Expecting: Lily Allen, just months after giving birth to daughter Ethel Mary. Born: Daughter Scarlet, to Emma Wiking of Remedy PR, and record producer Matt D’Arcy of Basin Studios. Injured: Nine people at a Swedish House Mafia show in Dublin, four stabbed by a person, the others in a brawl. Recovering: Crunchy Black, ex-member of the rap group Three 6 Mafia, after being shot in the face and the leg in Las Vegas in a murder attempt. In Court: WA traffic cop Sen. Const. Shane Clark was fined $1250 and lost his licence for six months after he and two colleagues exceeded the speed limit by 48km/h when they gave Cold Chisel a police escort to their gig in Margaret River last November. Clark said he feared the 12,000 strong crowd, which had been drinking heavily, would have created problems if the band arrived late. The magistrate said there was no real emergency. In Court: A judge demanded to see proof of the community work Chris Brown has done as part of six months’ manual labour from his assault charges. A prosecutor complained there was a discrepancy on how much and where he’d done this work – including roadside cleanup and graffiti removal. Arrested: New York punk band Cro-Mags’ original bassist Harley Flanagan, for allegedly attacking three newer members before a New York gig, miffed that they had no right to play the songs he helped write. (He left the band in 2002). He allegedly stabbed his replacement, and bit the other two. Suing: Meat Loaf took action against a Meat Loaf impersonator who registered the name MeatLoaf.org, and promoted his shows through it. Died: Dennis Flemion of influential ‘90s band The Frogs, drowned during a boating trip. Died: Melbourne drag singer Pussy Willow aka Shahgopal Whybrow, 38, heart failure.
FAHEY BRINGS MORE LIVE MUSIC TO THE CROSS Larrikin Records founder and former head of Festival Records Warren Fahey remembers when Kings Cross was the place to go to hear blues, jazz and folk. So he’s programming jazz, Latin, blues, flamenco and world music at Concrete Blonde (33 Bayswater Road, next door to Hugos; bookings phone number 9380 8307) with names like Jeff Duff, Janet Seidel, Grace Knight and Tim Draxl on Wednesdays and Sundays. More nights are being planned – and there'll probably be a classical night in the mix, Fahey says. He is contactable at wfahey@bigpond.net.au
JUST ANNOUNCED
E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU THEHIFI.C
Thu 27 Sep
Illy
Apocalyptica
Sat 18 Aug w/ Psycroptic
Fri 10 Aug
Sat 4 Aug
Sat 25 Aug
(FIN)
Fri 31 Aug
Hanson (USA)
Wheatus (USA)
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A Matter Of Time By Andrew Geeves
and talked about how we wanted to present the overall feeling of loss, but Tyler took it to this whole other place. He deserves the credit because he thought up this whole storyline. He came over and showed me the final product in my living room and I was like, ‘OH MY GOD DUDE THAT IS INCREDIBLE’.” With its visuals uncannily matching the affective intensity of its sound, the video for ‘Montana’ poignantly, beautifully and powerfully depicts the tangible way in which – to paraphrase the psychoanalyst Hans Loewald – ancestral ghosts from the past can continue to haunt the present. “I was surprised and speechless. He just captured it, y’know?” ‘Montana’ sounds like a hot contender for Powers’ favourite track on The Year Of Hibernation, so I’m surprised when he tells me that the honour of that title is instead held by ‘The Hunt’. “I remember different moments,” Powers details, somewhat cryptically. “I have this portable keyboard that I take to different places around town to work on my songs. When I was working on ‘The Hunt’ I was going to university. There was this room that was meant for music majors but I wasn’t a music major, so I would just sneak in. I would skip classes just so I could keep working on ‘The Hunt’ because I was so excited about it. I think that’s why I love the song so much; because I remember what classes I skipped, and it captures that moment.” Considering the force of feeling with which tracks like ‘Montana’ and ‘The Hunt’ are imbued, I ask Powers whether he is able to distance himself from experiencing such strong emotions when he performs. “Every time I play the songs live I have to experience them again, or it just comes off as fake,” he answers. Doesn’t that make performance exhausting? “Sometimes it can be draining, but at the same time it’s beautiful. As soon as the music starts you’re in a different place. I see it as time travelling. You’re reliving things; you’re experiencing the future. Some of the songs even take me to places that I’ve [only] imagined.”
T
revor Powers is an over-laugher. Some might attribute it to nerves, but in the hands of the 22-year-old, better known by the stage moniker Youth Lagoon, overlaughing becomes a semi-consciously employed device to put his fellow interlocutor at ease. Finding myself in this position (and similarly prone to the gratuitous guffaw), I’m grateful that Powers – the lo-fi musician whose atmospheric debut LP The Year Of Hibernation was released last year to high acclaim – is chortling so heartily. His over-laughing feeds mine, and the enthusiasm of our conversation rapidly builds until it reminds me of a pair of children playing make believe, or two old friends giddily exchanging photos of their grandkids. It seems fitting that talking to Powers brings to mind a scenario at each end of the lifespan, given how keenly aware the Idaho native is of life’s seasons. “Youth has such an impact on the rest of your life. It is a real fork in the road that sets the stage for everything,” he says of the inspiration behind his stage name. “I started obsessing over how crucial the
teenage years are. I thought of all these kids and teenagers swimming in the water hole of a small town, some with friends on a tire swing. I liked that imagery.”
on focusing on the present; it is by far the most important. The past is last.” A self-conscious pause follows before Powers adds, “Does that make sense?”
The importance of adolescence notwithstanding, Powers doesn’t view the past through rose-tinted glasses. “It’s not about idealising the past,” he clarifies. “I think to grow as a person, you need to examine your past and then deal with the future. If I had to rank them in order of what I want to dwell on, it would be: the present, the future, and then the past. Sometimes I get too caught up in the future and I waste the present. It’s one of my biggest struggles. Lately, I’ve been working
It makes perfect sense, actually – especially when you watch the video Powers recently released for ‘Montana’, one of the most viscerally emotional tracks on The Year Of Hibernation. “If I was to generalise, ‘Montana’ is about loss,” Powers says. “My really good friend Tyler Williams shot the video. His interpretation of the song was so important to me because his brain is wired much more towards cinematography than mine. We met
“For most people anxiety is about pretty normal things, but for me it’s about unreal things that don’t make sense. It’s like a nightmare.”
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Wait, what? What happened to that nightmarish anxiety? “It’s funny, because when I’m in my element I still struggle with anxiety, but I know more how to deal with it,” Powers explains. “Anxiety morphs into different forms rather than ever truly going away. I still battle with it daily, but I’ve been learning more about myself; what kinds of things help, what kinds of things destroy me.” Further opportunities for self-exploration in the near future seem likely, with Powers purposefully scheduling fewer performances for the remainder of the year so he can devote his time to writing new material. But before then, he’s heading Down Under for Splendour In The Grass and a couple of sideshows – his second trip to our shores this year, following sold-out shows in February. So what is it about Australia that keeps bringing Powers back? “The people are so kind,” he enthuses. “Not that there’s not kind people elsewhere, but Australia has a totally different vibe than the rest of the world. There’s something about Australia that really hits home. I love it.” What: The Year Of Hibernation is out now With: Sures, Bearhug, Thruppence Where: The Factory Theatre When: Saturday July 28 (all-ages) More: Also playing at Splendour In The Grass alongside Jack White, Bloc Party, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Shins, At The DriveIn, Hilltop Hoods, Gossip, Miike Snow, Azealia Banks, Lana Del Rey, Kimbra and loads more, from July 27-29 at Belongil Fields, Byron Bay.
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Talk of time travel and exploration of imaginative realms sounds appealing enough, yet Powers suffers from severe anxiety, about which he’s been endearingly open in past interviews. “I think everyone has anxiety,” he says. “For most people it’s about pretty normal things, but for me it’s about unreal things that don’t make sense. It’s like a nightmare. You wake up and you feel like it just happened, but it didn’t.” Surprisingly though, anxiety doesn’t feature in Powers’ response when I ask how his life has changed since the release of his much-hyped debut album. “I think that the biggest thing that surprised me was just how busy I would be,” he mutters. “Sometimes you know in life how busy you’re going to be with certain things, but you don’t really realise it until you start doing it. With me it was like a wake up call. As soon as touring and the whole cycle for this record started I was just like BAM! – so busy. But it was SO good. It’s like the exact way that I’m wired as a human being; everything that I love – playing music, playing shows, hotel rooms – everything. It’s my element.”
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Father John Misty Creating A Monster By Simone Ubaldi
“It was do or die time. I decided to die. I decided to kill everything. That included relationships, the band, my own music; killing this musical persona I’d spent my entire 20s cultivating.”
F
ather John Misty is the stage name of J Tillman, who resigned his post as a Fleet Foxes bandmember last January. He was the drummer, and a hired gun at that, so his departure caused barely a ripple in the duck pond of global music appreciation – but anyone who’s seen Fleet Foxes live would know that J Tillman was destined for bigger things. Even from behind the kit, he vied for the role of leading man. His acidic sense of humour and honeyed harmonies were show-stealing, and it was inevitable that one day he would stand up, ditch the sticks, and take his place in the spotlight.
When he emerged from the chrysalis earlier this year, Tillman embraced the professional cynic, stand-up comedian and arch pop balladeer within. He began writing songs
If all of this sounds a far cry from the docile, dulcet aesthetic of Fleet Foxes, it is no accident; Tillman has openly expressed disdain for his former life with that band. But he rejected more than the misty-eyed ‘70s folk they played when he left – he rejected the whole life he had built up while serving as their drummer. “For a few years I was flirting with stability and a sense that I must spend the rest of my days maintaining the quality of life that I have now… I was set on a certain trajectory that I have been suspicious of for most of my life, and I was just staring into the gaping maw of its inevitable hold on my life.” Tillman hints at the breakdown of a relationship and a desire to create his own music, but he also just wanted to be able to live like an ape-man, smoke weed every day, and not be beholden to anyone. “It’s all in that
category: a relationship, a job, being in a situation that could have, that would have, been the rest of my life. It was do or die time. I decided to die. I decided to kill everything. That included relationships, the band, my own music, my own relationship to my music; killing this musical persona I’d spent my entire 20s cultivating.” Tillman describes it as an existential breakdown, one that saw him cruising around aimlessly for a while, until a friend suggested he move to Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills, a long way from the homespun indie hipness of Seattle. “LA was exciting and strange to me. There was a little bit, admittedly, of ‘What are people going to think?’ – maniacally laughing to myself about what a fucked up choice it was. But that’s the kind of stuff that excites me,” he smiles. “In a lot of ways when I got here I was just on my own planet, and I wasn’t doing much other than writing songs all day and then going out by myself at night, and drinking and staring into the middle distance and laughing at the absurdity of this new place I was in.” Los Angeles became deeply enmeshed in Tillman’s general bid for freedom, and became a kind of alter ego in his songwriting. Fear Fun is littered with a colourful array of freaks and wannabes that seem to personify the city’s distinct and surreal character. “I guess more than any other US city, [Hollywood] has a global profile or character. It evokes certain abstractions for people,” he says. “But I’m not writing about the place directly. I’m really only writing about myself – and I just happen to be here.” Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday July 27 More: Also playing at Splendour In The Grass, held July 27-29 at Belongil Fields, Byron Bay.
Xxxx photo by Xxx
Father John Misty is J Tillman writ large, although it’s not his first pitch at a solo career. Tillman released seven solo albums between 2005 and 2010, but none of them sounded like (or garnered the same attention as) his Father John Misty debut, Fear Fun, which was released in May through Sub Pop/Inertia. His
previous albums were the product of a mewling singer-songwriter of po-faced sincerity; sad and introspective, they gave no hint of the vast and ridiculous personality lurking just beneath the surface. “It’s not by accident that the music I played all through my 20s was the complete opposite of [this],” Tillman tells me. “I more or less denied that part of myself. I wasn’t going to let that part of me be seen because it’s grotesque and it’s weird and it’s just too much. I had pretty much been told ever since I was a kid to dial it back, to suppress, to resist the urge; that that aspect of me needed to be contained. I’ve always been a little too much, talking a little too much, being a little too loud, being a little too out there, but that’s where my personal truth is.”
that were cynical and dark but also highly absurd, exorcising his demons in an album of complex beauty and aching satire which seems, in a bizarrely contrary fashion, to have required almost no effort at all. He started performing live, delighting audiences with his wit, his weirdness and his awkwardly-twitching hips. He shaved off his Fleet Foxes-certified mountain man beard and cut his hair. He donned an idiotic pair of aviator glasses and became what he was always meant to be: a snarky, self-satisfied rock star. “I’m an adult and I know where and when it’s appropriate and whatever, but being loud, being sarcastic, being a bit weird – that’s the shit that I’m good at,” Tillman says. “It’s not just showboating. For me, that was a very hard realisation; I had to run this risk of letting the monster back out. This music, all of this, is the revenge of the eight-year-old me, the natural me – the me that wasn’t distorted by authority and religion and guilt and vanity.”
The Laurels
Sway You Down Gently By Hugh Robertson
I
t’s all too easy to assume that a musician dude in his early 20s will be monosyllabic and unexpressive, grunting his way through life. Doubly so for a musician dude in his early 20s who’s in a shoegaze band. But The Laurels’ co-frontman, Piers Cornelius, is one of the most thoughtful, eloquent musicians I have ever interviewed. Maybe it’s just that he’s more willing to actually talk about his band’s creative process than other, older, more guarded artists – but whatever the reason, out of our conversation emerges an image of a Sydney band determined to be around for a long time, not just a good time. It has taken The Laurels six years to release their debut album, but not for want of trying. They originally planned 2011’s Mesozoic EP to be a full-length, but it took too long to record – and by the time they were done, it was dated. “We originally recorded 12 songs because we wanted it to be an album,” says Cornelius. “But after we recorded those 12 we realised that, because the recording took so long, we hated half the tracks – they were so old, and we didn’t want to sound like that. So we completely scrapped those, and just used the other six as the EP.” But now, finally, a Laurels’ LP has hit the shelves, recorded with producer Liam Judson (who also manned the console for Cloud Control’s Bliss Release and Belles Will Ring’s Crystal Theatre) in just seven days.
14 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
Cornelius and I spend quite a bit of our interview talking about change, about the natural evolution of a band’s sound, and discovering that sound at your own pace. He’s adamant that even if major labels had been throwing money at them, The Laurels would have remained independent. “Control is always more valuable than money, and even when money lets you have control, it’s usually not for long,” Cornelius says. “So although we didn’t plan on it taking six years, I think we always wanted to have everything down pat first; to be able to do our own live thing, and to know what sound we were going for on record. I can think of nothing worse than putting out something I really hate.” It’s important to note the distinction Cornelius makes between the “live thing” and the records. Nearly every review of their EP mentions just how astonishing The Laurels live shows are; towering walls of sound that completely overwhelm your entire psyche. They’ve become the local poster band for psychedelic/shoegaze rock, and have toured in support of some of the international stars of that sound – The Black Angels, Low, Swervedriver, Wooden Shjips and Tame Impala to name just a few. But as Cornelius explains, the ‘shoegaziness’ of the live shows is more a product of limitations than an explicit choice. “Because there’s only two [guitarists] and most of our songs are really layered with guitar parts, instead of trying to replicate all those it’s usually just easier to play really loud with lots of feedback, and try to blow everyone’s head off.” Listen to their new single, ‘Changing The Timeline’, and you’ll notice a marked shift in their sound. They still exist in a bit of a psychedelic haze, but there’s less ambient guitar noise, with a real urgency and drive to the guitars. It’s
all much clearer, which Cornelius reveals is precisely what they were going for. “We wanted to record these songs like all the records that we enjoy listening to. Not a record that you’re going to struggle to listen to, where you can’t make out the vocals or what one guitar is doing because there’s some guitar in your other speaker channel giving you tinnitus,” he says. “We kinda wanted to do a record where not too many guitars sound the same, and lots of them are clean and have gentle tones that you can listen to any day of the week, rather than the one day where you just feel like listening to The Jesus & Mary Chain or something that rips your head off. We wanted a more gentle and smooth record … the sort of album where there’s a lot of space left between everything, and everything is given room to move and breathe. And because of that more things in the song stand out, and the song itself stands out, rather than just the sound.
“But I’ve certainly been inspired by, for instance, Joy Division. If you listen to live Joy Division bootlegs they sound like The Stooges or something, and they’re really distorted. But if you listen to the records, because of their producer experimenting in the studio, it all sounds kind of alien and clean,” Cornelius says. “And I suppose we’ve always wanted to have a dualism, between the live band and the recorded band, that makes up the whole.” What: Plains is out through Rice Is Nice With: Witch Hats, East River Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Saturday September 1 More: Also playing with Band Of Skulls at The Factory Theatre on Friday July 27.
The Laurels photo by Lyndal Irons
“We wanted a more gentle and smooth record ... the sort of album where there’s a lot of space between everything, and there’s room to move and breathe.”
The recording of Plains was blitzed through partly because, as an independent band, The Laurels can’t afford to muck around in the studio – but more than that, after the neverending story of the Mesozoic sessions, “we just wanted to knock this one on its head, and get it out of the way.”
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 15
Cameras Lights, Camera, Ambience! By Lee Hutchison
A
mbient Sydney rock quartet Cameras, consisting of Eleanor Dunlop (vox), Fraser Harvey (vox/guitar/bass), Ben Mason (drums) and Mike Morgan (guitar), have been a noted name on the Aussie scene for a relatively short time – especially when you consider the successes they’ve already accrued. Opening for art rock legends Roxy Music, supporting Cage The Elephant, and appearing at the Big Day Out, Southbound and Playground Weekender among other festivals, the band has made mighty progress since their inception in 2008. Adding to this long list of achievements, their single ‘Defeatist’ was used in the American thriller I Melt With You. The down-to-earth Fraser Harvey explains to me how these types of deals are done. “It’s a pretty quick turnaround,” he says. “Obviously you don’t see anything, they just tell you roughly about the film. It was cool seeing the music used in that way, ‘cause in some songs we have quite a cinematic feel... which probably comes from the fact that we all really love film scores.” In fact, it wasn’t the first brush the band has had with the thespian world. Both Fraser and Eleanor recently scored NIDA’s stage production, Motel, as well as performing it live with the cast. “We did a short run here in Sydney and then about ten days at the Adelaide Fringe. It was a completely different style of performing music, because you’re performing an entirely different duty.”
