August Issue
Brisbane | Free
The movers, shakers, and music makers headlining this year’s bill. Why Australia is taking notice of Mojo Juju
Can Twin Peaks’ own stars explain the iconic TV show?
Tash Sultana’s DIY ethic is conquering the globe
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Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Group Senior Editor/National Arts Editor Maxim Boon Editors Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths
whatever happened to…
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Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale
few weeks back I got to wondering, “Whatever happened to Hunx & His Punx?” It was a fleeting thought and I was quickly distracted before I even had a chance for a snap google of the US punker. Hunx first appeared on my radar as a part of Gravy Train!!! (along with fellow members Chunx, Funx, Junx, Drunx… you get the drift) - it was the noughties, it was electroclash. Things were different back then. Anyway… the noughts became whatever this decade is and Hunx formulated a dirtier, rock’n’rollier sound and, along with His Punx, became one of the most engaging live acts in the world. Hunx wore his queerdom on his (leather) sleeve and often wielded it like a biker swinging a chain in a b-grade Roger Corman film. It resulted in the classic 2011 album Too Young To Be In Love. An album that was easy to obsess over. Yet somehow just half a decade later I was left wondering ‘whatever happened to.’ Eep. Am I a bad fan? I remember there was a follow up album in 2013 - a more standard punk affair - and then maybe some solo stuff after that. But I really hadn’t checked in for a long time. Am I not using the internet properly? So there I was, doing my Sunday morning news feed perusal when I spotted an article waxing lyrical about a new web series Feelin’ Fruity, that Vulture claims is bringing a “punk aesthetic” to variety television. It’s created and hosted by Seth Bogart. A familiar name… oh yeah, that’d be Hunx real name. Minutes later I’m watching a show that can only be described as a John Waters-style reimagining of the lowest budget kids TV show you’ve ever seen. There’s wig-eating puppets, ‘fruity’ dance offs and veeeeery tasteless jokes. If a re-animated Divine suddenly appeared to eat dog poop off Bogart’s bedroom floor in the middle of a Feelin’ Fruity episode it would not be out of place. I’ve also since learnt that Bogart’s solo career included a collab with Kathleen Hanna, that he has a clothing line (Wacky Wacko) and that his show is produced by World Of Wonder who also make RuPaul’s Drag Race. I also now realise that I under-rated his 2013 Street Punk album and it’s now back on rotation. So that’s my rainy day listening and viewing sorted for the rest of winter. Now to sort the rainy day reading… (it’s segue time)… This month in The Music we celebrate the rise and rise of Australia’s latest global star Tash Sultana. We also prepare you for the annual BIGSOUND conference (it happens in September in Brisbane) where the industry and punters alike will be looking for the next Tash Sultana. There’s a chat with Mojo Juju who has already supplied us with one on the year’s most important tracks, Native Tongue. Plus, we feature one of the most buzzed-about rappers in the world at the moment, Denzel Curry. We’ve also have been lucky enough to get some time with cast members of Twin Peaks - although we are still no closer to understanding episode eight of the most recent series. There’s a truckload more as well. Please enjoy.
Editorial Assistants Sam Wall, Lauren Baxter Gig Guide Henry Gibson gigs@themusic.com.au Senior Contributors Steve Bell, Bryget Chrisfield, Cyclone, Jeff Jenkins Contributors Nic Addenbrooke, Annelise Ball, Emily Blackburn, Melissa Borg, Anthony Carew, Uppy Chatterjee, Roshan Clerke, Shaun Colnan, Brendan Crabb, Guy Davis, Joe Dolan, Chris Familton, Guido Farnell, Donald Finlayson, Liz Giuffre, Carley Hall, Tobias Handke, Mark Hebblewhite, Kate Kingsmill, Samuel Leighton Dore, Joel Lohman, Matt MacMaster, Taylor Marshall, MJ O’Neill, Carly Packer, Anne Marie Peard, Michael Prebeg, Mick Radojkovic, Stephen A Russell, Jake Sun, Cassie Tongue, Rod Whitfield Senior Photographers Cole Bennetts, Kane Hibberd Photographers Rohan Anderson, Andrew Briscoe, Stephen Booth, Pete Dovgan, Simone Fisher, Lucinda Goodwin, Josh Groom, Clare Hawley, Bianca Holderness, Jay Hynes, Dave Kan, Yaseera Moosa, Hayden Nixon, Angela Padovan, Markus Ravik, Bobby Rein, Peter Sharp, Barry Shipplock, Terry Soo, John Stubbs, Bec Taylor
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Andrew Mast Group Managing Editor
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BRISBANE FESTIVAL, QUT CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND SECRET SOUNDS PRESENT
BRISBANE FESTIVAL
CLOSING PARTY VIOLENT SOHO MEG MAC METHYL ETHEL WAAX R I V E R S TA G E | S AT 29 S E PT The Music
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Brisbane Festival is an initiative of the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council
Our contributors
This month
Rose Johnstone Editor’s Letter
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Twin Peaks
38
This month’s best binge watching
15
Face masks
40
Shit we did: Cryotherapy
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Guest editorial: Queer commentator and artist Samuel Leighton-Dore
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Brisbane festival The physical theatre world premieres headlining the Fest
The shows bringing art home to Brisbane
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Ball Park Music, Waax and Violent Soho headline Brisbane Fest music program
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The women taking centre stage at the Fest
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Young actors telling grown up stories
29
The Big Picture: Joshua Braybrook
30
News Feature The ethics of outrage journalism
32
35
Denzel Curry
Tash Sultana accesses her flow state
42
Your state-bystate guide to BIGSOUND’s buzz acts
44 Carissa Lee
Album reviews
46
Gear review
48
Carissa is a Wemba-Wemba and Noongar actor and writer based in Melbourne. Since graduating with her acting degree from Flinders University Drama Centre, Carissa is currently undertaking her PhD in Indigenous theatre through the University of Melbourne.
Your Town BIGSOUND Executive Programmer Maggie Collins, Q Music CEO Joel Edmondson
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Odette, Regurgitator
Mojo Juju shares her song and story
Rose is a writer and editor from Melbourne, now based in London. She is the former Editorial Director of Time Out Australia and a proud theatre nerd and culture vulture. She writes about arts, entertainment, lifestyle and travel.
52
Where to eat and drink for Brisbane Festival
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Your gigs
54
This month’s local highlights
56
The end
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Samuel Leighton-Dore A queer writer, director and visual artist living on the Gold Coast, Sam’s achievements include releasing his children’s book, I Think I’m A Poof, and his short film, Showboy, winning Best Short at Melbourne Queer Film Festival. In his spare time he enjoys playing with clay and painting orgies on walls.
DISCOVER THE FUTURE OF MUSIC 4 – 7 SEPTEMBER
bigsound.org.au MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY
Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
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Extra-vaganza
10s Across The Board
10s Across The Board brings the four RuPaul’s Drag Race’s season 10 finalists - Aquaria, Kameron Michaels, Asia O’Hara and Eureka - to Australia to flip, kick, twirl and deathdrop across the country from 2 Aug.
Pam Ann The Meg
Shirty dancing Playing a slew of dates starting 9 Aug in Darlinghurst, Poloshirt, made up of Polographia and Winston Surfshirt, are bringing their mix of funk, hip hop and electronica to the masses all the way through to September.
Jet star Australia’s most iconic air hostess Pam Ann is coming home this month for the Australian debut of her new show, Flight Attendant Star. Do you have what it takes to join the mile high service club? Pam Ann’s giving you the chance to prove it. Poloshirt
Witching hour Devilish rock’n’rollers Pagan are smashing out five Australian shows this month, starting 11 Aug. They’re supporting their debut album, Black Wash, released earlier in the year, with the blistering lead single, Death Before Disco.
Pagan
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Ray of light Supporting her EP, Here & Now, Gretta Ray is heading round Australia for her first ever headlining tour. Starting with a show at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on 16 Aug, she’s bringing her dreamy indie-pop to most major cities.
Real big fish Making Jaws look like a self-serious guppy, The Meg comes crashing out of the Pliocene era and into cinemas nationwide this 30 Aug. Not sure how Jason Statham’s going to punch out a shark the size of a city block but we’re very excited to find out.
Stream dreams
This month’s best binge watching
Disenchantment
Matt Groening’s new animated series finally lands on Netflix this month. The show follows the misadventures of core trio, Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Eric Andre (Man Seeking Woman, The Eric Andre Show) and Nat Faxon (Ben & Kate, Married), portraying harddrinking princess Bean, her personal demon Luci and elf companion Elfo respectively. It’s even got a writing credit from our very own Briggs.
Streams from 17 Aug on Netflix
Gretta Ray
Here’s Johnny US comedian and YouTuber Anjelah Johnson heads Down Under this month to share her live stand-up show with the nation. Johnson will kick off in Brisbane on 16 August before moving on to Sydney, Melbourne and finishing up with Perth.
Ozark, Season 2
The Byrds are back on Stan this month for the second season of gritty crime drama, Ozark. Jason Bateman snagged an Emmy nomination for his initial portrayal of Marty Byrd, a financial planner who relocates his wife Wendy and their two kids from Chicago to the Ozarks when a money-laundering scheme goes wrong, putting him in hock to a Mexican drug cartel.
Streams from 31 Aug on Netflix
Better Call Saul
Anjelah Johnson
App of the month: Death Coming
You’re dead and it’s a real shame. Thankfully, in this slightly morbid non-linear puzzler, Death still has plans for you. Become a Reaper and harvest innocent souls for your new master.
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Small-time lawyer James “Jimmy” McGill’s enthralling transformation into crooked, mercenary attorney Saul Goodman continues in the fourth season of Better Call Saul, the hit prequel to Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan, the creator of both, has revealed this is the season the shows start to overlap as the timeline closes in on Saul’s meeting with budding meth king pin Walter White.
Streams from 7 Aug on Stan
Podcast of the month: ABC’s
Unraveled, Blood On The Tracks Australian journalists tug at the loose ends of unsolved crimes. The first season follows awardwinning investigative journalist and Muruwari man Allan Clarke’s five-year investigation into the highly suspicious death of Gomeroi teenager Mark Haines in Tamworth, 1988.
Harmony
Third harmony
Kirke out Lola Kirke is dropping her debut album Heart Head West on Mirror Records this month. You might recognise Kirke from Gone Girl and Mistress America but from 10 Aug she’ll probably be better known for breathy Americana heartbreak and jangly guitars.
Straight off the release of their third album, Double Negative, and an appearance at Dark Mofo, Melbourne outfit Harmony are hitting the road for a nationwide tour beginning in Canberra on 3 Aug. Expect soulful harmonies with surprising punk riffs.
Drapht
We are your friends Life Drapht Perth hip hop artist Drapht is touring the country this month with five intimate showcase dates, starting 3 Aug. The ARIA Awardwinning songwriter will be joined at the gigs by Complete, Bitter Belief and K21.
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For the first time ever, Washington-based Rachel Tyler is bringing her indie-pop band He Is We to Australia. On the end of a huge US tour, they’re playing three shows along the east coast from 24 Aug.
Thelma Plum
Reef
Sh*t we did
Reefer madness
With Maxim Boon
‘90s Britrock icons Reef, The Wildhearts and Terrorvision are joining forces for an Australian tour this August and September. Starting their tour on 21 Aug, they’re hitting up five locations around the country for an English extravaganza.
Courtney Barnett. Pic: Kane Hibberd
Cryotherapy As any mortician worth their salt will tell you, you need keep a dead body on ice. Turns out, you can do the same to the living, and what’s more, it just might keep them alive that little bit longer. Getting an ice pack on a sprain or strain is first-aid 101, but the same anti-inflammatory response can also be triggered on a more holistic scale thanks to Full Body Cryotherapy.
Lola Kirke
Stripped down to your jocks, with ears, nose, mouth and extremities covered, the procedure involves exposing yourself to deep cold, and going Full Monty at the Bottle-O cool room just ain’t gonna cut it. Cryotherapy involves temperatures well below 100 degrees celsius, climate controlled to be as arid as possible. While there’s not a whole lot of scientific data available about the cosmetic benefits
He Is We
promised by Cryotherapy, anecdotal evidence suggests it offers improvements to muscle tone, skin conditioning and general wellbeing, and some advocates even claim it has the
The real feels In the wake of her latest album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, Courtney Barnett is headlining a huge tour this month, from 17 Aug. The songwriter/guitar shredder will be supported by the East Brunswick All Girls Choir (excluding Sydney).
power to slow the aging process and keep the body’s vital functions in tip-top shape well into old age.
The verdict Three minutes isn’t all that long, right? Wrong: when you’re standing in a room twice as cold as the chilliest winter’s day at the poles, it’s a fucking lifetime! In fact, it’s so cold that I’m pretty certain my grip on reality is beginning to unravel; there’s a glitch in my matrix that simply can’t compute this level of super sub-zero. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise – no lifeform on Earth has ever had to cope with temperatures this low. In fact, I’d have to take a trip into orbit to see the mercury dip to these levels. So why, oh why, would anyone choose, and indeed pay for, the chance to be essentially frozen alive? For the only force stronger than every survival instinct locked into my nervous system through mil-
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Plum clumsy
lions of years of evolution: vanity. If beauty is
Award-winning Gamilaraay songwriter Thelma Plum is hitting the road starting this month and running through September to launch her latest single, Clumsy Love. The tour starts this 31 Aug in Brisbane.
surprisingly chipper. As soon as I step out of
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pain, I better be a fucking super model by the time I escape this miniature arctic tundra. But alas, Cryotherepy does not gift me a catwalk ready mug. It does, however, leave me feeling the cold room, I’m given a robe to warm up in and popped on an exercise bike to get muscles moving and the blood flowing, and for the rest of the day I feel sharp as a steel trap. I’m not sure I’d go to the deep freeze on the reg, but once in a while, Cryotherepy is a pretty cool way to chill out.
With the rise of the Women’s March Movement and #MeToo, the world has called time on toxic masculinity. But what is the new paradigm defining what it means to be a man? How does a man act? It’s a question that queer commentator and artist Samuel Leighton-Dore is taking to task. For his latest project, #HowToBeABigStrongMan, Leighton-Dore is challenging the conservative concept of manhood, with an irreverent wit and sharp eye for social satire. He shares his strategy for being a bloke in a post-toxic masculinity world.
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Perfect sound, always.
“...it feels like the headphones beamed you out onto a different planet.” - Ashwar Gangwar, beebom.com
Measure. Tailor. Experience. w w w. a u d e a r a .c o m The Music
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L e t ’ s g e t p h y s i c a l Whether it’s a political statement, an artistic first, a personal story or a means of escape, dance and physical theatre has the power to move an audience. Maxim Boon talks to four visionary artists — Scott Maidment of Strut & Fret, Yaron Lifschitz of Circa, theatre-maker Josh Bond, and Dance North’s Kyle Page — about the world premiere productions headlining this year’s Brisbane Festival. Cover and main feature pics by Kane Hibberd.
