S G N I FEEL +TOM LARK
+BLOODS
“A DELIGHTFUL ROMANTIC COMEDY… RINGS ON AN INSTANT CLASSIC” Indiewire
“A FRESH, FUNNY AND FANTASTICAL ROMANCE... PACKED WITH SMARTS, HEART AND ORIGINALITY.” Cara Nash, Filmink
“A MAGICAL MODERN-DAY
LOVE STORY”
Elle
EMPIRE
FROM THE DIRECTORS OF
Giles Hardie, SMH
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 20
Coarse language, sexual references and drug use
John Butler Trio (NYE Midnight Set) Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (usa-nye sEt) tHE bLacK sEedS (nz) fRiEndLY fIreS dj Set (uk-nye sEt) kRaFty kUtS Vs A.sKilLz (UK) tHE hERd (aus) Kaki King (USA) Blood red Shoes (UK) Unknown Mortal Orchestra (USA) Electric Wire Hustle (NZ) King Tide (AUS) mAt. mChUGh & THE SEPERATISTA SOUND SYSTEM (aus) 65DaysoFstatic (UK) Deep Sea Arcade (AUS) Gold Fields (AUS) Gossling (AUS) Will & The People (UK) Chapelier Fou (Fr) The Medics (AUS) NorthEast Party House (AUS) HatFitz and Cara (aus) Tuka (AUS) The Cairos (AUS) The PreaTUREs (AUS) Battleships (AUS) Lime Cordiale (AUS) Daily Meds (AUS) JONES Jnr (AUS) Tigertown (AUS) MicroWave Jenny (AUS) also featuring — The Return of The Dub Shack Plus many more artists to be announced...
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 3
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, JUST FOR LAUGHS & ADRIAN BOHM PRESENT
AZIZ ANSARI
’BURIED ALIVE‘
CONCERT HALL, 12 OCT
STAR OF TV’S
’PARKS AND RECREATION‘ ’FUNNIEST DUDE IN PRIME TIME‘
PEOPLE MAGAZINE
ULAR P O P DUE TDO EMAND
S
W O H S D CED ECON
OU N N A T JUS
N
TO BOOK 02 9250 7777 SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/JFL 4 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
PARTNER
MEDIA PARTNERS
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 5
ADRIAN BOHM & PHIL MCINTYRE PROUDLY PRESENT
SATURDAY 8 DECEMBER
ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE BOOK AT TICKETMASTER 136 100 TICKETMASTER.COM.AU
ON SALE TUESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER RUSSELLBRAND.TV | ABPRESENTS.COM.AU 6 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
CHINESE LAUNDRY FRIDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER
DOORS OPEN 7:30PM
The Hump Day project / Robbie Lowe A-Tonez / Murray Lake / Whitecat Cheap lettus / Devola / U-KHAN Dj Just 1 / Goodfella chineselaundryclub.com.au
CNR KING & SUSSEX STREET ( UNDER SLIP INN )
chineselaundryclub.com.au
Grammy Award winning producer, Sharam returns to Australia to tour his brand new Solo album Night & Day. Chinese Laundry will host Sharam’s “Day” style Tech House set in the Cave.
O U T
1 7 T H
S E P T
O N
K L U B
K I D S
CNR NR KINNG & SUS SUSSEX SSTR SU TTRREEET ( UN U DEER SSLLIPP INN NN )
chineselaundryclub.com.au BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 7
rock music news
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
he said she said
WITH
SIMON ‘BERKFINGER’ BERKLEMAN FROM FEELINGS
B
erlin is a great city to be a musician. I moved here about two years ago, bought a recording studio and moved all my gear over from Australia. It’s right on the edge of Kreuzberg, where it becomes Neukölln. It’s where all the bars and cafes and music venues are, so I really couldn’t have found a better spot. It’s pretty perfect. I have my mixing desk and my tape machine and a couple of instruments, and there are always people in town to collaborate with.
Feelings is something of an expatAussie indie rock supergroup. Dan from Art vs Science has been bouncing around in Europe for a while, and I’ve done a lot of work with him. I’ve been working with Dave from Dappled Cities, and Michael of Yves Klein Blue plays on some songs as well. If I see someone touring and I like them, my impulse is to call them up for a beer and see if they want to come around to the studio and work. I’ve been trying to experiment with every track. The single, ‘One In A Million’, is made up entirely of first takes. It was written and recorded in an hour, and it came together as a stream of consciousness – everything on it is improvised. It was inspired by an interview I read with Brian Eno. It’s not the most commercial track, but it’s a fresh introduction to the music I’ve been working on for the last year. I get up every morning with an idea for a song, and instead
of just writing them down, I get into the studio to record them – that means I have about 70 songs at present, and the next step is to find ten or so with a common thread and work them up into an album. New beginnings can be scary. I haven’t played a concert in front of people since the beginning of last year, at Bondi. That was the place of the last Philadelphia Grand Jury show, and it’s going to be the place of the first ever Feelings show. I’m very nervous. It’s a new band, with new people, and I’m probably going to be playing different instruments – doing bass and keyboard rather than guitar. I’m super nervous, but very excited. – AD What: ‘One In A Million’ is out now With: Dan W. Sweat (Art vs Science), David Rennick (Dappled Cities) Where: Beach Road Hotel / Goodgod Small Club When: Wednesday September 19 / Friday September 21
PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 02 9552 6333 ACTING ARTS & ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dijana Kumurdian dee@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 STAFF WRITERS: Alasdair Duncan, Benjamin Cooper NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Nohmon Anwaryar, Anna Brown, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Thomas Peachy, Tamara Arranz Ramos, Rocket Weijers, Pedro Xavier COVER PHOTO: James Medina ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 9690 0806 ross@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) INTERNS: Natalie Amat, Verity Cox, Siobhan Graham, Charis Lynn, Tanydd Jaquet REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Andrew Geeves, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Anna Kennedy, Sheridan Morley, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Rebecca Saffir, Romi Scodellaro, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Roland K Smith, Laurence Rosier Staines, Luke Telford, Rick Warner, Alex Sol Watts, Krissi Weiss, Caitlin Welsh Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of The BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions). Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@furstmedia. com.au or phone 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 Win a giveaway? Mail us a stamped and addressed envelope, and we’ll send your prize on over...
8 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Beirut
“Harvest is coming soon,” is a phrase that, up until last year, was the sole domain of creepy Mormon farmers. That all changed when this expertly-curated festival rolled into town last year, and brought with it the phrase “Harvest sideshows should be announced soon” (no records of this phrase being uttered in Mormon circles have been unearthed). Well, we are overjoyed to hear that our cover stars Grizzly Bear, The War On Drugs and Beirut have announced sideshows in Sydney for November. Heard Grizzly Bear’s new album Shields yet? It’s pretty, frenetic, lovely, psychedelic and brilliant, in varying amounts. The War On Drugs have proven they don’t need that Kurt Vile dude with a second/better/more Springsteeny album Slave Ambient, and Beirut still sounds insular, unsure and awesome. Here are the dates – write ‘em down, don’t rip this out, you’ll lose it: Beirut – November 14 at The Enmore Theatre; War On Drugs – November 15 at Oxford Art Factory; Grizzly Bear – November 16 at The Metro Theatre. It’s gonna be an energy drink kinda work week.
ELTON JOHN + PNAU: LIVE!
Elton John was in Sydney (which he will be again in November, more on that soon), when he heard the Pnau album and flipped. Being Elton John, he contacted the two for coffee, arranged for his company to manage them, and gave them access to his back catalogue for the purposes of making a remix album. And that album was, not surprisingly, brilliant – scoring Elton his first #1 in 20 years. To celebrate, and ‘cos he will be here anyway, Elton has announced a second Sydney Entertainment show set for November 16, and instead of playing ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Yellow Brick Road’ again (he’s sick of it!), he’ll be teaming up with Pnau to perform the entire album, Good Morning To The Night, in full. Tickets on sale this Friday September 21. We really hope Elton wears the Donald Duck outfit for this one. Or at least the peacock headgear. Or wait, was that Luke Steele?
MORRISSEY!
I really hope we don’t bump into Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character from (500) Days Of Summer at either of the Morrissey gigs that were announced last week (Enmore Theatre – December 21; Opera House – December 22), because we’ll have to walk him around the venue, bumping into all the fey, indie babes there going, “She’s better than Summer, she’s better than Summer, she’s better than Summer”,
and I bet none of these girls hinge their entire being around being a misunderstood Smiths fans. Actually she might, but “she’s better than Summer, she’s better than Summer…” Presale tickets from 2pm on Monday September 24, and general sale from Wednesday September 26. Enmore Theatre shows on sale through Ticketek, Opera House tickets through Ticketek’s mortal enemy, Ticketmaster. Choose sides, Morrissey fans. Choose sides.
DALLAS FRASCA
Melbourne’s Dallas Frasca do that face-melting Led Zeppelin, Gunners thing, but with a fierce, Suze DeMarchi-type singer, which is a formula that will always work because it’s ingrained in our waters or some other biology thing. They have already played 30 dates into their tour in support of record Sound Painter, and they are back for another lap, playing The Bald Face Stag on October 26 with Nat Col & The Kings in support – that’s Nathan Cavaleri’s band, you guys!
N.E.P.H. FTW
Change out of your tennis shoes, into your dancing shoes and grab your compass, because Melbourne garage dance group North East Party House are launching a new single, ‘Stand Tall’ – and instead of slinking through Sydney like a cold shiver, they are setting up
Collarbones
camp, plugging the stereo through the TV (‘cos the speakers are less buzzy), and playing four whole shows: October 6 at Upstairs Beresford (free entry), October 4 and 11 at Oktoberfest at UTS, and October 3 at Beach Road Hotel.
FAT FREDDY’S DROP-IN
Fat Freddy’s Drop sure know how to premiere their fourth album Blackbird (which isn’t out ‘til next year): with an exclusively animated, illustrated visual accompaniment to their live show at Sydney Opera House’s Graphic Festival on November 10. Most Graphic Festival-related shows sell out, and most Fat Freddy’s Drop shows sell out too, so maybe get tickets soonish (unless you feel like scaling those sails).
SWANS TOUR
New York no wave/every wave band Swans are one of those legendarily unassailable groups; every one of their 12 albums inspires gushing, sweeping proclamations from reviewers worldwide, and once you get sucked into their dark, visceral, trance-y world, you realise the reviewers were right, and start to form grandiose comparisons in your own head. It’s dissonant, destructive music and live it sounds transcendent (and loud – so loud!), which you can hear for yourself (then not hear for a few hours afterwards) on February 13 at Manning Bar, Sydney University. Tickets are on sale now.
COLLARBONES
In Japan, the first episode of Pokemon caused numerous kids to have seizures due to the bright flashing strobe-ness of it all: all those evolving Squirtles and neglectful parents (he’s ten!) were too much to handle, and they promptly slapped a seizure-warning at the start of episodes from then on. Collarbones’ latest video from new single ‘Hypothermia’ (from second album Die Young, out September 28) has one of those warnings at the start – but the entire album should carry one, really. It’s intense, it shifts more than California’s tectonic plates, and it gives off that woozy inner-ear feeling. In short, it’s great, and they launch it on October 12 at The Standard, with Naysayer and Gilsun in support.
Beirut photo by Kristianna Smith
HARVEST SIDESHOWS
Xxxx
I’ve been working on the debut album for my new band, Feelings, although I actually consider it to be my second album, after the breakup of Philadelphia Grand Jury. When it comes time to work on a second album, most musicians who’ve had a bit of success are very scared of losing what they’ve created. They’ve got a career, and they’re thinking, “Oh shit, I’ve got to hang on to this”. That’s a very scary place to be, and I’m happy to be out of there. I mean, that wasn’t my choice necessarily, but breaking
up the band is a good way to avoid making a second album!
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 9
rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH
GOODGOD TURNS TWO
NIC FROM DEERREPUBLIC last six months. We kinda just keep growing and the vision keeps getting better. RAC (Remix Artist Collective) from New York remixed our first track which was added to FBi Radio, and Kilter, a local DJ, is currently remixing a new track from the EP. Aside from that, Starke & Miles have just shot our first official music video for ‘Young Reverie’ – they’re the craziest cats in our crew. The Music You Make Our style is fashioned by groups we 4. love such as The Arcade Fire, The National,
Growing Up All four of us were exposed to various 1. music genres throughout our childhood. My fondest memory was receiving my first drum kit from my uncle John, who was a massive Deep Purple and Led Zepplin fan. Mick learnt guitar through Lennon, Chris teleported to us from Woodstock with the folk influence, and Mo on bass is the soul man. He should have been a dancer.
within our band; they were incredible, and the onstage energy between the players was electric. As we evolve as a group, our focus is turning toward soundscapes and layers, something Michael Angelakos from Passion Pit nails. We are currently absorbing their latest offering and will definitely get lost in production on our next recording. The single greatest inspiration is our potential to create music that will push us to explore our ability as individuals and as a collective.
Inspirations We collectively garner inspiration from 2. Your Band live performance. Foals at The Enmore a We’re fortunate to have an awesome 3. couple years back still resonates clearly crew around us that has expanded over the
Foals – the list goes on. Our latest EP, The Sweet Resistance was recorded with JP (Last Dinosaurs) in various studios around Sydney. He is an amazing producer and we hope to cross paths again on our next offering. It was also cool to have the EP mixed by Scott Horscroft, who has produced some of our earlier recordings. But if we don’t sound better than our recordings at our shows, people can happily request a free EP. Music, Right Here, Right Now There may not be as many venues to 5. play these days, but we just find that the calibre of bands we share the stage with can be pretty great. We really dig the culture of the local scene, and playing with the likes of Bec And Ben, Former Love and Tigertown.
We at BRAG love bands who want to sound like Nirvana and Mudhoney, and then simply do so. It’s awesome and Thurston Moore knows it’s awesome, which is why he signed Brisbane band Violent Soho to his label Ecstatic Peace! and released their debut record. They have spent the last year writing the follow-up, and the first taste of this is the 7-inch double A-side ‘Tinderbox’/‘Neighbour Neighbour’, which they’ll be playing live on November 15 at Goodgod Small Club. Tickets on sale now through Moshtix. Record out November 2. New album, not ‘til next year, but that’s creeping up slowly, to quote Taxiride (in the same paragraph in which we mention Nirvana – as it should be.)
RUBENS’ SECOND SHOW
THE PREATURES
Did you catch The Preatures at OAF’s 5th birthday bash last Saturday night? They ruled. Well, we assume they did. We actually went to print on the Friday, but we can base that assumption on past performances, the fact that they just signed a five album (who does that any more??) deal with Mercury Records, and their sparkling new single ‘Pale Rider’, which is plucked from their forthcoming EP Shaking Hands. The EP is out October 12, and they’ll be showing it off on October 26 at Goodgod Small Club.
DICK DIVER
Have laconic Melbourne pop group Dick Diver really not played in Sydney this year? That’s what their presser is telling us, yet it doesn’t seem that long – possibly because their great debut record New Start Again has been spinning in our office like an overanxious ballerina since it came out last year. One of the many great things about this record (along with the scrappy-yet-tightly-woven pop songs – especially that VU closer) is that the title implies that it’s never too late for a positive do over, yet it turns out that it’s just about being on the dole again – which is twenty times sadder and sweeter and funnier, and means the term ‘slacker’ will be affixed to every movement they make. Including this trip to Sydney to play FBi Social on October 13, with Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Beef Jerk and Yard Duty in tow. Great lineup! Get on it!
FEAR FACTORY
Fear Factory are playing The Hi-Fi on Thursday September 27, as all you slabbuying metalheads will obviously already know – but what you may not know is that they have just announced the supports: Thy Art Is Murder and Truth Corroded. I thought Alpine were a dead cert… Tickets are still available through the venue.
GODSPEED, FEBRUARY
Pitchfork love Canadian post-everything collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, which makes sense: they are epic, and swelling, and orchestral, and overwhelming, which ticks all of P4K’s Canadian-band boxes. They’ve never brought their bombast to Australia though, which is why you should really hurry to get tickets to their Enmore Theatre show on February 14. Hey, that’s Valentine’s Day! Imagine meeting a future partner for the first time as this soundtrack crashes majestically around you… <3
ALL OF THE LIGHTS
You know your friend Bleep Bloop, who we call Bleep Bloop ‘cos she moles away in her room emitting weird electronic noises for days and then emerges with an electronic musical masterpiece? Let her know that entries have opened for solo artists and electronic music producers for FBi’s 2012 Northern Lights competition, with two winners jetting off to Iceland to play in Reykjavik, collaborate with international artists, and basically fill their heads with facts about Iceland. Starting fact? Iceland is green, while Greenland is icy. We learnt that from Mighty Ducks 2. Entries close on Friday September 28, full entry details can be found at fbiradio.com
SASKWATCH
On the surface, Melbourne’s Saskwatch seem to have little in common with a mythical ape-like creature with overly large feet. But with a little digging, I bet you could find some connection. Maybe they practice their soul tunes in gorilla suits? There’s no real way to find out, but regardless, the mega-band (there’s nine of them!) will be launching their debut album Leave It All Behind at Goodgod Small Club on Thursday September 20. To get your paws on one of two double passes and a copy of the new album, tell us the name of another creature that may or may not exist…
What: The Sweet Resistance EP is out now Where: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar When: Friday September 21
VIOLENT SOHO The Preatures
Most two-year-olds are happy with a Wiggles dance-off and some rainbow jelly for their birthday, but not the folk at Goodgod. They’ve gone all out for their second birthday with Birthday Nights: two mega, full-venue parties. Saturday September 29 is the rock-flavoured one, seeing the likes of My Disco, The Laurels, Songs, No Zu and Bloods take the stage, while Sunday September 30 brings the regulars of all of Goodgod’s club nights together – Toni Toni Lee, Slow Blow, Same Old Scene, Levins, Jimmy Sing, Jingle Jangle, Bad Ezzy, Shantan Wantan Ichiban et al – headlined by the Siberia Records-curated Goodgod House Band. We’ve got a double pass for BOTH totally epic huge nights, to bestow upon a partier who’s got what it takes to follow-up one night with a second. (And don’t worry, it’s the long weekend so you can spend Monday recovering.) To win, tell us your favourite hangover cure…
We love Menangle rock lads The Rubens, and we love Sydney-based SMAC-winning, smack-talking (only during arguments) design collective Greedy Hen – so when we heard the pair had teamed up for an art installation in the Oxford Art Factory cube, we were very intrigued… To the point where we broke in, Cheez TV-style, to get an early morning sneak peek. Those who prefer more legal methods can check it out from now until September 22. The Rubens launch their self-titled debut record at The Metro Theatre on September 21, but it’s sold out. Lucky for you slowpokes, they added an extra date: Saturday October 18, also at The Metro, and on sale now.
ROBERT FORSTER
Since The Go-Betweens released their career-spanning best-of the other day, they have shuttled back into conversations and into Spotify notifications, and ‘Street Of Your
St Vincent & David Byrne
Town’ is even being spun on radio again. All that good news is snowballing into great news now that Robert Forster is touring, playing two Vanguard shows on November 9 and 10. He’ll be doing Go-Betweens stuff, solo stuff, borrowed stuff, blue stuff, and it’ll all be good stuff. Tickets from the venue.
CHICKS LOVE GUNS!
Chicks Who Loves Guns is a great band name, and Moon Eater is a great EP name. If you agree with these sentiments, why not tell the guys at their Standard show this Friday September 21. Their latest single from the EP, ‘Shin-Okubo’, has an oddball video clip (and a great, gravelly vocal performance), and a Youtube user succinctly sums up their big driving rock sound by stating: “Wagwan! big riddim_ roc sht rite ere!” Amen.
MYSTERY JETS @ MUM
Mystery Jets should have been the name of the coolest anime cartoon of all time, but instead they are one of the coolest indie pop bands to come out of UK since, I dunno, The Libertines? Is that far back enough? They headline The Metro Theatre this Sunday September 23, but before that they headline MUM @ The World Bar this Friday night with a sparkling DJ set – with Melbourne acts All The Colours and Polo Club, plus locals Louis London, Jenny Broke The Window, The Bus Vipers, Mung and Disco Is Dead all playing live. In related news, MUM’s 5th birthday is happening on Friday September 28, featuring The Cairos, Bored Nothing, Wax Witches (two dudes from Bleeding Knees Club!), Driffs, and Black Zeroes. Everything’s coming up MUM, basically. Happy birthday, darling.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL!
Sydney Festival have snuck in a cheeky early announcement, and it involves Talking Heads genius David Byrne and the immensely talented St. Vincent teaming up to play two State Theatre shows: January 17 and 18. They’ll be dipping into their recent collaborative album Love This Giant, and are being supported by a brass band, not a boring rock outfit. It’s going to be fairly amazing, basically. Tickets are on sale now through the masters of ticketing, Ticketmaster.
“Can you squeeze me Into an empty page of your diary and psychologically save me?” - MORRISSEY 10 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
HARBOUR SIDE ENTRY VIA PIRRAMA RD, PYRMONT 61 2 9657 7737 marqueesydney.com q y y tables@marqueesydney.COM follow us: facebook.com/marqueesydney twitter.com/marqueesydney
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 11
The Music Network
themusicnetwork.com
Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
REPORT: GROWTH FOR AUSTRALIAN LIVE AND RECORDED MUSIC
Revenues for the Australian music industry will grow an average of 5% up to the year 2016, predicts the PricewaterhouseCooper’s Media Outlook 2012-2016. Live music, worth $635 million last year, will be worth $830 million in 2016. It will grow by 5.5% annually, faster than the 4.9% growth rate of the overall music and entertainment industry. This is attributed to the strong Australian dollar luring major overseas acts, and Aussie promoters getting smarter, offering better experiences for their consumers, hitting target audiences through social media, and actively drawing the over-35 market to live shows. The bad times could be over for the recording market too: the report agrees with others that the decline in recorded music sales has bottomed out, and will rise from next year. Digital sales rose by 34% last year and physical still accounts for 63.3%. Digital distribution grew 18% to $435 million and will have a 30% share by 2016. By that year, 17% of Australian consumers’ spend on entertainment will be digital, driven by video games and music.
Lifelines Ill: Tower Of Power guitarist Bruce Conte, diagnosed with leukemia. Arrested: A man caught in the garden of Miley Cyrus’ LA house armed with a pair of scissors insisted to cops, “I am a friend of hers. She’s my wife.” In Court: Sydney conman Dimitri De Angelis, 48, who claimed to run Emporium Music, has pleaded guilty to 16 charges of fraud. By photoshopping pix of him with Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II and John Howard, he took $8.5 million from investors. In Court: US rapper Gucci Mane, who spent six months in jail for throwing a woman out of a moving Hummer because she wouldn’t go to a hotel with him, has to cough up a further $60,000 for the woman’s “mental anguish.” In Court: Velvet Underground lost their copyright claim against the Andy Warhol Foundation, for licensing the iconic banana image (designed by Warhol for their 1967 debut album) for use on iPhone and iPad products. In Court: Britney Spears denies claims by her ex-bodyguard that she sexually harassed him (he claimed she’d walk in naked, drop her lighter and pick it up, deliberately showing her genitals), but paid him off to make the case go away. In Court: Akon filed to become the legal father of two sons, four and three, whom he had out of wedlock. He will pay for their care, they can take his name, and he insisted they be allowed to inherit his estate. Suing: Lil’ Wayne takes action against Quincy Jones’ son Quincy III, for using his music in a doco about him called The Carter. He initially cooperated with them but tried to ban it, saying he hated the end result.
12 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
EMI + FUTURE ENTERTAINMENT SET UP LABEL EMI Music Australia and dance promoter Future Entertainment have set up a record label together. Future Music will release dance compilations, sign international superstars and emerging acts, and offer ticketing bundles and brand partnerships. EMI is active in dance, locally signing electro and dance acts Empire Of The Sun, Miami Horror, The Slips, Sam Sparro, Gold Fields, Aston Shuffle and 360. Future Entertainment’s Brett Robinson says FE has, through tours and festivals like Future Music and Summadayze, forged close ties with EMI’s global acts: “It makes complete sense for us to come together to form a powerful collaboration.”
DAINTY AND LEES FORM TWO WORLDS TOURING
THINGS WE HEAR
* E.L. James, who wrote Fifty Shades Of Grey, admits she listened to Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Sexy’ in the background when she wrote the books' sex scenes. * The Script’s one-off show at the Metro sold out in minutes, Frontier Touring reported. * The North Coast awards The Dolphins return this year after a year’s break. Meantime, Canberra’s Fringe Festival will be revived in 2013 after a four-year absence, but for one night only and as part of the National Multicultural Festival. * Californian producer Flying Lotus told triple j’s Richard Kingsmill he’s planning to be here “hopefully in February”.