With their wall-of-sound style, it’s not surprising that Cameras’ music is well suited to these kinds of ventures. “That would be our dream: to score a film. We’ve all grown up listening to soundtracks and loving them, and it’s a really cool thing to accompany something else – making something in response to a picture or a bit of footage. It’s nice to be able to add to that.” But until the opportunity arises for a film score, Cameras are gaining quite the reputation for their own three-minute masterpieces: film clips. Their current June In July tour is in support of their latest video for single ‘June’. As on ‘Defeatist’, Jens Hertzum fills the directorial boots on this new clip, bringing his own unique vision to the table. “It’s completely his concept,” Fraser says. “If someone has an idea and it’s good and we like it and we like what they do, it’s best for us not to be that involved… He came up with the video for ‘June’ just listening to the song, and he likes that wavy guitar sound – or ‘delay’, as it’s known. I’m really good with technical things...” Fraser chuckles. “But he was like, ‘It’d be cool to do a video where sound is being used as a weapon against the band.’ And it obviously affects us in the nose and the mouth and the head,” he jokes, referring to the carnage that’s inflicted on the band in the clip. The video is flawlessly shot and awash with lush beauty, but with an underlying darkness.
When I express how much I like it, Fraser is quick to chime in: “YEAH!! I think it’s cool!” He pauses. “That was an enthusiastic ‘yeah’ by me. Sorry – a bit awkward.” My ear slowly recovers, and he continues: “As soon as he said ‘blood dripping from face’ I was like, ‘Yep, do it!’ That’s all I absorbed…”
What: In Your Room is out on Speak N Spell With: Lowlakes, Melodie Nelson Where: FBi Social, Kings Cross Hotel When: Saturday July 21 More: The Roundhouse, UNSW on July 18
The Brand New Heavies Will Funk You Up By Andrew ‘Hazard’ Hickey
B
Fait Accompli Mission Accomplished By Benjamin Cooper
T
here really is no rest for the wicked. Not that Mr Ray, frontman of Sydney soul punks Fait Accompli, is particularly bothered. “We’re packing the van and heading off on the road again. Tonight – Wollongong. Tomorrow – who knows?” he intones gleefully down the line. “We’ve always made an effort to tour as extensively as possible, heading to regional cities and towns where we can.” The opportunity to play outside of the usual state capitals is relished by the whole band. “The vibe is so different for regional shows. Sometimes it’s harder to get shows in major cities, and you can only play there so often, so we really enjoy heading out whenever we can. Because the population is obviously a lot lower in smaller areas, people tend to gather together for a show. Batemans Bay is a great example – often the whole town shows up, and they really get into it. It’s great to see people having a dance and not worrying about looking cool.” Punters have every reason to dance to the tunes of the band’s latest EP, Spies. The record was produced by Dylan Adams at his Mr Milk Studios in Annandale, and eschews some of the more contemplative sounds of their earlier work, offering a whole lot of filthy rock grunt. Fait Accompli are aided by new drummer Ms Skarlett (ex-Chaingang), whose presence frees Ray and bassist Mr Brett to create all kinds of musical mayhem. “We do feel like the band has kind of come full circle,” Ray says. “Our current lineup is pretty loud, but we’re comfortable with that. My left ear is still ringing – but I can’t be sure if that’s from practicing so hard or watching the State of Origin…”
The current tour sees Fait Accompli covering new ground, with their inaugural arrival in Perth hotly anticipated by the band and their fans. And being able to make the long leg from East to West Coast is a sure sign of an act on the rise. “We’ve always wanted to play in Western Australia, so it’s absolutely a dream come true. We’ve also been really lucky to be booked to play some awesome venues while we’re there – it just feels right to be finally heading over. We’d really like to bring a whole lot of our friends’ bands too, just so they can meet all the awesome people in Perth,” Ray says. “The bottom line for us, though, is that we’re getting some great responses to the record – which means hopefully we’ll be able to get above ground a bit more. We love playing to more and more people. As long as people are dancing and enjoying themselves, we’re happy too.”
And with each passing year, despite physical changes and the pressures of the industry, the guys and gal are on their A-game. “Some things get harder – we all know that our perception of hangovers changes – but generally, we’re ready to rock. Music keeps you young,” he says. “When you get up and play a show you get energy that can, even if you were going to fall asleep, keep you going for days.” The 21st anniversary has given The Brand New Heavies a brand new focus, as they get back to business and reconnect with their fans – or their “funky family”, as the group calls them. First getting together in London in the late ‘80s, the band started to make international noise with the release of their self-titled second album in 1991.
What: Spies EP is out on July 20 With: Chicks Who Love Guns, Udays Tiger (VIC), Bang! Bang! Rock n’ Roll and more Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Friday July 20
“For a minute I was wondering if you’d come” - CAMERAS 16 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
“We were doing stuff in the UK and Europe, and then a guy at Delicious Vinyl Records heard our record and he wanted to sign us up,” Bartholomew explains. “We had a different singer on it and it wasn’t doing massively well – the major labels [in the UK] weren’t really doing anything with it. This American label had N’Dea on the books, she joined the band and re-sang the songs. Then we had a #3 [single] on the RnB chart – that’s what really kicked us off and woke up the UK, and the rest of the world, really.” What followed were Top 20 tracks like ‘Never Stop’, ‘Dream On Dreamer’ and ‘Sometimes’, and a global recognition that gave the thenyoung band their first real taste of overseas touring. “It was an amazing time. We got to go to America, play with George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock. When you’re 23, 24, it’s really quite mind-blowing to be able to go out to the States.” Like many before them, NYC proved to be a great inspiration. “Travelling to New York ... is like something you see on TV. We went to New York before Giuliani took over and cleaned it up. It was a crazy place then,” Bartholomew says. “You’d go down back alleys full of transvestite prostitutes and all this stuff and you’d walk about... It was good fun.” Side-stepping the issue of whether Bartholomew partook in any such services, we take the conversation to the scene itself. “Once this acid jazz thing got started – and there were other bands of course – it came from quite small clubs, and you watched it grow to a global phenomenon,” he says. “And now every place you go there’s a funk club.” And as their audience continues to grow and they prepare to hit Australia, The Brand New Heavies – N’Dea included – will be hitting the studio to work on their long-awaited next album. Watch this space... Where: The Metro Theatre When: Saturday September 8
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Ray believes that the slight shifts in their sound are simply due to the lessons learned through years of recording and self-producing. “We really tried to take our time with this one – we’re
generally pretty fast operators, so the five days it took us were packed with a lot of work. We have a strong vision of our sound, which means we can keep the mix going while we’re recording. We spend the time mixing then and there, so by the time we’ve finished recording all we have to do is get it loud enough and make sure it’s balanced.” Of course the real test is what those nearest and dearest to the band think of it all. “The EP has been played at many different volumes at many different house parties, and people seem to be loving it,” he says. “A lot of people have said they’re really enjoying driving to it, which is great because it means the songs can fit anywhere!”
eing funky isn’t something that goes away with age – just ask acid jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies. Celebrating over two decades as a band, the beloved London outfit will be hitting our shores for some massive 21st anniversary shows, and the energetic guitarist Simon Bartholomew is in good spirits as we chat in the midst of his rehearsals. He lets out a Homer Simpson-esque “woo hoo!” when confirming that revered singer N’Dea Davenport will be on hand for the celebrations. “When we all get together it’s the kind of band that’s serious about the music, but also we have a really good time. We get a little carried away. You need to watch out for your energy levels, making sure you have some left.”
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BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 17
Pluto Jonze A Loner Situation By Harry Wynter
“I’m always trying to do something I’ve never done before, both in songwriting and production. It makes it a bitch to put it all together, because it has to sound like it’s from the same artist...” His process is humble, too. Composing in his bedroom, he describes his work as “laptop-pop”, improvising on a keyboard and programming loops. “My dad has a background in production, so he’s always had a studio metres from my bedroom and I kind of just picked it up,” Lachlan explains. “It’s almost like learning another instrument, learning to process sounds in another way to get textures that I like.” But his father played more than just a supporting role in Lachlan’s musical development. “My dad saw the value in music even if I wasn’t doing exams, so he got this guy who basically taught me Beatles songs, cool tunes – and if there was a song that I liked he’d teach me the chords. So I guess that saved my career as a keyboardist. It’s still my favourite instrument, the most versatile.”
I
I was ready for the interview, but in an uncommon lack of professionalism, I spent the night before it out of my mind on all manner of substances, waking at 6pm for
the 4pm meet-up, desperately showering and texting and finding my pants – before my girlfriend gently suggested that it was in fact still 6am, I’d only been asleep for 25 minutes, and I’d better come back to bed. While they seem irrelevant, these details are important – because the jittery mess that arrived at Lachlan’s nominated Redfern drinking hole ten hours later (which was full of outrageous beards, the colour teak, and a palpable selfawareness) was immediately calmed by the friendly wool-and-plaid man in front of me. Lachlan is the kind of over-educated charmer that you want to introduce to your mother: he is simultaneously humble, talented, and quietly confident. He didn’t mention my frantic early-morning text messages. You like him immediately.
“I’ve made a lot of different stuff for theatre, for films – I’ve got a whole treasure chest of songs and demos,” he continues. “The EP was just a matter of choosing songs that were of the same stylistic ilk, to give an introduction, an impression. We’ve got ideas for a double album... it’s just that it’s so schizophrenic. I’m always trying to do something I’ve never done before, both in songwriting and production. It makes it a bitch to put it all together, because it has to sound like it’s from same artist.”
Despite working alone to compose, Pluto Jonze is a fully-realised live act, employing Jono Linden on guitar and Joel Farland on drums to power through the cutesy bleep-bloop of the EP and reveal the testicles of the thing. It’s this incarnation you’ll be enjoying when he lands at GoodGod this Saturday to launch his latest single, the “psychedelic space calypso nursery rhyme” of ‘See What The Sun Sees’. “During the live show I sort of jump around on a lot of different instruments and vocals, but [the drums and guitar] are the engine room, they’re the guts of it,” he says. “A big hit with the live show is the TVs that we have sprawled around the stage – we play visuals that are hooked into the music on these big retro 1970s televisions. I think the way I write is quite dramatic and I try to take audiences to another world, rather than just rocking out. I want it to be a bit of a mind trip.” What: ‘See What The Sun Sees’ is out now through StopStart/EMI With: Tim Fitz, Tokyo Denmark Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Saturday July 21
Emma Louise Sparks Fly By Kayla Clibborn
F
irst-time success can be nothing short of addictive – and once you find a niche and tap into something unexpected and rewarding, it can be easy to get caught in the trap of sticking with what works. For Cairnsborn songstress Emma Louise, resting on the quick yet warranted success of her first single ‘Jungle’ simply wasn’t enough; the challenge was on to prove that she’s no one-hit wonder.
“I didn’t even expect [‘Jungle’] to get on the radio at all. I was very lucky and I’m very grateful,” admits the humble, softly-spoken songwriter. “It was a bit of a – I don’t want to say the word ‘fluke’, but it definitely put the pressure on. A lot of people were asking what the next ‘Jungle’ would be, and there were people talking over my other songs at my shows. It kind of scared me a bit. I had a choice to write more songs like ‘Jungle’ and get on the radio, but then I wouldn’t have been fulfilled. So I chose to stick with what I was feeling.” Enter her latest single, ‘Boy’; with synth lines reminiscent of none other than Radiohead, it’s chilled-out with a hint of whimsy, and just enough sweetness. The single follows a busy 2012 for Emma Louise, who has just finished sets for Liverpool Sound City and the Great Escape Festival in the UK, as well as a showcase at SxSW coupled with her recent signing to the tastemaking American record label Frenchkiss. Noting the journey as her first proper trip overseas, she admits she wasn’t quite prepared for the onslaught of the festival masses. “It was my first real time overseas,
“A lot of people were asking what the next ‘Jungle’ would be, and there were people talking over my other songs at shows. It kind of scared me a bit.” 18 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
my first real time away,” she says. “The shows went well, but I guess we weren’t used to the festival atmosphere. There were just so many people shoulder to shoulder. It kind of freaked me out!” In the midst of penning her debut album (set for release in early 2013), Emma Louise says that the current tracks feel new and fresh, but she doesn’t quite know how to describe them beyond that. She’s heading to New York in September to “write and experience new things”, but for ‘Boy’, the artist chose to explore the life and feelings of another, rather than herself. “The song is about a boy who wasn’t living up to his full potential,” she explains. “Everyone knows one or two of those people, I think. You want to say to them, ‘You’ve got everything – you should go out there and be awesome!’ Most or all of my songs come from personal experiences and feelings that I’m having, or situations that I’m in. ‘Boy’ is about someone else’s situation.” While her first album is still in the making, the 21-year-old already sports a pretty impressive resume. She’s toured Australia with the likes of Josh Pyke and Boy And Bear, scored the #23 spot in the triple j Hottest 100, and enjoyed Gold sales for her debut EP Full Hearts And Empty Rooms. Topping the AIR Independent Music Charts for 26 weeks, she has also just embarked on ‘Sparks’, her own headline tour of Australia, with two sold-out shows in Melbourne. Oh, and she was just nominated for the Courier Mail People’s Choice Award in the Queensland Music Awards – no biggie. Yet despite rubbing shoulders with some of the best, Emma Louise admits she still gets starstruck. “Boy And Bear was my first ever tour, so everything was really new. Josh Pyke was so amazing to support because all throughout high school I was his biggest fan!” she laughs. “I got to sing a song with him on stage and my best friend came along and watched from side of stage. It was so surreal looking at her while I was singing with Josh Pyke – we used to listen to him all the time.” As for landing a contract with Frenchkiss Records, Emma Louise admits she felt quite the opposite, describing her
experience with them as more like catching up with friends. “I don’t really think it’s sunk in. When we met Frenchkiss they were such great people that I really got along with, so it didn’t really click [how huge a deal it was],” she admits. “They’re awesome people to work with relationship-wise, and it all happened really organically.” As her headline tour kicks off, finishing with a spot at this year’s massive Splendour In The Grass in Byron Bay, we can expect to hear
tracks from her EP, as well as a sneak peek of the new album. And if serious triple j airtime is anything to go by, she’ll have the crowds cheering for more than just ‘Jungle’ this time... With: Argentina, Dads Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday July 20 More: Also playing Splendour In The Grass from July 27-29 at Belongil Fields, Byron Bay.
Xxxx photo by Xxx
t has been a while since I last ventured into music journalism, so I was excited to discover that Pluto Jonze, or Lachlan Nicholson, or Latch, was an old friend from around the inner-Sydney traps (I have a badly recorded, embarrassingly over-played version of ‘Stars To Your Feet’ that dates back to 2007). Trippy and headstrong, his music has always been addictive. With soaring orchestral reprises and sweetly surreal lyrics, he has stocked a wellfiltered arsenal of clever pop that sits next to my imaginary combination of The Verve and Brian Eno.
After years of experimentation and selfinstruction, last year he released the Pluto Jonze EP, and landed triple j airplay for his first two singles ‘Meet Me Under Neon’ and the catchy ‘Plastic Bag In A Hurricane’ (I suggest you do a YouTube on the latter). “Ever since I started making music, it’s always been a bit of a loner situation,” Lachlan says. “I guess I’ve built up a lot of experience out of necessity, having to do it by myself.
I can’t help but think of Gotye with the whole lonely-bedroom-artist-cum-pop-juggernaut thing, and I dare to make the comparison aloud – which Lachlan fully indulges. “It’s going to seem like jumping on the bandwagon now, but I’ve really been a Gotye fan for a long time. I remember when I was developing my live show I looked to him, and saw how he could carry a show. Back when he started it was just him and a drum kit moving around to a lot of sample pads, and that was definitely an inspiration. I thought, ‘I need a drummer’, because you need live drums, you need someone bashing the crap out of them.”
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arts frontline
free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com
arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...
five minutes WITH EMMA
BEECH
C
How did you fall in with the Cab Sav crew? I’d heard from far and wide that the Cab Sav crew are my type of performing people, so I can’t wait to be a part of it. I love Last Tuesday Society and the Post women.
lub Cab Sav launches this week – the funnier, more attractive little sister of the Cab Sav alt-cabaret series. There’s absolutely nothing bad about this event: it’s taking place at GoodGod, and it features Nick Coyle, post, Kenzie Larsen, Zoe Coombs Marr, Annaliese Constable, Smart Casual, comedian Shane Matheson, and Adelaide theatremaker Emma Beech – all on a mission to make you laugh. Below, we meet Emma, who is from Adelaide and is part of a rad project called The Bureau of Worthiness. What’s your background/training in performance? I trained at Flinders Drama Centre in Adelaide officially, but much of my learning happened in Denmark when I went over and worked for two years after receiving the Neil Curnow Award – mostly with a company called Carte Blanche. They turned my ideas of performance upside down and around. Working with comedian Stephen Sheehan has been great, and Sarah John, a Sydney and European director, is a constant work-out in all walks of work. When did the art start? The art started at 3 when I ran away from my mum and got on stage at my older sister’s end of year concert and did a number in a pink dress. It continued at home making dance-theatre shows for my mum in her bedroom, with my dad scoring and directing, and mum (very busy – I’m the last of 9, big impact there) coming in to watch with an apron in her hand.
JAY & SILENT BOB GOT OLD, MAN
What are you doing for the July 18 show? A delicious little bit from a new show I’m working on, Homage to Uncertainty, which is on at Madame Fling Flong during the fringe.
What is the Bureau Of Worthiness? How does it work? The Bureau is made up of a performer (me), a director (Tessa Long), and visual artist James Dodd. We have conversations with people in public places asking them what makes their day worth it? That’s the question we ask and the rest flows from there. We never film. We either audio record or just listen, and then we make a live show in response to the answers we got. It’s been going for 18 months, it started with me wanting to walk into every shop on Port Road – a crazy industrial street – and ask people how they were doing because it seems like such a lonely place to spend your days. But then I thought, What would I know? I mean really? Ask! So we are.