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here must been a moment, countless eons in the
co-infused Rebel Heart tour. But at their core, each of this
Many of Maidment’s previous productions have been
past, when one of our ancient ancestors felt the urge
company’s productions share a similar ethos: an intoxicating
aesthetically anchored to particular periods or sensibilities,
to move. And not to escape from a sabre-toothed
escapism that lifts the audience out of the humdrum world.
such as the decadence of burlesque or the white-knuckle
tiger or hunt down a passing mammoth, but for no other
However, in their latest production, Life: The Show, Strut
thrills of the circus Big Top. But while creating Life, Maid-
reason than it felt good. In that moment, a person was com-
& Fret will be keeping one foot in everyday reality. Bringing
ment explored a far broader creative scope. “I wanted to
pelled to express an ineffable something, a frisson of joy or
together a collective of dancers such as Hilton Denis (pic-
make a show that really travelled the full gamut of physical-
excitement, through a burst of physicality; perhaps a play-
tured opposite), circus artists like master clown and Cirque
ity and musicality. It’s a show that has such a diverse range
ful shuffle or a few hopping steps in the dust. And maybe
du Soleil veteran Goos Meeuwsen, and musicians including
of talents and skills, that it almost becomes its own genre.
to our modern eyes, this might have appeared like nothing
Blaise Garza of Violent Femmes and multi-lingual jazz chan-
It’s not quite circus, it’s not quite cabaret, it’s not quite a gig,
more than an unintentional stumble. But in that moment,
teuse Fantine, the show aims to unriddle the ups and downs
and yet it’s all those things at the once.”
long ago and who knows where, a human danced for the
that are a familiar part of most lives.
Key to Maidment’s vision is a thorough understanding of his audience’s expectations: when to meet them and
very first time. In the many millennia stretching out across the ages
when to blow them apart. “People come to one of our shows
since that primordial-polka began the evolution of a brand
knowing they’re going to have a good time, and that’s exact-
new art form, dance has revealed near-numberless ways for the body to express our most essential humanity. From the graceful rigour of ballet, to the ubran swagger of hip hop, to the heel-toe and do-si-do of a good ol’ boot scoot, dance has proven to be one of the most successful mediums for capturing and preserving human culture. But it has also consistently been a means for artists to look to the future, and to imagine what expressive potential our anatomy has yet to unlock. Headlining this year’s Brisbane Festival are four newly created works that reveal this physical frontierism in action. With the same raw materials — the bodies of highly trained performers — each of these works chart their own innovative path, not just in the substance of their respective choreographies, but in the psychology, emotion, and storytelling underpinning each lift, leap and lunge.
“It’s the blood-pumpingthrough one person on a stage, connecting with hundreds or thousands of people in an audience, communicating, sharing an experience, feeling something together.”
ly what we want to give them. But I also want to show them something they’ve never seen before. Australian audiences are pretty well served when it comes to cabaret and circus, you know? They’ve seen hula hoops 10,000 times! What I always strive for is a way of presenting that thing that’s familiar in a new light.”
A
similar subversion, passing the familiar through the prism of the unexpected, also exists in En Masse, the latest production by Brisbane’s own Circa. This
contemporary circus company has pioneered an artistic vernacular that uses circus craft to explore creative ambitions that far exceed mere spectacle. It’s a language of movement that exists in the liminal space between the audacious and subtle, where acrobatics and feats of strength are vehicles
T
for poignancy and poetry. “It’s a kind of acknowledgment that sometimes things
“I think a lot of our job is to unleash the artistic potential
he cabaret mavericks of Strut & Fret know more than
can be a bit tough, and sometimes things go awry,” says
of circus. To say ‘What can this medium do as an art form?’
a thing or two about the limits of the human body, or
Founding Director of Strut & Fret, Scott Maidment. “And
And it strikes me that because of its extremity and force, cir-
lack thereof. From sword swallowing to fire-breathing
then, in the second half of the show, it’s all about a celebra-
cus can connect very deeply to these kinds of extreme states
to near-unfathomably contortionism, “can’t” isn’t a word that
tion of what it means to be human. It’s about celebrating
of humanity that generate a lot of emotion,” explains the
features in their creative vocabulary. In recent years, they’ve
that we are alive, that we think and feel, and that no matter
company’s director Yaron Lifschitz. “Also, it’s partly me and
brought this high-energy daring-do into homages of various
what’s going on around us, we should find every opportunity
the company having spent twenty years saying, ‘What else,
Vaudevillian eras, including for Madonna’s fierce, flamen-
to enjoy our lives and have a party.”
other than just entertaining, can this medium of circus actu-
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ally do?’ And that’s twenty years of system-
intended outcome is,” Bond explains.
atic investigation and thinking and looking
The upcoming premiere of the show
and frankly, making a lot of mistakes as well.
at Brisbane Festival will bring an important
I’m delighted to have the gift of the oppor-
story to the stage, but it will also be a pro-
tunity to do that over the years.”
foundly poignant moment for Bond person-
Drawing on his more than two decades
ally. “I’m 36 now, and I was like 20 when I first
experimenting and refining a unique per-
began thinking about this show, so it was
spective on circus, Lifschitz’s latest work is a
probably one of the very first show ideas I
watershed moment, both personally and for
ever had. And I quite clearly remember think-
the art form itself. Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite
ing at the time, ‘I’m a young fella, and as I get
Of Spring, is a work of mythic reputation.
older and more experienced and what not,
When, in 1913, the Ballet Russes premiered
I’ll have other ideas.’ But it’s funny how that
the work, with Vaslav Nijinsky’s paradigm-
yarn has stayed with me for so many years,
shattering choreography, the Parisian bal-
and how it’s coming full circle now.”
letomanes in attendance rioted. For a work that tells a story of tribal savagery and ritual
D
sacrifice, the reaction was apt, to put it mildly. Many choreographers have tackled the work since, and it has come to represent a declaration of technical and creative prowess by an artist at the zenith of their powers. But in the more than a century since it was
ance can, of course, simply express itself, without having to convey any narrative in the conventional lin-
ear sense. But it can also investigate concepts that far exceed traditional storytelling.
En Masse
first performed, Circa’s iteration is the first
Another local company, Dance North, are
time The Rite Of Spring has been interpret-
delivering a bold display of dance’ s power
ed through circus.
to stimulate its audience on both a visual
For Lifschitz, the urgent, almost animal-
and cerebral level. Created by the Artistic
istic qualities of the Rite are a perfect fit for
Director Kyle Page and Associate Artistic
his unique brand of circus art. “Its place is in
Director Amber Haines, Dust has a strong
ritual. It’s in real primal states of connection.
political message underpinning its chore-
It’s this thing that happens when you’re in a
ography.
collective space, when there’s a drumming
“It’ s about the idea of inheritance and
circle, a ritual sacrifice. To me, the essence
the fact that we’re born into a world that’s
of circus is something truly existential. It’s
been designed and predetermined by
the blood-pumping-through one person
those that have come before us,” Page says.
on a stage, connecting with hundreds or
“We have very little capacity or agency to
thousands of people in an audience, com-
alter or shift those systems and those struc-
municating, sharing an experience, feeling
tures that we are born into and we have to
something together.”
abide by. But I guess what we’re trying to do is hopefully create a sense of potentiality in this idea, that maybe we can reassess, or
A
we can reframe our relationship to some of
erialist Josh Bond has also spent the
those systems, and possibly we can collec-
better part of 20 years honing his
tively move towards perhaps evolving, shift-
mode of storytelling. However, this
ing, or transcending some of them.”
tireless determination comes from a deeply
Given the complexities and anxieties
personal place. After experiencing first hand
that are in orbit around the current geopo-
the suicide of a close relative, Bond was com-
litical status quo, Page is hoping the piece
pelled to confront his grief through his art. But as a First Nations Australian, this drive
will connect to these broader social con-
The Man With The Iron Neck. Pic: Brett BOardman
texts, leaving his audience with plenty to
also came with an added sense of urgency. “I
contemplate. “I think what we’re really curi-
remember thinking. ‘Fuck. It’s gotta fucking
ous about is just inviting the audience along
stop. This has just gotta fucking stop,’” Bond
for the ride, hoping that they will go away
says. “So feeling the need to address this
with a sense of empowerment, or even just
issue in some way, well I’m a theater maker,
a curiosity that perhaps we can reimagine
so using that soapbox to create something
the world and look at the way that we relate
that actually can be a part of the healing and
to the world and relate to one another,”
effect some change and encourage people
Page shares. “I’m hoping the audience will
to talk about it — because this subject is so
be inspired to question some of the social,
shrouded in taboo — felt important.”
cultural, political and personal systems and
Working with physical theatre company
structures that are in place, and whether
Legs On The Wall and acclaimed writer-actor
they serve us now as perhaps they did in the
Ursula Yovich, Bond has drawn on his own
‘50s. Perhaps they did serve our grandpar-
experience of suicide and counterpointed it
ents, but do they now? We’re simply asking
with the story of The Great Peters — an early
the question regardless of the answer; it’s
20th-century circus star who wowed crowds
where that leads the audience that we’re
with an astonishing trick: he could throw
really curious about”
himself from a bridge, a rope tied around his neck, and survive. The result is a production that pairs the physical daring of aerialism
Brisbane Festival presents the world premieres of Strut & Fret’s Life: The Show, Circa’s En Masse, Legs On The Wall’s The Man With The Iron Neck, and Dance North’s Dust, from 8 Sep.
with a deeply touching narrative. “Making this show really threw up a lot of questions for me about our mortality and the risks we take, at varying degrees, but in the context of whether it’s intentional, or on what the
Dust
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H O M E
T I M E
The Brisbane River is at the heart of this year’s fest. Here’s why you can (river)bank on a good time.
T he Ri v ers ta ge Founded in 1989 and inspired by its namesake at World Expo a year earlier, the iconic Riverstage is the heart of live music in central Brisbane, and go figure, finds its cultural home on the banks of the river. This year it will play host to millennial giants of the Brisbane music scene, Ball Park Music and Violent Soho, who will open and close the festival in a set of guitar-fuelled party bookends.
Ri v er Of L ight Home Brisbane locals will
As the city celebrates that there is No Place
be no stranger to
Like Home during this year’s festival, it seems
sitting down on the
fitting that Geoff Sobelle and Beth Morrison
banks of the ‘brown
Projects will bring the Australian premiere
snake’
of Home to the QPAC Playhouse. While the
during
golden
hour to sink a couple of
concept of home is transposable, at its core
Milton’s finest. Many however, will be unfamiliar with the
is a feeling of belonging and this production
traditional stories that tell how the dreaming serpent wove
celebrates that sentiment through a full-
the Maiwar into existence. Thanks to the Nunukul Yuggera
blown house party. Open invitation. Drinks
Aboriginal Dance Company and Oracle Liquid, this Brisbane
and finger food not provided.
Festival, the Maiwar will act as a vessel for these stories as it is illuminated three times a night in a celebration of water, light and lasers.
T he Ri v e rfire Our state’s largest arts and cultural event will be wrapped up once again this year by Sunsuper Riverfire’s legendary fireworks. As the sky above Brisbane is transformed in dizzying technicolour to close this year’s festivities, join the crowds across the city to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ as the night sky explodes in colour. Hot tip, it’s a first-in-best-dressed scenario, so if you can’t befriend someone who owns a boat between now and then, head out of the city to the “secret vantage spots” or beware the pram.
H ometo w n he r oe s Locals get their time in the spotlight at this year’s fest. Check out these regular Brisbane folk who are ready for their close up.
Q w ee n s O n K i n g
S y m p ho n y F o r M e
P u b C hoi r
Last year, Australia overwhelming voted in
Sure, you could just play your favourite track
Everyone loves a sing song. and when we
on Spotify. or, you could sit in front of the stu-
say everyone, we really mean everyone! The
pendous Queensland Symphony Orchestra,
Brisbane Pub Choir has reached cult status in
on stage at the QPAC Concert Hall, while they
recent months, with hundreds of locals com-
serenade you with your favourite piece of
ing together to learn a favourite torch song
classical music. It’s an event that has become
and belt it out in full, glorious harmony. It’s
a festival favourite, with good reason.
rowdy, uproarious, and damn good fun.
15 Sep at QPAC Concert Hall
12 Sep at The Tivoli
favour of Same-Sex Marriage, and within weeks it was signed into law. To celebrate this momentous moment, eight same-sex couples will be tying the knot in the Brisbane electorate that polled the highest YES vote in the state, and everyone is invited for a fabulous reception shindig. 8 Sep on King Street, Bowen Hills
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The Music
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A s u n n y s t a t e o f a f f a i r s
“A
Ballpark Music
Violent Soho, Ball Park Music and WAAX are playing pivotal roles in this year’s Brisbane Festival, and ahead of the huge celebration, various band members had a chat with Steve Bell about their ongoing relationship (and commitment to) our thriving local scene.
festival looks outwards to the world. It brings the
“We’re absolutely stoked to play it, we’re totally honoured,”
“There’s variances, but Brisbane has this lighter pop in its
world and its arts to us, and it showcases our city and
beams Violent Soho frontman Luke Boerdam. “As you know we
music and my theory is its something to do with the weath-
its arts to the world.”
love Brisbane and we’re really proud of where we come from,
er: there’s a more light-hearted and often carefree sound in
so we’re completely stoked to play Brisbane Festival, especially
there somewhere.”
So decrees (in part) the Brisbane Festival mission state-
ment, and our city’s annual cultural celebration has definitely lived up to these lofty ambitions with its 2018 contemporary
at the Riverstage with Riverfire playing at the same time.
Ball Park Music frontman Sam Cromack — who was actu-
“I remember when I was a kid my dad took us to Kangaroo
ally born in northern-NSW, but for over a decade has proudly
Point — just opposite the Riverstage — to see one of the first
called Brisbane home — also feels that Brisbane’s climate may
Bringing together an eclectic array of top-notch acts from
Riverfires and it had Triple M playing music in time with the
impact its musical output.
all over Australia and the wider planet, this year’s Brisbane Fes-
fireworks, and as a kid it was absolutely brilliant. It’s so cool that
tival is being bookended by two massive musical events at
it’s still going, it’s something unique to our city.”
music program.
“I think Brisbane is a really cool city, and its music scene in particular is a huge strength,” he smiles. “I really think it’s its
Brisbane Riverstage, both fittingly headlined by two distinctly
It’s no secret that Violent Soho rose through the Brisbane
own place — I see it as being distinctive and unique compared
homegrown acts: the opening night’s epic bill topped by local
ranks soaking as much inspiration from their local peers as any
to the scenes of the other cities — and a huge part of that for
indie-pop party-starters Ball Park Music, and the closing night
interstate or overseas noise.
me is the sound.
extravaganza brought home by Brisbane rock’n’roll enfants terrible, Violent Soho.
