The Music (Brisbane) Issue #154

04.10.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Brisbane / Free / Incorporating

Issue

154

2 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 3

JONSON STREET BYRON BAY SATURDAY 14TH OCTOBER

GOONS OF DOOM

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THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 5

Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Idiots On The Road

Tony- and Grammy Awardwinning rock musical Green Day’s American Idiot is going on tour from January through to April, with Phil Jamieson and Phoebe Panaretos reprising their roles as St Jimmy and Whatsername.

Go For Broke

Phil Jamieson

Nothing But Thieves

Nothing But Thieves have announced a trio of headline shows to complement their outings with Muse this December.

The Essex-bred band will hit our shores with new album, Broken Machine.

WAAX

Ali Barter

Final Coat It’s not like WAAX haven’t had a super-busy year as it is, but the Brisbane rockers have announced one more tour for 2017 to put a cap on things, with three outings this November and December.

Look, bay leaves, you can help me set up but you can’t stay for the party. @thenatewolf

6 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Jude Wooed Didirri Dude After unveiling the sweet video clip for his stunning recent single Jude, goldenvoiced troubadour Didirri has announced November and December headline dates in addition to his Queenscliff Music Festival and NYE On The Hill appearances.

Didirri

Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

LA Witch

Toil & Treble

Cali rock coven LA Witch dropped their self-titled debut album last month and now they’ve announced they’re bringing it Down Under. The trio will play a run of east coast shows this December.

FRI 6 OCT BONKA

FRI 13 OCT

COURTNEY MILLS

SAT 14 OCT

ANDY GRAMMER

SUN 15 OCT

MAYDAY PARADE

FRI 20 OCT GTA

SAT 21 OCT

RNB FRIDAY’S LIVE AFTER PARTY

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Face Two Face The second round of Face The Music speakers has been announced with Ali Barter, Dom Alessio, Kirin J Callinan, Stella Donnelly and plenty more joining the ranks with Ariel Pink and Marky Ramone.

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Brisbane-born Jordan Rakei is headed our way in 2018 for a homecoming tour of his new LP Wallflower. The now London-based multiinstrumentalist will return to Australia for a four-date run in January.

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THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 7

Music / A Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Post FOMO

Post Malone

After dropping one of on of their largest line-ups to date a while back, FOMO has allayed our severe fear of missing out by announcing a slew of January sideshows, including Post Malone.

Macklemore

More & More

1 The number of U-turns taken by Sydney Symphony Orchestra over the weekend in its stance on the SSM debate, switching from “neutral” to “Yes” following a huge backlash.

8 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Off the back of his huge NRL Grand Final performance, Macklemore has announced he will be returning to Aussie shores in 2018. The Seattle rapper will be playing to all ages crowds in February.

For a regular hit of news sign up to our daily newsletter at theMusic.com.au

Arts / Lif Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

20-Year Funk

Hydrofunk Records are turning 20, making them the longest running independent hip hop label in Oz. To celebrate they’re throwing a birthday bash at The Zoo on 10 Nov with all their mates, including Resin Dogs, Indigenoise, and Uhnellys.

Resin Dogs

Hatchie

Aim For The Stars Festival Of The Sun kind of knocked it out of the park with their first line-up announce, but that hasn’t stopped them adding The Pretty Littles, Alice Ivy, Hatchie and more to their December bill.

The General Assembly

Good Point Melbourne five-piece The General Assembly have dropped their full-length debut and announced a run of shows around the country. They’re set to bring Vanishing Point to Queensland in November.

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 9

Music

Alex Lahey wants to keep making music for the rest of her life. She tells Bryget Chrisfield that there would be “no songs in the world” if people got “shitty” about being immortalised in song.

Cover and feature pic by Giulia Giannini McGauran.

S

itting on an outdoor table at a Brunswick West cafe, Alex Lahey carefully pours tea from teapot into cup. When asked whether anything surprising has come up in her musical career to date, she ponders, “I was thinking this on tour, like, at the start of the year when we were touring overseas I was like, ‘This could be such an isolating experience.’ And it’s so important that I am conscious of that to make sure that I’m not isolated, because I wouldn’t deal well with that, but it’s kind of ironically isolating. I guess you never know these things until you do it, but I think it’s important to be upfront about the things that can be really hard about it and by not denying it you’re able to tackle it in the way that works best for you [to stay] happy.

10 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

“And you can see how people burn out, like, you can see how you can get sucked into a lot of shit and you can see what can go wrong, and why people maybe actually experience success and they’re like, ‘Actually, this isn’t for me’ — I can totally understand why. But for someone like me who wants to keep doing this for the rest of my life, I owe it to myself to be really mindful and stuff.”

Lahey admits, “It’s definitely been an adjustment, like, having to think about my health and, you know, really looking after myself and that kinda thing, but, I mean, it’s good because it probably makes for a better lifestyle all up. But, yeah, it’s kind of fine ‘cause as much as you’re like, ‘Oooooh, I’m surrounded by booze and I shouldn’t be drinking!’ Like, there’ll be booze at the next gig, you know? I can tap in then, like, I owe it to myself to sort of, you know, have a bit of a break or whatever.

“You pick your nights,” she points out. “That’s what I find, like, even my band and I the other day were like, ‘We should get the tour poster out and actually mark our nights that we can have a really good time’.” Given that the Sydney show on Lahey’s I Love You Like A Brother launch tour falls on the day of the album’s release, this date has already been marked out as a party night.

“It’s a once in a lifetime sort of thing so you’ve gotta do that,” Lahey stresses.

Paul Kelly’s much-loved song From Little Things Big Things Grow rings out over the cafe sound system and our discussion turns to the myth of overnight success. “I think that any one of those

narratives that is like, you know, ‘He or she just came outta nowhere,’ is, like, total bullshit,” Lahey opines. “It’s like, ‘Alright, well, what about the piano lessons when they were four years old and, you know, all that kinda stuff.’ It’s a life’s work and it’s a lifestyle as well. And I think that, for me, this project came after a long string of shit songs, and playing in other bands, and playing other instruments and, you know, all the other personal things that happen in your life that shape what you do. So, yeah! I’ve been playing music my whole life and was in another band in Melbourne called Animaux for years, and was playing in big bands and stuff through high school and, like, really hardcore doing the jazz thing at uni for a little bit and that kinda stuff.”

Although Lahey acknowledges, “I was always passionate about music, I knew that was always what I wanted to do,” she says everything didn’t immediately fall into place as some people may believe. “It wasn’t me picking up an instrument and then all of a sudden having a record out... How it all came together — it was a very happy accident.

Break someone’s heart, do your bit for art.

“It’s also a credit to the last band that I was in, because it did present me with the opportunity to start that project, and I think the fact that that band was a very grassroots-based project has just continued through in this [solo outing] as well.

“My solo project opened for my band at one point, which was a lot of singing for me that night,” she laughs. “There was definitely overlap and that band never broke up; it was more that I just got really busy and no one else kind of was facilitating anything in that band and it kinda, like, just fizzled out.”

Going on to explain that her success as a solo artist “all kinda came out of nowhere last year”, Lahey reflects on the recruitment of her backing band. “Obviously this is a solo project, but I want the show to be a band show and I think a big part of that is — it’s a delicate thing ‘cause you have to communicate to these people. It’s like, ‘Okay, this is my project but I want you to...” Have some input? “Well, not really, like, they don’t have any creative input — obviously they interpret the parts that they’re given and, you know, you can give two people the same recipe and they come out with two different things, like, the same thing applies with music. But it’s sort of more like, ‘I want you to feel valued, because you are,’ you know? And that’s the thing I communicate to them, I’m like, ‘You are a valued member of this project and you play a role, and it would be different without you, and I want you to own that,’ and that’s the conversation. But it’s obviously, like, a very delicate thing to discuss and that’s why you have to be super-direct about it and, you know, luckily the people I work with understand. And it’s a testament to their own integrity as individuals and I think also, like, we’re all friends

There’s an intimacy to Alex Lahey’s songwriting with individual songs written about her personal relationships or particular situations. Has she ever been confronted by one of her song’s subjects? “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember my ex who I wrote L-L-L-Leave Me Alone about — who’s actually a really wonderful person. And, like, that song came up — I was

as well and I think it’s testament to the value we place on our friendship with each other away from work.”

When told this definitely comes across on stage, Lahey laughs, “We’re not faking it; we actually do like each other. And especially with touring, like, I know that I’m the kind of person who needs that support and if I can integrate that into the people that come along with me then it serves me better in terms of my wellbeing... And it’s definitely a very family-based sort of ethos.”

The decision to quit her job to focus solely on her music wasn’t an easy one for Lahey to make. “I’ve been a musician for 12 months, which is awesome,” she shares of not having to work another job, “but not because I’m raking it in, it’s more like, ‘Okay, I’ve contributed a significant amount of my savings to this and I still have a little bit left over, and I know that playing shows so much I can pay myself, you know, a hundred bucks a week or whatever to, like, stay afloat.” And living at home has certainly helped Lahey’s cause. “It’s just too difficult otherwise, financially,” she agrees, “and logistically the idea of, like, fucking getting on Fairy Floss Real Estate every month, ‘I need to sublease my room,’ you know, it’s just, yeah, not for me. And, oh well, it’s just an added stress in an already stressful kind of life. Also, it’s just my mum and I, and she’s really, really easy to live with, and her partner lives out in Kyneton and so she’s there half the time.”

Mrs Lahey actually stars in the music video for Every Day’s The Weekend, the first taste from her daughter’s soon-to-be-released debut album. Lahey says, “The concept is: I keep getting fired from these jobs. And we were like, ‘We need to find bosses,’ and I was like, ‘Alright, well an obvious one would be my mum, ‘cause she actually is a boss,’ and I was like, ‘Let’s get her in!’ And she was happy to take a day off work.” Lahey then confesses, “I absolutely hate being in front of the camera so working with friends and doing goofy things makes it a lot easier. And also having, like, a really short filming period is a bonus, too.

You’ll find that a lotta my clips didn’t take long to make because I just really don’t enjoy being in front of the camera like that, like, even just the ...Taking Care... [I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself] clip — it took 14 hours and I’m like, ‘At least we did it all at once so I didn’t have to go back,’ haha, you know?”

We go on to discuss how the reasons why an artist or band doesn’t last the distance can be misconstrued. “It’s like, ‘Oh, they just didn’t have another good song,’ or something,” Lahey contributes, before remembering a “revelation” she had while overseas: “I was like, ‘I can understand why people opt out. I have no interest in opting out, but I can definitely see why this wouldn’t be for everyone.’”

What: I Love You Like A Brother (Nicky Boy Records/Caroline Australia) When & Where: 7 Oct, The Zoo; 1 Jan, Falls Festival, North Byron Parklands

out for drinks with a coupla friends yesterday, and they were like, ‘That was pretty brutal, you know?’” she chuckles. “But, yeah! I wrote that about my ex and on the day that the EP came out last year — she called me or texted me — and she was like, ‘Do you really feel that way?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, look, at the time that’s how I felt, but, you know, it’s just a song.’ And she

was like, ‘Mmmm,’ and I was like, ‘No, it’s fine. It’s really fine, no hard feelings. It’s catchy, isn’t it?’ [Laughs again] She was like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’ But, um, I don’t think there’s any hard feelings; if people are gonna get shitty about that sorta stuff then there would never be any songs in the world. So do your bit: break someone’s heart, do your bit for art, haha.”

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 11

Music

Horsing Around Caligula’s Horse frontman Sam Vallen shares one part of the conceptual story that surrounds their latest release In Contact. Rod Whitfield gets the scoop.

B

risbane masters Caligula’s Horse are stepping into pretty rarefied territory with their fourth album In Contact, at least for Australian heavy, progressive and alternative acts. Only a select few bands in that scene get all the way to a fourth album, and even fewer have improved with each and every release up to that point, but the mighty C-Horse have achieved both.