And – what else are you currently working on, projects-wise? Well, that. I’m in Geelong right now with the Bureau of Worthiness and Courthouse Arts, and then I’m about to hit some sun with a tour of a work called ME AND MY SHADOW in QLD. Finally: what or who are you currently crushing on, creatively speaking!? Bron Batten, Post, isthisyours? and Back to Back Theatre. What: Club Cab Sav – Opening Extravaganza Where: GoodGod Small Club (55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD) When: Wednesday July 18 from 8.30pm More: Thereafter Club Cab Sav will be happening the second-last (aka third) Wednesday of the month
It’s been almost twenty years since we first met Jay and Silent Bob in the cult hit Clerks (now who’s feeling old!) and unsurprisingly, they haven’t aged well. But they’re still hilarious, and not afraid to show their age in their cult hit live show Jay & Silent Bob Get Old. The creation of ‘hetero life partners’ Jason ‘Jay’ Mewes and Kevin ‘Silent Bob’ Smith, the shows feature the pair doing what they do best – riffing on everything from sex and drugs to agriculture. The magic has been captured for posterity on the DVD Jay and Silent Bob Get Old: Tea Bagging in the UK – and we have five copies to give away. To score yourself this future classic, tell us one other film (apart from Clerks) that Jay & Silent Bob appear in. Silent Bob and Jay just, you know, riffing
What’s a musical without rage, violence and feminine upheaval? Imara Savage’s new work Birds Flying High, in-developed as part of Sydney Theatre Company’s Rough Drafts program, combines the soulful stirrings of Nina Simone’s jazz with the tragic epicry of the plays of Euripides. Rough Drafts provides theatremakers with week-long intensive development periods, and allows audiences to attend at the end of the week to view fragments of the show and hear the thinking behind it. And all of this for free! Check out Savage's work-in-progress on Friday July 20 at 6.30pm at Wharf 2; book tickets via sydneytheatre.com.au
NARELLE AUTIO
ART OF RAP @ DENDY
From Crips member to pimp to famous rapper, life sure has rolled some interesting dice for Ice-T. With the release of Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, the man known to his postman as Tracy Marrow can now add director to his formidable CV. This documentary features snippets from interviews Ice-T and his posse conducted over an 18-month period that probed the inspiration and philosophy of 47 hip-hop artists ranging from industry stalwarts like Chuck D (Public Enemy), Run and DMC (Run DMC), Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and B-Real (Cypress Hill) to more modern megastars such as Kanye West, Xzibit and Eminem. Off the back of its well-received screening at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Newtown Dendy will show the film for one night only on Wednesday August 29.
OXFORD ST DESIGN
As if kitten zines, lightning bolt tealight holders, super-pretty art mags and stuff made out of felt weren’t enough, the Oxford Street Design Store is lifting its $20 limit on its creative wares hocked by local artists, and setting it at $100. The Darlinghurst shop, which consists of a retail area up front and a milk-crate laden workshop out back (where you can also hire desk space 20 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
for a mere $3/hour – including wifi), is the brainchild of graphic designers Alex De Bonis and Louise Helliwell (the ladies behind the Tough Titties blog) and opened last March, one 15 new creative enterprises supported by City Of Sydney’s scheme to fill vacant retail space with interesting things (see The Paper Mill et al). Check ‘em out at 58 Oxford Street or oxfordstdesignstore.com.au
ARTBAR X JESS OLIVIERI
ArtBar is the MCA’s new monthly musicperformance-art-design-booze mash-up, held on the last Friday of every month, over the entire new wing and one exhibition space. The third instalment, taking place Friday July 27 from 7-11pm, will be curated by Jess Olivieri (of performance duo Parachutes For Ladies), and will take its lead from the theme of this year’s Biennale: ‘all our relations’. Expect creepy characters from Heath Franco’s video art, something called ‘Karaoke Massage’, and Jess's mum mending your clothes. And for those not yet across the Biennale, you’ll have the chance to check out its outposts on levels 1 and 3. The last two ArtBar events sold out, so this might be one of those ‘presale’ occasions. Tickets and 'more details' at mca.com.au/ series/artbar
CRISPIN GLOVER
Celebrity slashie Crispin Hellion Glover is bringing his one-man cinema show Down Under this month, presenting one-off screenings of the first two features in a projected trilogy of disturbia: What Is It? (2005) and It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine! (2007). Unavailable on DVD (ever), this your only chance to catch probably some of the weirdest cinema you’ll ever see. Sounding like a mashup of Jodorowsky, Svankmajer, Lynch and perhaps Matthew Barney – all the good/weird ones – the first film is described by Glover as ‘the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, as tormented by an hubristic, racist inner psyche’, and features a cast of actors with Down syndrome. The second is a psychosexual drama written by and from the perspective of a guy with severe cerebral palsy. The screenings are on Friday July 20 and Saturday July 21, cost $29, and will be presented by Glover. For more info and tickets, see palacecinemas.com.au
New York-based artist/curator Michael Sharp and Aussie photographer Scott Lowe are presenting a show of collaborative works exploring the role of ritual, ceremony and myth in modern society at China Heights next Friday, before taking it to New York. It’s called Lost Mirrors, and looks like it involves video works, and probably-definitely involves photographic works, and who knows what else. But it’s at the Heights, and it’s got this image (see above), and Sharp is the co-founder and curator of Wasted Spaces, an art initiative that brings the beautiful and wonderful to unexpected places – and all these things meet with our approval. Opens Friday July 27 from 6-9pm at China Heights (Lvl 3, 18-29 Foster St, Surry Hills) and also showing Saturday Jul 28 from 12-5pm. chinaheights.com
SWAP PARTY
Inspired as ever by the Kings of Siam, The Wall is holding a White Elephant Swap Party, for the purposes of relocating weird and wonderful objects into the living/bed-rooms of strangers. Got a pottery figurine of a farmer holding a bunch of carrots that doesn’t quite match your credenza? One cactus that doesn’t fit in with the others? This is your chance to give them the home they deserve, and pick up something new to fill that gaping hole. No weapons, please. Other than that, prizes will be awarded to bearers of the strangest items. It’s happening Wednesday July 25 from 8pm, arrive early to get your item tagged, logged and in the running for a prize. The Wall @ World Bar (24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross).
BREAKING BAD
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad and writer-creator Vince Gilligan AND one of the people who doesn’t do illegal downloads, then this will float your boat: Popcorn Taxi are hosting a screening of the first two episodes of Season 5 at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction on Monday July 23 (a week before its Australian premiere on Showcase), and presenting a recorded interview with Gilligan, in which he answers your questions – go here facebook.com/popcorntaxi to ask a question, go here popcorntaxi.com.au to buy tickets to the event.
Anna Stave and Steven C. Stewart in It is fine! Everything is Fine! Photo: David Brothers
When you take your waterproof camera to the beach and photograph kids playing in the surf, it’s just creepy; when Narelle Autio does it, it’s art. See? (above). F*#king gorgeous. The Walkley Award-winning former staff photographer for SMH is presenting a series of new photographs at Stills Gallery this month, continuing her focus on all things vacationy. Titled Water Hole, the series “celebrates the otherworldly beauty of the dark waters she encountered whilst travelling through parts of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.” If you like your art beautiful, this is a sure thing. Showing from July 25 – August 25 at Stills Gallery (36 Gosbell Street Paddington) stillsgallery.com.au
LOST MIRRORS
Narelle Autio – 'Untitled', taken from Water Hole; image courtesy of the artist and Stills Gallery
BIRDS FLYING HIGH
TIME MACHINE
In-Game Amateur Theatre Society presents Waiting For Godot
F
resh to Sydney’s arts roster is Time Machine, a festival of time-based arts (as opposed to those ones that never change/ move, like painting) curated by Chippendale’s Serial Space, and encompassing two weeks of experimental and crossdisciplinary work. Performance lecture about gravel? Check. Cocktail experiment? Yes please. Life-sized portrait carved out of soap? Covered. Festival bar? HELLZ YEAH (it’s at Freda’s). Below we present a snapshot of the people behind Time Machine, and our picks of the lineup.
WHO: Serial Space is a venue (see below), an artistrun-initiative, and a collective comprised of Kate Blackmore and Frances Barrett (of Brown Council), Dorkbot Sydney overlord Pia van Gelder, soundsmith and sample-samurai Tom Smith, and literature and theatre maven Jennifer Hamilton. This only begins to describe all the good and interesting pies these people have their fingers in. WHAT: Founded in 2008, Serial Space is dedicated to providing a platform for non-traditional art practices and artists who undertake ambitious, noncommercial and experimental projects – including sound art, experimental music, electronic art, new media art, and performance art. Culled from 250 applications from all over the world, and featuring a party-bag of artists from around Australia and overseas, Time Machine encapsulates the last few years of Serial Space programming. WHY: Time Machine was a response to a perceived need in Sydney’s cultural landscape, “for a festival that brought together live, experimental and emerging practice across music, visual arts and performance,” says curator Kate Blackmore. “We also recognised that most Sydney arts festivals only support the presentation of new work, rather than the development of it.” Through partnering with the Anyplace Projects low-cost studio-space initiative, Serial Space were able to offer artists on the Time Machine lineup free studio space to develop their work in the lead up to the festival. WHERE: Time Machine will take place around Chippendale, at the following places: Serial 001: Serial Space @ 33 Wellington St Serial 002: 10-14 Kensington St Serial 003: Embassy @ 826 George St Festival Bar: Freda’s Bar & Canteen @ 107 – 109 Regent St, Chippendale WHEN: July 18-29 / Opening Wednesday July 18 from 6pm MORE: Downloadable program/ schedule and other such things at serialspace.org
Future Arts By Dee Jefferson
THE HIGHLIGHTS [PERFORMANCE]
Thursday July 19, 7-11pm In September last year, the creators of Flickr launched a new MMO (aka massively multiplayer online game) called Glitch. Think World of Warcraft, but without the fighting and fantasy hoopla – rather, it’s a ‘culture-building exercise’ that allows lots of people to enter a particular virtual world and create it from the inside. Sydney artists Samuel Bruce and Daniel Green (who work together under the moniker Bruce Green) have decided to stage an amateur production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot – INSIDE THE GAME (cue Zoolander scene). Is this what they mean when they talk about ‘social’ gaming? Bruce Green want you to think about that. We suspect they also want you to have fun. Besides staging the play, their virtual actors will have to engage in various senseless grinding in the midst of their scenes, in order to “accrue virtual currency for more virtual goods.” It should be fairly bizarre, by which we mean good.
Filibuster of Dreams
THE WOOZY JACUZZI Just another bad cocktail? By Dijana Kumurdian Time Machine’s festival launch will be a work of art – literally. Local artist Ella Barclay will be presenting “a series of strong cocktails, served in a science beaker containing an LED light and a dry-ice swizzle stick, distributed through a crowd.” It’s called The Woozy Jacuzzi and it premiered at Melbourne’s Next Wave festival earlier this year, to the sounds of satisfied slurping. But is it art? Well, it’s billed as a ‘participatory light installation’, and it’s the product of one of Sydney’s most prolific digital media artists. Barclay, who is also currently showing an installation called Maelstrom Studies at Gaffa Gallery’s Rocks Pop-Up venue, is preoccupied with developments in technology, particularly our perpetual engagement with screens. “We can stare at screens and time can stand still. Think about the fact that most of us spend our day sitting in the exact same position, not moving, completely transfixed with whatever we’re looking at. I think I deal with lost time, in that respect.”
Friday July 20, 1-5am The Woozy Jacuzzi, she says, is a realisation of this phenomenon: “We’re interested in the fantasy of science, we’re interested in the spectacle of science, we’re interested in being captivated by new technologies – potentially more than the practicalities of actually using certain devices. I guess I just deal with a desire to fall into something, to really immerse in something, for one blissful moment; to tune out and feel connected to everything else – and whether or not that’s feasible or whether it’s kind of a joke. “The name ‘Woozy Jacuzzi’ tilts towards connotations of excess,” Barclay explains. “It’s a cocktail but it makes sounds and it emits light: it’s an immersive visual experience. I really like that from a distance the drink can look quite spectacular and amazing, but also the illusion is revealed … you’re sort of aware that maybe it is just another bad cocktail.” Where: Serial 002 / 10-14 Kensington St, Chippendale When: Festival Launch – Wednesday July 18 form 6-9pm
IS JACOB LUCIANO A BOT? Performance x Lecture x Science By Emma McManus Nathan Harrison is bringing the latest in what might just be a series of performance lectures to Time Machine this week. Harrison is part of the Applespiel performance collective out of Wollongong Uni (responsible for Executive Stress/Corporate Retreat, Awful Literature is Still Literature I Guess and the upcoming Performance Space show Appliespiel Make A Band And Take On The Recording Industry), but recently turned his hand to solo performance works that unpack mathematical or scientific notions – starting with his PACT show The Art and Craft of Approaching Your Head of Department To Submit a Request for a Raise, last September. For Time Machine, he is exploring a test invented by Alan Turing, which examines whether machines can exhibit intelligent behaviour that is indistinguishable from a human. “The Turing test has sort of come to represent what is humanity, and how we can define what that is,” says Harrison. Harrison will apply Turing’s test to the Facebook page of his former high-school friend Jacob Luciano, implementing a variety of different
tasks in order to establish once and for all whether Luciano is the person Harrison once knew or is in fact an internet bot. “I’m looking forward to asking him to write me a sonnet, which is one of the classic Turing test questions, because I don’t think he will,” he says. The results will be presented in the form of a performance lecture – titled Is Jacob Luciano a bot? Man, What if Jacob Luciano is a Bot? – that will also spin together Harrison’s online interaction with Luciano, the science behind the test, and the sad personal history of Turing himself. “Getting to play with the form of a lecture is a really fun way for me to try to bring science into performance,” says Harrison. “I hope the audience will be able to ask a lot of ethical questions about what I’m doing, and challenge what I’m presenting to them...social media changes the way we interact already... and it’s weird that me only having an online relationship with this person for the last six years of my life has changed his definition to me.” Where: Serial 002 / 10 – 14 Kensington St, Chippendale When: Saturday July 21 from 2-3pm
[PERFORMANCE]
Performance artist Sarah Rodigari is taking over the night shift at FBi radio, with this unusual performance, in which listeners can tune in to 94.5 to hear her ‘toast Sydney’ – one person at a time. In her own words: “Basically over a period of four hours, starting with the letter A, I will make my way through the Sydney White Pages, toasting as many people as I possibly can. This continuous toasting is a filibuster that aims to ward off nightmares, helping people to sleep better and dream easier. Through this repetitive toasting I will be creating a kind of ritualistic chant that may leave the entire population of Sydney waking well rested, bright eyed and full of potential joy. The general public are invited to request a toast for themselves.” For requests, email filibusterofdreams@gmail.com; tweet @fbiradio.com; text 0409 945 945
Electronic Embassy Friday July 20, 7.30pm-midnight
[LIVE MUSIC]
Time Machine presents world renowned electronic musician Keith Fullerton Whitman (USA), supported by a lineup of exploratory Australian artists: Solo Andata, Wrong Button Death Squad, Half High, Angel Eyes. To get a sense of of what to expect, check out soundcloud.com/kfw – this could get weird.
Loose Gravel – a poetics Sunday July 22, 1-2pm
[PERFORMANCE]
This is billed as “a funny and philosophical performance essay about uncertainty as a defining feature of contemporary life. About the pitfalls and rich disorder of being an associative thinker. It’s about crap places, and growing up in a crap place whose best-known exports are Cliff Richard, Victoria Beckham – and yes, gravel.” It’s the work of awardwinning writer Noëlle Janaczewska, whose background in the punk and alt-cabaret scenes and study in social anthropology make an interesting mix. She’s also a member of the playwright collective 7-ON (alongside Vanessa Bates and Hilary Bell, among others), agitating on various issues in Australia’s theatre industry. Curiosity: piqued.
The Intimacy of the Commandline Saturday July 28, 3-4pm
[PERFORMANCE]
In this performance lecture, hacker, performer and PhD student Nancy Mauro-Flude will be sharing her perspectives on identity theft and the operating systems behind our daily computer fix. A longtime advocate of free and open-source software, Mauro-Flude is also committed to making this kind of thing intelligible and accessible for everyday folks like us who are still really impressed by the ability to sync our calendar from our computer to our iPhone, but also frustrated by the fact that frequently our Entourage crashes, and potentially missing the bigger point in all this…
Genesis of Biosynthia Daily, July 18-29
[INSTALLATION]
Creo Nova (aka Alex Cuffe and Benjamin Kolaitis) are bringing this fascinating planttech installation to Sydney off the back of its Next Wave festival showing in Melbourne. Billed as “an interactive platform for the audience to sonically engage with plant matter” we think it’s about plants making electronic noises, or about gestures affecting plants… it might be both these things… It just looks and sounds really cool. Also, did you know that you can charge your phone with a bonsai? Plants, eh?
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 21
A Hoax
Genevieve Bailey behind the scenes on I Am Eleven I Am Eleven – photo by Henrik Nordstrom
[THEATRE] The Misery Industry By Rebecca Saffir
B
efore the publishing world had its knickers in a tangle over Fifty Shades of Grey and the ‘lite-erotica’ boom, it occupied itself smashing hearts into A Million Little Pieces. Author James Frey made a name for himself with his memoir of years as a drug addict and criminal, and the focal point around which a different type of erotica exploded: the ‘misery memoir’ – or in more colourful parlance, ‘misery porn.’ And then Frey made himself famous twice-over when it was revealed that A Million Little Pieces and its follow up My Friend Leonard, were in large part fabrications. Playwright Rick Viede has found ample inspiration for his own work in this phenomenon, and the dozens of other literary hoaxes that have occurred throughout history. His new play, A Hoax, centres on a young indigenous woman who becomes a national celebrity with a misery memoir of her own – or so she says. “I researched the play pretty heavily,” says Viede, down the line from New York. “I read a lot of the actual hoaxes and then I read a lot of analysis and a lot of journalism. I understood the rage of the characters, and their frustrations… Nobody wants to feel socially isolated and alone, and the emphasis in [this play] is about the lengths people will go to, to be included. And I think as a bit of an outsider myself, maybe I understand that frustration.”
He might want to reconsider his definition of ‘outsider.’ He has won the prestigious Griffin Award twice – A Hoax in 2011 and Whore in 2008 – making him the only writer to have won more than once in the award’s 14-year history. He’s also in the minority of playwrights who have had their award-winning plays subsequently produced. Tracing the journey of two twenty-somethings on a debaucherous gap-year in London, Whore touched on themes of boundaries and a search for identity. Those questions surface again in A Hoax, with each of the four characters using fictions of one kind or another to conceal their true identity, or create new ones. The result isn’t pretty, but Viede knows not much separates a theatre-goer from a James Frey fan. Audiences are drawn to stories of suffering and darkness, whether in the theatre or on the page. It’s not new, but the relatively recent obsession with ‘authenticity’ – memoir, documentary, reality TV – adds a layer of ethical complication. Why do we so desperately want these stories of pain and suffering to be true? “I think schadenfreude is alive and well, and I do think we get enjoyment from the misery memoirs,” says Viede. “And I think we like to feel a little superior because in a way it’s quite nice to look at someone else’s depraved life, it makes you feel a bit better about what you’re going through.” The vitriolic reaction of public and media alike to literary hoaxers like James Grey is testament to how strongly they connect with these stories in the first place. Viede acknowledges the importance of being able to vicariously experience life’s darker moments, but adds, “the thing that I find a little distressing, or that leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth is just kind of how fetishized it’s all become. It really feels like everybody is digging for dirtier, dirtier, more juice, more pain, more misery... and you kind of go, ‘Um, it’s not a competition!’” On the other hand, like any good writer, Viede also knows it's important not to condemn his characters. “They all do bad things, every single one of them, but they all do it for things that are understandable and relatable. You know, these people are really going to the depths of their souls trying to achieve something, and it’s quite fascinating to witness.”