“Once we were tapped into the Brisbane scene it became
“I was in denial about it for a long time, but the more I’ve
an addiction, all we wanted to do was play locally and get some-
been here, the more I’ve accepted The Go-Betweens’ idea of
By placing these powerful local outfits in such impor-
where locally,” Boerdam continues. “It was all about making
That Striped Sunlight Sound. I really think this fucking sunny
tant and prominent roles, Brisbane Festival is reinforcing
friends, and we were pretty bad at first, but that’s how I got my
city really goes hand-in-hand with a pair of shorts and strum-
how — despite the obvious need for any city to import culture
musical education. Like back in the day the guys from Eat Laser
ming an electric guitar, it just really does.
to broaden its horizons — sometimes what we already have
Scumbag! introduced me to Pavement, who are a huge influ-
“I guess if I had to summarise at least the ‘indie sound’ of
under our noses more than matches the best we can draw in
ence on me, and I remember thinking how much Pavement
Brisbane, I would say that music is always performed predomi-
from afar.
sounded like Custard — everything was through a Brisbane lens.
nantly by people in their early 20s, they’ve usually got a lot of
B r i s ba n d breakdown This year’s Brisbane Festival has an absolute cracker of a line-up. Whether you’re a fan of indie-rock, blues and soul, DIY punk or electronic jazz, we’re certain that everyone will have an absolute whale of a time with all these killer acts. Here’s our guide on who to keep your eye on.
Eskimo Joe
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Jen Cloher
This iconic indie-rock group will be rocking
These boys have been making some big
Melbourne DIY icon Jen Cloher will be
out to the epic backing sounds of Queen-
waves in the Aussie rock scene for quite a
returning to the Brisbane Festival with her
sland’s Chamber Orchestra. Hard to believe
while now. Even though their latest album
latest, self-titled album in tow. Lucky for
these fellas have been together for over 20
just came out, Rolling Blackouts Coastal
the crowds, it’s an absolute cracker. Rich
years, but here we are. Come celebrate their
Fever will be appearing at the Brisbane Festi-
with themes of love, music and scenes of
legacy and hear their biggest hits with the
val to play the entirety of their debut album,
Australian life, she’s sure to win over plenty of
support of an incredible orchestra.
Hope Downs.
new fans.
28 Sep, QPAC
27 Sep, The Courier-Mail Spiegeltent
26 Sep, The Courier-Mail Spiegeltent
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Violent Soho. Pic: James Simpson
Waax. Pic: Ian Laidlaw
feelings and are very sensitive to the world — so we’re exploring
“For us, as much as there’s a thriving
all of the same kind of emotional ups and downs as everyone
scene, it’s a lot smaller than say, Melbourne,
is all around the globe — but the nature of the city means that
so we all look out for each other and we’ve
you just can’t keep the mood down for as long as you might
all become really good pals, so it’s super-ex-
be able to in somewhere like Melbourne, because it’s really the
citing to do the Brisbane Festival with them
fucking Sunshine State!
because it’s the most Brisbane thing that
“It doesn’t feel right to get too gloomy, so I feel often peo-
can be done.”
ple are having big feelings — they might be sad feelings, mel-
Violent Soho guitarist James Tidswell
ancholy feelings or heartbreak — and that’s still getting paired
couldn’t agree more about the importance
with this uptempo, strummed, bright, sunny sound, and I feel
of being involved in the Brisbane Festival in
that’s unique too.”
this capacity.
“I think the local scene is much a focus for us now as it ever has been, and I don’t think we ever felt detached from it at all. It’s just who we are, so we could never turn our backs on it.”
“It’s so special,” he offers reverently.
At the recent Splendour In The Grass shindig, rising local
backs on it because we’d be turning our backs on ourselves.
rockers WAAX were joined by Bernard Fanning to cover a Pow-
“We’ve had a lot of surreal moments along our journey —
We could never outgrow it because it’s just that important
derfinger song, so being tapped by Violent Soho to help close
and they seem almost constant these days — but things like
to us.”
Brisbane Festival with them doesn’t seem much of a stretch.
this are really special to us. A lot of people wouldn’t realise
“It’s awesome, they’ve been super-duper supportive of
how special it is to us, but this Brisbane music community
us and we’ve become good mates with them,” gushes vocal-
literally is the most important thing to us, so to get to be
ist Maz DeVita. “Soho are just supportive guys, they really
such a big part of the city’s celebration is incredible. “I think the local scene is much a focus for us now as
there’s definitely a special place in everyone’s hearts for fellow
it ever has been, and I don’t think we ever felt detached
Brisbane-ites.
from it at all. It’s just who we are, so we could never turn our
Ball Park Music & San Cisco play 8 Sep on the Riverstage. Violent Soho & WAAX play 29 Sep on the Riverstage.
Pic: John Stubbs
do take care of the rock scene in Australia as a whole, but
The TeskEy Brothers Continuing the theme of Melbourne-meetsBrisbane, The Teskey Brothers will be bringing the smooth blues and soul tones of their debut album, Half Mile Harvest, to break up the indie-rock line-up. Fans of ‘60s Motown will find a lot to love with these boys.
Polish Club Describing themselves as “The sweatiest rock band in Sydney”, Polish Club are a rocking duo in a similar vein to Royal Blood, who they recently supported. You’ll want to bring earplugs for this one, folks, and possibly some body armour if you’re planning on venturing into the pit.
28 Sep, The Courier-Mail Spiegeltent
25 Sep, The Tivoli
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Sarah Blasko
Gareth Liddiard
Singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko has three
If the name Gareth Liddiard sounds familiar
ARIA awards to her name, so do we really
to you, that’s because you must be a fan of
need to say more? She’s a writer with an
great music. Frontman for The Drones and
incredible sense of clarity, immediacy and
Tropical Fuck Storm, Liddiard will be bringing
meaningful lyrical purpose. With direct and
an interesting combo of electronic and jazz
relatable lyrics, be sure to catch up on her
music to the Brisbane Festival. He’s certainly
catalogue by checking out her latest LP,
a difficult one to pin down, so perhaps it’s
Depth Of Field, before the big show.
best we don’t try too hard.
26 Sep, The Tivoli
27 Sep, The Tivoli
B r i s b a n e F e st i va l
U n l a d y ? L i k e ! The full kaleidoscope of what it means to be a woman in 2018 takes centre stage at this year’s Fest. From a gin-fuelled feminist cabaret to a bio-queen carnival, a queer Shakespearian romance to a ‘Sex Clown’ escapade, Cassie Tongue explores the productions fucking with the female stereotype.
Romeo Is Not The only Fruit
W
hen the Fest rolls into town, it’s a chance to experience something a little bit different. And this year, it’s a space for underrepresented voices — those of feminist and queer Australians — to be proud-
ly championed. Amongst these stories, there’s Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit, a lesbian musi-
cal (with only one white character) by Jean Tong; Mother’s Ruin; a feminist revisionist history of gin in cabaret form; “sex clown” Betty Grumble’s SCUM Manifesto inspired Love And Anger performance art; and YUMMY, a drag cabaret revue that fucks with gender altogether. These are shows filled with wit and joy and whimsy, but they also represent a moment of significance. 2018 is a strange time of political discord and social disconnect, but for these artists, there’s hope to be found within the mess —
Betty Grumble
and a turning of the tides: long denied voices are finally being heard. For Tong, whose show is a “big gay party” that leans on and subverts queer
Riot” because of its parallels with police brutality, and the assertion of queer
narrative stereotypes, now is the only time her musical could have ever experi-
identity in retaliation.” YUMMY is “a positive riff on that, [bringing] the healthy,
enced this success. In Melbourne, where she is based, “the conversations [about
creative, and safe world I dreamed of to life on stage.
racial disparity onstage] had already been had and the way had already been
“After having such a divisive and emotional national poll last year on mar-
paved by everyone who’s been working for decades before me. I didn’t have to
riage equality, I think we [the queer community] occupy an interesting space in
fight as hard compared to people who are much older than me, and I feel really
society — we’re more accepted than ever, but still deal with the backlash, vio-
lucky. Part of what made their lives so hard is part of what makes my message
lence, and prejudice. I think it makes our skin thick, and we’re pretty fearless
and my content a lot more palatable, and there’s an audience that has been
when it comes to the decisions we make.”
taught, and guided, and now they’re ready for it.”
Half of the drag-clad cast of YUMMY are women — known within the drag
Maeve Marsden, performer and co-creator of Mother’s Ruin — who, during
scene as ‘bio queens’ — backing up the group’s belief that gender and gender
the marriage equality postal survey, wrote a coming out moment into the show
performance in drag are both expressions of truth. “We visualise our complex
to turn her implicitly queer presence onstage into an explicit one, agrees. “As I
genders through our costuming and physicalise it through our choreography,”
push more into art festivals and theatre spaces, it feels much more comfortable
Welsby says, as they aim for a more inclusive form of drag, where cross-dressing
to me than the comedy spaces I was in for the first few years of my career [with
isn’t the joke, but rather the medium for the joke. This helps cut down on audi-
feminist musical comedy act Lady Sings it Better].” For her, it has been a relief to
ence alienation.
now participate in theatre and cabaret festivals, where creators and audiences
Mother’s Ruin, which is deeply feminist, also reaches out to a wider audi-
are a little bit weirder and warmer. “It feels, as a queer woman, more like com-
ence. “You could turn up not knowing [about the show’s feminist slant from its
ing home.”
marketing],” Marsden says. “And that was both by design and incidental. We
But not everything is quite as equitable as it could — or should — be. Emma
don’t shy away from talking about the feminist themes in the show, we’re not
Maye Gibson, aka self-proclaimed “sex clown” Betty Grumble, points out that
trying to trick people, but we also wanted to show that you can do a feminist
“2018 is still thick with fuckery. We need total animal, human, all being libera-
reading of anything and make it engaging and thoughtful and entertaining.” And while Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit contains plenty of inner-circle refer-
tion. Can it ever be? “Perhaps the utopia is in the striving for it, in these temporary communities we create by gathering in the room together.”
ences and jokes for queer audience members, it too is a work for everyone to process this new, post-Yes world together. “Our opening night [at Poppyseed
In Love And Anger, which she calls a “flesh riot,” Gibson revisits Valerie Sola-
Theatre Festival] was the day that the Yes vote was announced.
nas’ SCUM Manifesto, a radical feminist text that has been both exalted, and
“It’s not very often that theatre is happening in the moment because
derided, for its anger at the injustice of life within a patriarchal society. But its
it often takes so long to make. It was pretty amazing to touch that historical
anger is the key, even now, for Gibson.
moment as it was happening; it was a moment for all of us to hang onto, and
“We should end the tyranny of ‘maleness’, the bullshit reign of corpo-
not feel like we were going to be attacked again.”
rate control and the jealousy of a sex run by control freaks. Valerie wanted to release us all from the ‘ungrooviness’ by destroying the paranoid paradigm. It’s poetry.” And then there’s YUMMY, which wears the past on its sleeve and the future in its choices. Beginning its life as an underground drag cabaret, it takes its name from the 1994 event The Tasty Raid. Some, Director of YUMMY Productions James Welsby explains, consider that event to be “Australia’s Stonewall
The Music
Yummy plays Roundhouse Theatre from 12 Sep, Love And Anger plays The Block, Theatre Republic from 18 Sep, Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit plays The Loft, Theatre Republic from 18 Sep, and Mother’s Ruin plays Roundhouse Theatre from 18 Sep.
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“Long denied voices are finally being heard.”
C h i l d ’ s
p l a y
Anne Marie Peard talks to the creatives at The Good Room and Dead Centre about the advantages of working with child performers to create young plays with old souls.
Hamnet
“W
hat does depression feel like?” It’s a tough question to answer,
an absent one. And
yet, how you move through the world is as
and how developing a safe and open space
Hamnet is, in a way,
important as how we all do.”
has enabled the young, and older, people to
Kidd talks in a similar way about how
were interested in
adult audiences “really connect with the
There’s also a lot of fun in the questions,
the feeling of being
young person trying to make sense of the
like a young artist answering “How do I raise
one
world in their own way”; age isn’t always an
$35,000 quickly?” with “You can become a
indication of experience or understanding.
drug dealer or you can have a bake sale.”
letter
away
from being remembered
forever,
and about how we can say goodbye.” The
Good
“trust us with some really tough questions”.
an absent son. We
Room’s
anonymous
sto-
Evans says they’ve chosen this age group
But it’s the tough questions about
because it’s an age group that are under-rep-
issues like depression and death that’s the
resented as an audience and that culturally
uniting factor between young and older in
“we don’t know what to do with”.
both shows.
especially when asked by a
ries range from single words to tomes and
child. Two companies featured at this year’s
are collected on a website. They tried an
Ingram wasn’t surprised by the “defi-
Festival hope to connect young artists with
anonymous phone line, but only five peo-
nite fascination with death and mortality
adult audiences as they explore children’s
ple used it; speaking was still too personal.
perspectives about issues that we often try to
Despite requests from marketing depart-
hide from them.
ments, the company refuses to track or
Queenslandbased independent ensem-
“The biggest secret of the adult world is that we don’t know what we’re doing... We keep that secret from children.”
identify contributors.
ble The Good Room’s new work, I’ve Been
For the theatre-makers, anonymity offers
Meaning To Ask You, is being created with
a freedom to tell confronting and honest sto-
an ensemble of children aged between
ries, which are expressed through verbatim
nine and 13, and Irish company Dead Centre
reading or song, image, movement or, like
return to Brisbane with Hamnet, a play per-
in the love show, thousands of rose petals.
formed by an 11-year-old about Shakespeare’s
But every re-telling is supported by respect
son, who died when he was a child. Not long
for the contributor. Co-founder Amy Ingram,
after the death, Shakespeare wrote Hamlet
who was performing in the show, describes
and asked: “To be or not to be?”
an audible gasp in a performance when an
that they’re starting to grapple with” or that they are looking ahead for answers from their elders. Perhaps when older people are free to be honest — even if it’s hidden in the fiction or offered anonymously — they can admit that don’t have all the answers. Bush Moukarzel, who wrote and directed Hamnet with Kidd, says: “The biggest secret of the adult world is that we don’t know what we’re doing... We keep that secret from children. To mature is to learn, slowly and carefully, that nobody knows what they’re doing. Evans finds himself coming back to the
Both works begin with questions. The
audience member recognised their own,
Good Room work with anonymous answers
devastating, story. They know that there is
Ingram continues: “It’s a really exciting
importance of trust and of being vulnerable
while Dead Centre co-director and writer
always a real and vulnerable person at the
age because they’re forming their opinions
in our theatres and in life: “Vulnerability is how
Ben Kidd describes their piece as “more of
beginning of each narrative.
based on school versus home life and on
we get back to empathy. We do hurt and we
Complete truth is rare — we censor our
what they see and read; there’s a lot of infor-
don’t have it all together and that’s all right
extreme thoughts or put them into fictional
mation coming at them. They’re really aware
for anyone and everyone.”