Promoters Paul Dainty and Vivian Lees will work together on “select concert and entertainment-related projects” through new company Two Worlds Touring. Both have major networks of global contacts and clients. “It’s an exciting time to be in the music industry,” Lees told us. Post-Big Day Out, Lees is touring Billy Bragg and Primal Scream, but has no plans to return to festivals again, saying they are a “problematic” sector.
A&R WORLDWIDE TEAMS WITH CHUGG
Sat Bisla’s US-based global artist discovery and development company A&R Worldwide teamed with Michael Chugg’s Chugg Entertainment, to set up A&R Worldwide Australasia. It runs out of Chugg’s offices in Sydney, New Zealand and Singapore. They will work together to break overseas acts into the region, and find new acts from here for global markets.
PLAN B AND HAWLEY: MERCURY PRIZE FAVOURITES
Plan B and Richard Hawley are favourites to win this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize. Bookies give them odds of 4-1 each. Also up for the £20,000 prize are CDs by Django Django (5-1), Alt-J (5-1), The Maccabees (7-1), Sam Lee (10-1), Lianne La Havas (8-1), Ben Howard (8-1), Jessie Ware (7-1), Roller Trio (10-1), Field Music (10-1) and Michael Kiwanuka (8-1).
DID MUSE STEAL THEIR MUSE?
“Complete nonsense, and categorically denied,” was the retort from Muse to a lawsuit filed in New York. Charles Bolfrass claims that in 2005 he approached them about writing a rock opera, Exogenesis, about space travel after the end of planet Earth. Muse rejected his idea but, he insists, used the idea for ‘Exogenesis I,’ ‘Exogenesis II’ and ‘Exogenesis III’ from 2009’s The Resistance album. Muse say they had never heard of Bolfrass or his opera idea.
END COMING FOR ALLANS + BILLY HYDE?
With no buyers stampeding to buy fallen music retailer Allans + Billy Hyde, receivers Ferrier Hodgson axed 56 administrative jobs from its Melbourne headquarters and began a fire sale to move $45 million worth of stock. If the 27 stores are shut, 610 will lose their jobs. The closures will also affect Australian Music Group Holdings’ import and wholesale businesses Musiclink and Intermusic, but not the gear hire Stage Systems or the three franchises.
HUMPHREYS FAREWELL
Sydney can farewell former Superdome GM David Humphreys, whose funeral was in Perth last week. On Tuesday September 18, friends and colleagues are invited to meet at Allphones Arena at 2.30pm followed by a get together in the Grand Foyer. If you’re attending, RSVP to rsvp@allphonesarena.com.au
2SSR HOLDS ANNIVERSARY DINNER
2SSR FM in Sydney’s south recently celebrated its 20th anniversary by unveiling a new studio for its 60 staffers and volunteers, and a new
Flying Lotus
website. It is holding a dinner on Thursday October 4 at Gymea Tradies club. Tickets are $40; RSVP by Thursday September 27. For more info, contact the station on (02) 9545 1800.
EXPERIENCE ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHING OWN CLUB
After two and a half years at the creative helm of The Ivy Club’s promotion and entertainment, Experience Entertainment Group is next month launching its own boutique venue, No Vacancy Lounge Club in Potts Point.
FBI RADIO’S NORTHERN LIGHTS COMP
The deadline for FBi’s Northern Lights competition is Friday September 28. Two solo artists or electronic music producers have the chance to go Iceland to perform there and collaborate with local talent. To enter, go to fbiradio.com/northernlights. FBi will select six finalists, with the two winners determined through public vote and announced on Monday October 15.
SUPPORT AMRAP FUNDING
AMRAP (the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project) delivers music by 3000 local
* Romantic of the week is Kanye West: before he got together with Kim Kardashian, he would watch her 2007 sex tape to get in the mood with other women. * Apple is quietly signing up licensing with record labels for a new online radio. * NSW country singer Texas Rose heard an explosion outside her house at 5am one recent morning. Rushing out, she discovered someone had fire-bombed her uninsured car. Also destroyed were CDs and copies of her new novel, To Catch A Spider (written under her real name Louise Hoare). She was invited to a supermarket launching a local appeal for her – only to find that the owner had bought her a new car. * Mix 106.5 in Sydney, who ran a $100,000 Mystery Voices contest in July, has apologised for a goof. Contestants who claimed Cathy Freeman was one of the voices were told they were wrong. Turns out they were right – the first caller who identified Freeman was belatedly given $1,000. * Foo Fighters played two songs at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina, which launched President Barack Obama’s bid to run for a second term. The Foos dedicated their 1998 single ‘My Hero’ to the great man. Others performing were Mary J. Blige, James Taylor, Marc Anthony and Jessica Sanchez. In the meantime, REM warned the Fox channel to stop playing ‘Losing My Religion’ in its presidential coverage, saying their song didn’t “belong” with its “puff adder brand of reportage.” independent musicians on 100 labels to 300 community radio stations. They reckons they facilitated a 5% jump in Australian music airplay on community radio, to a national average of 37%. But the Federal Government axed its funding of $600,000 a year for its next budget, to an outcry from the music and radio industries. As the Senate meets for a budget review, the organisation is asking supporters to lobby Federal MPs to reinstate the funding. Go to www.amrap.org
NEW AUSSIE SIGNINGS
On the eve of major tours through the US with Menomena and Europe with Bloc Party, Sydney’s PVT have been signed to Create/Control, who also signed Perth’s The Chemist. NSW’s Kotadama were signed by the UK’s Tabitha Records. Their single ‘See You Tonight’ got airplay in the UK, North America, Japan and NZ. They shot the video in India for new single ‘Dichotomy’, a song about how 1% of the population controls the world’s wealth, which created a buzz in that country. In other signing news, Dew Process added Brisbane’s Art Of Sleeping to its roster, while Alpine scored a US deal with Votiv, who will release their A Is For Alpine album there in January. Alpine
SE LL IN G
FA ST
This Week
E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU THEHIFI.C
Wheatus (USA)
Ferry Corsten (NED)
Fri 21 Sep
Sat 22 Sep
FA ST
Coming Soon
O N
SE LL IN G
SA LE FR I
Just Announced
Turbonegro (NOR)
Crystal Castles(CAN) Fear Factory (USA)
Thu 6 Dec
Thu 17 Jan
Regurgitator
Apollo the Party
Sat 29 Sep SOLD OUT Mon 1 Oct
Sun 30 Sep
Nekromantix Fri 5 Oct
Tortoise (USA)
Everclear (USA)
Gomez (UK)
Thu 11 Oct
Fri 12 Oct
Fri 19 Oct
Mahalia Barnes & Prinnie Stevens
Thu 27 Sep
2 ND SH O W
AD DE D
Sat 10 Nov
(DEN/USA)
Russian Circles (USA)
SE LL IN G
FA ST
Sat 6 Oct
Alt Rugby Commentary Sat 20 Oct
Feat. Jed Thian
The Living End Wed 21 – Tue 27 Nov
Thurston Moore (USA)
O PE NE R AL NI BU G M HT
SELLING FAST
District 7 Fest Sat 27 Oct
FR EE SH O W
Fri 26 Oct
The Getaway Plan Leb I Sol (MKD) Sun 28 Oct Only U18 Tickets left!
Sat 3 Nov
65daysofstatic (UK)
Kerser
Wed 2 Jan
Sat 2 Feb
An Evening with The Hoff (USA) Fri 15 Feb
ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 13
A
lot has happened in the world of Grizzly Bear between the release of their universally acclaimed Veckatimest in 2009 and the impending Shields, the band’s fourth full-length album. A variety of side projects were explored, wedding bells chimed, and an album’s worth of material was recorded in the searing Texan heat, only to be left on the scrapheap. On the eve of once again launching back into a gruelling touring cycle (one which will see the band arrive in Australia this November for Harvest Festival), co-frontman Ed Droste is excited to be talking about the countrywide journey that lead to Shields. “I’m overwhelmed. It’s been so long that it’s a little bit scary to jump back into it, because I know what it’s like, I know how intense it is,” Droste says from his Brooklyn apartment, as he prepares for dinner. “But I’m excited – I’ve never been so excited about performing an album before. I feel so strongly about it – it’s my favourite thing that we will have put out. I know after a couple of the shows I’ll get back into the swing of things, but as I look at all the dates stacked up against us in the next couple of months I’m thinking, ‘Holy shit!’ It’s a bit daunting when I think of all the flying that’s going to be happening. But I’m totally excited, it’s gonna be a blast. That’s ultimately the most exciting part, getting to play the shows. That’s the most rewarding part of all.” With an exponential rise of acclaim enjoyed by each album released, most notably the best-of poll-frequenting Veckatimest, the pressure to maintain that trajectory could easily become overbearing; as Droste explains, it took a concerted effort to overcome. “We basically tried to isolate ourselves with no
Animal Magic By Lachlan Kanoniuk internet, no friends, no loved ones. When you focus on such things, you end up writing music with the wrong intentions, the wrong reasons. We left the city, went to the countryside, and after a couple of days – especially without internet – you find yourself forgetting about everything. That’s when the real songs start bubbling up, when the material that means the most to you starts coming,” he explains. “That’s what we did, and we ended up with a surplus of material this time so we were really able to choose the stuff that we felt the strongest about. Which was cool, because in the past we recorded X amount of songs and that was the album – we didn’t have extras or B-sides. We didn’t really focus on that [this time], and if we did, we made note of it and moved on, and tried to clear it from our minds.” Through its affecting lyrical and tonal signatures, the Grizzly Bear canon has resonated on a personal level with countless listeners across the globe. And that emotive resonance isn’t limited to the fan base, either. “[The songs] represent periods of my life; they’re chapters in the story of my life,” Droste says. “Like when I look back on Horn Of Plenty [Grizzly Bear’s 2004 debut LP], each song represents a different moment, and I think back to when I wrote it and
what it means to me. They do mean a lot. That doesn’t mean I sit around listening to my own music each day; we perform them enough, so I think we hear them enough. We have our own connections to our songs, but I’m not going to get married to my own music – well, I’m already married,” he laughs. “We have our own emotional connections to the music we make, that’s part of writing music. If we don’t have an emotional connection with the song to begin with, then we wouldn’t bother writing it anyway. The sort of music we make has to resonate within us somehow; it has to have that emotional heft.” After a hefty touring schedule following Veckatimest, the band took a relatively lengthy break – and although it was well-deserved, it took time and effort for them to regroup and start producing music as Grizzly Bear again. “We decided to go to Marfa, Texas and try a new environment because we had done so much writing in New England and New York – that whole northeast corridor,” Droste says. “We thought we’d try the desert and see what it’s like, so we rented this crazy old army barracks place in June 2011. It was super fucking hot, 105 degrees [Fahrenheit; 40.5 degrees Celsius] – there were wildfires… It’s actually an amazing town and arts community. If
we’d picked a better time of year to go it would have been perfect.” As it happened, though, it was far from that. “We got there and knew that it wasn’t the right temperature to be there, first off. Secondly, we had taken such a long break away from each other – the four of us hadn’t been in the same room together for eight or nine months – that we needed to take the time to reacquaint ourselves with one another personally, and more so musically. Not that we’d grown apart, but we had definitely grown. As with every album you have to find a common ground with your musical interests, and it took more time because of the break. We recorded 12 songs there, so at the end of it we had these 12 songs and said, ‘You know what? This isn’t the album.’ We knew that and were a bit deflated. But at the same time we knew we had gotten through something, and were on the same page again.” Even then, it still took effort to hold onto momentum. “We hit a bit of a speedbump because Chris Taylor released his solo record [as CANT], I got married and went on a honeymoon, Dan [Rossen] recorded an EP, Chris Bear was off doing other stuff. We reconvened in December and were so raring to
“I’ve never been so excited about performing an album before. I feel so strongly about it – it’s my favourite thing that we have put out.”
go that we threw all preconceived notions of how we wrote in the past out the window. It used to be [Chris] Bear and I working on songs together, Dan working on songs on his own. So we said screw it, Dan and I were taking each other’s melodies, just hands-on all over the place and so excited about working on new material. Then all of a sudden we were writing tonnes and tonnes of new material,” he recalls. “The majority of the album was written from January up until late April. A couple of things form the Marfa sessions did make it onto the album, onto the Cape Cod sessions where most of the album was done. I think we just needed that time to figure out again where our crossover was, because we’re four very different people with very different perspectives.” The result from the Cape Cod sessions was Shields, an album full of ornate arrangements which very much sounds like Grizzly Bear. The aural palette builds upon the adventurous tones exhibited on Veckatimest and imbues a grander sense of space, best exhibited on the lush ‘Yet Again’. Shields is dropping amongst an avalanche of big-name releases, with music fans being more than a little spoilt for choice this side of mid-2012. But if Droste is feeling competitive, he isn’t showing it. “It is what it is. It’s not a competition. It’s an exciting time for music and there’s a lot of cool stuff coming out. Everyone’s doing their own thing, I don’t think of it as people jockeying to win a contest. I think a lot of people that comment on blogs might look at it like that, but I don’t.”
”Every day is like Sunday. “Win Yourself A Cheap Tray”. Share some greased tea with me. Every day is silent and grey” - MORRISSEY 14 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Grizzly Bear photo by Barbara Anastacio
What: Shields is out on now on Warp Records, through Inertia With: Beck, Sigur Ros, Ben Folds Five, Beirut, Silversun Pickups, Santigold, Dandy Warhols, Cake, The Black Angels, Liars and more Where: Harvest Festival @ Parramatta Park When: Saturday November 17 Sideshow: Friday November 16 @ The Metro Theatre
FRErEy ent
THU RSDAY 20t h
JAMES WALSH
PENELOPE austin
WEDNESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
THE DREY ROLLAN BAND + TWILIGHT RHYTHM BOYS + DJ SINEAD FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER
BLACK DIAMOND HEARTS + DJ SMITHERS SATURDAY 22 SEPTEMBER
FURNACE & THE FUNDAMENTALS + shag SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER
LIZA OHLBACK FROM 2.00PM + kevin bennett SUITE AZ FROM 8.30PM + DJ KITSCH78
coming soon to rock lily ...
friDAY 28t h
JEBEDIAH NO cover charge
WED-SUN 5pm til late
The Star Pty Limited ABN 25 060 510 410. Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au. The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be aged 18 years or over to enter the Casino.
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 15
Nada Surf Still Head Of The Class By Joshua Kloke
H
is band having been together for twenty years now, Matthew Caws has heard it all. The guitarist/vocalist for New York trio Nada Surf fully understands the cyclical nature of the music industry, and can find the humour in the way the general public reacted when Nada Surf released their seventh full-length, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. “I saw something funny on Twitter the other day – someone said, ‘Oh, I can’t believe Nada Surf got back together!’ Which is just hilarious,” says the 45-year-old. He’s been reached on the phone from his New York home after returning from a nine-day road trip along the East Coast of America with his son. “I think if you’ve been around as long as we have, people run out of things to say. They can only think of your band in career terms.” If one were to frame Nada Surf simply in terms of their career, it’d be tough to argue with their list of accomplishments. After recovering from the dreaded One Hit Wonder title with their 1996 summer classic ‘Popular’, Caws and co. battled through much-documented restrictions from record labels and the trials of shifting industry, releasing five more albums – the most recent in 2010 – before emerging with the energetic The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. But the palpable energy of the new LP is not one that came easily, according to Caws. “For no reason that I can pinpoint, we’ve been playing slower in the studio. But when we play live, we’re still the same band. When it comes to playing the guitar, I always end up coming back to how I felt when I wrote the song, or how I played it in the practice space. We wanted to preserve that feeling,” he says. “I’m always surprised when I listen to our past records by how tame they sound. They’re tamer than how I actually felt at the time. We just thought, ‘Let’s make an album that sounds like us’, and it worked! I feel more at home listening to our records now, especially the last one.”
“We’d finished demo-ing the songs on a Sunday afternoon. On Monday morning, we were rolling our amps three blocks down the street, and by noon, we were tracking.” Having eclipsed the hurdles they faced in the past, the band is now able to write music with a freedom few of their peers can attain. The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy contains an urgency that underlines the influence that the band has had. Beyond ‘Popular’, Nada Surf’s legacy rests in their infectious and unadulterated brand of melodic punk, which maintains a groove that can be heard in a wave of acts from Okkervil River to Jesse Landen. And while many musicians in their mid-40s would be content to rest now, there’s an enthusiasm and drive within Nada Surf’s latest release that speaks to their continued effort. For Caws, it was all about capturing an energy. “With this record, we’d finished demoing the songs on a Sunday afternoon. On Monday morning, we were rolling our amps three blocks down the street and by noon, we were tracking. We were just so in it, and that helped. We got some tracks down in five days, which for us was ridiculously quick.”
bold n brassy big bands!
hot shot dancers! cuckoo cabaret!
CHRISTA HUGHES THE
COPE STREET PARADE
GRAMOPHONE MAN
+ MANY OTHER GUESTS
SUNDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER 6PM
The band’s efforts to capture those moments of inspiration manifests itself in some of the more lighthearted material, sonically speaking, the band has released in years. Caws insists, however, that The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is not the result of a carefree state of mind. “We got heavy in different ways,” he explains. “In rehearsing all [Nada Surf’s past records for upcoming tours], I discovered how much self-analysis there was on those records. I don’t want to turn 80 and look at those records only to realise all I sung about was personal problems. I had to write about the outside world, what other people were doing… ‘No Snow On The Mountain’ is about ice caps melting and the fact that there won’t be a regular water supply around the world,” he continues. “A lot of the record, without spelling it out, is about climate change. Aside from anything in my personal life, that’s what I’m most worried about.” It’s a valid concern to be sure, but for the time being Caws and Nada Surf are excited about the prospect of an upcoming tour that will bring them to Australia for the first time in over a decade. And as the band hits the road yet again, Caws can’t help but reflect on what he once imagined for the band, and what Nada Surf has become. “My original dream was just to play in the clubs I went to see bands in. It’s great to see us come this far,” he says. “The sound of this record reminds me of our first few records, and I like that. It’s nice to feel like we’ve come full circle. Those first few, there was a lot to prove. We were thrilled, but also terrified on a certain level. We really wondered if we belonged. And now I just feel very at home in the studio and onstage. It’s nice place to arrive at.”
16 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Xxxx
What: The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is out now on Stop Start, through EMI Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Thursday September 20
with special guest
FRIDAY 15 FEBRUARY STATE THEATRE ON SALE TUESDAY NORAHJONES.COM FRONTIERTOURING.COM
NEW ALBUM LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS OUT NOW BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 17
Chairlift Ghost World By Mitch Alexander I asked, ‘where should we drink?’ and he said, ‘Oh, I don’t live here anymore’ – and I realised that I didn’t really either… Sometimes you feel like a stranger when you return to New York, but I like that feeling. In general I like feeling like a ghost.” Another means by which Caroline has been acclimatising herself back to big city life is by catching up with some old friends of the vinyl variety – as well as some newer purchases from the duo’s recent European tour. I find a kindred spirit when she reveals a penchant for sometimes buying music based on album art alone. It looks pretty, and if it sounds good too? Well, that’s just gravy. “I actually got one of my very favourite records based on the album art,” she says. “I was at this Goodwill in Connecticut and I saw it for a dollar, and the album art was so beautiful. It was this airbrushed rectangle that was a mix of hyper formal ‘80s hotel décor and an oil spill. I was just going to buy it for the reference, but I listened to it and it’s this new age synth and trumpet from a guy called Mark Isham. It became my study record when I was doing my philosophy homework, because I felt like that’s what thinking sounds like. So I would play it on loop. That iciness of the world of that record really got into my imagination. I think ever since then I’ve been seeking to imitate that with our own soundscapes.”
A
mnesia…amonesia…no, wait… amonamonamoanesi–DAMMIT! You’re going to have to try better than that when speaking to Caroline, lest you come off as a sparkling fool. After all, she wrote the song, she probably knows how to pronounce it… But wait a minute. Maybe this is all a clever trick to embarrass music writers, listening to them stumble over the pronunciation time and time again? That’d explain why her band attached the word to such an intensely infectious pop song, and why they supported it with an attentionseeking off-kilter film clip... Okay, that’s enough, she doesn’t have time for your nonsense – and rather than being an evil genius, she’s actually being nice and funny.
“I’m hanging out in the kitchen, you’re in my headphones… I’ve got you in full stereo. High Definition interviews!” Caroline Polachek giggles from New York. The kitchen has become something of a fortress of solitude for Polachek following world tour after world tour for her band Chairlift, the latest of which is in support of their sophomore release Something, from which the offending ‘Amanaemonesia’ was pulled – an album lathered in electronic hooks and sweetly sour pop melodies. But even after the final show has been played and the bags are dropped in the apartment hallway, a return to normalcy is not guaranteed. “I had a funny experience yesterday – I was supposed to meet with a friend for a drink in the Lower East Side” and
I ask if Caroline sees the visual elements of music as an important part of Chairlift’s overall package, too. “Yeah, definitely,” she answers. “In a way, music videos and pop music are synonymous for me. I think that’s my favourite expression of visual aesthetics – even more so than a movie, because in a movie there’s a need for some form of narrative, or an arc that lasts for an hour and a half. Whereas in a music video, you don’t need there to be any logic; the only logic is that it has to follow the energy of the sound. It’s just an open field. I love it.” Thus explains the filmclip for ‘Amanaemonesia’: a five-minute woozy combination of karaoke, spandex dancing, and an animated talking face conjuring
“Sometimes you feel like a stranger when you return to New York, but I like that feeling. In general, I like feeling like a ghost.” memories of ancient children’s TV show Mulligrubs (a reference she would never get, so I don’t even try). She’s telling me that clip didn’t have a strong narrative? I’m shocked. “I think the narrative is in the lyrics, it’s in the way the music changes,” Caroline explains. “While we were recording it we actually had section names that were very operational, like ‘side slide’ and ‘the German section’ and ‘the trumpet section’. And when I was working on the dance, I very much thought of it in terms of a progression of events. That’s the only narrative that it has.” Not far from now, Caroline and her Chairlift partner Patrick Wimberly will embark to Australia for the Parklife tour. This will be the second Australian tour for the band this year, following the Laneway Festival shows at the start of 2012. At that time their second album had barely had the packaging removed, but the response from local audiences made the decision to return an easy one. “When we toured at the start of the year, the album had barely come out, and Laneway was the first tour we did,” Caroline recalls fondly. “The album was only a week or two old, but all these people were in the front row singing along! It was such an amazing experience. We’ll be happy if this next tour can be as good.” With: The Presets, Passion Pit, Tame Impala, Nero Live, Justice (DJ set), Plan B, Robyn, Hermitude, Charli XCX and more Where: Parklife @ Moore Park When: Sunday September 30
Pond Something In The Water By Laurence Rosier Staines
“Back in those earlier days it was all a freefor all. Weird jams, one bassline, and whatever happened happened. These days, in these songs, we kinda know what to play.” keep going before you know it. Our manager is the same as Tame’s, and she’s good at figuring things out about who can do what at what time.”