Rick Viede
What: A Hoax by Rick Viede Where: SBW Stables / Nimrod Street, Darlinghurst When: Previews from July 20 More: griffintheatre.com.au
I Am Eleven [FILM] The Age Of Innocence By Krissi Weiss
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by her love of film, and from the age of about eight, she was often seen with camera in hand. Graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2003, she’s created over 40 short films, documentaries and music clips thus far and received 25 (and counting) awards for her work.
bout seven years ago, during a particularly rough patch in her life (involving a death and a serious injury) Genevieve Bailey found herself reminiscing about her youth. Specifically, she found herself thinking back to when she was eleven – that peculiar age, roughly marking the transition between childhood and the hormonally charged turmoil of adolescence, at which simplified logic is at odds with an ever-growing awareness of the world. Inspired, she decided to make a film.
But producing, directing, shooting and editing an independent feature film was a whole new ball game for the young director. “When you are producing a film independently you need so much self-belief and so much resilience because there are so many hurdles to jump,” she admits. “I think if the film had’ve been a depressing subject or if it was really gruelling to connect with, it would’ve been really hard.”
“I wanted to create a snapshot of what it is like to be eleven today compared to the experience I had,” Bailey recalls. “I was going through a difficult time; I had a serious car accident and my dad had passed away from cancer and I wanted something positive to work on.”
Bailey’s enthusiasm was sustained throughout the production process not only by the uplifting subject matter but also by early audience engagement, activated via social media and an interactive website that promoted the concept of the film long before it hit screens. “The audience response was amazing and people were really interested,” she recalls. “I can honestly say my energy never waned.”
Seven years later the resulting documentary, I Am Eleven, is opening in Australia off the back of local and international awards (including the Melbourne International Film Festival’s Audience Award and the Inside Film Award for Best Documentary). When I speak to her, Bailey is riding high with excitement (and perhaps relief): “I just got some information to say that after our opening weekend in Melbourne, it is the highest grossing Australian documentary in over three years – which is just unbelievable,” she gushes.
The various platforms through which the ‘I Am Eleven’ concept is being explored will ensure that the project has a long life even after the credits role in cinemas and festivals. “We’re really keen to invite kids from all over the world to submit their own content [to the website],” says Bailey, “whether that is their stories or photos or poems – or however they want to express themselves. We’re really excited about expanding it beyond just the documentary.”
Filmed in 15 countries, I Am Eleven presents the views of eleven-year-olds on everything from love and war to terrorism, music, global warming and their own ideas of the future. It’s an intriguing forecast of the shape of things to come, an astonishing reminder of children’s powers of perception, and an examination of the things that unite them – regardless of language, culture and experience – and the things that differentiate them.
What: I Am Eleven – Dir. Genevieve Bailey When: Opens July 19 at Dendy Opera Quays More: iameleven.com
Bailey’s own childhood was somewhat defined
Rocket Town [THEATRE] Welcome To Woomera By Rebecca Saffir
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mily Steel is making a new play without even trying to. “I got told once that a writer writes two plays – the one they think they’ve written and they one they don’t know they’ve written,” she says in her Londontinged lilt. “It’s a good director’s job to help you find the second.” After a successful Adelaide Fringe season in 2011, Steel’s play Rocket Town is undergoing a bit of a revamp in preparation for its performances in Sydney this month. “I directed the first production, and, well, I’m not a director," the playwright admits. "Directing your own writing gives you a lot of control but I think you tend to tell the actors what you think the characters are doing and thinking and feeling, rather than letting them explore it for themselves.” This time around she’s enlisted director Daisy Brown, who will lead actors Dee Easton and Sam Calleja through restaging and editing her script. Some writers are protective of their scripts and jealously guard against cuts – but not Steel: “Until you have a good, honest director to work with you can kid yourself that you need everything. There have been moments working with Daisy when I’ve really heard a line for the first time, and it’s like, hello, welcome to my unconscious!” Rocket Town is about the tiny South Australian town of Woomera, which Steel stumbled upon during a road-trip to Uluru in 2010. When I hear the word ‘Woomera’, I think
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of John Howard and detention centres, desperate people with lips sewn up, and men on corrugated iron roofs in the middle of the desert. I had no idea that Woomera was actually built in 1947 for people working on the Anglo-Australian rocket research facility, or that the entire town is now officially owned by the Department of Defence. It has a population of around 240, and because most of those people live there for government-funded research jobs, the turnover rate in the town is incredibly high. Everyone who arrives will generally have moved on within three years. “There were about ten students in the whole high school,” says Steel. “That was really the start of Rocket Town – wondering what it might be like to be a teenager in such an unusual, isolated place.” She didn’t confine herself to simply imagining what life in Woomera might be like; after securing some funding for the project from the Royal Institute of Australia, Steel drove back to Woomera and spoke to residents about their experiences of life in the town. “A lot of them talked about how much freedom the young people had there, but how they had to deal with losing friends and teachers all the time because people came and went so quickly. That became the core of the play.” It’s a fascinating and semi-forgotten aspect of Australia’s history, and a welcome break from writing that takes the world of the writer as the world of the play. Steel’s next play, Rabbits, has been inspired by the work of virologist
Sam Calleja and Dee Easton star in Rocket Town Frank Fenner and the introduction of non-native species to Australia. As a non-native species herself, what draws Steel to these relatively obscure stories of her adopted home?
too. “I’ve stopped hearing Australianisms in speech so much. I say ‘mozzie’ and ‘bottle’ now. And the air doesn’t smell so different any more,” she muses. “I must be going native.”
“I suppose coming in as an outsider means I look at things differently. Sometimes I think I really have no right to try and tell stories about Australian communities, but so far no one seems to have minded. People have been very generous in talking to me.” After two years in Adelaide, she’s feeling like less of a stranger,
What: Rocket Town by Emily Steel Where: Bondi Pavilion Theatre When: Tues Jul 17 – Thurs Jul 19, Sat July 21 More: bondifeast.com
mca.com.au/artbar $20 / $15 Members Booking Fees apply
2 DVD set available now in stores and online
www.viavision.com.au I *While Stocks Last BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 23
Arts Snap
Film & Theatre Reviews
At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...
Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
■ Film
■ Theatre
THE DOOR
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
Released July 19
Until August 19 / Belvoir St
Hungarian director Istvan Szabo won an Academy Award in 1981 for his screen adaptation of Klaus Mann’s Mephisto – so we know he is capable of navigating this often treacherous territory. With The Door, he turns his hand to Hungarian author Magda Szabo’s semi-autobiographical novel published in 1987 – with mixed results.
Mike Nichols’ Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s American classic (starring Philip Seymour Hoffman) simultaneously reignited serious critical discussion about the play's merits, and set a high bar for future productions. Simon Stone and Colin Friels rise to the challenge, presenting an emotionally powerful, energetic and visually striking take on one of the most consistently referenced works in the dramatic canon. (Even if you’ve never studied or seen Death Of A Salesman, the odds are you’ve imbibed some part of it through cultural osmosis.)
angus plate: end of the road
PICS :: KC
Set in 1960s Hungary, the story revolves around a friendship that develops between a woman and her housekeeper. As the film opens, affluent writer Magda (Martina Gedeck of The Lives Of Others) and her husband have just moved into a new house; when they approach a neighbouring housekeeper, Emerence (Helen Mirren), for help, she is initially resistant – but eventually agrees. Gradually, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Emerence and Magda, with the housekeeper gradually revealing details from her tragic past that explain her unusual behaviour.
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Emerence’s troubled history is mainly revealed through flashbacks; sometimes it works, other times not. In the first flashback, the use of CGI creates an aesthetic more suited to a fairytale or fantasy than a Hungarian period film, while the fast pace is equally unsettling. Conceivably, this is meant to demonstrate Emerence’s unwillingness to dwell on her own suffering – but this hurried tempo recurs throughout the film, with plot points hastily bullet-pointed. The mostly minimal, raw style of shooting perfectly complements the starkness of the film’s setting and the basic living conditions of the characters. It particularly suits the severe and unforgiving nature of Mirren’s character. Performance-wise, the usually glamorous actress’ portrayal of the damaged but essentially good-natured Emerence is impeccable. Unfortunately, the authenticity she brings makes the occasional woodenness of Gedeck and Karoly Eperjes (as Magda’s husband) glaringly obvious.
Salesman was and remains such a cultural giant because it positions itself at the axis of so many potent human concerns and modern issues: the crisis of masculinity, the fraudulent promises of free-market capitalism and the ‘American Dream’, the volatile relationship between men and women and between fathers and sons, the fear of failure, the creative operation of memory… All these are condensed in the Loman family, and while Miller’s play presents no novel ideas or dramatic techniques for the modern audience, its amplification of the banal tragedies of everyday life into an almost unbearable scream is powerful enough. Layers of disillusionment are piled on so thick as to be crushing: Willy’s realisation that his decades of service aren’t worth so much as a gold watch, that his dreams of personal ‘worth’ are no more than a mouthful of sawdust, and that his hopes for his children are in vain; Biff’s realisation that he’s been sold the same dud dream by his deadbeat dad. The sense of desperation is pervasive, as father and son struggle to understand ‘the secret to success' in the great rat race of life.
Overall, this is a highly entertaining film – mainly due to the depth of its characters. Their personal examinations of kindness and love, and the different ways these feelings can be manifested, drive home the film’s message and make for a morally provocative experience.
Stone substitutes a white sedan for a traditional set (the blandest, most generic car, in contrast to Willy’s memories of the red Chevrolet in his past), which doubles as Willy's subconscious, from which characters crawl or burst into the present. From the mouths of the cast, Miller’s lines tumble out as fresh as the day they were written, calling to mind myriad moments and conversations from our lives. It’s a play that still cuts close to the bone. (On a side note, Stone and Co. have chopped into the final scene of the play. It’s worth reading it for yourself to see if you feel it’s a missed opportunity or an improvement.)
Lee Hutchison
Dee Jefferson
PICS :: KC
christian thompson: we bury our own 05:07:12 :: Chalk Horse Gallery :: 8 Lacey St Surry Hills 92118999 Genevieve Lemon & Colin Friels in Death Of A Salesman
Street Level
See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews
With Jade Twist
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ade is the resident rubberband of Sydney’s neo-burlesque scene (YouTube her for evidence of her upside-down, pyrotechnic, back-bending performances). She’s only 20, but her CV is more fantastical than a nineteenthcentury lion tamer’s: a dancer, hand-balancer, contortionist, fire twirler and acrobat – and recently-certified stunt-woman – she’s appeared on Australia’s Got Talent and toured the Central Coast with Urban Circus. Next up, she’s strutting her stuff alongside pole-dancing champion Jamilla DeVille and tasseled temptress Foxtrot India at Black Cherry…
about the ‘50s-themed Burlesque Knockout Competition running at Black Cherry in May, I entered without hesitation!
What’s your background in performance? I started gymnastics at age four, acrobatics and contortion at seven, then dancing. I told my parents I wanted to join the circus after my first solo act at ten. I don’t think took me seriously, but I ran away with Urban Circus at eighteen!
What has been your craziest stunt? My craziest stunt happened just a few days ago as part of my stunt certification, when a friend filmed me performing handstands on my hand balance sticks at the edge of a 600ft cliff!
How did you get into burlesque? When I returned from circus life I landed a burlesque gig through a friend. I’d never seen a burlesque show before but I fell in love with it! When I heard 24 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
What are your signature routines? I like to keep it fresh so try to avoid repeating routines too often, but I guess I can now say my winning Black Cherry act, ‘Grease’! What’s your most impressive skill? I get the greatest crowd reaction when I bend myself inside-out – in my opinion it’s my ability to walk whilst holding the back of my legs.
You’d have to be super fit to do what you do – how do you train for your shows? I’m a bike rider, so I try to ride every day to keep my fitness level up. I also stretch most nights whilst watching TV and for half an hour before a show.
Describe the Black Cherry experience: The May Burlesque Knockout Comp was my first time at Black Cherry and it couldn’t have been better! Everyone is so friendly, I even lost my wallet and it was returned without a cent missing! And to top it off I won! What are you bringing for the upcoming party? I’m performing my winning contortion/ hand balance act ‘Grease’ dressed in leather and red heels. My second act is a surprise, you’ll just have to wait and see! What: Black Cherry feat. Jamilla DeVille, Foxtrot India, Jade Twist and MC Renny Kodgers; live bands The Art, The Ramshackle Army, Abbie Cardwell & Her Leading Men, Topnovil; plus Jungle Rump Rock’n’roll Karaoke and DJs Jane Gazzo [V], Jack Shit, Sinead Ni Mhordha (IRE), The Black Cherry DJs and Twist & Shout DJs. Where: The Factory Theatre, Enmore When: Saturday July 21 More: factorytheatre.com.au
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK FRANK OCEAN Channel Orange Universal
Give it a few spins with headphones, closed eyes and an open mind before you relegate it to babymaking music.
Frank Ocean’s already being name-checked as the new king of the slow jam, but Channel Orange has more in common with Stevie Wonder than D’Angelo. The emotional themes that Kanye West and Drake have helped RnB come to terms with in recent years – alienation, self-doubt, disguising who you are, sex as both an escape and a complication – is combined with a sense of the old-fashioned, widescreen sonic richness that’s been championed by Janelle Monae and The Roots in recent years (‘Crack Rock’ would fit easily on Undun). Ocean has something like Stevie Wonder’s light, nimble tone, evident in the mild reproach of 'Super
Rich Kids': “You’ve had a landscaper and a housekeeper since you were born / the starshine always kept you warm” (almost a trust-fund flipside to ‘I Wish’). But it’s also very much of its time – no more so than the coda of nine-minute centrepiece ‘Pyramids’, where some damaged, languid guitars echo (perhaps deliberately) Kanye via Bon Iver via yacht rock. Ocean is also a stunning writer, with a casual gift for stripping ‘traditional’ male insecurities raw. It’s as evident in the dissolve from dreamlike images of ancient palaces to real-world motel rooms and clubs in ‘Pyramids’ as it is in the liner notes we all read and over-analysed last week; name me another song where a young black man despairs his unrequited love for another man to a sympathetic Muslim taxi driver, let alone one with the refrain “Allahu Akhbar” (the shattering ‘Bad Religion’).
HACIENDA
ANGUS STONE
KING CANNONS
Shake Down Shock
Broken Brights Capitol/EMI
The Brightest Light Capitol/EMI
Having been nestled under Dan Auerbach’s wing for the last few years, Texas fourpiece Hacienda have had one hell of a dream run. After receiving their demo, becoming their mentor, and inviting them to be the backing band for his 2009 solo project, Auerbach has now donned the producer hat for this record, giving it a touch of The Black Keys magic and pushing them into to the 21st century with a bang. Shakedown marks a transformation for Hacienda. Gone for the most part are the boogieing jams, the honeyed organ and the light melodic guitar solos, and in their place are fast pulsing drums, heavy bass and a touch of synths. The new direction is clear from the outset, with album opener ‘Veronica’ filled with fuzzed bass, sweet backing vocals, and rocking beats. ‘Don’t Turn Out The Light’s tangy guitar could be from a Strokes album, and ‘Savage’ is a keyboard-loaded, radio-friendly single. The darker number ‘Doomsday’ has a key and bass fade-in similar to every indie band from five years ago but then mid-way through it hits you with a kicking grungy guitar solo. ‘Pilot In the Sky’ is a slow sultry album closer that starts with some sensual percussion and melting guitar, channelling Portishead. ‘Let Me Go’ is a fast-paced classic rock’n’roll song with a fun “ooh la-la” chorus, and ‘Natural Life’ is laden with duelling piano and guitar, harmonious vocals and rolling drumbeats, reviving that older Hacienda style. For the most part, Shakedown is a big departure from Hacienda’s folk roots and usual sound – but however much the hippies protested when Bob Dylan went electric, it ended up being a good thing.
As one half of the duo Angus & Julia Stone – eternal triple j darlings and festival favourites nationwide – Angus, like his sister earlier this year, has stepped out from the family business and into a solo album. The formula of the Stone siblings was, for the most part, getting a little tired and predictable, so a break from their songwriting comforts seemed to be exactly what the pair needed. Broken Brights realises the simmering musical evolution that the pair hinted at in 2010's Down The Way, and Stone manages to shed any assumptions that he is merely a lacklustre hippy with an acoustic guitar. Self-produced and recorded all over the world (from the Swiss Alps to coastal Australia), the dynamism in this album is its most striking feature. Given that he confesses to a yearning to live within the stories he creates in the world of his music, Stone presents each tale with such charming honesty and simple lyrics that it makes you wonder why he isn't similarly tempted by the actual world that gave birth to these concepts. Stepping up the energy with more blues and rock elements than his kindred band ever explored, the diverse instrumentation – from distorted guitar to trumpet and dominant bass riffs – gives this album a level of complexity that demands attention, and never lets Brokens Brights fade into the background. The varied sonic textures (grinding blues guitar on 'Bird On The Buffalo'; the subtle folk revelry of 'River Love') may lend itself to criticism by some for being a little too stark and lacking cohesion, but the adhesive holding Stone’s solo release together is his Springsteen-like mumble and staccato vocal melodies. There is never a point on the album where you can be unsure of who you're listening to, but the different musical hats that Stone wears may be jarring for some.