In Contact sees the band reaching for the metaphorical stars in a musical sense and building upon an already impressively expansive sound, while at the same time delving more deeply within themselves to create lyrics and imagery of the profoundly conceptual and introspective kind. Guitarist and co-founding member

I’m hoping that people can really sink their teeth into it, and really get into it the way that I would.

Sam Vallen has a very slight sense of trepidation that the elaborate and personal nature of the record may possibly divide opinion, especially when listeners compare it to previous album Bloom, but he is ultra-proud of what they have achieved nonetheless.

“It’s destined to be a little bit divisive, I think,” he says, “with Bloom we had an album that was really immediate, really easy to digest and whatever else, but we went all-in with In Contact. We couldn’t be happier with it, it’s as complex a work as we’ve ever dreamt up. So I adore it and I’m very interested to see how people respond to it. I’m hoping that people can really sink their teeth into it, and really get into it the way that I would.”

While Bloom was a collection of relatively accessible standalone tracks, In Contact is a labyrinthine conceptual 12 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

piece that may take listeners a little while to wrap their heads around, especially if they choose to explore into the record’s overarching theme.

“It’s the density of the album,” Vallen says when asked to clarify his use of the word ‘divisive’. “When it comes to Bloom we had a record that we designed around a bunch of songs that were not connected to one another, they were all different colours, different themes. In Contact is something that’s so layered and so big, it has a lot of ideas behind it that, I wouldn’t want to say that they’re overtly complex, that’s not something that we consider our music to be, but they are a little bit more cryptic. It’s kind of the nature of a concept album, in the case of In Contact it’s a concept album that facilitates a lot of emotional ideas and personal concepts. It might take a little bit more for people to really get into. But I’d hope that it is a little bit more rewarding for that reason.”

All that being the case, and while still allowing the individual listener room to interpret the album in their own way and draw their own conclusions, it begs the question of defining the underlying concept of In Contact. “The album is basically split into four chapters,” Vallen begins, “each of those four chapters is a discussion on a different artist. The fact that they’re artists and seek inspiration is really the only thing that ties their stories altogether. Jim [Grey, vocals] conceptualised this as an idea he had at the very beginning of our album discussions. The first dream being a stand-in for the idea of inspiration, something that we all reach for and try to achieve. Those four artists are all disconnected when it comes to temporality when it comes to spatiality, there’s really no connection between any of them in that context. But they’re all trying to find something that makes their art tick, or makes them feel inspired, or makes them overcome the challenges that will get in the way of that art.”

Vallen chooses one of the chapters of the work that has particular interest and relevance to himself. “The first chapter’s called To The Wind,” he explains, “and the story is about someone who’s an older artist, he’s a painter. He’s also a recovering alcoholic. The idea is that he’s given up drinking and at the same time given up the thing that he would do to throw himself into his art. I know people who have a similar relationship with their drug of choice. In this case, we found it really interesting to discuss the trope of a tortured artist through that concept.”

The piece speaks of a much broader issue that Vallen and the band see with the manner in which artists are viewed by society as a whole, an issue they are very unhappy about. “We see someone’s mentality instability or their drug use or anything else as something that should be treated like a novelty. If you’re an artist, you should be tortured!” He laughs ironically, “It’s funny because it’s such a common trope, but it’s so nasty. What it means is that if an artist doesn’t conform with that trope, maybe their art is less meaningful.

“So this guy is feeling the clamouring of an audience demanding another work from him, but he also knows the only way he can create that work to his maximum capacity is by going back to the vice that ruined his life in the first place.”

What: In Contact (Inside Out/Sony) When & Where: 7 Oct, The Triffid

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Music

Different Perspectives They say that a change is as good as a holiday, and Americana star Justin Townes Earle tells Steve Bell how even a forced change can yield handsome dividends.

S

wiss author and dramatist Friedrich Durrenmatt once sagely opined, “resistance at all cost is the most senseless act there is”, a tenet that US singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle can readily attest to following the birth of his recent seventh album Kids In The Street.

For a full decade the rising star had been crafting his authentic, heartfelt Americana in his native Nashville under his own supervision - with requisitely strong results.

Yet suddenly for Kids In The Street Earle decamped to the Omaha studio of producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Cursive, First Aid Kit) - the first time he’d allowed outside

...I genuinely in a lot of ways did not know what to expect with this record and I won’t say that I was surprised that I liked it, but I was surprised that I loved it.

assistance in the studio - and recorded using hithertounknown local musicians, a move he attributes to his brand new label New West Records.

“It was time to try something different, or just somewhere different,” Earle reflects. “But I can’t claim credit for the wanting to go there, it was something that my record label brought to me and then I fought it a bit at first. I do actually trust the people who work at my record label and admire the work that they’ve done in the past, so I decided that maybe it was time to listen and take a little bit of direction from an outside source, which I hadn’t done at any point in my career.

“I ended up liking it, although it felt strange doing it.

It’s my seventh full-length and eighth release altogether and I’m going somewhere other than where I’ve always 14 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

made records that have done well for me - it kinda goes against everything that we would normally think.”

Fortunately, Kids In The Street survived the new process unscathed, the album assured and upbeat and dripping with soul. “I knew what I wanted feeling-wise, but I really went into this record not knowing what to expect,” the singer continues. “And a big part of the making of this record was that I relinquished a lot of control, and the fact that Mike Mogis plays a lot on the record and I allowed him to do all his parts on his own and then send them in.

“Usually when I make records I’m there for the mixing process and the mastering process - I’m there the whole time. I wasn’t there for the mixing of this record, so I genuinely in a lot of ways did not know what to expect with this record and I won’t say that I was surprised that I liked it, but I was surprised that I loved it. “[Relinquishing control] is definitely one thing that singer-songwriters especially are kinda heady about, we like to think that our way of looking at our songs and the way that we first envisioned our songs is the way that they have to be sometimes, and I’m guilty of that. I do write songs where I know my part but I definitely have ideas for instrumentation and things by the time I’ve done writing a song. So it was interesting doing it, the nervewracking part was waiting for the mixes but it worked out great. It’s good to be nervous every once in a while.”

Lyrically Kids In The Street finds Earle getting nostalgic, regularly touching upon childhood memories and the gentrification of his old neighbourhoods through the prism of third-party perspectives. “I think in all my records there’s some kind of loose thread that runs through them all,” he offers, “and this record is definitely looking at the fact that I’m 35 and I’m old enough to look at a troubled life with something other than anger now and to look at it more from an outward perspective as opposed to an inward perspective. “[It’s a different challenge], especially when you’re looking and trying to understand how it all projects onto everybody around you. I think it’s a lot more difficult than say sorting through my own thoughts of it and my own opinions, and looking at it from a stance other than your own. Trying to speak for other people is a definite challenge.”

Kids In The Street also finds Earle dusting off timeworn narratives in If I Was The Devil and Same Old Stagolee, his tip of the cap to the ongoing folk tradition and lineage.

“Absolutely,” he concedes. “I think that it’s the same reason that I did They Killed John Henry [on 2009’s Midnight At The Movies]: I see where I gained the most important bits of what I do from generation after generation of artists re-working the same songs and making sure that these storylines didn’t die. So I do think that because I took from that tradition so much that I have an obligation to try and continue that tradition.”

When & Where: 13 Oct, Old Museum

INSIDE OUT MUSIC, THE MUSIC, DAVID ROY Y WILLIAMS & WILD THING G PRESENTS P S

WITH WIT H SPEC S PECIAL IAL L GU G EST ESTS S

SAT OCT 7 THE TRIFFID BRISBANE TICK K ETS FR F OM WILDTHINGP P R E SEN E TS T .COM NEW ALBUM ‘IN N CONT T ACT C ’ OUT ON SEPTEMBER R 1 5 V IA A INSIDE D OUT MUSIC

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 15

Music

Dare To Dream When Bryget Chrisfield sits down for beers with Declan Melia and Will Drummond, she discovers British India have upgraded from stealing beers from their guitarist’s dad’s fridge to sharing spliffs with The Rolling Stones’ sound guy.

To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au

S

ettling into a booth inside Union Hotel, Brunswick with one half of British India — frontman Declan Melia and bass player Will Drummond — it immediately becomes apparent that the band is enamoured of Oscar Dawson, who produced their latest and sixth album Forgetting The Future. “We were kind of like a junkie couple,” Melia posits, “we were just enabling each other, kinda like, you say, ‘Should we have another line?’ You know the other person wants one... So we doubled the guitar part. ‘Should we triple it?’/’I think you know you wanna!’...” Drummond continues: “He amplified our ideas that we had for songs, which was helpful.”

We were kind of like a junkie couple, we were just enabling each other.

“With all the records with Liberation, they tried to set us up with a different producer and every time it just fuckin’ failed... Great producers, all, but it just didn’t work out; it wasn’t the meeting of the minds that they wanted it to be,” Melia laments. “So, before Oscar, I mean, like, we didn’t wanna know. We were like, ‘Fuck, this again!’

We were like, ‘Some plonker’s gonna come in and tell us...’ So the first song we did was My Love and I was just like looking at Nic [Wilson, guitarist], like, ‘Am I crazy or is this fuckin’ kickin’ arse?’ I couldn’t believe that it was fuckin’ working.”

“We came into the studio with Oscar with a month left in that studio... and we had a lot of the album written, but some of it was sketchy and some of it was full songs.

And then having that kind of influence of, ‘Hey, no, that

16 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

song’s really good, guys’... Just a different voice that you hadn’t heard before was such a great spark, which we definitely needed.”

British India formed when they were teenagers and we’re curious to hear how far they thought music would take them. “If you pick up a guitar, you have a dream of being on a stage and playing in front of people,” Drummond shares, “and I think your imagination runs wild with that. But the whole reason we wanted to play in a band together was ‘cause we were friends and it was fun and it got us out of doing homework, and it was a reason to steal VBs from Nic’s dad’s fridge.” Melia spots something and gestures excitedly. “It’s there!” Drummond looks around. “What is?” Melia beams, “That’s him! That’s the poster from next to Nic’s dad’s fridge!” Drummond spots the antique Carlton Draught poster Melia is referring to. “It is too! That’s hilarious!” Melia reads out the text: “’I allus has wan at 11’... That was above the fridge at Nic’s house when we used to steal the beers. So that’s a weird bit of serendipity.”

“It is, yeah,” Drummond agrees. “But, so, when you’re jamming in a room you’re just, like, all you wanna do is like, ‘Let’s get this version of an Oasis song down,’ and then you’re like, ‘Well, let’s get this song down that we wrote,’ and then it’s like, ‘Oh, it’d be awesome to play a gig. It’d be so good’. And then when you play a gig it’s like, ‘That’s great!’ And then with each step you just want it to be bigger and bigger; your plans and your dreams just keep getting bigger and bigger.”

Melia ponders,“Sometimes journalists ask, like, ‘Why have you guys been together for so long?’ And I think a contributing factor is, like, obviously we’re incredible, but...”

Drummond bursts out laughing. Melia continues, “We’ve never headlined festivals and we’ve never played massive venues and we’ve never had a number one record, and so I think we still wanna do those things.”

One thing British India can certainly brag about is having supported The Rolling Stones at Hope Estate Winery in The Hunter Valley (2014). “It was amazing, but I don’t put it down as a career highlight, it was just, like, a personal highlight,” Melia stresses.

“It’s like when you go to Duty Free and you go, ‘Oh, I’ll buy this new perfume,’ and they’re like, ‘Hey, would you like some really expensive hand moisturiser,’ and you’re like, ‘YES! Of course I would!’” Drummond explains. Melia laughs, “I completely agree! Supporting The Rolling Stones was like expensive hand wash.”