W
hen I speak to Joe Ryan of Pond, he’s pacing outside a coffee shop in Perth: the ever-active psychedelic pop rockers are about to head into Poontang Studio (yes) for the mixing and mastering of two upcoming album tracks. “The new recordings are a bit more like Earth and Tallahassee,” he tells me. “In the ‘States we picked up some pretty cool fuzz pedals, and a few weird ones that make strange noises. They’ll make appearances, little gems here and there, but it’s essentially the same sorta live approach as the last album…although it’s very heavy, and kind of a throwback to Corridors Of Blissterday [2009], which was really strange and probably an album we shouldn’t have made back then.” Fresh from their driving tour from Dallas to Los Angeles (“It was amazing to drive through the whole thing, to see it all through the windows, meet crazy people”), Pond are working on a 18 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
follow-up to this year’s Beard, Wives, Denim, a lively, garagey psychedelic extravaganza that was, in fact, recorded in 2010. The delay between recording and release is just one of the oddities that comes from sharing bandmates with the increasingly huge Tame Impala, but Ryan is nothing if not relaxed about it. “Yeah, the lag was kinda frustrating, but we keep on writing songs anyway. We don’t really get ‘reined-in’ as such by the Modular folk. They leave us to our own freaky devices, and every now and then we throw an album at them.” It’s easier than it sounds logistically, too; schedule conflicts with their groove-rock brethren are rarely a problem. “A lot of the Tame boys are still hanging around Perth and we can get recording pretty easily,” Ryan says. “They might go off for periods of time, but they’re often back pretty quick and we can
For roughly the same set of Western Australian 20-somethings to spawn two psychedelic powerhouses is certainly impressive. Ryan schools me on the genesis of the scene: “Mink Mussel Creek was our first band with Nick [Allbrook] and Kevin [Parker] from the Tame, and from there we met Jay [Watson, Pond vocals/guitar] who was out in the sticks… He kinda emigrated into our living room somehow. When Mink Mussel broke up, we’d been doing 200 or so gigs a year, so there was a huge void to fill. Pond just grew from there. We moved from being a silly acid-fuelled mania band to actually trying to write decent pop songs and all that, and expanding on our knowledge of how to write and record. Now it’s a pretty big part of everyone’s lives.” Ryan himself usually plays bass and guitar in the band, and favours the latter. “With guitar it’s probably easiest to get my ideas across,” he says, “but I’ve been loving playing piano recently – that’s my new thing in these recordings. On recordings the lineup is not really fixed, so whoever can do whatever, jumping on instruments and such. In the studio you can muck around a bit more… When we
were recording this new one it wasn’t as fixed as when we play live, where the lineup is pretty much set in stone.” Of course, it wasn’t always like this: “Back in those earlier days it was all a free-for-all,” he muses. “Weird jams, one bassline, and whatever happened happened, sorta thing. These days, in these songs, we kinda know what to play.” Elsewhere, Ryan’s bandmate Watson has said that Pond wanted to write songs that sound like they’ve already been written. Ryan is less forthright when I ask if they’re still doing that. “Uh, I don’t think so. All my songs are just weird,” he laughs, “whereas Jay has more of a pop sense to him. It’s different for each member, we all have our own kinda style. But I wouldn’t say we try to rip off any sound or anything – just whatever sounds good.” At the moment Ryan is going through “such a Beach Boys revisitation”, fuelled largely by that band’s recent tour. “It was pretty weird, hey. The Beach Boys show was one of the most sonically pleasing gigs I’d been to in a while, but it was really surreal that there were these incredibly old guys still in a guitar band. And the place we were at and their projections were incredibly naff. Brian [Wilson] looked a bit shook, but when they were singing the Pet Sounds songs he really came to life.” With Beach Boy age still far off, Ryan is more than happy to take things as they come. “For us, it would have to be worthwhile, otherwise it would fall apart,” he says. “I usually work as a gyprocker – ceilings, interior walls and that – and when that finishes at four in the afternoon, because I’m the only guy with a car, I drive around and pick up equipment and people. We manage one or two jams a week, and aside from that we’d be at someone’s house trying to record a part or whatever. Pretty much every minute that isn’t working is dedicated to not only Pond, but all kinds of bands. We wouldn’t do it if it was no fun.” With: Melodie Nelson and Day Ravies Where: The Metro Theatre When: Thursday September 20
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 19
Elvis To The Max ‘68 Comeback Special By Benjamin Cooper
Patchwork Band By Krissi Weiss
and visit so many times... I’m certainly very grateful for all of that.” Pellicano already had an extensive history as a performer when he arrived at the city of sin in the early 1990s. “Vegas has always been a crazy place, you know? I mean, you’re doing a show every night of the week, and you don’t have a lot of time to relax. But whenever I could, I’d drive up and down The Strip with the top down and see everything all lit up. Crazy place, but good fun.” Currently he’s keeping busy as a lead performer in Vegas’ ‘Legends In Concert’ series, alongside Al Johnson, Cher and Stevie Wonder impersonators. He explains, though, that it’s a long way from what he had planned as a young man. “When I first started out I never dreamed I’d come to Australia, that I’d travel the world. But since the experience of working in Vegas, I really wanted to go to different places and check out what’s happening.”
T
o say that Max Pellicano is big in Australia doesn’t even begin to cover it. The last time the man hailed as the world’s greatest Elvis impersonator was here, in 2010, he performed almost 90 shows to a total audience of more than 60,000. When we speak ahead of his upcoming ‘68 Comeback Special Tour, he insists that in spite of all the international accord – including an endorsement by Rolling Stone as the finest Elvis impersonator alive – what he’s most excited about is revisiting all his fans and friends Down Under. “Australia is what it’s all about for me,” he says. “I mean, I got my first really big touring done down there in the ‘90s... It didn’t seem to matter where we were, what city or town – we had a wonderful time because every show was so much fun, and we made so many friends.” But the perks go far further than simply the crowds. “I’ve got to be honest: when I first came out here I got to meet Ray Martin,” he whispers in hushed tones of admiration. “We went on all those great shows, like The Footy Show and Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday!, which gave a lot of exposure and helped us a lot. There’s a real fondness for The King in Australia, which in turn has meant I have this wonderful niche as an entertainer. I mean, to be able to come back
Hey Geronimo
Touring the ‘68 Comeback Special gives Pellicano the opportunity to re-imagine a genre-defining moment in rock’n’roll history, in a markedly intimate environment. In 1968, Presley was making films that were successively netting less and less, and his music career was in decline, eclipsed by The Beatles and the British Invasion in general. His infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker brokered a film and television deal with NBC for a special that would include live footage of Presley and his band playing acoustically in the round, and swapping stories – a wonderful piece of film that showed The King as a relaxed everyman. It was the moment that ‘unplugged’ music specials quietly came to be, with Presley directly responsible for much of the aesthetic of early MTV. Pellicano says that his attempts to recreate that sense of sharing between performer and audience can only be successful if he keeps it casual. “It’s going to be a relatively minimal setup,” he explains. “I’ll have a four-piece rhythm section and some acoustic guitars, and the crowd are free to just react however they feel. If people want to request a song – absolutely! It’s going to be a very casual kind of night, where we’ll talk about the artists... I actually got the idea after seeing Tony Joe White at The Basement in Sydney doing quite a strippedback thing. I just thought that was such a great idea and way to expose Elvis as a person, when he showed who he really was.”
A
Beatles tribute night booked for Brisbane band Blame Ringo, a rustling of pinch hitters from fellow Brisbane bands Montpelier and The Boat People, and hey presto – the collision of guitar-pop that is Hey Geronimo is born. With the band’s first official gig as part of Bigsound Live 2011, it seems fitting they’re heading off on their first headline tour almost exactly 12 months on. Singer and guitarist Pete Kilroy is both charismatic and candid in his enthusiasm for the band, and his observations of the music business. “Blame Ringo was booked to play a Beatles night put on by the Drawn From Bees fellas, and a few people were out of town,” Kilroy explains of the band’s beginnings. “We got some ring-ins and we all had such a good time together, even though we were playing cover songs – the best songs ever written are Beatles songs. The energy was just something we’d never experienced with our other bands on stage before. At the end of the gig we thought we’d make something happen. We were still in the other bands at the time, and The Boat People are still around, but the other two bands just naturally made way for this one.” Word of mouth has been the pivotal element in Hey Geronimo’s ever-growing audience, but a slew of support slots, both before and after radio attention and TV syncs, helped the band as well – they’ve now toured with the likes of Stonefield, Owl Eyes and Jonesez. “We don’t care where we play or who we play with as long as someone’s watching us,” Kilroy says. “We’ve done so many supports – it’s great to finally do our own headline. We were looking at it the other day, and we’ve played more out of town than in town by like three to one.
“On the one hand we got some really good supports before we’d gotten any radio – but some of the supports recently only happened because of [airplay],” he continues. The band got high rotation on triple j for their singles ‘Carbon Affair’ and ‘Why Don’t We Do Something?’. “It’s interesting, some of the bookers were like, ‘We like you, but you don’t have a name and you need a name’ – but once you get a song on the radio it’s as if it gives them permission to accept you… like, ‘Oh OK, the opinion I’ve always had has been validated by the industry so I’m allowed to book you on this tour.’” With the band having released their debut selftitled EP in July, Kilroy has his own take on the EP vs album dilemma. “I’m a bit funny with the EP,” he admits. “I think some artists just release EPs because they don’t have enough good songs for an album, to be honest. Half of the EPs that come out aren’t even that great; you have one or two good songs and then a tail of [filler]. There is an argument that they help to build up a fan base over a few years, but I dunno. I was speaking to a friend the other day and he said, ‘Our manager wants us to release an EP now and one next year, and then do the album in 2014.’ I was thinking, ‘Fuck man, the world could’ve ended by then’. Planning that far ahead seems kinda creepy to me, I guess – so we just figure if we’ve got enough good songs, we’ll just record and release them. You don’t need to think too hard about it,” he laughs. What: Hey Geronimo EP is out now With: The Griswolds Where: FBi Social When: Friday September 21
What: Elvis To The Max: The 1968 Comeback Special, performed by Max Pellicano Where: The Basement When: Wednesday September 19
No Zu The Facts Of Life By Krissi Weiss of other sounds. The idea was to capture not what we actually sound like live but what the songs sound like in my head, and I think we achieved that.”
N
o Zu started as the bedroom project of Nicolaas Oogjes, formerly of TTT – all desert percussion, funked-up basslines, and exotic melodies. It’s since grown into a rag-tag collective comprising musicians from World’s End Press, Rat vs Possum, Tantrums and more, with a debut album ready to be unleashed. Oogjes is treating the project as a pure expression of the joyful and the mundane, with little in the way of conscious planning. Sounding like Parliament-Funkadelic on a journey through the outback via Kenya, after a week
of consuming peyote, No Zu is a genuine collision of sound and ideology. “It’s been me doing self-recordings, and teaching myself to record along the way,” Oogjes explains. “When I was first recording I was using Sound Recorder on Windows, the most basic thing you could imagine, so for this album there was a bit of me recording us [that way]. We also got a grant from Arts Victoria, and were able to use a couple of studios to record the live elements of the band as well. I then spent nine months adding layers, timbales, percussion and a heap
The debut album, Life, is a sonic paradox, with reviewers attaching their descriptors to either exotic, universal elements, or an Australiana feel, and the lyrics take the idea of dichotomy even further. “The more I’ve had to start talking about the album, the more I’ve realised how many contradictions there are,” he says. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. When I first started, I was really into the Australian identity, especially in music, and the idea that you have to have that Drones-style, guitar-driven sound – even back to Midnight Oil and Hunters And Collectors – and I was wondering why music can’t be about something else, given that even that music is steeped in Americana traditions. I was interested in the exotic, and why that expression can be seen as Australian.” The exploration of who Oogjes is and what surrounds him is the hook upon which this album hangs. “That idea of life in a broader sense is still there, but it’s really narrowed down to a sort of suburban idea, and getting to the root of where your inspiration comes from, and being honest,” he explains. “We’re a band from the suburbs. Even though people like to think of themselves as cosmopolitan … there’s just as much inspiring and weird and exotic things happening everywhere else. “The mundane can be overlooked in art in general, and especially in the indie scene,” he
continues. “A visual artist who is one of the most inspirational for me is Howard Arkley. He did that Nick Cave portrait, and his claim to fame in the ‘80s and ‘90s was painting suburban houses with odd colours. I live in a house that looks very much like those houses. He was cosmopolitan and cultural, but he lived out in Oakley for a good part of his life and he painted what was around him. People don’t seem to want to feel their area. I’m not embarrassed about being from the suburbs – you simply have to be as honest about who and where you are as you can be.” Having been in a number of different bands, Oogjes now seems to be seeking out purity in his art first and foremost. “We’ve really enjoyed doing this album and getting it out to people, and after that we’ll look to the next project,” he says. “If it’s a different set-up, it’s a different set-up; and if it takes five years, it takes five years – or if it takes two months, you know? I couldn’t have gotten to the point of being so relaxed about things and letting things happen as they do without going through other bands. You learn a lot of lessons in all the bands you have… And usually, the music is all the better for it. What: Life is out now through Sensory Projects With: My Disco, The Laurels, Songs, Bloods, Bart Willoughby & Selwyn Burns (No Fixed Address) and more Where: Goodgod Birthday Nights @ Goodgod Small Club When: Saturday September 29
“Satan rejected my soul / He knows my kind / He won’t be dragged down / He’s seen my face around” - MORRISSEY 20 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Novalima Pura Vida Roadshow By Adam Robertshaw
R
unning for two weeks, from the end of September to the beginning of October, the Pura Vida Roadshow is a celebration of Latin Music featuring some of Latin America’s most prominent and entertaining acts – including Kevin Johnson And The Nada, Chilean pop princess Francisca Valenzuela, tropical acid Latin trippers Malama, and Brazilian DJ collective Sistema Criolina. Headlining the event are Latin Grammy-nominated Afro-Peruvian superstars Novalima, a collective who fuse traditional Peruvian blues with modern day electronica and dub. We spoke to Grimaldo Del Solar, one of the group’s original founding members, about the festival, and the band’s latest record, Karmiba.
“We’ve never been to Australia, so we’re very excited about it. Actually, we were planning to go to the festival for the last two years, and for some reason we could not make it happen,” enthuses Del Solar. “Australia has been a country we have always wanted to visit. We’re looking forward to performing in these exciting cities and meeting the people and the bands we are sharing the roster with.” So what can newcomers to the Novalima sound expect when they play? “Novalima is a very energetic live show with a contagious groove – it always ends up a big dance party,” he says. “It’s a mix of roots, Afro-Peruvian music and modern genres like dub, Latin, electronica, Afrobeat and salsa.”
up with a ‘hit’. We also like to try new things on every album – if you have any pressure to achieve more when talking about charts or awards, it won’t really let you experiment all the way. [On Karimba] we have written most of the songs, instead of reworking traditional Afro-Peruvian chants. It’s less melodic than the previous one and a lot more rootsy, but electronic at the same time.” It’s not as if there is any reason to feel pressure: Karimba has already topped the iTunes World Music Charts in the United States, and has received rave reviews in the press. You can hear it for yourself when Novalima bring their infectious grooves to the Pura Vida Roadshow. With: Sistema Criolina (DJ set) Where: Blue Beat When: Thursday October 4 More: The Pura Vida Roadshow runs from September 28 to October 5 at Blue Beat, The Hi-Fi and The Standard; for more info, head to puravidafestival.com.au
It’s not surprising that the band has such a wide range of musical influences, being an eightpiece whose four founding members were living in four different cities across the world when the band first formed in 2001. “The core production team were all living around the world,” Grimaldo explains. “Rafael was in London, Carlos was in Hong Kong, Ramon was in Lima, and I was in Barcelona. Each one of us would work on their own ideas, and Ramon recorded all the AfroPeruvian percussion and vocals in Lima. “The first two albums were basically studio projects,” he continues. “After releasing our second album AFRO, we decided to put together a live band and called a few of the musicians that had collaborated on the albums to make it happen. The result was a very unique experience which has had great influence on latter albums, and gave us the opportunity to
“We never plan things while making an album. Since the beginning we have always just made music we like, without trying to come up with a hit.” perform in more than 120 cities around the world in the past three years.” I ask whether having so many members of different backgrounds scattered across the world ever causes problems when writing. “We are only four when writing and producing the albums,” he answers. “But even when we are only four, it’s hard to agree sometimes – when we’re mixing an album, for example. In the live band we all decide about musical details, which sometimes [makes it] a lot harder to agree. The bigger the band, the bigger the problems, but with time we have learned to make things flow.” To make it all a bit easier, the band are now all living in Lima, Peru. “It was the only way to put together the live band. The good thing about living in different modern cities around the world is all the vanguard artistic influence you get, which helps in the creative process.”
Xxxx
They seem to be doing something right. Novalima’s 2008 album Coba Coba was nominated for a Latin Grammy and reached #1 in the European World Music charts, a level of success which Grimaldo admits was both unexpected and unplanned. “When we started Novalima it was more the urge of four friends to keep making music after we moved from our home country and previous bands. The project has been growing bigger and bigger with every step we take, and this has helped us to take our music around the world, with gratifying success.” After achieving such levels of success with their previous album, many bands in the same position would be feeling the pressure to match it with their follow-up. But in typically laid-back Peruvian style, Grimaldo explains that this was not the case with Novalima, who this year released Karimba, the follow up to Coba Coba. “One of the things we like about this project is that we never plan things while making an album. Since the beginning we have always just made music we like, without trying to come BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 21
Defeater Sleepless Nights By Zoë Radas
D
efeater’s body of work – comprising two full-length albums and an EP – has been heralded as one which doesn’t simply employ concepts to create mood, but uses complicated narrative to comment on issues which affect all the varied onion skins of communities. Their storyline orbits a New Jersey family living in the post-WW2 period, and chronicles the emotional upheavals of its characters and the societal commotions they endure over time. Defeater’s Australian fans will be treated to the live experience very shortly, when the Massachusetts hardcore fivepiece arrive in town to tour their double record of 2011, Empty Days & Sleepless Nights.
The problem with the pigeonhole is obviously something Archambault feels he has to address; it becomes clear he doesn’t like some of the language I’m using, even though it feels neutral to me. “I feel like stuff gets lumped in,” he explains. “The more metal leanings of hardcore and metalcore, I feel like that is really stagnant, but I don’t think that we really sit in there. I feel like with hardcore, there’s always something keeping it fresh and [new]. There’s all these bands coming up that take something old and give it a new spin.” Disciples of the band are a particularly zealous species, with an impressive collection of truly gorgeous fan art up on Instagram and Twitter. Archambault says he doesn’t spend a lot of time on social media, but loves what he sees at shows. “It’s incredibly flattering when, you know, some kids come up to us and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this Defeater-inspired tattoo’ or, ‘Your record’s influenced my life in this way’ – or just to sit and talk about how our little shit band has
somehow been able to change them in some way,” he says. “I don’t pay attention to that stuff online, but it means the fucking world to me when it happens in person.”
studio, we don’t have to, like, practise or write for months and months and months and then just go try bang it all out… We get to work at our own pace. That’s what’s nice.”
When the band get back from Australia, they will begin writing again, and plan to record a third album in guitarist Jay Maas’ new studio. In addition to playing guitar with the band, Maas is a highly respected producer and mixer. “We’ll record everything with Jay, and it’s going to take who knows how long?” Archambault says. “We don’t have to answer to anyone at a
With: Blacklisted, Endless Heights Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Saturday September 29 More: Also playing a day show for all-ages on Saturday September 29, supported by Blacklisted and Perspectives
Speakeasy Sundays Fringe Festival Special By Krissi Weiss
T
he first World War had ended, the depression had not yet arrived, the jazz scene was exploding, and although alcohol was illegal in some countries, culture and the art of a good time was experiencing a renaissance – it was the Roaring Twenties. Justin Fermino and the first lady of debauchery, Christa Hughes, have created Speakeasy Sundays, a theme night dedicated to all things 1920s and, after beginning life at the Opera House, they have found an unlikely new home at The Standard – and a new friend in the Sydney Fringe Festival.
Marianas Trench Pop Mythology By Benjamin Cooper
C
anadian pop rockers Marianas Trench make conceptual music that’s quite unlike anything else in the genre. Their previous two albums, last year’s Ever After and 2009’s Masterpiece Theatre, involve original mythologies created by the band’s frontman Josh Ramsay, stories of imprisoned princesses and stuttering wise men. Ever After’s album announcement via Ramsay’s Twitter also marked the band’s intentions to further distinguish their output by not having any breaks between tracks; the listener can’t fall into the easy habit of treating it like a shuffleable collection of singles. With digital booklets accompanying their albums, as well as massive amounts of content and interaction available on their website, it’s fair to say that when Ramsay and co. decide to go crazy conceptual, they really commit. But high-minded concepts have their time and their place for drummer Ian Casselman; when we speak, he’s lying prone on his couch in Canada, suffering through a sorry state that he’s blaming on the hip hop elite. “I’ve just flown back after seeing Drake last night in his hometown, and I am seriously hurting. It was a hell of a show because it was like his homecoming, so he kept bringing special guests out on stage – there was Snoop Dogg [Lion], Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd… And we all partied pretty hard together at the end of it. And through the end of it,” Casselman groans. He battles through the pain though, eager to discuss the process behind the recording of Ever After. “In some ways making records is always just the same, because we always make sure we have a lot of fun throughout the time we’re working. It’s great to be working with Josh, and seeing him so switched on and going a little crazy with his ideas. I mean, this is a themed record in that it’s essentially one song, but that’s just what we intended for
it – people can listen from start to finish all the way through, or they can take out some single bite-size pieces if they want. There’s really something for everyone!” The band may relish their time in the studio, but the tour bus continues to beckon for Casselman. “Don’t get me wrong, I love being in the studio, but my favourite part is when we get out on the road. Obviously when you’re in a band there’s an element of being bound by the album cycle, so you end up spending a lot of time in the studio. But I just love playing live – I don’t care if it’s to thousands of people or two. It’s definitely when I’m my most switched-on.” Touring has been the backbone of the group’s success over the last decade, too. “For years and years we were just focusing on a much more localised basis. We didn’t want to rule the world, or even know how to. We just set about conquering territory by territory, and gradually the work started to pay off. We have never had that giant pop song that took over the world; our process has been more gradual. We’ve just been grinding and grinding it down, and now we’re in the crazy position where we’re about to tour Australia for the first time.” Australian fans can rest assured that the band’s maiden tour will be every bit as epic as the record suggests it should: “Because what we’re doing live is quite challenging, the whole thing becomes much more intense,” Casselman says. “There’s a lot going on, a lot to watch out for, so everyone is kept on their toes.” With: Ever After is out now Where: The Metro Theatre When: Wednesday September 26 More: Fat As Butter Festival at The Foreshore, Newcastle on Saturday September 22
“Myself and Christa built the event from the ground up along with another partner,” Fermino explains. “We’re in charge of booking, arranging, even decorating – we’re taking it all on ourselves.” This is their second show at the Standard. “The original incarnation was in the Opera House for a two-weekend run. The reason we did the second run was that The Standard approached us; they had come to
the original performance, and we were excited to expose it to a different audience.” On the night, Fermino will be leading his band The Cope Street Parade (pictured), with Christa Hughes and The Jellyrolls also performing. Jumping from organiser to performer involves more than just a costume change, but Fermino and Hughes ensure that the transition is seamless. “The thing for me is I don’t do anything I don’t want to do or don’t enjoy doing,” he says. “In terms of this event, once the night comes around my job is essentially done, and all I have to worry about is playing and trying to give a good show. That is always important, and you need to have a lot organised if you are expected to lead the band.” In a time when indie music in all of its arrangements seems to dictate the playlists and band bookings of so many venues, alternate celebrations of music like funkedup, modern gypsy, cabaret and jazz are making a well-deserved comeback. They never really went anywhere of course, but the ebb and flow of musical trends meant that, for a while at least, life in the world of licensed venues was all pokies and pulsing electronica. “With Cope Street I try and think of it less as creative music, and more as entertaining music,” he says. “We don’t necessarily play traditional jazz; we have always been of the opinion that your music should be entertaining first, and if it is, people will enjoy it. The Standard is a prime example of a place stepping out and doing something very different to what venues are more predominantly associated with: indie and more popular music. There’s a number of venues, with the pokie reforms and liquor licensing changes, that seem to be embracing the revival of live music and acoustic music too, as opposed to five years ago when everything was very electronic.” While Speakeasy Sundays have acquired a dedicated following of their own, attaching themselves to Sydney Fringe 2012, as well as broadening the scope of the evening, is sure to result in a host of new fans donning their favourite ‘20s attire and swaggering through an evening of seductive theatrics and music. “We’ve started making the act a little broader in its appeal,” Fermino explains. “We’ve got a DJ playing on this one; he’s spinning oldschool 78s from the era, so that’s a way of increasing the fan base and the appeal of the show. We’re encouraging people to dress-up and get into the spirit of it, into that whole ‘20s vibe.” Who: Christa Hughes & The Jellyrolls, The Cope Street Band and Gramophone Man Where: Speakeasy Sundays @ The Standard, for Sydney Fringe Festival When: Sunday September 23
“Satan rejected my soul / He knows my kind / He won’t be dragged down / He’s seen my face around” - MORRISSEY 22 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Defeater phto by Eric Levin
The new album fleshed out the alter-world that the band introduced us to with their first. “Everything about Defeater is trapped within this storyline and timeline and these characters,” vocalist Derek Archambault says. That doesn’t mean the band’s sound is limited though, despite expectations a listener might hold for this particular genre. Defeater have been lauded as being not only at the top of their game, but out of reach of their musical peers, as they mix acoustic ballads with heavy metal, keeping an eye on experimentation. “I’m not really the best judge of [new] hardcore bands because I don’t really listen to a lot
of it anymore – I listen to ‘90s hardcore,” Archambault says. “There’s a lot of great bands doing a lot of great things. They’ve all coincidentally become our friends, so I might be a little biased…”
PRESENTS
A MONTH S Y A D I R F F O
N - CASSIA I N E B T FRI 5 OC - R+R MOVEMENT W O L B W - S LO FRI 12 OCT AR - SOFTW S N O Y N CT - CA FRI 19 O E DJS - ARIAN E H S N A V FRI 26 OCT E.COM M O D U LA R P E O P L DI . COM .AU B EAC H R OAD B O N
+ W E E K LY RESIDENTS
MODULAR DJS
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 23
arts frontline
free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com
arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...
five minutes WITH LE
GATEAU CHOCOLAT
How did you get in to performing? Out of necessity! I studied law but knew after the first month of the degree that I was never going to practise. At 25 or 26 I decided to explore singing as a career. To say the first couple of years were not easy is an understatement.
soundtrack to moments in my life, so they evoke different emotions and actually require different technical approaches. I love them all for different reasons. ‘Nothing Compares To You’, ‘Old Man River’, ‘Ship Song’ by Nick Cave ... oh, don’t make me choose! It’s like Sophie’s Choice.