Our Russell Crowe, our Phar Lap, our Neil Finn – if it comes from across the ditch and we like it enough, it’s only a matter of time before Australia claims it. By moving to Melbourne before recording their debut fulllength, King Cannons have just made appropriation that much easier. There are no guarantees, but as a nation with a proud rock'n’roll heritage, it’s hard to imagine the footstomping romp of ‘Too Hot To Handle’ or raucous choruses of ‘The Last Post’ earning a better reception elsewhere. Frontman Luke Yeoward – heart firmly planted on his sleeve – breathes sincerity into his lyrics, passion even; the title track’s rallying cry to “crawl out from under that thumb” packs as much of an emotional punch as a sonic one. And those punches flow thick and fast; producer (and Shihad drummer) Tom Larkin has controlled the sextet’s sound for maximum impact – no fluff, no fancy effects that can’t be reproduced live, and no self-indulgent seven-minute guitar-noodling love-ins. Just rock, and lots of it. That’s not to say there isn’t variation here though; despite a more soulful approach, Yeoward’s punk history occasionally rears its head, both in his lyrics and vocal performance – and then there’s the swaying reggae of ‘Charlie O’, the acoustic guitars and crooning of ‘Everyman’s Tale’, and the feel-good, organ-blessed album opener ‘Stand Right Up’. In a world of increasingly difficultto-define forms of genre-bending, it’s encouraging to see there are still great rock records being made. And it’s a fact made even sweeter by the knowledge that a (nearly-)Australian act like King Cannons is responsible. Nils Hay
Anna Kennedy Krissi Weiss
Slay Me In My Sleep Preservation Grand Salvo’s new piece revisits the album-as-parable format of 2008’s Death. It tells the tale of a thief who falls in love with an antique picture of a young girl while burgling an old woman’s home. When he returns to steal the image itself, the elderly occupant is waiting for him… Story isn’t something that many listeners want or expect in a piece of pop music these days. Few songwriters can carry a
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good story-album off with the lightness of touch and exacting taste that such things really need, and rarely do any revisit the approach. But Paddy Mann is blessed with that curious talent, rare among popular musicians, of being able to explain a lot with very little. The record’s lyrics are never heavy-handed, preferring to reveal the story by way of the sparest, most simply intimate of details. Even with the synopsis laid out in its tracklist, it takes a few listens to establish what’s happening on Slay Me In My Sleep, but this means that the yarn isn’t rammed down your throat – rather, you discover its quiet profundity gradually, with each listen leading you further in. This deference to the listener’s intelligence and patience means there’s
TWIN SHADOW Confess 4AD/Remote Control
Instinct Mercury/Universal Niki And The Dove are an electro-pop duo who hail from Stockholm, Sweden, and seem to have sprung perfectly-formed from whatever secret laboratory it is that makes Swedes so damn good at crafting irresistible hooks. Their debut album, Instinct, certainly features a great abundance of these. It’s not a particularly subtle album – the arrangements come at you in great rushes and whooshes with great big clouds of synth, and jerky rhythms that suggest these songs may have been composed while dancing around a fire in some spooky European forest. Singer Malin Dahlström also brings a sense of drama to the whole thing – at times, her vocals are reminiscent of Karin Dreijer Andresson, and at others, she sounds eerily like Stevie Nicks. ‘Tomorrow’ opens the album on a swooning note, with bruised, romantic lyrics about what will happen “if tomorrow comes”, and choruses that hit with great rushes of endorphins. This song crashes into the second track, ‘The Drummer’, with quite a thud; steely-eyed and sinister, the tension between this track and the first is dizzying. Instinct keeps you on the back-foot throughout with exactly these kinds of tonal and emotional shifts, but that’s a good thing, as it keeps your attention all the way through. Other highlights include ‘The Gentle Roar’, which is built around repetition and sinister whispered vocals, and ‘DJ Ease My Mind’, which is reminiscent of a lot of contemporary club bangers, but which makes you wish that all of them could be simultaneously so nuanced and epic.
What Twin Shadow has to confess on his sophomore record is tricky to deduce. I can’t help feeling that these are the songs of one who’s never been in love, and badly wants to be – or one who may be in love but is desperate to deny it. Either way, the calculated romantic posturing leaves us with something that’s at best sublimely out of reach, and disingenuous at worst. But just like the lover who will always drive you mad with exactly those vices, the music has its charms. Lyrically, the songs are littered with ambivalent one-liners (“I don’t give a damn about your dreams”; “If I chase after you doesn’t mean that it’s true”), fitting the coolly brooding heartthrob persona Twin Shadow builds with a few gentle jabs to the heart. According to the promo, riding (and crashing) motorbikes provided much inspirational fodder for Confess, and it comes through in the songwriting and instrumentation. Nothing on this record would sound out of place on RyGos’ Drive soundtrack; its ‘80s nostalgia is palpable, and many moments of homage to the likes of Morrissey, Prince, Depeche Mode and The Cure veer dangerously towards – but thankfully never quite descend into – pastiche. Awash with grand-scale and resplendent synth melodies, Confess is even more pop-oriented than his often Lynchian debut, but the tasteful production (by GLJ himself this time) manages to tread cheesy territory without becoming mired in it. Lo-fi beats and solid but minimal bass leave breathing space for the synths and hi-gloss vocals, and allow surprising textural elements to find their place.
It’s a big call given the times that we live in, but I’m gonna go ahead and say it: if you only listen to only one Girl’s Name And The Noun band this year, make it Niki And The Dove.
It’s a slick, successful exercise in pop music artifice and an undeniably enjoyable listen, but Twin Shadow’s impenetrable chromium armour ultimately prevents Confess from settling under the skin.
Alasdair Duncan
Jenny Noyes
plenty of time to appreciate the record’s remarkable arrangements. Live, Mann’s sets are minimal, his melodies weaving their careful way through finger-style nylon string guitar. Here, that delicate skeleton is richly illustrated with autoharp, woodwinds, saw and artful, delicate piano, care of Nils Frahm. It’s exquisite and understated – it warms the room in which it plays, and offers remarkably absorbing details through headphones. The only reasonable criticism is how precious it all sounds – but given the record’s multifarious beauty and immersive detail, this isn’t difficult to forgive. Luke Telford
Caitlin Welsh
NIKI AND THE DOVE
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK GRAND SALVO
Channel Orange is being framed, much too eagerly, as a game-changer in the vein of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Take Care or The ArchAndroid – but it deserves to be heard on its own terms as well: as a gorgeously crafted confessional that becomes more emotionally rewarding on each listen.
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... THE LAURELS - Plains BROKEN THOUGHT THEORY - Broken Thought Theory HYPERCOLOUR - Marvin
NEKO CASE - Middle Cyclone PNAU - Sambanova
Remedy
More Than The Cure Since 1989 with Murray Engleheart
BLOKES YOU CAN TRUST
The most Oz of all the Oz rock acts, the mighty Cosmic Psychos, are to be immortalised on film by director Matt Weston. Titled Blokes You Can Trust, the documentary features interviews with seriously heavyweight fans such as Eddie Vedder, the band’s one-time producer Butch Vig, and King Buzzo from The Melvins – as well as countless quotable quotes from the band’s head bloke, (Dr) Ross Knight, a real life farmer who probably has a career in stand-up comedy waiting in the wings. The only problem is that, like the Big Star movie we mentioned recently, the filmmakers need a hand to finish the project off. Go to pozible.com and search for ‘Cosmic Psychos’ to check out their crowd-funding campaign and watch the trailer. If you can spare a few bucks for a true national treasure, we’d all be grateful.
ZZ TOP
While ZZ Top seem to be endlessly spinning their three wheels (and ducking and weaving) when it comes to explaining why the heck their new album is taking so damn long to get out of the garage, we notice that the title of the first track seems to have morphed slightly. It’s now titled ‘I Gotsta Get Paid’. And it seems it’s no slight of hand to cover up its previously mentioned similarities to ZZ’s early classic, ‘Just Got Paid’. You see, while Billy Gibbons has long been an obvious flag-waver for the likes of Muddy Waters and even fellow Texan Roky Erickson, he has also been a big fan of the rap and techno scenes for some time – particularly their various (alleged) sonic innovations. For that reason it should be no great surprise that the new tune is said to have its roots in a line from a song about coke dealers called ‘25 Lighters’, by Texan rappers DJ DMD feat. Lil Keke & Fat Pat. And yes, that will be the first and last time we mention anyone ‘feat.’ anyone else. Promise.
SOUL WAX
This is too great. Hate the idea of having your ashes buried under a tree that will eventually be chopped down to make way for a housing development? Lacking the funds to have your dust immortalised in bronze? Not able to contact Keef to have him snort them up? Well, fear not. Why not have your ashes enshrined in vinyl? Yep, you can keep on spinning for eternity with your essence contained in 12 glorious inches. And there’s the option of also recording your last thoughts and wishes with a choice of soundtrack. We’re thinking
of Sabbath’s ‘Into The Void’ followed by Hawkwind’s ‘Brainstorm’ and Spacemen 3’s ‘Take Me To The Other Side’. But that’ll probably change. Lists always do.
JOHNNY WHITE
For some reason we've long seen Jack White as the rock'n’roll answer to Johnny Depp – and no disrespect to either. So the news that White has been recording with Keith Richards and might well have an album out in the not-too-distant future works pretty well.
CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING
With Sonic Youth’s future still seemingly up in the air, Thurston Moore has re-emerged with a new outfit called Chelsea Light Moving, who will have a debut album out later in the year. The first track to be streamed is ‘Burroughs’. “After sitting in the Orgone box planted in Burroughs’ back yard of Lawrence, Kansas in the midpoint of the 1990s, Thurston Moore came to the realization that at some point he’d need to form a band that played Burroughs Rock,” writes Moore in a media release. “This is the sound of Wild Boys looking to jack hypos of core passion into their veins. Boy on boy. Girl on girl. Start there. It’s not even music – it’s an amphetamine sonnet for the on-the-loose lovers of the world.” Um… right on!
BLUES EXPLOSION
We’re hoping that the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s first new record in eight years will be a stripped-back, screaming-anda-hollerin’ blues-type effort. (They were getting way too ‘normal’ for our liking when we last heard from them). It’s called Meat And Bone (which we reckon is a good start), and it's due out in September.
NEVERMIND th
That 35 anniversary reissue of The Sex Pistols’ Nevermind The Bollocks package we mentioned the other week looks set to be a four-disc monster in the super-deluxe format. Of course there’s no small irony in such a treatment for a band that couldn’t find a record company willing to take them on back in the day, but we ain’t gonna quibble about a bigger version of one of the top ten albums ever recorded. It’s due in September.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Thought for the week: whatever happened to Steve Albini? He seemed to be the go-to producer guy for a while there... ZZ Top
ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Frying On This Rock, the newie for White Hills, an outfit that picks up where Hawkwind’s Space Ritual left off, and then proceeds to set the course for the heart of all the suns at warp speed. Too many in this genre claim to be ‘far out’ when in reality they’ve just been given a new echo pedal. These guys, on the other hand, clearly have had various organs fried to a crisp one way or the other – and their loss is very much our gain. For an added treat, listen to it loud through headphones.
TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS
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Early in their career Motörhead played a show in London under the banner of ‘an evening of pain’. We get to experience a sense of that night when the added subSabbath awesomeness of Sunn O))) return to our shores in October, in a tag team event with metal instrumentalists Pelican. On October 25, they’ll be literally raising the roof with some serious metal ceremony at the The Hi-Fi in Sydney.
It took Def Leppard more than three years to record Hysteria, but No Life Til Leather will celebrate the landmark slab in one single leather-clad, booze-guzzling night with DJs Colonel Knowledge and The Sultan Of Sin playing all of Leppard’s hits as well as the best of ’80s hard rock, glam and metal. If you’re one of the first ten payers through the door, you’ll get a copy of the Hysteria digipack reissue. It’s all happening on Friday July 20 at Hermann’s Bar, 9pm til late.
Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 27
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live reviews
up all night out all week . . .
What we've been to see...
BOB DYLAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT: JOSH PYKE, HOLLY THROSBY, PATIENCE HODGSON, KEVIN MITCHELL, KAV TEMPERLEY Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Sunday July 8 The audience erupted with a stirring ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ encore. It had taken until that point to get an eclectic crowd of young’ns (keen to see their folk-rocksinger-songwriter heroes perform in such a classy venue) and greying parents (still trying to work out which one was the Eskimo man) to really let loose in the rarefied atmosphere of the Opera House Concert Hall. With little in the way of expectations, Josh ‘whimsical’ Pyke, Holly ‘pretty’ Throsby, Patience ‘sassy’ Hodgson, Kevin ‘genuine’ Mitchell and Kav ‘Eskimo Joe’ Temperley had finally brought a little Zimmerman flair to a stage so often reserved for more refined tastes.
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It began perhaps as awkwardly as the billing might have suggested. Musical director Ash Naylor and his instrumental assistants – otherwise known as Paul Kelly’s backing band – kicked things off with ‘Quinn The Eskimo.’ Aside from confusing the greying demographic even more (which Eskimo?), the band sounded exactly how you’d imagine a tribute show band might. For much of the first set, the quartet played capably but demurely, as if out of respect to their symphonic surrounds, and Mitchell’s early threat that ‘things could get sexy’ was never really realised. Instead, a veritable smorgasbord of home-grown talent shuffled on and off the stage,
06:07:12 :: The Standard:: Level 3/383 Bourke St Surry Hills 9331 3100
party profile
godfathers of funk It’s called: Godfathers Of Funk – Block Party It sounds like: Sunday-afternoon ‘feelgood’ funk, soul, hip hop and disco vibes. Who’s playing? DJs All Souled Out (Stephen Ferris and Graham Mandroules), Superbreak, Soul Of Sydney DJs, Phil Toke, Queen Shirene D’Silva, Juzzlikedat, Edseven and C-Man. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: James Brown – ‘Superbad’; Michael Jackson – ‘Off The Wall’; Stevie Wonder – 'Superstition'.
plugging in their respective acoustic guitars. The result was a slightly jarring fan-voted mix of Dylan’s extensive back catalogue, as a flawless Throsby and her take on ‘Tomorrow Is Long Time’ was followed by a jumpier Pyke version of ‘Tangled Up In Blue’. Hodgson was unreasonably animated, and Mitchell did best at channelling authentic Dylan – but the hectic rotation scheme was exhausting. Not even Kav the Eskimo, with his tight jeans, Elvis dance moves and impressive rendition of ‘Hurricane’, could save the first set, with musical coherency becoming the first casualty of the night. You could hardly blame a couple of punters who left during the 20-minute interval, turned off by the merry-goround of artists and a band cruising in an Opera House-appropriate safe zone. But somehow – as Hodgson toned down the explosive excitement factor, the band got the memo on Mitchell’s ‘I Want You’ and Kav’s ‘Rainy Day Women #12 & 35’, and the faces and styles became increasingly familiar – the night took on an air of proper, immersive tribute. Disjointed solo stints were exchanged for duets and camaraderie. The three others gradually rose to the task to match Kav and Throsby’s obvious early advantage. Lonely wolf whistles were replaced with resounding calls for an encore. To appropriate ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’: How many Australian music icons must a tribute show have, before you can call it a triumph? Five, apparently – and a little warm-up time. David Seidler
And one you definitely won’t: The Russian National Anthem. Sell it to us: Family-friendly Sunday afternoon block party, with beats, a BBQ vibe and a live street art showcase, featuring Sid Tapia and Takie (Melb). The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Sunshine, James Brown, soul train and live street art. Crowd specs: Family-friendly, people-friendly. Wallet damage: Free. Where: Inner-city courtyard/laneway location in the Chippendale/Redfern area – email soulofsydney@gmail.com for details. When: Sunday July 22, from midday-9pm
HLEY MAR
PHOTOGRAPHER : AS
REPRESSED RECORDS’ TENTH BIRTHDAY: DAMO SUZUKI & THE HOLY SOUL, THE UV RACE, PER PURPOSE, MODEL CITIZEN, HAIR HOCKMAN Red Rattler, Marrickville Saturday July 7 “Chris gave me a job, all because I was wearing a Stooges shirt, and I’ve never written a resume since!”
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repressed records' 10th b'day 07:07:12 :: Red Rattler :: 6 Faversham Street Marrickville 9565 1044 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY :: PEDRO XAVIER MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS
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Nic Warnock’s reasons may be unique, but all of Sydney’s underground and punk scene owes a great debt of gratitude to Chris Sammut. The founder of Repressed Records has taken his invaluable business from Penrith to Newtown, supported the development of Warnock’s label R.I.P Society, and enthusiastically educated new generations of music fans. And that’s just the first ten years. Hair Hockman’s down-tempo beats are hypnotic, but it’s too early for the converted warehouse to start swaying
this Saturday evening. And before the standard issue tobacco pouches can be produced, it’s straight into Warnock’s Model Citizen. The three-piece grind out their work, alongside the obligatory Radio Birdman cover, before actually threatening to ride out on a melodic high. Thankfully, Brisbane’s Per Purpose arrest any chance of that, with a drudgedwelling half hour. I've previously extolled the virtues of the northern four-piece, but it was a shame that only the rhythm section was audible. Glen Schenau’s guitar wasn’t even present: there was simply nowhere for their no-wave to venture without any anchor or sense of tune. Then arriveth Marcus Rechsteiner – frontman of Warragul’s The UV Race, and identifiable symbol for the pageantry of an occasion that so many in the room were trying to scowl away. They whip through choice cuts including ‘I Go Blank’ and ‘Society Made Me Selfish’ from their debut LP, with guitarist Al Montfort providing some hustle and twang as his guitar bobs and weaves amongst the mix. Then Marcus took an ill-considered and shirtless stage-dive, and some smiles were sighted up the back... Unfortunately The Holy Soul with Damo Suzuki (CAN) are all dips and sway with no potency tonight. It’s a shame because the collaborative work they’re producing (from last year’s live album) is mesmerising when allowed to build properly. But then there’s always the promise of the 20th birthday... Benjamin Cooper
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up all night out all week . . .