And there are many we could ask about
characters — and this may be why The Good
that they don’t know everything because
Hamnet Shakespeare. All we really know
Room audiences experience so many “just
that’s people tell them — but they don’t
is that he died at 11 when his dad was away
like me” moments in the strangers’ stories.
know everything yet. But they still have
a philosophical idea than a play... A space to ask questions.”
strong opinions.
in London trying to be famous. First per-
Evans thinks the connection is because
formed in 2017, the show incorporates video
of “the authenticity of a real person’s story”.
An early development of the work, with
performances, but the only live actor is Aran
Ingram finishes his thought: “When you see
children that Evans and Ingram have worked
Murphy, who is the second young actor in
something on stage that is utterly true you
with since they were four or five, affirmed how
the role.
can’t fake that, and that connection is there
empowering this work is to the young artists
Kidd says Hamnet is “one of us; he’s too young to really understand what Hamlet all
... It’s truth and vulnerability and how they fit together.”
means, but so are most of his audience — our-
With truth and vulner-
selves included!” He reminds us that we say
ability at the heart of every-
we understand Shakespeare “when, in reality,
thing they do, Ingram stress-
we really don’t”.
es how they “really want this
Daniel Evans is the co-founder of The Good Room and describes their work as “ordi-
work to be about young people speaking to adults”.
nary people’s experiences put centre stage”
“It’s about giving them
because “the people around us are just as
a sense of agency. They’re
interesting, if not more fascinating than any
the ones who are coming
character in the canon”.
up with questions that they
The Good Room create theatre from
Hamnet plays QPAC from 8 Sep, and I’ve Been Meaning To Ask You plays Roundhouse Theatre from 26 Sep
want answered and they’re
hundreds of anonymous stories. They have
getting
developed a national reputation with their
answers back, so they have a
these
anonymous
triptych of I Should Have Drunk More Cham-
real sense of ownership.”
pagne, about regret, I Want To Know What
Evans says they start
Love Is, about love, and I Just Came To Say
by “honouring the fact that
Goodbye, about forgiveness.
when you’re a young person,
Regret, love, forgiveness; sounds like a
your opinions and experi-
typically Shakespearian story. Kidd describes
ences of the world are just as
how the Bard was “incredibly interested in
valid as someone older and,
grief — some of his most wonderful poetry is
actually, just because you
permeated with it. He was also a parent, and
haven’t completely matured
The Music
I’ve Been Meaning To Ask You. Pic: Dylan Evans
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The Big Picture
Joshua Braybrook If you’re a gig pig around Melbourne, you’re more than likely to have caught a glimpse or two of this intrepid snapper getting in the thick of things to catch the perfect shot. And if you live further afield, there’s a damn good chance you’ve admired his dynamic images in The Music’s review section. This is the ol’ chicken or the egg question: which came first, a love of Melbourne’s live scene or photography? I have always enjoyed music and been a visual person. A love of music in general came first, after growing up in the early 2000s listening to local legends including Paul Kelly, Hunters & Collectors and Divinyls. Photography is more of a recent passion, which I rediscovered a spark for while studying Film & TV. From there I attached myself to film and edited videos of bands performing for Tram Sessions and my love for live music grew rapidly from there. Video of live music events seemed like a new thing at the time and I wanted to see as much as I could, so that’s when I decided to start taking photos instead. I am yet to turn back. How did you get into shooting Melbourne’s live music, and what’s the best part about being on the front line of such a varied scene? When I was getting into gig photography, I started at free local events, including St Kilda Festival as well as Record Store Day and various promo shows. These festivals have showcased a lot of great acts and shaped my taste in the Melbourne and wider Australian music scene. I also contacted a few small bands to shoot some of their headlines, earliest one from memory was Saskwatch at The Hi-Fi before it changed to Max Watt’s. Once I built my portfolio around that, the first publication I heard back from was The Music. Melbourne has always been known for its live music scene, and I really enjoy finding new acts to cross off my bucket list. I feel very lucky living in a city with such talented musicians and friends, established or up-and-coming. And it is great to have so many venues to host them.
Shame @ The Tote
Melbourne’s gig calendar has shows of every scale, from intimate acoustic sets in bars to massive stadiums. Which end of the scale do you prefer to shoot? I prefer seeing well-known local musicians in an intimate setting. I find them very pleasant and easy going in comparison to seeing some international acts at a small venue. As a recent example Milk! Records had a residency at Coburg RSL, and I loved how each of the three weeks was organised; not knowing 100% who was going to show up when. Courtney Barnett and Jen Cloher playing sets side by side in the final week was nothing less than flawless to me. The raw passion that lights up the room when they perform is something I wish I could see every day.
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The Big Picture
What’s been the highlight of your live music photography career to date, and do you have any bucket list shots you’d like to snap in the future? Highlights of my music photography, include Shame at The Tote (pictured). They were really fun to shoot earlier this year, especially when the lead vocalist came into the crowd. I am also very grateful for the occasional opportunity to hang out with City Calm Down, whom I have been regularly shooting whenever they have a show.
The ethics of outrage: how should the media engage with ‘Click-Hate’ in the age of infamy?
Content warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault and rape. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au
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n the early hours of 18 June, police discovered offensive graffiti scrawled across the ground near the public memorial for Eurydice Dixon, the 22-year-old comedian raped and murdered near the same location in Melbourne’s Princes Park just days earlier. This initially appeared to be a straightforward case of senseless vandalism, but ten days later, when the perpetrator was arrested, the bizarre motivations supposedly behind the defacement quickly made headlines. By the vandal’s own admission, the offensive graffiti on Dixon’s memorial was a way to gain a public platform for his private, rambling beliefs, which ranged from anti-vaxxing to anti-feminist conspiracies. And in the days following his arrest, the media attention was obligingly fever-pitched. This transaction, between an infamy-seeking antagonist and the media, is a well-known phenomenon; a similar manipulation can be found in instances of mass violence and social disruption, such as acts of terrorism or public shootings. But this particular case, at Eurydice Dixon’s memorial - arguably more benign in its action but no less appalling in its intent - seemed to also draw inspiration from the tried and tested toolbox of right-wing commentary. In particular, the deliberate incitement of outrage. As global politics has become increasingly extreme in its rhetoric, polarised public opinion at both ends of the political spectrum has repeatedly proven what an effective tool such outrage can be, especially when harnessed by those in search of notoriety. The same tactic has become the bedrock of the Trump administration’s press strategy, shored-up the political bases of the likes of Pauline Hanson and David Leyonhjelm, and provided a lucrative living for far-right polemicists like Milo Yiannopoulos and Katie Hopkins, or closer to home, Andrew Bolt and Miranda Devine. Proudly and publicly the scourge of lefty snowflakes and the darling of conservative hardliners, not only is it possible to be both pariah and champion simultaneously, this seems to be the preferable status quo. And this poses a question that continues to resist any convenient solution: how should the media engage with the actions of individuals whose motivation is to attract as much public scorn (and with it publicity) as possible? “You have two conflicting tenets in play, and it’s really hard to know which side to come down on. But I think you
always have to remember the importance of free speech, free ideas, reporting the truth at all times and acknowledging that the reader has the right to make up their own mind,” says Cassidy Knowlton, the former Managing Editor of current affairs and political news site crikey.com.au. “It’s risky to assume that if you introduce people to these types of situations, they will immediately become that horrific thing themselves. That’s an extremely dim view of humanity and I kind of think you need to have more faith in people than that.” But beyond the ethical pros and cons of reporting on individuals who attempt to highjack the media for exposure, there is another quid pro quo at work, and it’s an increasingly dominant force shaping current media trends. In a culture of churn-and-burn journalism, where driving online traffic is the highest priority, so-called “click-hate” can be an easy means of attracting readers. With a 24/7 news cycle that consistently leads with articles about volatile geopolitics, tired clickbait and listicle for-
- a whopping 126,000 stories, tweeted by more than 3 million users over more than a decade - the findings showed that reports based on hard facts and demonstrable truths had nowhere near the same viral potential as those citing rumour and hoax as news. This conclusion was concerning enough for a think-tank of 16 political scientists, publishing their conclusions in the journal Science, to call for a “redesign of our information ecosystem for the 21st-century... to reduce the spread of fake news and to address the underlying pathologies it has revealed.” But other than totally dismantling the internet - and pretty much the very fabric of our digitally dependent society with it - what other strategies can be employed to protect the fidelity of news media and the public’s access to reliable facts? One option, as was employed by Fairfax Media during the Same Sex Marriage debate in 2017, is to offer both sides of politically charged arguments equal exposure. However, this is innately problematic as it suggests moral equivalency, which in the case of the SSM Survey was at best impossible to quantify and at worst borderline offensive. Another potential solution is to declare political allegiances openly, as 500 major titles did with their endorsements of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 US Presidential election - in stark contrast to the mere 28 that barracked for Donald Trump. Unfortunately, as two chaotic years of Trump’s brouhaha presidency (so far) reminds us, partisan clarity does not necessarily equate meaningful influence. The answer to the conundrum could very well be described as the holy grail of modern journalism, and much like that fabled beverage holder, it’s unlikely to be easily found. For now, the current paradigm of outrage culture and click-hate sensationalism may be here to stay, but as Knowlton observes, it may be the lesser of several evils. “A good analogy is terrorism. It only exists if there’s a medium, because the point of terrorism is to frighten people into a certain set of behaviours, and that only works if those people know about it. If you set off a bomb in a shopping mall and nobody knows that you did it, then no one knows your ideology either. The only way that terrorism works is in a culture of mass media, and figures like Milo [Yiannopoulos] operate in a similar way - if he’s talking to his friends, to the people who already share his values, then what he says makes no difference, it won’t change anyone’s behaviour. This is why mass media is a perfect vehicle for him. Where I really struggle is when you try and imagine the antithesis of that, which essentially is mass censorship. And to be honest, that’s probably not a world I want to live in.”
“It’s risky to assume that if you introduce people to these types of situations, they will immediately become that horrific thing themselves.” mats no longer have the same magnetism they once promised. As such, an invitation to engage has become replaced by a promise to enrage, with stories that play to the anxieties, suspicions, and oftentimes, the prejudices of the readership. Telling the reader what they want to hear is not necessarily a controversial editorial policy, and certainly this doesn’t give the majority of reputable news outlets carte blanche to indiscriminately publish #FakeNews. But the low barrier to entry for setting up news sites online has seen an influx of new outlets unhindered by traditional editorial best practice. Created with the sole purpose of driving ad revenue through traffic, this economic model has sparked an explosion of misinformation online, disseminated by websites seeking barnstorming analytics at the cost of ethical reporting. It’s perhaps this that media consumers should be most concerned about. A massive new study, released earlier this year, investigated the way misinformation spreads over social media. Analysing every major contested news story in English across the entire duration of Twitter’s existence
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August
Wake up, ‘Gurge! Hiatus is too strong a word for Quan Yeomans. Instead, the Regurgitator frontman tells Carley Hall the band has simply awoken from a long ‘nap’.
“I
’m outside Skinners Adventure Playground in South Melbourne. It’s a co-op run playground full of rusty swings and
bits of splintered wood, so clearly it’s great. If you’re a paranoid parent it’s definitely a hospital visit afterwards. My children are in there with their mother, but it probably looks like Lord Of The Flies in there now.” This is just one example of why Regurgitator’s latest album, their ninth, has been late in the making, according to frontman Quan Yeomans. Since 2013’s Dirty Pop Fantasy, the ‘Gurge boys have had their hands full with children, relocations to far-flung cities, other creative pursuits and the general hum of life. Wind back the clock to the early/mid’90s and life looked very different for the three young lads from Brisbane. Breakout hit Blubber Boy paired their dry wit with grunge chugs then thrust them into the limelight alongside the many bands putting Australian music on the map. Tu-Plang and Unit ultimately cemented their place in the scene, even though it was hard to see for Yeomans. “I always have trouble feeling like I was a part of anything because I always feel like an outsider,” he admits. “There was a lot going on at the time and I enjoyed being able to play shows with new bands and at new venues. There was definitely a competitive edge to things back then, and I think it’s important to have a bit of competition from time to time when you’re creating, it lubricates things
first drummer [Martin Lee], he was all about creating the studio you wanted to work in rather than be under the thumb of someone else’s gear and time and money. So we did all that from an early stage.” With the band scattered around the country and each buried in their respective family lives and side projects, the five-year wait for Headroxx does seem like a bit of a long one given their steady output. But is calling it a ‘return from hiatus’ too strong? “I don’t think we ever felt like we were on hiatus, I think we were just distracted. Or tired. “Hiatus is too serious, and it’s a bit of a technical term and we’re not a technical band. I think we were just taking a bit of a snooze. “And I often take a ‘nap’ from actually listening to music as well, so when I come back and actually write, I end up listening to a lot of music. There’s so much incredible stuff out there, and I’m like, ‘Well where do we slot in here, how can I take pieces and work out what we want to do?’ So that’s the value of it I think, is giving our ears a break.” Coming back from their ‘nap’ for their latest was not inspired by a particular creative urge as such; Yeomans reckons their manager said, “We’re going on tour in August so get an album done.” And with that, the recording of Headroxx began from each band members’ home studios over the space of just a few short weeks. In true Regurgitator form, the hallmark offbeat musical tastes and absurd lyrics are ever present. For Yeomans, it’s a comfort to relish in the things he has some creative control over in today’s music scene. “We used to love playing the intimate little festivals but you find when things get to a certain grand level they die a little bit. A bit like bands,” he laughs. “One sometimes wonders whether it’s worth it. You’re constantly second-guessing yourself. If you’re in the game for this long and you’ve had a peak in your career you kind of start cruising, and there’s a lot of new music out there. It feels like music is exponentially growing because of technology and access. So you do feel a little bit lost from time to time. But it is still incredibly enjoyable and we love playing live, it’s always a hoot. That’s definitely the reason we’re still here.”
things a bit better. “When Regurgitator first signed to War-
Headroxx (Valve) is out this month. Regurgitator tour from 2 Aug.
Pic: Stephen Booth
don’t see anymore. We learned a lot from our
Ode to Odette
It’s more like a nap really,” Yeomans laughs.
a little more and makes you want to achieve
ner they gave us a ridiculous deal that you just
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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After the release of To A Stranger, Liz Giuffre sat down with Odette to discuss success at a young age, unusual production combinations and ‘what’s in a name’.