What’s it like being a Nigerian-born drag performer based in London? I try not to wear the labels – and I suppose that’s what my show is about. Yes, I’m a Rubenesque, black, Nigerian, beary, drag artiste, but underneath it all I’m a person with hopes dreams, love, loss etc., and these are the elements I try to explore in my show. London’s multicultural and so is Brighton, where I live, and I’m very lucky that I’m allowed to just perform and be.
Describe your upcoming Sydney Fringe show for us. In my attempt to be brutally honest and portray the humanity underneath the exaggerated maquillage, sequins, lycra and very expensive lashes, I’ve done just that. Sydney has seen me in La Soiree where my job, besides the singing, is to shock and push buttons. Here it’s to be honest and show you the man behind the mask, all underscored by songs from my iPod ranging from musical theatre to opera to pop to rock, and accompanied beautifully by Adelaide’s own Matthew Carey on piano and cello.
How do you like performing in Australia? This will be my fourth season in Australia of the seven I’ve done around the world with my show. Not only has the response been overwhelmingly cordial, I’ve also met some incredible people here who I now consider family.
H
What would you say to people who say you’re “larger than life”? I try to be as honest with myself as often as I can. This is it: you don’t get a second chance. I’m not acting “larger than life”, I’m being myself. Turning 30 was a milestone and one that made me realise that time is ticking. Live, laugh, love, grow, be... be as large as your life. What’s your favourite song to sing live? The songs in my show are literally the
What: Le Gateau Chocolat at Sydney Fringe Where: Sydney Opera House When: Until September 23 More: 2012.sydneyfringe.com
We’ve all had a dream girl (or boy) at one point or another. Probably it was Johnny Depp or Ethan Hawke (or is that just me?). More likely it was Taylor Hanson or Kim Gordon or something. Anyway, Calvin (Paul Dano) writes his dream girl into life, in the form of adorable redhead Ruby, played by the distressingly cool indie actress/ screenwriter Zoe Kazan. “It’s love, it’s magic”, they say, but Calvin quickly realises that this happy accident is way too good to be true. Directed by the folks behind Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks has already been lauded this year’s off-beat romance to see (plus Steve Coogan’s in it!), so you’ll be pleased to know that we’ve got 15 in-season double passes to give away. To win, just tell us the name of your ultimate dream date.
ADIOS CLICHÉS
The seventh annual Hola Mexico Film Festival hits Australian shores this October, and it’s going to show you there’s more to Mexico than wrestlers, burritos, tequila and moustaches (although all of those are excellent). The action kicks off with an opening night fiesta featuring Mariachi Gringo (not starring Mel Gibson or The Bronx), a cross-cultural story about a small-town American who runs away to Mexico to become a Mariachi. The festival runs from October 26 until November 4 at Event Cinemas George Street, with more films TBA. Tickets available from October 4 at holamexicoff.com
BILL HENSON’S BACK
Semele Walk
SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2013
The Sydney Festival has made its first lineup announcement, and you know what that means – summer’s coming! For three decades the festival has lightened up our Januaries with a diverse range of world-class events and performances. From January 5–27 next year, you can expect everything from circus to New York rap to burlesque to Russian theatre. So far we can look forward to Semele Walk, a spectacular catwalk show that mixes fashion and opera to kaleidoscopic excess: Ludger Engels has taken Handel’s Semele, adorned it with the elaborate couture of Vivienne Westwood, and set it to the lush accompaniment of Berlin chamber ensemble Kaleidoskop (whose musicians are also dressed in Westwood, by the way). Colombian/English circus troupe Circolombia is also coming to town, and will be performing Urban, a “narrative of the streets” featuring three-man tall towers, backflips, somersaults and vibrant dance; apparently their verve and circus skill make for a must-see. For more details on the festival (and there are many), take a look at sydneyfestival.org.au – and stay tuned for more announcements...
FUTURE BEAST
Ever wondered how artists do it? Well, this month you have a chance to catch a glimpse. As part of Art & About, Future Beast 1 is offering a unique chance to see creative practice in action. Sydney-born, London-based artist Sarah Howell will be applying paint and collage to a huge canvas suspended in a gallery window, while local street artist The Dirt (aka Jamie Preisz) takes over the back wall with a large-scale interactive mural. DJs D*phy and Jnr will be spinning futuristic tunes to inspire the artists (and get you dancing). The action kicks off at Platform72 in Darlinghurst from 11am on Saturday September 22. See the Facebook event page for more info.
in the life of the world” in celebration of social change and diversity. She turned submissions from 179 countries into a feature film, photo book and music collection, and once it premieres globally in November, anyone can host their own viewing party. Catch a free preview screening of the 11Eleven Project film on September 21 at Lower Town Hall. For more information, check out 11elevenproject.com
24 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
STC 2013
Next off the starting blocks in the race to 2013 theatre subscription glory is the Sydney Theatre Company, and they’ve certainly done a bang-up job of shooting ahead in the race. After the mixed reviews of 2012, 2013 is a return to form with a champion mix of blockbusters (Benedict Andrews directs Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert in a new translation of Jean Genet’s The Maids; Tamas Ascher directs Richard Roxburgh and Hugo Weaving in Waiting For Godot; Tim Minchin and Toby Schmitz do Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead), quirkier offerings (Laser Beak Man from contemporary performance group Back
JB Smoove
SO SMOOVE
Do you like your comedy super awkward and more than a little offbeat? JB Smoove (the guy who brought Leon to life on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm) has been a writer for SNL, voice actor for The Simpsons and starred in Date Night with Steve Carell. Smoove has already been announced to call the Meredith Gift Race at this year’s Meredith Music Festival, and now we hear the funny guy will bring the ruckus proper with his first national tour of Australia. He’ll be performing his highenergy stand up show at the Factory Theatre on December 14. Swing by factorytheatre.com.au for tickets.
To Back; Little Mercy by the Sisters Grimm), and some new Australian works (Tom Holloway adapts Storm Boy; Andrew Bovell adapts The Secret River). It’s a high standard year, and some of the bigger numbers will be in high demand, so hurry to sydneytheatre.com.au and start making plans.
GRAPHIC 2012: BEHIND THE SCREENS
11ELEVEN PROJECT
Where were you on 11/11/11? Sitting through a boring lecture? Sleeping off a big night? Enjoying the sunshine with your pet ferret? What do you think somebody in Denmark was doing? Or Nigeria? Such musings inspired Danielle Lauren to create 11Eleven, a project capturing “a day
In 2008, Bill Henson’s exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington was famously interrupted by a police raid – and a national scandal ensued. The seized works were eventually returned to the gallery and Henson’s next show there featured comparatively tame architectural and landscape shots. Henson’s back with a new exhibition, and while he’s still deciding which photos he will display, he has said the works, “Will focus more on the body and less on landscape”, and will likely be more like the shadowy studies of pale adolescents he’s become known for. The show will run from September 20 until October 13; curious art-types and Henson-admirers alike should probably head down early in case this exhibition gets interrupted, too! roslynoxley9.com.au
Pixar's Monster's Inc
Way back in ‘95, Pixar first blew our minds with Toy Story and have since spent billions of man-hours (and millions of dollars) giving us some of the most memorable animated features of the past two decades. This year’s Graphic festival – the celebration of all things animated, computer generated and generally awesome-looking – is bringing us a “behind the screens” look at Pixar’s productions with Academy Award-winning Pixar genius, Lee Unkrich. Other neat-o features of the festival will be the animated musical performance Dr. Seuss Meets Elefant Traks, Animal Logic’s History Of Computer Animation, gaming workshops, radio with pictures, and an animation competition (open for entries now). The festival runs over the weekend of November 10–11, so jot it in your sketchbook, and hit up graphic.sydneyoperahouse.com for deets and tix.
Xxx
e’s not just in town to bat his eyelashes and sashay around to Cher songs (though, admittedly, this will probably happen). Renowned drag performer Le Gateau Chocolat is in Sydney to perform his solo show, which combines the pageantry and spectacle of cabaret with raw, honest humanity. Returning for his fourth season in Australia, Le Gateau Chocolat’s delectable treats will woo Sydney Fringe with his swag full of outfits, enviable eyelashes and his booming baritone, performing everything from Madonna to Puccini.
What’s your favourite costume that you’ve brought with you? Are there feathers? I’ve made so many new costumes for this very occasion. I cannot wait to debut them in Sydney! There are feathers, yes, and a whole bunch of ridiculousness. I also cannot wait to photograph them beneath the sails of the iconic building, the Sydney Opera House. It is still so surreal to be playing there on my own. I'm very excited and humbled indeed.
RUBY SPARKS TICKETS! WIN!
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 25
RUBY SPARKS
Real-life Dream Girl By Alicia Malone mutual friend, and after reading the script for Ruby Sparks he knew he wanted the role of Harry. “She wrote a great character and when I read it, I instantly wanted to be a part of it. You don’t always get scripts like that, and [when you do] you beg to be a part of it,” he admits. “I saw Paul and Zoe in the first play they did, where they fell in love. I thought they were incredible. We went to dinner that night and I could see that something was going on between them. Then I started following all their work. I started watching their movies and seeing them in plays. I heard that Zoe had written a script and somebody said, ‘I think you’d like this and you’d be right for it.’ And I said ‘I don’t look anything like Paul Dano.’ Then I read the script and I said, ‘Maybe I can look like Paul Dano.’” It was through Dano that the film found its directors. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (another supercouple) had worked with Dano on their previous film, the off-beat comedy Little Miss Sunshine, and had been waiting to find another movie to feel passionate about. “We loved working with Paul,” says Dayton. “And we met Zoe through him. She was such an interesting person. I was really curious about this creature who so obviously had this incredible connection with Paul.”
Paul Dano as Calvin in Ruby Sparks
Y
ou may not be familiar with the names Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano, but if you’ve watched many independent films in the last few years, most likely you’d recognise their faces. The two have become an indie acting supercouple, both on screen and in real life (they fell in love on stage years ago). Already, Kazan and Dano have had solo successes, acted opposite each other off-Broadway, and
co-starred in 2010’s Meek’s Cutoff. They’re now set to charm audiences with Ruby Sparks, which also happens to be Kazan’s screenwriting debut. Once you learn about Kazan’s family legacy, its no surprise the actress is also a writer. Her parents are both screenwriters, her grandmother was a playwright, and her grandfather was Elia Kazan, the legendary
Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano are lovers both on screen and off
director behind A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront, and many others. So naturally, the story of Ruby Sparks centres on a writer. Successful young novelist Calvin (Dano) is suffering from a case of writer’s block, until a dream inspires him to create an impossibly adorable indie dream-girl character, who he calls Ruby Sparks (Kazan). In a fit of creativity Calvin takes to his vintage typewriter, crafting a love story starring the fictitious Ruby. Calvin’s brother Harry (Chris Messina) thinks the character is inauthentic: her perfection-in-her-imperfections make her nothing like a real woman. But suddenly she is real, appearing in Calvin’s house as a real life, real brawearing realisation of his character. While writing Ruby Sparks, Kazan experienced something similar to Calvin: the feeling that her characters were creating their own story. “It feels like these people are totally real,” she admits. “Calvin and Ruby were doing things that I felt I wasn’t making them do. They were just behaving and I would say, ‘What’s happening, where are you going?’, and they would reveal themselves to me. It sounds crazy but I swear a lot of writers feel this way.”
Something else Zoe was unconsciously doing was creating a film for her and Dano to star in. “I showed him some pages and he asked me if I was writing it for the two of us. It hadn’t occurred to me until then, but I thought, ‘Well, clearly that’s what I’m doing!’” she says. “Then I tried to put that out of my head because, at that point, the characters were speaking so clearly to me, and that was much more interesting than just trying to write good parts for us to play. The story came first – and even though I knew I was writing for us, I was trying to do anything except write for us.” Though he got a sneak peek at the beginning, Dano preferred to stay in the dark about the characters she was writing until the script was complete. “I knew she was onto something, but I wanted to be surprised by it,” he says. “I also don’t want to be aware if somebody’s writing to a strength or a weakness of mine. Whenever we talked about the film, it was just tossing things around and dreaming about the film we would make. It was not about us acting in it. That came later.” Dano wasn’t the only one impressed by Zoe’s writing. Messina had met the actors years ago through a
t’s awesome to see Bruce Willis back doing sci-fi, right? How great was he in Twelve Monkeys and The Fifth Element? Well he’s back, and has teamed up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt – aka the new reigning king of time-travel movies – in Looper, a film that combines gangsters, causality and the terror of facing your future self. If you’re into the Terminator series (or even Back To The Future), you’re going to get a serious kick out of this futuristic mind-bender. Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick), and co-starring Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels, we predict the deterministic puzzles in this movie will spawn a heap of quasi-philosophical arguments with your friends and co-workers (which you know you’ll love).
“I also like that for most audiences she could be Ruby,” adds Dayton. “She was someone we didn’t know, so we could just accept her and be excited about meeting this new character.” Another important character in the film is Calvin’s Olympia typewriter, the device used to bring Ruby to life. It may seem out of place in today’s computer-driven world, but Dano says it was a clever way to illustrate Calvin’s loneliness. “It was there on the first two pages Zoe wrote: we did have reason for it and it certainly did a lot for me. I remember going to the house alone and hearing the sound of that typewriter in that big house and how lonely that was. Also if I was to imagine being a writer I like the idea of the typewriter, because you have to be stronger with your choices, and I like that feeling.” But when asked whether she herself wrote Ruby Sparks on a computer, Zoe laughs. “Yeah, I’m not a romantic,” she says. “I’m a pragmatist!” What: Ruby Sparks When: In cinemas from September 20
S AY W EA IV G
TICKETS! WIN!
“As soon as we read the script and started talking about the movie we would make, it was so clear that we had a rapport and mutual respect,” says Faris. “She was a great collaborator.”
I
IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 27 WWW.LOOPER.COM.AU 26 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
WIN!
To win one of ten in-season double passes, just email freestuff@thebrag with the name of your favourite Bruce Willis movie.
ROY ORTUSO PRESENTS - direct FROM the usa In June 1968 and after years of film stardom Elvis Presley reestablishes himself as the King of Rock ’n Presley re-establishes himself as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll with a special that will go down in history as the first unplugged Rock ’n’ Roll performance. Elvis was at his absolute peak and after the army years he was ready to prove he was the greatest singer of our time. That black leather outfit is unforgettable, as is the presence that Elvis is famous for. Max Pellicano in The ‘68 comeback special recreates that special performance with a small band and a flair that only Elvis to the Max can recreate.
Wed 19th September
The Basement (02) 9251 2797
www.abstractentertainment.net TICKETS: www.moshtix.com.au
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 27
The Lunch Hour [THEATRE] Nine To Five By Justin Wolfers
S
ydney playwright Chris Aronsten is known for his wry, contemporary humour. His new play, The Lunch Hour, is set in a call centre, where the co-workers are trying to write a play about their boss – and things quickly get absurd. Directed by Kate Gaul, who had previously collaborated with Aronsten on Human Resources, the play is a self-reflexive stab at our middling, suburban existence, and how easily talent can be suffocated by it. Justin Wolfers spoke to the director about office drudgery, collaborating with Aronsten for the second time, and the thrill and challenge of staging a new play. Seeing as you’ve just wrapped up previews, how has it all come together? It’s come together really well. We’ve got a fantastic cast and they’ve worked together really consistently and intelligently. This is a play that’s never been performed before, so there’s always a lot of nervousness and apprehension around that event as we wait to see whether people can actually follow the story, and whether people do actually think it’s funny. I understand that it has self-reflexive aspects. They play characters, and then they have to play themselves in a play written by somebody else, and then they play themselves in a musical.
Tell us a little about the cast. Gerry Sont and Angela Bauer are really experienced theatre makers. Shaun Rennie (who’s playing Chris, one of the main characters) is quite well-known in musical theatre, but this is his first straight play. And then we have people like Briallen Clark, who’s a recent graduate of NIDA. So, lots of kinds of approaches. But they’ve spent a lot of time together, so the ensemble builds. It’s a comedy, but it also has a dark aspect to it, right? I would say it’s a comedy. The tone is satiric, and it has elements of farce which are completely absurd and wild – you have to sort of go outside of the bounds of what would be normal in a farce. The tone is actually bittersweet: as the play goes inside the characters’ personal lives, the tone shifts, and it’s a bittersweet revelation. Your work with Chris Aronsten this time around seems to touch on similar themes as Human Resources. The locations are quite similar, the grudge of the nine-to-five, also the struggle for the artist to find purpose in a world that essentially isolates them, and the quest for identity. Chris is also interested in writing from a gay perspective, so gay politics come into the plays as well. What sort of world are the characters living in, and trying to write about? They work in a box-office call centre. They’re selling tickets to customers but they’re also having conversations between themselves, and the quest of the play is that they’re entering a playwriting competition and entries close at five o’clock on the day. So the deadline is part of the dramatic clock.
Lore [FILM] Cate Shortland Grows Up By Dee Jefferson
I
t’s been eight years since Cate Shortland, then 35, made her feature film debut at Cannes with the moody, melancholic poem to teen sexual awakening, Somersault. It made a huge impression on a generation of young cinemagoers, provided an injection of energy into Australian cinema, and launched the careers of Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington. Shortland’s follow up, Lore, leaps continents and decades to tell the story of another young girl separated from her mother and forced to fend for herself. Where Heidi left home for Jindabyne, in Lore the titular heroine must shepherd her young siblings across a post-war Germany under foreign occupation, where her National Socialist parents are now enemies of the state and her own survival depends largely on the kindness of strangers – including the Jews she has been raised to hate. “I didn’t realise until after we’d finished the film and I started speaking about it that both characters had to leave their mothers,” Shortland admits. “My mother got cancer when I was 11 – and recovered from it – but I remember at that time feeling absolutely bereft that the most important person in my life could disappear. It is coincidental that both these young girls lose their mothers – if you read Rachel Seiffert’s novel [The Dark Room, on which Lore is based], it’s in there – but I do feel that my relationship with my mother was incredibly important to me. And that’s part of the reason I haven’t made a film in a few years, because my mother died, and my sisters and I decided that we would help my dad nurse her.” Shortland was handed Seiffert’s novel by a Scottish producer during the publicity circuit for Somersault, but was reluctant to dive back into another feature project immediately. “I wanted to make films in a certain way and then go back to my ordinary life. But you can’t, you have to talk about the film. I now feel much more excited about that whole process. I think you just have to get
over yourself a bit and realise that people do want to hear your ideas, and that if they’re interested in your filmmaking that’s a good thing, and I should deal with it and not be so frightened! “I’m not the sort of filmmaker who could just make film after film because I draw so much out of life,” Shortland adds. She describes the years following Somersault as brimming with powerful life experiences, including two years living in South Africa, where her partner, director Tony Krawitz (Jewboy), was developing a project, and during which time the couple adopted two children. Shortland’s relationship with Germany began when she was 25, when her short film Strap On Olympia screened in competition at Oberhausen film festival. “It was formative for me in terms of how they thought about cinema and the way they thought about how to generate ideas, and I was incredibly inspired by it – and I kept going back. And then Tony’s family are German Jews originally, so I have a very strong tie to Germany.” Krawitz and Shortland were both working on films dealing with aspects of the JewishEuropean experience at the same time (for him Dead Europe), which begs the question: how was their home life? “The years I spent researching this film were really intense,” Shortland admits. “I used to go to Germany on my own to do work with the script editor, and I had a lot of really horrible times where I was struggling with the material and what had happened. But actually, there’s so much laughter in our house, and I feel like that’s the therapy for when you deal with this stuff. You need to laugh at life, almost. Not the history or the facts, but you need to get out of yourself.” What: Lore When: In cinemas from September 20
It’s interesting that the play is about creativity and theatre as a way of getting through the day – especially for the audience that is coming to see it after their day at work. You don’t have to work in the arts to relate to that – we all have dreams and things we want to achieve in life. But I think that the characters are just very human: we engage in our frustrations. The actual milieu of the play is really neither here nor there. One of the play’s themes is social isolation, so we can all relate to that on some level. It happens to be set in a call centre, it’s a workplace drama, but what it’s really exploring is isolated individuals. What: The Lunch Hour Where: Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Potts Point When: Until October 7 Xxx
Saskia Rosendahl in Lore
I Wish You Hadn’t Asked [ART] Shit Weather By Lisa Maree Omagari I Wish You Hadn't Asked at Sculpture By The Sea, Denmark
a fitting trope when one reflects upon Art & About’s central creative ethos, which lies in an exploration of peoples’ collective relationship to art in the changing environment. This house is a private world that rots, a world where colours fade, a muted world where we are at the mercy of the environment rather than in harmony with it. This year’s Art & About is all about colour, a theme that perfectly encapsulates Dive’s creation. “For me, the work draws upon fading colour,” Dive says. “The house and the private world within transforming from being vibrant and bright, to an environment that through decay becomes, in a way, colourless. This loss of colour, and its effect on the audience, is vital to the interpretation of the work.”
J
ames Dive and Sydney-based arts collective The Glue Society have made a house unlike any other house. It’s a house where it rains on the inside. Built like an ordinary seaside timber home, the 66-square metre structure comprises a kitchen, bathroom, living room, laundry and bedroom. Then there’s that aforementioned rain. Not drizzle. Rain. Every minute 200 litres of water 28 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
falls from the ceiling, soaking those who dare to stand below. Debuting at Denmark’s Sculpture By The Sea festival last year, I Wish You Hadn’t Asked has been brought back home to Sydney to soak spectators at this year’s Art & About festival. It’s a challenging piece that centres on the disintegration of human interconnectedness,
When they launch their first steps into Dive’s surreal world, viewers will be overcome by a tension between the real and the imagined. Is the rain real? Where does it come from and where does it go? Is the house based on a design from reality, or is this merely a figment of the artist’s imagination? “It sounds obvious, but it was very important that the rain was rain. It was important that the rain is inescapable,” says Dive. “To achieve this the house is fitted with a system that catches and recycles water constantly through the interior of the house.” “The most important thing about the structural design of the house was that it was an actual house," he says. "By this I mean it
needed to be of sufficient scale and presence that, as an audience, we feel like we are in a real house, not just an artistic representation of one. It needed to be an unremarkable, normal house both inside and out.” I Wish You Hadn’t Asked brings to the fore a peculiar condition of time, place and people to dislocate rigid temporal and spatial boundaries. Perhaps most striking is the fact that the house’s private realm has become voyeuristically public, as audiences trample through the work en masse. The house doesn’t prioritise an exclusively individual experience: audiences are engaging in collective viewing. There is a sense that all that once was, is no longer – a sense of loss and distance. “The work is about that moment in a relationship when something is said, or done, that can’t be taken back. And the rot sets in," Dive explains. "Once you enter the house you become an observer of a private world slowly destroying itself. And as the water rains down, and your shoes fill up, you gain an empathy, a sadness, for a private world which time will not mend.” What: I Wish You Hadn’t Asked for Art & About Where: Cnr Macquarie St and James Rd, Sydney When: September 21–October 7; open 11am–6pm daily for the duration of Art & About More: artandabout.com.au
& the
.. nt E S E WAll PR
S H O W C A S E
DOCtoR P coOKIE MONSTA FUntCASE
.. T A E F
SLUM DOGZ
22
SAT SEPT
thE METRO
TICKETS FROM METROTHEATRE.COM.AU & THEBIGAPE.COM.AU
624 GEORGE ST, SYDNEY CBD
WWW.THEBIGAPE.COM.AU | WWW.BIGAPETOUR.COM.AU | FACEBOOK.COM/BIGAPEAU WWW.CIRCUS-RECORDS.CO.UK | FACEBOOK.COM/CIRCUSRECORDS | WWW.WEARETHEWALL.COM.AU
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 29
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.