arachnids
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05:07:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St 9331 9900
the cairos
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06:07:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
lime cordiale
07:07:12 :: The Standard:: Level 3/383 Bourke St Surry Hills 9331 3100
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07:07:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool Street Sydney 8084 0587
06:07:12 :: The World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 9357 7700
black cherry
It sounds like: A Best-Of Tarantino soundtrack with a dose of punk, ska, glam metal, ‘80s music and rockabilly for good measure. If it rocks, we play it! Who’s playing? The Art, Abbie Cardwell, The Ramshackle Army, ‘Gong punkers Topnovil, guest DJs Jane Gazzo, Jack Shit (FBi) and the Twist & Shout DJs, and Black Cherry DJs! Sell it to us: Black Cherry is Sydney’s biggest live band, burlesque and DJ club event, with three stages of entertainment and a huge licensed heated outdoor area with its own soundtrack. Cheap drinks all night, some of the best DJs and circus burlesque shows in town, plus bands, Jungle Rump Rock’n’Roll Karaoke, Twist & Shout '60s Dance Party on The Factory Floor, and the Cantina Mobil Mexican food truck back on site! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The amazingly epic night you had. Crowd specs: Rockers, punks, mods, rockabillies, psychobillies, goths and glam-rockers. Wallet damage: $18 (+bf) from blackcherrypresents.com.au / $22 at the door / $15 with Tea Party ticket after 11pm Where: The Factory Theatre / 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville When: Saturday July 21, 8pm-3am
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party profile
It’s called: Black Cherry + The Tea Party after-party
06:07:12 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour Street Sydney 9320 4200
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY :: PEDRO XAVIER MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 31
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send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
DZ Deathrays
ROCK & POP
Open Mic Night Hard Rock Cafe, Darling Harbour free 8pm Unherd Open Mic Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm
JAZZ
Bernie McGann, John Harkins Trio Venue 505 $10-$15 8.30pm Jim Gannon Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Monday Jam: Danny G Felix, Djay Kohinga The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Russell Neal, Gaz Black, Massimo Presti, Chris Brookes Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm
FRIDAY JULY 20
TUESDAY JULY 17
The Factory Theatre, Enmore
Call The Cops:
DZ Deathrays, Bleeding Knees Club, Yacht Club DJs, The Fabergettes $25 8pm all-ages
ROCK & POP
Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Day Ravies, Family The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9pm
JAZZ
Jazzgroove: The Vampires, Line of Flight Venue 505, Surry Hills $8-$15 8.30pm Shane Flew Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Andrew Denniston, L J Phillips Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks free 7pm Russell Neal, Brian Manning, Emad Younan, Renee Jonas, Stuart Jammin, The Off Siders, The Dudleys, Spike Thomson Taverners Hill Hotel, Leichhardt free 7pm The Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm
WEDNESDAY JULY 18 ROCK & POP
Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9pm Benjamin Francis Leftwich (UK), The Trouble With Templeton The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 8pm Bernie Hayes Downstairs, Sandringham
Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Bity Booker Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Cameras UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington 8pm Flyte The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Gemma The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Hunting Grounds, Red Ink, The Owls Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm I’m With Stupid O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Jay Parrino Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Josh McIvor Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Ladyhawke (NZ), All The Colours Metro Theatre, Sydney $43.90 (+ bf) 8pm Lake Nash, Zoe Elliott, Tainui Richmond Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 7pm Michele Madden, Bow and Davis, Blackie, The Mls-Made Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Musos Jam Night Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 8pm The Rubens, Upskirts, The Guppies Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst 8pm Songwriters Live: Marla Lippis & The Martial Hearts The Old Manly Boatshed 8.30pm
JAZZ
Dan Rader Sextet Venue 505, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm World Music Wednesdays: Os Fosforos Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Darren Bennett, Black Diamond, Nathan Cole Cookies Lounge and Bar, North Strathfield free 6.30pm Daniel Hopkins, Raoul Graf, Jules Backman Taren Point Hotel free 7pm Greg Sita, Men With Day Jobs Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm Russell Neal, Kyle Dessent & Chris Inada, Senani, Bec O’Brien, Lucy B, George & Ted Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills free 7pm TAOS, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald Coach & Horses Hotel, Randiwck free 7pm
THURSDAY JULY 19 ROCK & POP
Adelle & Glenn, Kate Gogarty
Green Room Lounge, Enmore free 8pm Astrid And The Asteroids, The Bubble Wrap Sensation, General Pants & The Privates The Vanguard, Newtown $13.80–$48.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Brass Knuckles Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Hot Damn: For Our Hero, The Sunny Side Up, Wake The Giants, A Sleepless Melody, Breakaway Spectrum, Darlinghurst 8pm Is it Her Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $20 8pm Johnathan Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Lady Sings It Better The Factory Floor, The Factory Theatre, Enmore $25-$30 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Laurels The Loft, UTS, Broadway, Ultimo free 5pm Lounge Sounds Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Neighbourhood Watch: La Mancha Negra, Glitter Canyon The Standard, Darlinghurst 8pm Out Sold The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm The Paper Kites The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8pm Rai Thistlethwayte Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 8pm Rainbow Chan, Outerwaves, Albatross, Astral DJs FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Rubens, Them Swoops, The Mountains Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst sold out 8pm Sarah McLeod, Max, Rose Of York Brass Monkey, Cronulla $23.50 7pm The Sidetracked Fiasco Glasshouse Bar, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo Staff Picks: Sister Jane, The Dreamboats, Fanny Lumsden, Edward Deer, Goodsie and Larry Emdur Annandale Hotel $5 (+ bf) 7.30pm Steve Tonge Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Vultures: Release The Hounds, Kang, Tiger & The Rogues, DJ Skar The Lansdowne, Broadway free 7pm West Tigers Homeground Heroes Band Competition Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm
JAZZ
Ali And The Thieves Venue 505, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm The Cellar Jazz Jam: Phil Stack Trio & Friends The Spice Cellar, Sydney free 9pm Les Eclectiques Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $22-$25 7pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm
“I try to take her down, I want to make you grab me by the neck” - CAMERAS 32 :: BRAG :: 471 : 16:07:12
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pick of the week
MONDAY JULY 16
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send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Renee Geyer The Basement, Circular Quay $40 (+ bf)–$94.80 (dinner & show) 7.30pm Sean MacKenzie with Christopher Soulos and Fabian Hevia Blue Beat, Double Bay $15 (+ bf) 9pm Tim & Pete Well Connected Café / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Andrew Denniston, Matt Savelberg Ettalong B/C free 7.30pm Russell Neal, Nick Domenicos, Spencer McCullum, Richard Murphy Kogarah Hotel free 7pm Under The Purple Tree Horse & Jockey Hotel, Homebush free 7.30pm Up Close & Personal Acoustic Artists Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8pm
FRIDAY JULY 20 ROCK & POP
Bayonets For Legs, Hailer, Crooked Little Dagger, The Havelocks The Lansdowne, Broadway free 8pm Brad Johns Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Call The Cops: Yacht Club DJs, DZ Deathrays, Bleeding Knees Club, The Fabergettes The Factory Theatre, Enmore $25 8pm all-ages Day Of The Meerkat, Surprise Wasp, Black Island Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Disco Is Dead, Mavens, Crash Tragic Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 9pm Emma Louise, Argentina Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $15 (+ bf) 8pm Fait Accompli, Bloods, Chicks Who Love Guns, Udays Tiger, Bang! Bang! Rock n’ Roll, Bec and Ben, Papercrane, Violet Pulp Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 7pm Frenzal Rhomb, I Exist, Dead Boss Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $21.25-$25 (+ bf) 8pm Generation Crash Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 8pm The Griswolds, Young Romantics, Made In Japan, City Riots FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 8pm He She Wonderful, The Wondertones The Roxbury, Glebe $10 8pm Hira Hira, Yes I’m Leaving, Making, Drum Drum The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Hue Williams Oasis on Beamish free 8.15pm Khargish, Trauma Victim, Celebrity Morgue, Abacination Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Lady Sings It Better The Factory Floor, The Factory Theatre, Enmore sold out 7.30pm Matt Banham & Summer Flake, Disgusting People, Alyx, Through The Forest Door Petersham Bowling Club 8pm MUM: Sweet Teeth, Super Best Friends, No Art, March of The Real Fly, Corpus, The Brutal
Poodles, Sky Squadron, 10th Avenue, Cries Wolf DJs, DJ Boy, Sammy K, Wet Lungs, The Nickles, Buzz Kull DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross free $10-$15 9pm Next Best Thing NSW Sports Club, Sydney free 8.30pm No Beef Patty, No Beef Patty with Stu and Friends Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Northeast Party House, Panama, Colour Coding GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Polar Nation, Elliot the Bull, Carl Fox, Kristy Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm The Radiators Brass Monkey, Cronulla $31.65 7pm Roots: Matty Effin Morrison, All In A Year Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Toot Toot Toots, La Mancha Negra, The Nice Folk The Vanguard, Newtown $20 (+ bf)–$55 (dinner & show) 8pm Wendy Matthews Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $49–$107 (dinner & show) 7pm The xx (UK) Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8pm
JAZZ
Bobby Gebert Trio, John Harkins Trio The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)–$20 8.30pm Cumbiamuffin Blue Beat, Double Bay $15 (+ bf) 9pm Freeway – The Chet Baker Story: Tim Draxl The Studio, Sydney Opera House $79.90 (B Res)– $99.90 (A Res) 8.15pm Gypsy Dub Sound System Venue 505, Surry Hills $15$20 8.30pm Kriola Collective Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $15-$20 7.30pm Renee Geyer The Basement, Circular Quay $40 (+ bf)–$94.80 (dinner & show) 7.30pm
SATURDAY JULY 21 ROCK & POP
2 Of Hearts Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Alotta Presha, Feida’s Boss, Agency Dub Collective, DJ Iron Gate Sound The Lansdowne, Broadway free 8pm Australian Metropolitan Orchestra Balmain Town Hall $35 8pm Beggars Orchestra, Partisan Code, Red Oxygen, Gods Of Rapture The Square, Haymarket $15 8pm Black Cherry: The Art, The Ramshackle Army, Abbie Cardwell & Her Leading Men, Top Novil, Jungle Rump Rock’n’Roll Karaoke with Kolonel Klink, Jane Gazzo, Jack Shit, Sinead Ni Mhordha (IRE), The Black Cherry DJs, Twist and Shout DJs, Renny Kodgers The Factory Theatre, Enmore $18 (+ bf) 8pm Blaze Of Glory / The Bon Jovi Show Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm
Call To Colour, The Bland, The Vans Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $12 8pm Cameras, Lowlakes, Melodie Nelson FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Chasm Soundsystem feat. Hau, Deer Republic, Penelope Austin, Bert & Ernie Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Dave Graney and The MistLY, Liz Martin Notes Live, Enmore $23.50 7pm Dave Tice and Mark Evans Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Declan Sykes James Squire Brewhouse, Sydney 8pm Earprojector, Baby X, Swingtanic Sextet, Gunface Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Emma Pask Brass Monkey, Cronulla $23.50 7pm Fiona Leigh-Jones, Jones Duo Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Front End Loader Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm The Headliners Dundas Sports Club free 8.30pm Hit Machine RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 8pm J Mo, Jesse Morris & The 3 Beans 5, Kinsky, Julian Temple (NZ) The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80–$50.80 (dinner & show) 8pm The Jacksons Experience: Brown Sugar, Glenn Cunningham, Grace Senituli, Lady Lyric The Basement, Circular Quay $29 (+ bf) 8pm JuliaWhy?, God K, Reckless Vagina, Beef Jerk, Sleep Debt, Heart Attack Machines Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm Kittens: The Bright Young Things, Johnsong, Kittens DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Mic Conway’s National Junk Band Empire Hotel, Annandale $15 (conc)–$20 8pm The My Tys Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Original Sin INXS Show Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown free 9pm Permanent, Skull Squadron, Black Lion Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 9pm Pluto Jonze, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, Tim Fitz GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Saturday Night Live: Max Power Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Simon Cox and Friends The Mac, Surry Hills free 8pm Slaughterfest V: Lo!, Agonhymn, Mother Eel, Mish, We Lost the Sea, Brazen Bull, Moth, Broozer, At Dark, Not Like Horse, Lomera, The Down Going, Yurei Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $20 1pm Sosueme: Furnace & the Fundamentals, Bell Weather Department, Thieves, Edward Deer, Joyride, Hobophonics, The Standard, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm Stormcellar Royal Hotel, Bondi 8.30pm The Tea Party (CAN), Georgia Fair
Polyminor, Chris Gillespe, Luchi Glebe Café Church $12 7.30pm Russell Neal, The Pug Earlwood Hotel free 7pm Sanity’s Collision Newport Marets free 11am
Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park $85 (+ bf) 7.30pm Tom Quaife, Twi La, Jack Selwyn, James Englund Music The Roxbury, Glebe $10 8pm
JAZZ
Andrew Russell Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL Club free 7pm Brian’s Famous Jazz and Chilli Crab Night: David De Vries Group Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $19–$59 (dinner & show) 8pm Downhome Trio Rozelle Markets free 10.30am Freeway – The Chet Baker Story: Tim Draxl The Studio, Sydney Opera House $79.90–$99.90 8.15pm Gary Daley’s Sanctuary, Jess Green 505 Club, Surry Hills $21 (conc)–$26 8pm Judy Bailey Trio The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)–$20 8.30pm Papa Mbaye and Chosani Afrique Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20-$25 7.30pm Rosie, Abuka Blue Beat, Double Bay $10$15 (+ bf) 9pm Sanctuary Venue 505, Surry Hills $15$20 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Marius Petipa & Alexander Glazunov Riverside Theatres, Parramatta $27 1pm
SUNDAY JULY 22 ROCK & POP
Ace Karaoke Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Australian Metropolitan Orchestra Independent Theatre, North Sydney $35 3pm Blues Sunday: Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Dave Graney and The MistLY, Liz Martin Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why 8pm Dirty Deeds – The AC/DC Show Catho Pub, Catherine Hill Bay free 2pm For Our Hero, The Never Ever, A Sleepless Melody, Masketta Fall The Factory Floor, The Factory Theatre, Enmore $15 (+ bf) 6pm all-ages Glenn Cunningham Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 8pm Hue Williams Ocean Beach Hotel 5.30pm Jesse Younan Tribute The Vanguard, Newtown $13.80–$48.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Nicky Kurta Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm
Of Monsters And Men (Iceland) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst sold out 8pm Out of Nowhere’s Cindy Walkerthon Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm Salsa Night Hard Rock Cafe, Darling Harbour free 8.30pm Screaming Sunday Annandale Hotel 11am allages Set Sail Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 7pm The Shouties Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Sunset People: Matt Banham & Summer Flake, Charles Buddy Daaboul Hollywood Hotel, Surry Hills 4pm Vibrations At Valve Band Competition Valve Bar, Tempe 1pm
JAZZ
Freeway - The Chet Baker Story: Tim Draxl The Studio, Sydney Opera House $79.90–$99.90 6pm Gary Daley’s Sanctuary, Jess Green Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Pete Hunt Oatley Hotel free 2pm Russell Neal Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm White Ocean Avenue, Jade Sharwood, Frank Calabria, Col Waters, Mike Searson, Black Diamond Corrimal Hotel free 3pm
wed
18 July
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
thu
19 July
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
fri
20 July
(5:00PM - 8:00PM)
(9:30PM - 1:30AM)
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
sat
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
July
SATURDAY NIGHT
21
(9:00PM - 1:30AM)
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
sun
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
July
SUNDAY NIGHT
22
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 33
gig picks up all night out all week...
WEDNESDAY JULY 18
Abbie Cardwell
Benjamin Francis Leftwich (UK), The Trouble With Templeton The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80-$58.80 (with dinner) 8pm
Fait Accompli, Bloods, Chicks Who Love Guns, Udays Tiger, Bang! Bang! Rock n’ Roll, Bec and Ben, Papercrane, Violet Pulp Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 7pm MUM: Sweet Teeth, Super Best Friends, No Art, March of The Real Fly, Corpus, The Brutal Poodles and more The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 9pm
Hunting Grounds, Red Ink, The Owls Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm
Northeast Party House, Panama, Colour Coding GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm
Ladyhawke (NZ), All The Colours Metro Theatre, Sydney $43.90 (+ bf) 8pm
THURSDAY JULY 19
The xx (UK) Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8pm
La Mancha Negra, Glitter Canyon The Standard, Darlinghurst $10 8pm
Cameras, Lowlakes, Melodie Nelson FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Pluto Jonze, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, Tim Fitz GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm The Tea Party (CAN), Georgia Fair Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park $85 (+ bf) 7.30pm
SATURDAY JULY 21
Rainbow Chan, Outerwaves, Albatross, Astral DJs FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 8pm
Novil, Jungle Rump Rock’n’Roll Karaoke with Kolonel Klink, Jane Gazzo, Jack Shit, Sinead Ni Mhordha (IRE), The Black Cherry DJs, Twist and Shout DJs, Renny Kodgers The Factory Theatre, Enmore $18 (+ bf) 8pm
SUNDAY JULY 22
Black Cherry: The Art, The Ramshackle Army, Abbie Cardwell & Her Leading Men, Top
Of Monsters And Men (IS) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst sold out 8pm
The Rubens, Them Swoops, The Mountains Oxford Art Factory $15 8pm
Pluto Jonze
Sister Jane, The Dreamboats, Fanny Lumsden, Edward Deer, Goodsie and Larry Emdur Annandale Hotel $5 (+ bf) 7.30pm
Emma Louise, Argentina, Dads Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $15 (+ bf) 8pm Xxxx
Ladyhawke
FRIDAY JULY 20
www.fbisocial.com
L2 Kings Cross Hotel
Wednesday July 18
Friday July 20
Saturday July 21
LAUGH YOUR TITS OFF:
THE GRISWOLDS YOUNG ROMANTICS MADE IN JAPAN CITY RIOTS
CAMERAS
UP AND COMERS 8 COMEDIANS & HOST SAM BOWRING
7:30pm // $10 at the door
Thursday July 19
8pm // $10 at the door
8pm // $10 at the door
RAINBOW CHAN OUTERWAVES (SPLIT VINYL LAUNCH) ALBATROSS +ASTRAL DJ’S 8PM// $10 + BF through Moshtix // $10 at the door 34 :: BRAG :: 471 : 16:07:12
LOWLAKES MELODIE NELSON
HANDS UP! (LAUNCH NIGHT)
MONDAY 23RD JULY
A RATIONAL FEAR 7:30PM // $10 BROADCAST LIVE ON FBI
THROW DOWN TIL YOU THROW UP DJ’S STAGGMAN & CLOCKWORK 11:30pm // FREE
brag beats
BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
dance music news
Rainman
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Alasdair Duncan
five things WITH
DIRTY SOUTH JOE unparalleled degree of trolling they did to the music industry. I’d like to get on a level like that: high enough to prank the universe. Your Crew I run with two major crews: Brick Bandits 3. are my New Jersey and Philly producers, known for our fantastic club music (DJ Sliink, DJ Sega, Nadus, DJ Swizzymack Tim Dolla, DJ Tameil, Gun$ Garcia etc...), and the Mad Decent Monday crew are my handpicked group of lethal DJs that hold it down in Philadelphia, where we host the cream of the crop in future music at our weekly party. The Music You Make Expect to hear the best in Jersey & 4. Philly club, trap (both of the EDM and ratchet rap variety), luvstep, global bass and everything else under the sun, in a highenergy blender of raw dancefloor emotion and power! Music, Right Here, Right Now Music has never sounded better. There 5. is an abundance of something for everyone
Growing Up The most formative influence on my 1. love of dance music was probably my father taking me to see Saturday Night Fever when I was six years old. Although rap music was my first true love at the age of 12, something about the Saturday Night Fever experience never went away. Years later, in high school, my father would wake me up almost every
GIGAMESH DOWN UNDER
US producer Gigamesh, real name Matt Masurka, made a name for himself with his mostly-unofficial remixes of artists like Michael Jackson, New Order, The Clash and Stardust. He took things a step further earlier this year with the release of his EP, All My Life, on the cult French imprint Kitsuné. All My Life is an irresistible fusion of disco
weekend blasting disco in his room. I would actually get mad about the bass booming through my wall. Now I live for it! Inspirations The KLF are/were my chief musical 2. inspiration. But their sound, while quite good, paled in comparison to both their left-field approach to social commentary, and the and electro that pushes all the right buttons, with elastic bass lines, seductive female vocals, and the occasional fl ourish of cheesy synth strings. The video for the title track pays homage to the sci-fi classic Logan’s Run, and is defi nitely worth seeking out on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already… Why all this talk of Gigamesh, you ask? Well, the man himself has just announced that he’ll
Mitzi
happening anywhere and everywhere, all of the time. Thanks to the internet, the relationship between artists and fans is more direct than ever, and the middleman has been replaced by ingenuity and innovation. We’re all musical neighbors now! With: I Am Jesse (NYC/Tokyo), Luny P (Flip DJs), Eames and more Where: Mad Decent @ GoodGod Small Club When: Friday July 20
be taking a trip to Australia later this year. You can take in some of his sweet disco sounds at the Ivy Pool on George Street, on Sunday September 30.