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eorgia “Odette” Sallybanks is one of those new musicians that both excites and infuriates. A bloody talented young woman at a time when the Australian scene in particular seems to be producing a cluster of new voices - adding to the noise with an unusual blend of raw vocal and piano-based music, supported by strong contemporary production. Her spoken word is captivating - delivered with a cool urgency that reminds of artists like Ani DiFranco and other genredefying greats. While she’s happy not to be categorised, there is one label she rejects for her style. “Um, R&B,” she says without hesitation. “I think it’s quite easy to be pigeonholed into that category, and people are like, ‘Oh, [you] rap,’ and I’ll be like, ‘No no no, I can’t rap.’ Rap is freestyle, I don’t do that.” Lead single Watch Me Read You draws attention with its genre exploration that moves from spoken word to a chilled dance vibe, sampling Maya Angelou for good measure and more than a little depth. Then throughout the album, To A Stranger, this love of a good lyric (musical and poetic) drives, but is delivered with a clarity and nuance that doesn’t get nearly enough space in mainstream music these days. “I got signed to my manager when I was 14, I was very much a young’un, and then I guess I got signed to EMI when I was 17,” Sallybanks explains of her rise from triple j Unearthed hopeful to major label contractor. “I was like, ‘Let’s take it slow, I’m still in high school, I want to finish high school, ideally,’ and so yeah. It was kind of, to be honest, because I met my manager when I was quite young, I was ready. I was like, ‘Ok, I’ve learned my stuff, let’s do it. Let’s be business-y.’ Once the business came into it Sallybanks didn’t muck around. Writing reams of lyrics and strings of songs, through what she calls “a process of elimination”, she developed the album. Writing or co-writing every track, she’s been clear to keep a handle on the direction of each. “I don’t really think about it to be honest, I just write,” she says of the coherence of the end result. “And I guess the thing about my writing is there’s different songs with different styles, but they’re all still kind of me because they’re all kind of about the same thing. And I’ve asked people
Denzel domination After the release of TA13OO, Cyclone had a chat with Denzel Curry about world domination and keeping things raw and real.
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and they’re not sure what to put me in, indie-pop or popalternative, and I’ll just go with it.” A big part of the story so far is Sallybanks’ ability to collaborate, particularly with unusual production combinations. For example, working with Paul Mac she’s developed cracker tracks Pastel Walls and Lotus Eaters, while programmer/mod synth player Damian Taylor has helped elevate what was already solid vocals and piano into something new. “Yeah, Paul Mac I actually worked with a couple of years ago, three years ago actually. When I took songs into the studio to Damian we kind of did it all in one take to make it as live as possible, so the actual take on the record is me singing and playing at the same time. And they just added production over the top of it, and that was really exciting for me because we could bring in that raw performance element as well as the product element, which was cool.” Dear reader, if you’re thinking it’s a special kind of performer who can commit to record on one take these days, you’d be right. But there is something about the superhero here, anyway. Sallybanks does have a bit of a Clark Kent/ Superman thing going on with the stage name and ‘real name’ divide. Although she enjoys the relative privacy this divide gives (and no doubt will continue to as her star rises), the story behind it is also pretty super. “It was just that I literally liked Rihanna. I went up to my mum at ten years old and said, ‘Mum, Rihanna goes by her middle name, what’s mine?’ And she said, ‘Odette,’ and I was like, ‘Bam, done.’ And it’s stuck with me,” she laughs.
“I don’t really think about it to be honest, I just write.”
To A Stranger (EMI) is out now. Odette tours from 10 Aug.
lorida’s Denzel Curry has never courted hype. But the cult MC, singer and producer may just have 2018’s hip hop album of the year. Indeed, Curry’s third outing proper, TA13OO (Taboo), is the kind of conceptual art-piece that others talk about. Crucially, he’s not hurried TA13OO. “I’ve been tryna come out with this for a long time,” Curry says from Los Angeles. These days artists of Curry’s stature in hip hop rarely schedule interviews to promote albums. Instead they let Twitter generate the narrative. But ‘Zel hopes to accentuate the divergent facets of what is both his most personal and adventurous work in TA13OO. “I want people to focus on my versatility, the message and just the overall theme of the album,” he states. “I just want people to understand where my mind was going, or what I was, and where I was at the time, when I was creating this piece and everything.” Curry developed an unusual roll-out for TA13OO, with each of its three parts (Light, Gray and Dark) dropping over a weekend. The Carol City native launched his rap career with mixtapes while in high school. Local legend SpaceGhostPurrp recruited Curry for his ill-fated group Raider Klan. In 2013, Curry - a seminal cloud rapper - selfreleased his solo debut, Nostalgic 64. In 2016 Curry was named as one of XXL’s Freshman Class on the back of his second LP, Imperial. Resolutely indie, he’s now signed to Loma Vista Records, home of Iggy Pop. Curry hit Australia in 2017 to much buzz. He even programmed rage, proving a charismatic host. The year before, Curry revealed to XXL that he’d been offered acting roles. There was talk of his auditioning for a Sean Penn film, but Curry passed. “I felt I wasn’t ready.” He is interested in movie projects, but means to first hone his dramatic skills. And Curry applied this same methodical approach to TA13OO. The album’s latest single, CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N, has startled listeners with its grungily nihilistic opening line: “I just wanna feel myself, you want me to kill myself.” (Curry portrays a circus clown in the accompanying monochrome video.) In fact, the song is about the artist’s precarious bond with fans continuously clamouring for fresh quality output in the digital age. Industry machinations stress Curry. “I wish artists didn’t have to be in such shitty situations and they just get thrown money at [them],” he sighs. “I just wish they had a different way of coping with their lives and there were kinda new ways of remaining happy.” Certainly, TA13OO lives up to its declaratory title as Curry delves into topics such as molestation, depression and existentialism. “I just felt like I wanted to give something that was so tangible; that held a lot of substance - that’s why I kept it as raw and kept it as real,” he notes. Curry is often described as a political act. However, the Floridian has admitted that he didn’t vote
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in 2016’s presidential election. In SIRENS | Z1RENZ, he regretfully shares his take on Trump’s America (alongside guests JID, J Cole’s Atlantan protege, and Billie Eilish). “My main thing is I’m just very observant. I wouldn’t consider myself a conscious person or anything like that. I just see a lot of shit.” Today Curry is identified with South Florida’s rap explosion. Yet, with his dynamic delivery, he also invented punktrap. Last year Curry toured North America with the hardcore bands Show Me The Body and Trash Talk. But, on TA13OO, Curry unexpectedly veers off into other directions - soul, R&B and synth-funk. Still, the finale is entitled BLACK METAL TERRORIST | 13 M T. “All these elements that you hear on the album were always a part of me, I just never expressed them,” Curry says. “It was just that moment where I realised there’s no rules to making anything. So it was like, ‘Shit, since there ain’t no rules to making anything, I’m gonna make everything.’” Recently on Twitter, Kanye West vented his frustration at being categorised reductively as a singer, rapper or pop star he prefers to be called a “recording artist”. Curry feels similarly. “I see myself as an artist! Yeah, no offence, but everybody wanna be putting me in a ‘rapper’ category - but a rapper only raps. They don’t know how to do anything else. I can do everything. I’m an artist first.”
TA13OO (Loma Vista/Caroline) is out now.
Tash Sultana @ Corner Hotel, Pic: Jaz Meadows
Tash Sultana @ The Plot. Pic: Josh Groom
Tash Sultana doesn’t need to be handheld by a management team or a record label executive and told, “I’m gonna make you a star.” Sultana’s ethos is, “No. I’m gonna make me a star,” writes Uppy Chatterjee. Cover pic by Dara Munnis.
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ive years in the making, the sun has finally set on the writing and recording of Tash Sultana’s debut record, Flow State. “It’s fucken’ done, Jesus Christ. It was an ordeal,” she sighs. “I just kind of assumed that I was gonna get in there and record songs that I’d wanted to for ages and it was gonna be easy but it was testing. Like, I can’t believe that I’ve done it all. It’s done.” Imagine this: the stage lights are swinging purple and blue. Flying through the air is the multi-instrumentalist’s backwards cap, revealing a head of brown tousled curls, as well as a couple of dreadlocks. Her feet are bare, her eyes are shut with concentration and she — and the sea of people in the crowd — appear to be in a trance, thanks to the multi-layered wall of reverb-laden loops Sultana has created. In fact, she creates everything on Flow State. From playing an assortment of instruments like trumpet, saxophone, pan flute, piano and guitar, to writing all her lyrics, arranging her loops and producing the album, Sultana has the sort of can-do atti-
Tash Sultana @ Sydney City Limits. Pic: Dara Munnis
Tash Sultana @ 170 Russell, Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
Just do it
tude that most of us wish we had, but find difficult to tap into. We let self-doubt, negativity and our own insecurities stop us from achieving our best. Sultana emits a rare laugh. “Eeeevery time I give an interview, someone comes at me with a different number of instruments that I play. It’s about 15, but sometimes people say, ‘She plays 32 instruments!’ I don’t even think I could fucking list 32 instruments. “Yeah, I play a bunch of stuff, because I saw people doing that and thought, ‘Well, if somebody else can play five or six or ten different instruments and they’re good at all of them, I can. Like, I can.’ “Everything you’re doing in life you learn, so... why don’t you learn the shit that you really wanna achieve? That’s my thought process behind trying to learn as many instruments as possible. And you know, you can produce your albums and shit, you don’t have session musicians to come in because you can play all of that stuff yourself and you’re only self-limited.” It’s a real ‘fuck yeah, I can do it’ ethos. “I can do it. I don’t really complain about how I wish I could do things — I’d rather just do it. My whole career, for instance, was based upon the fact that I thought that I could do it. I thought that I could tour around the world, do all of the things that I’m now doing, because I said I could do it. People would say, ‘You can’t do it, that’s not realistic,’ and all of that shit, but it was realistic.” Sultana’s got a relaxed, confident air about her — albeit with a strong personality — like she doesn’t say stuff just to please you. She’s got nothing to prove because the truth is — at 23 years old — Sultana’s already toured 20 countries, pooled mil-
lions of streams and YouTube views, sold over 55,000 tickets in Europe and made history by selling out three shows at London’s Brixton Academy without even an album released. Her show at Margaret Court Arena last December made history as the venue’s largest-ever gig, selling 7,400 tickets, and she’s performed on the stages of Seth Meyers, NPR, Coachella, Bonnaroo and Governors Ball. And at every single show, she gets lost in her lush, complex, psychedelic music the same way — she’s in her flow state. “That’s why I called the album Flow State, because it’s about accessing your point of flow, in your state of mind where everything just becomes one continuous flowing cycle
it’s like adults acting like children. I’m like, ‘Bro, you don’t need to fucking punch someone else in the face.’ “I don’t tolerate that stuff and I’m gonna start putting [a ban] in place. If you’re gonna be in a fight, I’m just gonna ban you. Every single fucking show. Like, you will NOT be able to buy a ticket. It’s not people tripping, it’s people that drink alcohol. You get the trippers and stuff like that but they’re spacing out in their own worlds and not being aggressive. It’s the people that are sooo drunk.” These meatheads will only have Sultana’s stripped-back social media feeds to get their fix. She’s a pretty private person, though — you won’t see “candid” photos from the world’s coolest cities on her Instagram feed, though she’s been to them all. So how does she deal with the Instagram frenzy at festivals like Coachella? “I don’t. I don’t deal with it,” she says bluntly. “I just... I don’t do many interviews, I don’t do photos for people, I don’t do meet and greets, I don’t do like, YouTube things or Instagram stuff because I don’t actually have to. Because I’m not actually obsessed with myself. “There’s just this thing going on at the moment with people that are like, I wanna say 18 to 30, just being incredibly insecure but also self-obsessed to kind of balance it out? Social media has just got everything to do with that because you compare your life to a hundred different people in the day. It’s like, why? You don’t have to put it online, but other people like that shit! That is fine, but that is not me.”
“Everything you’re doing in life you learn, so... why don’t you learn the shit that you really wanna achieve?”
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of passion. If I’m having a bad gig, then I feel like I can’t really tap into being completely centred with the performance. Then I beat myself up about that, when I can’t fully get into it. You have good gigs and bad gigs and GREAT gigs as well. But that’s what makes the good ones so good,” she admits. And the bad gigs? Well, she’s got words for the meatheads that start fights at a Tash Sultana show. “If people wanna start fights in my crowd, shit, I’m gonna start permanently banning people from my gigs. Because you don’t come out to gigs to experience the night to be in a fight in a crowd, and it’s happened a couple of times and it’s like... Maaaan, why? Like, WHY? “That’s not what I’m about, whatsoever. It happens and you can’t control people, but
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Flow State (Lonely Lands/Sony) is out this month.
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“I’ll see you again in 25 years” Twin Peaks stars Sheryl Lee and Dana Ashbrook, and showrunner Sabrina Sutherland tell Rose Johnstone about the return of a cult classic
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n the penultimate episode of the second season of Twin Peaks (1990-1991), Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) appears before FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) in the Red Room – a place that exists in a liminal point between good and evil, life and death. Speaking backwards, she tells Cooper, “I’ll see you again in 25 years”. To many viewers, Laura’s final words felt more like one of the series’ many non-sequiturs than a promise, which
made the announcement that Twin Peaks would return to screens just over a quarter-century later a genuine surprise. Last year’s revival of David Lynch’s magnum opus bewitched audiences and struck a lightning bolt into pop culture all over again To say that expectations were high is an understatement. And yet, almost unfathomably, Twin Peaks: The Return reestablished itself as one of television’s most boundary-breaking, complex and captivating offerings.
Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer)
“I almost had no sense of 30 years having gone by”
For many fans, the real joy of Twin Peaks: The Return was surrendering to Lynch’s world, in all its uncanniness, camp, humour and horror. The majority of the original cast members (and many crew members) eagerly made the journey back – and this month, five of the show’s biggest stars will embark on a nationwide tour, reavling what it was really like to return to Twin Peaks.
It’s fitting that the final moment of Twin Peaks: The Return is Laura Palmer’s bloodcurdling scream, echoing out above the Douglas firs in the woods beyond. Laura’s tragic story is the heart of the entire series. So it’s ironic, that Sheryl Lee – now 51 – had not even watched Twin Peaks since its premier when David Lynch asked her to reprise her role in 2015. “[The Return] came completely out of the blue,” says Lee. “I never expected it or thought about it at all. It was a different part of my life.” Appearing in The Return as Laura – but also as the wide-eyed Carrie Page – Lee reveals that there is one common thread in encounters with fans that she will never quite get used to. “Often, people share with me their story of incest, or being molested, or being in unhealthy relationships. I’m deeply touched when someone shares that with me.”