Last Will
■ Film
LAST WILL In cinemas September 20 The phenomenal international success of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo seems to have spawned a new cinematic genre: the Swedish murder mystery. The latest incarnation is Last Will, directed by Peter Flinth and based on the novel by Lisa Marklund. PICS :: TL
open 107
Crime reporter Annika Bengtzon (Malin Crépin) is covering the glitzy Nobel Laureate awards ceremony in Stockholm for her tabloid newspaper, when a highprofile murder is committed at the gala event. Annika is the police’s key witness and her inquisitive journalistic instincts draw her into the murder mystery. Embarking on her personal investigation, and thrust into a hierarchical world she knows little about, Annika follows her intuition and goes rogue, paying little respect to journalistic detachment and police protocol.
08:09:12 :: 107 Projects :: 107 Redfern St Redfern
Like most mystery thrillers, Last Will conforms to a slew of genre stereotypes. The opening sequence is fast paced and overloaded with information, with a mess of open-ended questions propelling the plot forward and left dangling in front of us to ponder. Like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Last Will is driven by an attractive and mysterious femme fatale whose motivations we know nothing about. Typically, the film’s dramatic and foreboding music never leaves us in any doubt as to what emotional response they’re trying to glean at any moment, and the linear narrative is so full of elaborate expositions that the audience is never allowed to feel confused (or figure things out on their own).
sydney fringe launch
PICS :: TL
Last Will is the first in a series of six Marklund novels soon to hit the big screen. It’s not bad for a conspiracy thriller, and the acting is commendable, but honestly, it’d probably be better adapted as a series (along with the rest of the books) than as a standalone feature. It doesn’t have the edginess or sexiness of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so it doesn’t really make the grade. Maybe it would have more swagger if it was called The Girl With The Golden Eyes.
08:09:12 :: Five Eliza :: 5 Eliza St Newtown
■ Film
RUBY SPARKS In cinemas September 20
Arts Exposed
Wunderkind novelist Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is plagued by writer’s block. He sits at the desk in his too-nice-for-a20-something modern home, faced by the haunting, white page curled through the mechanism of his vintage typewriter. He hasn’t written a novel since the breakout hit he wrote when he was 19. It’s totally pathetic. Then the lonely misanthrope, the writer boy-“genius”, has a dream about a girl: the impossibly quirky kind Zooey Deschanel fans would swoon over (but a much less ham-fisted version). Calvin writes her – he writes down everything about her – and the next thing he knows she’s living in his house.
What's in our diary...
Levins’ Diner Book Launch The Dip @ Goodgod Small Club Wednesday September 19 We’re super excited that Andrew Levins has decided to share his recipes for irresistibly decadent diner food with us. And so he should: the guy’s super talented and wildly successful. He’s been DJing around Sydney for years (as Levins, Sleater Brockman, and part of Ro Sham Bo), co-owns Sydney’s hub of gastronomic pub-delights The Dip with his babe of a fiancée, and now he’s launching his first cookbook Diner, featuring all the deep-fried delicacies and uproariously unhealthy delights your heart desires. Head to Levins’ restaurant this Wednesday to grab a copy of the book, get him to sign it, play food-centric trivia, dance to some killer tunes, all while chowing down on chilli dogs and peanut butter ice cream. It’s going to be an all-out Levins fest. Awesome. 30 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Rufus Richardson
Too-cute-to-be-real Ruby Sparks (played by writer/actress Zoe Kazan) is creative, spontaneous and so much fun; the good-time montages in which they flirt in arcades and open-air cinemas are nearly nauseating. But why would such a creature willingly endure the company of this friendless (albeit talented) miser? Well, she wouldn’t. Ruby bails, and Calvin takes the lowest possible route to get her back.
Andrew Levins really likes hot dogs
Though it sounds like a typical “quirky” romance, this is no (500) Days Of Summer. (Sorry, I just really hated that movie. Oh, you’re listening to The Smiths? Congratulations.) Kazan’s written a screenplay with an irreverent premise that masks some pervasive truths. Not afraid to be dark, Ruby Sparks is an unsettling story about unreachable expectations, and how often we push those we love to be what we want them to be, only to find we’ve turned them into someone that we hate. Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris direct an accomplished performance from Dano, whose scorned, just-about-to-cry face and mid-20s existential panic are heartbreakingly accurate. Steve Coogan, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas play Calvin’s hilariously flawed “family”, with Chris Messina cast as his brother/ confidant. It might sound obvious, but Ruby Sparks is the next Scott Pilgrim, without all the awkwardness and comic book effects. Dijana Kumurdian ■ Theatre
THE SEA PROJECT Griffin Theatre Company Closes September 29 As is perhaps natural for a country surrounded entirely by water, Australia is pretty obsessed with shorelines. These border-zones, these breachable boundaries, form a looming presence in our national mythology. Anything could wash up on the shore – indeed, most of us did. Eva (Meredith Penman) has also washed up on the shore. She’s carrying nothing and she doesn’t remember where she came from or what happened there. She barely remembers her name. She has a strange accent, which seems even weirder next to the Aussie drawl of Bob (Iain Sinclair) who finds her on the beach near his house. He takes her in, settles her, but their strange new peace is disturbed by the arrival of Maciek (Justin Cotta), who seems to remember more about Eva’s past than she does. It’s a strange thing, memory: it glistens and shimmers and refracts like the sleek black floors or Eva’s spangled dress (design from David Fleischer, lighting by Ross Graham). As Eva struggles between Maciek and Bob’s conflicting visions of her past, present and future, we are drawn into the person she is: funny, caring, compelling. In Penman’s extremely capable hands, Eva is one of the most endearing and complex characters to grace our stages this year. Cotta’s Maciek is charismatic and dangerous, and Sinclair provides a perfectly uncomplicated counterbalance in Bob. Elise Hearst’s writing is poetic without being purple, which is matched by Paige Rattray’s unobstrusive and assured direction. It’s peppered with some striking images: Eva in a golden dress, remembering her show-girl past; the three of them travelling on The Black Sea in a little dinghy; Bob and Maciek slamming down vodka around a little wooden table. The story washes over us in waves like the one that brought Eva ashore to begin with. The Sea Project is a shifting, ephemeral work, haunted by the ghosts of the past but looking towards the hope of the future. Rebecca Saffir ■ Film
THE WATCH In cinemas September 20 It’s been heartening to watch the wonderful Chris O’Dowd kicking goals in Hollywood in the last couple of years, and it now seems that Richard Ayoade is headed down the same track. Just as his IT Crowd castmate did in Bridesmaids and Friends With Kids, Ayoade steals every scene of The Watch that he’s in. He’s a sweet, restrained and fresh flavour in an underwhelming, if charming, stew of recently fashionable plot tropes and easy laughs.
See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews
Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
Wright’s Hot Fuzz. It’s a trope the British are noticeably better at, possibly because it’s not in nature of the normal British guy to go full-Hollywood guns-blazing in the face of danger, which would explain why Ayoade or Hot Fuzz’s Simon Pegg are inherently funnier brandishing a cricket bat in slow motion than Stiller or Vaughn. The Watch lacks Fuzz’s watertight fabric of meta-references and in-jokes – a surprising lost opportunity for usuallysharp screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg – and is slightly limp both as an action film and a broad comedy. And while Evan’s character arc has a nicely resonant emotional core, his real grief over the murder is played for laughs. But the dynamic between the four central cast members is terrific. Ayoade is a wonderful foil to the brashness of the other three, while Hill, Vaughn and Stiller still bounce off each other like the veteran comedians they are. The editing is brisk and clever, and the jokes surprisingly sharp. If you’re in a forgiving mood, you could do worse than this silly, slight bit of fun.
Evan (Ben Stiller in regular-guy mode) is a loyal Costco manager in an Ohio town, and a self-styled paragon of the community. When a work colleague is brutally murdered and the local police chief (Will Forte, proving yet again that his awkward comic style works better on the small screen) displays both massive incompetence and indifference, Evan establishes a Neighbourhood Watch. Unfortunately, it attracts local losers looking only for companionship and some heads to kick: Vince Vaughn’s goodnatured suburban dad in a hockey jersey, Jonah Hill’s high school dropout and wannabe cop, and Ayoade’s tweed-clad newcomer to the town, who is named Jamarcus. Initially frustrated with their lack of focus on trying to solve a murder, in a shocking twist the straitlaced Evan soon bonds with his ragtag gang of misfits as they try to weed out the evil in their idyllic little ‘burb. Though a revealing early TV spot drew comparison to Joe Cornish’s brilliant Attack The Block, The Watch has more in common with the normal-dudesfighting-Hollywood-villains theme of Edgar
ONE EXCLUSIVE,, INTIMATE EVENING WITH
Caitlin Welsh
WEDNESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER THE BASEMENT ON SALE THIS FRIDAY MOSHTIX.COM.AU OR 1300 438 849 ALSO TOURING NATIONALLY WITH KELLY CLARKSON
Hill, Stiller, Ayoade and Vaughn in The Watch
ALBUM SCARS AND STORIES OUT NOW
CHUGGENTERTAINMENT.COM THEFRAY.COM
Street Level with Annabelle McMillan
A
nnabelle McMillan may only have graduated from drama school a couple of years ago, but the young actor/ writer/director/mixed media marvel is already making her mark on the Sydney performance scene. A former resident of PACT, she’s debuting her first show, Porphyria’s Slumber – an innovative spectacle combining physical theatre, shadow puppetry and social media – at Sydney Fringe. Tell us a little bit about PACT. How did you get involved? I auditioned for the PACT Ensemble program in 2011, after completing my Bachelor Of Performance at AADA. I was accepted into the six-month residency, in which our group experimented, explored and devised an original group work, Beguiled. Since then, PACT has been phenomenally helpful in supporting me as I make my first steps into solo performance work, and have guided my stumble in the dark to try to define my personal artistic practice. Porphyria’s Slumber is an ambiguous title for the performance… The show is a response to the Victorian poem by Robert Browning, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. The speaker strangles his lover with her own hair – it’s ridiculous and phenomenal. I like that the word “porphyria” is a multi-layered one. It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful woman, and it is also a genetic blood disorder that results in hallucinations, vomiting and facial degeneration. The piece was inspired by your recent trip to Jakarta. How did going overseas influence you? As a half-Indonesian artist, and having lived there for 12 years, Jakarta has had a major impact on my performance style. Javanese performance has strong storytelling as its backbone, and that has always resonated with me in how I make and structure my work. Aesthetically, I absolutely love the stylised, angular look of wayang kulit, the Indonesian shadow puppets. While it hasn’t come into play as much as I had hoped in this particular
show, it is definitely something I want to learn more about and work with further. Who else is involved in the show, and what do they do? Danielle Maas is my wonderful friend, and director/dramaturge/outside eye. As a fellow AADA graduate, she has a very similar ethic and approach to performance making, although we come from very different styles. Holly Orkin is my excellent producer, Alice Harvey is my set and costume designer, and Amber Silk is my lighting designer. It’s an accidental team of awesome women. What else are you excited about at this year’s Fringe? Grimm Tales at the Tap Gallery, The Mystery Bus, Luminous at PACT, and, of course, Five Eliza! What are you into creatively right now? Projection mapping documentaries, artists who physically push themselves beyond their limits (I adore the women of Brown Council and their recent cake marathon), stop motion animation, and interaction with audio-visual elements in a space. What: Porphyria’s Slumber at Sydney Fringe Where: PACT Centre For Emerging Artists When: September 21–29 More: 2012.sydneyfringe.com BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 31
Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK BOB DYLAN Tempest Sony At the age of 70, with 35 studio albums under his belt, it’s remarkable that Bob Dylan hasn’t run out of things to say. But after an extended period – 20 years or so – where he seemed destined to write himself into irrelevancy, he has rejuvenated his career and now stands, unimpeachable, at the head of the popular music peloton.
A really, really good record from a fascinating figure.
Dylan and his band are watertight, a result of constantly touring together for close to 25 years. Tracks like ‘Narrow Way’, ‘Duquesne Whistle’ and ‘Early Roman Kings’ feature classic country-blues riffs, and the band never miss a beat. ‘Long And Wasted Years’ is a heartbreaking ballad dripping with regret and nostalgia, all the more affecting for
ALBERTA CROSS
BAND OF HORSES
Songs Of Patience Liberator/PIAS Someone recently made the comparison to me between New York (via Sweden and London) duo Alberta Cross, and Britpop almost-titans The Verve. At first I was like, "no way", but after a few seconds I was like, "way". Not in the frontmen, obviously. Alberta Cross’ Petter Ericson Stakee is known for his high-registered eagle soaring howl of a voice – worlds apart from Richard Ashcroft’s lethargic tones. Still, Stakee and Terry Wolfers (the only other permanent member on the roster) did take three years, multiple studios and five different producers before they were happy with the album, so there’s a shred of Ashcroft’s difficult reputation at play. But it's in their rock’n’roll classicism, crunchy guitars, and crisp, cavernous drums that we can find more similarities. Drawing other comparisons to Band Of Horses and My Morning Jacket, Alberta Cross are the band that would rather listen to Rust Never Sleeps for the millionth time than venture outside into the 21st century. And why not stay in that world? It’s cosy, there are beards and empty red wine bottles strewn around the house, with candle light reflecting off the 12-string acoustic guitar. There are big blustery anthems built for high ceiling arenas or festival tents, but Alberta Cross may be better when they're slightly more subdued with melancholy harmonies and midtempo balladry – if only because the collapse of Oasis signalled the final days of such flag-waving anthems. Songs Of Patience is not a cosmic leap from 2009’s Broken Side Of Time; this is definitely a band following the ‘if it aint broke, don’t fix it’ mantra. More well-crafted classic rock nods from a band born in the wrong decade. Mitch Alexander
Mirage Rock is the second album to feature a stable lineup, but on production duties they have swapped long-time collaborator and indie rock royalty Phil Ek for general musical history royalty, Glyn Johns (Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who). This decision seems more obvious after listening to Mirage Rock, which at times feels like an imaginary journey up and down the Californian coast. It’s more summer than winter, from the sunburst harmonies of album opener ‘Knock Knock’ to the Southern blues guitar solo of ‘Electric Music’. Even ‘Dumpster World’ begins eerily similar to America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’, but recovers with crunchy guitars – it won’t be many people’s favourite song, but it's an interesting sonic experiment nonetheless. Even though you know it’s the result of many long nights and dollars, Mirage Rock has the loose, relaxed feel of a campfire sing-along. Possibly an antidote to the crystalline perfection of their last album… or maybe it was just really fun to make.
Since 1997’s Time Out Of Mind, Dylan has been recasting himself yet again, this time as a champion of an American folk tradition that has mostly disappeared from popular culture. His radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour, has played a big role in that, but it is Dylan’s own albums that have shown how a late-19th century, rural-based style of folk music can be ultra modern and vital when the emotions behind it ring true. And on Tempest he draws on death, tragedy, revenge,
THE XX
NME called Coexist “underwhelming”; the writer went on to say, “try as I might, I can’t love this album”. Unfortunately, I agree. The sophomore record from this critically and commercially lauded London threepiece is unfortunately so singular in focus, rigid and unrelentingly serious that even a teenager who has deep rooted emotional problems (or a very severe period) would struggle to get through it in one sitting. Songs like lead single ‘Angels’ and ‘Reunion’ set up The xx’s charter: low, resonant reverb chambers through which the occasional bassline or guitar winds, underpinned by the subs, Jamie xx’s MPC and electronic percussion. The minimal arrangements that they perfected on their first album have remained unchanged, and as a result the band sound stuck in a rut. The same is true for vocalists Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sims: they are chained to the duet, whether they are in love or, in this case, without it. It’s definitely their sound, but there’s a lack of songs here. There’s nothing like ‘Islands’, or a definitive triumph like ‘Crystallised’. Over the length of this album, adherence to the love song format becomes an academic pursuit, and The xx eschew many of the creature comforts that any audience naturally might crave (melody and an enthusiastic rhythm section) in favour of stark, relatable break-up lyrics. It manages to be both emotionally engaging, and also no fun. Worse yet, the band constantly tease us with convincingly deep house beats and basslines, only to snatch them away at the last minute. It’s infuriating, especially since Jamie xx is now such a capable remixer.
Hugh Robertson
The difficulty with any new Deerhoof release is that, close as the studio rendering may get, the freakishly versatile Americans only really hit maximum pitch when performing live. Those who saw the San Francisco noise artists destroy Spectrum two years ago were treated to insane versions of Apple O’s ‘Panda Panda Panda’ and the more recent ‘Fresh Born’ – during which frontwoman Satomi Matsuzaki inspired a room of disaffected punters to bunny hop with her. The early '90s noir of 2008’s ‘Fresh Born’ re-emerges halfway through latest album Breakup Song, on the menacing ‘Zero Seconds Pause’. Led by the insistent percussive force that is Greg Saunier, the song oddly consists of pre-bridge filler, the bridge itself, and then just post-bridge drums… Plus a five-second repeating of the chorus at the end. One of the longest songs on the album, ‘Mothball The Fleet’ sees the band fall in line behind Matsuzaki as she wilfully twists and turns the melody and narrative. Things immediately jump back a few decades for the discolite opening of ‘Flower’. Once again Saunier’s drums dip at the edges of the chaotically swift tune, as Matsuzaki deadpans a sweeter, refrain-heavy turn. Fans of doom and drone music will be understandably ropeable 42 seconds into ‘To Fly Or Not To Fly’, as the epic instrumental build gives way to some kind of passive elevator dance music. Thankfully this bleeds through and fades out, before being consumed by John Dieterich’s vicious shredding to close the song. Unfortunately, Saunier and co. seem so occupied with chopping and changing between a disparate array of styles that Breakup Song ends up lacking in potency.
The fourth album from the band of beards finds them somewhere between Laurel Canyon and sweet indie power rock.
If you’ve only heard ‘Angels’, you’re probably still excited about Coexist. That might change after a lengthy sit-down with this well-intended but often overwrought second record.
Deerhoof are still undeniably weird, but this record makes some welcome pop excursions without sacrificing the necessary lashings of outsider.
Mitch Alexander
Jake Stone
By Benjamin Cooper
NO ZU
Life Sensory Projects Alarm bells ring when I see the garish mishmash of surrealist trash on the cover of the No Zu album. The idea of global music genrehopping that incorporates no-wave pop and tribal funk is a little worrisome, too; you’d have thought there was nothing more to be gained by filling a stage with multiinstrumentalists chanting in unison while banging on steel drums and cowbells. Yet this local outfit prove that there’s life in the old dog yet. Not only that, they manage to give it a fresh spin, by way of their richly textured songs of gutter glamour.
Nicolaas Oogjes, drummer from the sadly-no-more TTT (Tik Tok Tokyo), has well and truly found his rhythm here. He’s been playing the long game since 2007, piecing together scraps from his bedroom and slowly gathering collaborators to eventually form a distinctive sound and a core band. The Graffiti and New Age EPs were promising indicators of a new direction, but debut long-player Life is a fully-formed, glittering tapestry of futuristic nu-funk. The concrete jungle fever creeps in on opening track, ‘Spiritual Heatwave’. Next, the seven-minute-long 'Fa Foma Fi' spins around a sampled “I don’t wanna”, but resistance is futile and the
HOW TO DRESS WELL
Breakup Song Lost And Lonesome
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK
32 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
love and misery – the classic folk music themes – to prove once again his own timelessness, and the timelessness of the music to which he has devoted his life.
DEERHOOF
Coexist Young Turks/ Remote Control
Mirage Rock Sony Everything about Band Of Horses’ third album, 2010’s Infinite Arms, indicated that they were ready for something bigger and better than being ‘that kinda country rock band with all the beards’. The pop was more crisp, the ballads cut deeper than ever before, and the anthems were more, well, anthemic. Long-term fans (which is to say at that point, six whole years) may have decried such an obvious recalibration towards the mainstream, but it was a gamble that seemed to pay off, netting them a Grammy Award nomination along the way. It was also the first album to properly display the talents of new guitarist and songwriter Tyler Ramsey.
the plaintive, gently descending riff at its heart. And although it takes some enduring, the 14-minute title track – Dylan’s re-telling of the Titanic story, that includes references to Leonardo Di Caprio – is a fascinating study in how folk music bends and revamps classic parables for contemporary audiences.
band start spitting out vowels and yelps to keep up with the pace. Oogjes’ vocal alone is weird enough to keep things interesting, so the mid-album triumphs ‘Eternity’ and ‘Loving You Overtime’ stick to a grounded, uncluttered rhythm and deliver tight, butt-shaking numbers that sit somewhere between Grace Jones and World’s End Press. Some of the shorter, more freeform numbers aren’t as effective, but work well enough as simmering bridges between the more accomplished songs. Life focuses in on the less glamorous side of real life, and transforms it into one big, sensual, all-consuming party. Chris Girdler
Total Loss Domino/EMI
When I spoke to How To Dress Well’s Tom Krell late last year as he was working on Total Loss, he told me that the album was his way of coping with – well – total loss: the death of a close friend. The result is shrouded in sadness, but not in a stifling way. You feel a part of it; it’s a welcome melancholy. Total Loss is a holistic realisation of HTDW’s sound – something that sits effortlessly between Aaliyah-inspired ‘90s RnB, lush orchestral flourishes and a plaintive vulnerability, the latter of which is uncomfortably relatable. ‘Cold Nites’ is a beautiful arrangement that swells and dives, all gorgeous and sorrowful over the cyclical clavichordesque line that gels the sadness together. Krell gestures towards the experimental ambition of his preceding albums Love Remains and Just Once, notably on ‘& It Was U’, an audacious a capella track with an up-tempo hip hop beat that’s offset by ‘World I Need You, Won’t Be Without You’, an anthem of despondency dappled with sunlit cello plucks – the distant idea of happiness after loss. Krell’s previous work had an aura of pretention to it, but Total Loss is earnest as fuck. The album highlight is the penultimate track ‘Set It Right’, a resplendent emergence from the shell that Krell disappeared into following his friend’s passing. Krell reaches out, seemingly naming everyone close to him (“Jamie, I miss ya / Mama, I miss ya / and Dad, I miss you too” etc) as it crawls to a ritardando, before erupting into this beautifully sad outpouring of agony, despair, and also relief. It’s as if Krell has finally let go. You know that kind of crying when you’re sad and crying but it’s a good, curative crying? This album makes you cry like that. Rachitha Seneviratne
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... KISHI BASHI - 151a CAT POWER - Sun PISSED JEANS - King Of Jeans
STARS - The North CHURCHES - Angles
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 33
live reviews What we've been to see...
PATRICK WOLF
The Studio, Sydney Opera House Saturday September 8 Patrick Wolf has bigger balls than the entire league of footballers who want to bash him. Gracing the stage dressed like an ancient Titanic relic, he captivates the crowd instantly, leaving the sold-out show enthralled until the last harp string is plucked. Wolf sets a dark scene early with the track ‘Bitten’ from his Brumalia EP, as religious artefacts and street fireworks fizzle from black and white projections behind him. His voice soars through the venue as he sings, “And now you must love yourself / Like you’ve never known hurt before,” but it’s clear that he has – and well enough to call it by its first name. Wolf seamlessly moves from heart-wrenching melancholy to hilarious stage banter throughout the performance. While delivering an ode to a composer whom influenced his track ‘Wind In The Wires’, he explains to the crowd that along with his musical appreciation of classical arrangements, he also enjoys “one and a half hour wine glass noise recordings… and Nicki Minaj, of course.” Tonight, Wolf seems in high spirits, and even the usual hopelessness of tracks like ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Tristan’ are delivered with a
new sense of hope and possibility. The whimsical ‘Bermondsey Street’ is strong with harp and political message, as he sings, “Now you know love knows no boundaries / Sees beyond sexuality / Holds the sun in the palm of its hand / And laughs down the cynical man.” It’s impossible not to be moved by the beauty of it all: the acoustic set in the historical Opera House, the harp, the piano, and Wolf’s aching vulnerability. It is during ‘House’ that I am finally moved to the point of tears. Wolf admits “Oh I love this house I love this house / Gives me the greatest peace I’ve ever known”, and it just fucking hits home. There’s no denying Wolf is a bit strange, and that his music requires a certain level of patience, but what others may call selfindulgence, I call self-expression. His final song dedication of the night seems a fitting way to end. “This is for my aunty Jill, who taught me to seize the day and give two fingers up to the world – I’m here to enjoy myself, everyone else can go to hell!” His words are met with rapturous applause before he bends us all into ‘The Magic Position’. By Erin Bromhead
snap
bushwalking
PICS :: TL
up all night out all week . . .
r l jones
the smith street band
:: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 9550 1078
PICS :: AB
08:09:12
PICS :: TAR
07:09:12 :: Brighton Up Bar :: Level 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9361 3379
shihad
PICS :: PX
08:09:12 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 9550 1078
the bedroom philosopher 06:09:12 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
34 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
PICS :: KC
07:09:12 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 :: NOHMON ANWARYAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER BROWN :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: DANIEL A TAMARA ARRANZ RAMOS :: ANN RGE POPOV :: PEDRO XAVIER :: GEO MUNNS :: THOMAS PEACHY ::
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 35
snap sn ap
07:09:12 :: The Basement :: 7 Macquarie Place Sydney 9251 2797
king cannons
PICS :: AB
seekae
PICS :: KC
up all night out all week . . .