“It was insane,” Drummond remembers of the experience. “And everyone on the tour was so nice... I was walking backstage afterwards and the sound guy was like [adopts American accent], ‘Hey, bass player! You don’t walk past me without smokin’ a joint with me,’ and then so, like, I smoked a joint with him and talked to him for ages.

And then the other day Keith Richards put a photo up he’s like, ‘Happy Birthday to my good man blah-blah-blah,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s him!’ [laughs].”

What: Forgetting The Future (Liberation Music) When & Where: 13 Oct, The Spotted Cow; 24 Nov, Soundlounge; 25 Nov, The Triffid

Music

True Colours Reflecting on the genesis of Yazoo, the star-studded spectacle that was Live Aid and how she wants “to reserve the right to be an asshole”, Alison Moyet tells Bryget Chrisfield this could be her last-ever Australasian tour.

D

What the fuck are we going in a helicopter for? Why am I in a helicopter with Bono and David Bowie?

uring Paul McCartney’s performance of Let It Be at Live Aid, the mic mounted to his piano failed for the first two minutes of the song. One way this story has been reported is that David Bowie, Alison Moyet and Pete Townshend, who were watching stageside, rushed out on stage to lend their pipes. “I’ve heard that story before, but, no, no, he was doing Let It Be and he asked five people to go and sing it with him. And I was the only woman, which was really flattering.”

Although Moyet agrees performing at Live Aid was “brilliant”, she confesses that she “wasn’t really aware of what Live Aid was” when initially asked to perform aside from the fact that “it was a charity thing”. “In my head I thought this was gonna be at Wembley Arena, which I’d headlined myself a few times. So I got in a car to go down there, and then there’s a helicopter and I’m thinking, ‘What the fuck are we going in a helicopter for? Why am I in a helicopter with Bono and David Bowie? Why am I flying over Wembley Arena?’ And it’s like I didn’t have any sense of the enormity until that helicopter door opened, you know, at the arena, and I’m coming out and I’ve got Freddie Mercury blowing me kisses - MASSive! With all the fucking major big stars you can remember from the ‘60s and ‘70s that dwarf every star that’s ever been since then, you know, because you’re thinking about those reeeeeally massive bands like Queen and The Who and it was, yeah!

It was phenomenal. And then to have Paul McCartney come to my dressing room and say, ‘Would you come and sing backing vocals for me on the encore?’”

Having dealt with “vocal problems” in the past, Moyet says that taking care of her voice is “about recognising it’s a muscle”. “I can’t stay up all night drinking, you know?” she chuckles. “But the trouble is, I love being social, I love talking, but once I go there’s no stopping me and, yeah! I’ll just talk all night. So I just have to be circumspect, I mean, this very tour in Australasia: this could be the last one I ever do and I wanted to come for such a long time, and I feel I’m on the top of my game, so I need to concentrate on the work.”

We’re curious to hear about the foundations of Yazoo.

Was the duo incredibly ambitious from the get-go or did it all start as a bit of fun and escalate from there? “None of the above,” Moyet enlightens. “It was weird, because Vince [Clarke] had left Depeche [Mode] and, you know, there was a big cloud - this was his boyhood band and

they sort of like fell out of love with one another, and he had a point to prove. So he’d written Only You. He’d offered it to Depeche and, quite understandably, they didn’t wanna do it, ‘cause, you know, ‘Leave the band, you’re not writing our songs,’ which is fair enough. And he knew of me, because we all come from the same hometown and I was the first one out of all of our group to start playing live in bands. He wanted me to come and sing on his demo, so he called me up and I went over there to his flat, sang on his demo thinking, ‘Great! So that means I’ll have a demo for my own purposes,’ you know. And then a week later he called me up and said, ‘The record company has heard it and they think we should record it,’ so, well, great! So we went into the studio to record and after recording and the record company hearing it, they said we should make an album... So all of this stuff happened within a matter of, like, a fortnight. And Vince and I never had any time to really kinda get to hang out and get to know one another...

And so consequently we burnt ourselves out really quickly, because there was no love between us.”

If you don’t already follow Moyet on Twitter, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Does she enjoy Twitter?

“I do like Twitter, yeah,” she enthuses. “I like it for a coupla reasons: I like it because there’s an element of sorta like just talking to someone over the garden fence or at the bus stop, like when you were kids... And also I love the fact that I can be ugly on Twitter.

“I used to find it really difficult that people would put words in your mouth, that you were always subject to somebody else’s whim about how you were gonna be represented, you know? And I want to be known for all of my colours and I wanna be an asshole; I want to reserve the right to be an asshole.” We tell Moyet we love that about her. “I’ve found it really oppressive when someone is aghast that I swear, it’s like, ‘Mate, if you’d have been a fan, you’d have known that this is who I’ve been all my life,’ you know?”

When & Where: 10 Oct, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 17

Music

Mac & Cheese Cyclone has a chat to Australian songstress Meg Mac about the production behind latest release Low Blows, and the cathartic nature of songwriting.

M

elbourne soulstress Meg Mac (aka Megan McInerney) has long been hailed as a ‘next big thing’ in Australia and the US. Now she’s delivering a rootsy debut album, Low Blows.

And, auspiciously, McInerney describes it as “the next chapter of me.”

McInerney is an inherently grassroots singer-songwriter. Raised in an Irish-Australian family, she was exposed to folk and legacy soul - Sam Cooke a childhood favourite. The Sydney-native studied music at the Western Australian Academy Of Performing Arts. On graduating, she coyly uploaded songs composed on piano to triple j’s Unearthed platform - the ensuing praise culminating in her winning 2014’s ‘Unearthed Artist Of The Year’ award. McInerney signed to the independent LittleBIGMAN Records, her eponymous EP revealing a modishly glitchy cover of Bill Withers’ ‘70s classic Grandma’s Hands.

She’d be nominated for two ARIAs. Meanwhile, McInerney generated

If I’m struggling with something, or feeling something strongly, I’ll write about it.

buzz Stateside, where she’s gigged extensively since 2015’s SXSW. Hip hop mogul Lyor Cohen nabbed her for 300 Entertainment.

McInerney’s pop(ular) single Roll Up Your Sleeves was even synced for the hit TV show Girls.

Still, McInerney received the greatest validation when she supported neo-soul icon D’Angelo as he toured North America behind his #BlackLivesMatter-themed Black Messiah. “He’s really nice,” she drawls of their exchanges. McInerney closely observed the Virginian live. “I feel like I just soaked it all up - and I got so inspired... I think the biggest thing was probably his interaction with the audience. You can really feel how powerful his music is and how much it means to the audience. It wasn’t just them watching him as a singer on stage. It was like this magic thing that just happened in the room and everyone was a part of it. Every night was special.”

18 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

McInerney has an aura of bashfulness, being a reticent interviewee. Yet, creatively, she is boss.

McInerney lauds her indie status - she’s free of commercial “pressures”. If Low Blows has taken ages, it’s because she sought the “right” (read: empathetic) collaborators. Though McInerney had previously recorded with M-Phazes, she decided to hire the US crew Niles City Sound - comprised of former White Denim members Josh Block and Austin Jenkins, plus Chris Vivion. She’d admired their production on Leon Bridges’ Coming Home.

Initially, McInerney travelled to Fort Worth, Texas for a day to “test out” the musicians’ vintage studio. “We recorded one of my songs live to tape,” she recalls. “I’d never heard my voice on tape before - and that whole experience of playing live, it’s a live band, it was so much energy. That’s what got me really excited - and that’s why I ended up making my album with them. I think working with them definitely has influenced the sound of the album.”

Ironically, McInerney penned the LP’s title-track (and lead single) back in her Melbourne bedroom as a reminder to be assertive. “I’m a pretty quiet person,” she shares. “Sometimes, when I really need to say something or speak up for myself, I just say nothing - and then later I’m like, ‘Ohhh.’” Indeed, McInerney’s lyrics are largely confessional - and cathartic. “A lot of the songs are really personal to me or from my point of view and about how I feel,” she notes. “I guess each song is kinda a bit different, but [it’s] usually something I’m dealing with.

If I’m struggling with something, or feeling something strongly, I’ll write about it. It helps me to get through it or to understand something or let it out. So most of the songs have some sort of emotion, ‘Meg emotion’, attached to them.”

Oddly, Low Blows manages to evoke both Adele and Courtney Barnett. Contemporary R&B (and soul) is predominantly electronic - and, as such, old school purists have welcomed McInerney’s organicism.

However, she’s reluctant to participate in any cultural debates about music. “I tend to always love vocals and singing and the feeling of a song - and the song,” McInerney states. “If I feel like it’s a cool song, or if there’s an attitude to it, that’s what I react to more than maybe the stylistic stuff.” In fact, she doesn’t necessarily classify herself as ‘soul’. Lately, McInerney has been listening to Father John Misty - and the perennial Bob Dylan (“I really like his songwriting and how he can tell a story”).

Brisbane’s Grace Sewell - aligned with RCA and residing in the US - has struggled to break through without an in-depth Australian success story. In contrast, McInerney is adamantly, and wisely, retaining her local base. As it happens, this festival regular will return to Splendour In The Grass fresh from another international jaunt. “I just live to do shows - and that kinda keeps me sane,” she enthuses. “I write songs so that I can sing them. When I don’t get to sing them, it feels really weird.”

What: Low Blows (EMI) When & Where: 12 Oct, Miami Marketta; 13 Oct, The Tivoli; 7 Dec, Festival Of The Sun, Port Macquarie

In Focus Red Deer Music & A r t s Fes t i va l

Beloved boutique BYO bush bash Red Deer Music & Arts Festival is back for its seventh year on 14 Oct in the picturesque surrounds on the Mount Samson amphitheatre. This year’s theme is Space Oddity and features the likes of The Preatures and The Kite String Tangle headlining alongside much more including Tiarne, Pink Matter, Mayhem For Mary, Fire & Whistle Theory, plus two-woman clown show The Outhouse, The Dark Nile Tribal Bellydance, art installations and of course the sack race! So bring your own booze, furniture and camping digs and settle in.

Red Deer acts Mayhem For Mary, Pink Matter, The Outhouse, Fire & Whistle Theory, Tiarne and The Dark Nile Tribal Bellydance. Pic by Terry Soo

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 19

Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen

Music

Flying High

Editor Mitch Knox Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon Gig Guide Editor gigs@themusic.com.au Contributing Editor Bryget Chrisfield Editorial Assistant Sam Wall, Jessica Dale Senior Contributor Steve Bell Contributors Anthony Carew, Benny Doyle, Brendan Crabb, Caitlin Low, Carley Hall, Carly Packer, Chris Familton, Cyclone, Daniel Cribb, Dylan Stewart, Georgia Corpe, Guy Davis, Jack Doonar, Jake Sun, Liz Giuffre, Neil Griffiths, Nic Addenbrooke, Rip Nicholson, Roshan Clerke, Sean Capel, Sean Hourigan, Tom Peasley Photographers Barry Schipplock, Bec Taylor, Bianca Holderness, Bobby Rein, Cole Bennetts, Freya Lamont, John Stubbs, Kane Hibberd, Markus Ravik, Molly Burley, Stephen Booth, Terry Soo Sales Leigh Treweek, Antony Attridge, Brad Summers, Brad Edwards sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia Admin & Accounts Meg Burnham, Ajaz Durrani, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store@themusic.com.au Contact Us Phone: (07) 3252 9666 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au Street: The Foundry, 228 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Postal: Locked Bag 4300 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

— Brisbane

20 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Cyclone sits down for a chat with hip hop powerhouse Birdz about his childhood influences and current day aspirations.

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he power poet Birdz (aka Nathan Bird) is finally airing his debut on Bad Apples Music - the label Adam Briggs launched for young Indigenous Australian hip hop game changers. And, with its explorations of racial struggle, survival and striving, Train Of Thought could be 2017’s most compelling homegrown album.