“It is happening again”: the path to
1990-1991: Twin Peaks airs on ABC
34 million viewers tune in to the pilot of the eight-episode debut season, captivated by the question of “Who killed Laura Palmer?”. Ratings flag once the mystery is revealed, and ABC does not renew the series after the second season. 1992: Twin Peaks:
Fire Walk With Me is released
The film, which traces the last weeks
Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs)
“I trust David so much that if he tells me to do something crazy, I’ ll do it”
There’s a scene in Twin Peaks: The Return when former bad boy Bobby – now a warm-hearted deputy in the sheriff’s department – walks into a room, comes face to face with a photograph of Laura Palmer, and bursts into tears. There’s a real sense in The Return that the community is still recovering from Laura’s tragic death and the events that followed – and nowhere is this more poignant than in this moment. “I loved doing that scene,” says Ashbrook. “As an actor, you have to have this imagination about how important Laura was to Bobby... so it’s going to have a real impact on you.” Having complete trust in Lynch’s vision meant that Ashbrook had no problem jumping into some of Bobby’s more surreal scenes. “David doesn’t explain what scenes like that. It had to be a natural reaction. It was kind of left there for people to figure it out.”
of the life of Laura Palmer, receives an overwhelmingly negative reception at Cannes, then later becomes a cult favourite. 2014: Rumours are sparked In October, David Lynch tantalises fans by tweeting “Dear Twitter Friends: That gum you like is going to come back in style! #damngoodcoffee”. 2015: Complications arise In April, Lynch tweets that he is dropping out “because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done”. Mädchen Amick (who plays Shelly Johnson) shares a video from fellow cast members urging Showtime
Sabrina Sutherland (Executive Producer)
“I wasn’t worried about the hype”
Sabrina Sutherland and David Lynch have been working together for decades, and it all began when Sutherland worked as a production coordinator on the second season of Twin Peaks in 1991. Despite the immense hype around the show, Sutherland never worried about whether The Return would satisfy expectations. “Neither did David,” she says. “But I’m super happy that nobody listened to anybody saying that they just wanted basically the same thing again. I’m glad it was written in such a way that it wasn’t so nostalgic that it was a repeat of itself.” Sutherland often meets fans, and one question remains the same: “Everybody asks if there’s going to be a fourth season,” she says. “I will say that we spent about two and a half years of working non stop, and it’s very taxing on me, on him, on everybody. It was very difficult to do this show.”
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to #SaveTwinPeaks. In May, Lynch announces that the project is back on. 2015: Filming begins Filming for Twin Peaks: The Return begins, and in December, Showtime drops the first teaser. 2017: Twin Peaks:
The Return premieres
“I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.” – Dale Cooper.v
Twin Peaks: Conversation With The Stars tours from 25 Aug
AUGUST 1 2 3
STAGE FRIGHT
4 5 9 10 10 11 14 16
THE OC PARTY
17
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S POLAR PARTY
18 23
NEKO NATION
24
I’M NOT OK (I PROMISE) - MCR TRIBUTE NIGHT
25 26 29 30
NO MONO
31 31
MOVEMENTS
TUNES OF I A MAGICAL EVENING OF MISCHIEF
DISPOSSESSED BRIGHTY THURSDAYS CLERIC BROOKLYN 99 TRIVIA DRAPHT SESH AND THE CITY HOMEGROWN HEAT THREE
TRIVIA MELTDOWN
EVERY THURSDAY FROM 7PM BRISBANE’S BEST BEER GARDEN
OPEN FROM 6PM FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT
BRIGHTY THURSDAYS
EVERY THURSDAY FROM 9PM LAID BACK VIBES
AND CHILLED OUT TUNES
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HOMEGROWN HEAT FOUR
HE IS WE STAGE FRIGHT HOMEGROWN HEAT FIVE
GETTER BARKS AND BREWS
EVERY SUNDAY FROM MIDDAY LUCKY EGG
FRIED CHICKEN AND BURGERS
Let’s face it Christina Aguilera was absolutely right: you are beautiful. But every once in a while there’s no shame getting a helping hand to look in tiptop condition. And it just so happens that there are a range of DIY masks and masques (yep, they’re different) to get you looking your finest. Now treat yo’ self! 1: Sukin AntiPollution Facial Masque + Charcoal 100ml rrp $16.95 2. Skin Republic Youthfoil Foil Face Mask rrp $12.99 3. Skin Republic Gold Hydrogel Mask rrp $12.99 4. Antipodes Halo Skin-Brightening Facial Mud Masque 75ml rrp $45.00
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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE 2018 AIR AWARDS RECIPIENTS
BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM
BEST INDEPENDENT LABEL
Changa – PNAU (Etc Etc)
Thanks to moshtix; Australia’s most trusted independent ticketing company and supporting partner of the 2018 AIR Awards, the recipient of this year’s Best Independent label award will receive a digital marketing package valued at $20,000 to help showcase their talent to the music public. Milk! Records
BEST INDEPENDENT HIP HOP ALBUM
Train of Thought– BIRDZ (Bad Apples Music)
BREAKTHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY PPCA
Baker Boy (Independent)
BEST INDEPENDENT BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM
When We Fall– All Our Exes Live in Texas (ABC Music)
BEST INDEPENDENT ARTIST
Jen Cloher (Milk! Records)
BEST INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ALBUM
Real Class Act – Fanny Lumsden (Red Dirt Road Records)
BEST INDEPENDENT SINGLE
Every Day’s the Weekend – Alex Lahey (Nicky Boy Records)
BEST INDEPENDENT JAZZ ALBUM
The Great American Songbook – James Morrison/BBC Concert Orchestra (ABC Classics)
BEST INDEPENDENT ALBUM OR EP
Everything is Forgotten – Methyl Ethel (Dot Dash Recordings) AND Quiet Ferocity -The Jungle Giants
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BEST INDEPENDENT CLASSICAL ALBUM
Jonny Greenwood – Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti (ABC Classics)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
BEST INDEPENDENT HARD ROCK, HEAVY OR PUNK ALBUM
8LMW E[EVH VIGSKRMWIW ER MRHMZMHYEP SV KVSYT [LS LEW QEHI E WMKRMƤGERX ERH PEWXMRK contribution to the Australian Independent Music Community
Murder of the Universe - King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (Flightless Records)
7OMRR]ƤWL 1YWMG Thanks to the global independent rights agency Merlin, this year’s winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize to be used for business/professional development.
BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE, ELECTRONICA OR CLUB SINGLE
Go Bang– PNAU (Etc Etc)
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The Music
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August
In song and story Singer-songwriter Mojo Juju’s latest single, Native Tongue, may well be the most important track of the year, and not just because of its powerful vocals and bluesy, anthemic energy. Carissa Lee finds out more.
M
ojo Juju is a force to be reckoned with. In her latest single Native Tongue she tells you straight out: “I will not apologise for taking up this space.” And nor should she, a queer immigrant and Wiradjuri artist, she constantly fights for her space in this world through her work as a performer, cultural presence, and custodian of her family stories. We will have the privilege to hear these stories at her upcoming performances at the Sydney Opera House and the Arts Centre Melbourne. The epic spaces which she will be performing in are an apt choice for the enormity of a voice and story bigger than all of us, as stories always are. As a lot of us blackfellas know, and I imagine some multicultural mob feel the same as well, it can be a tricky balance trying to find our place in a world where we have more than one culture that we identify with, or when we are displaced in a predominantly white culture. Mojo articulates this in Native Tongue with honesty and vulnerability, while keeping a firm hold on the listener, to remind us that vulnerability is not weakness. “When I was writing it [Native Tongue], it’s deeply personal. I was hoping it would resonate with other people who have a mixed-race background. Living in two worlds, not knowing where you fit. I never felt like I fit in the Australian identity, but going to the Philippines, I realised I had no idea what it was like growing up in a Third World country, either... There is so much I’m learning culturally about all of my heritage. There are similarities in
terms of their respective histories of colonisation, and the resilience of both cultures out of adversity.” Shot in one long take, the music video for Native Tongue is swathed in powerful imagery, with Mojo striding towards the camera, and three First Nations men accompanying her in what looks like a
know where I belong”, this single is painted with the light and shade that comes with being a diverse presence trying to make her way in the world. The audiences lucky enough to be attending Mojo’s upcoming shows will be given a rich insight into this artist’s personal journey, as well as being some of the first listeners to hear her new
“These stories are my family history. Experiences that I’ve had first-hand.” prison march, but turns into a dance with little synchronicity, but all freedom. Mojo revealed that the video was shot at sunset by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore who Mojo had previously worked with on the documentary Her Sound, Her Story, a videography and photographic collection of interviews and portraits celebrating women musos in Australian. With lines like “Every time you cut me down, I’m gonna come back fierce” and “I don’t
songs before the album’s official launch. “These venues have allowed me to develop the work, to be intimate with [the] audience, telling the stories behind the songs. These shows will be giving context to the songs. Family history and personal anecdotes,” she shares. Although Mojo has an unapologetic strength about her, taking the time to ensure that the wider community has a chance to hear her story and take something from it;
whether they are learning of a narrative previously unheard to them, or if they are a community member who can relate and feel less alone, is of great importance. “This album, I wanted to address a lot of conversation that’s happening, about identity and culture, and I want to look at it from a really personal perspective. These stories are my family history. Experiences that I’ve had first-hand. Through telling those stories, there’s a commonality of people of similar backgrounds, who can relate. More personal than didactic in a way that doesn’t alienate people. “I’m just telling my story, there’s many stories like it. This story isn’t more special than anyone else. It’s a longing for connection to culture and parts of a family history that’s missing. This is not a unique story, it’s way too common, and that’s the thing about it that’s tragic.” With her family’s unwavering support behind her, Mojo has curated a piece of her family’s history interwoven with her own personal stories, through her medium of music, as our mob do for our old people and ourselves. “I wanted to write this while my grandparents are still alive, and I can talk to them about it. It’s important to preserve that. It’s part of who you are.”
Native Tongue (ABC Music) is out this month.
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SAT U RDAY
25th
AU GU ST
5 3 N E R AN G S T, S O U T H PO RT Q 4215
WWW.GCMUSIC.COM.AU 07 5 5 3 2 7 1 74 THE GREATEST FREDDIE MERCURY VOICE ON THE PLANET!
queen THE ULTIMATE
CELEBRATION Starring Marc Martel
“That voice. You listen, close your eyes and you think it’s Freddie. It’s really uncanny." - Roger Taylor, Queen
PERTH - AUG 28
GOLD COAST - AUG 30
SYDNEY - AUG 31
WWW.ULTIMATEQUEENDOWNUNDER.COM
The Music • August
MELBOURNE - SEP 1
NT
Stevie Jean
State of the BIGSOUND nation
At the tender age of 18,
Stevie Jean’s Hell In Every
Religion is wise beyond her years – as is that incred-
Want to start your BIGSOUND planning early? Here’s a look at just some of the acts repping each state and territory this year.
ible voice! She’s already an accomplished frontwoman with her band GAIA, who have shared the stage with Grinspoon and The Angels. Technically Bell City
Square are now Melbourne locals after relocating from Darwin, but no matter TOTTY
where they’re from, their single Make Me Feel Nothing promises to “make you feel something while dancing triumphantly”. Get your dancin’ shoes ready!
Genesis Owusu
NSW Repping their very own brand of ‘shed rock’,
TOTTY have already scored themselves festiKwame is fresh off opening this year’s
ACT the top five of triple j’s Unearthed High competition. Just three years later, at age 19, he’s
1.6 million Spotify plays on just one track.
WA
Ewah
In 2015 Genesis Owusu landed himself in
Splendour In The Grass and has gained over
Arno Faraji
val and support slots around the country.
already performed at Groovin The Moo, Spilt
At just 18 Arno Faraji is already making quite the name for
Milk and Laneway festivals.
himself. He’s the first ever hip hop artist to take out triple j’s
Moaning Lisa are self-described “music
Unearthed High comp. His new track Bless (What It’s Like)
grads/drop-outs” that take inspiration from
sees Faraji work with Remi and Sensible J.
the likes of Wolf Alice and The Breeders.
We can’t get enough Carla Geneve. Her songwriting is
They’re promising to drop a brand new EP
honest and endearing, and she’s been honing her craft with
by the end of the year so you’re sure to hear
appearances Falls Festival and WAMFest.
new tracks as well as their excellent Carrie (I
Kaiit
Want A Girl).
TAS As well as an awesome name, A Swayze & The Ghosts have EWAH & The Vision Of Paradise say their sound is “tough-
noir-rock-meets-shimmering-new-wave” and if that’s not intriguing enough for you, we don’t know what will be.
Sleep Talk
one of the most impressive live sets we’ve ever seen.
QLD
SA
Firstly, if you haven’t already heard Kaiit’s
We’re sure the name will hook you
It seems that MANE delivers the goods on
Natural Woman, stop everything and go
right now. Her appearance at BIGSOUND should considered be mandatory viewing.
Look, DIET had us at the description for
their track Clothes Off: “an ode to the classic Aussie tradition of streaking.” Take Me will
Eliza & The Delusionals
VIC
but once you get beyond that, you’ll get to the sweet, sweet tunes of Eliza & The Delusionals.
VOIID described their getting
whatever she does. Chasing Butterflies gives us actual butterflies in our tummies and we’re sure it’ll be the same for you.
Sleep Talk are already working with Five
together as a way to “annoy the
Four Entertainment and Harbour Agency
fuck out of the neighbours”. While
and spent a stack of time touring the country
get your foot tapping while the accompany-
that may be the case, they’re cer-
for their debut EP, Growing Pains. Their
ing video clip with get you giggling.
tainly not annoying us.
debut album is set to drop this year.
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Bigsound
Established 2015
FEATURED AUGUST RELEASES
3RD
3RD
LOOSE TEETH
13TH
LUCERO
Keep Up
Among The Ghosts
(Milk! Records/Inertia)
(Thirty Tigers/Liberator)
Debut album from Melbourne garagepop trio Loose Tooth is as catchy as anything on the Milk! roster, an everreliable indicator of quality.
Ninth album from revered Memphis rockers covers country-rock, soul, folk and more and delivers it all with that trademark Lucero heartfelt conviction.
24TH
THE GAMETES
The Astronomical Calamities Of Comet Jones (Coolin’ By Sound)
Young Brisbane space-punks continue their love of the surreal and absurd with the release of their debut LP , a sci-fi concept albumslash-modern parable.
Upcoming INSTORES
31ST
Sun 19 Aug
TV Haze (and more TBC) Sat 25 Aug
NEIL FINN & LIAM FINN
TASH SULTANA
([PIAS]/Inertia)
(Lonely Lands/Sony)
Fleetwood Mac mainstay Neil Finn keeps it in the family by teaming with his son Liam (as well as wife Sharon on bass and other son Elroy on drums).
Loop master Tash Sultana parlays her onstage mastery into the studio with debut album Flow State, every song written, performed, arranged and produced by Tash herself.