08:09:12 :: The Square :: Cnr Hay Street & George Street Haymarket 0405126927
mum
clairy browne & the banging rackettes
PICS :: TL
fabulous diamonds
PICS :: TAR
07:09:12 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 9550 1078
07:09:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
party profile
It’s called: MUM It sounds like: A pretty sweet house party brimming with bands and DJs playing indie, punk, hip hop and ‘80s tunes you actually want to hear. Who’s playing? All The Colours (VIC), Mystery Jets (UK) DJ set, Polo Club, Louis London, Jenny Broke, The Window, MUM DJs and more. Sell it to us: This week, check out hyped Miami Horror side project All The Colours, plus Mystery Jets are stopping by to tear it up on the decks before they play their set at Fat As Butter in Newcastle! Enjoy the tunes with $1 Chili Dogs, $6 Sailor Jerrys, and $5 beer and sangria. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Nothing but good party vibes! We don’t shake hands ‘round here – we deal out the hugs and the shots. This isn’t a club. It’s just a place where you can hang out and catch some awesome bands. Crowd specs: Fun lovin’ people. No stupid Flanders or crusty old deans. Wallet damage: $15 Where: MUM @ The World Bar
sleepmakeswaves
07:09:12 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100 PICS :: TL
donny benet
07:09:12 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
36 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
PICS :: TL
When: Friday September 21
:: NOHMON ANWARYAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER BROWN :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: DANIEL A TAMARA ARRANZ RAMOS :: ANN RGE POPOV :: PEDRO XAVIER :: GEO MUNNS :: THOMAS PEACHY ::
Remedy More Than The Cure Since 1989 with Murray Engleheart
MONEY, THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT
The Stones’ ridiculously smokin’ and all punked up Live In Texas ‘78, their historic recording with Muddy Waters, and most of the live set at Chicago’s Checkerboard Lounge have now made it to vinyl. But the band’s made a near unfathomable leap when it comes to the release of their legendary 1973 live bootleg, The Brussels Affair, in the same format. The killer show at the peak of their powers was officially released as a download last year. While the celebrations for the major anniversary of Sticky Fingers were curiously nonexistent, and the party for Exile On Main Street and Some Girls somewhat muted, come November, Brussels will be a full bells and whistles affair to the point of blatant elitism. It’s being released in three vinylonly editions: Collector's, Platinum and Art, and limited to 1727, 173 and 73 copies, respectively. Each will contain the vinyl, a book by master UK rock‘n’roll writer and one time party-buddy of Keef, Nick Kent (signed by Mick Jagger), a concert photo album, and, get this: a Stones watch. But you get more if you fork out some extra cash, and that cost is stunning. The Collector’s edition will go for a mere $750, while the Platinum will sell for $1,250 and the Art a cool $1,500. There will, it seems, be no straight vinyl release. The People’s Stones? We think not.
ROCKET FROM THE CRIB
One of the great rock‘n’roll acts, Rocket From The Crypt, are all too briefly getting back together for a new single titled ‘Hey Chef’ and an appearance on – of all places – a kid’s TV show called Yo Gabba Gabba (which is kinda like a crazier, musical version of Sesame Street, from what we can gather). Not exactly punk rock central,
and not much at all really – but the thought was enough to get us out of bed more easily this week.
LARKS’ TONGUES
When it comes to reissues, King Crimson almost seem like prog’s answer to Iron Maiden. Unlike most folk, we reckon their early stuff sucked (way too, umm… pastoral at times), with the obvious exception of ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’. (Later sampled by Kanye West. Go figure.) Anyway, by the early ‘70s they nailed us permanently with Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, which was a master class in searing jazz rock accented by massive volume, sawing, white noise violin and wild percussion. For that reason we’re pretty damn excited about the news that the album will be out in October in a massively upgraded manner spread over 14 discs (13 CDs and a DVD). Head Crimson Robert Fripp recently announced in a rare interview in Britain’s Financial Times – of all places – that he was giving up music to focus on the business side of things. Weird thing is we thought he had pretty much already bowed out: Fripp’s public profile has long made Angus and Malcolm Young look like socialites.
MELLON COLLIE
We used to like Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan. No, seriously. Actually, we still kinda do. The guy is a music fan in a huge way and that’s gotta be respected. Further, he loves our beloved Mountain; great bonds are forged out of such things. To cap it all off, he has never suffered fools gladly, and we like that in a man. But ‘ol Bill has also tended to be a tad pompous with his pronouncements, hasn’t he? And we reckon said pompousness will be very much a dominant trait in his coming autobiography, which he’s terming “a spiritual memoir”. Of course.
www.facebook.com/georgiamooneymusic www.facebook.com/thelovebirdsmusic
Rocket From The Crypt on Yo Gabba Gabba
ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is a large hunk of Rage Against The Machine, who were an amazing act even after their thing was gatecrashed and co-opted by boofhead blokes, through no fault of their own. (Not that we have anything against boofheads. We used to be one.) Sure, the “how to make your own bomb” lesson was, shall we say, misguided (to put it very mildly), and “raging” against the evils of the world from the sanctuary of one of the biggest corporations on the planet was kinda weird, but they sure knew how to make a record. Also spinning is the latest masterpiece from The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Throw It To The Universe. Here we have some guys who have made not just one album that’ll be held up to the light in worship in 20 years as an act of sonic Godheadness: they’ve made six. And this is said to be their last. If you wondered what late-'70s Rolling Stones might sound like via some excellent pop smarts and top notch cosmic Americana, this be the place to pull over, baby.
TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS
Club Led at the Penrith Hotel has a very very loud night this Saturday September 22 with Stand Alone, the killer new (very Oz) rock band for former Rose Tattoo bass boss, Steve King. Joining them are Hazmat, SkulDugory and Rattlesnake. The born again Swans return next year. On February 13 they’ll be rattling everything inside Manning Bar that isn’t bolted down. And in another All Tomorrow’s Parties side
show, Godspeed You! Black Emperor will be at The Enmore on February 14. The Tombstone Ramblers (members of The Dolly Rocker Movement and The Dunhill Blues), with their unique stompin’ take on the great canon of American music, have a debut self-titled album coming out through Off The Hip. They’re launching it on October 6 on a boat on Sydney Harbour where they’ll be joined by Melbourne psych-rockers The Demon Parade, local surf-punks East River, and DJ Lord Lucifer from 2SER’s The Devil’s Jukebox. Tickets are strictly limited and available now from Red Eye Records, or online from outtaspace.bigcartel.com
Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock
Xxxx
The mighty Summonus and Shellfin have landed the opening spots for High On Fire’s show on Saturday September 29 at the Manning Bar.
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 37
g g guide gig g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
Pond
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20
Jazzgroove: Greg Coffin Trio, Bass Men 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (conc)–$15 8.30pm John Hill Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Carolyn Woodorth, Eliza Hernandez Merton Hotel, Rozelle free 7.30pm Darren Bennett George IV Inn, Picton free 7.30pm Russell Neal, Men With Day Jobs Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks free 7pm The Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19 ROCK & POP
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Pond,
Melodie Nelson, Day Ravies $22 7pm all-ages MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17 ROCK & POP
Bernie The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Newton Faulkner (UK) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst sold out 7.30pm
JAZZ
Jim Gannon Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Monday Jam Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Nic Jefferies, Marcello Maio
38 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (student)–$15 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Russell Neal, Eliza Hernandez, Massimo Presti Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18 ROCK & POP
Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel free 8pm AIM Showcase: Cuervo, Belle & The Bone People,
Leper & Crooks, The Barefoot Band FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $5 8pm Carl Fidler The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm The Dahlias Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Jurassic Lounge: Hello Vera, Community Radio, DJ Sveta, DJ IZ Australian Museum, Sydney $14 5.30pm Mandi Jarry Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 8.30pm Songwriters Association Open Mic Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 7pm
The ‘68 Comeback Special - Elvis to the Max: Max Pellicano The Basement, Circular Quay $45 (+ bf)–$99.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Aimee Francis and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm The Black Drop Effect, Cable, Revertigo Valve Bar, Tempe free 7pm Black Lakes, Community Radio Hotel Hollywood, Surry Hills free 8.30pm Brad Johns Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Dan Spillane Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm The Drey Rollan Band, Twilight Rhythm Boys, DJ Sinead Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Elevate Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Feelings, Tom Lark Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Gemma The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Hayden Calnin, The Falls FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Jess Dunbar Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm JP Duo O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Knievel FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Matt Jones Northies, Cronulla free 7.45pm Leonard Cohen Show: Monsieur Camembert Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $40 7pm Musos Jam Night Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 8pm Nicky Kurta Summer Hill Hotel free 7.30pm On The Verge Of Something: Dead Cat
Theatre Co. with Stanley’s End, Adam George, Oscar Lush The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80 8pm Richard Valdez Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Rival Schools (USA), Toy Boats, Collapso Annandale Hotel $35 (+ bf) 8pm RJ Chops, Angel Awake Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Sambosa Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm
JAZZ Jazz Nouveau featuring Evelyn Duprai Blue Beat, Doulbe Bay $15$20 (+ bf) 6pm Eastside Live: Takadimi 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (conc)–$15 7.30pm Peter Head The Space, Manly free 7.30pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Tony Burkys, Lee Hutchings Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach free 1.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Daniel Hopkins, Will Teague, Tommy Pickett Cookies Lounge and Bar, North Strathfield free 6.30pm Greg Sita Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 7pm Helmut Uhlmann, HiddenAce, Stuart Jammin, David Moulder The Loft, UTS, Ultimo free 6pm SongsOnStage – Best Of: Peach Montgomery, Anita Lenzo, Wally Byrne, Zachariah Sayed, Micah Christian, Russell Neal Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 7pm TAOS, Gavin Fitzgerald Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 ROCK & POP
031 Rockshow Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Bearded Gypsey Band, Max Savage, Tapirs Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 5pm Bernie Hayes Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm Bridie O’Brien, Black River Rebellion Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $10 8pm Candy Royalle, Sloppy Joe, Betty Grumble & Ember Flame The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $23 7.30pm allages Dead Ears, Lo Five Notes Live, Enmore $10 7pm Dr Goodvibe, Charlton Hill Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $24 8pm Elliot the Bull Ravesi’s, Bondi Beach 5pm Evermore (NZ), Lakyn,
Ruby Frost The Standard, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm Future Islands (USA) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm Hallowed Be Thy Sando’s Name: Modern Murder, Summonus, Sunset Riot Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $5 8pm Hot Damn!: Sienna Skies, Wake The Giants, D At Sea, Deadlights, Perspectives Spectrum, Darlinghurst $15 (guestlist)–$20 8pm James Walsh (UK), Penelope Austin Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Lounge Sounds Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Mandi Jarry Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Marshall Okell Peachtree Hotel, Penrith free 7pm Miss Little, Brian Campeau, April Maze FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm The Model School, The Money Go Round, The Bedlams Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Leonard Cohen Show: Monsieur Camembert Camelot Lounge, Marrickville sold out 7pm Nada Surf (USA) Annandale Hotel $47.50 (+ bf) 8pm Pond, Melodie Nelson, Day Ravies Metro Theatre, Sydney $22 7pm all-ages Saskwatch, Bad Jeep, Royal Headache DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Sincerely Grizzly, Tom Lark, Crouching 80s Hidden Acronym, Yes I’m Leaving Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Sound Of Seasons, The Maze Yours & Owls, Wollongong 8pm Squawk, Exekute, Near Life Experience Valve Bar, Tempe $5 7.30pm Steve Clisby Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Uncle Jed The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$69.80 (dinner & show) 9pm Wes Carr Introducing Buffalo Tales Brass Monkey, Cronulla $19.90 7pm Wild Thing: White Knuckle Fever, Bain Wolfkind, Nomaddox And The Dude, Gold Model The Imperial Hotel, Erskinville $5 9pm
JAZZ
Andrew Dickeson, Daryl Aberhart Dome, Surry Hills free 6pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Rock Steady Crew 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (conc)–$15 8.30pm
Xxx
pick of the week
JAZZ
g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Sonic Mayhem Orchestra with Trish Delaney-Brown Blue Beat, Double Bay $20 (+ bf) 7pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Andrew Denniston, Oscar Lush, Ditte Taaning Forest Lodge Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Jasmine Beth, Darren Paul, Alan Watters, Brad Meyers, Russell Neal The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80 8pm Joanne Hill, James Stewart Keene Corrimal Hotel free 7.30pm Spencer McCullum, Nick Domenicos, Dan Hopkins Kogarah Hotel free 7pm
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21 ROCK & POP
Andy Cowan Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $39 8pm The Angels Bridge Hotel, Rozelle 8pm Black Diamond Hearts, DJ Smithers Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 6.30pm Charlie Mayfair, The Falls Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 (presale)–$13 8pm Chicks Who Love Guns The Standard, Darlinghurst $10 7.30pm Deer Republic, Cold & Need, Amy Rose Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Enter Shikari (UK) UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $51.70 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Feelings, Tom Lark Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $10 8pm Filthy Children Five Eliza, Newtown free 7pm Gang Of Brothers Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Good Charlotte (USA), Strangers Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point $93.95 7.30pm all-ages Hey Geronimo, The Griswolds, Lime Cordiale FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm John Field Duo Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Lolo Lovina Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $15-$20 7.30pm Luke Escombe Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Mad Season MB20 Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 10pm Marshall Okell Old Manly Boatshed $10 10.30pm MUM: The Colours, The Bus Vipers, Polo Club, Louis London, Mung, Total Bore, Jenny Broke The Window, Mystery Jets DJs (UK), Ratbag DJs, Swim Team DJs, Cries Wolf DJs, MUM DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm The Nickelback Show Pioneer Tavern, Penrith South free 9pm Peter Kinch Bambu, Western Suburbs Leagues Club Campbelltown, Leumeah free 9pm The Poet And The Thief, Paper Wolves, The Masterplan, Jack Selwyn The Square, Haymarket $12 8pm Richard In Your Mind,
Iluka, Jordan Sly, PhDJ Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Roots Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Rubens, Bertie Blackman Metro Theatre, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Scam (UK), Topnovil, Disintegrator, Trauma Victim Valve Bar, Tempe free 7pm Smudge The Green Room Lounge, Enmore free 8pm Sons of Mercury Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10.30pm Sons Of Sun Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $27 8pm Superheavyweights Brass Monkey, Cronulla $19.90 7pm Tim Hart, Stu Larsen, Neda The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80–$53.80 (dinner & show) 8pm The Toasters (USA), The Resignators Annandale Hotel $30 (+ bf) 8pm Tom T Duo Customs House Bar, Sydney free 7pm Toy Death, Triangle, Moz Troniquz, Space Ticket The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Wheatus (USA), Nova & The Experience The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $35 (+ bf) 8pm Yolanda & the Stolen Boys, The Troubled Romantics, True Love Chaos, Schlam Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $12 8pm
JAZZ
Fri Funk Sess #3: The MJGs Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 (+ bf) 7pm James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf)–$79.80 (dinner & show) 8pm The Rescue Ships 505 Club, Surry Hills $20 (conc)–$25 8pm SNAFU: Alex Silver Quartet The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)–$20 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Music For Another World: Gleny Rae, Ember, The Shop Steward, Joe Dabron, Emma Torzillo, DJ Ponce The Red Rattler, Marrickville $8-$12 7.30pm
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22 ROCK & POP
The Angels Bridge Hotel, Rozelle 8pm Brendan Deehan Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm A Cloakroom Assembly, These Patterns, Caught Ship, Sacred Flower Union, India Bharti Upstairs, Old Gaelic, Surry Hills 8pm Creo, The Pretty Littles, Particles Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 8pm Darren Percival Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $39–$97 (dinner & show) 8pm Dave Tice and Mark Evans Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Fat As Butter: Good Charlotte (USA), 360, Grinspoon, Yellowcard (USA), Wheatus (USA),
Mystery Jets (UK), Marianas Trench (CAN), Urthboy, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Pond, Seth Sentry, The Rubens, Hunting Grounds, Rufus, Art Of Sleeping, Hey Geronimo, Kill City Creeps, Yacht Club DJs, Bombs Away, Rebecca & Fiona (SWE), Feenixpawl, Eiffel 65 (ITA), N-Trance (UK), ShockOne, Nick Thayer, The Only, Tenzin, Dr Don Don, JamXpress, Doctor Werewolf The Foreshore, Newcastle $118.55-$159.35 11.30am The Foreday Riders Brass Monkey, Cronulla $18.90 7pm Furnace & The Fundamentals, Shag Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7.30pm Gail Page Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free Jack Derwin Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Johnny Rock And The Limits, Smity & B Goode, The Ghosts The Square, Haymarket $12 8pm Jon Stevens, Chloe Papandrea Newport Arms Hotel free 3pm all-ages Katchafire (NZ), NRG Rising, DJ Tickelz Enmore Theatre $45 (+ bf) 7.30pm Kittens: Lovers Jump Creek, Bones bones Bones, Lines Of Charlie, Kittens DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Little Napier, Rockets, Warchief Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Man In The Mirror Reflections of Michael Jackson: Paul Rizzo North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $25 (+ bf) 8pm Mung, Synthetic Breed, Tortured, Red Bee, Mother Eel, Infested Entrails, Festering Drippage, Hell Itself, Putrefaction Valve Bar, Tempe $15 (presale)–$20 12.30pm Murlocs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $10 8pm New Dub City, Alotta Presha, Frieda’s Boss The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Outlier Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10.30pm Patrick James, Emma Davis, Zoe Elliot Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst 8pm Pear Shape, Twin Lakes, Bears With Guns FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Pete Cornelius & the DeVilles Marrickville Bowling Club $15 8pm Radio Ink, Tourism, Smoke and Silver, F.R.I.E.N.D/s Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Rip it Up Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle free 8pm Rumours – A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac The Basement, Circular Quay $28 (+ bf)–$82.80 (dinner & show) 7pm Shannon Noll North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $35 8pm Sons Of Sun Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $27 8pm Swingshift Cold Chisel Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 10pm The Swingtanic Sextet, Junk The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80 8pm
Trav & Rosco Show Coogee Diggers 8pm Trinity Tiger Tones Notes, Enmore $37.75 (dinner & show) 7pm Ya Aha, Small Town Incident The Forbes Hotel, Sydney 8pm Yellowcard (USA), Heroes For Hire, The Never Ever UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $61.60 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages
JAZZ
Bembeya African Dance Club The Red Rattler, Marrickville $10 8pm Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL Club free 7pm Gang of Brothers Blue Beat, Double Bay $15 (+ bf) 7pm Mark Ginsburg Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)–$20 8.30pm Miriam Lieberman, Alexi Kaye Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $25 7.30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm Tina Harrod Jazz band 505 Club, Surry Hills $20 (conc)–$25 8.30pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co. Café / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Dane and Aaron Cookies Lounge and Bar, North Strathfield free 8pm Russell Neal, The Pug Earlwood Hotel free 7.30pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23 ROCK & POP
Christina Parie, Sweeto Annandale Hotel $20 (+ bf) allages 1pm Crystal Barreca, Rosie, Natalie Magee Duo The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80 8pm Darren Percival Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $39–$97 (dinner & show) 8pm Duan & Two Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 3pm Krystle Warren (USA) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $42 (+ bf) 7pm Liza Ohlback, Kevin Benett Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 2pm Make Some Noise: Gossling, Tigertown, The Ah Kees The Concourse, Chatswood $23 (+ bf) 3pm all-ages Mystery Jets (UK), Toucan Metro Theatre, Sydney $47.90 7.30pm Nine Sons of Dan, Forever Ends Here, Arms Attraction Live at the Brewhouse, King St Wharf $15 (+ bf) 6pm all-ages The Road Runners Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm The Slowdowns Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Sons Of Sun Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $27 2pm, 8pm Sound Of Seasons, D at Sea, Breakaway & The Maze The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney $14 (+ bf) 3.30pm all-ages
Speakeasy Sundays: Christa Hughes, The Cope Street Parade, Gramophone Man The Standard, Darlinghurst $30 8pm Suite Az, DJ Kitsch78 Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 8.30pm Sunday Blues Jam: Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 8pm Tapirs, Son Of East, The Omissions The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Vibrations At Valve: Xater Bay, Tiger & The Rogues, The Accidents, The Tenth Circle, Sharnee Lee, That’s The Last Straw, Groovinator, Majik Honey Valve Bar, Tempe $15 5pm Zoltan Harbord Beach Hotel 6pm
JAZZ
Peter Head Trio & Friends Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm Sunday Arvo Jazz Harold Park Hotel, Glebe free 3pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Tony Burkys, Paul Furniss, Alan Gilbert Cronulla RSL Club free 12.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Don’t Think Twice: Fanny Lumsden, Bec Sandridge, Bity Booker Annandale Hotel free 4pm Russell Neal, Naomi Crain Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm U2 Elevation Acoustic Show The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 4.30pm
wed
19 Sept
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
thu
20 Sept
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
fri
21 Sept
(5:00PM - 8:00PM)
(9:30PM - 1:30AM)
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
sat
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
Sept
SATURDAY NIGHT
22
(9:00PM - 1:30AM)
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
sun
23 Sept
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
SUNDAY NIGHT
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 39
gig picks up all night out all week...
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21
Future Islands
Grinspoon
Charlie Mayfair, The Falls Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 (presale)–$13 8pm Chicks Who Love Guns The Standard, Darlinghurst $10 7.30pm
Elvis To The Max
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19 The ‘68 Comeback Special – Elvis to the Max: Max Pellicano The Basement, Circular Quay $45 (+ bf)–$99.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Hayden Calnin, The Falls FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Rival Schools (USA), Toy Boats, Collapso Annandale Hotel $35 (+ bf) 8pm
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 Future Islands (USA) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm
Deer Republic, Cold & Need, Amy Rose Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Enter Shikari (UK) UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $51.70 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Feelings, Tom Lark Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $10 8pm Hey Geronimo, The Griswolds, Lime Cordiale FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm MUM: Mystery Jets DJs, The Colours, The Bus Vipers, Polo Club, Louis London, Mung, Total Bore, Jenny Broke The Window, Mystery Jets DJs (UK), Ratbag DJs, Swim Team DJs, Cries Wolf DJs, MUM DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm
Saskwatch, Bad Jeep, Royal Headache DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm
The Rubens, Bertie Blackman Metro Theatre, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages
Wheatus (USA), Nova & The Experience The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $35 (+ bf) 8pm
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22 Fat As Butter: Good Charlotte (USA), 360, Grinspoon, Yellowcard (USA), Wheatus (USA), Mystery Jets (UK), Marianas Trench (CAN), Urthboy, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Pond, Seth Sentry, The Rubens, Hunting Grounds, Rufus, Art Of Sleeping, Hey Geronimo, Kill City Creeps, Yacht Club DJs, Bombs Away, Rebecca & Fiona (SWE), Feenixpawl, Eiffel 65 (ITA), N-Trance (UK), ShockOne, Nick Thayer, The Only, Tenzin, Dr
Don Don, JamXpress, Doctor Werewolf The Foreshore, Newcastle $118.55$159.35 11.30am Katchafire (NZ), NRG Rising, DJ Tikelz Enmore Theatre $51.610 (+ bf) 7.30pm Pear Shape, Twin Lakes, Bears With Guns FBi Social $10 8pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23 Make Some Noise: Gossling, Tigertown, The Ah Kees The Concourse, Chatswood $26 (+ bf) 3pm all-ages Speakeasy Sundays: Christa Hughes, The Cope Street Parade, Gramophone Man The Standard, Darlinghurst $30 5pm Xxxx
Nada Surf (USA) Annandale Hotel $47.50 (+ bf) 8pm
Richard In Your Mind, Iluka, Jordan Sly, PhDJ Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm
Tim Hart, Stu Larsen, Neda The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80– $53.80 (dinner & show) 8pm
40 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
brag beats
BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture inside
africa hitech
+ doctor p + sis
also: + club guide + club snaps + weekly column
urthboy boy get your naĂŻve bravado
We has internets!
www.thebrag.com Extra bits and moving bits without the papercuts BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 41
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
KYLE HALL & RICK WADE
on the record WITH
MICHAEL OZONE The First Record I Bought: I started buying records 1. because I was attracted to the covers. It wasn’t until later that I started actually listening to them. I don’t know the first record I bought… It’s not that important to me. The Last Record I Bought: Fatima Al Qadiri’s EP. She’s 2. creating sounds and experiences that are mesmerising. I bought her record because I was mesmerised by one of her videos. My friend Gian, who is a very talented artist, sent it to me. The First Thing I Recorded: 3. Mr Kool And Tuff Stuff: Google it. HI-NRG/rap/dance group. I was Tuff Stuff (the prototype for Mike Ozone). We made T-shirts with our logo on it and we played three sold out shows (two in Melbourne). We broke up because we were getting too much attention from the ladies, and because it was too real for people at the time. The project was postponed after Mr Kool moved into the field of fashion forecasting in surf and streetwear. The Last Thing I Recorded: 4. My latest release is on ESP Institute, a label out of Los
H.O.S.H
Angeles. My friend Andrew Hodge (Lovefingers) is behind it. It’s a two-track 12-inch: one side is body/NRG-Tuff, and the other side is a nomadic journey through landscapes, exploring aquatic regions and isolated oases. My friend Daniel Slleson described it as, “Very visual, kind of like some early ‘90s anime high-tech castle, flying in the sky, robot nightclub type of vibe. Real deep sounding too”. I like his version better.