Train Of Thought is the culmination of journeys both inner and global. Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, but raised in the Northern Territory township of Katherine, Bird developed perspective on his Aboriginal identity via hip hop. “One of my best friends is from Zimbabwe and he came to Katherine pretty early in my life and introduced me to NWA and Cypress Hill,” Bird recalls. “It was just really like a window to the outside world.

So I gravitated towards music like that [music] that represented something and really spoke to what was happening in [people’s] communities around the world. I just always loved the fact that it’s a really kinda uncensored method of sharing your story.”

He was already rapping as a preteen. Later, the genial - and intellectually curious - Bird spent two years in Canada on a student exchange, interacting with “the different native mob” (and its MCs). He also visited hip hop’s “birthplace” of New York.

“That was really exciting - and just really inspiring as well.”

Bird eventually settled in Melbourne. The MC dropped an EP, Birdz Eye View, on his

cousin Fred Leone’s Impossible Odds Records in 2013.

Meanwhile, he met Briggs through producer James Mangohig. Today, Bird refers to the AB Original rapper as his “brother”.

For Train Of Thought, Bird composed songs in a modest home studio - his lyrics shaped by instinct, contemplation and musical expression.

“The primary goal that I was striving for was to really just share my story,” he reveals. “I always try to make my music as honest as possible. If you do that, and if you share your own story, then it’s not gonna sound too much like anything else.” Indeed, Train Of Thought centres on family, and selfdiscovery, Bird having a deep heritage as a Murri and Butchulla man.

The album’s most resonant anthem may yet be the Joelistics-produced Black Lives Matter - Bird’s reminder that, while police brutality is a huge issue Stateside, Australia likewise has appalling racialised injustice.

“We gotta look at our own backyard and take ownership of that.” Bird feels strongly about Testify - a raw expose of missionaries’ darkest exploits - which features Leone.

(Other album guests include friends such as Darwin vocalist Serina Pech, Jimblah and Caiti Baker.)

Bird is intent on realising hip hop’s DIY manifesto - and encouraging others. “If there was an overall theme in my music, and a meaning in it, I guess it would be the drive for self-determination and empowerment - empowerment of myself, my family and community,” he says. “I’m really in a zone. I feel like I’m really starting with the album to hit a pocket creatively. I’m excited to just keep making more music and to shine light and bring as much awareness as I can.”

What: Train Of Thought (Bad Apples Music) When & Where: 28 Oct, Sprung Festival, Parkwood Precinct

Music

Turning Zinc Into Gold Caiti Baker is just over a week away from releasing her debut solo album, Zinc. It’s been a challenging and triumphant few years for Baker, she shares what it’s taken to create her album with Jessica Dale.

F

or the past few years, Caiti Baker has become an ‘It Girl’ for Aussie collaborations.

Most prominently she’s worked with AB Original on tracks like Dead In A Minute and Sorry, and recently she provided backing vocals on Pete Murray’s Camacho album, as well as touring in support of Dan Sultan, Guy Sebastian, Son Little and Booker T Jones. Now, it’s Baker’s turn to have the spotlight upon her, with the release of her debut album, Zinc, slated for October.

“Zinc is a collection of songs that have been maybe three years in the making, solidified and, I guess, based on the foundation of the USB key that my father bestowed upon myself and James after we had a four-year falling out and it was filled with a bunch of guitar licks and harmonica lines... that James Mangohig, my producer, sampled and I think I probably wrote my best stuff to those demos,” explains Baker.

“I’m anxious. I’m nervous about it too, of course.

It’s just because I’ve had these songs for up to three years. They’ve been in my head and they’ve been in my producer’s head. A few people have heard them but actually a full realisation of what we’ve been working on is like ‘the day is here’ in two weeks. And people are going hear it and I’m anxious to know what people think and also, I don’t care and it’s a rollercoaster of emotions,” she laughs. “I just hope people understand it and that’s something that I have to be prepared for if they don’t and music is a subjective thing. I’m just going to be grateful for anyone to pick it up and enjoy it, or not.”

Listening to Zinc, it’s seemingly impossible to nail it to a genre. Baker has been most influenced by blues and hip hop, growing up listening to everyone from Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Etta James to discovering Missy Elliot, Destiny’s Child and Janet Jackson, though you couldn’t pinpoint exactly where those influences enter her sound.

I just wasn’t present, I wasn’t aware. I was inflamed and manic when I was awake.

“In terms of the style and sound that I have, I think it’s something that’s going to evolve because I’ve been raised on so many genres and I’m going to pull from that for my entire career, so what I do next might not necessarily sound anything like what I’m just about to release with Zinc. I have to evolve and I have to change because you do as a human and I just like dope shit. If it’s gonna sound good, it’s gonna sound good. I don’t really care where it comes from,” she laughs.

Before Baker’s foray into her solo career, herself and ongoing collaborator Mangohig were picking up success with their group Sietta.

“I think I’m a completely, and I know this sounds so cliche and a bit cheeseball... I’m a different person.

James and I were laughing about it the other day, in a way, I’m a bit born again,” she shares, laughing.

“From my experience, I had chronic fatigue syndrome and bipolar tendencies and I was jacked up on so much medication and for the entire career of Sietta, like if I wasn’t asleep in the studio between takes... I just wasn’t present, I wasn’t aware. I was inflamed and manic when I was awake. I’m so proud of myself for achieving what I was able to achieve in writing those albums and performing. We only cancelled one gig because of my health, which I’m super proud of considering how much touring we did.”

“I wasn’t necessarily myself, so I feel like this album is... I can look at myself in the mirror and identify 100% that that is me and I know who I am and I’m self-assured and I’m proud of what I do, whereas I don’t know if I would have been able to have the mental strength to do that through the time that I had Sietta, and I’m so proud of it and I love the music that I made with that but it’s just a different plain now.”

What: Zinc (Perambulator Records) When & Where: 19 Oct, Mullumbimby Ex-Service Club; 20 Oct, Miami Marketta; 21 Oct, The Milk Factory; 28 Oct, Sprung Festival, Parkwood Precinct THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 21

Film

Blade Runner 2049

The Second Cut Is The Deepest

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Dutch actor Sylvia Hoeks has landed her big blockbuster break in the hotly anticipated Blade Runner 2049, and she’s keeping any spoilers to herself. Guy Davis gets a glimpse of Ridley Scott’s dystopian epic.

lade Runner was not always beloved. When Ridley Scott’s science fiction film was first released back in 1982, it was seen as something of an odd bird by many. It had its early adopters, of course, but the majority of critics regarded it as a visually stunning piece of work with a vague or muddled plot and an emotional core that rang kind of hollow.

Three and a half decades on, the consensus has changed somewhat, and Blade Runner is now viewed as having substance to match its style, with its story of a disillusioned police officer — Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford — pursuing four renegade ‘replicants’ (humanoid robots created as slave labour) through the dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, asking and addressing heavy questions about the nature of humanity, the subjectivity of consciousness and the definition of life.

In fact, it’s a film that has developed a thoroughly realised fan culture. A number of different edits, and varying interpretations of the story and its characters by the film’s creators and its consumers, have given rise to ongoing discussions about Blade Runner, which has helped keep it in the collective pop-culture consciousness as a cult classic. Blade Runner is now viewed as a fairly singular piece of work, and any attempt to sequelise it was long viewed as, well, let’s say ill-advised.

Indeed, even when production was announced on a follow-up film that would bring together the key talent from the original film (Scott as executive producer, Ford reprising his role as Deckard), plus some well-regarded new players (Denis Villeneuve of Arrival fame as 22 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

director, Ryan Gosling as lead actor), the response was somewhere near the intersection of sceptical and wary.

On the eve of the release of Blade Runner 2049, though, it seems many fears are beginning to be allayed. Early response to the film from critics who’ve seen it and given capsule reviews on social media has been overwhelmingly positive, with many praising its visual aesthetic (“Blade Runner 2049 plays like the One Perfect Shot twitter came to life for two hours and 43 minutes” wrote Kyle Buchanan from the website Vulture) and its content (“I’m so completely staggered by Blade Runner 2049 that it’s just taken me seven separate attempts to put my coat on afterwards” was Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin’s take).

Now I’m writing this a few days before Blade Runner 2049 hits cinemas worldwide. And I spoke with co-star Sylvia Hoeks a few days before that, so secrecy is still very much a key part of this conversation. While Dutch talent Hoeks, a relative newcomer to blockbuster cinema, was clearly excited about both the making of the movie and the end result, she did stress more than once that there was only so much she could reveal about the film and her role as Luv, offsider to replicant creator Neander Wallace, played by Oscar-winner Jared Leto.

“It’s all a big secret but I’ll tell you a couple of things,” laughed Hoeks, speaking from Berlin, where much of Blade Runner 2049 was filmed. “Luv is Neander Wallace’s right hand in the film. He is everything to Luv — they have a very complex, very intense relationship together. She’ll do anything in the world for him. It feels

Blade Runner 2049

Sylvia Hoeks

It led to thinking about what it means to be human, why we always want more. to me like a father-daughter relationship in a sense. She is in awe of him, is longing for his approval and will do anything to make sure he is happy. And another aspect of Luv is that she is in search of her identity, like so many other characters in this film — it’s a big theme in this film, as it was in the original.

“As for the film... I’ve seen it and what it did for me was raise even more questions. It doesn’t relieve you. You’ll find yourself thinking about it for days afterwards. For me, it led to thinking about what it means to be human, why we always want more. All these questions have stayed with me. The best cinema asks you to reflect on your own life, and that is what this film does.”

A fan of the original Blade Runner, Hoeks admits she felt like “a kid in a candy shop” on the massive physical sets of the sequel. And she adds that the enthusiasm was shared by everyone involved in the production, from director Villeneuve down. It was, however, an enthusiasm tempered by a shared sense of responsibility.

“I think everybody felt that weight on their shoulders,” she says.

“The original has such a cult following all over the world — it means so much to so many people. Denis has said in interviews that he wanted to create a romantic love letter to the original with his film. I think everybody on this team was such a fan of the first movie that we didn’t want to touch that in any way, and so 2049 is a stand-alone sequel, a story on its own, not a remake or anything like that. We took the world of the first film and built upon it.”

What: Blade Runner 2049 When & Where: In cinemas nationally 5 Oct THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 23

Frontlash

Music

Bugs Going Around Have you heard Neighbourhood, the damn good new tune from local legends Bugs?

Get around it immediately.

Punk & Brewsters Everyone’s favourite heavy hangout, Crowbar, is hosting the Aus premiere of Don’t Break Down, the documentary about seminal punk/emo heroes Jawbreaker, on 2 November. Don’t miss out.

Deep Within The Belly Of The Beast

He Came, He Mackled, He Conquered

Lashes

Macklemore performed Same Love and the world didn’t hurtle into the sun. And the ‘yes’ vote is looking good. C’mon, Australia. Let’s get this done for our LGBTQI+ community. Enough is enough.

Bugs

Backlash A Right Mess

Speaking of Macklemore: interesting that, after moaning about the rapper’s performance as “politicising sport”, the ‘no’ camp took out ad time during the game to further their agenda.

Mob Mentality

Quick reminder that it’s incidents like the one at Deni Ute Muster that result in greater restrictions for everyone. Don’t be those people.

Too Much, Too Often Another mass shooting in the United States, and the overwhelming sadness of it all once again takes hold. The frequency of these incidents doesn’t diminish the horror of each, but thoughts and prayers, however sincere, won’t stop this. It’s past time for action.

24 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

“super-keen to get something out there.”

For Belly Of The Beast, he applied lessons acquired from With The People — recording on the down-low to ensure himself maximum creative space. “Taking my time was a massive thing I learnt to start with, but also just being okay with saying whatever I felt like I needed to say. I didn’t put a filter on myself in whatever way.”

Though focussed on lyric-writing, Ansah has developed a full modern funk sound with live instrumentation — his key studio collaborator jazzman Patrick “PattyBoomba” Gabriel.