FORESHORE FESTIVAL 2012 The first lineup announcement for this year’s Foreshore festival, presented by Kicks Entertainment, is upon us, and there is some pretty big talent in the mix. The festival takes place in Commonwealth Park, on the foreshore of Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin, on Saturday November 24. At the top of the bill are trance titan Tiësto and cheeky electro-pop guy Calvin Harris, while 360, Example, Naughty By Nature, Major Lazer, Dash Berlin, Peter Robinson, Bassnecar, Tommy Trash, The Knocks and many more will also appear, with further acts still to be announced. General release tickets are on sale this Thursday July 19 at 9am. Hop to.
DIGITALISM GET THEIR DJ KICKS ON
MITZI DJS @ THE SPICE CELLAR
Brisbane lads Mitzi have proven themselves an act to watch over the last year or two, bringing their immaculate live disco sets to festivals around the country, and opening for some huge acts like The Whitest Boy Alive. They don’t have too many releases to their name as yet – the excellent All I Heard EP is available on iTunes – although if the rumours are true, they may recently have been working on a full-length, which will see a dropped later in the year... If you need a fix of Mitzi before then, head along to The Spice Cellar on Elizabeth Street to see them performing a DJ set on Friday July 20. Also on the bill are Ben Korbel and Discopunx; and as always, entry is free before midnight if you register on The Spice Cellar’s Facebook page.
The guys from Digitalism are practically Australian residents at this point – we clearly can’t get enough of the raucous German electro duo, who’ve already toured this particular part of the world several times in honour of their last release, I Love You Dude. If you’ve fl ogged that album enough and need something new, then you’re in luck; Ismael and Jens have just released a brand spankin’ new compilation, an entry in the ongoing DJ Kicks mix series. Previous DJ Kicks alumni include Tiga, Hot Chip and the quite delightful Erlend Øye, and this one continues the trend of quality beats. The mix is heavy on Digitalism originals, featuring no less than fi ve, and also showcases their remix work – including their take on The Rapture’s ‘Sail Away’. Other artists who appear amongst the 22 tracks include Hey Today!, WhoMadeWho, Vitalic and Alex Gopher. Good one!
FALLS FESTIVAL MK II
The New Year’s Eve institution that is Falls Festival is coming back this year, with a selection of musical delights that’s as varied as ever. They recently dropped their second lineup announcement, and
RAINMAN LIVE
Brisbane MC Rainman has built himself a pretty damn impressive resume over the last few years, sharing stages with international acts like Grandmaster Flash, Ice Cube and The Jungle Brothers, as well as home-grown talent including The Herd, Hilltop Hoods, Muph & Plutonic, Thundamentals and Tommy Illfi gga. Contemporaries have praised him for his laidback but assured fl ow and for his songwriting style, which contains an eloquence rarely heard in local hip hop. This May saw the release of Rainman’s second album, Bigger Pictures – lyrically, the record is an intimate journey of self-discovery, while production-wise it features beats from a number of local heavyhitters, and a variety of eccentric guest vocal turns including one from Pear, leader of indie folk group The Awkward Orchestra. The album has been one of the year’s more talkedabout, meaning that an official launch tour is more than overdue; this month, Rainman will do just that, appearing at FBi Social on Friday July 27.
there are quite a few drawcards on the bill on the dance and hip hop side of things. Leading the announcement are UK electro pop types Hot Chip, whose excellent new album, In Our Heads, arrived last month. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs will also appear, making up for last year’s cancellation. Hilltop Hoods are another big addition to the bill, and they will join the likes of previously-announced acts like SBTRKT, Coolie and Sampology, the latter of which is playing a special anniversary AV show. On the less beat-based side of the equation, other Falls 2012 acts include Bombay Bicycle Club, First Aid Kit, Maxïmo Park, Millions, The Flaming Lips, Beach House, Best Coast, Boy And Bear and The Vaccines. The festival has no home in Sydney – it’s a Victoria/Tasmania affair – but we’re holding our breaths for some sideshow announcements…
JAMES HOLDEN FOR STRAWBERRY FIELDS
Speaking of interstate festivals, Strawberry Fields is a weekend gathering of dance nerds and those who love them, held deep in the beautiful bushland of Victoria. The festival has built up a pretty solid reputation over the last few years, and the just-announced lineup for the 2012 edition has some pretty damn strong names. Foremost among these is the UK’s enigmatic James Holden, who will play a very special Border Community anniversary set. Tycho, of the Ghostly International label, will also appear, performing a set of shimmering ambient electronica with his live band, alongside techno and electronic music luminaries like Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Teebs, Stephan Bodzin, Prefuse 73, Boris Brejcha, Khainz, SQL & Child (playing live) and many more. If you want something a little more cerebral than your standard shirts-off, fi st-pumping dance festivals, this may just be the way to go. BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 35
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Alasdair Duncan
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
he said she said WITH
JAXON FROM THE MANE THING
I wanted the tracks to DJ with myself. We like to have fun when we play, jump around, get into the show, and say “BURS” as much as possible during our set. I think we’re pretty compatible; we know what we like to play and work well together – plus we both can handle our drink, which has certainly helped. The Music You Make For the past year we’ve been pushing 4. 100% Moombahton. We like to give people something a bit different to what they are used to, and more and more they’re loving the 110 tempo. We did a little ‘Moombah Burs’ mini mix which is on our SoundCloud, where you can hear what we’re all about. Music, Right Here, Right Now Bass music in Sydney is thriving at the 5. moment, you just have to look at The Wall at Growing Up I remember when I was in year two, we 1. had to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up – and while everyone was drawing lawyers, superheroes, fire trucks and shit, I drew me as a DJ on triple j. Mum wasn’t too impressed (she is very supportive now) and I copped a fair bit of stick, but I’ve always had it in me to play records to people. I still pinch myself that I get to do it on a regular basis – but I’m still waiting on that call from triple j… People like Dillon Francis, TNGHT 2.Inspirations
BIG CHOCOLATE AT CHINESE LAUNDRY
California native Cameron Agron began his musical career as a singer in metal bands with names like Disfiguring The Goddess and Burning The Masses – but it wasn’t long before he heard the call of the dancefloor. These days he makes dubstep music under the much-less-terrifying name of Big Chocolate. Dawwww. The youngster has made a name for himself with the release of dozens of remixes, as well as a handful of EPs and an album; with dubstep as his foundation, Big Chocolate’s tracks take in everything from drum’n’bass to electro, and
(Lunice & Hudson Mowhake), Munchi, Flosstradamus and JWLS are doing some amazing things overseas, but I wouldn’t say our inspiration is based on particular artists – it’s good to be open, and to take inspiration from anything. Take a look at most successful artists: when starting out, they create their own signature sound rather than trying to copy others. Your Crew We met a few years back when I had my 3. Deckhead blog; I used to hit Steve up for Hump Day bootlegs to put on the site, mainly because even some harder sounds that hark back to his former life as a metal band dude. You can see his storming show for yourself when he comes to Chinese Laundry this Friday July 20, with support from the resident Boss Bass Crew.
The World Bar on Wednesdays and Chinese Laundry – there is always a constant flow of internationals coming to Australia, whether it’s for club or festival sets. With Dillon Francis coming for Stereosonic I can see more Moombah producers coming over in 2013. Sydney have some seriously talented people getting props locally and internationally too, like J-Trick, Spenda C (Steve’s solo project), What So Not, Dr Werewolf, Blaze Tripp, Wax Motif and Kyro & Bomber, just to name a few.
S.A.S.H WE LIKE
Sydney's favourite party starters S.A.S.H have announced the arrival of a new series of themed parties, and it’s a goodie. Alongside their S.A.S.H Soup parties, the promoters have unveiled the first edition of ‘S.A.S.H We Like’, which sees the S.A.S.H boys selecting DJs throughout the scene that they’ve dubbed worthy of a larger slice of control. The first DJ stepping up to the We Like plate is Alan Thomas, a regular at the Goldfish party Switch and the Burdekin’s new Oscillate night. Shivers, Ben Ashton, Reno, Kerry Wallace, and Spice Cellar regular Matt Weir will be supporting, with everything kicking off at The Abercrombie Hotel this Sunday July 22 at 2pm. To get your hands on a double pass, tell us the dream DJ you’d have spinning at the ‘Crombie.
CHEZ DAMIER
More than 30 years before Skrillex first pressed play on his laptop (oh snap), Chez Damier was redefining dance music by looping disco vocals over smooth beats. The spinner of soulful, honeyed classics like ‘Can You Feel It’ and ‘Sometimes I Feel Like’ has spent more than three decades bringing the gospel of house music to the masses, and now the Chicago house legend is gearing up for an exclusive Sydney set. Catch the master in action at The Spice Cellar on Saturday July 21. With support from prolific Aussie DJs Murat Kilic, Nic Scali and Steven Sullivan, it’s gearing up to be an awesome night. To score a double pass, tell us the name of the legendary record label Chez Damier set up with producer Ron Trent.
With: Thomas Schumacher Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday July 21
Chez Damier
The Big Village crew
DIRTY SOUTH JOE + I AM JESSE + A VERY VERY MAD DECENT PARTY
All the way from Philadelphia – where it’s always sunny, just in case you weren’t aware – Dirty South Joe is all set to make his way to Australia to school the locals in the ways
Urthboy
BIG THINGS FROM BIG VILLAGE
Since its inception in 2010, the Big Village label has remained passionately committed to raising the diversity and standard of quality in the Australian hip hop landscape. The imprint is turning two this year, and to celebrate the milestone they’ve announced the release of a brand new compilation, along with an accompanying national tour. Big Things Vol. Two acts as a showcase for the label’s roster of talent; described as an adventurous and mature collection of bass-heavy tunes, united in their “no bullshit attitude to making hip hop music”, it includes tracks from the likes of Tuka, Ellesquire, Daily Meds, True Vibenation and Loose Change, as well as selections from Reverse Polarities, Suburban Dark, Rapaport, Klue and Tenth Dan. The Big Village tour – featuring their full roster of current acts, headlined by Tuka and Ellesquire – will be hitting up the Oxford Art Factory on Friday September 14.
URTHBOY’S NAÏVE BRAVADO TOUR
Urthboy’s most recent single, ‘Naïve Bravado’, features the vocals of the sublimely talented Daniel Merriweather, and quickly became a staple on radio around the country. If you were craving more, you’re in luck – the Aussie hip hop star has officially announced the release of a brand new album, Smokey’s Haunt. The record, co-produced by Hermitude and Count Bounce, is his fourth full-length, and will be out on October 12. But a record release is nothing without a tour, and throughout September Urthboy will be heading through the country, giving fans a taste of what to expect from the LP. You can catch him at Oxford Art Factory on Friday September 21 – support comes courtesy of Indigenous hop hop act The Last Kinection, as well as triple j favourites Yung Warriors. Urthboy himself will be joined on stage by long-time collaborators Elgusto (Hermitude) and Jane Tyrrell.
36 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
of booty shaking and bass. Dirty South Joe is a veteran of Philly’s infamous Mad Decent parties, and in a career that has spanned more than a decade, he’s honed his signature raucous style of B’more and house. You can catch him doing his thing at A Very Very Mad Decent Party presented by Sniff Sniff, at GoodGod Small Club on Friday July 20. Support on the night will come from dual Tokyo and New York resident I Am Jesse, as well as Aussies Luny P (Flip DJs) and Eames, with more to be announced.
TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS ON KINGS CROSS VENUES Following the tragic death of 18-year-old Thomas Kelly in an unprovoked attack in
Kings Cross, there have been calls to scale back the number of venues operating in the area. In June, the state government put a freeze on the issuing of liquor licenses in the Cross, serving to halt the establishment of any new venues – but following Kelly’s death, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore stated that reducing the number of venues in the area is the key to reducing violence. “We need to be able to say no more venues in this area, and scale back the existing ones,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald. Officers at the Kings Cross police station are attempting to track Kelly’s attacker down with the assistance of the homicide squad; NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Murdoch has pleaded with the attacker – or anyone with any information – to come forward.
Skream In Skream We Trust By MG
T
here was a time, not so long ago, when the term ‘dubstep’ referred to a style of music a tad more refined than the soundtrack to a Transformers sex party. Instead of high-pitched whining noises and over-thetop oscillations blasted in giant stadiums to huge crowds of sweating, muscle-bound brosteppers, it was dark, dingy music confined to dark, dingy rooms, where the air was thick with fog and the sweet stench of saliva from countless covert spliffs passed between pale hooded figures. It was in this shady realm that Skream (né Oliver Jones) first took to the turntables. Having become interested in music production “at about 13 or 14, after watching [a friend] making a tune on a PlayStation”, Jones began producing hundreds of tracks in his bedroom, while working at the now-legendary Big Apple Records in Croydon. Having a job in a record shop, he got used to listening to a lot of different styles of music – he describes himself as having been influenced by techno, house, disco, drum’n’bass, and especially garage, with the first record he ever bought a Booker T vocal remix of ‘Bizzi’s Party’ by UK garage producer Bizzi. When the “dark garage” that Jones and his peers were producing began to emerge as a genre in its own right, and when the first talk of this thing called ‘dubstep’ began to circulate BBC Radio 1 and the UK music press, the name Skream was right at the
head of the charge. With his 2005 release ‘Midnight Request Line’ already cemented as one of the early defining tracks of dubstep, Jones released his first album in 2006 – the appropriately-titled Skream! – which was met with near-universal acclaim. Dubstep exploded in popularity across the UK and abroad, and Jones found himself a highly in-demand producer and remixer. He gained crossover appeal with some highprofile releases, including his remix of La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’ – and when some of his long-time fans reacted strongly to these commercial outings, Jones took to Twitter and defended himself against the backlash. To his credit, he has largely resisted the temptation to take the sugar-sweet pop path; last year he turned down an offer to produce UK starlet Cher Lloyd’s ‘Dub On The Track’, saying at the time, “The track is fucking awful. They asked me to do it originally, they offered me so much money and I was like, ‘Fuck that, I’m not doing it ... You’d have to pay me a lot more because I’d have to give up my career – that’d be it!’” Today, a good chunk of Jones’ time is taken up with Magnetic Man, his collaboration with fellow Croydon producers Benga and Artwork. The dubstep supergroup have an album currently in the works, the follow-up to their self-titled 2010 release which was massive crossover hit. On top of that, Jones has just finished work on Skreamizm 7,
which is due for release within a month or so, adding to a myriad of other commitments including his show on BBC Radio 1. “Benga and I was approached to start a monthly show on Radio 1 a year or so ago which was called In New DJs We Trust, alongside DJ Chuckie, Heide, Toddla T, Andy George and Jaymo,” Jones says. “We’d all rotate a weekly show – Toddla T one week, Benga and I another, etcetera. The show went amazingly well and next thing we know we was being offered a full-time show every Friday night taking over from Judge Jules... It was crazy!”
Things will get similarly crazy when Skream hits Australia later this month, alongside his long-time partner in grime, MC Sgt. Pokes, as well as two other London dubstep/garage heads, Joker and Plastician. So you’d best put on your bass face and ditch your drainpipe jeans for some low-riders – because shit is gonna get low. With: Sgt. Pokes, Joker, Plastician Where: The Big Ape Tour @ Metro Theatre When: Saturday July 21
Trinity And Beyond Reigning Over Beats By Benjamin Cooper
R
enae Trcek is ready to take the show on the road – which is good news for fans of her project with producer John Tzineris, Trinity And Beyond. The DJ half of the duo is the first to admit that their music requires oodles of frustrating preparation. “We DO take a very, very long time to make a track,” she laughs. “But a lot of that comes from what we bring to process. When we’re laying down a track it involves a whole lot of work; we’re not just looking at midi files or production files. There’s a lot of thought that goes into how we program, and John really has a lot of love for that type of work.”
Chez Damier Kickin’ It Old School By Alasdair Duncan
I
n the Chicago of the 1980s, house music wasn’t just a sound – it was a way of life. Chez Damier began working part-time in a record store at the age of 11 and quickly found himself caught up in the culture; befriending the DJs and the producers, styling his look after theirs, soaking up the music in the city’s clubs. Damier, whose own records would go on to be a big part of the story, looks back fondly on those days, but acknowledges that, like everything, they had to pass. “I think that if you’re a part of any culture or any movement, you want to believe that it will last forever,” he tells me, “but that’s not what happens. In the case of house music, we passed it on to another generation and another generation – but the DJs and the club owners, the people supporting it, began to change, and the sound became more commercial, and when commercial clubs started playing house music, it took away from the excitement of the early days a little bit. “I came from the underground,” he continues, “and I still feel connected to that, I don’t think I’ll ever lose that. I do like the idea that house has crossed over to a commercial audience, but it’s not a lifestyle anymore; it’s just something people enjoy.” This has not changed Damier’s fundamental approach, however – for him, it’s all about feelings. The reason he got into house in the first place, he tells me, was for the sheer joy and abandon and the music, and when he began producing, it was because he wanted to share this experience with as many people as possible. “That’s why I got into producing, why I wanted to open a club, why I became an artist myself – because I wanted to try and transfer this feeling that I got coming into the scene to other people.” The technology available to DJs has advanced greatly since the ‘80s, and Damier embraces the
digital revolution – if only, he says with a laugh, because of the damage that years of carrying around record crates has done to his back. “I think that when something is good it’s good, no matter what format it’s in, whether it’s digital or analogue,” he says. “I’m sure that technology has something to do with the change – once everything becomes very accessible, the value decreases a little bit. In the old days, if I wanted to hear the Detroit sound or the New York sound, I’d have to go to Detroit or New York. I’d have to go to the place to get the feeling, but now you have digital downloads, you have YouTube. It’s almost like you can experience something without actually experiencing it these days.” Damier mentions that, for the last three months, he’s had a residency in Chicago alongside Cajmere – otherwise known as Green Velvet – and I’m very curious to hear more about this. “Oh, it’s been great,” he says. “We’re on the road ourselves quite a bit, so coming back home to Chicago is really a great treat, and we love that we’re able to create and build something here. It’s a free night too, there’s no cover to get in. We’re there from midnight til three in the morning and we play backto-back. We don’t play two separate shows, we switch every two records. That’s something we really haven’t seen in Chicago since the early days of Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy – I saw them doing that at Power Plant back in the day and it just blew my mind. It’s so great, being able to take two very different energies and create a whole new story.”