If banging beats, lush melodies, and influences including Isaac Hayes and Al Green are your bag, then the latest Astral People party wont disappoint. The group are bringing out two legends of Detroit house – Kyle Hall and Rick Wade – for a night set to hitch another notch in their ever-growing party holster. Rick Wade has been weaving funk and soul into classic deep house since the early ‘90s, while Kyle Hall is a young’un who can be seen as something of Wade’s protégé, crafting productions that draw from the rich vein of American musical history. The artists initially locked paths after a danceoff at an Omar-S show (when Hall was but a tender 16 years old), and never looked back. They’ll be hitting up the The Civic Underground on Sunday September 30. For a chance at one of two double passes, send us a pic of another famous duo. Kyle Hall
5.
The Record That Changed My Life: I can’t answer this question. I have never consciously listened to an album from start to finish. I remember and forget sounds and experiences depending on the time and place. I am inspired by unfamiliar sounds, and I’m interested in the emotional direction behind the music. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone. With: Slow Blow, Same Old Scene, Toni Toni Lee, Levins, Jimmy Sing, Jingle Jangle, Bad Ezzy, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, The Goodgod House Band and more Where: Goodgod Birthday Nights @ Goodgod Small Club When: Sunday September 30 More: soundcloud.com/michaelozone
the second one takes things down a notch, as Alkan works through his enormous sack of sonic tricks. His selections range from tracks by Model 500 and Scuba to Jan Hammer (the maestro behind the Miami Vice theme), along with cuts from Chicago pioneer Ron Hardy and Chromatics – so something for pretty much everyone, and then some.
ASSEMBLY WEDNESDAYS
Marquee, located atop The Star, has announced a new weekly Wednesday night jaunt, Assembly Wednesdays – a party that presents itself as “the new weekly destination for house music aficionados and service industry professionals”. The launch party will feature a set from Beni, who is known for his work as part of the now defunct Riot In Belgium. Beni has built up his credentials as a solo producer over the past few years, with single releases on the Kitsune label and remixes for Tiga, Digitalism, Fischerspooner,
La Roux and Alex Gopher; he dropped his debut album House Of Beni on Modular Records last year. In the coming weeks, Assembly Wednesdays will host Canyons, Slow Blow and Cassian respectively, with entry $10 on the door.
MARSHALL JEFFERSON
The High Flyers party-brand celebrates its 13th birthday on Saturday October 27 with an afternoon boat cruise headlined by Chicago house luminary Marshall Jefferson. Whether you know him under one of his many aliases, such as Virgo, Hercules, On The House and Jungle Wonz, or as the producer for Ten City, Jefferson has carved out a niche that many contemporary producers have attempted to follow. Support will come from DJ Hudge, Nicc Johnson, Karl Prinzen, Patrick Curda, JC (Funkdafied), Koolade, Frenzie and Terry A, with presale tickets available from $55 through digdeeppromotions.com
Infinity Ink
SPICE AFLOAT 2013
The annual Spice Afloat cruise, which takes to Sydney Harbour for the first sunrise of every year, returns in 2013 with twin international headliners: H.O.S.H and Tiger & Woods. H.O.S.H is the moniker of German-born Holger Behn, who is one of the original trio of artists on the Diynamic label, alongside Stimming and Solomun. He considers himself a DJ first and foremost, but he ain’t too shabby when it comes to production either, as anyone who’s wrapped their ears around any of his EPs will attest to. Tiger & Woods introduced themselves to Sydneysiders with a performance at the inaugural Musica event last year, showcasing the sort of slo-mo-boogie and disco-edits that flavoured their debut album Through The Green, which was released last year on Gerd Janson’s Running Back label. The nautical mischief will take over an indoor stage and an open-air rooftop area aboard the Bella Vista, from 4am until 10am on New Year’s morning.
JIMMY EDGAR SECRET WAREHOUSE PARTY
Multi-talented producer Jimmy Edgar, who in addition to releasing on the hallowed Warp label also dabbles as a ‘haute couture’ fashion photographer and industrial designer, will take top billing at a secret warehouse party presented by Astral People on Friday October 19. Edgar is renowned for a live show that showcases Detroit-infused future funk, drawing on influences as diverse as Kraftwerk, Prince and Egyptian Lover. Edgar’s sound melds elements of electro, RnB, jazz and soul with plenty of creative enterprise, which has led to him remixing likes of Detroit electro duo Aux 88, Machinedrum and, uh, Will Smith (you can’t say he backs down from a challenge!). Edgar has also chalked up solo releases on labels like Hotflush, Pokerflat and !K7 – that really is only the tip of a considerable iceberg, but we’ll have to leave it there to save space. Support will come from Albatross (live), Charlie Chux, 42 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
Frames and Astral DJs, with the party a BYO affair. $25 presale tickets are available online via moshtix.
EROL ALKAN: BUGGED OUT AGAIN
The much vaunted London-based DJ Erol Alkan has just released a two-disc mix, Another Bugged Out Mix / Another Bugged In Selection, a sequel to his acclaimed 2005 mix for Bugged Out. For any readers living under a rock, Alkan has remixed the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Justice, MGMT, Hot Chip and Scissor Sisters, has produced a few guitar bands – excuse the disdain, but this is dance news b*tches – and is one half of Beyond The Wizards Sleeve. He also runs his own label Phantasy Sound, hosts a radio show on BBC 6 Music... You get the idea. As with Alkan’s previous mix for Bugged Out, there is a distinct dichotomy to this compilation, with disc one shooting for an upbeat club vibe while
HOT CREATIONS NYD @ IVY POOL
Finely Tuned has unveiled details of its New Year’s Day bash at ivy Pool Club, a Hot Creations showcase headlined by the duo of Infinity Ink and Russ Yallop. Hot Creations is the record label founded by Jamie Jones and Lee Foss, which peddles disco/house/ re-edit type numbers that seem to hit the spot on the dancefloor. After previous releases as Rusty James for Mothership and Leftroom, Yallop made his breakthrough on the Crosstown Rebels Label – which does trade in similar sounds to Hot Creations these days – with his debut EP featuring ‘I Can’t Wait’, a vocal disco house number. Infinity Ink is the duo of Luca C. and Ali Love, who also debuted on Crosstown Rebels and similarly oscillate between disco, house, and Prince-era funk in their output. As one would expect, a lengthy local lineup is also representing – including that man Le Brond – with first release tickets on sale as of this Monday September 17.
ACCESS ALL AREAS
BABY GEE SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 22 SUPER C I JEFF DRAKE I TIGERLILY I JO REDD I TRENT RACKUS I STU TURNER
PARTY HOUSE
MAIN ROOM
HIP HOP
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 43
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
on the record WITH
BENI yesterday I bought The Presets’ new album Pacifica. It is amazing. The First Thing I Recorded: A song called ‘Return To Energiser’. My 3. dad had an old copy of it on his PC. I can’t remember how old I was but I was pretty short. I was young enough that we recorded it onto cassette through the computer speakers. You could say that I mastered it myself; me and my dad found a bunch of loops and put them together, with the chorus being a robot saying “return to energiser”. It actually sounds a bit like Tiga. The Last Thing I Recorded: I’m recording my new album at the 4. moment, so yesterday I recorded a track called ‘Beni-Rough 23’ (23rd demo). Everything is sounding a lot more cohesive and technobased – I’m really happy with it so far. The Record That Changed My Life: The Avalanches – I always go back to 5. Since I Left You. It’s such an amazing album from start to finish. I’d go as far as to say it’s flawless.
The First Record I Bought: The first record that I remember buying 1. with my own money was Michael Jackson’s
I’d be wearing that, grabbing my crotch, and throwing my hat into the crowd – no shit.
Off The Wall. And then every record after that by Michael. My mum made me the ‘Bad’ outfit, and when my grandparents took me to church
The Last Record I Bought: Oh, well I just bought a whole bunch 2. of shit on Beatport, if that counts? Actually,
With: DJ Cassette, Nic Scali, Marc Jarvin Where: Assembly Wednesdays @ Marquee, The Star When: Wednesday September 19
TZU
Melbourne hip hop group TZU are back with their time-travelling fourth studio album, Millions Of Moments. With singles ‘Beginning Of The End’ and ‘Beautiful’ already winning a heap of radio love, the album sees the band taking a more electronic approach, while still keeping to their trademark hip hop roots. Millions follows the adventures of character Persephone; she takes a drug-induced trip back in time to inhabit the consciousness of alluring folk, who experience ghost stories, love, and even the apocalypse. After the imminent September 21 album release, the band will be cruising from coast to coast with what is sure to be a series of packed-out live shows. The Sydney leg happens at The Standard on Saturday October 13, with support from futuristic hip hop/soul group Sietta. We’re giving away an album and double pass to whoever can tell us the name of one of TZU’s previous albums.
ZOMBIE DISCO SQUAD The Chemical Brothers
4OUR FT ERIC CLOUTIER
Following the gargantuan success of their Steffi bash, 4our presents the debut performance of NYC’s Eric Cloutier, who will perform an extended club set at One22 on Friday September 28. A respected DJ, Cloutier started spinning records in 1996, and now holds down residencies at some of New York’s foremost techno club brands. Cloutier recorded two mixes for the respected mnml ssgs podcast series in ‘09, before making his European DJing debut and beginning to work in the studio on his own material for the first time. To give you an idea of Cloutier’s pedigree, he’ll touch down in Sydney shortly after playing at Berlin’s Panorama Bar – the holy grail for any DJ who knows how to work a floor. Expect deeper shades of house and dub-infused techno as Cloutier throws down in the intimate confines of One22 for four hours. 4our residents Trinity and Magda Bytnerowicz will also be spinning, with $15 presale tickets available online.
Eric Cloutier
Levins
SHORE THING ANNOUNCED
Fuzzy’s yearly New Year’s Eve romp on Bondi Beach, Shore Thing has announced a trio of high profile international headliners for this year’s event: The Chemical Brothers, Knife Party and the flying Dutchman, Fedde Le Grand. There isn’t much to say about the Chemical Brothers that you don’t already know – we’ll skip the listing of their many hits routine; ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl’ etc. But what must be emphasised is the UK duo’s welldeserved reputation for putting on a rollicking show – they are rated by many as one of the premier live dance acts in the biz for a reason. Meanwhile, Knife Party is made up of two of the minds behind Pendulum – Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen – who make music that is described as a “huge electronic kick”, while our boy Fedde is best known for the anthemic ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’. Shore Thing pre-sale tickets go on sale this Monday September 17, at midday.
them free reign to play for two hours on a Funktion 1 system. This Saturday September 20 is a Subsonic residents night, with regulars from the Subsonic festival/record label/parties representing all night. Head honchos Marcotix and MSG will both be throwing down, alongside your not-so-humble narrator and TnA. In addition, techno journeyman Juri Menicucci will return to Sydney to thump out a closing set. Having previously spun at events like Swarm, Sweet Chilli and Deep As Funk, Menicucci’s sets are characterised by pulsating techno and an extremely high level of technical proficiency. Expect every part of the mixer to be utilised, and to stagger home sweating on Sunday morning.
MOTORIK RETURNS SUBSONIC RESIDENTS @ STRANGE FRUIT
The free weekly party Strange Fruit, held every Saturday at The Abercrombie, has been a consistent hit with dancers since launching a few months back, continuing to book a diverse range of local house and techno DJs and giving 44 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
The Zombie Disco Squad Brains album tour concludes with a show at the Goldfish in Kings Cross this Saturday September 22. Zombie Disco Squad is the brainchild of London-born Nat Self, who first began releasing under the moniker in ‘06. Zombie Disco Squad productions are characterised by electro soundscapes combined with a jacking house sensibility, and have been released on labels such as Dirty Bird and Sound Pellegrino. Brains was the debut LP that Zombie Disco Squad dropped earlier in the year on Jesse Rose’s Made To Play label, and included the single ‘Righteous Sound’, featuring ‘80s pop-soul vocalist Omar, renowned for his collaboration with Henrik Schwarz ‘I’m Feeling You’. Self’s success on the production front has led to a residency at Berlin’s Watergate and increased demand for his DJ skills, which will be on show to all revellers at Goldfish this weekend.
After something of a sojourn, enigmatic monthly part brand Motorik returns this Friday September 19, so get r2r – that’s street talk for ready to rave, y’all. The bash will be headlined by Jensen Interceptor, a man who was formerly one half of Light Year and is now branching out on his own. With a sound that conflates “a little bit west coast rap and a lot of slammin’ party jams”,
Jensen Interceptor has a new EP out this month on the Motorik label called Interception. He’ll be flanked by precocious duo Mikron, who are signed to Zone, the esteemed imprint overseen by Gesaffelstein and The Hacker, with ViVi and The Finger Prince also spinning. Motorik never reveals its location until the day of the party, so the drill is that you buy your presale ticket and then receive an email with the party details on the day of the event. motorik.com.au
ELECTRIC EMPIRE
Melbourne four-piece Electric Empire return to Sydney after a tour of Japan, and will take to the stage of Oxford Art Factory on Friday November 2 in support of their forthcoming EP, Changin’, which is due out in late October. The EP will be Electric Empire’s first new material since 2011’s single ‘Yes I Will’, and apparently builds on the group’s soulful sound, with keyboardist Aaron Mendoza of the group elucidating, “We’re opening our minds to mixing a bit of a fresher, wider sound. It’s 2012 and we’re making a record with plenty of history, but created with a modern feel.”
DINER LAUNCH: LEVINS DID A BOOK!
Affable entrepreneur Andrew Levins is launching his new cookbook Diner, by cooking, DJing and signing books this Wednesday September 19 at his restaurant The Dip – which can be found inside Goodgod Small Club. Many of the dishes found inside Diner will be on offer, while Levins – co-founder of Heaps Decent, a music initiative for indigenous and underprivileged young people – will also push beats and lead an epic two-hour trivia game based on food. This will be a free event, and presents an alluring option for those after a midweek meal/night out. The trivia starts at 8pm.
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 45
Urthboy Salt Of The Earth By Krissi Weiss
S
ydney via Blue Mountains MC, producer, label manager, artist developer and social activist Tim Levinson, better known as Urthboy, is releasing his fourth solo album, Smokey’s Haunt – put together with the help of producers Countbounce and Hermitude, as well as a smorgasbord of vocalists. Despite the fact that Levinson is currently wearing his MC hat as he prepares for a run of shows, it’s hard to escape the reality of how heavily immersed in every level of the Aussie hip hop scene he is. On the day we chat, for instance, he’s busy playing the mentor role. “It’s about getting to the big picture of the artist and of the song,” Levinson explains. “Often as an artist you have this solitary confinement about your work, until of course you publish it, [at which point] it becomes open to the most great and grotesque scrutiny that the solitary confinement doesn’t prepare you for.” Levinson’s label Elefant Traks understand that the artist often has to experience this for themselves; they’re not in the habit of reshaping their artists to fit some sort of predetermined mould. “I’d go as far as to say Elefant Traks has never vetoed an artist’s tracklist once,” he says. “We’ve never said, ‘You can’t put that song
on there’ or, ‘Thanks for the album, three songs are good, go back to the drawing board.’ We’ve always allowed the artist free reign, for good and bad. Sometimes, if I were able to be a little bit harsher, every now and then records would be a bit stronger, but I feel every artist needs to live and learn. And to be honest, a lot of labels that exercise that real control over what their artists do are generally paying them a bit more, so they probably feel a bit more entitled.” It’s easy to assume that, with Levinson being so used to taking on the role of mentor and critic, getting down and writing his own music as authentically as possibly must be difficult. “The idea of purity is a weird, subjective notion, but sometimes when you start thinking about writing a song that sounds like it has more conviction, you develop techniques of doing that,” he says. “If you’re writing a song that you don’t have a strong emotional resonance with, it’s probably going to come off as unconvincing. The strongest starting point is writing about what you know.” Which is why the layman down the street can write an honest and captivating song in spite of lacking technical knowledge, while an established, diligently trained artist can fail to have the same uniqueness, curiosity and heart. “If your passion for what you’re doing is untainted by your own out-ofcontrol ego, then it leaves you with a curious mind,” Levinson explains. “As long as you’ve got a curious mind, it doesn’t matter whether you are a professor or a stoner – your mind is eager to find and explore things. And that to me is the most important ingredient. I was thinking about this the other day. When I started out, my writing was very honest but it was really sprawled out and unfocused. The naïve approach to songwriting is cool – it’s uncontained because it doesn’t self-censor – but I do think that as you get a little bit older you’re able to embrace that naïvety while also understanding the technical aspects of what you’re doing. If you become lazy and just start to feel entitled to the career you’ve made for yourself, there’s a great danger of writing rubbish.”
“Being brought back down to earth has never been something I can shake off. Being inolved in both my career and other artists’ careers makes me so aware of the struggle.” Although Levinson would have every right to feel entitled by this stage, he is a bundle of passion, humility, and grace. On his latest album, he’s opened himself up to a wide variety of collaborations for the sole purpose of serving the song – evidence of his distinct lack of ego. “Sometimes there’s a song and you hear someone’s voice in it; it’s all very natural,” he says, of choosing the collaborators on Smokey’s Haunt. “Those collaborations come about naturally, but with others it comes about because you have a genuine appreciation of them as an artist and of their take on songwriting. Someone like Alex Burnett [Sparkadia]: I’ve hung out with him so many times and I’ve been friends with him for a few years now just because, well, I think we’re both big fans of each other’s work. Then we went on the Nick Cave [‘Straight To You’ tribute] tour and we decided we should actually get something happening… With Daniel Merriweather, I didn’t really know him personally at all, but sometimes you’ll be writing a song and thinking about the best person to sing it, and events will conspire to facilitate that. It certainly wasn’t us pulling out the chequebook; it was a bunch of random events…that evolved into a collaboration that had a purpose and had a soul. “Being brought back down to earth has never been something I can shake off,” Levinson continues. “Being involved in both my career and other artists’ careers makes me so aware of the struggle. I really like to remind myself of the fact that the song is key. If a certain song requires another artist to make it work, then I don’t think, ‘I won’t have them be a part of it ‘cause I want all the glory’. I just want that song to come close to the image I’ve got in my head.” What: Smokey’s Haunt is out October 12 through Elefant Traks With: The Last Kinection, Yung Warriors Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday September 21 More: Also playing alongside 360, Good Charlotte (USA), Grinspoon, Eiffel 65 (ITA), Mystery Jets, The Rubens, Seth Sentry, Yacht Club DJs and more at Fat As Butter, held at The Foreshore, Newcastle on Saturday September 22 46 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 47
SIS
Spice It Up By Benjamin Cooper
S
omewhere between Martin Place’s amoral swarms of legal interns and the despairing narcissism of Channel 7 lies that rarest of things: an oasis for the discerning punter, for both the spirit and the senses. Secreted away deep underground, the good folk at the The Spice Cellar have spent almost a year crafting evenings of the finest in boutique club and electronic music, all the while earning a reputation for mixing up some of the tastiest brews in town. Long before anyone was talking about the potential of the CBD’s laneways, the crew behind those insane Spice Afloat and After Hours parties were securing the big names from Europe and the USA to blow minds ‘till the break of day. Continuing the tradition of bagging the best and brightest, Murat Kilic et al. have managed to score another coup, securing Germany’s SIS, aka Burak Sar, to headline this Saturday night. The young DJ and producer is currently experiencing a huge amount of international acclaim, both for his studio work with Get Physical Music and for his legendary sets at Cocoon in Ibiza. But that’s not to say it’s all happened overnight. SIS has been working hard in the Berlin and Frankfurt scenes for many years now, with a number of his early tracks generating significant critical buzz. In 2008, Groove Magazine awarding him the Producer Of The Year title for his track ‘Nesrib’ on Cécille Records, and Track Of The Year for the brassy ‘Trompeta’. He was also earning a solid live reputation, with Raveline commending him as both Newcomer and #2 Live Act Of The Year. When queried about the impact of critical recognition early on in his career, Burak is frank. “It was an honour to be nominated,” he
says. “[But] what I do know is just that I love to make people dance, and escape to wherever they want. I love being able to do that.” Sar bristles at the suggestion that the complexity of his music requires any kind of deep analysis: “Well, I could tell you a story about bullshit and blah, blah, blah, but the truth is I have never had any influences on my production. The tracks are just [created based on] what I see or feel.” Since founding his own label, Cocolino Records, in 2009, he remains impossibly busy and enthusiastically engaged with the game. After working with and developing artists such as Cristian Viviano and Dorian Chaves, SIS has finally cobbled together sufficient time to release a new album. “It’s called The Difference, and it’s going to come out on Cocolino. It’s going to be an album that has some tracks which are quite far from the dancefloor, and some tracks to play up to. But it will also have stuff for after the party: some downbeat music as well as songs for a rainy day spent with someone handsome and a glass of wine.” There’ll be precious time for laid-back nights when the Berliner arrives in our fair city. Having met quite a few Australians overseas, the DJ already has some sense of what he’s in for, and he’s looking forward to the next stage of Aussie adventure. “Finally! I am so happy to be coming over there to see that amazing country. I’ve met so many nice Australians in Europe – I’m looking forward to the tour so much.” With: James Taylor, Nic Scali, Dean Relf & guests Where: The Spice Cellar When: Saturday September 22
Doctor P The Doctor Of Dub Chloe Papas
D
ubstep producer Doctor P has become a huge name on the scene over the past few years, thanks largely to the release of his massive single ‘Sweet Shop’. On the heels of releasing his debut EP, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral Pt.1, he’s heading Down Under for a set at the Circus Records showcase at The Metro Theatre this weekend. When we speak, he’s just finished up a massive run of dates in the U.S, and he’s a little bit tuckered out. “It was pretty full on,” says Doctor P, aka Shaun Brockhurst. “I had one day off in three weeks.” But as Brockhurst explains, time off isn’t really an option at this stage of his career – running Circus Records with labelmates Flux Pavilion, DJ Swan-E and Earl Falconer, all the while keeping the fans happy by touring like a madman, doesn’t really allow for a lot of relaxing. “I always do shows on the weekend, but I spend most weekdays at home. My time at home is spent making music, doing interviews and running the label, so I don’t really have downtime. If I did have downtime, I would probably spend it sleeping!” Brockhurst began his music career studying music production at a university in the UK. He then began working under a number of different aliases and collaborations; he started out in the drum’n’bass scene under the moniker DJ Picto before rapidly doing an about-turn, realising that dubstep was the direction to head in. “I was never truly a part of the DnB scene. I had a few small releases and never really did any gigs. It was when I found dubstep that I felt my music became what I wanted it to be, and I think other people felt the same. My dubstep became way more popular than my drum’n’bass.” Some producers draw inspiration from their peers in the scene; others have routines they follow when creating music. But Brockhurst
says that he leaves it all up to fate. “I just start making music and see where it takes me; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s difficult to find true inspiration – it always comes when you least expect it.” Dubstep has been flooding the non-mainstream market over the past 18 months or so, and more and more artists are turning to the genre as it gains in commercial viability too. Brockhurst says that for him, it was simply a case of good timing. “The music industry has been due for a revolution for a while, and I think dubstep is what everyone was looking for. Who knows where it will go, or what it will turn into. All I know is that it’s way more interesting than most chart music!” As for Doctor P’s dubstep picks for the year? “Brown & Gammon is a favourite of mine. His music is so strange, but it works on lots of different levels. I’m also a fan of people like Koan Sound and Feed Me – they are masters of what they do.” Doctor P is an extremely busy dude, and this year has been a hectic one. This weekend’s showcase will also feature fellow dubstep heavyweights Cookie Monsta, Funt Case and the Slum Dogz collective, which Doctor P has been a part of since his DJ Picto days. But despite all the touring and collaborations, Doctor P has one simple idea in mind for 2013. “I would like to spend some time making [new] music. It doesn’t sound like a big request, but it’s become almost impossible to find the time over the last year or so!” What: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral Pt.1 EP is out through Warner Music With: Cookie Monsta, Funt Case, Slum Dogz Where: Big Ape presents: Circus Records Showcase @ The Metro Theatre When: Saturday September 22
Africa Hitech Raw Tribal Swing By Tamara Vogl
M
ark Pritchard and Steve Spacek stand at the intersection of an eclectic diaspora of electronic styles. The result, when they collaborate, is a synthesiser-fuelled syncopated bass explosion: Africa Hitech. With the acknowledgement that all electronic music stems from African musical traditions, Spacek and Pritchard have formed a partnership that knows no boundary in terms of style, drawing from soul, dub and acid to UK garage, grime, techno, house and Jamaican dancehall. Both men had very different introductions to the world of dance music. Growing up in the UK, Pritchard came across electronic music via science fiction soundtracks, leaving school just in time to tune in to the rise of Chicago house music and Detroit techno, which were both big influences. Spacek reminisces on his encounter with Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’, which marked his exposure to the genre at the tender age of five. “[It was playing on a] massive reggae sound system in my school hall,” he says. “This was during the holidays at play school – southeast London style!” In around 1990, both men began dabbling in the early beginnings of their music careers. “I worked with Tom Middleton,” Pritchard says, “and from that, various names came around, [including] Reload, Global Communication, and Jedi Knights.” Spacek (real name White) formed the ambient group Spacek, and worked with a conglomerate of hip hop gods including Common and the late J. Dilla. “[J.Dilla] was one of the most humble and gracious peeps that I have ever met in the industry,” he says.