Belly Of The Beast is a bold rumination on selfhood. Even apparently carefree songs carry deeper meanings — the lead single These Kicks (featuring Georgia B) tackling materialism. Most powerful is Barred, which, sampling a Facebook video by woke Melbourne studio engineer Tony Mantz, deals with racial injustice. Ironically, Ansah was hesitant to include the song on the album, worrying that listeners might skip it.

Ansah wrote Barred both in response to calls to change the Australia Day date and a discussion with Briggs about the relevance of #BlackLivesMatter to Indigenous Australians.

Around the same time, Ansah visited Ghana and saw its inequalities through adult eyes.

He personalises that global struggle in the emotive Never Again. “I guess Barred was more the anger side of it, whereas Never Again was more the reflective [side] — asking myself the question of why am I so upset about it all?”

Channelling Rage Against The Machine, Ansah’s current show, centred on Belly Of The Beast, is “uptempo”, “energetic” and thumpin’.

Indeed, he tours with a drummer rather than a DJ. Says Ansah, “It’s slowly been getting a bit heavier and heavier and kind of more in the mood of the record.”

Kojo Ansah aka Citizen Kay chose to let his latest album go out unfiltered. He talks to Cyclone about why that was an important step.

C

anberra’s rising rap star Citizen Kay (aka Kojo Ansah) doesn’t light candles and mellow out in preparation for gigs.

Instead, he cranks up one of his favourite acts: rap-metallers Rage Against The Machine. “Before every gig I listen to Rage!,” Ansah laughs.

Ansah, nicknamed ‘CK’ by his publicist, recently dropped Belly Of The Beast — his first album on Illy’s ONETWO label. Today he’s on the road as the Melbourne hip hop mogul’s support — next stop Geelong. But he’s also headlining his own dates.

Ansah arrived in Australia from West Africa’s Ghana at six years old, his parents settling in the ACT — where he still contentedly resides. “I don’t know why everyone leaves Canberra ‘cause it’s supersick!” he extols. In his downtime, the MC, producer and multi-instrumentalist works “behind the scenes”, recording and mixing local music-makers.

Ansah has a music role model in the family — Sydney’s Miracle is his “big cuz” (and a fellow Kanye West fan). “I feel like I’m following in his footsteps without meaning to as well — ‘cause he was rapping, got signed, then I was like, ‘Hey, I wanna rap.’” In 2014 Ansah independently released the Demokracy EP — home to the single Yes! — and received his inaugural ARIA nom. His full-length debut, With The People, showed the next year. Yet Ansah felt that he “rushed” the album — being

What: Belly Of The Beast (ONETWO) When & Where: 19 Oct, The Foundry

Music

Heat Seeka

Ben Gumbleton tells Rip Nicholson that Boo Seeka’s new album is “like a photo album” that takes the pair back to where various samples were recorded.

I

ndie-electronica duo Boo Seeka, comprised of Newcastle’s Ben Gumbleton and Sydney DJ Sam Croft, came into 2017 running. On the back of three massive singles since 2015 - Kingdom Leader, Deception Bay and Fool - they’ve been touring non-stop since February, around the world in 40 shows. All from the jump of an encounter between two blokes at a pub - hardly grounds for their apparent success.

“I’d never known Sam until four days prior to going into the studio to write Kingdom Leader,” tells Gumbleton. “We wrote that and Deception Bay on the same day after just throwing around ideas in the studio. Then a week later Kim Churchill heard Kingdom Leader and offered us a spot on his tour.” But with only two songs for a proposed half-hour set, five days later Croft and Gumbleton found themselves “in a car writing music to perform that night.”

Deception Bay landed smack in the middle of triple j’s Hottest 100 (2016), Boo Seeka headed out on a national tour, and played packed tents at both Splendour In The Grass and Groovin’ The Moo. When asked whether he had any clue that Boo Seeka would experience such a rapid rise, Gumbleton admits, “Hell, fucking no! I

know it’s probably the most cliched thing to say, but there’s no way in a million years I’d have thought we’d be where we are by any means.”

Due to a heaving tour schedule, their new album Never Too Soon was devised in any downtime they could find. “We don’t find any boundaries to [writing] music,” Gumbleton explains.

“I mean, there’s no right or wrong - to record a loop on a mobile phone in a carpark then fuck with it on the computer.

“There’s parts of samples in there that we can hear a car horn in the background.

It was just by sheer miracle that it just happened to be in the same damn key! It’s had a major influence on how this record has unfolded and definitely the environment has played a huge part in the textures of this whole album. It’s got a really unique sound and I’m really proud of that”.

Given the rich atmospherics and sonic exploration on the album, each track finds its own emotive surface for a story. It’s no wonder The Maitland Mercury once referred to this duo’s art as a “dream-tronica, soul and folk hybrid”. However, for Gumbleton and Croft, the album is chock-full of Kodak moments. “In a way, this whole album for me and Sam is like a photo album because we listen to it from front to back and we’re like, ‘Remember when we did that sample on a plane heading to Nashville?’ and, ‘Remember when we did that in a car park in Portland?’

It’s been a massive travel diary for us.”

What: Never Too Soon (Sureshaker/ADA) When & Where: 12 Oct, The Triffid; 14 Oct, Solbar, Maroochydore; 15 Oct, Miami Marketta

Goodbye Red Eye

In case the world is in any doubt that Elon Musk – the billionaire entrepreneur behind Teslar and SpaceX – is the best damn human in the whole bloody world, he’s only gone and made long haul flights a soon-to-be thing of the past.

In preparing for his company’s pioneering expedition to Mars, the boffins at SpaceX have created what they’ve dubbed the BFR (which stands for Big Fucking Rocket – we shit you not), which will eventually ferry colonists from Earth to the red planet and the Moon. But in addition to these interplanetary jaunts, Musk has said that the very same system could also revolutionise air travel, shrinking the travel time between any location in the world to under an hour. Yes, you read that correctly: under one-bloody-hour, anywhere in the world. So, in the future you could grab lunch in London and still be back home Down Under in time for tea.

This potential game changer for world travel is particularly important for Australia, as one of the most remote and isolated countries in the world. What’s more, it will give passengers a chance to experience weightlessness in the micro-gravity environment of low Earth orbit, and because SpaceX’s rockets have been designed to land on waterbased floating platforms, introducing the service wouldn’t require any additional infrastructure to be built first. There’s no clear timeline on when the service might begin (or how pricey it may be), but given that the first Mars-bound flight of the BFR (unmanned) is set for 2019, we might not need to wait too long to find out.

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 25

Culture Culture

Smoking

Make October

STOPTOBER It is a truth universally acknowledged that the only things worth doing are those that can somehow be made to rhyme with a month of the year.

So, this October, it’s time kick those bad habits and turn over a new leaf. To get you started on the road to the new you, here are some top tips on how to stop.

We’ll fess up: “Stoptober” isn’t a brilliant pun we came up with. It’s actually the informal name for the stop smoking month spearheaded by the UK’s NHS. But as anyone who’s tried to drop the durries in the past can tell you, giving up the cancer sticks is a tricky business.

Top Tips Set a date to quit and stick to it When the day arrives, bin all smoking paraphernalia, as lingering gateways to your addiction can make it all too easy to relapse.

Put all the money you’re saving in a change jar Don’t just let the money you’re saving sit in your bank account.

Physically withdraw the funds and keep them in plain sight, as a reminder of the reasons to quit.

Steer clear of caffeine until you’re cigarette-free for two months Nicotine is a stimulant, just like caffeine, and the kick from a humble flat white can make your cravings for a smoke harder to handle.

If you fall off the wagon, get right back on A lapse is bound to happen, but don’t let this derail you. If you do end up having a cheeky smoke for whatever reason, return to your quit program undeterred.

Eating

Drinking

Busy lives, comfort eating and absent-minded snacking can be bad news for your body, and what’s bad for the body is also bad for the mind. Making healthy choices about what you eat can also have a hugely positive effect on your psychological and emotional health.

Australia has a thriving drinking culture — a few tinnies or a glass (read: bottle) of vino are the cornerstone of most Aussie get-togethers.

But drinking in moderation can easily turn into smashing a skinful, which can quickly become a problem behaviour.

Top Tips

Top Tips

Give up sugar This doesn’t, however, mean you need to give up things that are sweet.

Refined sugar is bad for the body, but low GI alternatives like Stevia or Agave nectar make for healthy alternatives.

Keep the drink out of sight If your fridge or wine rack is regularly stocked with grog, it’s important to make sure you clear your home of these temptations.

Know your goals Set a clear objective — losing weight, decreasing saturated fat intake, improving digestive health — and track your progress. The more you achieve, the more motivated you’ll feel.

Find foods you enjoy Dieting is synonymous with misery, but it needn’t be. Eating healthy can also be delicious, so finding those healthy foods that are a pleasure to eat will keep you on track.

Cheat eats are an ok treat Occasionally indulging is a vitally important part of any healthy eating regime. Being able to look forward to a cheat meal will help you stick to your eating goals in the long term.

26 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Reinforce healthy habits and routines Giving up alcohol will improve how you feel immediately, and you can bolster this sense of well-being by getting your diet, exercise and sleep habits in check too.

Don’t bow to peer pressure Drinking culture is so entrenched in Australia it can be hard to socialise without. But let your close mates know about your decision to stop so they can support instead of discouraging you.

Don’t aim for total abstinence Going cold turkey is an admirable ambition, but is almost inevitably going to be impossible to maintain. Occasional drinks are totally fine; it’s regular, habitual drinking you’re kicking.

Indie Indie

Pink Matter

If you could only listen to one album forevermore, what would it be and why? Anything by Hiatus Kaiyote, Choose Your Weapon is probably one we could never get bored with.

Have You Heard Answered by: Libby Scott When did you start making music and why?

We kind of didn’t know each other at uni and Kerry (vocals) brought us together for a rehearsal, and we like hanging out so why not create something and have fun at the same time?

Sum up your musical sound in five words?

Smooth, but it’ll surprise ya.

Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Well I’m yet to stage dive, but we played at The Powerhouse and won the QUBE Effect People’s Choice Award and then on the same night supported Sex On Toast so that kind of felt rockstar-ish.

Why should people come and see your band? Four girls, one stage... what more could you want?

When and where are your next gigs? 27 Oct, Bloodhound Corner Bar. We’re also playing Red Deer then supporting Sydney’s soul WALLACE, plus a very special BlockColour Party.

Website link for more info? pinkmatterband.com

Lamalo Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? It’s not really a rock’n’roll venue but we had the pleasure of having a residency at the MCA for a bit. Playing on the rooftop overlooking Sydney Harbour was quite magical.

Have You Heard: Answered by: Michiya Nagai When did you start making music and why?

Around the age of 17 for a high school music assignment.

Sum up your musical sound in four words?: Energetic textural electronic fusion.

If you could only listen to one album forevermore, what would it be and why?

Daft Punk - Alive 2007.

SEX & THE CITY G E T S E X E D,

Why should people come and see your band? We’re electronic but we still know how to handle our instruments.

When and where are your next gigs? 14 Oct, Red Deer Music & Arts Festival; 18 Nov, Oxford Art Factory.

AND IT’S SHITTY We’ll be honest: we weren’t really chomping at the bit to see the next instalment of the Sex And The City movie franchise; the first one was meh, and the second was the movie equivalent of a burning bag of dog shit. But, whatever remaining fans there are of Sex And The City got some bad news this weekend, when it was announced that the third movie was dead in the water after Kim Cattrall, who portrays terminally horny 50-something Samantha, allegedly made “demands” that studio Warner Bros were unwilling to meet.