Lightsleeper
Flow State
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 12/360 Logan Rd Stones Corner (In car park of Stones Corner Hotel)
The Gametes Sat 1 Sep
Powerline Sneakers Sun 9 Sep
Moody Beaches
(07) 3397 0180 sonicsherpa.com.au The Music
•
J U LY
Album Reviews
A
t only 20 years of age, Perth born Troye Sivan went from making videos in his bedroom to releasing award-winning material within first album Blue Neighbourhood. Coming out to the world via YouTube in his teens, Sivan, now 23, has become an icon for LGBTQ communities through his passionate advocacy and musical expression, and his third release Bloom is a declaration of comfort in and love for his current life. Beginning with the openly raw Seventeen, the track illustrates the naivety of his youth in a slowly paced melody, “Boy becomes a man now/Can’t tell a man to slow down/ He’ll just do whatever, do whatever he wants” written about his underage experiences with older men. Sivan navigates the waters of sexual freedom with bass-driven ‘80s synth-pop track My My My!, sung about loving wholeheartedly and with all of oneself. It’s deep pulsing synth and cheeky lyrics - “I got my tongue between your teeth” - make it a sensual and fun dance track. Taking time to catch our breath, the light pluck of guitar in The Good Side brings a retrospective outlook on Sivan’s innocence from a past relationship, around which previous album Blue Neighbourhood was moulded (“The people danced to the sound of your heart/The world sang along to it falling apart”). Its layered vocals and simplicity provide considerable warmth and intimacy. The cheekiness prevails during Bloom, with lines like “take a trip into my garden/I’ve got so much to show ya” exploring freedom and liberation in love, life and sexuality. His light and sweet vocals layered on top of the pulsing dance beats
Troye Sivan Bloom EMI
HHHH
provide an explosive anthem of self-love that would easily light up any dancefloor. Utilising the flower’s sex symbolism throughout, Bloom takes Sivan’s confidence and maturity to new heights, representing his own growth across his musical and personal journeys and creating a space for fans alike to feel empowered. The love continues as Aussie indie-pop singer Gordi brings her uniquely deep vocal style to Postcard, a slow piano ballad drenched in haunting reverb. Simplicity is a commonly explored theme, as most tracks maintain a simple running beat with soft, melodic synth. Dance To This encapsulates this effortlessly, caressed in a slow-dancing backbeat as the angelic vocals of Ariana Grande transport it high above the clouds. Lucky Strike is a passionate and raw love letter of lust and longing, a sensual groove-based track with an echoing chorus. Ending with the heavenly soulful Animal, there is no denying Troye Sivan’s unapologetic release comes from somewhere honest and meaningful - each lyric rings out confidently with passion and poise. It’s a certainty that these soulful and cheeky pop tunes will have many dancing around their bedrooms with all the power in their bones. Emily Blackburn
Rabbit Island
Mitski
Neil & Liam Finn
Plain White T’s
Bedroom Suck/Remote Control
Dead Oceans/Inertia
Inertia
Fearless/Caroline
HHHH
HH
Father and son, musical collaborators and fans of a damn good tune - Neil and Liam Finn have a lot in common. However, it’s their differences that make this album interesting, too. Single Back To Life gives a preview of the familiar family brand (and lovely it is), but dig a bit deeper for gems like Hiding Place - a combination of ornate sonic soundscapes and unusual lyrical metaphors. Listen while trying to pick where one artist influences the other and who is taking which lead, or just enjoy how their talents and vocals merge to create something brand new.
Parallel Universe hears Plain White T’s taking on a far more electronic and dance sound. While the album has potential, it’s been washed away due to being too overproduced; the musical talent we know they’re capable of just hasn’t been showcased. Sick Of Love is one of many songs on the album that is so almost there. The strings are incredible, the story intriguing, but by the minute mark it’s filled with too many synthesised beats and repetitive lines. For a band that have been together for 20 years, sure, change is inevitable, but Parallel Universe shows that perhaps the band haven’t quite taken the right path with album number six.
Deep In The Big
Be The Cowboy
Lightsleeper
HHHH
HHH½
Perthling Amber Fresh finally follows up 2011’s O God, Come Quick with another group effort - Nicholas Allbrook (Pond) in particular plays a large part in adding guitar and vocals. Fresh has a pure approach to writing music, shunning verse-chorus, verse-chorus conventions and instead embracing free flowing forms that capture fleeting moods. Boxing Day opens the album like a statement of intent as rippling piano lines that cut straight through to the heart of the song. Deep In The Big has a much fuller, richer sound compared to her debut, and the effect is calming, healing and inspirational.
Mitski certainly isn’t afraid of changes. It might have been tempting to repeat the formula that made Puberty 2 a breakout success, but here her previous guitar-driven approach has been ditched as she concocts a new lush but somewhat saccharine sound. Despite the disco bass and perky synths, Be The Cowboy is in Mitski’s own words “her saddest album to date”, as the upbeat backing makes a jarring contrast to her themes of struggle and not belonging. It’s not all despair though, and Mitski’s storytelling is in top form as she squeezes everything you need to know into two and a bit minute, bittersweet vignettes.
Christopher H James
Christopher H James
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Liz Giuffre
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Album Reviews
Parallel Universe
Keira Leonard
For more album reviews, go to www.theMusic.com.au
Tash Sultana
Regurgitator
Alice In Chains
Bloods
Flow State
Headroxx
Rainier Fog
Feelings
Lonely Lands/Sony
Valve
BMG
Share It Music
HHHH
HHH½
HHHH
HHH½
Electric guitar rings out with delay, opening Seed (Intro), an overture to Tash Sultana’s debut album Flow State. From these opening moments it’s apparent that, like on her EP Notion, her vocals, for the most part, seem to accompany her guitar playing instead of the other way around. Sweet, jazzy Mellow Marmalade and Blackbird, which features fingerstyle acoustic steel-string guitar playing with a Spanish flare and a thumping beat, are definite album highlights. Flow State is a showcase of Sultana’s effortlessly cool, rich music with its signature washy reverb sound and dense, lavish textures.
Let’s be honest, we know this is going to get at least a little bit silly. But as Quan Yeomans and Ben Ely drop their comparatively conventional ninth album, genres get characteristically spliced and diced while the lads seem to be having a shitload of fun. There’s more going on under the surface though. Grafitti Is Coming Alive may well be a reaction to artist Ben Adams (aka Freak Street), whose cover image was inspired by the ‘Gurge’s initial album concept of constantly being under mental and social pressure, which in turn fuelled the band to go even harder with its execution.
One of the heavyweights of the ‘90s metal/ grunge scene, theirs is a tale of tragedy, but also one of resurrection. Recruiting vocalist William DuVall 12 years ago, Alice In Chains churned out three accomplished albums that have built on the band’s legacy. The latest, Rainier Fog takes the revitalised feel of their comeback album and improves on the middling follow-up with rewarding results. Alice In Chains are still bound to their past but they’ve found a way to maintain relevance, grace and swagger with each new release, and remain a benchmark in the world of hard rock.
What’s more likeable than dipping back into the ‘90s with some delightful garage/shoegaze-pop-rock? That’s what second album from quartet Bloods is riddled with. Where there’s always a risk of sounding slightly derivative in doing so, it’s hard not to be pretty instantly smitten by lead vocalist MC’s razor-sharp sass, buzzing guitars and a good dose of reverb. While the hits far outweigh the misses, the odd track does slip through the nets without struggling for attention. But they’re minor quibbles in an otherwise charming and neatly produced album.
Madelyn Tait
Mac McNaughton
Chris Familton
Carley Hall
The Gametes
Mojo Juju
Trophy Eyes
Halfway
The Astronomical Calamities Of Comet Jones
Native Tongue
The American Dream
Rain Lover
ABC/Universal
Hopeless/Unified
ABC/Universal
Coolin’ By Sound
HHHH
HHHH
HHHH
Beginning with the title track, Mojo Juju’s distinct voice is displayed both literally and metaphorically. Pasefika Vitoria Choir providing a steady platform that builds to a crescendo, as she repeats “I don’t speak my father’s native tongue” as both a lament and statement of her own independent presence. Followed by the spoken Papa (Tagalog Interlude), the opener’s point is immediately demonstrated - telling intimate stories of arrival left to ruminate in the listener’s headphones. Fans of Juju’s trademark powerhouse vocals are well rewarded, with slower, bluesy tunes that showcase her bloody great vocal tone and talent. Album number three is a corker.
“Don’t let those sad songs rot your brain”; an accurate disclaimer from Newcastle rockers Trophy Eyes on their third album. Anthemic choruses, pounding drum lines and raw lyrics soak through the LP, coupled with vocalist John Floreani’s impeccable vocal range. The album takes a few breathers in songs A Cotton Candy Sky, and Tip Toe, where the soft pluck of a guitar, light touch of a piano and an undertone of strings amounts to a soul-crushing depiction of the pain in long-distance relationships and the stark reality of touring. Trophy Eyes have packed everything into this album; an honest, relatable and authentic view of life.
Halfway have always seemed to operate in their own space within the Australian music industry. They tick both the Americana/alt-country box as accurately as they slot into the world of indie-rock. On Rain Lover they’ve combined those sonic qualities and more, blending them seamlessly into their own brand of heartwarming and heartbreaking melancholic rock. Halfway are a modern treasure on the Australian musical landscape, always cutting to the heart and soul of their music with each record they produce. On Rain Lover they’ve topped even their own lofty standards.
Liz Giuffre
Emily Blackburn
Chris Familton
HHHH After displaying a penchant for narrative songwriting on their debut, The Gametes dive directly into the concept for their follow up. The underlying problem with the LP is that the narrative isn’t overly interesting or conceptually original, but the execution is definitely both. Outrageous and eclectic, each track does an excellent job of showcasing their eccentric ideologies. Like your favourite director’s worst movie, the album loses gravitas even as its narrative seeks to build mass, and yet, it is utterly, indefinably loveable. Nic Addenbrooke
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Gear Review
For more reviews, go to www.theMusic.com.au
Full-Fidelity Personalised Headphones Brand: Audeara Model: A-01
T
he tagline for Audeara’s potentially game-changing new full-fidelity customisable headphones is “designed by doctors and engineers to deliver you perfect sound, always”. So is the world ready for headphones designed by doctors? And is there such a thing as perfect sound? Despite these new headphones being Audeara’s first entry into the market, their name and brand have been floating around for a couple of years now. Invented initially by two Brisbane doctors who were building a medical device for hearing tests, they launched with a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign back in early-2017 where funding was reached in 15 hours and stretch goals quickly exceeded. Then six months later Audeara introduced themselves formally to the industry as a showcasing start-up at BIGSOUND’s inaugural Music Tech Showcase last year, and people started to pay attention. The premise that ostensibly sets the Audeara headphones apart from the pack is that they can be customised to suit your own individual hearing needs. Just by dint of the human condition we’re all subject to some form of hearing loss as we age, with us music lovers who subject our ears to all manner of punishment both at concerts and in our daily lives no doubt hardest hit. These headphones purport to scientifically measure your hearing and then tailor the music delivery to your personal profile, boosting areas where your hearing is weak and vice versa, to give a more complete and rounded listening experience. If we all have different hearing it makes complete sense that we all have our own personalised headphones, but until now making that a reality had been easier said than done. Now I’m pretty much the definition of a Luddite, but even I found it pretty basic to customise the headphones. It uses a software interface from a smartphone app to send Bluetooth signals to the headphones themselves, and the EQ app takes you through a perfunctory hearing test process using high, mid and low frequencies for each ear. You can have three levels of testing depending on how much time you want to spend — I just bit the bullet and went for the longest, most comprehensive test, which took about 15 minutes and was
a fairly painless process (much akin to having an eye test at the optometrist). You end up with your own personalised profile that you can apply to the headphones and voila, the Audeara experience is yours. Before taking this jump I listened to a test group of songs just in “normal headphone” mode to try and make comparison easier, just a random grab bag of tracks I know pretty well: Imagining My Man by Aldous Harding, The Weekend by Dave Rawlings Machine, Center Of The Universe by Built To Spill, Star Witness by Neko Case and Calendar Days by Dick Diver. The headphones in default mode sound pretty good, they’re clear but just a little dead-sounding, everything’s a bit flat. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, just slightly lacklustre. Before we get to the key selling point it should be noted that the headphones are comfortable enough, I have a big head and some brands feel a bit snug but these expand easily to offer plenty of room with quality padding, which feels nice on the ears. The buttons are on the small side but it’s ultimately all very user-friendly, the functions both easily discernable and accessible. I’m not personally much into aesthetics when it comes to such things but these are quite nondescript and sleek, coloured black with no obvious branding of any kind. The headphones come in a great hard carry case that suits my messy travelling habits perfectly: I’ve ruined a lot of good headphones in my carry-on luggage over the years so this protection should guarantee a modicum of longevity. There’s an active noise-cancelling function that works well and there’s a headphone jack for tethered connection (the personalised function can’t be used in this mode though), so basically all of the functions that you’d expect from good high-end headphones. But down to brass tacks: when you apply your own Audeara profile and listen for the first time, the difference is staggering. There’s a clarity and detail and separation that’s quite remarkable, especially on tracks with more space such as Imagining My Man and The Weekend where audio detail is more pronounced. In striving to focus on audio clar-
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ity there’s a sacrifice in volume — it’s not super-loud even on top settings — but you can hear instruments and things in the margins that hadn’t been discernible before, a whole new experience. None of my guide songs were particularly heavy but when Built To Spill hit their straps and the guitars interweave it sounds spectacular, so the experience works across all genres (albeit best suited to the quieter end of the spectrum). It seems to really pronounce the mid-frequencies, which gives a nice depth, but on some songs the bass and treble could be pushed higher, but that’s most likely subjective. You’re also given the choice of applying your profile at different customised percentiles, and interestingly after playing around with all of the various settings I find I enjoy the Audeara experience best at 75% customisation (they all have a noticeably different feel and this is just my preference). By its very nature the Audeara experience is going to be different for everyone, but it’s definitely a fascinating premise and a genuinely absorbing aural experience. It’s also one that has the potential to protect your hearing over time as you create new profiles (protecting us music freaks from ourselves as much as anything), hardly a bad thing. They’re kinda highmaintenance compared to off-the-shelf contemporaries just in terms of the whole hearing test aspect but it’s actually quite an interesting process and the payoff is more than worth the slight inconvenience. So is it perfect sound? I doubt that’s a thing, but Audeara’s first generation of full-fidelity customisable headphones without a doubt offer a wonderfully immersive soundscape that redefines the potential listening experience. If you’re heading to Splendour In The Grass this year you can catch Audeara at the Very Small Suburb, where they’re installing a soundproof booth so that punters can test their hearing on the headphones’ smartphone app, otherwise head to audeara. com.au or check all stockists of quality headphones. Steve Bell
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Expo Liaison If you’re feeling burnt out on the traditional festival antics of getting mortal on some hill in the middle of nowhere while listening to the same ol’ thing, then the new festival from the boys in Client Liaison will be right up your alley. It’s been described as “not just a music festival” but rather a “stock market spike for the senses”. Spanning several forms of media and multiple cities, Expo Liaison will be coming to Brisbane 26 Aug at Victoria Park. We’re not quite sure what to expect, but we also can’t wait to find out.