48 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:08:12
After collaborative work together in the early 2000s, fate would have it that both men wound up in Australia. “I heard the first Spacek single ‘Eve’ via a mutual friend,” Pritchard says. “I was blown away by that record – it was way ahead of its time. Steve has a really unique voice and is the most talented musician I have worked with. I suppose we have very similar roots in music, and we are both striving for something new. So when we both ended up ten minutes away from each other on the other side of the world almost eight years ago, we started working together straight away.” Since then, Africa Hitech has put out two EPs on the globally respected boutique label Warp Records. Their style flirts with elements of dubstep, grime and funk, with a hard-hitting and encompassing edge. “We are open to all music,” Pritchard says. “We just want to hear fresh things, but we also get inspired by music from the past.” Spacek adds, “It’s nice to try and visit different places within music.” The duo share the same perspective on African rhythms: “As soon as you start making modern dance music, you start touching on African music,” he explains, “especially the rhythms, arpeggios and mantra-type melodies. You can start with any of the genres and trace them back to Africa. Our thing was to really be conscious of that fact whilst making 93 Million Miles, [and to] always maintain that raw tribal swing, mixed with a bit of beautiful tech.” After their set at Brouhaha! – the HAHApresented Sydney Fringe after-party – Africa Hitech will play the inaugural OutsideIn
Festival, presented by Astral People and Yes Please. Having lived in Australia for nearly eight years now, the pair have a fair amount of insight when it comes to the local dance music scene. “Now the dollar is strong, even more people are coming out, which is great,” Pritchard says. “Whatever type of music you’re into, you’ll find good parties in that style across Australia. But Sydney suffers from a shortage of medium-sized venues and great sound systems.” Consider that a challenge, Sydney.
Where: HAHA & Sydney Fringe presents Brouhaha! @ Marrickville Bowling Club When: Saturday September 29 More: Also playing with Smoke DZA (USA), Jesse Boykins III (USA), Collarbones, Oliver Tank, HTRK (UK/AUS), Shigeto (USA), Flume, Melo-X (USA), Polographia and Dro Carey at OutsideIn Festival, held on November 10 at The Factory Theatre.
Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
Deep Child
O
ne of Sydney’s premier techno exports, and an absolute gem of a fellow, Rick Bull aka Deep Child will release a new LP, Neukölln Burning, in early October on Noah Pred’s label, Thoughtless Music. The album comes with an extremely personal backstory: Bull apparently used the recording process as a cathartic experience while he weaned himself of the anti-depression medication he had been taking for some time. Bull divulged, “I plunged into utter panic, terror and disarray, a crazy meltdown suicidal panic attack, cold sweats… In the midst of which, I was trying to write music.” The result is a marked contrast to Bull’s previous album, Departure. Given the emotional backdrop to the release this is hardly surprising, but weight must also be given to the fact that in the five years since his last LP, Bull has moved from Sydney to Berlin, where he has made himself a regular guest at both Berghain and Tresor while continuing to refine his sound. Despite the tumultuous personal experiences that fuelled Neukölln Burning, one should not necessarily think that the album is going to be completely doom and gloom, as Bull’s promotional interviews have also been underscored by a sense of optimism. In discussing the album title, a reference to the Neukölln district in which he lives, Bull explained that his relocation has made him “reframe what ‘home’ means in a way which asks fundamental questions, and relies deeply on the kindness of strangers”. Whatever the result, this will be a fascinating album listen. The lead single from Neukölln Burning is now available digitally, and features a remix from Deadbeat that I recommend you check out. Another Berlin-based producer, Mark Henning, whose style traverses minimal house and techno soundscapes, will play at One22 on Saturday October 6 for Bad Apple’s first birthday. Henning initially broke through on the back of his A&R talents with his net label Clever Music, and its association with thennew artists Pheek and JPLS. Henning’s own skewed take on club sounds began to surface thereafter in DJ sets from many of the best, as he notched up releases for Freude Am Tanzen, Trapez and Cynosure, before a meeting of minds with Soma Recordings resulted in his 2008 debut album, Jupiter Jive. Henning has maintained his place in the underground echelon ever since, with his tracks featured on Fabric and M_nus compilations, while he spins at clubs that most DJs only dream of playing at: Panorama Bar, Rex Club, Space etc. Reading a recent interview with the chap, it was clear why Henning had excelled in A&R, as he proceeded to list Deep Impressions posterboys Portable/ Bodycode, Anton Zap and Levon Vincent as producers currently floating his musical boat – if he continues on that tip for his Sydney debut, clubbers are in for a treat. The one and only Ben Klock, a proponent of ‘serious’ techno who is best known for his affiliation with clubbing pantheon Berghain and its affiliated record label Ostgut Ton, will mix the next instalment in the Fabric compilation series, Fabric 66, which is due out in mid/late October (there are conflicting reports as to the precise date). The mix was recorded in Klock’s home studio
LOOKING DEEPER SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Pepperpot The Spice Cellar
MONDAY OCTOBER 1 Konrad Black The Abercrombie
SATURDAY OCTOBER 6 Mark Henning One22
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3
Margaret Dygas, DJ W!ld Greenwood Hotel in Berlin – a city which seems to be the common thread to this week’s column – with a press release stating that Fabric 66 “reflects both his love of classic house and techno productions…” I’ll cut it off there as about two paragraphs of the usual platitudes follow, until we get to the hook, where we learn that Klock invited his friends to submit rare and exclusive tracks specifically for the release. “I didn’t want to include any of my ‘hits’ from my sets this time. The idea is more that you have something to discover when you listen,” the amicable German declared. Accordingly, listeners can expect to discover unreleased material from Head High (aka Shed) and Trevino’s forthcoming debut for the German’s own Klockworks imprint, in addition to the first collaboration between Klock and his gorgeous – and equally talented – Siberian girlfriend Nina Kraviz: a remix of Octave One’s ‘Terraforming’. With the tracklist also featuring bonafide stonkers from the likes of Marcel Dettmann, Mathew Jonson and Planetary Assault Systems, along with an edit of enigmatic dubstep producer Burial’s ‘Raver’, Fabric 66 shapes as the sonic firecracker that one would expect from the combination of Klock and Fabric. While you wait for the release date to roll around, you could do worse than check out Klock’s first mix compilation, the excellent Berghain 04, which was released back in 2010.
Ben Klock
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 49
club guide
send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week
The Argyle, The Rocks DJ La Vida, Tikki Tembo free 6pm Epping Hotel DTF Resident DJs free 8pm Ivy, Sydney Salsa at Ivy DJ Dwight ‘Chocolate’ Escobar free 7pm Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Frat House Mean Dartin, Camo, Ra Bazaar free 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Cellar Bar, Newtown Student Night – Cancun Beach Party DJ Pauly free 8pm Marquee Sydney, The Star, Pyrmont Assembly Wednesdays Beni, DJ Cassette, Nic Scali, Marc Jarvin $10 9pm The Ranch, Epping Hump Wednesdays Resident DJs free 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Cream Resident DJs free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Friction & MC Linguistics (UK), Clockwerk, Bassriot, Deckhead, Heke, Brothers Grimm, Lights Out $5 9pm
SATURDAY 2 R2 SEPTEMBE
Hernan Cattaneo
Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Hernan Cattaneo (ARG), Fritz Kalkbrenner (GER), The Hump Day Project, Robbie Lowe, A-Tonez, Murray Lake, Whitecat, Cheap Lettus, Devola, U-Khan, DJ Just 1, Goodfella $25 7.30pm MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17 Scruffy Murphy’s Haymarket Mother Of A Monday DJ Smoking Joe free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Latin Jazz DJs free 7pm
50 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18 Australian Museum, Sydney Jurassic Lounge Sveta, DJ IZ, Inthemix DJs $14 5.30pm Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Salsa DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm
Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket We Love Goon Tuesdays DJ Podgee, DJ Smoking Joe free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday Parklife Pre-Party Oakes & Lennox, Glover $10 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jam Cristoff, Ali free 8pm
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 The Argyle, The Rocks Elly K, Kristy Lee free 6pm Five Eliza, Newtown D&D’s Beat Ballroom Dave Fernandes & Dean Dixon free 6pm The Cool Room, Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays Resident DJs 8pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Greenwood Thursdays Resident DJs free 8pm Ivy Changeroom, Sydney Loose Change Jimuphy Masters (UK), DJ Phil Taouk, August Storm, Ayko Akriff free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs free 8pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hot Damn DJs $15$20 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Rewind Bobby Digital, Moto, DJ Samrai, Manny, Trey, Naiki, Big Bee 8pm Strike, Chatswood The Alley DJs free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Swag Resident DJs $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Bluejuice DJs, Fingertips, Urby, Jack Shit free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Totally Barry Bad Barry DJs free 9pm The Argyle, The Rocks Argyle Fridays DJ Cadell, Phil Hudson, John ‘The
Owl’Devechhis free 6pm The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Get Funked Fridays Resident DJs 9pm Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross Vamp Music Neon Stereo, Robust, Worimi, Acid Mouth, Intheory, Monstrum, Bystanders, Cal French vs Real Talk 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Optiv, BTK, Hydraulix, Shudder-X, Pop The Hatch, Autoclaws, Bruxism, Subaske vs KEmikoll $15-$25 10pm Club 77, Woolloomooloo Club Blink Rammstein Tribute Blink DJs 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Volar Volar DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five DJ Toby Neal, DJ Matt Roberts free 8pm The Eastern, Bondi Junction Deep Frydays Tom Witheidge, Raffi Lovechild, Magda B, Lov Disciple & Steele Bonus, High Spirits 9pm Fever Nightclub, Wollongong Sneak Dan LE Beat, Sam Arellano, Kass Kid, Suba Stew, Paul Danger, Zennca S.S, AKA, Mo’Rockn $10 10pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Adult Disco Kenji Takimi (JPN), Future Classic DJs, Noise In My Head $15 (+ bf) 11pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Moonshine Picnic DJs, Alley Oop, Toni Toni Lee 9pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Ivan Drago, DJ Rain Julz free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross KK Fridays Resident DJs 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Cellar Bar, Newtown DJ Simon Laing free 8pm Marquee Sydney, The Star, Pyrmont Static Revenger (USA), Dev (USA) 9pm Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm One22, Sydney Pajama Techno Gabby, Murray Lake, Simon Caldwell, Suzy Q, Ft Mode, Ben Ashton $10 (presale)-$15 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Urthboy, The Last Kinection, Yung Warriors $25 (+ bf) 8pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Teen Spirit 10 Things Teen Spirit DJs $10 9pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket Frisky Friday DJ Podgee free 6pm Space Nightclub, Sydney Zaia Resident DJs 9.45pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney The Residents Andy Webb vs Discopunx, James Taylor vs Steven Sullivan, Morgan, Pink Lloyd Dreamcatcher $10 10pm Tarantula Club, Darlinghurst Warp Speed Tarantula DJs 9pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross LIVE Fridays presents The
Jungle Party Nacho Pop, Nemz, DJ Willi, Robbie B, Bobby Digital, Daniel Berti, MC Deekay 9pm Vegas Bar, Darlinghurst Bad Habit Bad Habit DJs $10 11pm The Watershed Hotel Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matt Roberts free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM The Colours, The Bus Vipers, Polo Club, Louis London, Mung, Total Bore, Jenny Broke The Window, Mystery Jets DJs (UK), Ratbag DJs, Swim Team DJs, Cries Wolf DJs, MUM DJs $10-$15 8pm
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Strange Fruit Strange Fruit DJs free 9pm The Argyle, The Rocks Good Times Noy-C Andee, Jimuphy Masters, Nestor Martinez, Dante Rivera free 9pm Bambu, Western Suburbs Leagues Club Campbelltown, Leumeah DJ Style free 9pm The Burdekin Hotel - Dug Out Bar, Darlinghurst The Elements Of Tech & Bass Rollers Music, Thierry D, Subfect, Kevin C, Skiver, Lewba, Lab 5, David Roberts free 9pm Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross Ritual Teez, Scott Cole, 2Busy 2Kiss, Mindquad, Theobeats, Digital T, Grizzly, Ethan, Boyd 9pm Cargo Bar, King St Wharf Kick On Resident DJs free 6pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Hernan Cattaneo (ARG), Fritz Kalkbrenner (GER), The Hump Day Project, Robbie Lowe, A-Tonez, Murray Lake, Whitecat, Cheap Lettus, Devola, U-Khan, DJ Just 1, Goodfella $25 7.30pm Club 77, Woolloomooloo Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox Candidate free 8pm The Cool Room, Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill Saturday Nights At The Brewery DJ Koffee 8.30pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna Resident DJs 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Hands Up! Staggman, Clockwerk free 11.30pm The Foreshore, Newcastle Fat As Butter Good Charlotte (USA), 360, Grinspoon, Yellowcard (USA), Wheatus (USA), Mystery Jets (UK), Marianas Trench (CAN), Urthboy, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Pond, Seth Sentry, The Rubens, Hunting Grounds, Rufus, Art Of Sleeping, Hey Geronimo, Kill City Creeps, Yacht Club DJs, Bombs Away, Rebecca & Fiona, Feenixpawl, Eiffel 65 (ITA), N-Trance (UK), ShockOne, Nick Thayer, The Only, Tenzin, Dr Don Don, JamXpress, Doctor Werewolf $118.55-$159.35 (+ bf) 11.30am
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com Goldfish, Kings Cross Zombie Disco Squad (UK), Matt Cahill, Johnny Gleeson, Tom Kelly, Mars Monero, $20 6pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Dutty Dancing Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Nick Toth, Basslines $5 11pm The Green Room Lounge, Enmore Vinyl Solution DJ Nic Dalton free 7pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Full On Ferry Corsten (NED), Shogun (USA), Zoo Brazil (SWE) $59.60 (+ bf) 4pm The Imperial Hotel, Erskineville Parlez Simon Caldwell, Annabelle Gaspar, Nelson, Shunji $10 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Chinese Laundry Pool Party Hernan Cattaneo (ARG), Fritz Kalkbrenner (GER), Rodskeez, Damien Osborne & Nick Robbins, Whitecat, Moonchild, Jack Fuller, Ben Ashton sold out 12pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, DJ Michael Stewart free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang! Isbjorn, Mr Belvedere, David Neale, Playmate, Devola, Pat Ward, Handsome, Kristy Lee 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Cellar Bar, Newtown Resident DJs free 8pm Marquee Sydney, The Star, Pyrmont The Potbelleez DJs 7pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Circus Showcase Doctor
P (UK), Cookie Monsta, Funtcase, Slum Dogz $43.90 9pm Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm O Nightclub, Kings Cross This Is Our House Mix Tape Bex Meli, Chris Valan, Emmet Greene, James Petrou, Adriano, Jaded, Mr Ron Ron $10-$20 9pm One22, Sydney Commix (UK), Royalston, Sariss, Rival, Whitey $25 (+ bf) 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Saturdays Resident DJs 8pm Space Nightclub, Sydney Masif Saturdays Resident DJs 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney SIS (DE), Nic Scali, James Taylor, Morgan, Dean Relf $25 (+ bf) 10pm Radio Ink, Tourism, Smoke and Silver, F.R.I.E.N.D/s Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents… Skybar $20 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Kato, Bentley, Astrix Little, Temnien, Brendan Fing, Rubio, Dr Don Don, Airwolf, Oakes & Lennox, Blaze, Tigerlily $15-$20 10pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway
S.A.S.H Sundays – *WE LIKE* Gemma Van D, Shamus, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm The Argyle, The Rocks Good Life Sundays Random Soul, Michael Wheatley free 4pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 3pm Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor Yung Warriors free 6pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club Tom Kelly, Straight Up Steve 6pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays DJs 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Brazilian Day 2012 Carnival Party DJs $20 (presale)-$30 4pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs 8pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sets DJ Tone free 7pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Daydreams Daydreams DJs 4.30am Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Sundays Tony Shock, Resident DJs 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours James Taylor, Morgan $20 4am The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Brynstar 4pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Soup Kitchen Cotolette, Manjazz, Ethan Winzer free 7pm
club picks up all night out all week...
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Urthboy, The Last Kinection, Yung Warriors $25 (+ bf) 8pm
Marquee Sydney, The Star, Pyrmont Assembly Wednesdays Beni, DJ Cassette, Nic Scali, Marc Jarvin $10 9pm
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22
The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Friction & MC Linguistics (UK), Clockwerk, Bassriot, Deckhead, Heke, Brothers Grimm, Lights Out $5 9pm
Goldfish, Kings Cross Zombie Disco Squad (UK), Matt Cahill, Johnny Gleeson, Tom Kelly, Mars Monero $20 6pm
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Bluejuice DJs, Fingertips, Urby, Jack Shit free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Optiv, BTK, Hydraulix, Shudder-X, Pop The Hatch, Autoclaws, Bruxism, Subaske vs kemiköll $15-$25 10pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Adult Disco Kenji Takimi (JPN), Future Classic DJs, Noise In My Head $15 (+ bf) 11pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Moonshine Picnic DJs, Alley Oop, Toni Toni Lee 9pm
Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Dutty Dancing Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Nick Toth, Basslines $5 11pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Full On Ferry Corsten (NED), Shogun (USA), Zoo Brazil (SWE) $59.50 (+ bf) 4pm The Imperial Hotel, Erskineville Parlez Simon Caldwell, Annabelle Gaspar, Nelson, Shunji $10 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Chinese Laundry Pool Party Hernan Cattaneo (ARG), Fritz Kalkbrenner (GER), Rodskeez, Damien Osborne & Nick Robbins, Whitecat, Moonchild, Jack Fuller, Ben Ashton sold out 12pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Circus Showcase Doctor P (UK), Cookie Monsta, Funtcase, Slum Dogz $43.90 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney SIS (DE), Nic Scali, James Taylor, Morgan, Dean Relf $25 (+ bf) 10pm
Marquee Sydney, The Star, Pyrmont Static Revenger (USA), Dev (USA) 10pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23
One22, Sydney Pajama Techno Gabby, Murray Lake, Simon Caldwell, Suzy Q, Ft Mode, Ben Ashton $10 (presale)-$15 9pm
Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays – *WE LIKE* Gemma Van D, Shamus, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 51
snap
drumsound & bassline smith
PICS :: AM
up all night out all week . . .
07:09:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999
Sell it to us: It’s Lev Fest 2012! You’ve never been to a night this Levinsy before! Can your brain even handle the LEVels of LEVn ess?!
she can dj 2012 final
PICS :: AM
It’s called: Levins’ Diner book launch Who’s playing? It’s a total Lev-fest! The Dip's Andrew Levins will spend the entire night cooking dishes from his new cookbook Diner, while DJing up a smorgasbord of piping hot tunes. He’ll then host a two-hour, food-focused trivia round and will be available to sign copies of his book, too!
05:09:12 :: The Ivy :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100
The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The cookb ook you’ve just bought that helps you cook food just like The Dip. Crowd specs: Hungry, hungry hippos. Wallet damage: Free Where: The Dip @ Goodgod Small Club When: Wednesday September 19; trivia starts at 8pm
halfway crooks
PICS :: AM
party profile
levins' diner launch
jon convex
PICS :: AM
08:09:12 :: Phoenix Bar :: 34-44 Oxford st Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100
the cool room
PICS :: AN
08:09:12 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
toni toni lee
PICS :: AM
06:09:12 :: Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555
07:09:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585 52 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
:: NOHMON ANWARYAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER BROWN :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: DANIEL A TAMARA ARRANZ RAMOS :: ANN RGE POPOV :: PEDRO XAVIER :: GEO MUNNS :: THOMAS PEACHY ::
FREE BOWLING WITH EVERY DRINK SOLD!
ALL DAY SUNDAYS AT STRIKE KING ST WHARF THE PROMANADE, KING ST WHARF, DARLING HARBOUR
$6 MINIMUM SPEND. CONDITIONS APPLY. PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS.
FIND US ON
(COCOON, DE)
SAT SEPT 22 THESPICECELLAR.COM.AU
BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12 :: 53
snap
07:09:12 :: The Exchange Hotel :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100
red rack'em
PICS :: AB
teen spirit
PICS :: TL
up all night out all week . . .
08:09:12 :: Marrickville Bowling Club :: 91 Sydenham Rd Marrickville 9557 1185
todd terry
It’s called: Parlez It sounds like: House music: past, present and future. Acts: Simon Caldwell, Annabelle Gaspar, Nelso n (Numbers) and Shunji. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Risqu é Rhythm Team – ‘The Jacking Zone’; Unspecified Enemies – ‘Multi Ordinal Tracki ng Unit’; Rahaan – ‘Saucy Lady – Touch It’ And one you definitely won’t: Kenny Loggi ns – ‘Highway To The Danger Zone’ Sell it to us: Four quality DJs in an amazing club with a proper dancefloor and dug-out bar, playing dirty tracks from across house music’s rich past and promising future. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The 808s, the kicks and strings, and the vocals and such. Crowd specs: People who like to party. Wallet damage: $10 Where: The Imperial Hotel / 35 Erskineville When: Saturday September 22
Rd, Erskineville
PICS :: PX
06:09:12 :: The Exchange Hotel :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100
party profile
propaganda
PICS :: DM
parlez
sash sundays
PICS :: AM
07:09:12 :: The Goldfish :: 111 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 8354 6630
strike
PICS :: AM
09:09:12 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9211 3486
07:09:12 :: Strike Bowling Bar :: Lv4 Mandarin Shopping Centre Chatswood 8458 1400
54 :: BRAG :: 480 :: 17:09:12
:: NOHMON ANWARYAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER BROWN :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR :: DANIEL A TAMARA ARRANZ RAMOS :: ANN RGE POPOV :: PEDRO XAVIER :: GEO MUNNS :: THOMAS PEACHY ::
PROUD SPONSORS OF WHATEVER YOUR EXCUSE ENDS UP BEING ON MONDAY WE’RE FUELLING
O
BU Y Y
14 5.
ET
for $
00
CK
U
ARK L IFE T P R I
E
G FE N I K O O
NO B
-
- A T R I L L’ D G
BUY YOUR PARKLIFE TICKET AT GRILL’D & GET THE VSBP * TREATMENT WHICH GETS YOU VIP ENTRANCE &A BURGER FROM THE GRILL’D AIRSTREAM AT THE EVENT. *VERY SPECIAL BURGER PERSON GRILLD.COM.AU | FACEBOOK.COM/GRILLDBURGERS | #GRILLDBURGERS