The story broke on the websites of British red top tabloids the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail, who claimed a source close to Cattrall had confirmed the rumours that the film’s production had been torpedoed by the actress’ diva behaviour. Cattrall countered on Twitter, saying she had woken to a shit–storm of negative comments and that she had never agreed to be in the new movie, a position she’d allegedly made clear back in 2016. She followed this with some super shade by retweeting several comments saying the second SITC movie was “terrible” simply adding the epic burn, “Preach”.

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 27

Opinion

I As the political mainstream has become increasingly polarised, driven by divisive issues like the Same-Sex Marriage debate, many people have found themselves lost in the moral hinterland. Maxim Boon explores the new landscape of “post-hypocrisy” politics.

28 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

n 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year was “post-truth.” It was a term that had entered common parlance during the then Candidate Trump’s election campaign, as he scrambled and squirmed his way through the inconvenience of objective fact to craft a make-believe blue-collar wonderland of misinformation, warped data, and on an audacious number of occasions, out and out lies. It may have only been a year since post-truth was crowned the most important new addition to the English language, but even in that short amount of time, its meaning has undergone a radical evolution. Whereas once it was an unequivocally negative term used to challenge the disturbing prevalence in the political arena of fantasy dressed up as fact, it has now been appropriated - often invoked by its more colloquial version, “Fake News” - by the very peddlers of falsehoods it was supposed to discourage. A word that was once intended to keep our leaders and their mouthpieces honest has become the perfect smoke-screen for whatever sleazy political pandering offers the most profitable outcome.

And this isn’t the only recent instance of words and their meanings being mangled for political purposes. Indeed, it’s become one of the preferred weapons of choice adopted by right-wing politics as it has reasserted itself in the mainstream consciousness.

The notion of “free speech” is perhaps the most dangerously distorted ideal to undergo this right-wing makeover. Enshrined in the democratic bedrock of our Western societies, etched at the top of our constitutions, it is the purest expression of democratic liberty, one that is supposed to protect minorities from being silenced by the status quo. In the past, such idealism was dismissed by the righ right as political correctness gone mad. Message essage boards like 4chan, or Twitter trolls s like Milo Yiannopolous, would actively vely provoke “snowflake” lefties by defying ng the tolerance encouraged by free speech. h. Via the most offensive language and imagery possible, transgressive slurs, dripping ripping in the eyewatering misogyny of white, male privilege, were used by the new far-right movement to goad its opposition, sition, pushing its politics to the greatest extremity remity possible while brazenly

Opinion O Op inion

displaying a complete and impenetrable immunity to common human empathy.

But this old battle cry is now singing to a different tune. As far-right mentalities, including that of extreme fascists, have been coaxed out of the shadows by political figures who have all but encouraged such thinking, the left has been accused of waging war on free speech for protesting ideologies built on discrimination. We are witnessing the advent of a new weapon in the rightwing arsenal, and it’s one that has proven surprisingly powerful: mimicking the left.

The easily defined yin and yang of the political left and right has become far less discernible as the principles of political correctness have been leeched by rightwing thinking. This has been an especially effective tactic in the SSM debate, as anxious mothers appearing in No campaign ads have pleaded with Australia to ‘think of the children’, while anti-equality pundits proclaim in long, loud tones that they are being silenced, their democratic rights trampled, by those who dare to criticise them. Free speech has become freedom of persecution.

Bigots brand their challengers as bigotted.

If 2016 was indeed the year of post-truth, 2017 has surely seen the birth of post-hypocrisy.

In its own insidious way, this new approach by the right is a stroke of political genius; political correctness has become, in itself, politically incorrect. But how can such an obvious oxymoron pass muster? Like

The moral compass hasn’t just s t bbeen een broken; it ’s been smashed to pieces, thrown in a crucible of right-wing rhetoric and smelted into a swastika.

some cheap Cruise Ship magic show, a flashy production of right-wing indignation hopes to wow its audience with feigned compassion, while just behind the razzle-dazzle sits the same steaming pile of prejudice. Winding up a deafening Wurlitzer of pearl-clutching outrage, these flourishes of melodrama are akin to the uncanny valley of sincerity; intolerance aping (although not totally succeeding) at genuine, apparently compassionate concern. It’s a dangerous illusion.

But hatred isn’t innate - no one is born discriminating against people of different genders, races or sexualities.

But it could be argued that the human condition is hardwired with a sense of right and wrong. Klansmen don’t wear hoods as a fashion statement - anonymity is the only protection for expressing views that many thinking, feeling people would find repulsive, and that they too, for all their rage, understand on some level to be morally wrong. But as the right has explored the strange new territory of political correctness, it has become increasingly talented at reflecting values intended to protect minorities in a funhouse mirror, distorting them into an ugly parody.

The moral compass hasn’t just been broken; it’s been smashed to pieces, thrown in a crucible of right-wing rhetoric and smelted into a swastika. The greatest question this raises, is how can beliefs that actively encourage discrimination be challenged when we can no longer brand them as morally wrong? How can we expose the subterfuge of campaigns that muddy simple issues, like whether two consenting adults should be allowed to marry regardless of gender, with phony concerns about family and political freedoms?

One inevitable outcome of The Coalition For Marriage Equality’s anti SSM TV ad featured “concerned” mothers, including pastor Heidi McIvor and Dr Pansy Lai this conundrum is a greater

polarisation and escalation of political activism. As neo-Nazi’s have taken to the streets, Antifa protestors have clashed with them, and these altercations have been used to smear the left as militant. As anti-equality sentiments have been called out by pro-SSM supporters online, these exchanges have proven to be a goldmine for the No campaign, who have placed this heated discourse at the centre of their latest television ad.

The stark truth is that within the tit for tat world of political point scoring, compassion and sincerity are no longer viable vehicles for the left. Our political process is now more vulnerable to emotional manipulation than perhaps it ever has been. But one last line of defence remains, one that has proven to be an insurmountable stronghold for inclusivity, equality, and dignity: intelligent debate. The advent of the post-truth age has, albeit not comprehensively, encouraged a great level of scrutiny of what our politicians say. But it is up to the electorate to make accountability and credibility a more important political yardstick than hysterical political theatre. if we can no longer campaign with our hearts, we’ll have to return to being smart.

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 29

Album / E Album/EP Reviews

Album OF THE Week Alex Lahey I Love You Like A Brother Nicky Boy Records/Caroline

★★★★½

It’s been a whirlwind 18 months for Alex Lahey following 2016’s fivesong stunner B-Grade University and opening the main stage at last year’s Splendour In The Grass.

Now with the release of her debut album, I Love You Like A Brother, Lahey continues the upward trajectory of her burgeoning career while also painting the picture of a hard-working and prolific musician. Equipped with her trademark earnest lyrics and guitardriven sound, the Melburnian’s first full-length delivers on the early promise of her career.

The restless first single Every Day’s The Weekend leads the album, with Lahey’s formidable songwriting chops explored further on the experimental Backpack and the big production of Awkward Exchange. I Love You Like A Brother is an exercise in balance; with the sweet I Want U and its catchy chorus and slick guitar work offset by the anti-love song Perth Traumatic Stress Disorder. Similarly, the darker sounds of Lotto In Reverse are countered with the upbeat cry for help in I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself.

With storytelling and songwriting skills that transform the everyday problems of life into something bigger and often more beautiful than they actually are, Lahey is no longer an emerging artist to watch, but one who deserves all the plaudits and spotlight she’s earned.

Lewis Isaacs

Liam Gallagher

Marilyn Manson

As You Were

Heaven Upside Down

Parlophone/Warner

Loma Vista/Caroline

★★★½

★★★½

In case you haven’t noticed the ‘90s are back in a big, trendy, way.

The X-Files was reborn on the small screen last year, preceding a Twin Peaks sequel for 2017. Dad hats have replaced those emblazoned with US sporting team logos and your cousin’s old Planet Hollywood T-shirt is cool again. And now, Liam Gallagher, the Mancunian Britpop star is back; albeit without any retro-laced irony.

Instead, As You Were, Gallagher’s solo debut 20 years after he burst onto the scene with Oasis, retains the heavy Beatles influences his former band were renowned for. He’s even ignored any semblance of subtlety as he overtly references Helter Skelter during the uptempo You Better Run, and reminds the world happiness is a warm gun in Chinatown.

It’s hard to believe that this is Mazza’s tenth album, and that his debut came out almost a quarter of a century ago.

Heaven Upside Down finds him in a belligerent mood. The current political climate in the US is no doubt fuelling the fire of his angst and his creativity.

He has previously made it blatantly clear that he is no fan of America’s current leader and his ideologies.

The album is a journey across weird, wild and wonderful industrial rock soundscapes; soundscapes that are sometimes grinding and dirty, sometimes eerie and unnerving, and always compelling. There is a fascinating juxtaposition of, and contrast between, the inhuman electronic grooves and percussion and the jarring rawness of the guitars and Manson’s insane vocal gyrations,

30 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Beatlemania aside, For What It’s Worth is a piano-driven song good enough to have appeared on any Oasis album, while Wall Of Glass and the acoustic-heavy Paper Crown are a credit to his overshadowed and underrated ballad writing.

In all, As You Were is not a departure from Gallagher’s oeuvre and screams solipsism at times. Yet still marks his high point since Oasis’ 2009 implosion and is strong enough to suit the current ‘90s revival just fine.

Lewis Isaacs

arguably best summed up by the lyrics of Je$u$ Cri$i$, “I write songs to fight and to fuck to.” It is also another confronting journey into the man’s warped mind and disturbed psyche.

Best track award goes to the eight-minute mid-album epic Saturnalia, with its funky bass line and its strong tendency to bring the aforementioned traits of eeriness, dirt and rawness into their sharpest focus.

Heaven Upside Down is a very worthy addition to the illustrious Manson catalogue, and should please his legions of fans no end.

Rod Whitfield

EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews

Caiti Baker

Custard

Kelela

TOKiMONSTA

Zinc

The Common Touch

Take Me Apart

Lune Rouge

Perambulator Records/MGM

ABC/Universal

Warp/Inertia

Young Art Records

★★★★

★★★

★★★½

★★★★

Caiti Baker flips between catchy pop, dance and slower blues with this accomplished debut.

Highlights include her smooth voice mixed with just the right amount of hook on Could It Be Nerves, while unexpected elements like country-styled harmonica ring in Over The Horizon. Praise be for a diversity of style and influence (it seems exploring sounds all in one place is rare these days). A clear Motown-era girl group groove starts off Rough Old Town, with a little Amy Winehouse grunt to boot. Midway through the tone changes, a semi-operatic break takes the bridge before coming back to familiar territory — it’s completely unexpected and lots of fun.

The ‘90s are the new black, which means it’s time for Custard to write the hit album that You Am I are still trying to nail.

Indeed, the title track on the new record packs all that was good about Hourly Daily in about two minutes of music. Similarly, the melancholy of Halley’s Comet and Princes HWY both could have been off an early Sleepy Jackson EP — lap steel, strings and all. There is a definite feeling of nostalgia throughout and although the choice of label screams “adult contemporary!” it’s still a Custard album, and that means quality indie-pop.

Unfortunately it’s all over just a little bit too soon.

Positioning herself sweetly in the spotlight with some attentionworthy guest spots for the likes of Solange and Gorillaz, Kelela’s debut seems maybe more likely to crossover to the electronic music crowd than the pop masses.

A reportedly personal record, her delivery is one of unhurried confidence, even on the articulate vulnerability of Better. But it’s the depth of feeling Kelela conjures — with occasional help from Jam City — that makes her vision of R&B futureproof, particularly on the irresistibly dark single LMK and the melancholic title track that echoes like a distant storm.

Prior to recording Lune Rouge, TOKiMONSTA underwent significant brain surgery and temporarily lost the ability to form language or make music.

It’s beyond surprising, then, that Lune Rouge represents one of her strongest and most accessible releases to date.