But Trinity’s attempts to paint her colleague as an exacting drone are shattered as she reveals his much looser musical background: “When we met he was heavily involved in the jazz funk scene, listening to stuff like Jamiroquai. I was doing quite different stuff, working pretty hard as a DJ, and a mutual friend introduced us to each other. I’d just started making my own beats so I showed him some of my work, and after a while we started doing the electronic thing together.” Has Tzineris tried to bring some of his jazz funk tendencies to their project? “Well, there’s definitely no obvious Jamiroquai,” she laughs. “John is much bigger than just one genre any way. He plays bass really well, has trained classically, and can come up with these amazing keyboard melodies. A lot of people who make electronic music know what sounds good; the difference with us is that we’ve been working together for years to give life to the ideas.” The result are atmospheric but driven late-night beats, which carry with them lashings of melody and decades’ worth of musical ideas. The temporality of the electronic music world is all too familiar to Trinity, who recognises the need for a balance of passion and patience when honing her skills. “I think the best songs [we’ve made] are the ones we intended to be beautiful. We don’t follow trends or aim
to achieve a specific sound – by this stage we think we’ve got our own recognisable sound from our equipment and synthesisers. The beautiful songs are the ones that make people really feel something – that’s when we know that they really love it.” A resistance to trends and a desire for hardearned accomplishment clang loudly as Trinity And Beyond’s trademark. For them, the hardest part is the marketing involved. “We really don’t like the branding process. We’re still adjusting to having our faces out there,” Trcek says. “But we’re really glad to be doing this together. I mean, we were friends for four years before we started making music, and we’d just catch up once a week on a Wednesday to listen and talk about music. When we first started hanging out we were listening to a lot of progressive trance, and stuff like Sasha and James Holden, but we wanted to do more. Neither of us is lazy – we’ve maintained that focus and passion from the start – so it’s definitely a winning combination. Our music is quite gradual and heartfelt, but it’s also got a lot of melody. In fact, I’d probably say that melody is now the main [quality] of our music, which is pretty different to the rotating groove that’s so common in music today. “And that’s where we’re different: we don’t spend all our time using sequencing programs,” she continues. “We’ll use Ableton or Cubase [loop and edit sequencing tools], but once we’ve got a groove we add instruments and have fun with the arrangements... There’s so many sample banks that people can put together tracks so easily these days. We offer something very different.” What: Reign EP is out on Pinksilver Digital With: Annabelle Gaspar, Phil Smart Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Friday July 27
With: Murat Kilic, Nic Scali, Steven Sullivan Where: The Spice Cellar When: Saturday July 21 BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 37
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week Skream
SATURDAY JULY 21
Metro Theatre, Sydney
The Big Ape Presents: Skream (UK), Sgt Pokes (UK), Joker (UK), Plastician (UK), Glovecats, Subaske $65 8pm MONDAY JULY 16 Scruffy Murphys, Sydney Mother Of A Monday DJ Smokin Joe free 8pm The Sugar Mill, Kings Cross Makeout Mondays DJs free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jazz DJs free 7pm
TUESDAY JULY 17 Empire Hotel, Kings Cross Tight Resident DJs free 9pm Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Salsa DJ Willie
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Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphys, Sydney I Love Goon Tuesdays DJ Smokin Joe free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross We Love Brazil @ Coyote Tuesday Resident DJs $10 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jam Conrad Greenleaf free 9pm
WEDNESDAY JULY 18 The Bank Hotel – Velvet Room, Newtown Lady L, Resident DJs free 9pm
The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Money Talks DJs free 10pm Epping Hotel DTF Resident DJs free Flinders Hotel, Surry Hills Hip Hop Resident DJs free 8pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Club Cab Sav $10 830pm Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Frat House Wolf & The Gang free 8pm Valve Bar, Tempe Big Fun In Big Town 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Cutline (UK), Kemikoll, Damsel, Brown Bear, Joyride, The Brothers Grimm, Zwelli, Oakes & Lennox, John glover, Oh Glam $5 9pm
THURSDAY JULY 19 The Cool Room, The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill National DJ Competition Heat 4 Daniel Andaloro, Zac Walters, Matthew Samson, Thomas Soulimion, Chris Swan, Deward Alfred 8pm GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Girls Gone Mild Eliza & Hannah Reilly free 8pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Jamie xx (UK) sold out 8pm The Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney The Greenwood Thursday Nights Resident DJs free 8pm Gypsy Lounge, Darlinghurst Naked Resident DJs 9pm Ivy Poolclub & Changeroom, Sydney Changeroom Thursdays Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Elly K, Yogi & Husky 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs free 8pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hot Damn DJs 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Rock The Spot Victor Lopez, Skae, Lou Lou, Redbak, Losty $10 9pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Swag Thursdays Resident DJs 9pm UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington Start of Session Party – Hipsters vs Hippies Cassian, Softwar, Panama, Adam Bozzetto, Pat Ward, Heke, Mean Dartin free-$15 5pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Gillex, Urby, Dan Bombings free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY JULY 20 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Totally Barry Bad Barry DJs free 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement Antiheroes free 8pm Candys Apartment & Whaat Club, Kings Cross 1 Year Takeover Party Stalker, Pretty Young Things $10-$15 9pm Cargo Lounge, King St Wharf Kick On Fridays Resident DJs free 4pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Big Chocolate (USA), Swiss Dub, Pop The Hatch, Hydraulix, Kombat, Autoclaws, Bruxism ft. MC Rush, Tony Why, Toddy Trix $15-$25 10pm Epping Hotel Flirt Flirt DJs free GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney A Very Very Mad Decent
Party Dirty South Joe (USA), I Am Jesse (USA), Luny P/ Flip DJs, Eames $10 (+ bf) 11pm Hermann’s Bar, University of Sydney, Darlington No Life Til Leather Colonel Knowledge, The Sultan of Sin $10 9pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Sublime Peewee Ferris, MC Suga Shane, Matt Ferreira, John Young, Flite, I.K.O. 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Hugo’s Fridays Resident DJs 8pm Ivy Changeroom, Sydney Love Gun Fridays Tina Turntables, The Apprentice, Hooligan 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross KK Fridays Falcona Agency DJs 8pm Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm Omega Lounge, City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays DJ Greg Summerfield free 5.30pm Oxford Art Factory – Gallery Bar, Darlinghurst Winter Dysney Kilter, Bautz, FM, Sticky Lips free 8pm Pontoon, Darling Harbour Perfect Resident DJs free 9pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Teen Spirit – The Next Episode Teen Spirit DJs $10 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross My Studio Nacho Pop, Dim Slm, Digital Mouthm Mike Ruckus 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frisky Friday DJs free 6pm The Shark Hotel, Sydney Puls8 DJ Jono, Guest DJs free 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Mitzi, Disco Punx, Morgan, James Taylor $10 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Eve Resident DJs 9pm Vegas Bar, Darlinghurst Bad Habit Bad Habit DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Sweet Teeth, Super Best Friends, No Art, March of The Real Fly, Corpus, The Brutal Poodles, Sky Squadron, 10th Avenue, Cries Wolf DJs, DJ Boy, Sammy K, Wet Lungs, The Nickles, Buzz Kull DJs $10-$15 9pm Zink Bar, Cronulla Far Out Friday Derek Turner
SATURDAY JULY 21 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Strange Fruit Strange Fruit DJs free 9pm BJs Nightclub, Bondi Junction DJ Shane Taylor 10pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Big Guns Kyro & Bomber, Sherlock Bones, SMS, Robust, Intheory, Axslm, Say Oh, Bystanders, Double Dunk Disco $20 9pm
Chinese Laundry, Sydney Thomas Schumacher (GER), Peking Duk, The Mane Thing, Ember, Samrai, Kraymer, Whitecat, Raulll, Devola, Athson $15-$25 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Sonido Simon Caldwell, Mitch Crosher, Tom Harwood, Andy Myatt, Ryan Kenna $20 9pm Club 77, Darlinghurst Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 10pm The Cool Room, The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill Saturday Nights DJ Koffee 8pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna White Party Resident DJs 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Hands Up! Launch Night Staggman free 11.30pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Musicology Victoria Clarke (UK), Levi 5star, Johnny Gleeson, La Fiesta Sound System feat. Chris Luder, Hannah Gibbs, Nick Blair, Emme, Tom Kelly 6pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Dutty Dancing Dynamite Sound, Nick Toth, Basslines, Shantan Wantan Ichiban $5 11pm Green Room Lounge, Enmore Vinyl Solution DJ Nic Dalton free 8pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Brooke Evers $20 9pm Ivy, Sydney Ivy Saturdays Minx, Trent Rakus, Baby Gee, Matt Nugent, Ember, Chris Fraser, Pro-Gram, Starjumps, Crazy Caz, Morgan $20 8pm Metro Theatre, Sydney The Big Ape Tour Skream (UK), Sgt Pokes (UK), Joker (UK), Plastican (UK), Glovecats, Subaske $65 8pm Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Nevermind, Darlinghurst Swagger Swagger DJs 9pm One22, Sydney Sven Weisemann (GER), Dave Stuart, Mike Witcombe, Zeus $15-$25 10pm Soho, Potts Point Usual Suspects - Christmas In July J-Trick, John Glover, Oakes & Lennox free 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Chez Damier (USA), Murat Kilic, Nic Scali, Steven Sullivan, Robbie Lowe $25 10pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross ONE Saturdays Resident DJs $10-$20 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Cakes DJs $15-$20 8pm
SUNDAY JULY 22 The Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H. Sundays Alan Thomas, Shivers, Ben Ashton, Reno, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com Easy Sundays Resident DJs 8pm Oatley Hotel Sundays Sets DJ tone free 7pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Daydream DJs 4.30am Secret Courtyard, Chippendale Soul of Sydney God Fathers of Funk Block Party BBQ All Souled Out DJs, Superbreak, Soul of Sydney
Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 5pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club Sundays Martini Club, Tom Kelly, Straight Up Steve free 6pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays Sneaky Sound System, Resident DJs 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross
DJs, Phil Toke, Queen Shirene D’Silva, Juzzlikedat, Edseven, C-Man free 12pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours Murat Kilic $20 4am The World Bar, Kings Cross Dust James Taylor, Alley Oop, Steve Sullivan free 9pm
club picks up all night out all week...
Cutline
WEDNESDAY JULY 18
Thomas Schumacher
The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Cutline (UK), Kemikoll, Damsel, Brown Bear, Joyride, The Brothers Grimm, Zwelli, Oakes & Lennox, John Glover, Oh Glam $5 9pm
THURSDAY JULY 19 GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Jamie xx (UK) sold out 8pm UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington Start of Session Party – Hipsters vs Hippies Cassian, Softwar, Panama, Adam Bozzetto, Pat Ward, Heke, Mean Dartin free-$15 5pm Big Chocolate
SATURDAY JULY 21 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Thomas Schumacher (GER), Peking Duk, The Mane Thing, Ember, Samrai, Kraymer, Whitecat, Raulll, Devola, Athson $15-$25 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Sonido Simon Caldwell, Mitch Crosher, Tom Harwood, Andy Myatt, Ryan Kenna $20 9pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Musicology Victoria Clarke (UK), Levi 5star, Johnny Gleeson, La Fiesta Sound System feat. Chris Luder, Hannah Gibbs, Nick Blair, Emme, Tom Kelly 6pm
FRIDAY JULY 20 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement Antiheroes free 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Big Chocolate (USA), Swiss Dub, Pop The Hatch, Hydraulix, Kombat, Autoclaws, Bruxism ft. MC Rush, Tony Why, Toddy Trix $15-$25 10pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney A Very Very Mad Decent Party Dirty South Joe (USA), I Am Jesse (USA), Luny P (Flip DJs), Eames $10 (+ bf) 11pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Mitzi, Disco Punx, Morgan, James Taylor $10 10pm
One22, Sydney Sven Weisemann (GER), Dave Stuart, Mike Witcombe, Zeus $15-$25 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Chez Damier (USA), Murat Kilic, Nic Scali, Steven Sullivan, Robbie Lowe $25 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Cakes DJs $15-$20 8pm
SUNDAY JULY 22 The Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H. Sundays Alan Thomas, Shivers, Ben Ashton, Reno, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 39
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Deep Impressions
up all night out all week . . .
Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
party profile
the big ape tour
Mika Vainio
It’s called: The Big Ape Tour It sounds like: Dubstep – from its originators, to those who are pushing it to the furthest reaches. Who’s playing? Skream, Joker and Plastician. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Skrea m feat. La Roux – ‘Finally’; Joker feat. Jessie Ware – The Vision; Plastician – ‘Shall ow Grave.’ And one you definitely won’t: Space & Cerys Mathews – ‘The Ballad Of Tom Jones.’ Sell it to us: Three of dubstep’s biggest artists descend upon The Metro Theatre for the biggest dubstep show of 2012! Skream’s Radio 1 show is one of the newest and most popular additions to the BBC’s new lineup, whilst Joker’s album The Vision is one of the best the genre has ever produced. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The bass. Crowd specs: Dance music heads, electronic music connoisseurs, and of course lovers of bass and really banging music . Wallet damage: $65 Where: The Metro Theatre When: Saturday July 21
propaganda
PICS :: DM
B
s.a.s.h
PICS :: AM
05:07:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
world's end press
PICS :: AM
08:07:12 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9211 3486
06:07:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY :: PEDRO XAVIER MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS
40 :: BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12
erlin-based DJ/producer Sven Weisemann will headline the next Shrug bash, this Saturday at One22. Something of a ‘young gun’ given the proliferation of dinosaurs populating the DJ milieu – see pappa Sven Vath et al – Weisemann is only 27 years old, but already he's carved out his own niche as a composer/musician/producer/DJ. While he is known for crafting smooth deep house tracks for labels like Mojuba, Liebe*Detail and House Cafe Music, referencing elements of Detroit techno, Chicago house, dubstep and dub techno in his productions, clubbers may not be aware that Weisemann also composes modern classical pieces for piano and cello. As a DJ, Weisman is apparently influenced by the approach of American luminaries such as Derrick May and Jeff Mills, and uses three turntables when in the mix. While Sydney often hosts overexposed international talent, a headline set from a nascent talent who is on the verge of breaking through is a rare occurence – but that is exactly what is on offer this Saturday. Support will be provided by A Life Less Ordinary’s Mike Witcombe, the omnipotent Zeus, and Shrug main-man Dave Stuart. Presale $15 tickets are available from Resident Advisor. Mika Vainio, formerly half of the nowdefunct Finnish experimental unit Pan Sonic, is gearing up to release a new album, Magnetite. Vainio, whose often abrasive sound can be described as industrial minimalism, contributed what I thought was the standout cut on a high quality Popul Vuh remix compilation that was released in 2010, and unleashed a series of “slate grey metallic collisions” on last year’s guitar-heavy Life (…It Eats You Up), which dropped on the Editions Mego imprint. Magnetite was recorded in Berlin over the last year, and apparently explores the interplay between absolute silence and noise. Or, to put it in Vainio’s own words, “For me, music is a method to understand and examine both the world and myself. To achieve this, I want to go to the micro-level of sound, to taste the tones of neutrinos. I think this is the key element in my musical approach.” While this can safely be filed under ‘leftfield experimental’ and won’t appeal to all listeners, I caution you to dismiss Magnetite at your own peril. And fans of producers such as Fennez definitely ought to seek the LP out when it is released in September. Seasoned German duo Âme, comprised of Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann, will headline The Spice Cellar on Saturday October 13. Co-founders of the Innervisions label alongside Dixon, Âme will forever be remembered for their anthemic club smash ‘Rej’ (which draws its title from the Japanese way to say hello and show
LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY JULY 21 Sven Weisemann One22, 122 Pitt St
SATURDAY JULY 28 Mad Racket presents Vakula Marrickville Bowling Club Loose Kaboose GoodGod Small Club
SATURDAY AUGUST 18 Perc One22, 122 Pitt St
Vakula respect if you are doing karate, and sounds like a more dancefloor friendly version of Isolee’s ‘Beau Mont Page’). But there is far more to Âme than just one standout track... In fact, it is their ability to explore more experimental and challenging sonic landscapes that has seen them remain relevant and ‘interesting’ where so many other producers in similar positions have simply resorted to cruise-control productions and DJ sets. Âme’s creative nous was evinced by their Critical Mass project together with Dixon and Henrik Schwarz, a partnership that evolved out of the trio’s Grandfather Paradox release, a compilation subtitled as ‘an imprudent journey through 50 years of minimal and ambient music’. As Frank informed me when the pair were last in Australia, “We never wanted to be just ‘Rej’, and we are not just ‘Rej’. There’s not a big plan like, ‘Now we will do something experimental…’ It’s just the music that comes out of our minds. If we get the attention that we’ve had over the last few years, then it’s great, but we just try to explore new sounds, make new things… or re-invent old things.”
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com
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dark sky
07:07:12 :: One22 :: 122 Pitt St Sydney
PICS :: PX
daily meds
PICS :: AM
up all night out all week . . .
addicted to bass
PICS :: KC
roots
07:07:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford S-t, Darlinghurst 93323711
PICS :: GP
07:07:12 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 95501078
06:07:12 :: Spectrum :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9360 1373 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY :: PEDRO XAVIER MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS
BRAG :: 471 :: 16:07:12 :: 41
snap up all night out all week . . .
step back: dance party
disco punx
It sounds like: Essential club music – live dance music from Sydney’s finest producers, and a selection of Serial Space’s favourite DJs. Who’s playing? Cliques, Four Door, Tuff Sherm , Tyson Koh. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Boddi ka Can’t Go For That’; D Double E – ‘Bluku! Bluku – ‘When I Dip’; Hall & Oates – ‘I !’ And one you definitely won’t: Anything by Skrillex or Wagner. Sell it to us: As part of Serial Space’s inaug ural Time Machine Festival, witness some of Sydney’s most mysterious yet intern ationally recognised dancefloor practitioners... A guaranteed good time, more or less. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The danci ng bit – and some incredible tunes you’ve never heard before. Crowd specs: Anyone and everyone. Wallet damage: $10 (+ bf) / $15 on the door Where: Underground Bar @ The Oxford Hotel / 134 Oxford St, Darlinghurst When: Friday 27 July, from 10pm – 3am
PICS :: AM
07:07:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999
party profile
dirtyphonics
PICS :: AM
It’s called: Step Back: Dance Party
loops of fury
PICS :: AM
strike
the cool room
06:07:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999
PICS :: TW
06:07:12 :: Strike Bowling :: King St Wharf Darling Harbour 1300 787 453
PICS :: AM
06:07:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY :: PEDRO XAVIER MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS
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basic soul unit
PICS :: PX
05:07:12 :: Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555
07:07:12 :: Marrickville Bowling Club :: 91 Sydenham Road Marrickville 9557 1185