I
BIG things
t’s not a stretch to call Brisbane-based music conference BIGSOUND more of a community than an event. Now in its 17th year, it’s become the go-to on Australia’s music calendar, largely due to the fact that organisers are on point with both the conference and live
music programming.
Attending BIGSOUND 2018 might change the way you not only view the music industry but your place within it, as QMusic CEO Joel Edmondson and Executive Programmer Maggie Collins tell Daniel Cribb.
In 2018, the conference welcomes more changes that will see it push the boundaries
and stay ahead of the game. Instead of analysing the symptoms of certain issues within the industry, BIGSOUND will increasingly address the causes, with a focus placed on cultural issues, gender diversity, mental health discussions and more. “Philosophical-based discussions is something that I’m more personally interested in,” Executive Programmer Maggie Collins tells. “That and professional development workshops and ways of working smarter and increasing the personal and work health of everyone in our industry. That’s the kind of stuff I think that separates BIGSOUND apart from other discussion events.” As QMusic CEO Joel Edmondson says, there are sometimes people in the audience with more expertise than those on the stage, which is why they feel it’s important to open up the discussion more. “We’re trying to evolve the conference into something that’s much more about the sharing of skills and reminding everyone that the expertise is within the group,” he tells. “If people buy a pass to [BIGSOUND], we want them to leave feeling like their skills and mindset have been enhanced in some way by coming to the event.” To help facilitate that, BIGSOUND have four different forums as the “centrepiece” of this year’s program that they’ve labelled “must-attend” events. One of the forums will blow apart the myths and rules of the industry and look at new and innovative ways certain individuals are working, while others focus on Indigenous cultural terms of reference, the psychology of change and trying to get people to look outwards. In looking at the big picture, BIGSOUND is focusing on longterm goals for a vibrant industry, moving further away from the basics of how to get a label or agent — although that information will still be on offer via workshops. “It’s almost like internal reflection; a lot of those questions in the past have been about &#145;how’, and now we’re moving more towards &#145;why’,” Collins explains. “&#145;Why do you want to be in the industry?’ &#145;Why do you want to be doing what you’re doing?’ “Because once you get a really confident idea of who you are, what you do [in the] industry and what your identity is, then it doesn’t really matter how things happen for you, because you’re going to find a way.” The questions posed by BIGSOUND continue to change as the industry rapidly evolves, and the scene is almost unrecognisable from the one the conference was first established in. “I first started going to BIGSOUND because there wasn’t much information readily available online to teach myself, so it was really imperative,” Collins explains. “Now its role within our industry — considering there’s so much out there to consume anyway — is really to be a place where we share ideas and make connections with each other and try and inspire each other to do better.” One of the aforementioned forums will touch on how many within the industry use the internet to try and initiate change, sometimes in an unproductive way. “It concerns me at the moment that a lot of that change plays out in a fairly combative way on social media,” Edmondson says. “I think we’re all often inclined to just become outraged about things and think that’s actually going to change something but it’s a lot more complicated than that.” With so much noise on the internet, it’s refreshing to have one time of year when the industry comes together and interacts face to face. It’s also surprising how much of an impact word of mouth has on the ground, with certain bands developing a cult-like industry following if one of their first showcases goes well. Every year, without fail, BIGSOUND produces a music line-up with a handful of buzz bands on the cusp of great things, and a lot of them end up signing deals, travelling the world and more from their showcases. In recent years, Stella Donnelly, Middle Kids, Flume and more all left lasting impressions and went on to epic things. “Sometimes there’s just magic that happens,” Collins laughs. “It sounds kind of corny but you can’t really describe it any other way. “Perhaps there’s no other platform other than BIGSOUND for word of mouth to spread so quickly.
“If people buy a pass to [BIGSOUND], we want them to leave feeling like their skills and mindset have been enhanced in some way by coming to the event.”
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“It’s Fortitude Valley, it’s a physical place and maybe it’s the last remnants of an old time that can still exist, whereby people are physically seeing each other, talking to each other in person and talking about what acts they love, rather than everything being online. BIGSOUND is that physical space where the old school word of mouth can still get around.” Those types of interactions are how BIGSOUND plans on separating itself from others. “With the saturation of music industry conferences in Australia now, we’re wanting to position this opportunity for people as an experience they can share with others,” Edmondson explains. “It’s really about trying to find the things we all need to learn about together, rather than breaking us up into groups. That’s important in the culture that we’re in, because we’re kind of in a climate where everyone is increasingly breaking themselves into tribes and BIGSOUND is about bringing people together.”
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F e e d
f e s t
Brisbane Festival understands that a showcase of culture can’t be complete without a little haute cuisine. Treat yourself to some of the city’s tastiest dishes at these festival partnered venues.
Emporium H o t e l S o u t h B a n k
Blackbird Bar & Grill Perched on the edge of the Brisbane River, Blackbird Bar & Grill is more than just a dining experience par excellence. With
If you need more reason to go check out Emporium Hotel
a Gatsby-inspired Cocktail Bar, it’s also the perfect place to
South Bank, just check out their pic of a blue liquid pouring
wet your beak.
out of a conch shell. Chances are you’ll be as intrigued as we are to try award-winning chef Josue Lopez’s fare.
Fat Noodle
P a t i n a A t C u s t o m s H o u s e
Forget about fat-free, we’re here for Fat Pho – Luke Nguyen’s
Overlooking the river and Story Bridge, Patina At Customs
legendary 20-hour Fat Pho Noodles, that is. Fat Noodle is fast,
House brings together the best seasonal produce and fresh-
friendly and brings a twist to traditional Vietnamese family
est seafood, as well as boasting one of the city’s most interest-
recipes with vibrant Aussie produce.
ing collections of wine and champagnes.
Pig ’N’ Whistle
A r i a B r i s ba n e A perfectly balanced seasonal, internationally and locally
You’ll be whistling Pig ‘N’ Whistle’s tune when you’re walking
sourced menu, paired with an award-winning wine list means
home full and happy from their premium British pub fare.
you’ll leave Aria singing every time.
With six restaurants around town so you’re pretty much guaranteed a table and good time.
The Charming Squire
S o l e i l P o o l B a r
You know what we like? Beer. And so does The Charming Squire – therefore, we like them too. Bringing to life the story of
They promise to cater to all occasions, thirsts and palates so
Australia’s first brewer, James Squire, they’ve got a damn tasty
there’s a lot of reason to check out Soleil Pool Bar. They also
menu and a whole lot of beers and ciders to try.
promise to bring the party with live DJs each weekend.
Black Hide
T h e S p a g h e tt i H o u s e T r a tt o r i a
The jewel of Treasury Brisbane, Black Hide by Gambaro boats an extensive selection of world-class Australian Wagyu and
Thinking about getting your rustic Italian cuisine somewhere
Angus steak cuts that is unrivalled.
other than The Spaghetti House Trattoria? Spaghett about it. The vibrant venue is the only game in town when it comes to Moreton Bay bug linguine.
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Your town
For the latest live reviews go to themusic.com.au
Splendour returned with a vengeance again this year
Splendour In The Grass @ North
with three action-packed days full of pleasant weather,
Byron Parklands. Pics by Clare
great tunes and more action than you could poke a
Hawley and Markus Ravik.
Marmozets. Pic: Clare Hawley
Crowd. Pic: Markus Ravik
– Lauren Baxter
Yungblud Pic: Clare Hawley
“Superorganism were literally the most fun… choreographed dance moves, a host of weird and cool shit on the screen behind them and a packed out Mix Up Tent all grooving along with them.”
Superorganism. Pic: Markus Ravik
Alice Ivy. Pic: Markus Ravik
Antony And Cleopatra. Pic: Markus Ravik
giant inflatable Snoop Dogg Hot Dog at.
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Reviews
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This month’s highlights
Heaps Good Friends
Birthday bar Post Splendour In The Grass, WAAX are headed to The Crowbar to celebrate the venue’s sixth birthday. Catch them alongside Walken, Pandamic and Something Something Explosion on 9 Aug.
Bruesday
WAAX
There’s a new Tuesday mini-festival coming to Brisbane in the form of Sesh & The City, a seven-act, pre-public holiday party at The Brightside.Heaps Good Friends,Shag Rock,Seasideand more hit the venue 14 Aug.
Horse & barrage
Astonishing Freddie Mercury sound-a-like Marc Martel stars in The Ultimate Queen Celebration, at The Star from 30 Aug.
New year’s Eves
Gympie Music Muster
In Queensland’s Armadoor State Forest, the Gympie Music Muster kicks off from 23 Aug. This year the camping and music festival features Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Dale, Albert Lee, Ian Moss, Sara Storer and many more.
The Goon Sax
Hit the Gym
Before heading back to Europe for the summer, prog rockersCaligula’s Horseare playingIn Contactin full up and down the east coast. They stop in at Woolly Mammoth this 11 Aug withOpus Of A MachineandIvanyi.
Sax on Fresh from a month of shows in the UK, Europe and USA, local art pop masters The Goon Saxare back in Australia and ready to get reacquainted before their second album drops in September. The trio play Bloodhound Bar this 14 Aug.
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Caligula’s Horse
Eves Karydas
Eves Karydas, aka Hannah Karydas, is heading back to Australia after a stint overseas for a headline tour starting at The Foundry, 9 Aug. This follows her support slot for Dua Lipa earlier in the year.
Marc Martel
Mercury Martel
AUGUST
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THE CHARLATANS (UK) - SELLING FAST W/PLANET & THE DOUBLE HAPPINESS SAT 25
BRISBANE BURGER FEST SUN 26
AYDAN (LICENSED ALL AGES)
SEPTEMBER SAT 1
JURASSIC JAM 4 FRI 7
ANGIE MCMAHON & LEIF VOLLEBEKK SAT 7
MOOSE BLOOD - (LICENSED ALL AGES) & MOVEMENTS SUN 8
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THERION SAT 15
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the best and the worst of the month’s zeitgeist
The lashes Front
Back
Fame drain
Winter is here
Free the beast
Fare-Lee well, Miss Chin
KEVIN!
Would he? Wouldn’t he?
The Prez everyone loves
Game Of Thrones showrun-
The final trailer for the
Long-time SBS News
Ryan Reynolds has a
Apparently, if you’re the
to hate, ol’ mate Donald
ners have finally revealed
Fantastic Beasts sequel,
presenter Lee Lin Chin has
knack of either nailing a
leader of the free world,
Trump, has had his Hol-
when the final season of the
The Crimes Of Grindelwald,
resigned from the company
film or turning it into a
words just don’t matter.
lywood Walk Of Fame star
mega hit will air – sort of.
has dropped and by Merlin’s
for “many small to medium
total dumpster fire, so it’s
Trump claimed that he
smashed to bits with a pick-
Speaking at a Television Crit-
beard we’re here for it. Even
sized reasons” after an
anyone’s guess if his Home
meant to say “wouldn’t”
axe. To lift a headline from
ics Association event, HBO’s
Johnny Depp’s wonky con-
almost 40 year run. Chen
Alone reboot with a whacky
instead of “would” in a
Newsthump.com, “Destruc-
President of Programming
tact lens and intense over
was just as important to SBS
tobaccy twist will go up
crucial press conference
tion Of Walk Of Fame Star
Casey Bloys said the race for
acting can’t break this spell.
as yellow subtitles in foreign
in smoke. Stoned Alone –
with Russian autocrat Vladi-
Leaves Donald Trump Down
the Iron Throne would begin
Plus Jude Law as Dumb-
films. We’ll miss her fantastic
which we know legit sounds
mir Putin. Let’s hope Don
To Last Six Horcruxes.”
in the first half of 2019.
ledore has totes got our
hair and icy cold elocution.
like a hoax – is due to be
doesn’t say “do nuke” when
made by Fox Studios.
he meant to say “don’t,” eh?
cauldron’s bubbling!
The final thought
Smartphones have made us dumb, but that’s not stopping an awesome few from taking action.
I Words by Maxim Boon
f you were born in the early ‘80s like yours truly, there will likely have been a time, probably up until around your mid-teens or early 20s, when you didn’t have a mobile phone. At least not one as we’d recognise it today. I got my first when I was probably around 17, and it was the size of
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small family car, twice as heavy, and could do little more than make calls and send SMS messages of up to a whopping 20 characters. I thought I was George fuckin’ Jetson when I got it, although looking back, the weight of it in my pocket during those tender growthspirt years is probably the reason why I have such shitty posture today. But I digress. Before I got my brick phone, my brain must have been wired in a totally different way. There was no coordinating my day via text or looking up directions on google maps; this was the Wild West of social life coordination! I had to store my mates’ phone numbers in my head; I had to remember my plans and stick them; I had to troubleshoot those everyday cock-ups without having access to all the world’s information in the palm of my hand. I even had to poop without playing several rounds of Angry Birds. Frankly, I was a hop, skip and a jump from being Rain Man. But then the information age got its hooks into me, and everyone else. Year after year, upgrade after upgrade, our reliance on devices slowly climbed ever skyward, grinding that pre-smartphone savvy into dust. Now, just like the vast majority of people, my day to day life is so thoroughly dominated by screen-time, my entire worldview is moulded by that oh so innocent palmful of electronics and the information it connects me to.
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I like to think of myself as informed I’m a culture journalist, and while I’m not reporting from the frontlines of a war zone or exposing government corruption I still need to keep my finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist. But having real-time access to all the opinions and outrage and trolling and memes of an entire planet of opinionated, outraged, troll-y people has made me, as I’m sure it has made you, too damn complacent. Sure, we might have more information at our fingertips than ever before, but the way we use and action that information in the real world is less and less hands-on, and more and more about how we appear to be politicised and energised in our online persona. But every now and then, one brave warrior among us steps up their game, and offers a glimpse at what the world could be like if we could only revive those pre-smartphone get-shit-done instincts. For example, Swedish student Elin Ersson, who rather than retweeting a hashtag, bought a plane ticket for a flight that included a refugee deportee amongst its passengers. Refusing to take her seat, Ersson managed to peacefully (and crucially, legally) prevent what she saw as a violation of a fellow human’s civil liberties. So, to ironically coop a recent meme fad, this is Elin. Elin sees bad shit in the world. Elin doesn’t ignore it. Elin takes action. Elin is the way we should all be. Be more like Elin.
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