Toning down the mania and abstraction of the producer’s previous releases while retaining enough detail and experimental flourishes to avoid any hint of sounding generic, Lune Rouge is replete with warm, aching melodies and instrumentation but underpinned by churning currents of jagged programming. Ideally, it will bring TOKiMONSTA’s already respected work and profile to even larger audiences.

Christopher H James

Adam Wilding

Liz Giuffre

MJ O’Neill

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THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 31

Live Re Live Reviews

At The Drive In Eatons Hill Hotel 2 Oct

1

3

2

4

5

32 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

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Thanks to a combination of bad weather, bad parking and plain bad luck, Le Butcherettes are well and truly in the end stages of their opening set by the time we arrive inside the cavernous live venue.

There’s genuine sorrow on this writer’s part at that turn of events, as what we do see of the powerful garage-punk four-piece is a wild and wonderful scene to behold, and seems like the perfect primer for what lies ahead.

Still, we can’t dwell too long on what could’ve been, as pretty soon after they depart the stage, a blast of Psycho-esque strings takes over the PA and El Paso post-hardcore legends At The Drive In emerge. The familiar sound of maracas, wielded by frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and thunderous toms bring forth an ecstatic cheer from the crowd before the snarling guitar line of Arcarsenal sends the packed room into an early frenzy as hundreds of twenty and thirtysomethings are flung back instantaneously to their younger years.

The audience’s energy is more than matched by the antics on-stage; though 17 years removed from the band’s seminal album Relationship Of Command, Bixler-Zavala moves with a frenetic ferocity that has earned him a reputation as one of the most electrifying performers this side of the millennium; he leaps off amps, the drum riser and even the stage into waiting arms, flails with reckless abandon, and lifts and slams and kicks his mic stand with unwavering ardour as his comrades rock out — and just plain rock — in kind.

Of course, it can’t all be nostalgia — this tour is in honour of the band’s newest full-length, in•ter a•li•a, so naturally it’s not long before some new material is thrown into the mix, kicking off with the unleashed fury of No Wolf Like The Present — but we are, somewhat surprisingly,

treated to a great majority of tunes from At The Drive In’s storied past throughout their 90minute set.

It’s a bit of a ricochet effect, in a way — at the drop of a drum fill, the band launch into crowd favourite Pattern Against User, generating one of the bigger early

This is a night that will stay with those who witnessed it for a long, long time to come. singalongs of the night, before fast-forwarding to newer cut Continuum, then slowing things down with the comparative restraint of Non-Zero Possibility, which gives recent recruit and guitarist Keeley Davis ample room to flex his vocal prowess.

Other highlights ensue in the dual face-kicks of Sleepwalk Capsules and Cosmonaut, while Call Broken Arrow keeps the energy levels high before the heavy hit — in more ways than one — of the evocative immensity of Invalid Litter Dept.

At The Drive In close their main set with the attitudinal aggression of Governed By Contagions, leaving the crowd anxiously calling for their return before they generously grant our wish and re-enter. BixlerZavala, sweetly, takes the time to thank the band’s crew for their contributions to making their show happen night in, night out, dedicating their final song — the massively received, monumental One Armed Scissor — to them, and us. The house lights come up, the roadies hit the stage, and, seemingly too suddenly, the show is over, but this is a night that will stay with those who witnessed it for a long, long time to come.

Mitch Knox

eviews Live Reviews

London Grammar, James Vincent McMorrow, The Kite String Tangle, Mansionair, Wafia Riverstage 23 Sep

Reverie and feel-good-vibes fill the air at Riverstage. With the doors opening at an unusually early time of 3pm, fans are treated to a minifestival. Concert-goers relax in the cool breeze and warm sun on this not-a-cloud-in-the-sky kind of day.

Geared up with picnic blankets and pillows, they recline against Riverstage’s grassy embankment in the idyllic spring Saturday sesh attire of sunnies, light tees and shorts, stone-washed denims, and the odd flower-crown.

Wafia’s set is modest and understated, demonstrating that you don’t need a crammed stage to perform something really special. She unites the worlds of R&B and electronica, smoothly flowing though her singles.

Mansionair open with their 2015 single and crowd pleaser Speak Easy. This talented threepiece indie-alt rock act from Sydney keep their music strippedback and don’t overcomplicate things. Mansionair deliver their best tracks to the quickly growing audience. Singer Jack Froggatt’s voice is both wistful and pristine in quality, however, he isn’t afraid to show off his impassioned side as he switches to grungy and plaintive tones during Easier.

Solo project The Kite String Tangle takes the show in a definitive step further into the realm of electronica. The sun is going down and that magical, galvanising effect produced by darkness, plentiful drink and electronic beats energises the atmosphere throughout the venue. He invites Vessel-featured singer Tiana Khasi on stage to offer her vocals to Stone Cold, before scaling the vibe back to the sombre and muted instrumentals of Selfish. The mosh pit was brimming by The Prize, pulsing together in euphoric bliss.

James Vincent McMorrow has a very distinctive tone and his music harks back to the heyday of classic, emotive ballads — think Rick Price. He has a formidable and well-developed falsetto, which features prominently throughout the set.

Periodically, he lets his voice fly on a powerful sustained note or some improvisatory acrobatics.

The crowd goes bonkers over his voice, furiously clapping and cheering away. McMorrow’s voice is a marvel to be sure, however, he sometimes milks the note a little bit too long and it starts to sound strained. The audience is captivated as McMorrow tells his story. While it’s a bit difficult to make out the lyrics, whatever he is singing sounds sublime, like hearing wind rustling through trees.

Punters take the opportunity between James Vincent McMorrow and London Grammar to stock up one last time on drinks and nachos... which sold out, breaking hearts everywhere.

By this point, the sheer size of the audience sinks in as there are easily 7000 people crammed into Riverstage. London Grammar take the stage at 8.30pm and are welcomed by deafening cheers and squeals of excitement. The opening lines of Rooting For You ring out a capella with leadsinger Hannah Reid’s ‘I’d-knowit-anywhere’ alto voice drifting through the night sky. The stage and Reid’s face are darkened in shadow, with a small number of white strobes lighting a fragile, translucent halo around her head.

Instrumentalists Dominic Major and Dan Rothman join her in the second verse with a mature blend of sound that perfectly complements Reid’s vocals and allows them to shine. There is a piquant little scale passage in the chorus that splendidly shows off her higher register, which floats like a feather between each note (Queen Of The Night’s aria anyone? Just not as maniacal...).

The next song of the set is Flickers from 2013 album If You Wait. Against a backdrop of

three ghostly circles, Reid once again establishes command of her higher register and how at a snap of her fingers she can reign it back in so as to not overpower the instrumentalists.

Tonight’s audience are receptive and respectful, not raucously singing along, but content to quietly watch and sway on the spot. They appreciate the talent which is being offered to them. The main part of the set concludes with fan-favourite Strong. It is truly special moment

It is a special moment when an artist can play a single note and their fans know what track it is. when an artist can play a single note and their fans already know what track is playing. Breaking the audience from their hypnotised state, Reid leads a singalong, holding back to give them a chance to join in, and they do so with gusto.

The crowd relentlessly hurls applause at the stage until the lights go up and the band reemerges for the encore. These cheers intensify as a massive pride flag is projected onto the main screen in a very relevant and appreciated gesture of solidarity for marriage equality. Concertgoers delight in Bones Of Ribbon and Oh Woman Oh Man. The final song of the evening is 2013 single Metal & Dust, drawing to a close with Reid’s voice once again ascending skyward with angelic majesty. Tonight’s mammoth lineup wraps up leaving audiences amazed, enchanted and with musical appetites well-satiated.

Cristiana Linthwaite-Gibbins

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Ali Barter @ Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent Return To Roots @ Eatons Hill Hotel Dan Sultan @ Max Watt’s Regurgitator Performs The Velvet Underground & Nico @ The Tivoli You Me At Six @ Eatons Hill Hotel The Aints @ The Tivoli Sorority Noise @ The Brightside

Live Pic credits 1–3. At The Drive In @ Eatons Hill Pic: Bobby Rein 4–6. London Grammar @ Riverstage Pic: Bobby Rein THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 33

Arts Reviews Arts Reviews

Writer Beaufoy has chosen to focus in a large part on King’s personal struggles as she meets a hairdresser (the wonderful Andrea Riseborough), whom she embarks on her first lesbian relationship with, despite being married to the devoted Larry (Austin Stowell).

When Larry turns up unannounced at his wife’s hotel room and realises what’s been going on, you can acutely feel the pain on all sides. He warns Billie Jean to keep certain things secret because being outed back in the 1970s would’ve surely meant the loss of all tennis sponsorship deals.

Emma Stone is absolutely convincing as King, while Steve Carell once again proves he’s much more than a comedic actor with his portrayal of the self-professed male chauvinist but ultimately quite sad and pathetic Riggs. Unfortunately, Oscar-winner Elisabeth Shue has a small and thankless role, while Sarah Silverman and Alan Cumming, also in supporting roles, have a bit more to work with and make their mark.

The ultimate tennis showdown — 55-year-old former tennis great Riggs challenged 29-year-old King to prove that men were superior to women — ended up being viewed by 90 million people. The tennis match scenes are exciting if you’re a tennis fan — not to mention flawless in the way they seem to convey Stone and Carell playing extraordinary tennis. Most powerful however is the scene immediately following the match when King takes a few moments on her own in the dressing room. It’s here where we can see just how much it all meant to her at a much deeper level than for Riggs who turned the whole thing into a circus.

The film might disappoint some in that Riggs doesn’t come off worse for all his offensive posturing, but at least humanising him should put to rest any accusations that he’s been short-changed as one-dimensional.

Battle of the Sexes isn’t perfect but it’s an enlightening glimpse into a fascinating moment in sporting history.

Battle Of The Sexes Film In cinemas now

★★★½ This film detailing the real-life 1973 tennis showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs has an impressive pedigree.

Apart from the charismatic Emma Stone as world no. 1 tennis champ King and Steve Carell as serial hustler and compulsive gambler Riggs. The screenplay is by Oscar winner, Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours), plus add to the mix the creativity of directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) and it’s a recipe for success.

It’s inherently tricky to capture a true story as there’ll always be those who’ll dispute aspects.

Vicki Englund

Star Trek: Discovery TV Streaming via Netflix

★★★½ In many ways, these debut instalments of the first new addition to the Star Trek franchise in a decade employ tried and true TV conventions, with its first two episodes following the stock-standard pilot formula, introducing a principal cast and setting that promptly gets blown to bits, thus providing the necessary tenterhooks dyed-in-the-wool binge-watchers demand.

But while it may be playing it safe with its format, in many important ways, it breaks with Trek tradition entirely. Set ten years before the Enterprise headed off to find new worlds and new civilisations, Discovery begins on board the USS Shenzhou, under the command of Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and her First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a human raised on Vulcan and the adoptive sister of the most quintessential character of the Trek canon, Spock. Where Discovery really makes a departure is in its deftly established tone and aesthetic, and an apparent commitment to long-arc storytelling.

The first clues are conspicuously part in the series titles, which not only feature a ship (the titular Discovery) which is yet to materialise on screen, but also the names of principal cast members who have so far yet to appear.

The implication is clear: this is Star Trek made for the streaming era, using broad, multi-season architecture rather than the usual episodic structure found in other Star Trek series. The look, feel and pace of these opening salvos also seem geared towards recruiting newcomers to Trekkie fandom, with plenty of explosions, battles and action-heavy scenes in place of the convoluted techobabble and dorky exposition that are the mainstay of the Trek of old. Martin-Green’s superb performance as the complicated and headstrong Michael Burnham has already established her as the strong enough reason to continue watching, and with Bryan Fuller at the helm as Executive Producer, it’s safe to say that this critic’s interests have been sufficiently piqued.

Maxim Boon

34 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

SAT 7 OCT THE ZOO DEBUT ALBUM 6.10.17 THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 35

Comedy / G The Guide

Wed 04

Boo Seeka

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes: The Triffid, Newstead D Henry Fenton: The Triffid, Newstead

sleepmakeswaves

The Music Presents Caligula’s Horse: 7 Oct The Triffid Red Deer Music And Arts Festival: 14 Oct Mount Samson Mono: 8 Nov The Triffid Mullum Music Festival: 16 - 19 Nov Mullumbimby Festival Of The Sun: 7 - 9 Dec Port Macquarie sleepmakeswaves: 8 Dec The Zoo Alt-J: 10 Dec Riverstage

Thu 05 Kitty Flanagan: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm Tim Easton + Matthew Colin: Junk Bar, Ashgrove Michael Ball + Alfie Boe: Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) (Concert Hall), South Brisbane Sarah McLeod + Tay Oskee + Pete Allan: Solbar, Maroochydore Whiskey & Me: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore Coast & Ocean: The Bearded Lady, West End

Planet

Seeka Soon We finally have hands on Boo Seeka’s debut full-length Never Too Soon and now the duo are taking it on the road. Catch them at The Triffid, 12 Oct with Turquoise Prince and Resin Moon.

Katchafire + The Hanlon Brothers + The Sea Gypsies: Parkwood Tavern, Parkwood Rockin For West Papua 2017 with New Clear Vision + Charlie Rebel + Kold Creatures + Kobrakai + Bitter Lungs: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah

Sarah McLeod: The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba Dune Rats + Wavves + Hockey Dad + WAAX: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley One Ok Rock: The Triffid, Newstead The Blackeyed Susans: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

Aled Jones: Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), South Brisbane Dan Hannaford + Jamie Symons: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna

Planet 12 Oct, The Foundry

Against The Current: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

Fri 06 Kitty Flanagan: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm Rockin For West Papua 2017 with Ms. V + Kamali + Kaweyova + Koahlition + Justin Wellington + Cameron Cusack: Empire HQ Club, Cairns Unit20 feat. Regurgitator + Art Vs Science + 7bit Hero: Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach

36 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Nice Biscuit

Wild Marmalade + Dubarray: Solbar, Maroochydore Anna & Jordan: Solbar, Maroochydore (Lounge Bar) Midnight Oil: Tanks Arts Centre, Edge Hill Yahtzel: The Basement Bar, Townsville City The Owls: The Bearded Lady, West End X in O + Dust Storm Jogger + Cold Fish + Ascott Stabber: The Bearded Lady, West End Digression Buff: The Flying Cock, Fortitude Valley

Dragon: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton

Why Thank You feat. Nice Biscuit + Gooby Jim + The Double Happiness + Ella Metherell + Pocket Moth DJs: The Foundry, Fortitude Valley

Our Last Enemy + Azrael + Snake Mountain: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

Wine For Minors + The Common Deers: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane

The Melodians + The Munich Honkers: Night Quarter, Helensvale

Caitlyn Shadbolt + Melanie Dyer: The Powerhouse, Toowoomba

Why Thank You feat. Nice Biscuit + Gooby Jim + The Double Happiness + Ella Metherell + Pocket Moth DJs 6 Oct, The Foundry

Sat 07 Habits: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Joe Mungovan + Greta Stanley: Bloodhound Corner Bar, Fortitude Valley

Gigs / Live The Guide

The Kite String Tangle

The Dreggs: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore

Katchafire + The Sea Gypsies: Wharf Tavern, Mooloolaba

Peter Bibby: The Bearded Lady, West End

Mon 09

The Big Vacation feat. Mathas + Omar Musa + P.Smurf + Rapaport: The Flamin’ Galah, Brisbane Raave Tapes: The Foundry, Fortitude Valley

The Kite String Tangle + Golden Vessel 13 Oct, The Triffid Kitty Flanagan: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm Crush Festival 2017 feat.

Moving Pictures: Bundaberg Kart Club, Bundaberg Rockin For West Papua 2017 with Deadbeat Society + Sol Tradas + Eat City + The Dickersons + Friendly Fire + Captain Cake + The Irrits + Jocks + The Gutter: Coronation Hotel, West Ipswich Horror My Friend: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley

Doxa: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane Caligula’s Horse + I Built The Sky + He Danced Ivy: The Triffid, Newstead Alex Lahey: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

Tue 10 Alison Moyet + Katie Noonan: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank

Port Royal

Rocktober feat. Team Utopia + Penny Rides Shotgun + Huntington + Jackson Dunn: Jamison Park, Scarborough

Double Feature This 14 Oct Eatons Hill Hotel is providing the rare chance to catch two musical legends in one fell swoop when folk rocker Garrett Kato opens for US pop icon and multi-platinum selling artist Andy Grammer.

Caleb James: Junk Bar, Ashgrove Midnight Oil + Urthboy: Kuranda Amphitheatre, Kuranda

Thu 12

Vix & The Slick Chicks + Raku O’Gaia: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna Paua + ITES: Solbar, Maroochydore PC & The Biffs + The Hi-Boys: Solbar, Maroochydore

Adam Ant + Diana Anaid: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley

Garrett Kato

Midnight Oil + Urthboy: Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre, Townsville City

The Melodians + The Munich Honkers: Night Quarter, Helensvale

Johanna Field: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane

Kitty Flanagan: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm

Luka Lesson + Kahl Wallis: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba

Sarah McLeod: Miami Tavern, Miami

Planet: The Foundry, Fortitude Valley

Soul Mechanics + The Francis Wolves + more: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm

Motez + Mickey Kojak + Tigerilla: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise

Katchafire + The Sea Gypsies + The Hanlon Brothers: Max Watt’s, West End

Kodiak Empire + Chief Weapons + Milton Man Gogh: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

Sun 08

Rockin For West Papua 2017 with Wartooth + Odius + Charlie Rebel + Monster Fodder: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta

Pauly P + Dawn: Magnums Hotel, Airlie Beach

Sid Whitely: Solbar, Maroochydore

Ciecmate: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley

Hoon + Die For Mushies + Cosmic Dad + The High Kats: Currumbin Creek Tavern, Currumbin Waters

Flavours of Metro Street Party with The Black Sorrows: Gold Coast Chinatown, Southport

Emmanuel Pahud + Australian Chamber Orchestra: Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) (Concert Hall), South Brisbane

Meg Mac + The Money War: Miami Marketta, Miami

Port Royal 13 Oct, Woolly Mammoth

Hip Hip Exchange Fundraiser with I Am D: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Frenchy: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda

Jed Rowe + Jen Mize: Junk Bar, Ashgrove

Kingswood + The Vanns: Edge Hill Tavern, Manunda

Nick Cunningham + Luke Morris + Cass Eager: Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane

Midnight Oil + Urthboy: Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton

Mosaic feat. Bustamento + Izalco + Al Zayton + more: Roma Street Parklands, Brisbane

Tim Sladden: Junk Bar, Ashgrove

Boo Seeka + Turquoise Prince + Resin Moon: The Triffid, Newstead Riot Ten: Wharf Tavern (The Helm), Mooloolaba

Fri 13 Kingswood + The Vanns: Dalrymple Hotel, Garbutt Alex Bell + Phil Smith + The Wicked Messenger: Junk Bar, Ashgrove Frenchy: Kirwan Tavern, Kirwan Transvaal Diamond Syndicate + Rick Dangerous & the Silkie Bantams: Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Burleigh Heads

Napalm Death + Brujeria + Lockup + Black Rheno: Max Watt’s, West End

Peter Hook & The Light: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 37

Comedy / G The Guide

The Mouldy Lovers + Riley Pearce: Night Quarter, Helensvale

Jebediah + The Pretty Littles: The Big Pineapple Complex, Woombye

Raave Tapes

Michael Jackson Legacy Tour with +William Hall: Norths Leagues & Services Club, Kallangur

Punkfest feat. Rick Dangerous & the Silkie Bantams + The Flangipanis + Gutter Birds + Bullets: The Flamin’ Galah, Brisbane

Justin Townes Earle + Joshua Hedley + The Sadies: Old Museum, Fortitude Valley

Hands Like Houses + PLTS: The Triffid, Newstead

Hell & Whiskey: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna

Love Jungle with Various Artists: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

Knights of the Dub Table + Hemingway: Solbar, Maroochydore

Sun 15

Jesse Taylor: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore

Mayday Parade + This Wild Life: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill

The Bear Hunt: The Bearded Lady, West End Magnus Murphy: The Flying Cock, Fortitude Valley Riot Ten: The Met, Fortitude Valley

Newy sweethearts Raave Tapes are heading ’round the country on the back of their latest single K Bye and their next stop is at The Foundry, 7 Oct. Get down there for dance punk and friendly hugs.

Sat 14 Rush Festival feat. Jimmy Barnes + The Black Sorrows + Reece Mastin + Jason Singh + Katie Underwood + Paul Gray + Brooke Schubert + Frank Woodley + John Fleming + more: Albert Park, Gympie The Preatures

Red Deer Music & Arts Festival feat. The Preatures + Band Of Frequencies + Shag Rock + The Cool Calm + Mezko + Leanne Tennant + more 14 Oct, Mt Samson

Demon Days: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane Boo Seeka: The Office, Townsville British India: The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba Status Quo + Travis Collins: The Star (formerly Jupiters), Broadbeach

Riley Pearce: Bloodhound Corner Bar, Fortitude Valley That’s Entertainment - Artie Shaw with Rhythm Society Dance Orchestra: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Hey Sunshine Festival feat. The Belligerents + Cinema Wristys + The Wonky Queenslander + Peach Fur + Galaxy Girls + Borneo + Thunderfox + more: Burleigh Brewing, Burleigh Heads Bayside Blues Festival feat.

Lucky Lips + River City Aces + A Band Called Twang + The Mouldy Lovers + Mojo Webb Band + The Hipshooters + Aaron West & the Custodians + Ezra Lee: Capalaba Regional Park, Capalaba

Meg Mac + The Money War: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley

Knights of the Dub Table with Various Artists: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley

The Kite String Tangle + Golden Vessel: The Triffid, Newstead

Andy Grammer + Garrett Kato: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill

Port Royal: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley

The Grass Is Greener with Allday + British India + Ekali + Greta Stanley + J-El + Ocean Alley + Peking Duk + SACHI + What So Not + Willow Beats + Drew & The Sax Addicts + Faure: Fogarty Park, Cairns North

38 • THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017

Boo Seeka + Turquoise Prince + Resin Moon: Miami Marketta, Miami

See Ya Later Raaver

Kingswood + The Vanns: Magnums Hotel, Airlie Beach ITES: Miami Marketta, Miami Frenchy: Mt Pleasant Tavern, North Mackay Red Deer Music & Arts Festival 2017 feat. The Preatures + The Kite String Tangle + Band of Frequencies + Shag Rock + The Cool Calm + Mezko + Leanne Tennant + Fire & Whistle Theory + Josh Mcnz + Tiarne + Natalie Welch + Mitch Baskerville + Kingfisha + Transvaal Diamond Syndicate + Alex & Bec Crook + MC Wheels + Hawkmoon + Pink Matter + Lamalo + Mayhem For Mary + more: Mt Samson Demon Days + The Old Married Couple: Night Quarter, Helensvale Lock n Load: Night Quarter, Helensvale San Holo + Just A Gent: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Migos + 6lack: Riverstage, Brisbane Boo Seeka + Turquoise Prince + Resin Moon: Solbar, Maroochydore Meg Mac + The Money War: Tanks Arts Centre, Edge Hill Leni Peirano: The Bearded Lady, West End Midnight Oil + The Living End +

Kingswood + The Vanns: Mt Pleasant Tavern, North Mackay Midnight Oil + The Jezabels: Riverstage, Brisbane

Tue 17 Midnight Oil: Riverstage, Brisbane

THE MUSIC • 4TH OCTOBER 2017 • 39